Bolotov, Vasily Gavrilovich

Vasily Bolotov was born on February 29 (according to a new style - March 13 ) in 1908 in the village of Bolotovo (now Bolotovskoye , Makhnevskoye municipal entity , Sverdlovsk Region ). In 1924 he graduated from seven classes of a school in the village of Mugay , after which he worked as a logger in the Alapaevsk timber industry enterprise. In October 1930, he was called up for service in the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army . Until October 1931, Bolotov served in the 9th Mountain Rifle Regiment, took part in battles with basmach formations in Central Asia. In 1932 he graduated from the Air Force military theoretical school in Leningrad , in 1933 - from the military aviation school of pilots in Engels . He served in the combat units of the Air Force of the Belarusian Military District . Since the beginning of World War II on its fronts. He was an assistant commander, squadron commander of the 61st assault air regiment on the Western and Kalinin fronts ^[1] .

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 12, 1942, for “courage and heroism shown in battles,” senior lieutenant Vasily Bolotov was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the awarding of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal number 584 ^[1] .

In April-September 1942, Bolotov led the IL-2 distillation from aircraft factories in Kuibyshev to the front. In September 1942 - November 1944 Bolotov commanded the 826th assault air regiment on the Voronezh and 1st Baltic fronts. During the war years, he made more than 50 sorties on the I-153 and Il-2 aircraft , was shell-shocked and twice wounded. In 1945, Bolotov graduated from advanced training courses at the Air Force Academy in Monino . In 1945-1946 , Bolotov was a senior pilot-inspector in piloting techniques of the Air Force Directorate for the Stavropol Military District . In 1946-1948 he was a test pilot of the 27th separate mixed test aviation regiment of the State Central Range of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR , participated in tests of several weapons on the Il-2, Il-10 and other aircraft. Since 1949, he commanded a training squadron at the Atkar Training Aviation Center DOSAAF . In September 1954, with the rank of lieutenant colonel Bolotov, he was transferred to the reserve. He lived in the city of Atkarsk in the Saratov region , later in Tyumen . He died on October 16, 1976, was buried in the Tyumen Chervishchensky cemetery ^[1] .

He was also awarded two orders of the Red Banner , the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, two orders of the Red Star , as well as a number of medals ^[1] .

• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1987.- T. 1 / Abaev - Lyubichev /. - 911 p. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN comp., Reg. RCP No. 87-95382.
• Vorobyov M.V., Khrapchenkov A.K. In battles on Smolensk land. - M., 1975.
• Heroes of the land of Tyumen. 2nd ed., Ext. Sverdlovsk, 1975.
• Heroes of the Tyumen land. Tyumen, 1991.
• Gold Stars Sverdlovsk. - Sverdlovsk: Central Ural book. 1970.