Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
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Aleksandr Pokryshkin
On August 19, 1944, the Soviet Aviator Colonel Aleksandr Iwanowitsch Pokryshkin ...
... awarded the medal and title of "Hero of the Soviet Union" for the third time after 550 missions and 53 victories in the air.
Born in Nowonikolajewsk (now Nowosibirsk) in 1913, Pokryshkin is the first Red Army soldier to receive this award for the third time!
He was awarded for the first time on April 23, 1943...
... and for the second time on August 24, 1943...
Aleksandr Pokryshkin will survive the war and shoot down 156 enemies during a total of 650 sorties.
Towards the end of the war he was appointed commander of the 9th Guard Aviation-Division - but at the same time he was banned from taking off on orders from Stalin - the landlord doesn't want to lose the flying ace ...!
Unusual:
Pokryshkin achieved most of his aerial victories on a US model, the Bell P-39 "Airacobra" ...:
The geometry of the Bell P 39 "Airacobra" made it a highly unusual aircraft for its time:
It didn't have the engine in the front of the bow, but behind the cockpit (the bow was crammed with weapons for that) and a retractable nose wheel, not a tail wheel ...
It was difficult to fly.
US pilots hated this machine and did everything they could to get rid of it. Many cases of willful damage or destruction have been documented.
That is why the machine was delivered to the USSR in large quantities.
The Soviet pilots, on the other hand, loved the P 39 - especially because it could withstand a lot of bullet damage and was delivered equipped with radio.
The P 39 was assigned exclusively to elite formations in the red air force, just like that of Pokryshkin.
During the great victory parade in Moscow on June 24, 1945, Pokryshkin will be honored again:
He is allowed to use the victory banner of the “1. Ukrainian Front" (Commander Marshal Iwan Konjew) carry the troops that had conquered Berlin ...:
Pokryshkin's order "collection" is impressive:
3 times "Hero of the Soviet Union", 5 Lenin orders, Order of the October Revolution, 4 times "Order of the Red Banner", 2 times Ssuvorov Order, Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class, 2 times "Order of the Red Star", as well as 28 other medals and foreign medals, including the US “Medal of Distinguished Service” - plus a dozen battle medals such as “For the conquest of Berlin” etc.
After the war, Pokryshkin will become General and Deputy Commander of the Air Defense Forces of the USSR and a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU...
Pokryshkin will die in Moscow on November 13, 1985 at the age of 72.
He is buried in the Nowodewitschij Cemetery at Moscow ...:
The city of his birth has erected this memorial for him...
... and one of the planes he flew is in a museum in Moscow today ...
On August 19, 1944, the Soviet Aviator Colonel Aleksandr Iwanowitsch Pokryshkin ...
... awarded the medal and title of "Hero of the Soviet Union" for the third time after 550 missions and 53 victories in the air.
Born in Nowonikolajewsk (now Nowosibirsk) in 1913, Pokryshkin is the first Red Army soldier to receive this award for the third time!
He was awarded for the first time on April 23, 1943...
... and for the second time on August 24, 1943...
Aleksandr Pokryshkin will survive the war and shoot down 156 enemies during a total of 650 sorties.
Towards the end of the war he was appointed commander of the 9th Guard Aviation-Division - but at the same time he was banned from taking off on orders from Stalin - the landlord doesn't want to lose the flying ace ...!
Unusual:
Pokryshkin achieved most of his aerial victories on a US model, the Bell P-39 "Airacobra" ...:
The geometry of the Bell P 39 "Airacobra" made it a highly unusual aircraft for its time:
It didn't have the engine in the front of the bow, but behind the cockpit (the bow was crammed with weapons for that) and a retractable nose wheel, not a tail wheel ...
It was difficult to fly.
US pilots hated this machine and did everything they could to get rid of it. Many cases of willful damage or destruction have been documented.
That is why the machine was delivered to the USSR in large quantities.
The Soviet pilots, on the other hand, loved the P 39 - especially because it could withstand a lot of bullet damage and was delivered equipped with radio.
The P 39 was assigned exclusively to elite formations in the red air force, just like that of Pokryshkin.
During the great victory parade in Moscow on June 24, 1945, Pokryshkin will be honored again:
He is allowed to use the victory banner of the “1. Ukrainian Front" (Commander Marshal Iwan Konjew) carry the troops that had conquered Berlin ...:
Pokryshkin's order "collection" is impressive:
3 times "Hero of the Soviet Union", 5 Lenin orders, Order of the October Revolution, 4 times "Order of the Red Banner", 2 times Ssuvorov Order, Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class, 2 times "Order of the Red Star", as well as 28 other medals and foreign medals, including the US “Medal of Distinguished Service” - plus a dozen battle medals such as “For the conquest of Berlin” etc.
After the war, Pokryshkin will become General and Deputy Commander of the Air Defense Forces of the USSR and a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU...
Pokryshkin will die in Moscow on November 13, 1985 at the age of 72.
He is buried in the Nowodewitschij Cemetery at Moscow ...:
The city of his birth has erected this memorial for him...
... and one of the planes he flew is in a museum in Moscow today ...
