Ivan Sklyarov Fighter pilot Date of Birth: 21.07.1919 Country: Ukraine

Biography of Ivan Sklyarov

Ivan Sklyarov was born on July 12, 1919, in the village of Shchemilovka, which is now part of the city of Slavyansk in the Donetsk region. He completed seven grades of an incomplete secondary school in 1934 and joined the aeroclub. Sklyarov worked as a flying instructor in the aeroclub of the city of Kherson before joining the Red Army in 1940. In 1941, he completed an accelerated course at the Kherson Military Aviation School for Pilots. Sklyarov participated in the Great Patriotic War from March 1943, serving in the 193rd Fighter Aviation Regiment (later becoming the 177th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment) on the Voronezh, Steppe, and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts. He took part in the Battle of the Dnieper, the Jassy-Kishinev operation, and the battles in Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. By February 1944, Sklyarov became the commander of the 193rd Fighter Aviation Squadron of the 302nd Fighter Aviation Kirovograd Division. He completed 135 combat flights and shot down 18 enemy aircraft in 28 aerial battles. On July 1, 1944, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for his courage and military valor in combat. By the end of the war, Sklyarov had completed over 223 combat flights and participated in 46 aerial battles, personally shooting down 26 enemy aircraft. After the war, he continued to serve in the Air Force until 1949, when he retired as a Senior Lieutenant. Sklyarov lived in Kazatin, Vinnytsia Oblast and in 1968, he successfully graduated from the Kharkiv Institute of Railway Engineers. He worked as a senior engineer at the Kazatin branch of the railway and later as deputy head of the wagon department of the Southwest Railway. Sklyarov was awarded the Orders of Lenin, the Red Banner (three times), the Patriotic War of the 1st and 2nd degrees, and other medals. He passed away on August 15, 1980, and was buried in Kazatin, Vinnytsia Oblast. The Pioneer detachment of School No. 8 in Slavyansk carried his name for a long time.