Arseny Vorozheykin

Vorozheikin was born on 15 October 1912 in the village of Prokofyevo to a Russian peasant family. He completed his secondary education while living in the city of Gorodets before entering the military in 1931.[1]

Vorozheykin entered the Red Army in 1931. He was initially assigned to the 17th Rifle Division, where he was sent to the town of Gorky. After being transferred to the reserve, he entered the Higher Communist Agricultural School in Gorky, but he graduated only from the first course before he reentered the military in 1934. In 1937 he graduated from the Kharkov Military Aviation School of Pilots. From November 1937 to July 1938 he served as a junior pilot in the 53rd Bomber Regiment. He was then sent for training to become a squadron commissar, and in January 1939 he graduated from the six-month course of pilot commissars, after which he returned to the 53rd Bomber Aviation Regiment as a squadron commissar.[1]

In May 1939 transferred to the 22nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, where he continued to serve as a squadron commissar. There, he participated in the battles on the Khalkhin Gol River from May to September 1939. While in Mongolia he flew approximately 100 sorties on the I-16 fighter, during which he shot down one Ki-27 by himself and gained twelve shared aerial victories.[1]

When he was withdrawn from the fighting in Khalkhin Gol, he was a squadron commissar in the 56th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Due to the start of the Soviet-Finnish War he was transferred to the 38th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which he served in from February to March 1940. He completed a few sorties flying the I-153 during the war.[2]

From May 1940 until July 1941 he was assigned to the 84th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Initially a deputy squadron commander, he became a squadron commander before he was transferred to the 348th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which was based in Yerevan and equipped with the I-153.[2]

Since October 1945 Vorozheykin commanded the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment in the 128th Fighter Air Division. From December 1947 until November 1950 he was the Senior Inspector of the Directorate of Combat Training of Fighter Aircraft of the Soviet Air Force. He graduated from the Higher Military Academy named after K.E.Voroshilov in 1952. From March 1953 he commanded the 108th Fighter Aviation Division in the 76th Air Army of the Leningrad Military District.[3]

In August 1953, his division was transferred from the Soviet Army to the Black Sea Fleet of the Soviet Navy. He was promoted to the rank General-Major on 31 May 1954. In March 1955 he became the assistant commander of the air force of the 4th fleet. In March 1956 he became the senior deputy commander of the air defense in the Black Sea Fleet. He retired due to illness in 1957, after which he lived in Moscow. He died on 23 May 2001 and was buried in the Troekurovsky cemetery.[3]

• Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (4 February 1944 and 19 August 1944)
• Order of Lenin (1944)
• Four Orders of the Red Banner (1939, 1943, 1947, and 1953)
• Order of Suvorov 3rd class (1944)
• Order of Alexander Nevsky (1943)
• Order of the Patriotic War 1st class (1985)
• Two Orders of the Red Star (1947 and 1955)
• Distinguished Flying Cross (1945)
• Order of the Red Banner of Mongolia (1939)

The city of Gorodets has a street named in his honor and a bronze statue of him. [4]