Ivan Loiko
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''
Polkovnik (; ) is a military rank used mostly in Slavic-speaking countries which corresponds to a colonel in English-speaking states, ''coronel'' in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking states and ''oberst'' in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countr ...
'' Ivan Alexandrovich Loiko (born 6 February 1892, date of death unknown; ) was a World War I
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 ...
credited with six confirmed aerial victories by the scanty and confusing records still existent. He rose to command a fighter unit, the 9th Fighter Aviation Detachment. After serving his czar faithfully until the
October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
, in December 1918 Loiko joined the White Russian movement to reinstate his sovereign. When they were defeated by the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
, Loiko turned to service in the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...
's air force in 1921. Two years later, he defected back to Russia in a Yugoslavian
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. From 1924-1929, Loiko served in the
Red Army 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 ...
. In 1929, he was convicted of
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...
on behalf of Romania and sentenced to ten years imprisonment. He served five years on
Vaygach Island Vaygach Island () is an island in the Arctic Sea between the Pechora Sea and the Kara Sea. Geography Vaygach Island is separated from the Yugorsky Peninsula in the mainland by the Yugorsky Strait and from Novaya Zemlya by the Kara Strait. ...
, and remained there after his release from captivity. He is believed to have committed suicide in April 1936.


Biography


Early life and military service

Ivan Loiko was born into a middle-class family in
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
on 6 February 1892. After his lower level education was complete, he enrolled in the Alexeyevsky Military SchoolKulikov 2013, pp. 82-84. in 1909. In 1912, he graduated from there ranked as a ''Podpraporschik'' and was posted to the 59th Infantry Reserve Battalion. His military performance was such that he was promoted to ''
Praporshik (, , ) is a rank used by the Russian Armed Forces and a number of former communist states. The rank is a non-commissioned officer's and is equivalent to in the corresponding navies. It is usually equivalent to warrant officer class 1 or serge ...
'' by mid-1913. On 14 October 1914, he was promoted to ''
Podporuchik ''Podporuchik'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, потпоручник, potporučnik, , , , , ) is the most junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, and is placed below the rank of lieutenant, typically corresponding to rank of second lieutenant in English ...
''; his recommendation noted his valorous leadership. In November, he requested training at the Sevastopol Military Flying School. He began classes there on 10 December 1914.Durkota et al 1995, p. 82-85. On 20 April 1915, he graduated military pilot training.


Aviation service in World War I

On 1 May 1915, he was posted to the 30th Corps Air Detachment near Przemysl, flying reconnaissance missions in
Voisin Voisin (French for "neighbour") may refer to: Companies *Avions Voisin, the French automobile company :* Voisin Laboratoire, a car manufactured by Avions Voisin * Voisin (aircraft), the French aircraft manufacturer * Voisin, a Lyon-based chocol ...
s and
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s.Franks et al 1997, pp. 209-210. He soon earned the respect of his fellow pilots for his performance as pilot and officer. On 30 May 1915, he was granted the right to wear the military pilot's breastplate insignia on his uniform. Over the next 13 months, Loiko flew over 100
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 ...
s in Voisins. He was considered for command of his unit, but instead on 20 July 1916 was given command of a fighter detachment then forming, the 9th ''Aviatsionniy Otryad Istrebitlei'' (Fighter Aviation Detachment). Loiko's leadership was of the hardnosed variety seldom seen in Russian units. He assigned the best aircraft in his unit to the most aggressive pilots. On the other hand, pilots who fouled up in some way would find themselves relegated to older machines. When the
Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...
declared war on the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
on 27 August 1916, it triggered the tactical reassignment of the 9th AOI, effective 2 September 1916. They did not reach their base at Okna until early October. Loiko did not fly his initial fighter mission until 26 October 1916. While trailing two wingmen, Loiko closed to pointblank machine gun fire on an enemy aircraft. The stricken foe rolled onto its side and plummeted to earth near Russian troops. Loiko scored once more that year, on 27 December. Weather over the turn of the year was poor for flying, though Loiko kept his hand in by flying several patrols every month. Air activity along the front did not pick up again until April 1917. Loiko scored his third win with his 11 May victory. A landing accident with Morane-Saulnier H s/n 732 on 13 June 1917 seriously damaged the machine, but left Loiko with minor injuries. Loiko's victory string faded out as the
October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
overtook the Russian Empire. Loiko's military career during the last year of World War I is unknown, though he is known to have remained with the 9th AOI.


Post World War I

In December 1918, Loiko joined the
Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (; ), abbreviated to (), also known as the Southern White Army was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1917 to 1920. The Volunteer Army fought against Bolsheviks and the Makhnovists on the ...
as a Captain. He served on General Wrangell's staff, being promoted to ''
Polkovnik (; ) is a military rank used mostly in Slavic-speaking countries which corresponds to a colonel in English-speaking states, ''coronel'' in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking states and ''oberst'' in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countr ...
''. Pilots of the Volunteer Army constantly attacked
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
cavalry, scattering them with bombs and strafing with machine guns, although it is noted that Loiko participated. However, when Wrangel's army evacuated Russia via the
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in November 1920, Loiko went along. Beginning in 1921, he served as a flying instructor in the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...
's air force at
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. In 1923, Loiko defected back to Russia in a purloined
Breguet 19 Breguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker ** Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Breguet Aviation, ...
. From 1924 to 1929, he served as a flight instructor in the new
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 ...
. His stint at the Second Flying School in
Borisoglebsk Borisoglebsk () is a town in Voronezh Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vorona River near its confluence with the Khopyor. Population: 65,000 (1969). History Borisoglebsk was founded in 1646 and was named for the Russian s ...
ended in 1929, when he was indicted for
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...
on behalf of Romania. He was sentenced to ten years imprisonment and sent off to the lead and zinc mines of
Vaygach Island Vaygach Island () is an island in the Arctic Sea between the Pechora Sea and the Kara Sea. Geography Vaygach Island is separated from the Yugorsky Peninsula in the mainland by the Yugorsky Strait and from Novaya Zemlya by the Kara Strait. ...
. He was released early, in 1934, but remained at Vaygach as a civilian employee. There is a strong suspicion that Ivan Loiko committed suicide in April 1936, though no definite proof.


List of aerial victories

See also
Aerial victory standards of World War I During World War I, the national air services involved developed their own methods of assessing and assigning credit for aerial victories. For various reasons, all belligerents engaged in overclaiming aerial victories to a greater or lesser degre ...
, List of World War I flying aces from the Russian Empire Confirmed victories are numbered and listed chronologically.


Honors and awards

*
Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; 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 Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...
Fourth Class with inscription "For Bravery" * Order of Saint Anna Third Class with Sword and Ribbon * Order of Saint Anna Second Class with Sword *
Order of Saint George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...
Fourth Class * Order of Saint George Second Class with Swords * Order of Saint Stanilas Third Class with Swords and Ribbon * Order of Saint Stanilas Second Class with Sword *
Order of Saint Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine the Great, Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Vladimir I, Prince of Kiev, Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of ...
Fourth Class with Sword and Ribbon * Romanian
Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...
Durkota et al 1995, p. 82 caption.


Sources of information


References

* Allen Durkota; Thomas Darcey; Victor Kulikov. ''The Imperial Russian Air Service: Famous Pilots and Aircraft and World War I.'' Flying Machines Press, 1995. , 9780963711021. *
Norman Franks Norman Leslie Robert Franks (1940 – 21 May 2023) was an English militaria writer who specialised in aviation topics. He focused on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II. Biography Franks published his first book in 1976. H ...
; 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.


Further reading

''Nieuport Aces of World War I.'' Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2000. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Loiko, Ivan 1892 births 1936 deaths Military personnel from Minsk People from Minsky Uyezd Belarusian aviators Russian World War I flying aces Imperial Russian Air Service personnel Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 4th class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. George Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Recipients of the Order of the Star of Romania