Aleksandr Orel

Biography

Aleksandr Yevstafyevich Oryol (Russian: Александр Евстафьевич Орёл; 25 August 1908 – 20 June 1997) was an officer of the Soviet Navy. He served during the Winter War and the Second World War and reached the rank of admiral.

Born in the Russian Empire in 1908, Oryol had started his career on the water by 1924 aboard river-going merchant vessels, before joining the Red Navy in 1929. After studies and training in naval schools, he served aboard submarines in the Black Sea and Baltic Fleets, rising to command his own submarine by 1937. He then became commander of the Baltic Fleet's 21st Submarine Division, and saw action following the outbreak of the Winter War with Finland in 1939. He was still with the Baltic Fleet when the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union began in June 1941, soon being appointed deputy commander of the Baltic Fleet's submarine brigade. After various staff and headquarters postings, in May 1943, became commander of the 1st Submarine Division, the post he would hold for the rest of the war.

After the war, Oryol was appointed as a technical expert to the Soviet representative office to the Tripartite Naval Commission. Various submarine staff and command positions followed, serving in both the Baltic and Northern Fleets. In May 1955, Oryol became a deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, and head of the Naval General Staff's submarine department, followed by commander of the Northern Fleet's submarine forces. He played an important role in the introduction of nuclear submarines into the navy. In 1959, he was appointed commander of the Baltic Fleet, and in 1967 left the Baltic Fleet to take up the position of head of the Naval Academy. He stepped down in 1974, and became a military consultant of the Group of Inspectors General before his retirement in 1987. He died in 1997, having received numerous honours and awards.