Viktor Nikolayevich Leonov

Commander of reconnaissance detachments in the Northern and Pacific Fleets, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Captain 1st Rank. Born on 21 November 1916 in Zaraysk, Ryazan province. He worked as a fitter in a Moscow factory and was called up to the Northern Fleet in 1937. From 1941 he served in the Northern Fleet's reconnaissance detachment and from December 1943 commanded the 181st Special Reconnaissance Detachment. The unit operated along the Barents Sea coast, landing from motor launches to take prisoners and documents and to scout coastal batteries. In October 1944, during the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation, the detachment crossed the tundra and captured the German battery on Cape Krestovy covering the entrance to Liinakhamari, allowing landing craft to enter the port. The operation brought him the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on 5 November 1944. In the summer of 1945 he took part in the war against Japan with the 140th Reconnaissance Detachment of the Pacific Fleet, operating in the Korean ports of Yuki, Rashin and Wonsan, where his scouts accepted the surrender of a far larger garrison. His second Hero star followed on 14 September 1945. He died in Moscow on 7 October 2003.