Vitaly Popkov (1922-2010) was a Soviet ace pilot, participant in the Great Patriotic War, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant General of Aviation.
He was born on May 1, 1922, in Moscow. He finished the Krasnopresnensky Aero Club in 1940, and then graduated from the Chuguev military aviation pilot school in 1941 and from the Bataysk military aviation pilot school in 1942. Since May 1942, Popkov was in the acting army. He participated in the battles for Rzhev and Stalingrad, as well as in many offensive operations in the composition of the 5th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment at the Kalinin, South-Western, 1st and 3rd Ukrainian fronts.
By May 1945, Popkov performed 358 sorties, conducted 85 air battles, and using own efforts shot down 40 German airplanes. He was at war on Russian fighters LaGG-3, La-5 and La-7.
The envelope with a commemorative stamp provides an image of the logotype of the celebration of the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945; the main image features fighter pilot Vitaly Popkov and La-7 aircraft.
| Denomination |
Paper |
Printing method |
Format of the envelope |
Edition |
| Letter “A” |
High Whiteness Modified (HWM) |
Offset |
110 × 220 mm |
0,5 million copies |