Smorchkov, Alexander Pavlovich

Born in a peasant family. In 1935 he graduated from 7 classes of a secondary school in the Pushkin district. He worked at a factory in the city of Mytishchi , in April 1938 he graduated from a factory apprenticeship school in Mytishchi, and from November 1937 to September 1938 he studied at the Mytishchi regional flying club .

In November 1938 he was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army . In April 1940 he graduated from the Kachin Military Aviation School named after A.F. Myasnikov . From April 1940, he served as an instructor pilot at the Lvov Military Aviation Pilot School , from December 1940 - at the Fastovskaya VAShP , and from August 1941 - at the Chernigov Military Aviation Pilot School . A veteran of the Great Patriotic War from October 6, 1941: when the Zernograd air defense group on the Southern Front was formed from instructors and the most prepared cadet staff, junior lieutenant A.P. Smorchkov was enrolled in it and on the I-16 fighter made 51 sorties in during the Donbass defensive operation , conducted 9 air battles, but did not win victories in them. In a battle on October 23, 1941 he was wounded.

After recovering in December 1941, he was returned to the Chernogovskaya VAShP (by that time he had been evacuated to the city of Kizyl-Arvat, Krasnovodsk Region, Turkmen SSR ), he became a flight commander . Since December 1942, he served as deputy commander and navigator of the 761st fighter aviation regiment of the 136th mixed air division of the Air Force of the Central Asian military district , which was deployed in Ashgabat and flew an I-15 bis , and was transferred to the 5th in March 1943. reserve aviation brigade of the air force of the Siberian military district . There A.P. Smorchkov retrained for the Yak-7B fighter. From May to September 1943 he studied at the Poltava courses for improving navigators (operated in evacuation in the city of Sol-Iletsk, Chkalov region ). The total flight time on all types of aircraft by this time was about 800 hours, including 20 hours at night.

Since September 1943, Lieutenant Smorchkov again at the front, fought as deputy squadron commander of the 523rd Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 303rd Fighter Aviation Division of the 1st Air Army on the Western Front ), where he arrived on October 6. In the very first sortie, he was slightly wounded, and again from the hospital he was sent to study, having completed technical courses at the Air Force Research Institute (he mastered the La-7 fighter there). From May 1944 until the end of the war - at the front in the same 523th Fighter Aviation Regiment, he soon became the squadron commander. He fought on the 3rd Belorussian Front. He participated in the Belarusian , Baltic and East Prussian operations. By May 1945, Captain A.P. Smorchkov made 213 sorties, participated in 18 air battles, in which he personally shot down two Me-109 fighters and knocked out one FW-190 .

After the Victory, he continued to serve in the 523rd Fighter Aviation Regiment, first as part of the Air Force of the Belarusian Military District , then from September 1948 - in the Moscow Air Defense District . In February 1947 he became deputy regiment commander and pilot-inspector in piloting techniques, in June 1949 he was demoted to squadron commander.

In January 1951 he was transferred to the 18th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the same 303th Fighter Aviation Division , which by that time had been transferred to the Far Eastern Military District and was deployed in the Primorsky Territory . In March 1951, the regiment flew to Mukden ( China ) to prepare for hostilities. From May 8, 1951 to February 20, 1952 he participated in the Korean War . During this time, made 150 sorties, conducted 52 air battles, personally shot down 13 and in the group 1 enemy aircraft, damaged 3 more F-86 fighters. Even during the fighting, at the end of October 1951, the commander of the 303rd fighter aviation division Hero of the Soviet Union A.S. Kumanichkin introduced Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Smorchkov for completing 64 sorties, 10 shot down personally and 1 in the group of enemy aircraft to the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 13, 1951, for the successful fulfillment of command assignments and courage and bravery shown, Lieutenant Colonel Smorchkov Alexander Pavlovich was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal .

After returning to the USSR in August 1952 he was sent to study at the Air Force Academy in Monino , graduated in 1956. Since November 1956, he was the commander of the 826th training fighter aviation regiment, which was part of the 2 Central Flight Tactical Advanced Training Courses for officers (based at the Taganrog Central airfield). Since May 1960 - commander of the 802 training aviation regiment of the Krasnodar Military Combined Flight Technical School named after A.K. Serov . Since June 1962 - Deputy Commander of the 9th Fighter Aviation Division ( Moscow Military District ). Since January 1964 - commander of the 95th Fighter Aviation Division of the 26th Air Army of the Belarusian Military District . Since August 1964 - Chief of the command post of the 26th Air Army. From March 1966 he worked at the N.E. Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy : lecturer, and from April 1967, he was a senior lecturer in the department of tactics and history of military art. Since December 1975, Colonel A.P. Smorchkov is in stock.

He lived in Moscow. Retired, he continued to work at the N.E. Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy and at the Scientific and Experimental Center for Air Traffic Control Automation.

He died on November 16, 1998. He was buried at the Troekurovsky cemetery ^[2] .

• Junior Lieutenant (04/03/1940)
• Lieutenant (11/6/1942)
• Senior Lieutenant (02/03/1944)
• captain (10/7/1944)
• Major (05/17/1945)
• Lieutenant Colonel (04/28/1951)
• Colonel (1956)

• Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union (11/13/1951);
• Order of Lenin (11/13/1951);
• three orders of the Red Banner (08.28.1944, 10.28.1944, 03.28.1945);
• Order of Alexander Nevsky (12/26/1944);
• Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (03/11/1985);
• Order of the Patriotic War 2 degrees (1.07.1944);
• two orders of the Red Star (10/10/1951, 11/05/1945);
• medal "For Military Merit" (06/20/1949);
• other medals.

• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1988. - T. 2 / Love - Yashchuk /. - 863 s. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-00536-2 .
• Seydov I. Soviet aces of the Korean War. - M .: Fund for the Promotion of Aviation "Russian Knights", 2010. - 452 p. - (Air wars of the 20th century). - 750 copies. - ISBN 978-5-903389-35-3 . - S.183—191.
• Krylov V., Tepsurkaev Yu. Black Week of the Bomber Command // “World of Aviation”. Number 2.
• Moscow encyclopedia. Volume 1: Faces of Moscow. Book 4: R – T. M .: Moscow Textbooks OJSC, 2012.

• Smorchkov, Alexander Pavlovich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• Biography and photos of A. P. Smorchkov on the site "Soviet aces"
• Awarding of A. P. Smorchkov with orders and medals in the Great Patriotic War // OBD “Memory of the People”