Soviet Fighter Pilot Major Georgy Osipov in the Cockpit of a Yak-1B, 1943

August 25, 2025 - Reading time: 4 minutes

Soviet pilot Major Georgy Osipov in the cockpit of a Yak-1B fighter, 1943.

Soviet pilot Major Georgy Osipov in the cockpit of a Yak-1B fighter on the Belarusian Front, 1943.

This wartime photograph captures Major Georgy Alekseevich Osipov, a Soviet fighter pilot, seated in the cockpit of his Yak-1B fighter aircraft in 1943. At the time, he was serving on the Belarusian Front, flying one of the Red Army Air Force’s most widely used fighter planes of the war.

By 1944, Osipov transitioned from fighters to bombers, piloting the American-made A-20 "Boston" as part of the 221st Bomber Bakhmach Order of Suvorov Aviation Division, within the 6th Mixed Lublin Red Banner Aviation Corps, 16th Air Army. His career reflected the versatility and resilience of Soviet pilots, who often mastered entirely new aircraft types under the pressures of frontline service.

Osipov successfully served until the end of the Second World War. Many years later, he shared his experiences in his memoir "V nebe bombardirovshchiki" (“Bombers in the Sky”), published in 2003, offering a unique first-hand account of Soviet airmen during the conflict.

Technical photo data:
📝 Source of information: Family archive of V. G. Osipov
📍 Location: USSR
📅 Date of photo: 1943
📷 Photographer: Unknown