Georgy Ageevich Lobov (russian: Георгий Агеевич Лобов; 7 May 1915 – 6 January 1994) was a Soviet

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

and squadron commander of the 7th Guards Fighter Aviation Division during World War II who was credited with 10 solo and 7 shared aerial victories. He later commanded the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps, during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Early life

Lobov was born on 7 May 1915 at the city of Yekaterinodar, to a family of a railway workers. He graduated from a seven-year school to become a factory teacher. He later worked at the Proletariat cement plant in Novorossiysk, as a roaster, instructor and secretary of the

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...

organization of the plant. In 1934 he graduated from the Rostov branch of the Institute of Mass Extramural Education of the Party activist under the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. In 1934, he entered the

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as t ...

Aviation Institute and in 1935 he graduated from the first course of the institute.

Military career

In 1935, 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 ...

and later to the

Red Army 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 ...

. He was sent to study at the 7th Military Pilot School named after the Stalingrad Red Banner Proletariat in

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

, from which he graduated in 1938 with honors. From November 1938, he served in the 19th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 54th Aviation Brigade at the Air Force of the

Leningrad Military District The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District. Hi ...

, where he served as flight commander. In June 1939, he was appointed as assistant military commissar of the squadron. In the ranks of the 19th Fighter Aviation Regiment from September 17, 1939, to October 8, 1939, he participated in the 1939

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...

, and from November 1939 to March 1940, he flew 66 sorties during the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

. During this war. he was awarded his first

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

. In 1939, he joined the Communist Party of Soviet Union. He flew

Polikarpov I-16 The Polikarpov I-16 (russian: Поликарпов И-16) is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain ope ...

in both the war campaigns.

World War II

Following the outbreak of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

on 22 June 1941, Lobov took part an air battle over an airfield in

Wysokie Mazowieckie Wysokie Mazowieckie is a town in north-eastern Poland, in Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Wysokie Mazowieckie County. Population is 10,034 . In town there is one of the biggest dairy companies in this part of Europe - " Mlekovita ...

, during which he was slightly wounded, but did not quit the battle. He fought with the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

, in the ranks of the 19th Fighter Aviation Regiment. From September 1941, he was assigned to the

Leningrad Front The Leningrad Front (russian: Ленинградский фронт) was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front The Karelian Front ...

. While flying a

MiG-3 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-3) was a Soviet fighter-interceptor used during World War II. It was a development of the MiG-1 by the OKO (opytno-konstruktorskij otdel — Experimental Design Departme ...

, he scored his first aerial victory on 3 October 1941 over

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga (; rus, Ла́дожское о́зеро, r=Ladozhskoye ozero, p=ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə or rus, Ла́дога, r=Ladoga, p=ˈladəɡə, fi, Laatokka arlier in Finnish ''Nevajärvi'' ; vep, Ladog, Ladoganjärv) is a fresh ...

, while repelling a

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

raid on ships delivering cargo to Leningrad. From October 1941, he was assigned as a military commissar of the squadron of the 26th Air Defense Fighter Aviation Regiment at the Leningrad Front. Lobov scored three more aerial victories by January 1942. From February 1942, he was appointed military commissar of the 286th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Leningrad Front. In 1942, he flew 70 escort sorties to ensure the safety of transport aircraft flights to besieged Leningrad, without losing any of them to enemy fighters, while flying a I-16. From May 1942 to June 1943, Lobov was the commander of the escort of Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Andrei Zhdanov's weekly in and out flights from Leningrad. From November 1942, he fought as deputy commander for political affairs of the 275th Fighter Aviation Division, flying

Yak-1 The Yakovlev Yak-1 (russian: Яковлев Як-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, ...

and La-5. For two years, he fought in air battles over Leningrad, Kronstadt and Road of Life in Lake Ladoga. From June 1943, Lobov was appointed as Deputy Commander of the 322nd Fighter Aviation Division. Flying La-5 and La-7s, he fought in the Western, Bryansk, 1st Baltic, 3rd Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts. He 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. ...

, Bryansk, Nevel, Gorodok, Belorussian and Vistula-Oder offensives. On 25 July 1944, he led an aerial assault at a railway station in

Tilsit Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск; german: Tilsit; Old Prussian: ''Tilzi''; lt, Tilžė; pl, Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. Geography Sov ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

. In August 1944, Lobov organized and personally led a series of 4 assault air strikes against the largest enemy airfields in East Prussia. During the change of command of the division from 1 November to 14 November 1944, he temporarily served as division commander. In February 1945, he was appointed commander of the 7th Guards Fighter Aviation Division and commanded it until the end of the war. The division provided air cover for crossings across the

Neisse River The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.Berlin offensive. It participated in Berlin and

Prague offensive The Prague offensive (russian: Пражская стратегическая наступательная операция, Prazhskaya strategicheskaya nastupatel'naya operatsiya, lit=Prague strategic offensive) was the last major military ...

s. Lobov scored his 10th and last aerial victory of the war, when he shot down a

Heinkel He-111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...

bomber over the

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

city of Mělník. It is also considered as the last of the enemy aircraft destroyed by Soviet pilots in the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

. During the war, Lobov flew

I-16 I16 may refer to: * Interstate 16, an interstate highway in the U.S. state of Georgia * Polikarpov I-16, a Soviet fighter aircraft introduced in the 1930s * Halland Regiment * , a Japanese Type C submarine * i16, a name for the 16-bit signed integ ...

, La-5, La-7 and

Yak-3 The Yakovlev Yak-3 (Russian: Яковлев Як-3) was a single-engine, single-seat World War II Soviet fighter. Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by both pilots and ground crew.Glancey 2006, p. 180. One of the smallest and lighte ...

fighters. He flew 346 sorties, and shot down 10 enemy aircraft personally and 7 in the group. According to his memoirs, he claimed that he shot down 15 enemy aircraft personally and 8 in the group.

Post war

MiG-15s curving to attack B-29s over Korea c1951

After the war, Lobov commanded a division until September 1945, then was sent to study. In 1946, he completed a six-month advanced training course for the commanders of aviation divisions at the Air Force Academy. Since May 1946, he commanded the 303rd Fighter Aviation Division in the

1st Air Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Air Army (russian: 1-я воздушная армия) was an Air Army in the Soviet Air Force which served during World War II. It was formed on May 10, 1942, within the Soviet Western Front, and renamed the 26th Air Army on ...

of the

Belarusian Military District , image = Soviet Union Belorussian Military District.svg , image_size = 300px , caption = The territory of the Byelorussian Military District in 1991. , dates = 28 November 1918 – 6 May 1992 , country = (1918–1920) (1920–1991) (1922� ...

. In September 1948, the division was transferred to the 19th Air Defense Fighter Army of the Moscow Air Defense District. After the outbreak of the

in June 1950, the 303rd FAD was transferred to the Soviet Far East, and later to airfields in

northern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions is not precisely defined and only serve to depict where there appears to be regional differences between the climate ...

. In March 1951, he was promoted to

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. Lobov was stationed in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

, first as the commander of the 303rd Fighter Aviation Division and later as commander of the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps from September 1951. Despite his rank and position, he flew missions to show young pilots how to combat enemy aircraft. Lobov flew 15 sorties during the war and shot down four USAF F-80 Shooting Stars in dogfights, while flying the

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

. On 10 October 1951, Lobov was awarded the title of

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 ...

for his courage and bravery in performing his military duty, while taking into account his merits in the Great Patriotic War. After returning to

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, Lobov graduated with honors from the K. Е. Voroshilov Higher Military Academy in 1955. From November 1955, he served as Inspector General of the Fighter Aviation Inspectorate of the Main Inspectorate at the

USSR Ministry of Defense The Ministry of Defense (Minoboron; russian: Министерство обороны СССР) was a government ministry in the Soviet Union. The first Minister of Defense was Nikolai Bulganin, starting 1953. The Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) was the ...

. In April 1957, he was appointed as Inspector General of Frontline Aviation of the Air Force Inspectorate within the Main Inspectorate of the

. From April 1962, he was Deputy Commander for Combat Training and head of the Combat Training Department and Higher Educational Institutions of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District. From March 1963, he served as the head of the Department of the Air Force at the M. V. Frunze Military Academy. In 1975, he retired from active service.

Later life

From February 1975, he was in reserves. He continued to actively engage in military research work. In the early 90s, he published his memoirs about his participation in the Korean War, one of the very first such publications in the Soviet Union. Lobov died in Moscow on 6 January 1994, at the age of 78. He is buried at the

Troyekurovskoye Cemetery The Troyekurovo Cemetery (russian: Троекуровское кладбище, Troyekurovskoye kladbishche), alternatively known as ''Novo-Kuntsevo Cemetery'' (russian: Ново-Кунцевское кладбище, Novo-Kuntsevskoye kladbishch ...

. A memorial plaque in honor of him was installed at house#1 on Kudrinskaya Square in Moscow, where he lived from 1955 to 1994.

Awards and decorations

;USSR *

(10 October 1951) *

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 ...

(10 October 1951) *

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 ...

, four times (26 February 1942, 18 August 1944, 6 May 1945, 30 December 1956) *

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established du ...

, 2nd class (29 May 1945) *

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, twice (7 April 1944, 11 March 1985) *

, thrice (7 April 1940, 19 November 1951, 16 October 1957) * Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR, 3rd class (30 April 1975) *

Medal "For Battle Merit" The Medal "For Battle Merit" (russian: Медаль «За боевые заслуги») was a Soviet military medal awarded for " combat action resulting in a military success", "courageous defense of the state borders", or "successful military ...

Medal "For the Defence of Moscow" The Medal "For the Defence of Moscow" (russian: Медаль «За оборону Москвы») was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union awarded to military and civilians who had participated in the Battle of Moscow. History T ...

(1 May 1944) * Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad" (22 December 1942) * Medal "For the Liberation of Prague" (9 June 1945) *

Medal "For the Capture of Berlin" The Medal "For the Capture of Berlin" (russian: Медаль «За взятие Берлина») was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on June 9, 1945 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to s ...

(9 June 1945) *

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Медаль «За победу над Германией в Великой Отечественной войне 1941—1945 гг.») was a military de ...

(9 May 1945) * jubilee medals ;Foreign *

Order of 9 September 1944 The Order of 9 September 1944 was an Order of Merit of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1945 to 1946, and of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 to 1990. It commemorated the Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944 Bulgarian may refer to: * Something ...

, 1st class with swords (

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

) *

Medal of Sino-Soviet Friendship The Medal of Sino-Soviet Friendship () (), a.k.a. Sino-Soviet Friendship Medal, was a medal awarded by the People's Republic of China. History The medal was established in 1951 by the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of Chi ...

(

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

) * Patriotic Order of Merit in gold (

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

) *

(

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

) * Medal "50 Years of the Mongolian People's Army" (Mongolia) * Medal "40 Years of Liberation of Korea" (

) * Brotherhood of Arms Medal (

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lobov, Georgy 1915 births 1994 deaths Soviet Air Force generals People from Yekaterinburg People from Kuban Oblast Soviet lieutenant generals Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Soviet World War II flying aces Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Russian people of World War II Soviet military personnel of the Winter War People of the Soviet invasion of Poland Soviet military personnel of the Korean War Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Russian communists Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery