Nanjing unveils list of Soviet Union anti-Japanese aviation martyrs from WWII

2024-11-22 15:54:00

The Nanjing Anti-Japanese Aviation Martyrs Memorial Hall released, for the first time, a comprehensive list of 236 aviation martyrs from the Soviet Union on November 22.

Published on the official website of the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Administration Bureau, this list includes the names, military positions, and dates of death of Soviet aviators who lost their lives fighting in China against the Japanese invasion during World War II.

The names of these 236 martyrs are inscribed on a large tablet in the memorial hall. This list was originally compiled in 1995, but limited data at the time meant most martyrs were identified only by basic information such as their names and dates of birth and death. Important details, including photographs, combat operations in China, locations of death, and burial sites, were missing. As research efforts have progressed, errors in the original list have been gradually identified and corrected.

In addition to the list, a photograph of Sergey Dmitrievich Smirnov, a member of the Soviet Union air squadron that supported China, was made public. This photograph was obtained by a research team from the memorial hall during a visit to Russia and Belarus in September as part of efforts to collect historical materials.

According to Smirnov’s relatives, he was born in Moscow in 1908 and enlisted in the military in 1926. He was killed in action during an air battle over Nanchang on February 25, 1938, and was buried in the city. In the same year, he was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Star.

The Soviet Union air squadron was the first international force to join China's war against Japanese invasion in 1937. More than 2,000 Russian pilots served as part of the volunteer force, defending key cities such as Wuhan, Nanchang, Lanzhou, Chengdu, and Chongqing. They also carried out multiple attacks on Japanese military airfields, ports, and positions, achieving significant results and breaking Japan’s dominance in the air.

The Nanjing Anti-Japanese Aviation Martyrs Memorial Hall, located at the northern foothills of Purple Mountain in Nanjing, features tablets with the names of 4,297 aviation martyrs from China, the Soviet Union, the United States, and other nations who gave their lives during the anti-Japanese war.