Alexander Vasilyevich Fedotov (23 June 1932, Stalingrad, USSR – 4 April 1984, USSR) was a Soviet test pilot who was a

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

, Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR, Lenin Prize holder and Major-General of Aviation.

Biography

He was born on 23 June 1932 in the town of

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

in the USSR in a family of Russian ethnicity. During the Second World War he and his mother fled from the besieged Stalingrad. The Fedotov family returned to Stalingrad only after its liberation, but without Alexandrov's father, who fought on the front and died in battle

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

in 1944. In 1947 at the age of fifteen he completed the seven-year primary school and joined the 7th Specialised School of Air Armed Forces USSR.

Career

Fedotov attended the Armavir Military Aviation School of Pilots at Armavir, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, graduating in 1952, and then became a flight instructor. In 1958 he attended the Ministry of Industrial Aviation Test Pilot School at Zhukovsky. He graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute in 1965. From August 1958 to his death in 1984, he was a test pilot of the Mikoyan bureau. Fedotov participated in the tests of the

MiG-19 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-19; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was the ...

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...

MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-23; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generatio ...

MiG-25 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-25; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by th ...

MiG-27 The Mikoyan MiG-27 (russian: Микоян МиГ-27; NATO reporting name: Flogger-D/J) is a variable-sweep ground-attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union and later licence-produced in India ...

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the Mi ...

MiG-31 The Mikoyan MiG-31 (russian: link=no, Микоян МиГ-31; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft that was developed for use by the Soviet Air Forces. The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a ...

and their modifications. For the first time in the country, he reached a speed corresponding to Mach 3. On E-166 and MiG-25 aircraft, he set 18 world aviation records (of which three are absolute), speed, dynamic ceiling, load capacity and climbing speed. In particular, he still owns the unaccounted flight altitude record (37,650 metres) for manned jet aircraft, established on 3 August 1977, on an experimental MiG-25M fighter. Fedotov lived in the city of Zhukovsky in the Moscow region. He died on 4 April 1984, during a test flight on the

, together with the test navigator V.S. Zaitsev. In that flight there was a false alarm indication of the emergency fuel reserve system, and Fedotov decided to land. Believing that there was little fuel on the plane, he made a sharp manoeuver, but the heavy, fuel-filled airplane rolled over and dived into the ground. Neither Fedotov nor Zaitsev survived. He was buried at the Bykov cemetery of the city of Zhukovsky. His honors included being awarded Major-General of Aviation (1983), Honored Coach of the USSR (1976), master of sports of international class (1975), Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR (1969), and

(1966). He was awarded the

FAI Gold Air Medal The FAI Gold Air Medal was established in 1924 by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and was first awarded in 1925. This award and the Paul Tissandier, Paul Tissander Diploma are the FAI's two highest awards. It is reserved for those who ...

in 1975, and the Lenin Prize in 1981. He was awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, the Red Banner of Labour and medals.

Memorial

* There is a Fedotov Street in the city of Zhukovsky * The name of Alexandr Fedotov is assigned to the main Russian test pilot school in Zhukovsky * The name Alexandr Fedotov was awarded to school No. 24 in the Kirov district of the city of Volgograd * There is a bust of him in

Armavir, Russia Armavir (russian: Армави́р) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the left bank of the Kuban River. Population: As of 2020, the city has a population of 188,960, while the agglomeration has a population of 207,570. Armavir w ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fedotov, Aleksandr Vasilyevich 1932 births 1984 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents Heroes of the Soviet Union Military personnel from Volgograd Soviet aviation record holders Soviet test pilots Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1984 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the Soviet Union

Biography

Career

Memorial

See also

References