Zahar Sorokin Fighter pilot Date of Birth: 17.03.1917 Country: Russia

Biography of Zakhar Sorokin

Zakhar Artemovich Sorokin was born in 1917 in the village of Glubokoe, which is now in the Kamensk district of the Sverdlovsk region. In the 1920s, the Sorokin family moved to the city of Tikhoretsk in the Krasnodar region. There, Zakhar completed 7 classes of school and a vocational school. He worked as an assistant locomotive engineer and studied at an aero club.
In 1937, he began his military service in the Naval Fleet. After graduating from the Eisk Naval Aviation School in 1939, he was sent to the fighter aviation regiment of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.
Zakhar Sorokin became an accomplished pilot and served in the Northern Fleet during World War II. He completed 103 combat sorties and shot down 11 enemy aircraft in 19 aerial battles. For his bravery and military prowess, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on August 19, 1944.
After the war, Sorokin continued to serve in the Naval Fleet aviation. He retired in 1955 with the rank of Guard Captain. He lived in Moscow and worked in the Soviet War Veterans Committee. He was also a member of the Union of Journalists of the USSR. He was an honorary citizen of the city of Karasuk in the Novosibirsk region. Sorokin was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner (three times), and various other medals, including a foreign order. He passed away on March 19, 1978.
Zakhar Sorokin was a prolific author, writing several books including "Winged Guardsmen," "In the Skies of the Arctic," "Stars on the Fuselage," "Master of the Blue Heights," and "Marching into Battle."
Throughout his life, Zakhar Sorokin faced many challenges, but his determination and courage as a pilot made him a true hero.