Dmitriy Samoilov Fighter pilot Date of Birth: 31.12.1922 Country: Uzbekistan

1. Biography of Dmitry Samoylov
2. Fighter Pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union
3. Recognition and Later Life

Biography of Dmitry Samoylov

Dmitry Alexandrovich Samoylov was born on December 31, 1922, in the city of Kokand, Fergana Region (Uzbekistan), into a family of civil servants. He completed 9 grades of school and joined the Red Army in 1940. In 1941, he graduated from the Kachinsk Military Aviation School and later attended the Konotop Military Aviation College. After the end of the Great Patriotic War, Samoylov served in the fighter aviation and participated in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953.

Fighter Pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union

As a Senior Lieutenant in the 523rd Fighter Aviation Regiment (303rd Fighter Aviation Division), Dmitry A. Samoylov completed 161 combat sorties and personally destroyed 10 enemy aircraft in aerial combat. One of the air battles he recalls took place on October 27, 1951. Samoylov and his wingman, Captain Popov, were part of the covering group for a strike mission. They encountered a large formation of enemy aircraft, and Samoylov made a daring maneuver to engage them. Despite being outnumbered and under heavy fire, he successfully attacked a group of B-29 Superfortresses and shot down one of them.

Recognition and Later Life

For his courage and valor in fulfilling his military duty, Dmitry Alexandrovich Samoylov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on November 13, 1951. After returning to the USSR, he continued his service in the Air Force. In 1960, he retired from active duty as a Lieutenant Colonel. In 1965, Samoylov graduated from a mechanical engineering technical college and settled in the city of Elektrostal, Moscow Region. He worked as an engineer in a factory. Throughout his military career, Samoylov was also decorated with the Orders of Lenin, the Red Banner (twice), and the Red Star.