Downed Russian pilot in Syria used machine pistol, grenade in last stand

By Chris Eger

Among the items reportedly recovered from the downed pilot was a 9x18mm Stechkin APS pistol with three partially loaded mags, one of which appears empty. (Photo: CIT)
The pilot of a shot down Russian Aerospace Force Su-25SM attack aircraft, when cornered by insurgents last week, reportedly resorted to his personal weapons and was not taken alive.
According to releases from the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major Roman Filipov, 33, was shot down by a shoulder-launched missile near the town of Maarrat al-Nu’man on Feb. 3 while on a routine patrol. Ejecting in an area controlled by Al-Nusra — a jihadist group labeled as terrorists by both the U.S. and Russia — Filipov continued his fight once on the ground.
In a statement from Col. Gen. Sergei Surovikin, commander of the Russian air force, “Being badly wounded, and when distance from militants reached several dozen meters, the Russian officer exploded a hand grenade.”
The Sun, a tabloid in the UK, among others reported that, before his death, the 18-year veteran radioed to his base in Khmeimim that he had shot two insurgents and, before setting off the grenade that killed him, yelled, “This is for our guys.”
In 2015, Russian state media detailed that aircrew operating

Source: Guns.com