Photo of the Red Army Air Force pilot I.T. Grossula, Hero of the Soviet Union

The original photo is in good collector's condition. The size is 50*75 mm. There are traces of pasting into the album on the back. Guarantee of authenticity.

Ivan Timofeevich Grossul (1920-1972) — Guard major of the Soviet Army, participant of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union (1943). Ivan Grossul was born on March 10, 1920, in the village of Borovsky (now the Vradiyevsky district of the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine) in a peasant family. Graduated from high school. Since 1929, he lived in Panteleimonovka, studied at the Donetsk Aero Club. In 1937, Grossul was drafted to serve in the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. In 1938, he graduated from the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation School of Pilots. Since June 1941, he served on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Member of the CPSU since 1942. By August 1943, Guards Captain Ivan Grossul was deputy squadron commander of the 10th Guards Long-range Aviation Regiment of the 3rd Guards Long-range Aviation Division of the 3rd Guards Long-range Aviation Corps. By that time, he had flown 241 combat missions to bomb military industry facilities deep behind enemy lines. In aerial combat, Grossula's crew shot down 5 German fighters. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated September 18, 1943, Captain Ivan Grossul was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal number 1732 for "exemplary performance of command tasks and courage and heroism in battles with the German invaders." After the end of the war, Grossul continued to serve in the Soviet Army. In 1954, he was discharged from the reserve with the rank of major in the Guards. He lived in Sochi, died on April 7, 1972.