Pyotr Mikhailovich Petrov (; 16 January 1910 23 November 1941) was a

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 ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

, and a

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 ...

. Petrov fought in the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

and was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for landing his Polikarpov I-15bis on a frozen lake under fire to rescue a downed pilot. During the Winter War he claimed several victories. Petrov became commander of the 254th Fighter Aviation Regiment and led it during the first months after the

German invasion of the Soviet Union 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 ...

. Petrov claimed about ten German aircraft until he was killed on 23 November 1941 when his

Polikarpov I-16 The Polikarpov I-16 (russian: Поликарпов И-16) is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain ope ...

was shot down by friendly fire.

Early life and Interwar

Petrov was born on 16 January 1910 in

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population ...

to a working-class family. He graduated from seven classes at Railway School No. 9 and worked as a mechanic at the rail depot of Petrozavodsk station. He became a

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...

member. Petrov was drafted into 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, after ...

on a

Komsomol direction The Komsomol direction () or Komsomol travel ticket was a mobilization document of in the Soviet Union issued by a Komsomol committee to a Komsomol member, which directed the member to temporary or permanent shock construction projects or militar ...

in 1929. He entered the Leningrad Air Force Flight-Technical School, after which he served as a mechanic in the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military Di ...

Air Force. In 1932, he joined the

Communist Party of the 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 1936, he graduated from the

Borisoglebsk Borisoglebsk (russian: Борисогле́бск) is a town in Voronezh Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vorona River near its confluence with the Khopyor. Population: 65,000 (1969). History Borisoglebsk was founded in 164 ...

Military Aviation School and became a squadron commander.

Winter War and World War II

Petrov became commander of the 3rd Squadron of the 68th Fighter Aviation Regiment in the

. He made several victory claims during the war. On 17 February 1940, on Lake Muola-Jarvi, pilot N. Kosichkin was shot down and crash landed on the ice. Petrov landed and strapped Kosichkin to the skis of his I-15bis under Finnish fire. When Petrov landed at his base, there were about 100 holes in the fuselage of his plane. On 7 April 1940, Petrov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and 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 b ...

, becoming the first person born in

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...

to receive the distinction. Petrov became commander of the

-equipped 254th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 36th Aviation Division, part of the Air Force of the Southwestern Front. He led the regiment after the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Due to a lack of airplanes, the pilots of the regiment made seven to eight sorties a day. During an air battle over

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, Petrov was attacked by six

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

s and was wounded in the shoulder. In the engagement, he was able to shoot down one of them. By November 1941, Petrov had claimed around ten personal and shared victories. On 23 November 1941, Petrov was shot down and killed by friendly antiaircraft fire near Urazovo. He was buried in the village. Petrov was posthumously awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

on 29 December 1941.

Legacy

A street in Petrozavodsk was named for Petrov. On 8 May 2009 a plaque was placed in the Petrozavodsk station rail depot.

Personal life

Petrov married Galina Semyonovna and had a son, Anatoly, who later became a Soviet Air Force lieutenant colonel.

References

1910 births 1941 deaths Soviet Air Force officers Soviet World War II flying aces Military personnel killed by friendly fire Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner People from Petrozavodsk Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Aviators killed by being shot down Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Friendly fire incidents of World War II {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrov, Pyotr Mikhailovich