Efremov, Andrei Yakovlevich

Andrei Efremov was born on August 26, 1910 in the village of Lazinka ^[1] . He graduated from the school of factory apprenticeship in Moscow , one course of the railway labor school in 1929, and the same school in 1930. Since 1926 he worked at the Moscow-Kursk Railway , then at the Moscow Voitovich Car Repair Plant . Member of the CPSU (b) since 1931.

In March 1932, Efremov was called up for service in the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army . In 1933, he graduated from the 3rd military school of pilots and letnabs named after K.E. Voroshilov in Orenburg . Since December 1933, he served in the 121st Aviation Squadron of the 105th Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of the Baltic Sea Forces ^[2] : pilot, junior pilot, ship commander, flight commander . In 1939 he graduated from the Lipetsk aviation advanced training courses of the Red Army Air Force .

He participated in the Soviet-Finnish war from the first day. He fought as a flight commander of the 1st mine torpedo aviation regiment of the 63rd fighter aviation brigade of the Baltic Fleet Air Force. He performed 38 sorties on the bombing of targets in the rear of the Finns, including participated in the bombing of Helsinki . He was awarded the Order of Lenin.

Since August 1940, he commanded a link in the 1st mine and torpedo air regiment of the KBF Air Force, and since September - the squadron commander.

Since June 1941 - on the fronts of World War II , with the rank of captain, he commanded a squadron of the 1st mine torpedo regiment of the 10th air force brigade of the Baltic Fleet ^[3] . By the beginning of August 1941, it completed 26 sorties, sank 2 enemy ships. ^[four]

In early August 1941, Efremov became one of the pilots who were entrusted with the task of carrying out the first bombardment of Berlin . On the night of August 7-8, Efremov flew out on a mission at the head of the third air group after the groups of Colonel E. N. Preobrazhensky and Captain V. A. Grechishnikov . Bombers flew off the island of Saaremaa, the flight took place in extremely difficult conditions, at a temperature overboard about 46 degrees below zero. However, Efremov successfully reached Berlin and dropped bombs on target ^[3] . In August 1941, performed 5 sorties for the bombing of Berlin and 1 sortie for the bombing of Danzig .

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 13, 1941 for "exemplary performance of the combat missions of the command and shown heroism and courage," Captain Andrei Efremov was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal number 528 ^{[3 ]} .

Since September 1941, as part of the regiment, he participated in the defense of Leningrad . He made military sorties for the bombing of German targets in Pskov and other cities, put up minefields in the Baltic , on the night of May 2, 1942, he sank a large vehicle in the port of Kotka with a direct hit.

In June 1942 he was transferred to the Black Sea Fleet and appointed deputy commander of the 36th mine and torpedo regiment of the 63rd heavy bomber aviation brigade of the Air Force, and in June 1942 he was appointed commander of the regiment. Under his command, the regiment participated in the defense of Sevastopol , in air attacks on Yalta and other bases of light naval forces of Germany and its allies in the Crimea , in the battle for the Caucasus , in the fight against German-Romanian shipping on the Black Sea , in the bombing of Constanta , in the Novorossiysk - Taman and Crimean offensive operations. In May-June 1944, the regiment was relocated to the Northern Fleet , where it participated in the Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive operation . From November 1944 to March 1945, Lieutenant Colonel A. Ya. Efimov commanded the 5th mine and torpedo aviation division of the Northern Fleet Air Force , which fought against German shipping on the Barents Sea and off the coast of Norway . Then he returned to the post of commander of the 36th mtap.

In the summer of 1945, the regiment was transferred to the Pacific Fleet and participated in the Soviet-Japanese war .

From June 1941 to March 1944 he performed 132 sorties, including 32 at night ^[5] (there are no award documents for the subsequent time in the “People’s memory” SDB). He fought on the DB-3 and Boston bombers.

After the war, Efremov continued his service in the Navy of the USSR . Until January 1949 he commanded the same regiment. In 1949 he graduated from the Higher Navy Officer Flight Tactical Courses. From November 1949, he served as an assistant commander of the 5th mine and torpedo aviation division of the Northern Fleet Air Force, and from May 1950, he served as deputy commander of this division. From May 1952 to December 1953, he commanded the 1st mine torpedo regiment , which was attached to the Higher Naval Officer Flight Tactical Courses.

In 1954 he graduated from advanced training courses for commanders and chiefs of staff of air divisions at the Air Force Academy , then again commanded the 1st mtap. Since March 1959, he was the commander of the 20th training aviation unit of the Baltic Fleet Air Force; since October 1963, he was the head of the 125th school of aviation mechanics. Since June 1964, Colonel A. Ya. Efremov in reserve.

He lived in Moscow , worked as the director of Zhdanovsky Park , then as a lecturer in the Knowledge Society. Later he moved to Riga . He died on January 5, 1985, was buried in the Garrison Cemetery of Riga ^[3] .

• Hero of the Soviet Union (03/13/1941)
• two orders of Lenin (1940, 08/13/1941)
• Four Orders of the Red Banner (02.19.1942, 06.14.1942, 11.11.1943, ...)
• Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (04/04/1944)
• three orders of the Red Star
• medal "For Military Merit" (11/3/1944)
• medal "For the Defense of Leningrad"
• Medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus"
• other medals ^[3]

• 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.
• Team of authors . World War II: Divisional Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary / V.P. Goremykin. - M .: Kuchkovo field, 2014 .-- T. 2 .-- S. 545-547. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-9950-0341-0 .
• In the sky - Baltic pilots. - Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1974.
• Heroes of war. - Tallinn, 1984.
• Heroes of the Soviet Union Navy. 1937-1945. - M .: Military Publishing House, 1977.
• Gold Stars of the Pacific. - Vladivostok, 1982.
• Natykin V. Remember their names. - Novgorod, 1981.
• Volynkin I.T. Over five seas. - M .: Military Publishing House, 1964.
• Khokhlov P. I. Over the three seas. - L .: Lenizdat, 1988.

• Efremov, Andrei Yakovlevich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• The track record of A. Ya. Efremov as of October 1944 // OBD "Memory of the people"