Two-time Soviet Air Force commander who led its transformation into the jet and nuclear age
At Kuban, Vershinin massed aviation on the decisive axis against prevailing doctrine — the ace Pokryshkin called his fighter conferences 'unheard of in the first two years of war.'
A military commander who served two terms as C-in-C of the Soviet Air Forces (1946–1949, 1957–1969), reshaping Soviet air power into a jet and nuclear-capable strategic arm. Born into a peasant family, he joined the Red Army in 1919, fought in the Civil War, and was transferred to aviation in 1930. In the Great Patriotic War he commanded the 4th Air Army, pioneering the massing of frontline aviation on the decisive axis during the Kuban air battles and winning the title Hero of the Soviet Union for the Belorussian offensive. After the war he led the Air Force's transition to jets and created its first nuclear bomber unit, was abruptly demoted in 1949, then restored by Khrushchev in 1957, completing the build-up of Soviet strategic aviation before retiring in 1969.
Activities and affiliations
- 1941–1942 Military command · Soviet Union · Military and defence
Career Timeline
- 1941–1942Commander, Air Forces of the Southern Front
- 1942–1943Commander, 4th Air Army
- 1943Commander, Air Forces of the North Caucasus Front
- 1943–1945Commander, 4th Air Army (second term)
- 1946–1949C-in-C of the Soviet Air Forces · Dep. Minister of Defence
- 1953–1954Commander, PVO Forces of the USSR
- 1957–1969C-in-C of the Soviet Air Forces · Dep. Minister of Defence (second term)
- 1969–1973Inspector, Group of Inspectors General, Ministry of Defence
Related historical events
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign InterventionRed Army infantry officerHe joined the Red Army in 1919 and fought in the Civil War.
- 1941–1945The Great Patriotic WarCommander, 4th Air ArmyHe pioneered the massing of frontline aviation on the decisive axis during the Kuban air battles, winning air superiority, and earned the title Hero of the Soviet Union for the Belorussian offensive. After the war, as C-in-C of the Air Force, he led the transition to jet aviation.
The 1947 nuclear bomber order and the end of his first command
When Vershinin took over after the Second World War, his task was to convert the wartime frontline air force into a jet-equipped, nuclear-capable arm. Appointed C-in-C of the Air Forces and Deputy Minister of Defence in March 1946, he directed the re-equipment of the air force with jet aircraft and was made Marshal of Aviation on 3 June 1946. The move toward nuclear armament did not stop there. On 10 November 1947, two and a half months after the defence minister's instruction, he signed the order creating a nuclear bomber unit within long-range aviation, based at the 71st test range. This was the first aviation formation organized specifically for the nuclear delivery mission. He did not see the reorganization through. In September 1949 he was unexpectedly removed from his post and appointed commander of the Baku air defence district. The demotion from C-in-C to a regional air defence command marked the start of several years of reassignment: commander of the 57th Air Army from February to September 1950, then of the 24th Air Army of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany from 1950 to 1951. The two tasks of his first term, the jet transition and the nuclear bomber force, continued after he left the post.