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serial no. 31 for the local Third Air
Station. On 2 April 1916, he was classified as a naval pilot at the annual salary of 960 rubles. The Air Arm of the Baltic Fleet was organised into two Air Divisions. Safonov was assigned to the First Air Detachment (Glagol) of the 2nd Air Division on 11 August
367:
serial no. NR-1 in an attack on an enemy two-seater. He closed to 50 meters range, and fired a short burst for his third victory. On 25 October, Safonov was promoted to Senior
Lieutenant and granted a short leave. He married Ludmila Tschebotarioff. Upon his return to duty, he was posted to command
219:
fighter, which he used for his third victory on 7 September 1917. After a promotion to Senior
Lieutenant on 25 October, he married while on a brief leave. He returned to command the 2nd Fighter Detachment and score two more aerial victories with the Nieuport. He was mustered out in March 1918.
737:
Above the War Fronts: The
British Two-seater Bomber Pilot and Observer Aces, the British Two-seater Fighter Observer Aces, and the Belgian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Fighter Aces, 1914–1918: Volume 4 of Fighting Airmen of WWI Series: Volume 4 of Air Aces of
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declared its independence on 6 December 1917. Safonov was one of five
Russian pilots approached by a cabal of Finnish activists; they offered 25,000 rubles and Finnish citizenship if the pilots would serve in General
395:
Mikko
Vuorenheimo. However, by Summer 1918, the distrustful Finns had not kept their bargain, so Safonov wangled the permits needed to transit German-occupied Russia and join the White Russians'
804:
359:
Safonov was appointed as a lieutenant on 10 July 1917. He was selected to command the Glagol
Detachment on 14 July 1917. He scored his second aerial victory that day, this time using a
431:. In May 1924, while testing a flying boat over the Ming River, he was killed in a flying accident. Some years later, his widow and two orphans would resettle in the United States.
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On 11 April 1918, the newly civilianised
Safonov tucked his wife into a Nieuport 10 and took off to join the Finns. While flying reconnaissance flights in the
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on 20 September 1909. He would serve on half a dozen ships while training. On 21 February 1913, he received a Bronze Medal marking 300 years rule by the
809:
322:
On 24 February 1916, Safonov was posted to the
Liaison/Signal Service Corps of the Baltic Fleet. During March, he polished his piloting skills at the
375:
ended his war then; Safonov was inactive until discharged from the military by the
Bolsheviks in March 1918. As Russia was wracked by revolution,
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308:
779:
215:, with consequent decorations for valor, Safonov was appointed to command his Glagol Detachment on 14 July 1917. He gained access to a
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799:
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753:
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Third Class with Swords and Bow. He was wounded in action on 13 September 1916 while flying Grigorovich M-9 serial no. 39.
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269:
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110:
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729:
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On 1 December 1915, he soloed. On 2 April 1916, he was classified as a naval pilot. He was posted to pilot
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After several air combats, including his first aerial victory on 9 September 1916, he was awarded the
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credited with five aerial victories. He began his naval service on 20 September 1909, when he entered
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615:
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132:
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105:
633:
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353:
276:; in April 1913, he received another Bronze Medal commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the
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419:. After their defeat, continuing his career as an itinerant pilot, Safonov and wife moved on to
363:, even though the enemy plane was not seen to crash. At 1140 hours on 7 September, Safonov used
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in the latter. After that, he ended up in China in 1924, organising aviation training for the
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He scored two more aerial victories on successive days, 16 and 17 November 1917. However, the
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8:
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On 24 November 1915, he was assigned to the Officer's School of Naval Aviation for the
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on 2 August 1914. On 30 September 1914, he was transferred to another battleship, the
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to pass all the examinations to qualify as a pilot. On 1 December 1915, he soloed.
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adherent. As a child, he was educated in the Ostrogozhsk Gymnasium. He entered
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235:. After travelling with his wife through Persia and India, he joined Britain's
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69:
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The Imperial Russian Air Service: Famous Pilots and Aircraft and World War I.
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Order of Saint Vladimir Third Class with Swords and Ribbon: 5 February 1917
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Fourth Class with Swords and Ribbon: 14 November 1916, by order no. 380 by
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315:. After mastering this, he moved to the winter location of the school in
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Mikhail Ivanovich Safonov was born into nobility on 13 November 1893 in
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300:. In September 1915, he applied for a transfer to aviation service.
193:. When he applied for aviation training in September 1915, he was a
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32:
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Fourth Class with inscription "For Bravery": 19 September 1916
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Confirmed victories are numbered and listed chronologically.
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Bronze Medal commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the
239:. In May 1924, he was killed in a flying accident in China.
131:
Bronze Medal commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the
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Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in China
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316:
152:
Order of Saint Vladimir Third Class with Swords and Ribbon
445:
List of World War I flying aces from the Russian Empire
115:
First Air Detachment (Glagol) of the 2nd Air Division,
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with six years naval training and seagoing service.
840:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1924
825:Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class
820:Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class
25:Mikhail Ivanovich Safonov, alias Mikko Vuorenheimo
761:
630:Third Class with Swords and Bow: 19 October 1916
368:the 2nd Land Fighter Detachment at Kuivastoin.
815:Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 4th class
720:Allen Durkota; Thomas Darcey; Victor Kulikov.
292:in May 1914, and was posted to the battleship
735:Norman Franks; Russell Guest; Gregory Alegi.
326:Naval Air Station. He was then tasked to fly
231:. In 1919, he changed loyalties to join the
211:. After two aerial victories while piloting
140:Fourth Class with inscription "For Bravery",
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607:Bronze Medal marking 300 years rule by the
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125:Bronze Medal marking 300 years rule by the
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810:Russian military personnel of World War I
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677:
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309:Polytechnic Institute of Peter the Great
223:Safonov then became an itinerant aerial
441:Aerial victory standards of World War I
830:Imperial Russian Air Service personnel
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283:
653:
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407:By 1919, Safonov was serving in the
341:equipping this detachment mounted a
178:(13 November 1893 – May 1924) was a
150:Fourth Class with Swords and Ribbon,
402:
13:
14:
856:
780:People from Ostrogozhsky District
845:White Russian emigrants to China
145:Third Class with Swords and Bow,
800:Russian World War I flying aces
690:Franks et al 1997, pp. 212–213.
785:People from Ostrogozhsky Uyezd
702:
693:
582:17 November 1917 @ 0900 hours
557:16 November 1917 @ 0915 hours
532:7 September 1917 @ 1140 hours
423:and India; Safonov joined the
270:Imperial Russian Naval Academy
191:Imperial Russian Naval Academy
89:20 September 1893 – March 1918
1:
724:Flying Machines Press, 1995.
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708:Durkota 1995, pp. 98–99, 476.
311:in Saint Petersburg to study
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7:
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117:2nd Land Fighter Detachment
10:
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674:Durkota 1995, pp. 98–101.
588:German two-engine bomber
574:Crashed onto Moon Island
176:Mikhail Ivanovich Safonov
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121:
101:
93:
85:
75:
65:
55:
39:
30:
23:
835:Royal Air Force officers
435:List of aerial victories
106:Russian cruiser Gromoboi
795:Aerial warfare pioneers
634:Order of Saint Vladimir
628:Order of Saint Stanilas
354:Order of Saint Vladimir
148:Order of Saint Vladimir
143:Order of Saint Stanilas
248:Early life and service
740:. Grub Street, 1997.
352:Fourth Class and the
307:and forwarded to the
111:Battleship Sevastopol
86:Years of service
699:Durkota 1995, p. 26.
622:Order of Saint Anne
350:Order of Saint Anne
284:World War I service
195:professional sailor
138:Order of Saint Anne
640:of the Naval Staff
638:Commander in Chief
611:: 21 February 1913
541:German two-seater
516:German two-seater
373:Russian Revolution
343:Madsen machine gun
288:He graduated as a
209:Madsen machine gun
754:978-1-898697-56-5
602:Honors and awards
599:
598:
495:Irben River, off
481:9 September 1916
389:Finnish Civil War
229:Finnish Civil War
172:
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162:Finnish Civil War
61:Ming River, China
852:
790:Russian aviators
732:, 9780963711021.
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609:House of Romanov
538:serial no. NR-1
512:Grigorovich M-15
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403:Post World War I
361:Grigorovich M-15
274:House of Romanov
262:Russian Orthodox
127:House of Romanov
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43:13 November 1893
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563:Enemy aircraft
492:Forced landing
489:Enemy seaplane
485:Grigorovich M-9
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425:Royal Air Force
413:White Russians'
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336:Grigorovich M-9
290:Warrant Officer
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266:Saint Peterburg
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237:Royal Air Force
207:that mounted a
202:Grigorovich M-9
187:Saint Peterburg
157:Other work
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519:Lost altitude
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415:under General
409:Volunteer Army
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397:Volunteer Army
391:, he used the
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278:Fatherland War
258:Russian Empire
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233:White Russians
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50:Russian Empire
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522:Gulf of Riga
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508:14 July 1917
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417:Anton Denikin
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393:nom de guerre
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16:Russian pilot
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618:: April 1913
593:Moon Island
497:Gulf of Riga
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429:Chinese Navy
406:
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339:flying boats
328:Farman MF.11
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313:aerodynamics
305:Baltic Fleet
302:
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213:flying boats
205:flying boats
199:
175:
173:
18:
775:1924 deaths
770:1893 births
570:Moon Island
331:float plane
260:. He was a
254:Ostrogozhsk
180:World War I
174:Lieutenant
46:Ostrogozhsk
764:Categories
730:0963711024
715:References
566:Shot down
544:Shot down
458:Date/time
382:Mannerheim
334:1916. The
298:Sevastopol
183:flying ace
97:Lieutenant
66:Allegiance
547:Arenburg
470:Location
461:Aircraft
439:See also
243:Biography
225:mercenary
648:Endnotes
536:Nieuport
365:Nieuport
294:Gromoboi
217:Nieuport
160:Flew in
81:Aviation
76:Service/
59:May 1924
467:Result
411:of the
377:Finland
324:Tallinn
227:in the
164:and in
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744:
728:
473:Notes
421:Persia
256:, the
122:Awards
78:branch
750:ISBN
742:ISBN
726:ISBN
464:Foe
455:No.
317:Baku
102:Unit
94:Rank
56:Died
40:Born
738:WWI
268:'s
189:'s
166:RAF
766::
748:,
679:^
655:^
579:5
554:4
529:3
505:2
478:1
443:,
399:.
345:.
280:.
48:,
756:.
168:.
135:,
129:,
113:,
108:,
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