Prokhorov Alexey Nikolaevich - Soviet attack pilot, participant of the Great Patriotic War. During his service he was twice nominated for the Hero of the Soviet Union award.
Biography
The future pilot was born in January 1923 on the twenty-third in the small village of Rozhdestvenskoye in the Voronezh region. Alexey's parents were workers at a local factory. From an early age, the boy dreamed of becoming a pilot and heroically conquering the heavens. After school, Prokhorov enrolled in the flying club and began to learn how to fly an airplane. On the eve of World War II in 1940, he completed his studies and was sent to the military aviation school in the city of Balashov.
Military career
Training in military craft took place directly in wartime, and the program was as short as possible. Just two years later, the young pilot was sent to the active army. He began his combat path in the 15th Guards Aviation Regiment of the 277th Aviation Division. The first sorties began in March 1943 on the Leningrad front. In the summer of the same year, he was appointed senior pilot. After lifting the blockade from Leningrad and closing the front, Aleksey was sent to the Belarusian front.
By the end of 1944, he was promoted to flight commander, made more than 180 sorties and inflicted enormous damage on the enemy army. For his participation in the assault operations in Granz and Martemsdorf, Prokhorov received the Order of Alexander Nevsky. For the entire period of battles in the groups controlled by Alexei Nikolaevich, there were no losses, and at the same time he always had a high level of target destruction.
Prokhorov went through the entire war and by its end had 238 sorties on the famous Il-2 attack aircraft. His efforts destroyed fifteen tanks, five aircraft on the runway, 96 cars, two steam locomotives and 90 carriages. Also during air battles, his gunner shot down one Nazi plane in the sky. Prokhorov himself was also shot down twice, but in both cases there were no serious consequences and injuries.
In the summer of 1945, the country's military leadership appreciated Prokhorov's contribution to the assault operations of German fortifications and cities. In June, he received a second gold star and the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union".
Life after the war and death
By the time the Great Patriotic War ended, Aleksey Nikolayevich held the position of squadron commander. He decided to pursue a military career and entered the air academy in the village of Monino. In 1950, he successfully completed his studies and took the position of commander of an assault regiment.
In 1988, Prokhorov was transferred to the reserve. While retired, he lived the rest of his life in Moscow, was engaged in teaching at the Air Force Academy and in his personal life. The famous pilot died at the age of 79 in 2002. He was buried at the Moscow Troekurovsky cemetery. His wife Galina outlived her husband by only six years.
