Photo of Red Army Air Force Captain V.P. Sidyakin, Hero of the Soviet Union

The original photo is in excellent collector's condition. The size is 82*120 mm. Rare. Guarantee of authenticity.

Vasily Pavlovich Sidyakin (1922-1997) — senior pilot of the 155th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment of the 9th Guards Assault Aviation Division of the 1st Guards Assault Aviation Corps of the 2nd Air Army, Guards Lieutenant. Hero of the Soviet Union. He was born on April 19, 1922 in the village of Shishkino (now Talmensky district, Altai Territory) in a peasant family. Mordvin. He graduated from the 7th grade of a local school. He studied at the regional political education school in the city of Beloyarsk. In March 1941, he entered the newly opened special school of the civil Air Fleet in Kamen-on-Ob. In August 1941, due to the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, he was transferred to the Molotov Military Aviation School of Pilots, where he mastered the Il-2. After graduating from school in April 1943, Sergeant Sidyakin was sent to the front in the 820th Assault Aviation Regiment. He participated in the battles on the Kursk Bulge, in the Korsun-Shevchenko, Lviv, and Iasi-Kishinev offensive operations. Member of the CPSU (b) since 1944. In March 1945, he was promoted to a high rank. By that time, Guard Lieutenant Sidyakin had flown 169 combat sorties to attack enemy troops, personally shot down 2 and 8 enemy aircraft in a group.

By decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces dated April 10, 1945, Lieutenant Vasily Pavlovich Sidyakin was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal for exemplary performance of command tasks and courage and heroism in battles with the Nazi invaders of the Guard.

Participated in the Berlin offensive. He ended the war in Prague. He participated in the Victory Day Parade on Red Square in Moscow on June 24, 1945.

After the war, he continued to serve in the Air Force, mastering the latest types of aircraft. In 1952 he graduated from the Higher Tactical Flight Courses. Since 1956, Colonel V. P. Sidyakin has been in the reserve. He lived in the city of Voronezh. In 1964, he graduated from the Law Faculty of the Lenin Komsomol State University. He worked as Deputy Head of the Voronezh Aviation Enterprise for political affairs, head of the Department of the Voronezh City Enterprise of Combined Boiler Houses and Heating Networks. He died on April 12, 1997. He was buried at the Komintern cemetery. In his homeland, in the village of Talmenka, Altai Territory, a bust of the hero was installed. By a resolution of the Altai Regional Council of People's Deputies dated April 4, 2005, the Shishkin school was named after V. P. Sidyakin.