 Complete the following phrase:  Having arrived at warfront in April 1943 as a pilot in the 566th Assault Aviation Regiment with the rank of senior sergeant, he did not fly his first combat mission until 12 July. However, once he experienced his baptism by fire he quickly began to accumulate more sorties, totaling five missions in one day on 26 July. Despite being shot down and having to make an emergency landing on 31 January 1944, he and his gunner managed to safely return to their unit just a few days a later. On 6 August 1944 he was nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union for having totaled 105 sorties on the Il-2. Mykhlik continued to quickly rise through the ranks of his unit, gaining promotion to squadron commander in November 1944. That year he was admitted to the Communist Party. While the squadron was under his command its crews totaled 309 sorties but lost only one of their own aircraft. In addition to flying combat sorties as squadron commander he took on the responsibility of flight training, training six new pilots in 1945. On 27 March 1945 he was nominated for a second gold star, which he received in June. By the end of the war he was credited with 188 combat sorties, taking out 35 tanks, two ammunition depots, 8 anti-aircraft artillery batteries, five steam locomotives, 19 rail cars, 114 trucks, and shot down one FW 190. Throughout the war he fought on the Western, Bryansk, Leningrad and 3rd Belorussian fronts, participating in the battles of Kursk, Orel, Krasnoye selso-Ropsha, Leningrad, Novgorod, Vyborg, Narva, Tallinn, East Prussia, 