Ivan Vasilyevich Smirnov

Ivan Vasilyevich Smirnov or Iwan Smirnoff was a Russian World War I flying ace and naturalized Dutch aviator who pioneered the Europe to South East Asia routes. He was born to a poor peasant family, but through courage and good fortune managed to become an officer in the Imperial Russian Air Service. After surviving extremely dangerous infantry combat, he trained as a pilot, and was subsequently credited withaerial victories during World War I. When the October Revolution ended his participation in the war, he deserted and became an itinerant pilot. He would serve short spells in the Royal Air Force, the Volunteer Army of Anton Denikin, Handley Page and SNETA. The Russian emigrant subsequently piloted for KLM for the nextyears, pioneering air routes to the Dutch East Indies in the process. In December 1941, Smirnov returned to military flying during the frenzied air evacuation of Dutch nationals. After the Dutch East Indies were overrun by the Japanese, he joined the U.S. Air

Ivan Vasilyevich Smirnov was born onJanuary 1895. He was the fourth child born into a peasant family whose farm was near . He received little schooling his family existed in a state of nearserfdom. The peasantry to which he belonged could not even work in a local factory without continuing to farm the communitys land. It was a situation with little chance for improving ones life.

Source: Wikipedia