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Ivan Gnezdilov

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Ivan Fedorovich Gnezdilov (Russian: Иван Фёдорович Гнездилов; June 17, 1922, Shchelokovo village, Kursk Governorate - January 14, 1990, Riga) was a Soviet fighter ace pilot, participant in the Great Patriotic War and the Korean War, a colonel and a Hero of the Soviet Union (August 19, 1944).

Biography

Ivan Gnezdilov was born on June 17, 1922 in the village of Shchelokovo (now part of the Shakhovsky rural settlement, Prokhorovsky district, Belgorod region) into a family of workers. He graduated from ten classes of high school. In 1940 he completed his studies at the Belgorod flying club. In July 1940 he was called up for service in the Red Army. In 1941, Gnezdilov graduated from the Chuguev Military Aviation Pilot School.

Since January 1942, Senior Sergeant Gnezdilov took part in the Great Patriotic War. He was a pilot of the 162nd Fighter Aviation Regiment. He flew on the plane "Yak-1".

In May 1942, Gnezdilov was transferred to the 516th Fighter Aviation Regiment, where he fought for the remainder of the war. In February 1944, the regiment was awarded the rank of guards. The regiment was named the 153rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. In this regiment, Ivan Gnezdilov participated in the battles on the Western, Voronezh, Steppe, 2nd and 1st Ukrainian fronts. He took part in the fighting on the Western Front in 1942, the Battle of Kursk, the Battle of the Dnieper, the Nizhnedneprovsk, Uman-Botoshani, Lvov-Sandomierz, Vistula-Oder, Lower Silesian, Upper Silesian, Berlin operations.

By February 25, 1944, Gnezdilov was deputy squadron commander of the 153rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 12th Guards Fighter Aviation Division of the 1st Guards Attack Air Corps of the 5th Air Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In total, Senior Lieutenant Ivan Gnezdilov made 245 sorties, took part in 67 air battles, shooting down 17 aircraft personally and 1 in a group[1].

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 19, 1944, for "exemplary performance of the combat missions of the command, courage, courage and heroism shown in the fight against the German invaders," Senior Lieutenant Ivan Gnezdilov was awarded the title of a Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal number 4279[1].

By the end of the war, Captain Gnezdilov became a squadron commander. He made 376 sorties, took part in 86 air battles, destroying 18 aircraft personally and 5 in the group[2]. However, according to the latest award list for the war, Ivan Gnezdilov shot down 19 aircraft personally and 4 in a group. In the early studies of M. Yu. Bykov, 21 personal and 3 group victories of the ace were indicated[3]. N. Bodrikhin indicates the same number of victories[4], and in his first book on this topic, which became one of the first domestic works on Russian aces, it was stated that he personally shot down 24 aircraf[5].

After the war, he continued to serve in the Soviet Army. In 1945 he graduated from the Higher Flight Tactical Courses for Air Force Officers.

Gnezdilov participated in the Korean War as a squadron commander of the 676th Fighter Aviation Regiment (216th Fighter Aviation Division, 64th Fighter Aviation Corps). He was at the front from July 1952 to July 1953. He flew a MiG-15 jet fighter. On September 14, 1952, he shot down an American F-86 Saber fighter. In 1959 he completed advanced training courses for officers. In March 1961, Guards Colonel Gnezdilov retired.

He lived in Riga, worked as the flight director of the Riga airport, the head of the emergency rescue service of the Latvian Civil Aviation Administration. He died on January 14, 1990, was buried in Riga at the Mikel cemetery[1].

A street in the village of Prokhorovka was named after Gnezdilov.[citation needed]

Awards

Sources

  • Герои Советского Союза: Краткий биографический словарь / Пред. ред. коллегии И. Н. Шкадов. — М.: Воениздат, 1987. — Т. 1 /Абаев — Любичев/. — 911 с. — 100 000 экз. — ISBN отс., Рег. № в РКП 87-95382
  • Бодрихин Н. Г. Советские асы. — М., 1998.
  • Быков М. Ю. Асы Великой Отечественной. — М.: Эксмо: Яуза, 2007.
  • Герои-белгородцы. — 2-е изд. — Воронеж, 1972.
  • Ратная доблесть Белгородцев: Герои Советского Союза и полные кавалеры ордена Славы. – Белгород, 1995. – С. 175-176.
  • Сейдов И. Советские асы Корейской войны. — М., 2010.
  • Энциклопедия Государственного военно-исторического музея-заповедника «Прохоровское поле». – М.: Фонд «Народная память», 2003. – С. 60-61.
  • Белгородская энциклопедия. – Белгород: Издательство областной типографии, 2000. – С. 114.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Ivan Gnezdilov on the site warheroes.ru
  2. ^ Award list of Ivan Gnezdilov on the site pamyat-naroda.ru.
  3. ^ Быков М. Ю. Асы Великой Отечественной. Самые результативные летчики 1941—1945 гг.: Справочник. — М.: Яуза, Эксмо, 2007.
  4. ^ Бодрихин Н. Г. Великие советские асы : 100 историй о героических боевых летчиках. — Москва: ЛитРес, 2011.
  5. ^ Бодрихин Н. Г. Советские асы. — Москва: ЗАО КФК "ТАМП", 1998.

External links

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