Hobby Master Archive

Under the command of Colonel Yevgeny Pepelyayev the Soviet 196th IAP (IAP = Istrevitelnye Avia Polk: Fighter Aviation Regiment) arrived in Manchuria in January 1951. During his year at Antung Air Base he flew 109 combat sorties, 38 aerial combats, and credited with 19 victories. On January 15, 1952 Pepelyayev flew his last combat sortie in Korea. Back in the Soviet Union on April 22 1952, Pepelyayev was awarded the Golden Star medal - Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest Soviet military decoration.