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Nikolai Kirtok

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Nikolai Kirtok
Kirtok wearing his World War II decorations
Native name
  • Николай Наумович Кирток
  • Микола Наумович Кирток
Birth nameNikolai Naumovich Kirtok
Born(1920-12-06)6 December 1920
Marynivka village, Voznesensk Raion, Kherson Governorate, Ukrainian SSR
Died25 September 2022(2022-09-25) (aged 101)
Moscow, Russia
AllegianceSoviet Union
Service / branchSoviet Air Force
Years of service1939–1976
RankColonel
Unit
  • 66th Assault Aviation Regiment
  • 140th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment
Commands143rd Guards Assault Aviation Regiment
Battles / warsWorld War II
AwardsHero of the Soviet Union

Nikolai Naumovich Kirtok (Russian: Николай Наумович Кирток; Ukrainian: Микола Наумович Кирток; 6 December 1920 – 25 September 2022) was a Soviet pilot who served during World War II. 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.[1][2][3]

Early life

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Kirtok was born on 6 December 1920 in the village of Marynivka in Mykolaiv Oblast of Ukrainian SSR, into a peasant family of Ukrainian ethnicity.[1]

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 in Odessa. From 1938, he simultaneously worked at a flying club in Odessa.[1]

Military career

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World War II

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Kirtok (right) with members of his squadron (1940s)

In 1939, he was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army. Following the outbreak of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, together with the aviation school, he was evacuated to the city of Jizzakh in Uzbek SSR. 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.[4]

Kirtok began flying missions in the Ilyushin Il-2 attack aircraft as part of the 2nd and 5th Air Armies of the Steppe, 1st Ukrainian and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts. He joined the Communist Party of Soviet Union 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 in 1943. Kirtok later flew missions in the Dnieper-Carpathian, Lvov-Sandomierz and Vistula-Oder offensives.[4]

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.[1][5]

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 tanks and armored personnel carriers, 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.[6] He was appointed squadron commander of the 143rd Guards Assault Aviation Regiment on 10 May 1945.[7]

On 24 June 1945, he took part in the Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow.[1] By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 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 Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.[8]

Post war

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After the war, he continued to serve in the Soviet Air Force, commanding the 143rd Guards Assault Aviation Regiment until May 1946. After graduating from the Air Force Academy 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.[9] He attained the rank of colonel in 1957.[1]

From February 1976, Kirtok was transferred to the reserves.[1]

Later life and death

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Kirtok in 2016

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.[1]

On 6 December 2020, he turned 100 years old.[10][11] Kirtok died on 25 September 2022, at the age of 101.[12]

Awards and decorations

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His awards include:[1]

Hero of the Soviet Union (27 June 1945)
Order of Lenin (27 June 1945)
Order of the Red Banner, three times (26 October 1943, 19 March 1944, 19 May 1945)
Order of Alexander Nevsky (USSR) (8 March 1945)
Order of Alexander Nevsky (Russia) (7 December 2020)
Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class, twice (31 October 1943, 11 March 1985)
Order of the Red Star
Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class (30 April 1975)
Medal "For Battle Merit"
Medal of Zhukov
Medal "For the Liberation of Prague" (1945)
Medal "For the Capture of Berlin" (1945)
Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1945)
  • jubilee medals

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Serdyukov, Igor. "Николай Наумович Кирток". www.warheroes.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Кирток Николай Наумович". www.victorymuseum.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Последние четверо: как живут в Москве военные герои Советского Союза". www.rpgdom.ru (in Russian). 8 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Кирток Николай Наумович". airaces.narod.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Николай Кирток: я дрался на Ил-2". iremember.ru (in Russian). 9 November 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Кирток Николай Наумович". pobeda1945.su (in Russian). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  7. ^ "ОН НЕ РАЗ СМОТРЕЛ СМЕРТИ В ГЛАЗА". www.army.ric.mil.ru (in Russian). 19 February 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  8. ^ Esquivias, José María Ballester (26 September 2022). "Nikolai Kirtok (1920–2022) Héroe ucraniano de la toma de Berlín" [Nikolai Kirtok (1920–2022) Ukrainian hero of the taking of Berlin]. El Debate [es] (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 September 2022. El balance fue convalidado por sus superiores y el 27 de junio de 1945, un decreto del Presidium del Soviet Supremo de la URSS hizo del joven piloto un héroe de la Unión Soviética, «por el cumplimiento ejemplar de las misiones de combate del mando para destruir el personal y el equipo del enemigo y por el valor y el heroísmo de los guardias demostrados al mismo tiempo», recibiendo en la misma tanda la Orden de Lenin y la medalla de la Estrella de Oro. Tres días antes había participado en el Desfile de la Victoria en la Plaza Roja de Moscú, presidido por Stalin. [The balance was validated by his superiors and on June 27, 1945, a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR made the young pilot a hero of the Soviet Union, "for the exemplary fulfillment of the command's combat missions to destroy the enemy's personnel and equipment and for the courage and heroism of the guards shown at the same time", receiving in the same batch the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. Three days earlier he had participated in the Parade of Victory on Red Square in Moscow, presided over by Stalin.]
  9. ^ "100 лет Герою Советского Союза, полковнику Николаю Наумовичу Киртоку!". heroesxxcentury.ru (in Russian). 6 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Новая высота фронтового лётчика". www.redstar.ru (in Russian). 4 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  11. ^ "День рождения отмечает Герой Советского Союза Николай Наумович Кирток". soyuzveteranov.ru. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Скончался Герой Советского Союза Кирток Николай Наумович" [Hero of the Soviet Union Kirtok Nikolay Naumovich Died] (in Russian). Retrieved 26 September 2022.
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