Sudets, Vladimir Aleksandrovich
From OnAirpower.org
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[edit] Biography
Sudets joined the Red Army in 1925. He completed Air Force Military Theory School in 1927, and flight school in 1929. From 1929 to 1933, he served a a pilot, flight commander, and commander and commissar of an independent aviation unit[1].
From 1933 to 1937 he served on a duty assignment to the People's Republic of Mongolia as an instructor and military advisor, while simultaneously still holding the position of an aviation group commander in the Red Army Air Forces. During his duty in Mongolia he participated in battles against Basmachi tribesmen in Mongolia and China, and against Japanese forces at Lake Buiraionur in Mongolia. He received an Order of the Red Banner and two Mongolian orders for his service[1].
In Janauary, 1938, he became commander of an aviation squadron. In February, 1939, he became assistant commander of an aviation brigade. He participated in the Soviet-Finnish War in that position, and personally completed 14 combat sorties. In March, 1940, he became commander of an aviation brigade, in August, 1940, commander of an aviation division, and in November, 1940, commander of the 4th Long Range Bomber Aviation Corps[1].
At the start of Operation Barbarossa, Sudets was still commanding the 4th Long Range Bomber Corps. In August, 1941, he became commander of air forces for the 51st Army in the Crimea. In October, 1941, he became commander of air forces in the Volga Military District. In July, 1942, he was named commander of then forming 1st Bomber Aviation Army. The Army was disbanded and reformed as smaller units in August, 1942, and in September, 1941, Sudets became commander of one of those units, the 1st Bomber Aviation Corps. In March, 1943, Sudets became commander of the 17th Air Army, a position he held until the end of the war[1]. For his service as a commander, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on April 28, 1945[2].
From 1946-49, Sudets served as Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Commander of the Red Army Air Forces. In 1950, he graduated from the General Staff Academy. He was promoted to Marshal in 1955, and served as commander of Long Range Aviation from 1955-1962. From 1926-1966, he served as Commander of National Air Defense Forces (PVO Strany) and a Deputy Ministry of Defense[2].
[edit] Sources
- He Flew and Lived, Ahead of His Time at Independent Military Review an article commemorating the 100th anniversary of Sudets' birth (in Russian)
- Sudets, Vladimir Aleksandrovich (in Russian)
