Anatoly Yakovlevich Brandys was born on August 12, 1923, in the city of Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro, Ukraine) into a working-class family. After completing high school, he joined the Red Army in June 1941, just as the Great Patriotic War began.
Brandys graduated from the Perm Military Pilot School in 1943. His deployment to the front of the Great Patriotic War began in August 1943 on the Southern Front, where he received his baptism by fire. His first combat sortie was as part of a group assaulting a column of enemy tanks from the “Dead Head” division. He fought in the skies over Melitopol, Crimea, Belarus, Lithuania, and East Prussia.
A Decorated War Hero
As deputy commander of the 75th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment (1st Guards Assault Aviation Division, 8th Air Army, 4th Ukrainian Front), Guards Senior Lieutenant Brandys had completed 128 combat sorties by the end of August 1944. His targets included airfields, railway junctions, and concentrations of enemy military equipment and personnel. He personally destroyed 16 enemy aircraft on the ground.
On February 23, 1945, Anatoly Yakovlevich Brandys was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, along with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. As a squadron commander of the same regiment, but now with the 1st Air Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Brandys conducted an additional 99 combat sorties by April 15, 1945, destroying 8 more enemy aircraft on the ground. For his continued heroism, he was awarded a second Gold Star medal on June 29, 1945.
Post-War Career and Legacy
After the war, Brandys continued his military education, graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1950 and the General Staff Military Academy in 1959. He went on to teach at military educational institutions and earned the degree of Candidate of Military Sciences. In 1985, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General of Aviation before retiring in 1986.
Anatoly Brandys passed away on March 23, 1988, and was buried in Kuntsevo Cemetery in Moscow. He was a highly decorated pilot, receiving the Order of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, four Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Alexander Nevsky, two Orders of the Patriotic War 1st degree, the Order of the Red Star, and numerous medals. In his honor, a bronze bust was erected in Dnipro.