Alexey Petrovich Maresyev (; May 20, 1916 – May 19, 2001) was a Soviet fighter ace during World War II. He was born in Kamyshin. Before joining the army in 1937, Maresyev worked as a turner and then participated in the construction of Komsomolsk-on-Amur. In 1940, he graduated from Bataysk Military School of Aviation. He began his flights as a fighter pilot in August 1941. He had shot down four German aircraft by March 1942, but on April 4, 1942, his Polikarpov I-16 was shot down near Staraya Russa, then occupied by Nazi Germany.