Vladimir Alexandrovich Sudets (russian: Владимир Александрович Судец; 23 October 1904 - 6 May 1981) was a
Soviet air commander during World War II, commanding the 17th Air Army, and later became
Marshal of the aviation
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...
after the war.
Early life and military career
Vladimir was born into a working-class family in the village of Nizhnedneprovsk, formerly part of
Ekaterinoslav Governorate, but is now part of the city
Dnipro
Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...
in
Ukraine. In 1924, he 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 ...
, and the following year in September joined the
Red Army. In 1927 he graduated from an air force technical school, and from a pilot school in 1929. He served in
Kiev Military District
The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...
afterwards. From 1933 to 1937, he served in Mongolia and took part in the
Soviet–Japanese border conflicts. He participated in the
Winter War from February to March 1940 as the deputy commander of the 27th Heavy Bomber Air Brigade. In November he took command of the 4th Long Range Air Corps, and was commanding it when
Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941.
In October 1941, he became the commander of the
Volga Military District's
Air Force, which he commanded till June 1942. From September 1942 to March 1943, he commanded the 1st Bomber Air Corps. In March 1943, he took command of the
17th Air Army
The 17th Air Army () was an Air army of the Red Air Force and Soviet Air Forces from 1942.
World War II
It was formed in October (Bonn et al.: November) 1942 on the basis of the Air Forces of the Southwestern Front. Bonn et al. say that it incl ...
, which he commanded till the end of
World War II. The 17th Air Army took part in the
Battle of Kursk, the
Dnieper–Carpathian,
Jassy–Kishinev, and
Prague Offensives. On 28 April 1945, he was awarded
Hero of the Soviet Union, the
Order of Lenin and the Gold Star. From 1946 to 1949, he served as both the Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the
Soviet Air Force. On 11 March 1955, he became
Marshal of Aviation. From 1955 to 1962 he was Commanding General of Long-Range Aviation, and from 1962 to 1966, he was Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense of the Country and a Deputy Minister of Defense.
He died in
Moscow on 6 May 1981 and was buried at the
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...
.
Awards
Throughout his military career, he was awarded four Orders of Lenin, an
Order of October Revolution, five
Orders of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet Union, Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War b ...
, an
Order of Suvorov First Class, an Order of Suvorov Second Class, an
Order of Kutuzov First Class, an Order of Kutuzov Second Class, and an
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 ...
. His foreign awards included:
People's Hero of Yugoslavia (October 1964),
Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (7 May 1971), the
Order of the British Empire Knight Commander, the
Partisan Star First Class, and the
Order of Sukhbaatar.
References
Inline citations
Sources cited
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudets, Vladimir
Soviet Air Force marshals
Military personnel from Dnipro
1904 births
1981 deaths
Heroes of the Soviet Union
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner
Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class
Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero
Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire