Soviet A-20 Boston Bomber Crew under Major Georgy Osipov, 1944

August 25, 2025 - Reading time: 5 minutes

Soviet A-20 Boston bomber crew commanded by Major Georgy Osipov, 1944.

Soviet A-20 Boston bomber crew commanded by Major Georgy Osipov, 221st Bomber Division, 16th Air Army, 1944, during the Eastern Front campaign.

This photograph shows the Soviet crew of an American-made Douglas A-20 Boston bomber received under the Lend-Lease program. The aircraft belonged to the 221st Bomber Bakhmach Order of Suvorov Division, part of the 6th Mixed Lublin Red Banner Air Corps, 16th Air Army. On the nose of the plane, the unit’s emblem can be clearly seen.

The crew was commanded by Major Georgy Alekseevich Osipov (1916–2007), deputy commander of the regiment. The A-20 was widely used by Soviet aviation during the final stages of the war, appreciated for its reliability, versatility, and effectiveness in ground attack and bombing missions.

Osipov himself had a distinguished career:

Born in Balashov, he graduated from Orenburg Aviation School in 1937 and saw combat at Lake Khasan in 1938.
At the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, he served in the 57th Bomber Regiment, later becoming inspector for flight technique in the 6th Air Corps.
He completed 124 combat sorties, often as squadron or regimental lead pilot.
After the war, Osipov became a professor and military historian, earning a PhD in Military Sciences.
He authored several books on Soviet aviation and was awarded five Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of the Patriotic War (2nd class), and two Orders of the Red Star.
He passed away in 2007 and was buried in Monino.

This image not only captures a moment of wartime aviation but also symbolizes the cooperation between the Allies and the Red Army through Lend-Lease equipment.