Nikolai Mikhailovich Skomorochow
Nikolai Mikhailovich Skomorochow ( Russian Николай Михайлович Скоморохов ; born May 6 . Jul / 19th May 1920 greg. In Lapot (now Belogorskoje, Saratov Oblast ); † 14. October 1994 in Moscow ) was a Soviet fighter pilot .
Life
Nikolai Skomorokhov grew up in Astrakhan . In 1940 he became a Komsomolze and began basic aviation training as a member of an aero club. In the autumn of the same year he was drafted into the Red Army . In 1942 he graduated from the flying school in Bataisk and was transferred to the southern section of the German-Soviet front as a fighter pilot in November , where he flew a La-5 . Skomorochow could not record any successes in the first time. His first shooting down of a German aircraft, a Fw 190 , took place more than six months later on June 14, 1943 near Tuapse . In the period that followed, his shooting figures soared. At the end of the war Skomorochow had completed 605 combat flights, there were 143 air battles in which he shot down 46 aircraft, eight more were awarded to him as group victories. This makes him one of the most successful allied fighter pilots of the Second World War . Skomorochow served in the 31st IAP (Fighter Pilot Regiment) and rose to the rank of captain from simple aviator to squadron leader by the end of the war. His regiment took part in the fighting in Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Hungary. One of his greatest successes was the downing of two bombers and a fighter plane during a mission at Tata in Hungary. He also destroyed three aircraft in an aerial battle shortly before the end of the war, with his formation consisting of six machines downing a total of eight aircraft.
Skomorokhov was honored for the first time as Hero of the Soviet Union on February 28, 1945 , a second time he received the title of Major and Squadron Leader in the 31st IAP on August 18, 1945.
After the war he continued his military career and rose to regimental and division commander. In 1949 he graduated from the Frunze Military Academy . In 1958 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff . In 1971 he became an Honored Military Aviator of the USSR . In August 1973 he was appointed commander of the Air Force Military Academy . In 1981 Skomorokhov received the title of Marshal of the Aviators .
In the course of his career he was a deputy to the Supreme Soviet several times . He received the Order of Lenin , the Order of the Red Banner five times and is the author of two books. Nikolai Skomorokhov was killed in a car accident in Moscow. His grave is in the Novodevichy Cemetery .
literature
- Wilfried Copenhagen : Lexicon Soviet Aviation . Elbe-Dnjepr, Klitzschen 2007, ISBN 978-3-933395-90-0 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Flieger Revue 1/82, “People” section, p. 9
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Skomorochow, Nikolai Mikhailovich |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Скоморохов, Николай Михайлович (Russian spelling) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | soviet pilot |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 19, 1920 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lapot |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 14, 1994 |
| Place of death | Moscow |