"Award Order
- Name: Fedotov, Mikhail Alekseevich
- Rank: Guards Starshina
- Position, unit: IS tank commander, 86th Independent Guards Novozybkov Order of the REd Banner Heavy Tank Regiment
is nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. - Year of birth: 1916
- Nationality: Russian
- Party affiliation: none
- Participation in the civil war, subsequent combat actions in defense of the USSR, Patriotic War: South-Western Front from February 3rd, 1942 to July 22nd, 1943, 2nd Belorussian Front since November 30th, 1944
- Wounds and concussions in the Patriotic War: heavily wounded on July 22nd, 1943, lightly wounded on February 14th, 1945, lightly wounded on March 27th, 1945.
- In the Red Army since: 1937
- Recruited by: Kaban recruitment office, Buryat-Mongolian ASSR
- Prior awards: "For Battle Merit" medal
Brief and specific description of combat heroism or achievements: In battle for the Emaus settlement on March 27th, 1945, comrade Fedotov was left alone when three enemy heavy Ferdinand SPGs surrounded Fedotov's tank and tried to destroy it. The situation was grim. There was only one solution: to fall back, but this would also mean that our infantry would fall back, and Fedotov decided to stand to the death. Launching a smoke grenade, the brave commander changed positions and knocked out a Ferdinand with two shots. When a second SPG approached to recover the wounded, Fedotov also knocked it out.
Wounded and left with only a loader, he continued the battle, destroying an APC. When shells ran out, he burst into an enemy mortar battery and crushed it with his tracks, killing the crew with grenades. The path for infantry was clear.
During battles in 1945, the heroic tanker destroyed 6 German tanks and SPGs, 11 guns, 2 mortar batteries, 3 APCs and about 100 Germans.
He is worthy of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union."
CAMD RF 33-793756-50
Since it was very common for any German tank destroyer to be called "Ferdinand", it is most likely that these "heavy SPGs" were actually Jagdpanthers.