| Nurken Abdirov | |
| Birth Date: | 9 August 1919 |
| Birth Place: | 5th aul, Karkaraly District, Karaganda, Alash Autonomy (now Kazakhstan) |
| Death Place: | Stalingrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Branch: | Soviet Air Force |
| Serviceyears: | 1940 1942 |
| Rank: | Sergeant |
| Unit: | 808th Attack Aviation Regiment |
| Battles: | World War II |
| Awards: | Hero of the Soviet Union |
Nurken Abdirovich Abdirov (Kazakh: Нүркен Әбдіров/Nürken Äbdırov, Russian: Нуркен Абдирович Абдиров; 9 August 1919 – 19 December 1942) was a Kazakh pilot who was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 31 March 1941 for ramming his aircraft into a German tank column after it sustained a direct hit to the engine on 19 December 1942.
Nurken Abdirov was born on 9 August 1919 in the Karkaraly District in the territory of the former 5th aul to a family of Kazakh peasants.[1] According to genealogical records, he originates from the Sarym branch of the Karakesek tribe of the Argyn tribe.[2] Having received an incomplete secondary education, he spent most of his childhood working on a collective farm. In 1939 he graduated from the pilot course of the Karaganda Aeroclub and received the qualifications to become a reserve pilot.[3]
In 1940, he got drafted into the ranks of the Red Army and graduated from the 1st Chkalov Military Aviation Pilot School in 1941. In the same year, he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.[4] On 28 October 1942 he arrived on the warfront as a pilot in the 808th Assault Aviation Regiment, which flew ground attack missions on the Ilyushin Il-2. He flew in 16 sorties, in which he destroyed 12 Nazi tanks, 28 trucks, 18 vehicles loaded with ammunition, 3 fuel tanks, and 3 cannons, and killed more than 50 German soldiers and officers.[5]
On 19 December 1942, while attacking enemy positions near the Konkov farm, his Il-2 received a direct hit on the engine and caught fire. Realizing there was no chance to survive, he steered his descent to crash into a column of German tanks, repeating the feat of Nikolai Gastello[6] [7] and destroying six enemy tanks.[8] Together with him, his gunner Alexander Komissarov, who refused to jump from the plane also died.[9] [10] By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Abdirov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on 31 March 1943. He was buried in the mass grave at the Konkov farm.