Yordan Milanov

Yordan Sergiev Milanov (Bulgarian: Йордан Сергиев Миланов)is a former General Major in the Bulgarian Air Force and a doctor of Military Sciences and has over 60 publications in tactics and operational art of Air Force aviation history and problems in the use of space for military purposes. He is the author of the books The Air Forces of Bulgaria during the war 1912 - 1945, Aviation and aviation Bulgaria during the wars 1912-1945 - Part 2 and Aviation and aviation Bulgaria during the wars 1912-1945 - Part 3 as well as Military Space a Quarter of a Century Ago.

Yordan Milanov was born on 20 November 1924 in a suburb of Sofia, Bulgaria and was a very talented pupil at a young age. He finished Flight School in Kazanlak in 1945, The Georgi Benkovski National Air force Academy in 1947, Rakovski Defence and Staff College in 1958, and Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union in Moscow, in 1965 – the most prestigious of all the Soviet academies.

He held many different command posts in his career, including bombing, attack and fighter aviation and was also Chief of Staff of Tactical aviation in Bulgaria from 1961–1963 and Chief of Staff of Anti-aircraft warfare and the Bulgarian Air Force between 1969-1972. Also, he was the Chief Inspector for both Anti-aircraft warfare and the Bulgarian Air Force between 1974 and 1985 in the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence. Since his retirement, he has continued with his scientific work.

Milanov took part in Interkosmos, the Russian International space program and successfully helped put the first Bulgarian astronauts into space, Georgi Ivanov and Aleksandr Aleksandrov in 1979.

• The air forces of Bulgaria during the war 1912 - 1945
• Aviation and air travel of Bulgaria during the wars 1912-1945 - Part 2
• Aviation and air travel of Bulgaria during the wars 1912-1945 - Part 3
• Military Space a Quarter of a Century Ago (co-written with Veselin Stoyanov)