1. Viktor Vasilevich Talalikhin was a Soviet lieutenant and aviator during the Winter War and World War II and a Hero of the Soviet Union, among the first to perform aerial ramming at night.
13 Facts About Viktor Talalikhin
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Viktor Talalikhin served in the air defense of Moscow during World War II with an aviation regiment of the Soviet Air Defence Forces.
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Viktor Talalikhin claimed three victories during the Winter War and four in the air defense of Moscow.
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Viktor Talalikhin was born on 18 September 1918 in the village of Teplovka in Saratov Governorate to a peasant family.
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Viktor Talalikhin worked at the plant from 1934 to 1937; he joined a factory gliding group in September 1935 and with a Komsomol direction took flying lessons at the Proletarsky District flying club.
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Viktor Talalikhin made his first solo flight in a Polikarpov U-2 in June 1937.
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Viktor Talalikhin became a junior pilot in the 3rd Squadron of the 27th Fighter Aviation Regiment, part of the Air Forces of the Moscow Military District, flying the Polikarpov I-153 biplane.
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Viktor Talalikhin was reported as the first pilot in history to ram an enemy aircraft at night, and was feted in Moscow by Soviet media as the first major Soviet air hero of World War II.
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Viktor Talalikhin soon became a squadron commander in the 177th.
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Viktor Talalikhin claimed two Messerschmitt Bf 109s before being shot down and killed by another.
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Viktor Talalikhin's body was sent to Moscow and cremated, and on 23 February 1959 the urn with his ashes was moved to the Novodevichy Cemetery.
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On 30 August 1948, Viktor Talalikhin was permanently added to the muster list of the 1st Squadron of the 177th Fighter Aviation Regiment.
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In June 2014, the wreckage of the I-16 that Viktor Talalikhin rammed the bomber in was discovered in a forest 20 kilometers from Moscow.