Nikolai Gastello
Nikolai Gastello | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Николай Гастелло |
| Birth name | Nikolai Frantsevich Gastello |
| Born | April 23, 1907 |
| Died | 26 June 1941 (aged 33) Dekshnyany, Minsk Region, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Soviet Air Forces |
| Service years | 1932–1941 |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union |
Captain Nikolai Frantsevich Gastello (Russian: Николай Францевич Гастелло, April 23, 1907 – June 26, 1941) was a Soviet aviator and a Hero of the Soviet Union. He is one of the best known Soviet war heroes, being the best known Soviet pilot, who according to Soviet propaganda, conducted a "fire taran" – a suicide action by the pilot of an aircraft on fire, flying into a target with the intention of setting it alight.