Grigory Ivanovich Ges (; 25 March 1916 – 7 January 1968) was a

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

officer who became a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Ges began his military career as a mechanic just before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

but soon became a pilot after graduating from flight school. He served as an instructor pilot during

, being decorated for his training efforts, and had a nearly two-month combat tour in late 1944. Continuing his service postwar, Ges became a deputy squadron commander in the

176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment The 176th Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO was a fighter regiment of the Soviet Air Defense Forces during World War II and the Cold War. The unit was disbanded in March 1960. History Prewar and World War II The unit was formed on 22 March 1938 ...

, with which he fought in the

, flying the

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-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 the first successful jet fighters to incorporate s ...

. Credited with eight victories, he was made a

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

for his actions in late 1951.

Early life and World War II

Ges was born to working class Ukrainian parents on 7 April 1916 in the village of Vasylivka,

Yekaterinoslav Governorate Yekaterinoslav Governorate} was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yekaterinoslav. Covering an area of , and being composed of a inhabitant of 2,113,674 by the census of 1897, it bordere ...

. After graduating from middle school in 1930, he worked as manager of the club and as a ledger clerk in the village. He went to Artemovsk in 1936 to become a station chief and in September 1937 was drafted into the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, graduating from the Chita School for Junior Aviation Specialists in 1938. Between 1938 and 1940 he served as a mechanic at the Bataysk Military Aviation School of Pilots, and graduated from the school in 1941, becoming an instructor pilot there. During

, Ges served as an instructor pilot with the 4th Reserve Fighter Aviation Regiment (stationed in the

Volga Military District The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001. The district headquarters was located at Kazan, Saratov and Kuibyshev (Samara) at differen ...

and later the

Kharkov Military District The Kharkov Military District () was a military district of the Russian Empire, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and the Soviet Union. Throughout its history, the district headquarters was located in the city of Kharkov in northeast ...

) from 1943, training pilots on the

Yak-7 The Yakovlev Yak-7 (; NATO reporting name: Mark)Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1955-56 p. 188 was developed from the earlier Yak-1 fighter, initially as a trainer but converted into a fighter. As both a fighter and later reverting to its ori ...

and La-5 fighters. Between 6 September 1943 and 1 March 1944 Ges trained a full course of nine fighter pilots and between 14 March and 15 April he retrained 36 pilots of the 56th Fighter Aviation Regiment for the 1st section of combat fighter aviation course without accidents. He was sent to an operational unit for combat experience between 4 November and 26 December 1944, serving as a flight commander with the 178th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment on the

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943, the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In mid-May 1944 Malinovsky took over the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During t ...

. In the skies over Hungary, Ges flew 21 La-5 combat sorties, participated in five air battles, and claimed two shared aerial victories. He was awarded the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () 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 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

on 23 February 1945 for his training efforts.

Postwar and Korean War

After the end of the war, in March 1946, Ges was transferred to the

in the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...

. He became a flight commander in April 1947 and in August 1950 was promoted to the rank of military pilot 2nd class. In October of the same year he became a military pilot 1st class with the rank of senior lieutenant. He became deputy commander of a squadron for pilots in November 1950. With the 176th Guards Regiment, Ges was sent to fight with the

64th Fighter Aviation Corps The 64th Fighter Aviation Corps (64th IAK) was an aviation corps of the Soviet Air Forces. The corps was the parent unit for Soviet interceptor units based in northeastern Manchuria during the Korean War. The unit claimed a 3.4:1 kill ratio in favo ...

in December 1950, participating in the

. He served as a deputy squadron commander and later squadron commander, being awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

on 2 June 1951. Between April 1951 and February 1952 Ges flew about 120 sorties and was credited with eight aerial victories. Ges became a flying ace on 20 June 1951 when he shot down an

F-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kin ...

from the 35th Fighter Group. As the Mustang disintegrated under his fire, the stabilizer of Ges' MiG-15 was destroyed when the port wing of the Mustang hit his tail. Ges was able to bank the aircraft over and evade a subsequent attack by four

F-86 Sabres The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

that damaged his wingman's aircraft. He was able to land safely at his airfield despite the damage. For his "courage and heroism," he was awarded the title

and a second Order of Lenin on 10 October 1951. Some sources claim Ges may have had up to 10 victories, though most sources agree on 8. After the regiment was rotated out of combat and returned to the Soviet Union, Ges was sent to Higher Officers Flying and Tactical Courses in

Taganrog Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of a ...

in October 1953. After completing them a month later, he was sent to the 196th Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO of the 52nd Fighter Air Defense Army to serve as a deputy squadron commander. In November 1954 he became assistant commander for gunnery and tactical training of the regiment before being transferred to the reserve with the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in May 1957. During his career, Ges flew the U-2, UT-2, I-16,

Yak-15 The Yakovlev Yak-15 (; NATO reporting name: Feather, USAF/ DOD designation Type 2) is a first-generation Soviet turbojet fighter developed by the Yakovlev design bureau (OKB) immediately after World War II. The main fuselage was that of Yako ...

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 S ...

, La-5,

La-7 The Lavochkin La-7 (; NATO reporting name: Fin) was a piston-engined single-seat Soviet fighter aircraft developed during World War II by the Lavochkin Design Bureau. It was a development and refinement of the Lavochkin La-5, and the last in ...

, La-9,

, and

MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 was license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 an ...

. As a civilian, he lived in

Elektrostal Elektrostal (, ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. Population: 135,000 (1977); 123,000 (1970); 97,000 (1959); 43,000 (1939). It was previously known as ''Zatishye'' (until 1928). Etymology The name ''Elektrostal ...

until his death on 7 January 1968.

Awards and decorations

(10 October 1951) *

(2 June and 10 October 1951) *

(23 February 1945, 29 April 1954, 26 October 1955) *

Medal "For Battle Merit" The Medal "For Battle Merit" () was a Soviet military medal awarded for "combat action resulting in a military success", "courageous defense of the state borders", or "successful military and political training and preparation". It was created on ...

(6 November 1947) * campaign and jubilee medals

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ges Grigory I. Russian aviators Soviet Korean War flying aces Soviet military personnel of the Korean War Soviet Air Force officers Heroes of the Soviet Union 1916 births 1968 deaths People from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast People from Yekaterinoslav Governorate Soviet World War II pilots Recipients of the Order of Lenin

Early life and World War II

Postwar and Korean War

Awards and decorations

See also

References

Sources