Leonid Goncharov

Born Feb. 19 (Mar. 3), 1885, in Kronstadt; died May 25, 1948, in Leningrad. Soviet scientist, specialist in naval tactics, vice admiral (1940), doctor of naval sciences (1941), professor (1927), Honored Scientist and Engineer of the RSFSR (1944).

In 1903, Goncharov graduated from the Naval Cadet School. He served in the Baltic Fleet and took part in the Russo-Japanese War on the cruiser Rion. He graduated from the Artillery Officers’ Class (1909) and the Naval Academy (1912), and subsequently taught at the academy. He fought in World War 1(1914–18), served on the staff of the Baltic Fleet, commanded a destroyer, and in 1917 became a captain first class. In July 1917, Goncharov became a department head in the Naval General Staff. From 1918 he was a professor at the Naval Academy. In 1920 he was the head of the combined classes of the command personnel of the navy and the head of the department (from 1923, the subdepartment) of weaponry of the Naval Academy. Beginning in 1930 Goncharov was head of the subdepartment of tactical properties of combat resources. He was the author of works on combat resources and various types of weapons. He was awarded the State Prize of the USSR in 1943. He was also awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of the Red Star, and medals.