[1] That summer the unit was sent to the Russian Far East with other parts of the 303rd Fighter Division, and in March 1951 they were sent to Manchuria, China where they underwent intense training before first entering combat in Korea on 1 June 1951.

[2][3] As one of the few pilots in his regiment who had not flown in combat before, Samoylov initially flew with his more experienced counterparts, including Aleksandr Karasyov and Grigory Okhay.

Later that month he attacked a B-29, causing damage that led to it losing control and fatally crashing while on approach to landing.

Postwar historians credit him with an additional aerial victory on 5 January 1952 during a flight with Grigory Okhay in which he encountered an F-84, but there are no documents from his regiment supported the claim.

However, he did not hold that position for very long, since his regiment made its last sortie taking place on 20 February 1952 before being sent back to the USSR.