Iriney Fyodorovich Belyaev was born on August 23, 1914, in the village of Kryukovo, Vologda region, Russia, to a peasant family. He lived in the Altai Krai and graduated from the Biysk Pedagogical School in 1932. Before his military career, he worked as a Komsomol district committee secretary in Kiselevsk, Kemerovo region.
In 1936, Belyaev was drafted into the Red Army and sent to aviation school. He completed the military pilot school in Perm in 1939 and was assigned to the 123rd Fighter Aviation Regiment on the country’s western border, just before the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War.
A Fighter Pilot in the Great Patriotic War
Belyaev participated in the Great Patriotic War from its very first day. In early July 1941, in Monino near Moscow, his regiment was re-equipped with Yak-1 fighters and integrated into the 6th Fighter Aviation Corps of the PVO (Air Defense Forces). As a Senior Lieutenant, Belyaev, alongside his fellow pilots, bravely defended the skies of the capital from enemy bomber raids. He was soon appointed Deputy Commander of the 1st Squadron.
In September 1941, the regiment, which would become the 27th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment in November 1942, was transferred to the 7th Fighter Aviation Corps of the PVO. From then on, fighter pilot Belyaev defended the Leningrad skies, covering vital installations on the western shore of Lake Ladoga and the western section of the “Road of Life” ice route.
Hero in Aerial Combat
By July 1943, Guards Captain Iriney Belyaev had completed an impressive three hundred and sixty-five combat sorties. In fifty-six aerial battles, he personally shot down thirteen enemy aircraft and contributed to four group kills, demonstrating exceptional skill and bravery against overwhelming odds.
On July 2, 1943, Regiment Commander Guards Colonel Mazhaev formally submitted a recommendation for Belyaev to be awarded the title “Hero of the Soviet Union.” The recommendation was signed on July 7, 1943, by Colonel Antonov, commander of the 7th Fighter Aviation Corps of the PVO.
Tragically, just one day later, on July 8, 1943, during an aerial battle with enemy fighters near Sinyavino in the Leningrad region, Guards Captain Belyaev I.F. was shot down. His burning aircraft crashed into enemy-occupied territory, and his fate remained unknown, leading to him being declared “missing in action.”
Deeply affected by his friend’s death, Karpov, a fellow pilot, single-handedly shot down two enemy fighters in a fierce battle. While attempting to ram a third, he was himself shot down by anti-aircraft artillery but fortunately landed by parachute in friendly territory.
Posthumous Recognition
Decades later, in modern times, a downed fighter aircraft was discovered in a peat bog near Krasny Bor, outside the hero-city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Fragments of a letter addressed “To Belyaev I…” were found in the pilot’s map case, leading to the identification of Iriney Fyodorovich Belyaev.
The pilot’s remains were solemnly reburied in Shchyokino, Tula region, where his family had lived. By a decree of the President of the USSR on May 5, 1991, for his courage and heroism shown in the fight against the German-fascist invaders during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, Guards Captain Iriney Fyodorovich Belyaev was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
On May 8, 1991, the “Gold Star” medal (No. 11646) and the Order of Lenin (No. 460376) were presented to the Hero’s widow. Belyaev was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Alexander Nevsky, the Order of the Patriotic War 1st degree, and a medal.