Leonid Illarionovich Ivanov (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Леонид Илларионович Иванов; 8 August 1909 – 27 June 1941) was a

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

senior lieutenant and posthumous

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 ...

. Ivanov was posthumously awarded the title for reportedly shooting down two German aircraft in the first days after

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, the German invasion of the Soviet Union 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 ...

, and being killed in a ramming attack ( taran) while defending his airfield from a raid.

Early life

Leonid Ivanov was born on 8 August 1909 in

Kashira Kashira () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Kashirsky District, Moscow Oblast, Kashirsky District in Moscow Oblast, located on the Oka River south of Moscow. Population: History It was first ...

. After graduating from seven years of railway school, Ivanov took adult education courses while working as a laborer at the Kashira tram park. In the summer of 1930 he began working at the Krasny Proletary (Red Proletarian) Machine Tool Factory in Moscow as a

milling machine Milling is the process of machining using rotary cutters to remove material by advancing a cutter into a workpiece. This may be done by varying directions on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure. Milling covers a wide variety of ...

operator. He took night school courses at the STANKIN Machine Tool Institute. In May 1932, Ivanov was drafted into the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. He graduated from the 7th

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

Military Aviation School in 1935. Ivanov became a fighter pilot in the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

aviation wing and later served in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( ) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, about north of Vladivostok. As of the 2021 Russian c ...

. He was transferred to the 147th Fighter Aviation Regiment at

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

and fought in the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

between February and March 1940. In February 1941, he was awarded the

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

World War II

In June 1941 Ivanov was commander of the 4th Squadron in the 147th Fighter Aviation Regiment ( :ru:147-й истребительный авиационный полк), 1st Mixed Aviation Division ( :ru:1-я смешанная авиационная дивизия), 14th Army, which was equipped with

Polikarpov I-153 The Polikarpov I-153 ''Chaika'' () is a late 1930s Soviet sesquiplane fighter. Developed from the I-15 with a retractable undercarriage, the I-153 fought in the Soviet-Japanese combats in Mongolia and was one of the major Soviet fighter types ...

and stationed on the

Karelian Front The Karelian Front ) was a front (a formation of Army Group size) of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II, and operated in Karelia. Wartime The Karelian Front was created in August 1941 when Northern Front was split into Karelian ...

(reportedly based at Murmashi) with the task of defending the harbours of

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

and

. On 25 June, he and his wingman Lieutenant Filimonov damaged two

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one o ...

s over

Kandalaksha Kandalaksha () is a town in Kandalakshsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the head of Kandalaksha Gulf on the White Sea, north of the Arctic Circle. Population: 40,564 ( 2002 Census); Etymology According to the most common ...

, and the next day he damaged a

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and medium bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Due to restrictions placed on Germany a ...

over the same region. On 26 June he shot down a

Messerschmitt Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engined (de ...

. On 27 June he attacked seven

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

s alone. Ivanov reportedly claimed three victories before he rammed a fourth. These losses cannot be verified in German sources. Ivanov was buried in Afrikanda. On 22 July 1941, he was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin.Указ Президиума Верховного Совета СССР «Указ о присвоении звания Героя Советского Союза начальствующему составу Красной Армии» от 22 июля 1941 года
// Ведомости Верховного Совета Союза Советских Социалистических Республик : газета. — 1941. — 2 августа (№ 34 (149)). — С. 1.

Legacy

A fishing trawler was named after Ivanov.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov, Leonid Soviet Air Force officers 1909 births 1941 deaths Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Aviators killed by being shot down Soviet World War II pilots People from Kashira Pilots who performed an aerial ramming Heroes of the Soviet Union