Nikolai Georgievich Abramashvili ( ka, ნიკოლოზ აბრამიშვილი ''Nikoloz Abramishvili'', russian: Николай Георгиевич Абрамашвили; 28 December 1918 – 30 November 1942) was a Soviet fighter ace who fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early life

Abramishvili was born on 30 December 1918 in the town of

Borjomi Borjomi ( ka, ბორჯომი) is a resort town in south-central Georgia, 160 km from Tbilisi, with a population of 11,122 (2021). It is one of the municipalities of the Samtskhe–Javakheti region and is situated in the northwestern p ...

, Georgia. He graduated after the 7th grade and was sent to studies on the Puskin gliding school near Moscow in Russia. When finishing his studies in 1937, he moved back to Borjomi as an instructor in the School of Gliding allied to the city's mineral bottling plant. In 1938 Amramishvili entered an aviation club in Gori and also enlisted to 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 ...

which sent him to the Kachin Flight School. After graduating in 1940 he served in fighter regiments on the western Soviet border.

War service

From the earliest days of 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 ...

, Lieutenant Abramishvili fought on the North-Western Front as a member of the 440th and 3rd Guard Fighter Aviation Regiments and by the end of 1941 had flown more than 100 flight missions and claimed a total of 8 enemy aircraft shot down. In the summer of 1942 he participated in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

as part of the 273rd Fighter Regiment, flying the

LaGG-3 The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 (Лавочкин-Горбунов-Гудков ЛаГГ-3) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a refinement of the earlier LaGG-1 and was one of the most modern aircraft available to the Sov ...

. In an air battle over the city Kalach, Abramishvili 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 ...

, but was hit himself, managing to bale out by parachute. Thereafter he managed to down another six enemy aircraft, becoming an ace with a total of 16 personal victories and 81 pair victories. Abramishvili is also credited with downing 11 enemy aircraft during a single air mission. On 30 November 1942, during a fierce battle over

Pitomnik Airfield The Pitomnik airfield (russian: питомник, lit. plant nursery) was an airfield in Russia. During the Second World War, it was the primary of seven airfields used by the Nazi Germany, German Wehrmacht during the Battle of Stalingrad. Flig ...

, Captain Abramashvili's aircraft was hit by German fighter ace Oblt. Karl Kennel, ''Staffelkapitän'' of 5./''Sch.G'' 1. Seriously wounded, but still in control of his damaged aircraft, his fellow wingmen reported he took deliberate aim on a group of German military equipment and after firing several bursts, he directly collided into a fuel dump. A series of explosions killed and injured a number of German personnel and several vehicles were destroyed or damaged nearby. Different sources state that Abramashvili flew into a bridge which the enemy was about to cross with troops and tanks, causing serious damage.

Honours and awards

For outstanding courage and heroism in the fight against fascism, Captain Nikolay Georgiyevich Abramashvili was posthumously awarded

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation (russian: Герой Российской Федерации, Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii), also unofficially Hero of Russia (russian: link=no, Герой России, Geroy Rossii), is the highest honorary title ...

in 1995. He was also awarded with the

Red Banner Red Banner (russian: Красное знамя) was a symbol of revolutionary struggle used late Russian Empire, in Soviet Russia, and in the USSR and the background of the Soviet state flag and other similar flags. Military units, instit ...

earlier in 1942.

References

External links

Abramashvili's entry at Peoples.Ru
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abramashvilli, Nikolay Heroes of the Russian Federation Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner 1918 births 1942 deaths Soviet military personnel killed in World War II People of World War II from Georgia (country) Soviet World War II flying aces Aviators killed by being shot down Soviet Air Force officers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the Soviet Union Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Russia Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1942 People from Borjomi