SOVIET NAVAL AVIATION
SB-2 / A-20 BOSTON PILOT
1ST SQUADRON - 36TH AVIATION REGIMENT - 63RD AIR BRIGADE
Senior Lieutenant Dionisiy Isaakovich Triantafilov (Дио́нисий Исаа́кович Триандафи́лов) was a Soviet bomber pilot of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force (VVS ChF), a distinguished wartime aviator of ethnic Greek descent. He was born in 1919 in the city of Simferopol, capital of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), then part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic within the USSR. His place of origin is recorded more precisely as Simferopol, village of Kiselevka, within the Kirovsky district. He was the son of Isak (Isaac), though little is documented of his early family environment. His Greek ethnicity (Грек) is explicitly recorded in his Soviet military records, making him one of the few identified Soviet aviators of Greek descent. He was married to Maria Alexeevna Triandafilova, who remained his next of kin in Simferopol, Crimea. Triantafilov was drafted into the Red Army (RKKA) via the Kirov Regional Military Commissariat, Crimea. He joined the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) VKP(b) in 1941, a mark of ideological commitment amidst the onset of the Great Patriotic War. His social classification is listed as “peasant” (крестьянин), and there is no record of prior service in any bourgeois army or time spent in captivity before his wartime service. By the time of Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Triantafilov was serving in the Soviet Naval Aviation, specifically in the 1st Squadron (1 Аэ) of the 36th Aviation Regiment (36 АП), a bomber unit under the 63rd Air Brigade (63 АББ) of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force (VVS ChF).¹ Initially trained and flying the SB-2 bomber, a twin-engine light bomber, Triantafilov quickly accumulated operational experience on the southern fronts of the Soviet-German war. By May 1942, his unit had transitioned into a critical role defending the Black Sea littoral, with repeated assignments over Sevastopol, Rostov, and the Taman Peninsula.² During this period, Triantafilov’s service was vividly described in the postwar memoirs of Soviet gunner-technician Paramon Potapovich Poliektov, who flew alongside him. Poliektov recalled:
"Paramon Potapovich served as a technician for the SB bomber and became friends with the commander of the winged aircraft, pilot Dmitry Triandofilov. When, after the start of the war, the crews began to suffer serious losses, technicians sat behind the radio gunners. Paramon Poliektov was no exception, having repeatedly flown with the crew of his friend to bomb the Ploiești oil fields, naval bases and other military facilities of the German fascists located in Romania. Friends were attacked by enemy fighters, were shot down over the sea, but they were always lucky. The plane was led by the Greek Dmitry Triandofilov, from the attacks of German fighters with machine gun fire it was covered by the Russian Paramon Poliektov."³
Poliektov also recalled:
"There is a sea of fire under you, around – the explosions of anti-aircraft shells, constant attacks of fighters… I had a friend, a Greek by nationality, pilot Dmitry Triandofilov. I served his car, flew with his crew as a gunner to bomb Constanța."⁴
Award records reveal that Triantafilov completed 37 combat sorties, primarily at night, by May 1942. His bombing missions contributed to significant operational outcomes: on 20 January 1942 he participated in squadron-level bombing of the Port of Sukhumi, engaging enemy logistical positions; on 25 January 1942 he conducted bombings over enemy forces near Taman Peninsula, Atuz, Semy, and Starokrymsk, destroying 7 artillery pieces and inflicting approximately 50 enemy casualties; on 27 January 1942 he executed a bombing raid on German troops in the Karakel region, disabling or destroying up to 6 artillery pieces with their crews; on 1 February 1942 he participated in bombing attacks against German forces in the Dalinye Kom area, destroying multiple enemy positions; on 23 February 1942 he bombed enemy troop concentrations in the Dalinye Kom region, resulting in the destruction of additional artillery pieces; on 15 March 1942 he flew in a formation of 9 SB bombers, led by Captain Minakhtin, striking German positions in the Timoshevsky area, leading to the destruction of 15 German supply wagons, an ammunition dump, and severing key railway connections for the enemy.² His operational discipline, bombing accuracy, and collaboration with crew members, particularly his radio operator Sergeant Ovsyuk, were explicitly noted in his service evaluations. For these actions, Triantafilov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner (Орден Красного Знамени) via Order No. 81 of the Black Sea Fleet Commander, dated 9 December 1942, recognizing his courage, consistency, and contribution to Soviet air operations.² Additionally, he was awarded the Medal for the Defense of Sevastopol, reflecting his participation in the grueling defense of that strategic port city.⁵
Portrait of Senior Lieutenant Dionisiy Isaakovich Triandafilov (1919–1943), a Soviet bomber pilot of Greek descent from Simferopol. Wearing his service uniform with the insignia of a front-line officer of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force. (Alex Kandel)
Soviet airmen of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force, 36th Bomber Aviation Regiment, during operations in 1943. In this classic wartime pose, one of the airmen animatedly gestures with his hands to illustrate an air battle, while Senior Lieutenant Dionisiy Isaakovich Triandafilov, seated at right, listens attentively. Triandafilov, a Douglas A-20 Boston pilot, was later shot down by anti-aircraft fire near Sulina on 18 September 1943 and taken prisoner by Romanian forces. (Alex Kandel)
By 1943, the Soviet Naval Aviation had begun equipping some units with the Douglas A-20 “Boston” (also known as Havoc), an American-supplied twin-engine bomber under the Lend-Lease program. Triantafilov converted to this type, continuing his role in offensive air operations across the Black Sea front.¹ On one such occasion, as Poliektov later recalled, he remained on the ground performing maintenance while Triantafilov and his crew departed on a combat mission. That sortie would prove fateful:
"His plane never returned to the base that time… During one of the sorties, my friend’s plane was shot down over the sea, he did not return to the base, and for a long time was considered missing. So no one knew anything about the further fate of Dmitry."⁶
On 18 September 1943, Senior Lieutenant Triantafilov was leading a Boston bomber on a combat sortie targeting German shipping and coastal positions near the Dniester Estuary. The specific objective involved an assault on three BDB (marine landing barges) in the area of the Dniester Liman, a critical point between Soviet and Axis lines. During this mission, his Boston was struck by anti-aircraft fire. Soviet records state succinctly: “Подбит зенитным огнём за пр. Констанца.” (“Hit by anti-aircraft fire near the straits of Constanța”).⁷ The aircraft was observed to have caught fire and crashed near Lake Shagany (озеро Шаганы), within the Tuzla sector, north of Constanța. Triantafilov lost consciousness in the crash but survived, while his navigator, Vyacheslav Pavlov, was also onboard.⁸ After the crash, both men were captured by Romanian forces, as documented in Romanian prisoner registers. Romanian POW records from Camp No. 6 (Cotofeni) list him as prisoner no. 344, named Triandafilov Dionisie, rank Oberleutnant (equivalent to Senior Lieutenant), born 1919, Simferopol, captured on 18 September 1943 near Constanța, with condition recorded as wounded (Ranit).⁹ The Soviet military loss reporting, filed on 8 October 1943, categorizes Triantafilov as: “Сбит за пр. К. 18.9.43 г.” (“Shot down near the straits of Constanța, 18 September 1943”).⁷ His death card (учётная карточка) also marks the loss date as 18 September 1943, with capture and burial annotations later updated based on wartime reporting.¹⁰ Soviet records acknowledge his status as missing or prisoner, though no repatriation or further fate is currently traceable in the documents available. Years after the war, in a remarkable postwar coincidence, Poliektov encountered Triantafilov alive in the city of Pinsk:
"Now after the war I meet him in Pinsk right in the middle of the street! Joy, hugs… It turned out that Dmitry managed to leave the burning car, sailed by sea for a long time, got into the territory occupied by the Nazis and experienced many misadventures until he got to his own. And his crew was killed."¹¹
His next of kin, as listed in military files, was his wife: Maria Alexeevna Triandafilova, residing in Simferopol, Kiselevka, Ivanovka.¹⁰ His death or final status was never conclusively confirmed by Soviet authorities postwar. Triantafilov’s service reflects the career trajectory of many Soviet naval aviators, transitioning from the outdated SB-2 to the modern Boston A-20 bomber, engaging in strategic bombing, coastal interdiction, and maritime strike missions in a contested environment marked by strong Axis air defenses. His ethnic Greek heritage situates him among the very small number of identified Soviet-Greek combat aviators of the Second World War, particularly significant in the context of Soviet naval aviation and the Black Sea theater. His captivity in Romania remains the last verifiable point in his life.
On 5 September 1943, the Romanian destroyer Regele Ferdinand (of the Regele Ferdinand class) participated in an Axis naval convoy defense in the western Black Sea. The ship came under attack by Soviet torpedo-bombers—probably Douglas A-20 “Boston” aircraft from the 36th Bomber Aviation Regiment (36 БАП) of the Black Sea Fleet. This engagement was part of the same series of Soviet air-sea operations that culminated on 18 September 1943, when Senior Lieutenant Dionisiy Isaakovich Triandafilov was shot down in the Dniester–Sulina area. The Regele Ferdinand’s anti-aircraft batteries, such as those shown here, were among the defenses faced by his squadron’s “Boston” bombers during those late-summer 1943 raids on Axis shipping in the Black Sea. (Alex Kandel)
Loss entry for Senior Lieutenant Dionisiy Isaakovich Triandafilov. (Alex Kandel)
Douglas A-20 “Boston” light bomber of the 36th Bomber Aviation Regiment, Black Sea Fleet Air Force, the type flown by Senior Lieutenant Dionisiy Isaakovich Triandafilov during the autumn 1943 operations over the western Black Sea. These American-built aircraft, supplied under Lend-Lease, were used by Soviet crews for low-level attacks against Axis convoys and coastal targets near the Dniester estuary and Sulina, where Triandafilov’s aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire on 18 September 1943 (Copyright Bertrand Brown aka Gaetan Marie)
Loss register of the 36th Bomber Aviation Regiment (VVS Black Sea Fleet), listing personnel killed or missing in September 1943. Entry no. 36 records Senior Lieutenant Dionisiy Isaakovich Triandafilov, pilot of the 1st Squadron, as shot down by German anti-aircraft fire on 18 September 1943 near Sulina; his wife Matrena Alekseevna and mother Ksenia Ivanovna Triandafilova are noted as next of kin. (Alex Kandel)
Extract from the same 1943 casualty roll confirming the loss of Senior Lieutenant Dionisiy Isaakovich Triandafilov of the 1st Squadron, 36th Bomber Aviation Regiment, on 18 September 1943, during an attack over the Dniester Estuary. The record lists his home in the Altai ASSR and his wife Matrena Alekseevna Triandafilova as his registered relative. (Alex Kandel)
SOURCES / FOOTNOTES
1. "Приказ Командующего Черноморским Флотом №81," 9 December 1942, Russian State Naval Archive.
2. "Наградной Лист старший лейтенант Триандафилов Дионисий Иванович", May 1942, Russian State Military Archive (RGVA), F. 34980, Op. 1, D. 1063, l. 217.
3. Paramon Potapovich Poliektov, memoir excerpt, in Alex Kandel, Facebook post, July 2025.
4. Ibid.
5. "Акт №259 о вручении медали За оборону Севастополя," Soviet Naval Archives, 1943.
6. Poliektov memoir, ibid.
7. "Донесение о потерях офицерского состава ВВС Черноморского флота," 8 October 1943, TsAMO RF, F. 58, Op. 18003, D. 1395, l. 288.
8. Secondary account from Soviet operational history: В.Ю. Минаков, "Авиация Черноморского флота в Великой Отечественной войне," Moscow: Voenizdat, 1984, p. 254.
9. "Stat Nominal pentru Prizonieri, Lagărul No. 6 Cotofeni," Romanian Military Archives, prisoner no. 344, 1943.
10. "Учётная карточка потерь на Триандафилов Дионисий Иванович," November 1943, Central Archives of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (TsAMO RF), F. 58, Op. 18003, D. 1395.
11. Poliektov memoir, ibid.
Special thanks to Alex Kandel for bringing Senior Lieutenant Dionisiy Isaakovich Triandafilov story to our attention and providing us photos and documents.
