Vyacheslav Tkachov

Vyacheslav Tkachov
Born	1885 Kuban Oblast, Russian Empire
Died	1965 Krasnodar, USSR

Vyacheslav Matveyevich Tkachov (Russian: Вячеслав Матвеевич Ткачёв) was a Russian pilot, general and writer.

In 1913 Tkachov became a pilot of Imperial Russian Air Service.

In 1914, Lt. Vyacheslav Tkachov became the very first Russian pilot who shot down enemy aircraft with handgun. He attacked a German "Albatros" aircraft and shot the enemy pilot.

Later, Tkachov took part in Russian Civil War.

Honours and awards

• Order of Saint Stanislaus (May 1910)
• Order of St. Anna of the Third Class (February 1913)
• Order of St. Vladimir of the Fourth Class (February 1915)
• Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree (July 1916)
• Gold Sword for Bravery (September 1916)
• Distinguished Service Order (United Kingdom)

Sources

• Blume, August. The Russian Military Air Fleet in World War I, Volume One. (Schiffer Publishing, 2010). ISBN 0764333518, 978–0764333514.
• — The Russian Military Air Fleet in World War I, Volume Two. (Schiffer Publishing, 2010) ISBN 0764333526, 9780764333521.
• А.В. Махалин. М. Ткачёв — участник и историк воздушных сражений Великой войны // Первая мировая война и участие в ней России. Часть II. М., 1994.