In 1931 the family moved to the Moscow area, and in 1940 he completed his ninth grade of school in addition to graduating from the local aeroclub.

[3] On 7 November 1944 he was credited with shooting down of three USAAF P-38 Lightnings of the 82nd Fighter Group in a 'friendly fire' incident near Belgrade during the air battle over Niš.

[3][6] By the end of the war, he had flown 412 sorties, fought in 96 aerial engagements, gained one shared shootdown and 46 solo victories.

In 1977 he was promoted to Marshal of Aviation and the following year Koldunov was appointed to command the entire Air Defence Force.

[8] Koldunov was dismissed in May 1987 after Mathias Rust, a civilian German pilot flew from Finland to Moscow and landed nearby the Red Square.