Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin

Fighter pilot, the first person ever to be made Hero of the Soviet Union three times, and Marshal of Aviation (1972). Born on 6 March 1913 in Novonikolayevsk (now Novosibirsk). He joined the army in 1932 as an aircraft technician, pressed for a transfer to flying duties and graduated from the Kacha military aviation school in 1939. He met the war on 22 June 1941 with the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment and fought on the Southern, North Caucasus, 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts. From 1943 he served in the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment and from 1944 commanded the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Division. He flew the MiG-3 and Yak-1, and from 1943 the American P-39 Airacobra. The air battles over the Kuban in spring 1943 established his reputation as a tactician. He abandoned close formations in favour of stacking by altitude and free manoeuvre by pairs; his formula "altitude — speed — manoeuvre — fire" passed into Soviet fighter practice. His official score is 59 individual victories; some researchers note that a number of his 1941 victories went uncredited after his regiment's records were lost. He was made Hero of the Soviet Union on 24 May 1943, 24 August 1943 and 19 August 1944. He died on 13 November 1985 and is buried at Novodevichy Cemetery.