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Petr MinervinFighter pilot
Country:
 Russia |
Content:
Fighter Pilot
Pavel Vasilyevich Minervin was a fighter pilot who served in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953.
During the war, Minervin was deputy commander of the 3rd Aviation Squadron of the 16th Fighter Aviation Regiment (97th Fighter Aviation Division). He participated in air battles, where he shot down three enemy aircraft.
In January 1952, Minervin began flying a MiG-15 that had previously belonged to Colonel E.G. Pepeleev, commander of the 196th Fighter Aviation Regiment. On February 10, 1952, he achieved a victory over an American F-86 "Sabre" fighter in this aircraft.
In early February, the 303rd Fighter Aviation Division conducted experiments on creating a camouflage scheme to gain air supremacy. "MiGs" of the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps were stripped of their red nose and upper fin markings, and repainted in a chosen camouflage pattern. The upper surfaces were painted silvery-green, and the lower surfaces dark blue.
Pavel Minervin received a new MiG-15bis aircraft with the serial number 2415308 in March 1952, replacing his previous MiG-15. It is unclear whether his previous aircraft, "325," was repainted in the new camouflage scheme or remained white without the red nose.
On April 30, 1952, Captain Pavel Minervin achieved two air victories, shooting down a pair of F-80 "Shooting Star" fighters.
