Soviet Union
Polkovnik Valentin Yakovlevich Dodonov
Soviet Union
Polkovnik Valentin Yakovlevich Dodonov
1910 –
| Date | Decoration | Note |
| 14/11/38 | Order of the Red Banner | 1st |
| 28/04/43 | Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd Class | |
| 01/08/44 | Order of the Red Banner | 2nd |
| 14/10/44 | Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class | |
| 03/11/44 | Order of the Red Star | |
| 21/02/45 | Order of the Red Banner | 3rd |
| 29/05/45 | Order of Kutuzov, 2nd Class | |
| 20/06/49 | Order of the Red Banner | 4th |
| 30/04/54 | Order of Lenin |
Valentin Dodonov was born in 1910.
He graduated from the flight school in Odessa in 1930.
Starshiy leitenant Dodonov served as a volunteer in the Sino-Japanese war between January 1938 and August 1938.
Between February-July 1938, he claimed a Japanese A5M (reported as a ”I-96”) while flying a Polikarpov I-15bis. The claim was most probably made in the Hankow area.
During his time in China, he flew 52 hours and was involved in 4 air combats.
Major Dodonov served as CO of 287 IAP between April 1941 and 10 September 1942.
In September 1942, he was posted to the staff of 288 IAD where he remained just for one month, being posted to the staff of 226 SAD in October.
He was then posted to the staff of 269 IAD in December 1942, where he remained until the end of the war.
Polkovnik Dodonov ended the war with 1 biplane victory and a total of 2.
During the Second World War, he had flown 158 combat missions.
Claims:
| Kill no. | Date | Time | Number | Type | Result | Plane type | Serial no. | Locality | Unit |
| 1938 | |||||||||
| 1 | ??/??/38 (a) | 1 | A5M | Destroyed | I-15bis | China | |||
| 1945 | |||||||||
| 2 | 22/02/45 | 1 | Bf 109 | Destroyed | Yak-9, Yak-3 | 269 IAD |
Biplane victories: 1 destroyed.
TOTAL: 2 destroyed.
(a) Claimed between February-July 1938.
Sources:
All aces of Stalin 1936-1953 – Mikhail Bykov, 2014
Soviet Aces 1936-1953
Soviet Fighter Pilots 1936-1953 - Mikhail Bykov
