| Vitaly Ivanovich Popkov | |
|---|---|
Vitaly Ivanovich Popkov |
|
| Born | May 1, 1922 |
| Died | June 2, 2010 (aged 88) |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union |
| Years of service | 1940-19?? |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Vitaly Ivanovich Popkov (May 1, 1922, Moscow, Soviet Russia – February 6, 2010, Moscow, Russia, Russian: Виталий Иванович Попков) was a Soviet fighter pilot in the Second World War, an ace credited with 41 victories and a two-time Hero of the Soviet Union.
Popkov joined the Soviet Army in 1940 and graduated from The Chuguevskaya military-aviation school of pilots in 1941. During service over the Crimea, Leningrad and at the battle of Kursk Popkov flew over 400 combat missions and entered 117 air combats, from which he personally claimed 41 enemy aircraft shot down (1 by ramming) and 1 victory shared.
He eventually became commander of 5 GIAP Guards Fighter Regiment, 207th Fighter Aviation Division, 3rd Mixed Aviation Corps (17th Air Army) on the South-Western Front, mainly flying the Lavochkin LaGG-3 La-5, La-5FN, and La-7.
He was also squadron commander (comesqa) of 5 GIAP, 11th Fighter Aviation Division, 2nd Guards Assault Aviation Corps (2nd Air Army) on the 1st Ukrainian Front. Post war he graduated from the Red Banner Air Force Academy in 1951, and then served with the General Staff Academy to 1964, beig promoted to Lt. General of Aviation in 1968. He flew 25 types of aircraft and helicopters during service with the Ministry of Defense, USSR.
He then taught at the Military Engineering Academy until 1980.
His biography became the basis of the 1973 film Only Old Men Are Going to Battle[1] directed by Leonid Bykov as the prototypes of Comesqa Titarenko a.k.a. Maestro (portrayed by L. Bykov himself) and Kuznechik (portrayed by Sergei Ivanov). A bronze bust of Popkov was erected in 1953 in Moscow on Samotechnaya Square.
This article relies on translation from the Russian Wikipedia article ru:Попков, Виталий Иванович.