Ivan Mikhailovich
Zaikin
1904-1968
Ivan Mikhailovich Zaikin was the Deputy Commander of the 750th Long-range Bomber Aviation Regiment (1st Night Heavy Bomber Aviation Division, Long-range Bomber Aviation), Major, Hero of the Soviet Union. He was born in the village of Zashevo, the Balovnevskaya parish, the Dankovsky district, the Ryazan province (now the Dankovsky district, the Lipetsk region). He was Russian. In 1916 he finished the 4th grade school in his native village. From 1917 he worked as an assistant in a bookstore, and in 1919-1920 as an orderly in a hospital in the city of Novocherkassk (now the Rostov region). In 1920-1924 he was engaged in agriculture in his native village. Since 1924 he lived in Moscow. He was in the army since May 1931. In 1932 he graduated from the Kachin Military Aviation School of pilots. In 1932-1933, he was an instructor pilot at the Perm United Aviation School of Pilots and Aircraft Technicians. Since 1933, he served in the Air Force as a commander of a heavy bombardment squadron, instructor in piloting techniques and flight theory of an air squadron, commander of an independent detachment, assistant commander and commander of an air squadron in heavy bombardment aviation regiments (in the city of Zaporozhye, Ukraine). He was a participant of the Great Patriotic War: in June-September 1941 he was the commander of the air squadron of the 8th long-range bombing Aviation Regiment, in September 1941 – August 1942 he was the deputy commander of the 750th long-range bombing aviation regiment, from March 1942 – the 750th long-range aviation regiment. He participated in defensive battles in Ukraine and the Orel direction, in the Battle of Moscow. For courage and heroism shown in the battles with the Nazi invaders, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 29, 1942 Major Ivan Mikhailovich Zaikin was awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. He participated in the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, the Battle of the Dnieper, Leningrad-Novgorod, Crimean, Belorussian, Budapest, Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations. In total, during the war, he made 122 sorties (113 of them at night) on DB–3 and Il-4 bombers to strike military-industrial facilities and other important targets behind enemy lines. After the war, he continued to serve in the Air Force as the deputy commander of the 13th Guards Bomber Aviation Division (in the city of Poltava, Ukraine). Since June 1947, Colonel I.M. Zaikin was in reserve. He lived in Moscow. He was awarded the Order of Lenin, 2 Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Star, the medal “For Military Merit”, and other medals.
Address: Moscow, Varshavskoe shosse, 9, p. 1B
