Editing Vladimir Komarov (section)

==Early life==
Komarov was born on 16 March 1927 in [[Moscow]] and grew up with his half-sister Matilda (born in 1915). His father was a labourer who worked at various low-paid jobs to support the family. In 1935, Komarov began his formal education in the local [[elementary school]]. Here he showed a natural aptitude for [[mathematics]].<ref>Burgess and Hall, p. 52</ref> In 1941, Komarov left school because of [[World War II]] and the [[German invasion of the Soviet Union]], and he became a laborer on a [[collective farm]]. He showed an interest in [[aeronautics]] from an early age, and he collected magazines and pictures about [[aviation]], in addition to making [[model aircraft]] and his own [[propeller]].<ref name=BHp53>Burgess and Hall, p. 53</ref> At the age of fifteen in 1942, Komarov entered the "1st Moscow Special Air Force School" to pursue his dream of becoming an [[aviator]]. Shortly thereafter, his family learned that Komarov's father had been killed in an "unknown war action".<ref name=BHp53/> Of necessity because of the German invasion, the [[flight school]] was soon moved to the [[Tyumen]] region in [[Siberia]] for the duration of the war. Students there learned a wide variety of subjects besides aviation—including [[zoology]] and foreign languages. In 1945, Komarov graduated from flight school with honors. World War II hostilities ended before Komarov was called on to enter combat.

In 1946, Komarov completed his first year of training at the Chkalov Higher Air Force School in [[Borisoglebsk (air base)|Borisoglebsk]] in [[Voronezh Oblast]]. He then completed his training at the A.K. Serov Military Aviation College in Bataisk. Komarov's mother died in 1948, seven months before his graduation in 1949, at which he received his pilot's wings and commission as a [[lieutenant]] in the [[Soviet Air Force]].