Anatoly Serov

Anatoly Konstantinovich Serov (; 11 May 1939) was a Soviet fighter pilot credited with becoming a flying ace during the Spanish Civil War.

Early life Serov was born on in the mining town of Vysokoe. After moving to the city of Bogoslovsk in 1918 he went on to complete his fourth grade of school in 1923. He then went on to live in Turyinsky before moving to Nadezhdinsk, where he worked as a steelworker and graduated from factory apprenticeship school in 1929.

Aviation career

Almost a year after entering the Red Army in July 1929, Serov graduated from the Volskaya Theoretical School of Pilots and Aviation Technicians in June 1930, going on to attend the Orenburg Military Aviation School of Pilots, which he graduated from in December 1931. He was then assigned to the 1st Fighter Squadron in city of Krasnogvardisk in the Leningrad Military District, and from August 1933 to October 1935 he served with the 20th Fighter Squadron in Khabarovsk. From then until May 1936 he trained at the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy, after which he worked for one year as a test pilot at the Air Force Research and Development Institute, where he flew modified versions of the I-15 and I-16 fighter aircraft. He was buried at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.

Awards Hero of the Soviet Union (2 March 1938) Order of Lenin (2 March 1938) Two Order of the Red Banner (31 July 1937 and 22 October 1937)