Full Cavalier of the Order of Glory Mikhail Kuzmich Gerasimov

Gerasimov Mikhail Kuzmich

Air gunner of the 90th Guards Assault Aviation Staro-Konstantinov Regiment (4th Guards Assault Aviation Kiev Red Banner Order of Kutuzov 2nd Class Division, 5th Guards Assault Aviation Vinnitsa Red Banner Orders of Kutuzov 2nd Class and Bohdan Khmelnytsky 2nd Class Corps, 5th Air Army, 2nd Ukrainian Front), Guards sergeant – at the time of nomination for the Order of Glory 1st Class.

Born on October 20, 1920, in the village of Zelenaya Rosha, Barnaul County, Altai Province, now part of the Rebrikhin District of Altai Krai. From a peasant family. Russian.

Graduated from 7 grades and vocational school at the Krivoschekovo station in Novosibirsk Oblast (now Novosibirsk-West station within the city of Novosibirsk). Worked as a driver in a collective farm in the Pakhtaralsky District of the Chikment (now South Kazakhstan) region of the Kazakh SSR.

Drafted into the Red Army by the Parfenovsky District Military Commissariat of Altai Krai in March 1940. Participated in the Great Patriotic War from August 1941. Fought in anti-aircraft units, participated in defensive battles near Velikiye Luki.

Completed air gunner courses in 1942. Rejoined the active army at the front of the Great Patriotic War in April 1943. Throughout the subsequent combat path, he served as an air gunner in the 90th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment on the Kalinin Front, from June 1943 on the Voronezh Front, from October 1943 on the 1st Ukrainian Front, and from September 1944 on the 2nd Ukrainian Front. Participant in the Battle of Kursk, the Battle for the Dnieper, Zhytomyr-Berdychiv, Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, Proskurov-Chernovtsy, Lviv-Sandomierz, Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava-Brno, and Prague offensive operations.

By September 1943, he had completed 15 combat sorties. In a battle on August 7, 1943, his attack aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire; Sergeant Mikhail Gerasimov left it by parachute, evaded enemy pursuit on the ground, met the advancing Red Army troops, and safely returned to his regiment. For these battles, he was awarded his first honor – the Order of the Red Star.

His second award was the Order of the Patriotic War for the subsequent 20 combat sorties (by mid-November 1943) and for 2 aerial battles on September 24 and November 1, 1943, when he repelled attacks from German fighters with machine-gun fire, preventing them from aiming at his attack aircraft.

The third order – the Order of the Red Banner – followed shortly after for completing another 41 combat sorties by March 1944, including for saving his aircraft from attacks by two fighters during a battle on January 17, 1944.

Air gunner of the 90th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment (4th Guards Assault Aviation Division, 5th Guards Assault Aviation Corps, 5th Air Army, 2nd Ukrainian Front) Guards Sergeant Gerasimov Mikhail Kuzmich completed 36 combat sorties from March 1944 to October 1944. In battles on July 21 and September 1, 1944, he repelled attacks from German fighters with machine-gun fire, and in the latter battle, a German fighter sustained direct hits, caught fire, and retreated to its territory.

For exemplary performance of combat missions from the Command on the front against the German invaders and for displayed valor and courage, by order of the 4th Guards Assault Aviation Division No. 025/n dated October 31, 1944, Guards Sergeant Gerasimov Mikhail Kuzmich was awarded the Order of Glory 3rd Class.

Air gunner of the 141st Guards Assault Aviation Regiment (same command) Guards Sergeant Gerasimov Mikhail Kuzmich completed another 36 combat sorties from October 1944 to the end of February 1945. In a battle on November 16, 1944, his attack aircraft was attacked by 2 German fighters. In the ensuing aerial battle, he damaged both fighters, forcing them to withdraw from the fight and retreat to their territory.

For exemplary performance of combat missions from the Command on the front against the German invaders and for displayed valor and courage, by order of the 5th Air Army No. 048/n dated March 26, 1945, Guards Sergeant Gerasimov Mikhail Kuzmich was awarded the Order of Glory 2nd Class.

Air gunner of the 141st Guards Assault Aviation Regiment (same command) Guards Sergeant Gerasimov Mikhail Kuzmich completed 78 combat sorties from March to May 1945. In an aerial battle on April 2, 1945, during an attack on enemy artillery, his group of attack aircraft was attacked by German fighters, and in this battle, he personally shot down an FW-190 fighter.

For exemplary performance of combat missions from the Command on the front against the German invaders and for displayed valor and courage, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 15, 1946, Guards Sergeant Gerasimov Mikhail Kuzmich was awarded the Order of Glory 1st Class.

In total, during the war, he completed 227 combat sorties and personally shot down 5 fascist aircraft. His IL-2, piloted by Hero of the Soviet Union Viktor Kumskov, never returned without completing its mission.

In July 1945, Guards Sergeant M.K. Gerasimov was demobilized. Member of the VKP(b)/CPSU since 1945.

He fought in the same regiment as Georgy Beregovoy, a future cosmonaut. He was often a guest at Star City when Beregovoy invited his comrades to meetings on the anniversary of Victory Day.

Lived in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan until 1962. Worked as an ambulance driver. In 1965, he moved to Frunze, Kyrgyz SSR (now Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic). Worked as a driver in the city taxi park No. 1.

Lived in Bishkek. Died on August 20, 1993.

Guards sergeant (1944). Awarded the Order of the Red Banner (March 28, 1944), Orders of the Patriotic War 1st (March 11, 1985) and 2nd (November 28, 1943) Classes, Orders of Glory of three classes, the Order of the Red Star (September 10, 1943), medals "For the Defense of Moscow," "For the Capture of Budapest," "For the Capture of Vienna," "For the Liberation of Prague," and other medals.