Photo certificate of Senior Lieutenant of the Red Army Air Force M.S. Osipenko– Hero of the Soviet Union

The original photo is in good collector's condition. The size is 85*110 mm. The TASS newsreel. Guarantee of authenticity.

Mikhail Stepanovich Osipenko (May 25, 1923 — March 31, 1996) was a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Army, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union (1946), stripped of all ranks and awards due to his conviction. He was born in the village of Panikovka (now in the Pochepsky district of the Bryansk region). In 1939, he graduated from seven grades of school, entered the College of agricultural mechanization in Yelets, but completed only one course. In 1941, he graduated from the Lipetsk aero Club, after which he was drafted into the Red Army in May. In August 1941, he graduated from the military aviation school of pilots in Sverdlovsk. In August-December 1941, he was an instructor pilot at the 18th Military Aviation School for initial pilot training, and from January 1942, he was a pilot at the 5th Reserve Aviation Regiment in Kuibyshev. Since October 1942, he served on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. He worked his way up from pilot to commander of the 873rd aviation squadron (since October 1944 - 188th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment (12th Guards Assault Aviation Division, 3rd Guards Assault Aviation Corps). He took part in the fighting on the Kalinin, Western, and 2nd Ukrainian fronts, the liberation of the cities of Velikiye Luki, Yelnya, and Smolensk. He participated in the Iasi-Kishinev operation, the liberation of Romania, Hungary and Austria. He was seriously wounded in the fighting. By April 27, 1945, Osipenko had flown 163 combat sorties on an Il-2 attack aircraft, 109 of them as a group leader. He personally destroyed 19 tanks, 48 vehicles, 8 machine-gun nests, 6 mortar crews, 24 guns, 43 horse-drawn wagons, 8 wagons, 2 armored personnel carriers, 2 enemy depots, and more than 400 German soldiers and officers. He participated in 22 air battles, shot down 3 planes, and burned another 1 at an enemy airfield. On May 15, 1946, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, for "courage and heroism shown in battles with the Nazi invaders", Guard Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Osipenko was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal number 6673. In 1945, he graduated from the Higher Officer School of the Air Force. in Lipetsk, and in 1949 — the 2nd Central Tactical Flight Training Courses for officers, after which he continued to serve in Air Force combat units in the Southern Group of Forces, in the Odessa Military District, commanded an aviation squadron. In 1949, he was promoted to the rank of major. In June 1959, he was discharged from the reserve with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was also awarded two Orders of the Red Banner (09/10/1943, 08/9/1944), the Order of Alexander Nevsky (04/30/1945), the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree (09/21/1943), three Orders of the Red Star (07/24/1943, 07/13/1945, 12/30/1956), a number of medals, including the medal "For Courage" (01/11/1943) and "For military merit" (19.11.1951)[1]. After his discharge, he lived in the village of Ovidiopol in the Odessa region of the Ukrainian SSR. In May 1965, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for murder. On December 10, 1965, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he was stripped of all titles and awards. In 1974, he was released from prison on parole, and after his release he continued to live in Ovidiopol. The fate of Osipenko has not been determined.