Vladimir Kokkinaki

Vladimir Kokkinaki
Major General of Aviation, V.K. Kokkinaki
Born	12 June 1904 Novorossiysk, Russian Empire
Died	6 January 1985(1985-01-06) (aged 80) Moscow, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Service/branch	Red Air Force
Years of service	1925 - 1966
Rank	Major General of Aviation
Awards

Vladimir Konstantinovich Kokkinaki (Russian: Владимир Константинович Коккинаки, 25 June [O.S. 12 June] 1904 - 6 January 1985) was a test pilot in the Soviet Union, notable for setting twenty-two world records and serving as president of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.

Kokkinaki was born in Novorossiysk on 12 June 1904 (O.S.) to a family of Greek descent. His younger brother, Konstantin Kokkinaki (1910–1990), was also a distinguished test pilot. In 1921 he finished elementary school, and worked on grape plantations and in the Novorossiysk port.

He entered the Red Army in 1925, and served in the infantry until July 1927. He then entered the Leningrad Military-Theoretical School of the Red Air Force, from where he graduated in 1928. He subsequently entered the Borisoglebsk pilot school, from where he graduated in 1930. In April 1931, after a period of service in the 11th Fighter Squadron in the Moscow military district, he was transferred back to the Leningrad Military-Theoretical School as an instructor because of his pilot skills.

In the period 1932-1935 he served as test pilot for the Air Force, testing a series of aircraft. The first aircraft he tested was the attack aircraft Kocherigin-Gurevich TSh-3. Subsequently, he entered the Ilyushin Design Bureau (OKB) as its chief test pilot, where he remained until 1964. Throughout that period, he was the first to test fly all the aircraft of the OKB, including the prototypes of the Ilyushin Il-4 medium bomber, the Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik attack aircraft, the Ilyushin Il-28 jet bomber, and the Ilyushin Il-14 transport aircraft. He became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1938. Promoted to Major General of Aviation in 1943, during the Second World War Kokkinaki served as head of the Main Inspectorate of the People's Commissariat for the Aircraft Industry and as head of its flight-test service between the years 1943-1947. He retired from the Air Force in January 1966, but continued working for OKB Ilyushin in a supervisory capacity with overall responsibility for flight testing, with his last project being the Ilyushin Il-62.