Boris Feoktistovich Safonov

BORIS FEOKTISTOVICH SAFONOV was a Soviet naval fighter pilot and one of the best-known aces of the opening period of the Great Patriotic War. After aviation training in Tula and graduation from the Kachin military aviation school, he served in fighter aviation of the Belorussian Military District and later transferred to the Northern Fleet Air Force. During the war he commanded a fighter squadron of the 72nd Mixed Aviation Regiment, the 78th Fighter Aviation Regiment, and the 2nd Guards Mixed Aviation Regiment. Safonov became the first participant in the Great Patriotic War to be awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union twice; the second award was made posthumously. Research based on documentary evidence credits him with 20 individual and 5 shared aerial victories, although other totals also occur in the literature. His final combat mission was flown while covering Allied convoy PQ-16; his aircraft went down in the Barents Sea, and the precise cause of his loss remains disputed. While serving in Belorussia, Safonov married Evgenia Valentinovna; they had a son, Igor. He was also among the Soviet pilots awarded the British Distinguished Flying Cross. His memory was perpetuated in the name of a military unit, a settlement, and numerous memorials; in 2024 the Bank of Russia issued a commemorative silver 2-rouble coin dedicated to him.