Алексей Маресьев
Cоветский военный лётчик
Герой Советского Союза
Фотографии Аркадий Шайхет
г. Москва 1946 г.
Alexei Maresyev
Soviet Military Pilot
Hero Of The Soviet Union
Photographs by Arkady Shaikhet
Moscow 1946
Music: Soviet Aviators March
Alexei Petrovich Maresiev was born in 1916 in Kamyshin in Saratov Province.
He was a Soviet Military Pilot and wad awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1943.
On April 4, 1942, his Polikarpov I-16 was shot down near Staraya Russa and captured by Nazi forces.
Although, severely injured, Maresiev managed to crawl his way through enemy lines to the Russian Front,
feeding on the bark of trees, pine cones and berries. During his 18-day-long journey his injuries deteriorated
so badly that both of his legs had to be amputated below the knee. He was sent to a sanitarium in September 1942,
where he gained the use of his legs by using prosthetics. So much so, that in early 1943, he passed a medical
examination and was passed fit for flying.
During a dog fight in August 1943 he shot down three German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters. In total, he completed 86 combat flights and shot down 11 German warplanes. He was awarded the Golden Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union (August 24, 1943), the highest military decoration of the USSR. In 1944 Maresyev joined the Communist Party and two years later retired from the army……………
