Mikhail Ilyich
Klimov
1924-1984
Mikhail Ilyich Klimov was the commander of the ISU-122 self-propelled artillery unit of the 383rd Guards Heavy self-propelled artillery of the Zhytomyr Red Banner Regiment of the 9th Mechanized Corps of the 3rd Guards Tank Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front, a Guard lieutenant. He finished the 8th grade of school No. 460 in Moscow, then the factory apprenticeship school at the Moscow Automobile Plant. He worked as a locksmith. He served in the Red Army since August 1942. He graduated from the 2nd Gorky Tank School in 1942. He was a participant of the Great Patriotic War: in January 1943 – August 1944 served as the tank commander of the 47th Guards separate tank regiment, in October 1944 – March 1945 served as the crew commander of the 383rd Guards heavy self-propelled artillery regiment. He fought on the Churchill and T-34 tanks, the ISU-122 self-propelled artillery installation. He fought on the Don, Voronezh and 1st Ukrainian fronts. He participated in the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, the liberation of Left-Bank and Right-Bank Ukraine, the Lviv-Sandomierz operation and the liberation of Poland. On August 16, 1944, near the town of Opatów (the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland), the crew of a T-34 tank under his command engaged in battle with 5 enemy Panther tanks that unexpectedly attacked our infantry that had not had time to dig in. Three of the five enemy tanks were hit, and one was set on fire. But the T-34 tank was also set on fire. From the burning tank, he continued to fire at the enemy. Our tanks, which came to the rescue, attacked the enemy and threw them back to their original positions. The burned and shell-shocked crew commander and the driver pulled their comrades out of the burning tank and gave them first aid. As a result of this battle, 4 enemy tanks were destroyed and over 30 Nazis were killed. M.I. Klimov was awarded the Order of Lenin for exemplary performance of the task, skill and perseverance in battle with fascist tanks, and three crew members – Garmash, Cenotrusov and Nenashev – the Orders of the Red Banner. On March 3-5, 1945, in battles near the city of Waldenburg (now the city of Walbrzych, the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland), he destroyed 12 enemy tanks and self–propelled guns with his ISU-122 self-propelled gun. On March 6-8, 1945, near the city of Naumburg (now the city of Novogrodzec, the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland), he repelled continuous enemy attacks and destroyed 4 enemy tanks. On March 8, 1945, he was seriously wounded and lost his right eye. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 27, 1945, for courage and heroism shown in the battles with the Nazi invaders, Guard Lieutenant Mikhail Ilyich Klimov was awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin (No. 54352) and the Gold Star medal (No. 8643). Since 1945 Lieutenant M.I. Klimov was retired. In 1949 he finished the 10th grade of evening school. He worked at the I.A. Likhachev Automobile Plant. He was engaged in social activities, patriotic education of young people, actively helped the Council of veterans of the 9th mechanized Corps.
Address: Moscow, Novoostapovskaya str., 8
