RBTH: Alexander Pokryshkin: The air ace who terrorised the Luftwaffe
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Alexander Pokryshkin
Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin was a Soviet fighter pilot in World War II, and later a marshal of aviation. He was one of the highest-scoring Soviet aces, and the highest-scoring pilot ever to fly an American aircraft, having achieved the great majority of his kills in the Lend-Lease Bell P-39 Airacobra. During the war Pokryshkin earned the title Hero of the Soviet Union three times: 24 May 1943,…
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politics · Soviet fighter ace of the Second World War (1913–1985) · aircraft pilot · fighter pilot · politician · also Alexander Pokryshkin, Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin, Pokryshkin
Born 6 March 1913 · Died 13 November 1985 · Q159582
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2014· 1 entry
1986· 1 entry
Oleg Levchenko claimed that Pokryshkin in fact shot down 94 enemy aircraft, damaged 19 and destroyed three more on the ground, and said that no less than 15 victories scored in 1941 were not taken into account, because t
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1985· 2 entries
Died 1985-11-13.
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Awarded Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class (1985).
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1983· 1 entry
Awarded Order of Lenin (1983).
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1978· 2 entries
Won Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (1978).
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Awarded Order of Lenin (1978).
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1975· 2 entries
Won Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1975).
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Awarded Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class (1975).
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1973· 1 entry
Awarded Order of the October Revolution (1973).
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1970· 1 entry
Won Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (1970).
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1968· 1 entry
Became Deputy Chief of the Air Defense Forces
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1967· 2 entries
Won Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (1967).
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Awarded Order of Lenin (1967).
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1965· 1 entry
Won Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1965).
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1964· 1 entry
Won Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands" (1964).
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1963· 1 entry
Awarded Order of Lenin (1963).
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1957· 3 entries
Won Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (1957).
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Graduated from the General Staff Academy
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Studied at Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (1957).
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1955· 1 entry
Awarded Order of the Red Star (1955).
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1953· 1 entry
Awarded Order of the Red Banner (1953).
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1951· 1 entry
Won Medal "In Commemoration of the 800th Anniversary of Moscow" (1951).
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1948· 3 entries
Won Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy" (1948).
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Graduated from the Frunze Military Academy
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Studied at M.V. Frunze Military Academy (1948).
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1947· 1 entry
Awarded Order of the Red Star (1947).
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1946· 1 entry
Career landmark: deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (1946–1984).
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1945· 6 entries
Won Medal "For the Capture of Berlin" (1945).
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Won Medal "For the Liberation of Prague" (1945).
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Won Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1945).
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Awarded Order of Suvorov, 2nd class (1945).
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Won Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1945).
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Made a part of the 9th Guards Division, making it a four-regiment division
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1944· 6 entries
Won Gold Star medal (1944).
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Awarded Hero of the Soviet Union (1944).
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Won Medal "For Battle Merit" (1944).
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Won Medal "For the Defence of the Caucasus" (1944).
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Found an aircraft that he deemed a worthy heir: the Lavochkin La-7
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Was apparently given a La-5FN for his personal use, pending the hoped-for Lavochkin conversion of the entire unit
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1943· 4 entries
Awarded Order of the Red Banner (1943).
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Awarded Order of Lenin (1943).
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Won Gold Star medal (1943).
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Awarded Hero of the Soviet Union (1943).
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1941· 1 entry
Awarded Order of Lenin (1941).
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1939· 2 entries
And with the rank of senior lieutenant he was assigned to the 55th Fighter Regiment
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Studied at Kacha Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots (1938–1939).
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1930· 1 entry
Despite his father's protests, he left home and entered a local technical college, where he received a degree in 18 months and worked for six more as a steel worker at a local munitions factory
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1928· 1 entry
After seven years of school, he found work as a construction worker
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1913· 1 entry
Born 1913-03-06.
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