Shika Kordonsky
Shika Kordonsky was born in 1915 in the town of Voznesensk (in present-day Odessa Oblast, Ukraine), in a working-class family. After finishing middle school, he completed a professional technical school. These vocational schools operated under the auspices of large industrial enterprises, training skilled workers over a 3-4-year period.
In 1932, Kordonsky moved to Moscow, where he worked as a lathe operator at various factories. In parallel, he studied at a rabfak (workers' faculty), improving his educational level in order to gain admittance to a flight school. He eventually enrolled in the Stalin Naval Air School in Yeisk, from which he graduated in 1937. Kordnosky went on to serve in the air force of the Black Sea Fleet. He started out as an observer pilot in an aviation squadron, and later became a flight navigator.
In late June 1941, at the time of the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, Shika Kordonsky was serving in a mine-torpedo aviation regiment. Thus, on the very first day of the war, Kordonsky carried out his first successful flight mission, sinking an enemy patrol boat.
In 1941-1942, Kordonsky took an active part in bombing raids on ports, oil refineries, and industrial facilities in the territory of Romania.
In September 1942, he was first nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but received the Order of the Red Banner instead.
In 1943, Kordonsky became a squadron navigator, and was promoted to captain. In winter 1943, he was seriously wounded in a dogfight, but managed to land his plane safely. For this, he was awarded another Order of the Red Banner in May 1943.
In late September1943, Shika Kordonsky led an air squadron to the Romanian port of Constanța. During the successful bombing of an enemy vessel, the plane carrying the commander Shio Bidzinashvili and the navigator Shika Kordonsky was hit by an anti-aircraft shell. Commander Bidzinashvili then crashed the burning airplane into the deck of another ship, destroying both the ship and the aircraft.
Captain Shika Kordonsky was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union only in 1990. His widow received the award in his name.
