Ivan Dmitriyevich Borisov (russian: Ива́н Дми́триевич Бори́сов; 1913 – 25 December 1939) was a Soviet military pilot who was posthumously awarded the title

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 ...

Biography

Ivan Borisov was born in 1913. In December 1939, he served as a command

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

in the 1st squadron, of the 5 IAP-KBF, which was equipped with

Polikarpov I-153 The Polikarpov I-153 ''Chaika'' (Russian ''Чайка'', "Seagull") was a late 1930s Soviet biplane fighter. Developed as an advanced version of the I-15 with a retractable undercarriage, the I-153 fought in the Soviet-Japanese combats in Mon ...

s. On 23 December his squadron shot down a Finnish aircraft, a

VL Kotka VL Kotka ("Eagle") was a Finnish two-seat, biplane maritime patrol aircraft, designed and built by the or ''VL'' ("State Aircraft Factory"). It was meant as a cheaper replacement (compared to the Blackburn Ripon) for the outdated IVL A.22 Ha ...

, near

Paldiski Paldiski is a town and Baltic Sea port situated on the Pakri Peninsula of northwestern Estonia. Since 2017, it's the administrative centre of Lääne-Harju Parish of Harju County. Previously a village of Estonia-Swedes known by the historical ...

. At 1245 (Finnish time), a

Blackburn Ripon The Blackburn T.5 Ripon was a carrier-based torpedo bomber and reconnaissance biplane designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft. It was the basis for both the license-produced Mitsubishi B2M and the improved ...

IIF of LeLv 36 took off at Paldiski, the Ripon was flown by 24-year-old Kaj Uolevi Söderholm and his observer Esko Antero Huhanantti. The aircraft was not heard from since 1310 by the Mäkiluoto fort, which was located southwest of

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. 35 minutes later, an explosion was seen in the air to the southwest. It was then reported by the Soviet radio that a Finnish reconnaissance aircraft at Pakri had been shot down by interceptors at 1405 and that both crew members were killed when they tried to escape the burning aircraft. It is believed that this was the aircraft that was shot down by Borisov's crew. In addition to this victory, Borisov flew nine more missions in the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

, but was shot down and killed on 25 December 1939, over the

Hanko Peninsula The Hanko Peninsula ( fi, Hankoniemi; ), also spelled Hango, is the southernmost point of mainland Finland. The soil is a sandy moraine, the last tip of the Salpausselkä ridge, and vegetation consists mainly of pine and low shrubs. The penins ...

. He was awarded the Gold Star of the

on 7 February 1940.

References

1913 births 1939 deaths People from Mytishchi People from Moskovsky Uyezd Soviet Air Force officers Soviet aviators Winter War pilots Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union Aviators killed by being shot down {{hero-USSR-stub