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Alexandr Avdeyev - Soviet Fighter Commander

Born in 1917 in the village of Great Talenka in the Tambov region Tambov region, to a peasant family. Member of the CPSU (b) since 1942.

He was left without a mother before aged 2 and lived with his grandmother. He graduated from the 7 classes of junior high school. In 1932, he moved to be with his father in the Moscow region. After high school, he attended trade schools. He worked as a mechanic at a casting-mechanical plant in Moscow. Simultaneously, he studied at the Podolsky flying club.

He joined the Red Army in 1937. According to the Komsomol voucher he was sent to Borisoglebsk military aviation school. After flying school in 1939 he was sent to the 153rd Fighter Regiment (5th Composite Air Division, Air Force 23rd Army, Leningrad Front). He fought in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. At the end of that war First Lieutenant Avdeev was appointed Commander.

In the Great Patriotic War from June 1941 he proved a good pilot and commander. In one of the battles he shot down Ju-88, but was himself shot down in the process, landing by parachute. He was taken to hospital with extensive burns and spent a month in recovery. Then he returned to his regiment. In December 1941, in a reconnaissance mission he discovered and photographed a disguised long-range battery enemy, for which he was awarded the Order of the Red Star.

In spring 1942 the regiment was moved to Lipetsk for retraining on the US fighter P-39 AiraCobra. In June 30th the Regiment became part of the 2nd Air Army of the Voronezh Front.

August 12, 1942 over the village of Novaya Usman (Novouspenskogo Voronezh region) he led the AiraCobra squadrons joining the battle with a large group of Ju-88 enemy bombers , which were covered by Me-109F-4 fighters from II / JG77. With the first attack Avdeyev managed to shoot down a plane leading the group. The story is the bomber just collapsed.

Some of the AiraCobras moved away from the bombs and turned back towards base, but, dodging the fighter escort, Avdeyev continued to attack the bombers. Suddenly Avdeyev saw a Me 109 coming straight at him, flown by Sgt. F.Shulte. From the impact, both aircraft exploded in the air. According to some sources it was the thirteenth victory Avdeyev had made.

His remains were found after the war near the village of Novaya Usman by local tractor drivers. He was buried there.

On February 10, 1943 Avdeyev was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner, the Red Star. A monument and named streets are to be found in Moscow and Novaya Usman.

See Soviet Aces Database

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SY 4 May 2016

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