Aleksey Frolovich Solomatin (russian: Алексе́й Фро́лович Солома́тин; 12 February 1921 21 May 1943) was a squadron commander and flying ace in the Soviet Air Forces during World War II who was awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

Life

Solomatin was born on 12 February 1921, in Bunakovo-2 village, Ferikovsky District, Kaluga Oblast, in a large peasant family. He joined the Army in 1939, attending the Kacha Military Air College. When the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

broke out, he was serving with the 160th Reserve Aviation Regiment near

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Later he was transferred close to

Krivoy Rog Kryvyi Rih ( uk, Криви́й Ріг , lit. "Curved Bend" or "Crooked Horn"), also known as Krivoy Rog (Russian: Кривой Рог) is the largest city in central Ukraine, the 7th most populous city in Ukraine and the 2nd largest by area. Kr ...

, in the 296 IAP (296th Fighter Regiment), 268th Aviation Division, 8th Army Air, Southern Front. On 9 March 1942, he took part in a famed air combat that had extensive coverage in Soviet media. Boris Eryomin, commander of second squadron of 296th Regiment, led Solomatin and five more pilots, flying the

Yakovlev Yak-1 The Yakovlev Yak-1 (russian: Яковлев Як-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978 ...

fighter, to attack a large

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

formation: 12

Messerschmitt Bf 109E Due to the Messerschmitt Bf 109's versatility and time in service with the German and foreign air forces, numerous variants were produced in Germany to serve for over eight years with the Luftwaffe. Additional variants were produced abroad tota ...

s carrying bombs, seven Junkers Ju 88 bombers and six more escorting Bf 109s. The Yakovlev pilots claimed seven kills for no losses. Solomatin's Yak-1 was damaged but he managed to remain in the fight till the end Mellinger 2005, p. 22. and was credited with the destruction of a Bf 109.Mellinger 2005, p. 28. By February 1943 he had claimed 12 individuals and 15 shared kills, in 108 combats and 266 sorties. Then his unit was renamed 73 GvIAP (73rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment) and he was promoted ''Kapitan'' (Captain). While in 73 GvIAP, he often flew with Lidya Litvyak as his wingman. On 1 May 1943, he was awarded the title and Golden Star (no. 955) of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Death

Solomatin was killed on 21 May 1943, when his

crashed in the village of Pavlovka, Rostov Oblast. He was at the time credited with 13 individual air victories and 6 to 16 shared.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * Mellinger, George. ''Yakovlev Aces of World War 2'', Osprey Publishing, 2005. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Soomatin, Aleksey 1921 births 1943 deaths People from Ferzikovsky District People from Kaluzhsky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet Air Force officers Soviet World War II flying aces Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Soviet military personnel killed in World War II