Aleksey Petrovich Maresyev was a Russian military pilot who became a Sovietfighter ace during World War II despite becoming a double amputee.
Biography
Before joining the army in 1937 Maresyev worked as a turner and then participated in the construction of Komsomolsk-on-Amur. In 1941, he graduated from the BatayskMilitary School of Aviation. He began his flights as a fighter pilot in August 1941. He had shot down four German aircraft by March 1942. On 5 April 1942 his Yakovlev Yak-1 was shot down near Staraya Russa, probably by future Knight's Cross holder and 48-kill ace Peter Siegler, after which he was almost captured. Despite being badly injured, he managed to return to the Soviet-controlled territory. During his 18-day-long journey his injuries deteriorated so badly that both of his legs had to be amputated above the knee. Before the surgery he was lying on a stretcher with a sheet over his face and considered to be a hopeless case due to the extent of his injuries in addition to suffering from gangrene and blood poisoning. One doctor offered to operate on him and thereby saved him, but told him he would not lose his legs. Upon waking up from anesthesia, he was angered to find that his legs had been amputated above the knee. Desperate to return to his fighter pilot service, he subjected himself to nearly a year of exercise to master the control of his prosthetic devices, and succeeded at that, returning to flying in June 1943. During a dog fight in August 1943, he shot down three German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters. In total, he completed over 80 combat sorties and shot down an estimated 7 German aircraft. He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 24 August 1943. In 1944, he joined the Communist Party and in 1946 he retired from the military.
Postwar
In 1952, Maresyev graduated from the Higher Party School. In 1956, he obtained a Ph.D. in History and started working in the Soviet War Veterans Committee. Eventually, he became a member of the Supreme Soviet. He suffered a heart attack on 18 May 2001 and died 16 hours later, just an hour before the celebration of his 85th birthday.
Remembrance
His story served as a basis for the novel by Boris PolevoyThe Story of a Real Man and a subsequent film directed by Aleksandr Stolper, in which his name was changed to Meresyev. The novel also inspired Sergei Prokofiev's last opera The Story of a Real Man. In 2005 a documentary called Alexey Maresyev. The Fate of a Real Man was produced by Channel Russia. The asteroid 2173 Maresjev is named in his honor.
