Photo of Red Army Air Force pilots in flight uniforms at the aircraft

The original wartime photo is in good collector's condition. The size is 82*112 mm. There are traces of pasting into the album on the back. Guarantee of authenticity.

Pyotr Timofeevich Kharitonov (December 16, 1916 — February 1, 1987) was a participant in the Great Patriotic War, fighter pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union (1941). He was born on December 16, 1916 in the village of Knyazhevo (now Morshansky district of the Tambov region). He received secondary education. After completing his pedagogical courses, he worked as a teacher at primary school No. 12 in Ulan-Ude. He graduated from the Bataisk Military Aviation School of Pilots in 1940. He participated in the Great Patriotic War since June 1941. Pilot of the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment (39th Fighter Aviation Division, Northern Front).

On June 28, 1941, Peter Kharitonov flew as part of the I-16 flight under the command of Lieutenant Dmitry Loktyukhov on his first combat mission to repel a Ju-88 bomber raid on the city of Ostrov, Pskov region. In the midst of the battle, Kharitonov cut off one bomber from the group and decided to destroy it. Soon he ran out of ammunition. At this time, the shooter of the Junkers opened fire and damaged the oil system of the I-16. But the fighter was still in control, and Kharitonov decided not to withdraw from the battle. He went into the tail of the bomber and found himself in a dead zone. One burst was enough to shoot the enemy at point-blank range, but the machine guns were silent. Then he accelerated and hit the rudder of the depth with the propeller of his fighter. The Junkers clumsily rolled onto its nose and began to fall. Kharitonov watched him until he exploded. Only one member of the Junkers managed to parachute out, and he was captured. The bent rudder caused the fighter to shake, but it continued to obey the rudders. Then Kharitonov decided not to leave the damaged car and landed on his territory. After changing the propeller, the aircraft was ready to take off again. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 543) Peter Timofeevich Kharitonov was awarded on July 8, 1941, one of the first in the Great Patriotic War.

On August 25, 1941, Junior Lieutenant Kharitonov flew out with Lieutenant Viktor Iozitsa to intercept enemy bombers heading for Leningrad. A group of He-111 bombers was found near the village of Zaitsevo in the Leningrad region. As the fighters approached, the enemy tried to hide in the clouds, but he failed to escape. Upon exiting the clouds, the bombers were attacked. Kharitonov set fire to one Heinkel with onboard fire. He turned around abruptly and tried to leave. Then Kharitonov fired another burst at the enemy, and he flared up even more. The Fascist pilot abruptly threw the plane to the side, shot down the flames, and tried to leave again. Kharitonov quickly overtook him and came in to attack from behind. He intended to hit the tail with the propeller, but the air jet from the propellers of the Heinkel threw the fighter to the right. Then, in order not to miss the enemy, Kharitonov banked the plane and cut off a piece of the bomber's wing with the left plane. When ramming, both the fighter suffered, and Kharitonov used a parachute. The German pilots also parachuted out and were taller than Kharitonov. They opened fire on him with pistols. The Soviet pilot tightened the slings and increased the rate of descent. His host was covering for him securely. On the ground, the Germans were beaten and captured by our infantrymen. For this feat, Junior Lieutenant Kharitonov was awarded the Order of Lenin.

In September 1941, Kharitonov was seriously wounded in an air battle. Member of the CPSU (b) since 1942. He returned to service only in 1944. He fought in air defense units until the end of the war. In total, during the war, he shot down 14 enemy aircraft in air battles.

After the war, he continued to serve in the Air Force. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1953. He was the deputy commander of the division. Since 1955, Colonel Kharitonov has been in reserve. He lived in Donetsk. He worked at the city's Civil Defense headquarters. He died on February 1, 1987. He was buried in Donetsk.