Praporshik Aleksandr Mikhailovich Pishvanov was a
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
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 ...
credited with five aerial victories. After an unsuccessful fight against the Communist takeover of Russia, he became an American citizen in 1928. His engineering skills were useful to both Sikorsky Aviation and to Seversky Aircraft Corporation from 1926 onwards. In 1942, he helped
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
produce
Victory Through Air Power
''Victory Through Air Power'' is a 1942 non-fiction book by Alexander P. de Seversky. It was made into a 1943 Walt Disney animated feature film of the same name.
Theories
De Seversky began his military life at a young age. After serving in t ...
to support the American war effort. Pishvanov's interest in aviation ended only with his death in New York City in 1964.
Biography
Before World War I
Aleksandr Pishvanov was born in
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 ...
, the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
on 21 October 1893, into a farm family of a dozen children.
[Franks et al 1997, pp. 211-212.] His family raised horses for the Russian cavalry, and wheat. Young Aleksandr disliked both horses and farming, so he gained a degree as an engineer. Pishvanov became interested in aviation while studying engineering. After graduation,
[Durkota et al, pp. 95-97.] he cadged a ride in an airplane in 1912.
[ He subsequently trained as a pilot at the Odessa Aero Club, and was granted Aviator's Certificate No. 190 in October 1913.][Kulikov 2013, pp. 90-92.]
World War I service
Pishvanov enlisted just after hostilities broke out, and began World War I as a '' Nijnichin''[ in the cavalry, serving through Summer 1915, and winning all four classes of the ]Cross of Saint George
The Cross of Saint George (russian: Георгиевский крест, Georgiyevskiy krest) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was initially established by Imperial Russia
The Russian Empire was an empire and the fi ...
. He then transferred to aviation. In Autumn 1915, he began pilot's training at the Sevastopol Military Flying School. He completed training on the Farman
Farman Aviation Works (french: Avions Farman) was a French aircraft company founded and run by the brothers Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French nationa ...
F.22 pusher on 28 January 1916, and progressed to learning the Voisin pusher. He finished this training on 26 March 1916; he graduated from the school the next month as a noncommissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
.[
In early May 1916, he was posted to the 27th Corps Detachment as a pilot of two-seater ]reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...
aircraft. On 11 June, Pishvanov and his aerial observer
Aerial may refer to:
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* ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush
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* Aerial (Canadian band)
*Aerial (Scottish band)
*Aerial (Swedish band)
Performance art
*Aerial silk, ...
used a Voisin to launch a pointblank attack on an enemy Albatros
An albatross is one of a family of large winged seabirds.
Albatross or Albatros may also refer to:
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* Albatross (butterfly) or ''Appias'', a genus of butterfly
* Albatross (horse) (1968–1998), a Standardbred horse
Literature
* Albatr ...
in the vicinity of Krevo-Kamenka at 2,000 meters altitude. Though the Albatros dropped out of range and was flown rapidly behind its own lines, the aerial victory went unconfirmed. Two months later, Pishvanov was sent to the Moscow Military Flying School for fighter conversion training to further develop his skills. He graduated qualified on Nieuport
Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars.
History
Beginnings
Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...
s on 9 July. He was then posted on 7 August 1916 to the 10th Fighter Detachment near Volhynia
Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...
at its commander's request, on the southwestern end of the Eastern Front. Assigned to fly Nieuport 9
The Nieuport 10 (or Nieuport XB in contemporary sources) was a French First World War sesquiplane that filled a wide variety of roles, including reconnaissance, fighter and trainer.
Design and development
In January 1914, designer Gustave Delag ...
s armed with a Lewis gun, Pishvanov flew his first fighter sortie
A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warf ...
on 2 October 1916. In December, the 10th Fighter Detachment shifted to Galazi, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
to fly guard over pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow- draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load that they can carry. ...
s over the Danube River
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
, in an assignment that included no air-to-air combat.[
While attached to the 10th Fighter Detachment, he used a ]Nieuport 21
The Nieuport 21 (or Nieuport XXI C.1 in contemporary sources) was a French single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft used during World War I. The aircraft was used by the French, Russian, British and American air forces. After the war, the Ni ...
to shoot down five enemy planes between 21 March and 7 July 1917.[Franks 2000, pp. 86-87.] After downing enemy two-seaters in the vicinity of Galați
Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most pa ...
on both 21 and 28 March 1917, he was promoted to Ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diff ...
and awarded the Order of Saint Anne
The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...
, Fourth Class. On 15 April, he staked another victory claim, but it was unverified.[
On one mission during the Summer of 1917, Smirnov had a vodka-saturated watermelon lashed to his Nieuport's outer wing strut. While taking a flight to cool it, he came under antiaircraft fire and took evasive action. The watermelon loosed itself and "bombed" the enemy trenches below. A report to the 10th Detachment from 10th Army noted: "Although the large bomb did not explode, it appears to have caused a great deal of confusion."][
Pishvanov found himself in a hard-fought aerial battle on 26 June 1917. He fought several opponents to a standoff despite a machine gun that temporarily jammed after his first firing pass, then having ]hand grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern ...
s thrown at him. After seven attacks, he emerged the victor over a two-seater.[ He then received the ]Order of Saint Stanilas
The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...
Third Class.[ On 4 July, he fought in five clashes along the ]Siret River
The Siret or Sireth ( uk, Сірет or Серет, ro, Siret , hu, Szeret, russian: Сирет) is a river that rises from the Carpathians in the Northern Bukovina region of Ukraine, and flows southward into Romania before it joins the Danube. ...
. In the last one, he scored his fourth confirmed victory when he downed an Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
reconnaissance craft, Hansa-Brandenburg C.I
The Hansa-Brandenburg C.I, also known as Type LDD, was a 2-seater armed single-engine reconnaissance biplane designed by Ernst Heinkel, who worked at that time for the parent company in Germany. The C.I had similarities with the earlier B.I (Typ ...
serial number 68.54, over Endependance, having raked the two-seater with a surprise burst of bullets from less than 40 meters range. On the morning of the 7th, he finished his victory tally by shooting down an enemy two-seater over Latinul. He chased it down from 4,400 meters to 1,200 meters.[ Ignoring a leg wound inflicted by the observer's gunfire, he destroyed it with a pointblank burst.][ He was awarded the ]Order of Saint George
The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...
Fourth Class and the Order of Saint Vladimir
The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...
Fourth Class with Swords and Bow for this action.[ Also, on 9 July 1917, he was honored by the Supreme Commander in Chief's Order 599, which appointed Pishvanov a military pilot.][
On 11 July 1917, he was wounded in combat, losing two fingers from his right hand. Closing to his usual close range to fire, he was wounded while his gun jammed. Undaunted, Pishvanov cleared the jam and chased the enemy plane back to its own territory. He then returned to base, only to wreck his Nieuport, number N1890.][
On 5 September 1917, as a replacement for the craft in which he had scored all his victories, he was re-equipped with ]Nieuport 17
The Nieuport 17 C.1 (or Nieuport XVII C.1 in contemporary sources) was a French sesquiplane fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little larger than earlier Ni ...
serial number N4191. He would fly this craft in September and October 1917. In December 1917, he was promoted to ''Poruchik
The rank of lieutenant in Eastern Europe ( hr, poručnik, cs, poručík, pl, porucznik, russian: script=latn, poruchik, sr, script=latn, poručnik, sk, poručík) is one used in Slavophone armed forces. Depending on the country, it is either ...
''. Also in December, in the wake of the October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...
, Pishvanov would defect to his native Novocherkassk; there he joined the Volunteer Army
The Volunteer Army (russian: Добровольческая армия, translit=Dobrovolcheskaya armiya, abbreviated to russian: Добрармия, translit=Dobrarmiya) was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from ...
of Generals Anton Denikin
Anton Ivanovich Denikin (russian: Анто́н Ива́нович Дени́кин, link= ; 16 December O.S. 4 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 December1872 – 7 August 19 ...
and Mikhail Alekseyev
Mikhail Vasilyevich Alekseyev (russian: Михаил Васильевич Алексеев) ( – ) was an Imperial Russian Army general during World War I and the Russian Civil War. Between 1915 and 1917 he served as Tsar Nicholas II's ...
.[
]
Post World War I
During the Summer of 1919, Pishvanov began to fly a Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the be ...
in operations of the 6th Aviation Detachment against the Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
; he was mentioned in orders by General Alexander Kutepov
Alexander Pavlovich Kutepov ( rus, Алекса́ндр Па́влович Куте́пов; 28 September 1882 in Cherepovets, Novgorod Governorate, Russian Empire – 26 January 1930 in Paris, France) served as an officer in the anti-communis ...
. However, as the Volunteer Army retreated as 1919 turned into 1920, the 6th Aviation Detachment was withdrawn to Grozny
Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia.
The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a po ...
. To escape the surrounding Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
forces, Pishvanov flew to newly independent Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
and joined the Georgian Army. He also found employment with an automobile company. When the Red Army invasion of Georgia
The Red Army invasion of Georgia (15 February17 March 1921), also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia,Debo, R. (1992). ''Survival and Consolidation: The Foreign Policy of Soviet Russia, 1918-1921'', pp. 182, 361� ...
came in early 1921, he escaped through Iran to Great Britain. There he served for a time as a pilot instructor in the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
.[
In 1926, Pishanov emigrated to the United States to work for ]Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1923 and was among the first companies to manufacture helicopters for civilian and military use.
Pr ...
as an engineer.[ He became an American citizen in 1928. In 1931, he changed employment to work for his fellow Russian emigre, ]Alexander de Seversky
Alexander Nikolaievich Prokofiev de Seversky (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Проко́фьев-Се́верский) (June 7, 1894 – August 24, 1974) was a Russian-American aviation pioneer, inventor, and inf ...
, at Seversky Aircraft Corporation
The Republic Aviation Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer based in Farmingdale, New York, on Long Island. Originally known as the Seversky Aircraft Company, the company was responsible for the design and production of many important ...
.[ In 1942, Pishvanov and Seversky joined ]Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
in making Victory Through Air Power
''Victory Through Air Power'' is a 1942 non-fiction book by Alexander P. de Seversky. It was made into a 1943 Walt Disney animated feature film of the same name.
Theories
De Seversky began his military life at a young age. After serving in t ...
to support the American war effort.[
Alexandr Pishvanov died in ]New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
in 1964.[Aerodrome website page on Pishvano]
Retrieved on 10 May 2010.
Honors and awards
* Order of Saint George
The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...
Fourth Class
* Cross of Saint George
The Cross of Saint George (russian: Георгиевский крест, Georgiyevskiy krest) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was initially established by Imperial Russia
The Russian Empire was an empire and the fi ...
(all four classes)
* Order of Saint Stanilas
The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...
Third Class
* Order of Saint Vladimir
The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...
Fourth Class with Swords and Ribbon
* Order of Saint Anne
The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...
Fourth Class[
]
Sources of information
References
*Alan Durkota; Thomas Darcey; Victor Kulikov. ''The Imperial Russian Air Service: Famous Pilots & Aircraft of World War One'' Flying Machines Press, 1995. , 9780963711021.
* Norman Franks
Norman Leslie Robert Franks (born 1940) is an English militaria writer who specialises in aviation topics. He focuses on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II.
Biography
He published his first book in 1976. He was an Organisation ...
. ''Nieuport Aces of World War I.'' Osprey Publishing, 2000. , .
* Norman Franks; Russell Guest; Gregory Alegi. ''Above the War Fronts: The British Two-seater Bomber Pilot and Observer Aces, the British Two-seater Fighter Observer Aces, and the Belgian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Fighter Aces, 1914–1918: Volume 4 of Fighting Airmen of WWI Series: Volume 4 of Air Aces of WWI''. Grub Street, 1997. , .
* Victor Kulikov. ''Russian Aces of World War 1: Aircraft of the Aces''. Osprey Publishing, 2013. , 9781780960616.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pishvanov, Aleksandr
1893 births
1964 deaths
Russian aviators
Russian World War I flying aces
Imperial Russian Air Force personnel
Royal Air Force officers
Recipients of the Cross of St. George
Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 4th class
Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class
Soviet emigrants to the United States