Emil Nikolayevich Spiridonov () (26 September 1925 – 7 February 1981) was an officer of the Soviet Navy. He rose to the rank of admiral and was commander of the Pacific Fleet, before his death in the 1981 Pushkin Tu-104 crash, which also killed many of the Fleet's senior officers.
Born in 1925, Spiridonov's early studies were interrupted by the Second World War, and he joined the navy. His early service was spent in submarines in the Pacific Fleet, where he distinguished himself and advanced through the ranks. Transferred to the Northern Fleet, he took command of his own boat, a Project 629-type ballistic missile submarine, before being advanced to command divisions and squadrons of submarines. Praised for his approach to training, he took courses at the Naval Academy, and was promoted to flag rank. Returning to the Pacific Fleet, he moved up the chain of command, garnering awards and plaudits, and eventually becoming deputy commander of the fleet. After assisting in a difficult rescue operation of a stricken submarine, he was finally appointed commander of the Pacific Fleet.
While returning to the fleet base at Vladivostok, the transport plane he and many other of the fleet's senior officers were travelling in crashed just after takeoff outside Pushkin. There were no survivors. He was buried at the Serafimovskoe Cemetery in then-Leningrad, where a memorial was erected to those killed in the crash. He was honoured after his death with memorial plaques, and a street in Vladivostok and an Udaloy-class destroyer Admiral Spiridonov were named for him.
Early life
Emil Spiridonov was born on 26 September 1925 in the town of Makaryev, , Soviet Union. He initially studied at secondary school No. 4 in Frunze, Kyrgyz SSR, graduating in 1940 and attending the Kyrgyz Land Management and Technical College. His studies were interrupted by the German invasion of the Soviet Union. With the college's closure in November 1941, Spiridonov enrolled at Kiev Naval Special School No. 5 that December, and joined the navy after graduating in September 1942. He took the preparatory course at the in Baku, and studied at the M.V. Frunze Naval School in Leningrad between 1943 and 1947.
Early postings
From 1948 until 1949 Spiridonov served as a navigator aboard the submarine M-2, of the 6th division of the 2nd submarine squadron of the Pacific Fleet, then based at Nakhodka Bay. On 19 December 1949 he was transferred to the Shch-125 of the 1st submarine squadron, being promoted to senior lieutenant on 19 December 1950. On 8 January 1952 he took the Higher Special Officer Classes for submariners at Vladivostok, graduating in October 1952. He was then assigned to the Shch-22, part of the 123rd squadron of the 40th Submarine Division of the Pacific Fleet. On 9 May 1953 he was appointed to the S-165, a Project 613-type submarine then under construction. Advanced to captain lieutenant on 14 September 1953 with the completion of the S-165, Spiridonov was assigned to the Northern Fleet from 25 June 1954, joining the 297th squadron of the 33rd submarine division.
Command
Impressing his commander, Spiridonov was appointed assistant commander of the S-165 on 9 July, and on 13 November 1954 he became senior assistant commander on the S-44, of the 96th submarine squadron. On 5 November 1956 he was promoted to captain 3rd rank and on 25 November given his first command, the S-185. Impressing his superiors over the next two years he spent in command, he was earmarked for further promotions. On 6 September 1958 he was appointed commander of the Project 629-type ballistic missile submarine B-41, then under construction at Severodvinsk. While B-41 was nearing completion, Spiridonov sailed on a long distance voyage aboard the Project AB611-type submarine B-78, serving as second in command under Captain 2nd rank V. V. Gorontsov. During the voyage Spiridonov familiarised himself with the new type of submarines, and carried out tests of the R-11FM ballistic missile system.