Red Star to Air Force commissar: 105251

[Auke]

I thought I'd post one of my latest Red Stars, since quite a few of you seem to like those just as much as I do.

This one (nr. 105251) was awarded by Order of February 19, 1943 to the 38-year-old Major Ivan Stepanovich Vakurov, the deputy commander for political affairs of the 2nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, 215th Fighter Aviation Division, 2nd Fighter Aviation Corps, 14th Air Army, Volkhov Front.

[Auke]

Record card

Order booklet nr. 647351

1. Last name: Vakurov
2. First name and patronymic: Ivan Stepanovich
3. Military rank: Lieutenant Colonel
4. Sex: Male
5. Year of birth: 1907
6. Place of birth: Polevskoi Worker Settlement, Polevskoi Raion, Sverdlovsk Oblast
7. Party membership (since which year): Member of the Communist Party since 1928
8. Education: Elementary
9. Nationality: Russian
10. Since which year in the Red Army: From October 19, 1929 to December 15, 1930 and since October 6, 1935
11. Place of service (name of unit) and duty position occupied at the time of the awarding: Deputy chief of staff for the control and guidance point of the 123rd Fighter Aviation Division
12. Current place of service and duty position: Deputy chief of staff for the command point of the 123rd Fighter Aviation Division
13. Home address of the awardee: 6 Danilevsky Street, apartment nr. 38, city of Kharkov
14. Record of all awards presented:

Order of the Red Star nr. 771116 [sic] by Order of the Western Front nr. 0502 of April 30, 1942
Order of the Red Star nr. 105251 by Order of the Volkhov Front nr. 012/N of February 19, 1943
Combat Merits Medal nr. 2943860 by Decree of November 6, 1945
Order of the Red Star nr. 2915586 by Decree of November 15, 1950
Order of the Red Banner nr. 429108 by Decree of November 5, 1954
Medal for the Defense of Leningrad
Medal for the Defense of Moscow
Medal for the Victory over Germany
Medal for the Capture of Königsberg
Medal for 30 Years of Soviet Army and Fleet

Signature of the awardee: [signed]

I confirm the correctness of the data and the signature of the awardee:

Chief of staff of the 123rd Fighter Aviation Division
Guards Colonel [signed] /Borisenko/
January 20, 1955

[Auke]

Award sheet

Last name, first name, and patronymic: Vakurov, Ivan Stepanovich
Military rank: Major
Duty position, unit: Deputy commander for political affairs of the 2nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment
Recommended for: Order of the Red Star
1. Year of birth: 1907
2. Nationality: Russian
3. Since when in the Red Army: Since 1935
4. Party membership: Member of the Communist Party since 1928
5. Participation in combat (where and when): In the Patriotic War since July 1941
6. Suffered wounds and contusions: No
7. Which earlier awards (for which merits): None
8. Drafted by which military commissariat: Sverdlovsk
9. Permanent home address (of the prospective awardee or his family): 3 Osipenko Street, city of Sverdlovsk

Short, concrete description of personal combat feat or merits:

Comrade Ivan Stepanovich Vakurov has been participating in the Patriotic War since July 1941. During the fighting to lift the siege of Leningrad, while serving with the 2nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, he carried out a lot of activities to mobilize the men of the regiment for self-sacrificing combat actions. Within the regiment he organized a correct operational responsiveness of political officers and party organizations to the results of each combat flight. Because of this, within the regiment a rise of the quality of the combat flights was achieved. The last couple of days the pilots of the regiment have destroyed 6-8 enemy aircraft without suffering any losses themselves.

The high moral spirit of the flyers of the regiment was visible during a series of battles fought by the regiment. For example:

Two pilots of the regiment fought with eight enemy fighters and shot down two of them while two others were damaged; six pilots of the regiment fought with nineteen enemy fighters and shot down five of them. In both cases they didn't suffer any losses themselves.

During the period in which the regiment faced difficulties with the materiel, Vakurov personally scrutinously inspected the status of the repair activities on each plane and took energetic measures affecting the technicians to improve the quality of their work.

Within the regiment the agitational activities were organized very well. By personal agitation Vakurov inspires the men to fulfill heroic deeds.

For good and concrete party-political activities within the 2nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, that enabled the regiment to execute the assigned combat missions during the battles to break through the siege of Leningrad, Vakurov deserves to be awarded the Order of the Red Star.

Deputy commander for political affairs of the 215th Fighter Aviation Division
Brigade Commissar [signed] /Vinogradov/
February 5, 1943



Deserves to be awarded the Order of the Red Star.

Commander of the 215th Fighter Aviation Division
Lieutenant General of Aviation [signed] /Kravchenko/
February ___, 1943



Deserves to be awarded the Order of the Red Star.

Commander of the 2nd Fighter Aviation Corps
Major General of Aviation [signed] /Blagoveshchensky/
February ___, 1943



Agreed.

Commander of the 14th Air Army
Major General of Aviation [signed] /Zhuravlyov/
February ___, 1943



Is to be awarded the Order of the Red Star.

Commander of the Volkhov Front
Army General /Meretskov/

Member of the military council
Lieutenant General [signed] /Mekhlis/
February ___, 1943

[Auke]

Between 1947 and 1955 Vakurov served as deputy chief of staff of a fighter division. He retired a Lieutenant Colonel in December 1955.

And this is him around 1947-1948:

[Bill Garvy]

I always enjoy reading about and seeing Red Stars; very nice screw-post base example too. . .

On his Record Card, do you know if his Order of the Red Star, erroneously listed as 771116, could be either #77116 or #71116? Just wondering. . .

[Auke]

Sometimes a 0 looks like two 1s, but that's not the case here, judging by the clerk's handwriting style. My guess is it's 77116 and he accidentally added another 1.

[Bill Garvy]

Seeing the Record Card that certainly is a reasonable hypothesis.