Alexander Sergeyevich Kabiskoy (Russian: Александр Сергеевич Кабиской; 15 July 1920 – 15 March 1950) was a

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

and

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

. Awarded the title on 1 July 1944 for his initial victories, by the end of the war his tally consisted of 16 solo aircraft shootdowns plus one

aerostat An aerostat (, via French) is a lighter-than-air aircraft that gains its lift through the use of a buoyant gas. Aerostats include unpowered balloons and powered airships. A balloon may be free-flying or tethered. The average density of the cra ...

. Postwar, he continued to serve in the Air Force and died in a flying accident in 1950.

Early life

Kabiskoy was born on 15 July 1920 in the village of Mikhailovka in what is now Primorsky Krai to a peasant family. After graduating from eight grades of school he studied at a medical college in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

. He was drafted into the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

in 1938 and went on to graduate from the

Bataysk Bataysk (russian: Бата́йск) is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Rostov-on-Don. Population: History It was founded in 1769, and was granted town status in 1938. The reconstructed Church of the Ascension was built be ...

Military Aviation School of Pilots in 1940.

World War II

Kabiskoy fought in World War II from October 1941. He became a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 pilot in the 721st Fighter Aviation Regiment. The regiment provided air defense for Gorky. In December it moved to provide air defense in the Rybinsk area. In early July 1942, the regiment was moved to the Bryansk Front and Kabiskoy took part in the fought in the unsuccessful defense of Voronezh. On 21 October 1942, he was escorting 14 Il-2s over the Kursk airfield when he was attacked by five Bf 109s. Kabiskoy shot down one, enabling the Il-2s to perform their mission. For his actions Kabiskoy received thanks from the commander of the 15th Air Army. Between January and February 1943 he fought in the operation to retake Voronezh. While with the Bryansk Front Kabiskoy shot down two

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

fighters and two Junkers Ju 88 bombers. On 23 February, Kabiskoy and his wingman shot down an Fw 190, preventing eight Il-2s of the 217th Attack Aviation Regiment from suffering any losses. On 27 February, Kabiskoy led the fighter escort for an Ilyushin Il-2 attack on the

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, p=ɐˈrʲɵl, lit. ''eagle''), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast situated on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow. It is part of the Central Fed ...

Western airfield, which reportedly destroyed 30 Ju 88s. For his performance of the escort Kabiskoy was thanked by the commander of the

15th Air Army The 15th Air Army was a military formation of the Soviet Air Forces, active from July 1942 until December 1993. History It was formed between 11 July and 15 August 1942, in accordance with the directive of the commander of the Soviet Air Force ...

. In July and August 1943 Kabiskoy participated in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...

and the subsequent Operation Kutuzov. On 5 July he shot down an Fw 190 while escorting eight Il-2s, which were attacked by 6 Fw 190s. His wingman claimed another Fw 190. On 11 July, Kabiskoy received the

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

1st class. In aerial combat over the Kursk bulge, Kabiskoy shot down another Ju 88 and two

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...

fighters while flying the

Lavochkin La-5 The Lavochkin La-5 (Лавочкин Ла-5) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a development and refinement of the LaGG-3, replacing the earlier model's inline engine with the much more powerful Shvetsov ASh-82 radial engine. ...

. In August and September 1943, Kabiskoy fought in the Chernigov-Pripyat Offensive. In November he participated in the Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive. On 15 September he was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

. Kabiskoy provided air cover during the Kalinkovichi-Mozyr Offensive in January 1944 and the Rogachev-Zhlobin Offensive in February. Around this period Kabiskoy joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

. During the summer of 1944, he fought in the Bobruysk Offensive, Minsk Offensive and the Lublin–Brest Offensive, part of

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп� ...

. On 1 July, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

for making 314 sorties in 47 air battles and totaling 16 shootdowns. From January 1945 Kabiskoy fought in the Warsaw-Poznan Offensive, part of the Vistula–Oder Offensive, and gained his last shootdown (and only one in 1945) on 16 April 1945. Between February and April he participated in the East Pomeranian Offensive. In April and May he fought in the Berlin Offensive. On 16 April he shot down an Fw 190 southeast of Sachsendorf while flying the Lavochkin La-7. During the war, Kabiskoy made 342 sorties, during which he shot down a total of 16 enemy aircraft, including 12 Fw 190s, one Bf 109, two Ju 88s, and two Focke-Wulf Fw 189s. Kabiskoy also shot down an aerostat on 23 February 1944.

Postwar

Postwar, Kabiskoy continued to serve in the Soviet Air Force. On 15 March 1950 he was killed in a flying accident. Kabiskoy was buried in Mikhailovka, where there is a street named for him.

Awards

(1 July 1944) *

(1 July 1944) * Three

(5 November 1942, 15 September 1943, and 2 March 1944) * Order of Alexander Nevsky (4 June 1945) *

1st class (11 July 1943)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kabiskoy, Alexander 1920 births 1950 deaths People from Primorsky Krai Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet Air Force officers Soviet World War II flying aces Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1950 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the Soviet Union