Vladimir Georgievich Serov (russian: Владимир Георгиевич Серов; 19 July 1922 26 June 1944) was a Soviet fighter pilot and deputy squadron commander in the 159th Fighter Aviation Regiment during World War II who was credited with 39 solo and six shared aerial victories.

Early life

Serov was born on 19 July 1922 to a Russian peasant family in

Kurganinsk Kurganinsk (russian: Курга́нинск) is a town and the administrative center of Kurganinsky District of Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the right bank of the Bolshaya Laba River east of Krasnodar, the administrative center of the kr ...

. After completing his eighth grade of school he trained at an aeroclub and worked as a handyman before entering the military in 1941. That year he graduated from the Krasnodar Military Aviation School of Pilots.

World War II

In April 1942 he was deployed to the warfront with the 159th Fighter Aviation Regiment, and on 30 August that year he gained his first aerial victory - the shared kill of a Bf 109. However, it was not until November that he gained his first solo shootdown - another Bf 109. He went on to gain another shootdown two days later, which turned out to be his last aerial victory on the

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...

. Eventually in May the next year he tallied his first kill on the new La-5, and from then on he quickly increased his tally, often gaining two shootdowns in a day; throughout the

battle of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...

he engaged in intense aerial battles, especially in early 1944. In April 1944 he was nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union for completing 203 sorties, engaging in 53 dogfights, and tallying 20 solo plus six shared shootdowns. However, being awarded the title posthumously in August rapidly increased his tally during the intense battle for the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...

. Accounts of his last flight differ - some sources claims he shot down two enemy aircraft before fatally ramming another, but those claims are not reflected in his official tally, which indicates the shootdown of one Bf 109 on 26 June 1944 before he was killed in action. Despite arriving on the warfront as an ordinary pilot with the rank of sergeant and participating in the conflict for barely two years before he was killed in action, he quickly rose through the ranks to the position of deputy squadron commander and rank of senior lieutenant; his final tally accumulated through the course of approximately 300 sorties and 104 dogfights officially stands at 39 solo and six shared shootdowns, including

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 ...

Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...

Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from ''Sturzkampfflugzeug'', "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Cond ...

Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast f ...

He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...

, and

FW 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...

aircraft.

Awards

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 ...

(2 August 1944) *

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 ...

(2 August 1944) *

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 ...

(2 May 1943 and 5 April 1944) *

Order of Alexander Nevsky The Order of Alexander Nevsky ( ''orden Alexandra Nevskogo'') is an order of merit of the Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious se ...

(17 June 1944) *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

1st class (26 July 1943) * campaign medals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serov, Vladimir 1922 births 1944 deaths Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky Soviet World War II flying aces Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Pilots who performed an aerial ramming