Zakhar Artyomovich Sorokin (Russian: Захар Артёмович Сорокин; 17 March [O.S. 4 March] 1917 – 19 March 1978) was a Soviet fighter pilot and flying ace who flew in combat with prosthetic feet from 1943 to 1945, having lost his feet to frostbite in 1941 after crashing in tundra in his MiG-3. He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of the British Empire for his perseverance, and after the war he wrote several memoirs.
Sorokin was born on 17 March [O.S. 4 March] 1917 to a working-class Russian family in Glubokoe. His family moved to Krasnodar oblast in 1920, where he attended school and was employed as an assistant locomotive engineer while training at an aeroclub. After entering the navy in 1937 he graduated from the Yeisk Naval Aviation School in 1939. He then was assigned to the 72nd Mixed Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet, based in Sevastopol.[1][2]
World War IIedit
Starting on 22 June 1941, Sorokin was engaged in World War II operations defending against Operation Barbarossa. The next month he was transferred to the Northern Fleet, where he flew in the squadron under the command of Boris Safonov. He was credited with his first aerial victory on 19 July 1941, and on 18 October 1941 he was promoted to deputy squadron commander. However, just one week later he was badly injured after a forced landing on the Arctic tundra, where he remained for four days before receiving medical attention, resulting in severe frostbite that ended up requiring his feet to be amputated. He received surgery in Kirov before returning to his regiment in March 1943. By the time he was promoted to the position of regimental navigator, the regiment had received the guards designation and been renamed as the 2nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. On 19 August 1944 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, and in December that year he transferred to the 11th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, where he was also the senior navigator.[3] In total he flew 267 sorties, gaining 10 solo and one probable shootdowns during the war.[1][4]
Postwaredit
Almost immediately after the war he was discharged from the military since his need for prosthetic feet was considered to be a disability. However, he was able to re-enter the military in 1952 and posted to the 614th Fighter Aviation Regiment, but soon returned to the reserve in 1955. As a civilian he lived in Moscow, joined the Union of Journalists of the USSR, and authored 15 books. He died on 19 March 1978 and was buried in the Kuntsevo cemetery.[1]
zakhar, sorokin, zakhar, artyomovich, sorokin, russian, Захар, Артёмович, Сорокин, march, march, 1917, march, 1978, soviet, fighter, pilot, flying, flew, combat, with, prosthetic, feet, from, 1943, 1945, having, lost, feet, frostbite, 1941, after, crashing, tu. Zakhar Artyomovich Sorokin Russian Zahar Artyomovich Sorokin 17 March O S 4 March 1917 19 March 1978 was a Soviet fighter pilot and flying ace who flew in combat with prosthetic feet from 1943 to 1945 having lost his feet to frostbite in 1941 after crashing in tundra in his MiG 3 He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of the British Empire for his perseverance and after the war he wrote several memoirs Zakhar Artyomovich SorokinNative nameZahar Artyomovich SorokinBorn17 March O S 4 March 1917Glubokoe village Tomsk Governorate Russian EmpireDied19 March 1978 aged 61 Moscow USSRAllegiance Soviet UnionService wbr branchNaval AviationYears of service1937 1955RankCaptainBattles warsWorld War IIAwardsHero of the Soviet UnionOrder of the British Empire Contents 1 Early life 2 World War II 3 Postwar 4 See also 5 ReferencesEarly life editSorokin was born on 17 March O S 4 March 1917 to a working class Russian family in Glubokoe His family moved to Krasnodar oblast in 1920 where he attended school and was employed as an assistant locomotive engineer while training at an aeroclub After entering the navy in 1937 he graduated from the Yeisk Naval Aviation School in 1939 He then was assigned to the 72nd Mixed Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet based in Sevastopol 1 2 World War II editStarting on 22 June 1941 Sorokin was engaged in World War II operations defending against Operation Barbarossa The next month he was transferred to the Northern Fleet where he flew in the squadron under the command of Boris Safonov He was credited with his first aerial victory on 19 July 1941 and on 18 October 1941 he was promoted to deputy squadron commander However just one week later he was badly injured after a forced landing on the Arctic tundra where he remained for four days before receiving medical attention resulting in severe frostbite that ended up requiring his feet to be amputated He received surgery in Kirov before returning to his regiment in March 1943 By the time he was promoted to the position of regimental navigator the regiment had received the guards designation and been renamed as the 2nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment On 19 August 1944 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and in December that year he transferred to the 11th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment where he was also the senior navigator 3 In total he flew 267 sorties gaining 10 solo and one probable shootdowns during the war 1 4 Postwar editAlmost immediately after the war he was discharged from the military since his need for prosthetic feet was considered to be a disability However he was able to re enter the military in 1952 and posted to the 614th Fighter Aviation Regiment but soon returned to the reserve in 1955 As a civilian he lived in Moscow joined the Union of Journalists of the USSR and authored 15 books He died on 19 March 1978 and was buried in the Kuntsevo cemetery 1 See also editAlexey Maresyev Gheorghe BănciulescuReferences edit a b c Melnikov Aleksandr Sorokin Zahar Artyomovich www warheroes ru in Russian Retrieved 2019 10 22 Armejskij sbornik in Russian 2000 Bykov Mikhail 2014 Vse asy Stalina 1936 1953 Aces of Stalin 1936 1953 Moscow Yauza p 1138 ISBN 978 5 9955 0712 3 OCLC 879321002 Sorokin Zahar Artyomovich soviet aces 1936 53 ru Retrieved 2019 10 22 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Zakhar Sorokin amp oldid 1177344468, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
