Sultan Amet-Khan

Sultan Amet-Khan – Lieutenant Colonel of the Soviet Army, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1943, 1945), Honored Test Pilot of the USSR (1961). He was born in Alupka, completed seven years of schooling in his native village, after which he moved to Simferopol. There he finished the factory-apprenticeship school and qualified as a fitter for steam locomotive repair. After completing his studies Amet-Khan took a job at the Simferopol railway depot and simultaneously trained at the local aeroclub. In February 1939 he was drafted into the Red Army and in March 1940 he graduated from the Kachinsk Military Aviation School. His service continued in the 122nd Fighter Aviation Regiment in Bobruisk.

 

With the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, Amet-Khan fought on various fronts. Until November 1942 he served in the 4th Fighter Aviation Regiment, rising from pilot to squadron commander. He took part in fierce battles in Moldova, in southern Ukraine, near Rostov-on-Don, in the Donbas, and in the Battle of Stalingrad. On 31 May 1942, having expended all his ammunition, he rammed a German Ju-88 and successfully ejected. For this feat Amet-Khan was awarded the Order of Lenin. Subsequently he was transferred to the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, where he served until the end of the war, taking part in key battles

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After the war Amet-Khan continued to serve as deputy regimental commander for aerial gunnery and studied at the Air Force Academy. In 1946 he was discharged to the reserve with the rank of Guards Major, later receiving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the reserve. From 1947 until his death he worked as a test pilot at the Flight Research Institute in Zhukovsky. Sultan Amet-Khan died on 1 February 1971 during a test flight of a Tu-16LL aircraft.