Russia – Soviet: A Superb and rare Soviet Aces Mig-15 and Mig-17 flying Fourth Award of the Order of the Red Banner awarded to Colonel Andrei Stepanovich Yurchenko, 517th Fighter Aviation Regiment who having served initially on the Crimean Front during WW2, shot down 4 planes and a balloon over the Stalingrad area between late November 1942 and early January 1943, having gained two further victories during 1943, his final victory was over the Kustrin bridgehead during the first day of the Red Army’s offensive on Berlin. After the war he trained pilots and was decorated for mastering flying at night and in complex weather on jets.
Order of the Red Banner, numbered ‘4’ for fourth award, type 4, the reverse numbered 1949
Condition: all enamel is complete, one or two tiny knocks, otherwise Nearly Extremely Fine
Andrey Stepanovich Yurchenko was born in 1915 in the village of Sopychi (Pogarsky district, Bryansk region). He served in the Red Army from 1936 onwards having been called up in the Tashkent, Uzbekistan Military District. Having trained, he graduated from the Odessa Military Aviation Pilot School. He later served as an instructor-pilot a the Armavir Military Aviation Pilot School.
Yurchenko saw frontline service from November 1941. Until July 1942 he fought in on the Crimean Front flying I-15bis during a total of 78 sorties. He made his way up from being a private pilot up to a flight commander. During his early messages he suffered a slight wound to the right cheek.
In October 1942 he became a Squadron Commander in the 517th Fighter Aviation Regiment, where he flew Yak-7s and Yak-1s, he attained a number of aerial kills during the fighting around the Stalingrad region from mid-November 1942 until early January 1943 all whilst flying Yak-7s. His first aerial victory was of a Ju-87 over Kletskaya on 13th November 1942, this was probably part of an operation to defend the Don Bridgehead in the area that just six days later was one of the jumping off points for Operation Uranus, the offensive that led to the successful encirclement of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad.
Yurchenko’s next victory was a Ju-52 over the area of Kovylevskaya on 8th December 1942, presumably during a mission to resupply the Sixth Army, one of a large number of these aircraft that were shot down during the resupply mission. Yurchenko next shot down an FW-189 reconnaissance aircraft over the area south of Oblivskaya as part of a group of 8, and on 26th December 1942 he shot down a balloon over Stalingrad.
In early January 1943 Yurchenko shot down an ME-109 southwest of Morozovskiy, his final victory of the Stalingrad campaign. On 29th January 1943 he was to be awarded an Order of the Red Banner by the Southwestern Front, shortly afterwards an Order of the Red Star, and on 10th February 1943 an Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class by Order of the 17th Air Army.
During 1943 Yurchenko transferred to flying Yak-1s, and gained two more aerial victories, the first an FW-190 over Glukhov on 30th August 1943 and the second another FW-190 in thee area Lopatino-Kostyukovka-Eremino on 19th November 1943. During the course of 1943 a second award of the Red Banner would follow, as well as an Order of Alexander Nevsky by Order of the 16th Air Army on 8th December 1943.
1944 appears to have been a quiet year for Yurchenko, although he was to receive an Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class by Order of the 16th Air Army on 20th December of that year.
Yurchenko’s final victory on 16th April 1945, the date of the beginning of the Berlin offensive, on this day he shot down a FW-190 over the northern outskirts of Carzig, which was an area of heavy fighting at the base of the Seelow Heights, he would be awarded a third Order of the Red Banner on 29th June 1945. In the meantime he had received a Medal for the Victory over Germany and a Medal for Capture of Berlin
During the course of the war Yurchenko’s final tally was 6 aircraft destroyed, 1 enemy spotter balloon and part of a group kill of an FW-189.
After the end of the war he continued to service in the Air Force as a Commander of Flight Training Affairs of the 174th Guards Fighter Aviation Division and was to receive a number of further awards, the first of which was a Medal for Combat Merit on 6th May 1946 for 10 years long service, the second an Order of the Red Star for 15 years long service on 17th May 1951, the third another Order of the Red Star on 29th April 1954 and finally this fourth award of the Order of the Red Banner on 22nd February 1955.
This, his final award, was issued as a result of the following citation:
‘Comrade Yurchenko was assigned to occupy the position of deputy divisional commander for flight training affairs on 3rd April 1954, prior to which he served as commander of the 712th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. He has been devoting himself to his service duties conscientiously. When executing the tasks assigned to him he shows clever initiative. He is a well-trained pilot. He flies boldly, competently and with confidence, both at day and at night and in plain and complex weather conditions. He has an overall flight time of 2230 hours, including the following: Since April 1, 1950 he has been flying MiG-15 and MiG-17 jet aircraft, logging 39 nighttime hours in plain weather conditions, 114 daytime hours in complex weather conditions, and 15 hours and 49 minutes at night in complex weather conditions. He wasn’t given any penalties.’
Conclusion: In accordance with the Order of the Ministry of the Armed Forces. Nr.0015 of January 23, 1950 he deserves to be awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
An exceptionally scarce award to a Soviet ‘Ace’.
