Soviet Red Star & Red Banner Research

[Paul R]

Most of you may remember this grouping, that I posted a few months ago...

The man

[Paul R]

his awards...

[Paul R]

The actual Orders and Medals...

[Paul R]

backs

[Paul R]

And finally, a piece of the research... which is enroute at this time.

This is the citation for the first of his Order of the Red Stars.

[Paul R]

And with a lot of help from Rick!

Vasily Alekseevich Abramov, Engineer-Major, Senior Engineer-Inspector for armaments. Engineer aviation service of Long Distance Operating Aviation (the ?A.D.D.?) Born 1909, Russian, CPSU since 1937. Served against the White Finns in 1940. In Patriotic War with the 98th D.B. Aviation Engineering since 22 June 1041, from September 1941 and in 4th Aviation Engineering D.D. from 24 March to 13 April 1942.

In Red Army since 1931. No previous decorations. No next of kin?current address on LDOA Staff for the time being in the city of Ishime at number 26 Sovietskaya.

Citation for Order of the Red Star:

?In the field with the army since 22.6.41, in the LDOA system since September 1941. As engineer for armaments in combat units has maintained 1,900 combat flights without breakdowns or faults in technical personnel.

Since April 1942 has worked as Engineer-Inspector for armaments in LDOA of N.A.S., attending with the leading engineer for Li-2 aircraft. In this period, demonstrated himself to be an efficient, initiative-ful, disciplined and decisive officer. Accepted assignments entrusted to him with pleasure, hammering out with great energy and efficiency, finishing and resolving {{{word not in dictionary}}} problems at the earliest possible date. Took field units in re-arming Li-2 aircraft: for large caliber machine guns, installing inside fuselages plate holders for bomb carriers, made new crew compartments?as a consequence of which the Li-2 aircraft became more valuable for night bombing.

Took part in the ranks of the commission for testing aircraft armaments and {{{word not in dictionary}}}, well organized this work, establishing comprehensive accounting. Inspecting units?personally examined 200 aircraft. Constantly stays with the units, controlling, instructing and creating lines of instructions?obtaining correct {{{word not in dictionary}}} armaments and {{{again word not in dictionary}}} in units of the LDOA. Constantly led and busied himself with the officer staff of the LDOA, heightening their knowledge of aviation armaments. Supports with fellow Party Bureau of the CPSU the Party organization in the LDOA of the Engineer Aviation Service; to the benefit of the political and business authority of the entire structure of the engineer-aviation service and combat service units of the LDOA.

Deserves to be awarded?the Order ?of the Red Star.?

4 November 1943, Deputy Chief Engineer of the LDOA for armaments, Engineer-Colonel ?Znamensky? ?

[Paul R]

There will be more to come, as I am sure that there are a lot more documents.

Thank you again to NavyFCO, Rick L, and Mondvor

[Guest Rick Research]

He appears to have done 2 years draftee duty wuth "the Organs," arriving for military service as an Okhrannik (Guard in some part of the "NKVD system"????) at age 22 from the Paramilitary-something-not-in-dictionary Okhrana Staff of Moscow Military District at something-not-placename RVK Tula Oblast on 14 November 1931.

14.11.31 Red Army Private, 3rd Independent Tank Regiment, Moscow Military District

23.7.32 Cadet at 5th Military School for WPRA Armamaments Technicians in Leningrad

From Januray 1935 to 17.12.37 Junior Technician for armaments in 13th Aviation squadron, 81st Light Attack Aviation Brigade, Kiev Military District

15.11.37 Commander of Armaments Service Squadron, 34th Aviation Squadron, 81st Light Bomber Brigade, Kiev Mil Dist

21.12.38 Student at improvement courses for air force armaments engineers 2nd Leningrad Air Tech School

1.8.39 CO of armaments service squadron 40th High Speed Bomber Air Rgt, Baltic Military District

25.4.40 Armaments Engineer 98th Long Range Bomber Aviation Rgt, 42nd Long Range Bomber Aviation Division

23.9.42 Engineer for Armaments 433rd Long Range Aviation Regiment, 3rd Long Range Aviation Division, service agian confirmed by unit involved, 8.3.42

24.3.42 Armaments Engineer 4th Aviation Regiment for LOng Range Operations, 3rd Aviation Division for Long Range Operations, attested by unit 13.4.42 and that is where tHIS page ends.

Continued on a second set of personnel cards (huff puff)

30.3.42 Inspector of Armaments for EXPLOITATION Unit at Command of Long Range Aviation.

(I am not sure what "exploitation" (the Russian word is "yekspluatatsiya") means, but it suggests MAYBE use of captured enemy material?????.....)

22.1.43 Engineer Inspector for Aviation Armaments in the exploitation and repair/maintenance service at Command of Long Range Aviation

(Maybe "exploitation" means cannibalizing damaged planes? In any case he was at the main command of this branch of aviation.)

30.4.43 Senior Engineer Inspector for armaments in the service unit for exploitation of armaments as Engineer for Aviation Service at Command of Long Range Aviation

29.2.44 Senior Engineer Inspector for armaments and Assistant Commander for the exploitation of armaments unit, Command of Long range Aviation

28.5.45 Assistant Senior Inspector of Division for armaments in the 2nd Guards Bomber Aviation Division, 70th Guards Bomber Aviation Corps, 2nd Air Army Long Range Aviation, 43rd Air Army Long Range Aviation, 18th Air Army

20.12.51 Senior Engineer Inspector for repair/maintenance armaments unit for combat repairs/maintenance as Engineer of Aviation Service for aviation armaments at 43rd Air Army Long Range Aviation.

The lines at the bottom quite oddly say

"Statement of service cards delivered on the basis of the certified Personnel File of Lieutenant Colonel of Technical Services Abramov Vasily Andreevich" and is signed off on 13 August 1957 by Commander of Cadres 43rd Air Army, Colonel Sabin. Most peculiarly, the personnel cards (the upside down/right side up mirrored half "cards" are NOT period originals added to by each unit, but all obviously copied out at this time. Which begs the question: where WERE his original personnel cards and... why did Said Personnel File NOT come out with the research? Could the "Lichnoe Delo" have been pulled? If so, why?....

The entry up the side to the left states that he was discharged to the reserve per Section 59 (whatever THAT meant) and APPEARS to say that he was NOT granted the right "to wear military forms of dress" in retirement-- which would be MOST unusual. Unless the "ne uchet" following does NOT mean "not allowed" but instead is ??? "without restriction" or something and I am misinterpreting it. (???)

There IS a date of release which I had missed before--

21 July 1958 is when he was discharged to Vinnitsa City Military Commissariat as where he would be living.

That SHOULD have meant he SHOULD have gotten an Order of Lenin for 25 years service in 1956, which may be on ANOTHER Awards Record Crad which you did not get-- yours is dated 31 October 1952. If not.....

?????

AND he was entitled to--though whether he got it before discharge or was processed one afterwards-- the 1958 Armed Forces Jubilee Medal, since he was on active duty in February 1958.

You need somebody who knows about the terminology of Soviet air force units and WHERE they were in the 1950s for more. Was his 1951-58 unit in Korea 1951-53? What was "exploitation?"

[Paul R]

Wow! Thank you Rick! It would be really something if he was a Korea Vet! What is an Okhrannik ? Is that an elevated rank?

[Paul R]

Here is an updated scan with all of the medals he has documented*

* The Belgrade medal came with the grouping, yet is not documented. I will see what I can find out on this unit's positions during the war to try and determine if this medal is possible for this officer.

[Guest Rick Research]

If I am interpreting the designation correctly, "Okhrannik" which comes out literally as a "guard" (as in sentry or prison-guard, not THE "Guards' of WW2) is a private in the pre-WW2 State Security. Paul's scans are too big-- will try cropping that part which has words I do not find in the dictionary.

Military data from service records:

Born 14 November 1909 in Moscow, no foreign languages, working class background, member of CPSU since 1937 number XX338948. Attended a Moscow city school to 4th class in 1922. Military course for VUZ (?) in 1931.

Graduated 5th School of WPRA Air Force Aviation Technicians, city of Leningrad 1934. Had improvement course at Leningrad Aviation Tech School in 1939. No political training.

RANKS:

MilTech 2nd Rank 14.3.36

MilTech 1st Rank 25.4.39

MilEng 3rd Rank 30.4.41

rank renamed EngineerCaptain 18.3.42

Engineer-Major 25.12.42

Lieutenant Colonel of ATS (Aviation Technical Service) 23.4.48

rank renamed Lieutenant Colonel of Technical Service (TS) 20.6.51

At front in WW2 (why it has three lines when it was continuous, dunno) 22.6.41-30.3.42--

from his assignments at the Command of Long Range Aviation from his assignments list above, he never seems to have been "at the front" during the war after 30 March 1942. I have no idea how far "back" the headquarters of "Long Range" aviation was, but still-- I'd have assumed it was as close to the front as possible for perational reasons...

UNLESS he was into "experimental" or other "mysterious" stuff with all that quote-unquote "exploitation" duty.

???

[Guest Rick Research]

Very weird (to me) that his SHOULD HAVE BEEN ongoing cards added to at every change of unit are 1957 copies made from his Lichnoe Delo and NOT, as might be expected, the other way around. Since the Lichnoe Delo did NOT come back with the research, a mystery.

Anyway, here is the relevant start of his career part:

[attachmentid=51482]

This shows that Abramov-- age 22, which would be after 2 years of "normal" draftee service time, JOINS the Armed Forces 14 November 1931 at "Odoevsky" (??? NOT a place???) RVK of Tula Oblast already as an "Okhrannik" from the Militarized/Paramilitary-SOMETHING of Guard (Okhrana) Staff Moscow Military District, and is then assigned as a Red Army Private to the tank regiment he briefly served in for no apparent reason.