Kurochkin, Mikhail Alekseevich

Born in the village of Yaminskoye, now the village of Yamenskoye, Burashevsky rural settlement, Kalininsky district, Tver region . Russian

Military Service

In the Red Army since December 1927 - cadet in the Leningrad military theoretical school of the Red Army Air Force . After completing a theoretical course in December 1928, he was sent to the 3rd Military School for Pilots and Letnabs named after K. E. Voroshilova for training in practical flights. In 1929 he joined the CPSU (b) . In July 1930 he graduated from the latter and was appointed a junior pilot in the 4th separate air squad of the MVO Air Force in the city of Ivanovo-Voznesensk .

In May 1931 he was transferred by the senior pilot to the 59th heavy bomber air squadron of the Moscow Military District in the city of Voronezh .

In May 1932 he was appointed commander of the TB-3 ship in the 3rd heavy bomber air squadron, which was later relocated to the city of Chita . In February 1937 he was appointed commander of the 3rd AE detachment as part of the Pacific Fleet Air Force.

Since May 1938 - the commander of the 16th separate air squad, since February 1939 - the assistant commander of the 34th air regiment of the Pacific Fleet.

Since November 1940, he was sent by a student to the Higher Courses for Advanced Training of the Navy Aviation Staff in the city of Peterhof .

World War II

At the beginning of the war, Major Kurochkin was released from courses in July 1941 and was appointed deputy commander of the 57th assault air regiment of the KBF Air Force . In the battles near Leningrad and during the liberation of the city, Tikhvin spent most of the time commanding a separate group of 15-20 SB and AR-2 aircraft. During the Tikhvin offensive operation, the group was subordinate to the army command.

On August 27, 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Kurochkin was appointed commander of the 73rd Bomber Aviation Regiment as part of the 8th Air Force Brigade of the KBF . After retraining the flight crew for IL-2 aircraft, the regiment made combat sorties along the advancing enemy troops near Leningrad, its ships in the Gulf of Finland and the bays of Lake Ladoga , railway station bridges on the Narva River and at the mouth of the Luga River. In January - February 1943, the regiment participated in the operation to break through the blockade of Leningrad ( Operation Iskra ), its pilots destroyed pillboxes and bunkers in the 67th Army band. Then he conducted military operations at the enemy’s naval bases on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, as well as Lahdenpohja and Saterlahti on Lake Ladoga. In the summer and winter of 1943, his pilots destroyed artillery batteries firing at Leningrad and coastal batteries located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland and on the islands of Gogland and Summers. At the beginning of 1944, the regiment successfully operated in the Leningrad-Novgorod offensive operation . For the successful completion of command tasks, organization and discipline of personnel, on February 22, 1944 he was renamed the 12th Guards Dive-Bomber Aviation Regiment.

In May 1944, Lieutenant Colonel Kurochkin was appointed commander of the 8th assault air division of the Air Force KBF. Its units supported the troops of the 2nd shock army during the crossing of the Narva River and the seizure of the city of Narva , provided the flanks of the army, operating on enemy ships in Narva Bay in cooperation with the 11th and 8th air divisions of the KBF Air Force. In the Vyborg offensive operation, the division participated in supporting the amphibious assault in capturing islands in the Vyborg Bay. In the Pskov-Ostrov offensive operation in July 1944, it solved the tasks of destroying watercraft and enemy manpower during the transfer of their ships in Lake Peipsi .

In September 1944, Colonel Kurochkin was appointed commander of the 8th Guards Mine and Torpedo Air Division. Participated with her in the Baltic , Tallinn , Memel , East Prussian , Koenigsberg offensive operations, in the capture of the cities of Tallinn , Memel , Koenigsberg , Swineemunde .

Post-War Career

After the war, from December 1945 to May 1946 he was trained at the academic courses of the Air Force officers at the Naval Academy named after K.E. Voroshilova , then was at the disposal of the Navy personnel department.

In December 1946 he was appointed commander of the 14th mixed aviation Red Banner division of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet .

Since December 1947, he served as head of the flight inspection of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet .

Since February 1950, he commanded the 5th mine torpedo air division.

In February 1952, enrolled as a student in the Higher Military Academy. K.E. Voroshilova , at the end of her in March 1954 he was appointed head of the 92nd naval mine-torpedo aviation school in the city of Nikolaev .

In June 1954, Major General Aviation Kurochkin was appointed Air Defense Commander - Deputy Commander of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet .

Since January 1957, he commanded the North, and since January 1959 - Odessa Air Defense Corps.

Since May 1960, he was the 1st Deputy Commander - member of the Military Council of the 4th Separate Air Defense Army.

On December 29, 1963, he was transferred to the reserve.

USSR

• Order of Lenin (1952)
• Six Orders of the Red Banner (09/23/1942, 02/07/1943, 07/28/1943, 06/26/1944, 1944, 1948)
• Order of Ushakov, II degree, No. 217 (02.22.1945)
• Order of Nakhimov, II degree, No. 284 (07.19.1945)
• Order of the Patriotic War I degree (04/06/1985)
• Order of the Red Star (11/03/1944)
  • Medals of the USSR including:
  • “For the defense of Leningrad”
  • “For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.”
  • “For the capture of Konigsberg”
  • "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR"

Orders (thanks) of the Supreme Commander in which Kurochkin M. A. was noted ^[1]

• For the assault on the city and the fortress of Narva - an important fortified area of ​​German defense, covering the way to Estonia. July 26, 1944 No. 149.
• For the seizure of the capital of the Estonian SSR, the city of Tallinn (Revel) - an important naval base and a large port on the Baltic Sea. September 22, 1944 No. 191.
• For cleansing the enemy of the island of Saaremaa (Ezel), turned by the Germans into a strong point, covering the approaches to the Gulf of Riga. November 24, 1944 No. 210.
• For the capture of the Lithuanian city of Klaipeda (Memel) - an important port and a strong stronghold of German defense on the Baltic Sea. January 28, 1945. Number 262
• For the assault on the fortress and the main city of East Prussia, Konigsberg, a strategically important German defense hub on the Baltic Sea. April 9, 1945. Number 333
• For the capture of the last stronghold of the German defense on the Zemland Peninsula by the city and the Pillau fortress - a large port and a German naval base on the Baltic Sea. April 25, 1945. Number 343
• For the capture of the city of Svinemünde - a large port and naval base of the Germans on the Baltic Sea. May 5, 1945. No. 362.
• For crossing the Stralsunderfarwasser Strait, the capture of the cities of Bergen, Harz, Putbus, Sassnitz and the complete control of the island of Rugen on the island of Rugen. May 6, 1945. Number 363

Foreign Awards

• Officer of the Order of the British Empire ( Great Britain 1943)

• Public electronic document bank “Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945”

• Team of authors . World War II: Divisional Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary / V.P. Goremykin. - M .: Kuchkovo field, 2014 .-- T. 2 .-- S. 639-640. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-9950-0341-0 .