Photo of Lieutenant General S.P. Denisov– twice Hero of the Soviet Union

The original photo is in very good collector's condition. The size is 55*79 mm. There are traces of pasting into the album on the back. It should be noted that both of the Hero's stars were received by him before the start of the Second World War. The photo, apparently, was taken in 1943, when the transition from a turn–down collar to a stand was made - the general had not yet had time to sew a new tunic and only cut off the buttonholes from the old one. Guarantee of authenticity.

Sergei Prokofievich Denisov (December 12 [25], 1909, Rossosh — June 6, 1971, Moscow) was a Soviet fighter pilot and military commander, a participant in the Spanish Civil War, the battles on Khalkhin Gol, the Soviet-Finnish War, and the Great Patriotic War. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (07/04/1937, 03/21/1940). Lieutenant General of Aviation (06/04/1940). Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 1st convocation (1937-1946).

He was born in the settlement of Rossosh (according to other sources on the farm Inn[3])[4], in the family of a worker. Russian by nationality. He received his primary education at the Novokharkovka settlement school. He worked as a motorist at a machine and tractor station in Rossosh. He served as a motorist in the 17th Aviation Fleet, and was sent to study in February 1931. In 1931, he graduated from the military pilot school at the 83rd Aviation Detachment. From August 1931, he was a junior pilot and senior pilot of the 33rd Aviation Squadron (according to other sources, the 11th Aviation Squadron of the 111th Aviation Brigade of the Leningrad Military District Air Force). Since May 1934, he was a squadron commander in the 41st Aviation Squadron of the 83rd Fighter Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of the Belarusian Military District.

From November 1936 to April 1937, he volunteered in the Spanish Civil War, where he was commander of an aviation detachment. He fought on the I-16 fighter. In Spain, he flew more than 200 combat missions, personally shot down 3 and 4 enemy aircraft in a group[6]. However, after returning to the USSR, at a meeting with the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR for Aviation, Ya. I. Alksnis, in April 1937, he reported to him that he had shot down 12 aircraft personally (this figure is often found in the literature). In a number of publications, there are even higher numbers of victories — 13 individual and 6 group).

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 4, 1937, Sergei Prokofievich Denisov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin, and after the establishment of a special degree of distinction, the Gold Star Medal No. 51. Since May 1937 — commander of the fighter aviation regiment. From August 1938 to April 1939, he was the commander of the 142nd Light Bomber Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of the Belarusian Military District[8]. In 1939, he graduated from the Advanced Training Courses for command personnel at the Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army. Since April 1939, he has been commander of the 2nd Special Forces Army (AON—2) with headquarters in Voronezh. In 1939, he took part in the military conflict with Japan in the Khalkhin Gol River area, being the senior member of a group of military specialists sent to help air units operating in the combat zone.

In 1937 and 1939, he sent notes to I. V. Stalin about the shortcomings in the current state of fighter aircraft, which he identified in front-line conditions, and proposed a number of measures to remedy the situation (the rejection of dividing fighters into high-speed and maneuverable, mandatory machine-gun and cannon armament, provision of radio communications for each aircraft, the need to increase speed, etc.) The first of which was transferred to the People's Commissariat of Defense Industry of the USSR, but the People's Commissar M. M. Kaganovich did not take any measures on it. Thanks to these documents, Stalin considered S. P. Denisov an expert in fighter aviation for some time.

On January 10, 1940, he became Commander of the Air Force of the 7th Army. In this position he participated in the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 21, 1940, for his skilful leadership of the fighting during the breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line, Commander Denisov Sergei Prokofievich was awarded the second Gold Star Medal (No. 4). Denisov became the fifth and last of the two pre-war Heroes of the Soviet Union.

In April 1940, S. P. Denisov was appointed Commander of the Air Force of the Transcaucasian Military District. This position became the peak of his career. He was relieved of his post on June 20, 1941 "for the low combat training of units and the unsatisfactory condition of the materiel"[10]. At the same time, according to some authors, he was demoted from lieutenant general to colonel or even to lieutenant colonel, but such information is not supported by documents.

During the Great Patriotic War, from August 1941— he was the head of the Kachin Military Aviation School of Pilots named after A. F. Myasnikov. By order of the Commander of the Red Army Air Force, A. A. Novikov, on November 20, 1942, he was relieved of his post as head of the aviation school, as he had failed in his official duties. In addition, he was blamed for his inability to fix shortcomings in his work, lack of authority among subordinates, and alcohol abuse. He was in the reserve of the commander of the Air Force for three months. From February 1943— he was commander of the 283rd Fighter Aviation Division of the 16th Air Army. At the head of the division, he performed well during the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of the Dnieper.

For alcohol abuse, he was initially severely reprimanded by the party line, and on December 14, 1943, he was removed from his post as division commander. Since February 1944, he has been a senior assistant to the head of the 4th Tactical Training Department of the Directorate of Formation and Military Training of the Red Army Air Force. From October 1946 to November 1947, he studied at the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy. He has been retired due to illness since 1947. Sergei Prokofievich Denisov died on June 6, 1971 in Moscow. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.