Vasily Ivanovich Andrianov (russian: Василий Иванович Андрианов; 13 August 1920 – 7 May 1999) was a

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

and twice

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 ...

. Andrianov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union twice for making 177 successful attack missions during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Postwar, Andrianov continued his career in the Air Force and taught at the Military Academy of the General Staff. After retiring in 1981 as a Major general, Andrianov died in 1999 and was buried at the

Troyekurovskoye Cemetery The Troyekurovo Cemetery (russian: Троекуровское кладбище, Troyekurovskoye kladbishche), alternatively known as ''Novo-Kuntsevo Cemetery'' (russian: Ново-Кунцевское кладбище, Novo-Kuntsevskoye kladbishch ...

Early life

Andrianov was born on 13 August 1920 in the village of Ivanisovo in

Tver Governorate Tver Governorate (russian: Тверская губерния, ''Tverskaya guberniya'') was an administrative division (a ''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 ...

to a peasant family. He spent his childhood and teenage years in the village of Sonkovo. In 1936, he graduated from eight grades. Andrianov graduated from the Smolensk Co-operative College in 1938. Between 1939 and 1940, he worked as a military instructor at the Sonkovo High School. In July 1940, Andrianov was drafted into the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. He graduated from the Leningrad Military District Junior Aviation Specialists School in September. He became a gunner and radio operator in a heavy bomber regiment located in the district.

World War II

In September 1941, Andrianov graduated from the 2nd Moscow Military Aviation School for initial pilot training. He was then sent to the Molotov (Perm) Military Aviation School for more pilot training. After graduation in April 1943, Andrianov became a pilot in the 10th Reserve Aviation Regiment in Kamenka with the rank of junior lieutenant. In June, he transferred to the 667th Attack Aviation Regiment flying the

Il-2 The Ilyushin Il-2 (Russian language, Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a Ground attack aircraft, ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the World War II, Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (C ...

, which was part of the

Voronezh Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...

. Andrianov first flew attack sorties during the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...

. On 24 July, he took part in an attack on the Belgorod railway station. The regiment then supported advancing Soviet troops during the Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive in August. On 31 August, he was awarded the

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

1st class. In the fall, Andrianov fought in the

Battle of the Dnieper The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 in Ukraine on the Eastern Front of World War II. One of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost 4,000,000 troops at a time stretched on a front. Over four ...

. He was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

on 11 October. On 28 December, he was awarded the

Order of Glory Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

3rd class. In January 1944, he fought in the Kirovograd Offensive. Around this time, Andrianov joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

. He then fought in the

Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

until February. At this time, the regiment became the 141st Guards Attack Aviation Regiment for its actions. In March and April, Andrianov flew in the Uman–Botoșani Offensive. On 24 April, he was promoted to lieutenant and became a squadron commander. He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

on 1 July for completing 87 attack sorties. On 17 July, he was awarded a third Order of the Red Banner. Andrianov fought in the

Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

in August. The regiment was then transferred and fought in the later stages of the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive. He was promoted to senior lieutenant on 25 September. From 12 January 1945, the regiment fought in the Sandomierz–Silesian Offensive. Andrianov fought in the battles and in the subsequent Lower Silesian Offensive in February and the

Upper Silesian Offensive The Upper Silesian offensive was a strategically significant Soviet offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II in 1945. It was aimed at capturing the considerable industrial and natural resources located in Upper Silesia and involved forces ...

in March. On 22 February, he was awarded the

Order of Alexander Nevsky The Order of Alexander Nevsky ( ''orden Alexandra Nevskogo'') is an order of merit of the Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious se ...

. He was promoted to captain on 4 April. In April, Andrianov and the regiment fought in the

Berlin Offensive The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major Offensive (military), offensives of the European theatre of World War II. ...

, before being transferred in early May to fight in the

Prague Offensive The Prague offensive (russian: Пражская стратегическая наступательная операция, Prazhskaya strategicheskaya nastupatel'naya operatsiya, lit=Prague strategic offensive) was the last major military ...

. On 25 April, Andrianov was awarded his third Order of the Red Banner.Order No. 98, 2nd Air Army, available online a
pamyatnaroda.mil.ru
/ref> During the war, Andrianov made 180 sorties on the Il-2. His crew was reported to have shot down two enemy aircraft and shared three other victories. On 27 June 1945, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union a second time for the completion of 177 sorties by April 1945.

Postwar

Until June 1946, Andrianov continued to serve as a squadron commander in the regiment. On 6 May 1949, he was promoted to major. In 1950, he graduated from the

Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air forc ...

Monino Monino (russian: Мо́нино) is an urban locality (a work settlement) in Shchyolkovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. Population: History Monino was founded in the Muninskaya Wasteland (russian: Мунинс� ...

. He then became commander of the 118th Guards Attack Aviation Regiment in Estonia. On 15 November, he was awarded the

Medal for Battle Merit A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

. On 9 January 1952, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Andrianov became an

Adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

at the Department of Attack Aviation Tactics in the Air Force Academy in 1953. He became a pilot-inspector of attack aircraft for the Ministry of Defence Inspectorate. In 1956, Andrianov became the deputy commander of the 172nd Bomber Aviation Division in Poland, which became a fighter-bomber unit the next year. He was awarded the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

on 30 December 1956. On 30 April 1957, he was promoted to colonel. He became chief of staff of the division in 1958 and entered the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1959. After graduating in 1961, Andrianov became chief of staff of the 289th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division at

Lutsk Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Luts ...

. Between 1963 and 1964, he was deputy chief of staff of the 57th Air Army at Lviv. In 1964, Andrianov became chief of staff of the Kharkov Higher Military Aviation School. He became a senior lecturer at the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

in 1966. In 1969, he became a senior lecturer at the Department of Operational Art in the Military Academy of the General Staff. Andrianov was promoted to major general on 8 November 1971 and retired ten years later. In 1973, he became an associate professor. On 30 April 1975, Andrianov received the

Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

3rd class. He lived in Moscow. On 11 March 1985, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 1st class on the 40th anniversary of the end of World War II. Andrianov died on 7 May 1999 and was buried in the

Awards and honors

*Soviet and Russian jubilee medals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrianov, Vasily Ivanovich 1920 births 1999 deaths People from Bezhetsky District Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet major generals category:Soviet Air Force generals Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky Recipients of the Order of Glory Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Medal of Zhukov Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni