Pavel Zhigarev
| Pavel Fedorovich Zhigarev | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
September 6, 1900 Brikovo, Tver Oblast |
| Died | August 2, 1963 (aged 62) Moscow |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union |
| Service/branch | Soviet Air Forces |
| Years of service | 1922–1963 |
| Rank | Chief Marshal of Aviation |
| Commands held | Soviet Air Forces |
| Battles/wars | Great Patriotic War, Soviet-Japanese War (1945) |
| Awards |
Order of Lenin (twice) |
Order of Lenin (twice)
Order of the Red Banner (three times)
Order of Kutuzov First Class
Order of the Red Star
Pavel Fedorovich Zhigarev (Па́вел Фёдорович Жи́гарев; November 6, 1900 – August 2, 1963) was the commander-in-chief of the Soviet Air Forces (VVS) twice (1941–42, 1949–57), and also served as the Chief Marshal of Aviation from 1955–59.
Zhigarev was born on November 6, 1900, to a poor peasant family in the village of Brikovo, located in present-day Tver Oblast. He attended Cavalry School, graduating in 1922. He then turned to the Air Force, graduating from Military Pilot School in 1927 and the N. E. Zhukovskii Air Force Academy in 1932.
In 1937, Zhigarev became the commander of 52nd Light Bomber Aviation Brigade, his first major command position. From 1937–38, he was also the Deputy Military Attaché to China. Zhigarev then served as the Head of the Directorate for Combat Training of the Air Force in the People's Commissariat of Defence from 1938 to 1939. In 1939 Zhigarev was promoted to the position of Commanding Officer of the 2nd Separate Red Banner Army Air Forces, and then to Commanding Officer of the Far Eastern Front Air Forces a year later.
Before the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War Zhigarev served as First Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the Air Force in the People's Commissariat of Defence. He was then promoted to become its Head in 1941, as well as simultaneously holding the positions of Commander in Chief of the Air Force and Deputy People's Commissar of Defence. As Commander of the Air Force, he was also a member of the Supreme Military Council of the Red Army.
Zhigarev's promotion to the position of Commander of the Air Force was largely due to the elimination of high-ranking officers in the Great Purge. The Air Force, or VVS as it was then called, suffered particularly badly in the Purge, and Zhigarev's three predecessors (Aleksandr Loktionov, Yakov Smushkevich, and Pavel Rychagov) were all executed in 1941 by the NKVD for perceived military failures.
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