Fedir Trokhymovych Dyachenko (; ; – 8 August 1995) was a Soviet sniper who became one of the top snipers in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

on 21 February 1944 for killing 425 enemy soldiers and officers. He is considered as one of the deadliest snipers in history.

Early life

Dyachenko was born on in Betyagi village to a Ukrainian peasant family. After completing his ninth grade of school in 1934 he worked on a

collective farm Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member-o ...

. After being convicted of a crime in 1939 he was sentenced to prison in Norilsk, where he worked as a plasterer on construction sites until he was released and drafted into the Red Army.

World War II

On 7 January 1942 he was drafted into the Red Army. During training he showed good sharpshooting skills. After training he was sent to the

Leningrad Front The Leningrad Front () was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front on August 27, 1941. History The Leningrad Front was immediately ...

. According to his own memoirs, he decided to become a sniper in summer 1942 after reading in a frontline newspaper about the feats of snipers on the Leningrad Front. After he completed formal sniper training at the sniper school of the 55th Army, he was assigned as a sniper to the 187th Rifle Regiment of the 72nd Rifle Division. On 16 September he opened his combat account, and he became successful in hunting other snipers. During the course of a ten-day sniper hunt he killed 32 enemy soldiers. On 24 October he scored nine kills without any misses. He received his first award, the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

, on 21 December 1942, for killing 97 enemies. He went on a special sniper hunt with his friend Nikolai Kochubey on 25 December 1942; Kochubey killed seven enemies in the hunt, while Dyachenko killed eleven. By then, Dyachenko had killed 220 enemies, and on 10 March 1943, he brought up his kill count to 300. An article in the frontline newspaper ''Na Strazhe Rodiny'' published on the cover of the 27 May 1943 issue celebrated his 400th kill. For killing 425 enemy soldiers and officers he was awarded the title

on 21 February 1944. Despite being a Soviet soldier, he was also awarded the American Distinguished Service Cross. However, his sniper career was brought to an end in January 1944, when he was badly wounded by a shell fragment.

Later life

Despite being wounded and withdrawn from the front, he was not demobilized after the war. He graduated from military-political courses in 1946 and from the Military-Political School in 1949. He became the party organizer of a battalion at the Leningrad Military School of Communications. In 1962 he left the army with the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. For the rest of his life he lived in Leningrad, working as a senior engineer at the

Kirov Plant The Kirov Plant, Kirov factory or Leningrad Kirov plant (LKZ) () is a major Russian mechanical engineering and agricultural machinery manufacturing plant in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was established in 1789, then moved to its present site in 1801 ...

. He died on 8 August 1995 and is buried in the Kovalyovskoye cemetery.

Awards

(21 February 1944) *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(21 February 1944) *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

1st class (11 March 1985) *

(21 December 1942) *

Medal "For Battle Merit" The Medal "For Battle Merit" () was a Soviet military medal awarded for "combat action resulting in a military success", "courageous defense of the state borders", or "successful military and political training and preparation". It was created on ...

(13 June 1952) * Distinguished Service Cross (13 July 1944)

References

Literature

* * * * The History of Sniping and Sharpshooting by Major John L Plaster, USAR {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyachenko, Fedir 1917 births 1995 deaths Military personnel from Poltava Oblast Heroes of the Soviet Union Soviet military snipers Recipients of the Order of Lenin Soviet military personnel of World War II from Ukraine Soviet engineers