Nikolai Naumovich Kirtok (russian: link=no, Николай Наумович Кирток; uk, Микола Наумович Кирток; 6 December 1920 – 25 September 2022) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

pilot who served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Kirtok flew 210 missions, mainly as a pilot of an attack aircraft, and in the summer of 1945, received the title of

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 ...

Early life

Kirtok was born on 6 December 1920 in the village of Marynivka in Mykolaiv Oblast of

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

, into a peasant family of Ukrainian ethnicity. During his childhood, he lived in Odessa and graduated from the ninth grade of school. He later worked as a locksmith at the plant named after the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

in Odessa. From 1938, he simultaneously worked at a flying club in Odessa.

Military career

World War II

In 1939, he was drafted into the ranks of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

. Following the outbreak of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

on 22 June 1941, together with the aviation school, he was evacuated to the city of

Jizzakh , image_caption = , image_seal = Jizzax gerb.png , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Uzbekistan , pushpin_label_position = bottom , pushpin_map_caption = L ...

Uzbek SSR Uzbekistan (, ) is the common English name for the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR; uz, Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси, Oʻzbekiston Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikasi, in Russian: Уз ...

. In 1942, he graduated from the Tambov Military Aviation Pilot School. He served in the 43rd Reserve Aviation Regiment of the 1st Reserve Aviation Brigade in the

Red Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

. Kirtok began flying missions in the

Ilyushin Il-2 The Ilyushin Il-2 ( Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (Cyrillic: штурмовик), the generic Russian term ...

attack aircraft as part of the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...

and 5th Air Armies of the Steppe, 1st Ukrainian and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts. He joined the

Communist Party of Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

in 1943. He flew missions as a pilot and flight commander of the 66th Assault Aviation Regiment and the 140th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment. In October 1944, he was transferred as a squadron commander to the 143rd Guards Attack Aviation Regiment. He received his baptism of fire at the battles of Kursk and

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...

in 1943. Kirtok later flew missions in the Dnieper-Carpathian, Lvov-Sandomierz and Vistula-Oder offensives. He distinguished himself during the Battle of Berlin in 1945, when he twice led a group of Il-2s to destroy enemy artillery and mortar positions on the southwestern outskirts of Berlin on 24 April. With a well-aimed air strike, the group managed to successfully destroy four artillery batteries. During the period from 27 July 1943 to 11 May 1945, Kirtok made 210 successful sorties in the face of strong opposition from German anti-aircraft artillery and fighter aircraft. According to his combat account, he destroyed and damaged 38 enemy

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

s and

armored personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Ac ...

s, 54 vehicles, 7 fuel tanks, 1 ammunition train and 6 anti-aircraft artillery batteries. During aerial battles, he was credited with 1 solo and 4 shared aerial shootdowns of enemy aircraft. He was appointed squadron commander of the 143rd Guards Assault Aviation Regiment on 10 May 1945. On 24 June 1945, he took part in the

Victory Parade A victory parade is a parade held to celebrate a victory. Numerous military and sport victory parades have been held. Military victory parades Among the most famous parades are the victory parades celebrating the end of the First World War a ...

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. By the decree of the Presidium of the

Supreme Soviet of the USSR The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...

of 27 June 1945, for the exemplary performance of the command's combat missions to destroy enemy manpower and equipment and the courage and heroism of the guards shown at the same time, Senior Lieutenant Kirtok was awarded the title of

with the award of the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

and the Gold Star medal.

Post war

After the war, he continued to serve in the

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

, commanding the 143rd Guards Assault Aviation Regiment until May 1946. After graduating from the

Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air for ...

in 1951, Kirtok served at the Air Force Scientific Testing Institute as head of the tactical aircraft testing department. From 1954 to 1976, he served in the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. He attained the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in 1957. From February 1976, Kirtok was transferred to the reserves.

Later life and death

After his retirement from the military, he worked as a design engineer at the A.S. Yakovlev Design Bureau in the late 1970s and 1980s. Kirtok resided in Moscow. On 6 December 2020, he turned 100 years old. Kirtok died on 25 September 2022, at the age of 101.

Awards and decorations

His awards include: *jubilee medals

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirtok, Nikolai 1920 births 2022 deaths Russian people of Ukrainian descent Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Medal of Zhukov Soviet colonels Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet World War II pilots Men centenarians Russian centenarians Russian aerospace engineers People from Mykolaiv Oblast