Alexander Golovanov

Alexander Yevgeniyevich Golovanov (7 August 1904 – 22 September 1975) was a Soviet pilot. On August 3, 1943 he became a Marshal of Aviation (the youngest person in the history of the USSR to hold that rank) and on 19 August 1944 he was promoted to the rank of Chief marshal of the aviation (the second after Alexander Novikov).

At the start of the German-Soviet War, he was the commander of the 212th Heavy Bomber Regiment, then commander of the 81st Long Range Bomber Division, subordinated to the Supreme Command Headquarters. The division led by him bombed, with his personal participation, enemy military facilities in Berlin, Königsberg, Gdańsk, Ploieşti and other cities.

During the Battle of Moscow his "long-range aviation hit powerful blows on artillery positions, tank formations and command posts."

From February 1942 he was the commander of the long-range bomber force, which transformed into the 18th Air Army in December, 1944. The army's units delivered air strikes against the Axis' deep rear, supported ground forces during the East Prussian, Vienna and Berlin operations and fulfilled tasks to help the Partisans of Yugoslavia.

As commander of the Soviet Long Range Aviation ADD, Golovanov was ordered to destroy Helsinki in early 1944, in order to force Finland to accept Soviet dictated terms of peace. Due to deception and skilled use of radar, Finnish anti-aircraft artillery succeeded in saving the city. When Stalin later in 1944 found out that he has been erroneously informed on the bombing results, ADD was dissolved as a punishment. The career of Golovanov was hampered by this failure.

Post Stamp issued 1984 in memory of Alexander Golovanov

• Two Orders of Lenin
• Three Orders of the Red Banner
• Three Orders of Suvorov 1st class
• Order of the Red Star
• Medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" 1st class
• Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad"
• Medal "For the Defence of Moscow"
• Medal "For Courage"
• Medal "For the Capture of Königsberg"
• Medal "For the Capture of Berlin"
• Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"