List of Russian aviators

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This list of Russian and Soviet aviators includes the noteworthy

A

• Vsevolod Abramovich, pioneer aviator killed on crash, inventor of Abramovich Flyer
• Sergey Anokhin, Soviet test pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Pavel Argeyev, Russia's third most successful fighter ace during World War I in Russia and France^[1]

B

• fighter aces

C

• Valery Chkalov, flew the first transcontinental flight by airplane over the North Pole, Hero of the Soviet Union

D

• Order of Red Banner, Order of the Patriotic War and Hero of the Soviet Union
• Mariya Dolina, female dive bomber pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union

F

• Légion d'honneur and two other French decorations during World War I^[2]

G

• Nikolai Gastello, the first Soviet pilot to direct his burning aircraft at a ground target, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Polina Gelman, World War II bomber pilot, one of the Night Witches, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Juri Gilsher, World War I flying ace amputee, awarded four decorations for valor^[3]
• Long Range Aviation

  

• Battle of Khalkhin Gol, & the first to be recognised twice as Hero of the Soviet Union
• Heroes of the Soviet Union
  , set a record for woman's ultralong flights
• Mikhail Gromov, set a record during the transcontinental flight over the North Pole, founded the Gromov Flight Research Institute, Hero of the Soviet Union

I

• OKB Sukhoi, Hero of the Soviet Union

• cosmonauts, including Yuri Gagarin, Gherman Titov and Alexei Leonov
• Rafael Kaprelyan, test pilot, holder of 10 world records for helicopters, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Alexander Kazakov, the most successful Russian flying ace of World War I, the first to perform an aerial ramming and survive^[4]
• Timofey Khryukin, fighter ace during Spanish Civil War, Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, double Hero of the Soviet Union
• Sergei Khudyakov, Marshal of Aviation during World War II, chief of staff of the Soviet Air Force
• Vladimir Kokkinaki, test pilot, set twenty-two world records, later President of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, Hero of the Soviet Union (twice)
• Nikolai Kokorin, World War I flying ace, winner of three awards for valor^[5]
• Zinaïda Kokorina
  , pilot and flight instructor, in 1925 became the world's first military pilot
• Galina Gavrilovna Korchuganova, test pilot and first women's world aerobatics champion^[6]
• Ivan Kozhedub, Allied "Ace of Aces" in World War II, credited with sixty-four victories,^[7][8] three-time Order of Lenin earner
• Sergei Kramarenko, fighter ace in World War II and the Korean War, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Stepan Kretov, long-range bomber pilot during World War II, double Hero of the Soviet Union
• Yevgraph Kruten, World War I fighter ace flew for, and won decorations from, both Imperial Russian and French Air Forces^[4]
• Nikolai Kuimov, chief test pilot for Ilyushin, Hero of the Russian Federation^[9]
• Chief Marshal of Aviation during the Leonid Brezhnev era, double Hero of the Soviet Union

• Ernst Leman, World War I flying ace, recipient of four gallantry medals^[10]
• Sigismund Levanevsky, polar aviator, among the first to receive the honour of Hero of the Soviet Union
  , died in a transpolar flight attempt
• General Major
  of Aviation
• fighter aces, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Ivan Loiko, World War I flying ace, recipient of five awards for valor^[11]

M

• Donat Makijonek, flying ace of the Imperial Russian Air Service in World War I and recipient of 15 decorations for valor^[12]
• Alexey Maresyev, World War II fighter ace, Hero of the Soviet Union, the prototype for The Story of a Real Man
• Natalya Meklin, World War II bomber pilot & one of the Night Witches, Hero of the Soviet Union

• Arseny Mironov, aerospace engineer and aviator, scientist in aircraft aerodynamics and flight testing
• General Major
  of Aviation

N

• aviator
• aerobatic loop, died while scoring the world's first air combat victory by aerial ramming
  an Austrian plane during World War I
• Chief Marshal of Aviation during World War II, double Hero of the Soviet Union

  

• RAF
  pilot
• Ivan Orlov, World War I flying ace, served with, and received decorations for valor from both the Imperial Russian and French governments^[13]
• Vasily Osipov, World War II bomber pilot, double Hero of the Soviet Union

P

• Yevgeny Pepelyaev, top Soviet fighter ace in the Korean War, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Alexander Pishvanov, World War I flying ace, recipient of five decorations for valor^[14]
• Viktor Pokrovsky, World War I flying ace, the first Russian pilot to capture an enemy plane and pilot
• fighter ace, credited with 59 individual victories, thrice Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal
  of Aviation
• Nadezhda Popova, Squadron Leader in the Night Witches
• Vitaly Popkov, one of the top World War II fighter aces, credited with 41 individual victories, double Hero of the Soviet Union
• Russian-American
  aviation pioneer and inventor
• Georgy Prokofiev, balloonist who coordinated military stratospheric balloon program in 1930s, set world record in altitude on USSR-1
• Su-27
• Eduard Pulpe, World War I flying ace, recipient of awards for valor from both the Imperial Russian and French governments^[15]
• Endel Puusepp, long-range bomber pilot, famous for flying a Soviet delegation over the front line from Moscow to Washington D.C. and back to negotiate the opening of the Western Front, Hero of the Soviet Union

R

• Marina Raskova, navigator, founder of the three female air regiments during World War II, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Grigoriy Rechkalov, one of the top World War II fighter aces, credited with 56 individual victories, double Hero of the Soviet Union
• Yevgeniya Rudneva, senior navigator of the Night Witches, Hero of the Soviet Union

S

• Mikhail Safonov, World War I flying ace, recipient of two decorations for valor^[16]
• Yevgeniy Savitskiy, World War II fighter ace, Marshal of Aviation, double Hero of the Soviet Union
• Irina Sebrova, World War II bomber pilot, one of the Night Witches, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Yevgeniya Shakhovskaya
  , the first woman military pilot
• Lev Shestakov, top Soviet fighter ace during the Spanish Civil War, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Mark Shevelev, Commander of Soviet Polar aviation during World War II, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Ivan Smirnov, recipient of five Russian and two foreign military decorations, fourth ranking fighter ace of the Imperial Russian Air Service during World War I^[17]
• Battle of Khalkhin Gol, double Hero of the Soviet Union
• Nelson Stepanyan, World War II dive bomber pilot, destroyed scores of enemy ships, tanks, cars, planes and guns, double Hero of the Soviet Union
• Order of the Crown of Romania, victor of seven aerial battles during World War I^[18]
• Amet-khan Sultan, World War II fighter ace, double Hero of the Soviet Union, test pilot who died in a plane crash

• Nikolay Sutyagin, top Korean War Soviet fighter ace, Hero of the Soviet Union

• Victor Talalikhin, World War II fighter ace, among the first to perform aerial ramming at night, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Igor Tkachenko, Commander of the Russian Knights

V

• Konstantin Vakulovsky, World War I fighter ace, recipient of three gallantry awards^[19]
• Hero of Yugoslavia
• Pavel Vlasov, test pilot, Hero of the Russian Federation

• cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union

• Mikhail Vodopyanov, polar aviator, Hero of the Soviet Union, commanded the first Soviet air raid on Berlin in 1941

Y

• Vasili Yanchenko, second-scoring Russian flying ace of World War I^[20]
• concentration camp survivor, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Ruben Yesayan, test pilot, Hero of the Russian Federation
• Kirill Yevstigneev, one of the top World War II fighter aces, credited with 53 individual victories, double Hero of the Soviet Union

• Yekaterina Zelenko, World War II pilot, the only woman ever alleged to have to have performed an aerial ramming, Hero of the Soviet Union

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (February 2011)

See also

• List of aviators
• List of cosmonauts
• List of World War II aces from the Soviet Union

Notes