Pyotr Ivanovich Pumpur (, ; 25 April 1900 – 23 March 1942) was a

Soviet Air Forces 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 ...

fighter pilot,

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 ...

, and

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

of Latvian ethnicity. Pumpur joined the Red Army in 1918 and became a mechanic and driver in its fledgling air service due to his civilian mechanical and driving experience. After the end of the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

he became one of the first to graduate from newly established flight schools and served as a fighter pilot during the interwar period, rising to command a fighter brigade in the mid-1930s. Between 1936 and 1937, he commanded the Soviet aviation group assisting the

Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics () and Naval Aeron ...

during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, claiming five victories. For his actions, Pumpur was made a

, and promoted to the rank of

Komkor () is the syllabic abbreviation for corps commander (; ). It was a Military ranks of the Soviet Union, military rank in the Red Army and Red Army Air Force of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in the period from 1935 to 1940. It was als ...

, skipping one grade, upon his return to the Soviet Union. He was arrested in the

Purge of the Red Army in 1941 Between October 1940 and February 1942, in spite of the Axis attack on the Soviet Union from June 1941, the Red Army, in particular the Soviet Air Force, as well as Soviet military-related industries were subjected to purges by Joseph Stalin. Ba ...

on 31 May 1941 and executed the following year.

Early life and Russian Civil War

Pumpur was born on 25 April 1900 in Plātere Parish in

Kreis Riga Riga county (, , ) was a historic county of the Duchy of Livonia, the Governorate of Livonia, and the Republic of Latvia which was dissolved during the administrative territorial reform of the Latvian SSR in 1949. History The first iterat ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

to a peasant family. He graduated from the

parish school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wor ...

and helped his father in working for their more prosperous neighbors, then studied at a

vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

for two years. Using the knowledge he gained, Pumpur became an apprentice mechanic and an assistant

chauffeur A chauffeur () is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or a limousine. Initially, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to s ...

before joining 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 ...

in May 1918. Due to his work as a mechanic and with cars, he was sent to the 4th Fighter Aviation Detachment in Moscow, serving as an assistant chauffeur. In October, Pumpur was transferred to the 2nd Pskov Fighter Aviation Detachment in

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

, again serving in the same position. Pumpur served only briefly with the 2nd Detachment, transferring back to the 4th Detachment in November, which he remained with until June 1921. With the 4th Detachment, he became an aircraft mechanic, fighting on the

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

, Southeastern, Southern, and Western Fronts of the

. In 1919, Pumpur became a member of the Communist Party.

Interwar period

After the Civil War ended, Pumpur remained in the army, serving as an aircraft mechanic with the Commandant's Headquarters of the Central Aerodrome in Moscow from July to December 1921. After constantly interacting with pilots, listening to their conversations and stories, he requested to receive flight training. Pumpur received initial training at the Yegoryevsk Military-Theoretical School for Pilots between January 1922 and March 1923. In April, he began flight training at the 2nd Military School of Pilots at

Borisoglebsk Borisoglebsk () is a town in Voronezh Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vorona River near its confluence with the Khopyor. Population: 65,000 (1969). History Borisoglebsk was founded in 1646 and was named for the Russian s ...

, graduating with the first class of cadets on 26 October. Among his ten classmates was future aviation pioneer

Valery Chkalov Valery Pavlovich Chkalov (; ; – 15 December 1938) was a test pilot awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union (1936). Early life Chkalov was born to a Russian family in 1904 in the upper Volga region, the town of Chkalovsk, Russia, Vasi ...

. From November to May 1924 Pumpur continued to master flying techniques at the 1st Military School of Pilots in Moscow, and studied at the

Higher Military Aviation School of Gunners and Bombardiers Higher may refer to: Music * The Higher, a 2002–2012 American pop rock band Albums * ''Higher'' (Ala Boratyn album) or the title song, 2007 * ''Higher'' (Chris Stapleton album) or the title song, 2023 * ''Higher'' (Ezio album) or the title s ...

Serpukhov Serpukhov ( rus, Серпухов, p=ˈsʲerpʊxəf) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Oka River, Oka and the Nara (Oka), Nara Rivers, 99 kilometers (62 miles) south fro ...

from May to July. After graduation, in August 1924, Pumpur was assigned to the 2nd Fighter Aviation Squadron in Moscow, where he served as a junior pilot and then a senior pilot, mastering all types of aircraft flown by the unit. In July 1925, the squadron was involved in the suppression of a

Menshevik The Mensheviks ('the Minority') were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903. Mensheviks held more moderate and reformist ...

and

Socialist Revolutionary Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revolut ...

-backed revolt near the Illinsky Station of the Moscow–Kursk Railway, using its planes to conduct reconnaissance. In October of that year Pumpur became a flight leader, and in December 1926 the 2nd Squadron was renamed the 7th Separate Fighter Aviation Squadron. He led a separate detachment of the squadron from February 1927. In 1929, Pumpur graduated from advanced courses for Air Force commanders at the

Zhukovsky Air Force Academy Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy () – is a higher military educational institution for training and retraining of engineers for the Russian Aerospace Forces. The academy trains specialists – engineers, research engineers in the fol ...

. He took command of the 17th Aviation Squadron in September 1930, simultaneously serving as its commissar from February 1931, and was subsequently transferred to command the 31st Fighter Aviation Squadron. From June 1934, he was commander and commissar of the 403rd Fighter Aviation Brigade. On 4 December 1935, after the Red Army created personal military ranks, Pumpur was made a ''

Kombrig () is an abbreviation of Commanding officer of the brigade (), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR from 1935 to 1940. It was also the designation to military personnel appointed to command a brigade sized formation (X ...

''. In February 1936, Pumpur became a student at the operational faculty of the Zhukovsky Academy. From October 1936 to May 1937, he served as a Soviet advisor to the

during the

, under the pseudonym "Colonel Julio". After arriving in Spain, the initial group of Soviet pilots, which also included Yevgeny Erlykin, Ivan Kopets, and Anton Kovalevsky in addition to Pumpur, flew their first sorties on the obsolete Spanish Republican Nieuport 52s. Pumpur led a fighter group of Soviet pilots in the defense of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, flying 250 hours and downing five enemy aircraft. For his actions he received the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 4 July 1937, and upon his return Pumpur was promoted directly to

from

, skipping the rank of

Komdiv () is the syllabic abbreviation to commanding officer of the division (; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR in the period from 1935 to 1940. It was also the designation to military personnel appointed to command ...

. In October, he became commander of the

Air Forces of the Moscow Military District An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

, but was soon transferred to lead the Air Forces of the

Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army The Special Far Eastern Army, later the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army () was a military formation of the Red Army, active from 1929 to 1938 and under command of Vasily Blyukher. It was activated on 6 August 1929, originally with the 18th a ...

(VVS OKDVA) in November. Pumpur spent several months at the disposal of the chief of the Air Force, and in December 1938 became head of the flight testing station at Aircraft Plant No. 1, later becoming head of the Air Force's Combat Training Directorate. During 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 ...

, he led a group of instructors for combat training. From 1940, Pumpur again commanded the Air Forces of the Moscow Military District.

Downfall

Just before the beginning of

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 June 1941, Pumpur's downfall began. The inspection commission of the Air Force discovered a large number of significant issues in the aviation units of the Moscow Military District, and Pumpur, the district air force commander, was blamed for them. Among the issues were a lack of combat training and inactivity in organizing airfield construction. For "disrupting combat readiness," a 10 May resolution of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

relieved him of command and deprived him of his rank and awards. Pumpur was arrested on 31 May and on 13 February 1942 was sentenced to death, charged with participating in a "military conspiracy" and "sabotage". He was shot on 23 February of that year, and rehabilitated on 25 June 1955.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pumpur, Pyotr 1900 births 1942 deaths People from Ogre Municipality People from Riga county Bolsheviks Communist Party of the Soviet Union members First convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Soviet lieutenant generals Soviet Air Force generals Soviet flying aces Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet people of the Spanish Civil War Spanish Civil War flying aces Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Latvian people executed by the Soviet Union Hero of the Soviet Union forfeitures Members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union executed by the Soviet Union Soviet rehabilitations