Andrei Ivanovich Popov is a Hero of the Soviet Union, an honest, decisive, brave warrior who was not afraid of anything in his path. He was a military pilot, spent more than two hundred sorties, 50 air battles, personally shot down 19 fighters.
Youth
He was born in 1923 in the Tambov province of the USSR in a family of peasants. When the boy was seven years old, his family began to move from place to place often until he settled in the village of Lyzlovo in the Moscow Region. At that time, Andrei was 11 years old.
The village of Lyzlovo was very small, there were no schools or shops. Education Andrei had to get in the schools of neighboring villages. He graduated from the eighth grade in 1940.
Army
In 1941, Andrei Popov was drafted into the army. In 1942, he graduated from the school of pilots and in the same year he got to the front. He visited as a pilot on the Kalinin, Baltic, Bryansk and other fronts.
Andrei Popov shot down his first enemy helicopter in 1943. Then, in two months, he took part in 18 sorties, 8 fights in the air and was able to shoot down 4 fascist combat fighters.
In April 1943, Andrei Ivanovich Popov received the rank of lieutenant. In this regard, he became a senior pilot of a fighter aviation regiment.
Andrei Ivanovich Popov was a hero. He was never afraid, even if the enemy possessed a numerical superiority, entered the battle alone, forcing opponents to flee. He commanded several sorties on enemy territory and almost always returned his entire team safe and sound.
By the end of 1943, Andrei Popov was transferred to senior lieutenant and appointed commander of the aviation link. Until February 1944, in this rank Andrei Ivanovich Popov made 126 sorties on the instructions of the command, shot down 18 enemy fighters. For his heroism and courage, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Until June 1944, he made more than two hundred sorties, shot down more than 20 fighters, conducted fifty air battles.
June 23, 1944 Andrei Ivanovich Popov went on a mission from which he could not return. How he died, it is not known for certain, he is listed as a missing person. He was only 21 years old.
Awards and memory
He was awarded for his military career with such awards as the Order of Lenin, the Golden Star, the Order of the Red Banner (2), the Order of the Patriotic War and a large number of medals.
In the village of Kolyubakino there is Popova Street, named so in memory of the fact that this Hero of the Soviet Union graduated from high school there. Also in this village there is a memorial plaque in honor of Andrei Popov.
On Victory Square in Minsk, the name of the hero was immortalized on a stele.