Early Life and Military Service
Leonid Ignatyevich Beda was born on August 16, 1920, in the village of Novopokrovka, now in the Kostanay region of Kazakhstan. An ethnic Ukrainian, he completed 7 grades of school in 1936 and graduated from the Ural Teachers’ Institute in 1940. He joined the army in August 1940, and in 1942, he graduated from the Chkalov Military Aviation Pilot School in Orenburg.
War Hero and Double Hero of the Soviet Union
Beda participated in the Great Patriotic War starting in August 1942. He served as a pilot, senior pilot, navigator, squadron commander, and assistant commander of the 505th (later 75th Guards) Assault Aviation Regiment. By April 1944, he had completed 109 combat sorties. On October 26, 1944, Guards Senior Lieutenant Leonid Ignatyevich Beda was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal (No. 4723), for his personal bravery and courage during assault strikes in the battles for the liberation of Donbas, the forcing of the Dnieper, the defeat of the enemy on the Nikopol bridgehead, and in Belarus.
On June 29, 1945, Guards Major Beda was awarded a second Gold Star Medal for his skillful leadership of the squadron and heroism demonstrated during combat missions in East Prussia, particularly during the assault on Koenigsberg. He fought on the Stalingrad, Southern, 4th Ukrainian, and 3rd Belorussian Fronts, participating in the Battle of Stalingrad, the liberation of Donbas, Southern Ukraine, Crimea, Belarus, and Lithuania, as well as the East Prussian Operation. Throughout the war, he completed 214 combat sorties on an Il-2 attack aircraft.
Post-War Career and Legacy
After the war, Beda continued to serve in combat units of the Air Force until 1947. In 1950, he graduated from the Air Force Academy, and in 1957, from the General Staff Military Academy. He held various leadership positions, including regimental commander, deputy division commander, and division commander. From 1966 to 1972, he served as deputy, then first deputy commander of the 26th Air Army, taking command in February 1972. Leonid Beda lived in Minsk, Belarus, until his tragic death in a car accident on December 26, 1976. He was buried in the Eastern (Moscow) Cemetery in Minsk.