He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of the British Empire for his perseverance, and after the war he wrote several memoirs.

His family moved to Krasnodar oblast in 1920, where he attended school and was employed as an assistant locomotive engineer while training at an aeroclub.

He was credited with his first aerial victory on 19 July 1941, and on 18 October 1941 he was promoted to deputy squadron commander.

However, just one week later he was badly injured after a forced landing on the Arctic tundra, where he remained for four days before receiving medical attention, resulting in severe frostbite that ended up requiring his feet to be amputated.

On 19 August 1944 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, and in December that year he transferred to the 11th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, where he was also the senior navigator.