Stoyanov claimed his initial victory on 1 August 1943 during Operation Tidal Wave. He was personally decorated by the Bulgarian King Boris III with the "Commander’s medal for bravery". He also received the Iron Cross 2nd Class from the German Embassy. A second medal for bravery was awarded on 24 June 1944. His last aerial victory was on 26 August 1944. In September 1944 he was promoted to captain. The same month Bulgaria joined the Allies and thereafter the air operations were against the retreating Axis forces. On 22 November 1944 he received his third medal for bravery and was promoted to Major, this time for combat against German ground forces in Macedonia and Kosovo (Bulgaria had joined the Allies after a political change of government on 9 September 1944.) Stoyanov is also referenced as being credited with 4 individual destroyed, 1 shared destroyed and 4 damaged ( Philippe Saintes,: 'Stoyan Stoyanov, le Comte du Bf 109' Avions, Issue 124, June 2003) or 4 individual destroyed, 2 shared destroyed and 3 damaged. After the war Stoyanov remained in the Air Force of PR Bulgaria for a couple of years. In March 1945 Bulgaria received 120 Russian Yak-9M fighter planes and he trained many new pilots to fly them. He was dismissed in 1956 with a low military pension. He worked for 30 years as a guide in the Rila Monastery, a national museum and tourist site in the Rila Mountains, while his family lived in Sofia. After the fall of the communist regime As late as after 1989 Stoyanov was honoured as No 1 ace of the Bulgarian Royal Air Force in World War II. In 1992 he was raised to the honorary rank of general-major (retired). He died five years later, on March 13, 1997. References Stefan Semerdjiev: Ace in Defense of Bulgaria. Military History (USA), August 1999, p. 50-56 Stefan Semerdjiev: Bulgarian Eagles. Airpower (USA), September 2003, p. 14-23 Jay Stout. Fortress Ploesti - The campaign to destroy Hitler's oil (USA-2003), p. 68-70, 180-185 J.Dugan and C. Stewart. Ploesti - The great grand-air battle of 1 August 1943 (USA-2002) p. 202-203 Hans W. Neulen: Am Himmel Europas, 1998 Munich Philippe Saintes: Le comte de BF 109. AVIONS n124, p 43–53, July 2003 External links STOYAN STOYANOV 1913 births 1994 deaths People from Varna, Bulgaria Bulgarian military personnel of World War II Bulgarian World War II flying aces Bulgarian