Mikhail Safonov (pilot)
Mikhail Ivanovich Safonov, alias Mikko Vuorenheimo | |
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Order of Saint Stanilas Third Class with Swords and Bow, Order of Saint Vladimir Fourth Class with Swords and Ribbon, Order of Saint Vladimir Third Class with Swords and Ribbon | |
Other work | Flew in Finnish Civil War and in RAF. |
Lieutenant Mikhail Ivanovich Safonov (13 November 1893 – May 1924) was a
On 1 December 1915, he soloed. On 2 April 1916, he was classified as a naval pilot. He was posted to pilot Grigorovich M-9 flying boats that mounted a Madsen machine gun. After two aerial victories while piloting flying boats, with consequent decorations for valor, Safonov was appointed to command his Glagol Detachment on 14 July 1917. He gained access to a Nieuport fighter, which he used for his third victory on 7 September 1917. After a promotion to Senior Lieutenant on 25 October, he married while on a brief leave. He returned to command the 2nd Fighter Detachment and score two more aerial victories with the Nieuport. He was mustered out in March 1918.
Safonov then became an itinerant aerial
Biography
Early life and service
Mikhail Ivanovich Safonov was born into nobility on 13 November 1893 in
World War I service
He graduated as a
On 24 November 1915, he was assigned to the Officer's School of Naval Aviation for the
On 24 February 1916, Safonov was posted to the Liaison/Signal Service Corps of the Baltic Fleet. During March, he polished his piloting skills at the
After several air combats, including his first aerial victory on 9 September 1916, he was awarded the
Safonov was appointed as a lieutenant on 10 July 1917. He was selected to command the Glagol Detachment on 14 July 1917. He scored his second aerial victory that day, this time using a Grigorovich M-15, even though the enemy plane was not seen to crash. At 1140 hours on 7 September, Safonov used Nieuport serial no. NR-1 in an attack on an enemy two-seater. He closed to 50 meters range, and fired a short burst for his third victory. On 25 October, Safonov was promoted to Senior Lieutenant and granted a short leave. He married Ludmila Tschebotarioff. Upon his return to duty, he was posted to command the 2nd Land Fighter Detachment at Kuivastoin.[1]
He scored two more aerial victories on successive days, 16 and 17 November 1917. However, the
On 11 April 1918, the newly civilianised Safonov tucked his wife into a Nieuport 10 and took off to join the Finns. While flying reconnaissance flights in the Finnish Civil War, he used the nom de guerre Mikko Vuorenheimo. However, by Summer 1918, the distrustful Finns had not kept their bargain, so Safonov wangled the permits needed to transit German-occupied Russia and join the White Russians' Volunteer Army.[1]
Post World War I
By 1919, Safonov was serving in the
List of aerial victories
See also Aerial victory standards of World War I, List of World War I flying aces from the Russian Empire
Confirmed victories are numbered and listed chronologically.
No. | Date/time | Aircraft | Foe | Result | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9 September 1916 | Grigorovich M-9 | Enemy seaplane | Forced landing | Irben River, off Gulf of Riga | |
2 | 14 July 1917 | Grigorovich M-15 | German two-seater | Lost altitude | Gulf of Riga | |
3 | 7 September 1917 @ 1140 hours | Nieuport serial no. NR-1 | German two-seater | Shot down | Arenburg | |
4 | 16 November 1917 @ 0915 hours | Nieuport NR-1 | Enemy aircraft | Shot down | Moon Island | Crashed onto Moon Island |
5 | 17 November 1917 @ 0900 hours | Nieuport NR-1 | German two-engine bomber | Moon Island[2][4] |
Honors and awards
- Bronze Medal marking 300 years rule by the House of Romanov: 21 February 1913
- Bronze Medal commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the Fatherland War: April 1913
- Order of Saint AnneFourth Class with inscription "For Bravery": 19 September 1916
- Order of Saint StanilasThird Class with Swords and Bow: 19 October 1916
- Commander in Chiefof the Naval Staff
- Order of Saint Vladimir Third Class with Swords and Ribbon: 5 February 1917[1]
Endnotes
References
- Allen Durkota; Thomas Darcey; Victor Kulikov. The Imperial Russian Air Service: Famous Pilots and Aircraft and World War I. Flying Machines Press, 1995. ISBN 0963711024, 9780963711021.
- Norman Franks; Russell Guest; Gregory Alegi. Above the War Fronts: The British Two-seater Bomber Pilot and Observer Aces, the British Two-seater Fighter Observer Aces, and the Belgian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Fighter Aces, 1914–1918: Volume 4 of Fighting Airmen of WWI Series: Volume 4 of Air Aces of WWI. Grub Street, 1997. ISBN 978-1-898697-56-5.