Biplane fighter aces

Soviet Union

Starshiy Leytenant Nikifor Ignatyevich Ignatyev

1 June 1915 - 3 December 1943

Nikifor Ignatyev was born on 1 June 1915.

He joined the Red Army in May 1937 and graduated from the military aviation school in 1940.

In June 1941, he served in the 71 IAP-KBF.

In December 1941, he was transferred to the 27 IAP/VVS-SF (North Sea Fleet Air Force).

In April 1942, his unit was still equipped with the old I-153 Chayka biplanes in low-level attacks against the German troops at Motovskiy Bay.

On 15 April, he claimed two enemy aircraft in the Murmansk area.
For this combat, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

In the evening on 29 April, 6./JG5 managed to catch the obsolescent I-153s in the air near Zapadnaya Litsa. In the uneven combat that followed, three biplanes were shot down (one by Unteroffizier Rudolf Müller (totally 94 victories)). Serzhant Kozshevnikov was killed while Starshiy Leytenant Afanasenkov and Starshiy Leytenant Nikifor Ignatyev survived with injuries in his leg. Under fire from German troops which again hit his wounded leg, Ignatyev crawled from his crash-landed I-153 in no-man’s-land back to the Soviet lines. There he reported the “taran” of a Bf109.
For this combat he was awarded a second Order of the Red Banner.

He was later posted to 2 GIAP-SF.

At 11:52 on 29 April 1943, Starshiy Leytenant Ignatyev shot down a Bf109G-2 in the Murmansk area while flying a P-39.
The German fighter was flown by Feldwebel E. Fahldieck of 6./JG 5, who was captured and became a PoW.

He returned to 27 IAP/VVS-SF on 23 May 1943 and was appointed flight commander.

Ignatyev was killed on 3 December 1943 in battle near Polyarniy (Murmansk region).

At the time of his death Ignatyev was credited with 3 biplane victories and a total of 8.
He had made more than 300 sorties and also destroyed one field-gun, eight anti-aircraft machine-guns and one aerial observation balloon.

Claims:

Kill no.	Date	Time	Number	Type	Result	Plane type	Serial no.	Locality	Unit
	1942
1	15/04/42		1	Enemy aircraft	Destroyed	I-153		Murmansk area	27 IAP/VVS-SF
2	15/04/42		1	Enemy aircraft	Destroyed	I-153		Murmansk area	27 IAP/VVS-SF
3	29/04/42	evening	1	Bf109 (a)	Destroyed	I-153		near Zapadnaya Litsa	27 IAP/VVS-SF
	1943
?	29/04/43	11:52	1	Bf109 (c)	Destroyed	P-39		Murmansk area	2 GIAP-SF

Biplane victories: 3 destroyed.
TOTAL: 8 destroyed.
(a) Claimed in a “taran” attack in combat with 6./JG5.
(b) Bf109G-2 flown by Feldwebel E. Fahldieck of 6./JG 5, who was captured and became a PoW.

Sources:
Aeroram
Black Cross/Red Star Volume I - Christer Bergström and Andrey Mikhailov, 2000 Pacifica Military History, ISBN 0-935553-48-7
Black Cross/Red Star Volume II - Christer Bergström and Andrey Mikhailov, 2001 Pacifica Military History, ISBN 0-935553-51-7
Stalin's Eagles - Hans D. Seidl, 1998 Schiffer Publishing, ISBN 0-7643-0476-3
Additional information kindly provided by Ondrej Repka and Yuri Shakhov.