Kirill Alekseyevich Yevstigneyev (; – 29 August 1996) was a Soviet

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

and one of the top Soviet aces of

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 ...

. During his career he claimed 53 solo and 3 shared aerial victories flying the

Lavochkin La-5 The Lavochkin La-5 (Лавочкин Ла-5) was a Soviet Union, Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a development and refinement of the Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-3, LaGG-3, replacing the earlier model's Inline engine (aeronaut ...

and

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 ...

fighters.

Early life

Yevstigneyev was born into a Russian peasant family on in the village of Khokhly, Chelyabinsky Uyezd,

Orenburg Governorate Orenburg Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''Governorate'') of the Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of ...

, in what is now the Shumikhinsky District of

Kurgan Oblast Kurgan Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kurgan. According to the 2021 Census, the population was 776,661, down from 910,807 recorded in the 2010 Census. History Formed by De ...

, in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

's trans-Urals. He completed seven grades of schooling in 1935 before moving on to vocational school. He trained as a fitter-turner and upon graduation in 1936 moved to work at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, where he joined the local aeroclub which he graduated from in 1938.

Early military career

In September 1938 Yevstigneyev entered 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 ...

. After completing initial training in 1939, he was stationed at a base in the Russian Far East until April 1940. In January 1941, he graduated from the Birm Military School of Pilots in the

Amur region Amur Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya rivers in the Russian Far East. The oblast borders Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the south. The administrat ...

, after which he became a flight instructor on the I-16. In late October 1942 he was reassigned to Moscow to become acquainted with foreign-made fighters. While in Moscow, he and fellow sergeant

Ivan Kozhedub Marshal of Aviation Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub (; ; 8 June 1920 – 8 August 1991) was a career aviator with the Soviet Air Forces who first came to prominence as a World War II fighter ace. Universally credited with over 60 solo victories, he is c ...

came to the attention of I. S. Soldatenko, the commander of the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Soldatenko selected them for his regiment in November, and by March 1943 they were deployed to the front.

World War II combat service

On 28 March 1943, during his first dogfight, near the village of Urazovo in the

Belgorod Belgorod (, ) is a city that serves as the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River, approximately north of the border with Ukraine. It has a population of It was founded in 1596 as a defensiv ...

province, he shot down a

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

and gained shared shootdown of a

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one o ...

after engaging a group of nine Ju 88. On 5 August 1943, flying a close air-support sortie on the approach to Belgorod, Yestigneyev was shot down by friendly fire. After barely managing to parachute out of his burning plane he had to be taken to a field hospital due to the extent of wounds in both his feet. There he had to repeatedly dissuade surgeons from amputating his left foot, but ended up escaping after nine days and traveling 35 km to the nearest airfield on crutches. He found his way back to his airfield to finish his recovery there. Not long after being wounded and still on crutches, he flew his next combat sortie. That month he was appointed commander of the second squadron, and gained his tenth solo victory on 16 August 1943. Between March and November 1943, he completed 144 combat sorties, gaining 23 solo and three shared victories, for which he was nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union. He received it on the 2nd of August, 1944. He was again awarded title on 23 February 1945 while he was a captain and squadron commander. In July 1944, the 240th Fighter Regiment was honored with the guards designation and renamed to the 178th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. Yevstigneyev scored his last aerial victory on 26 March 1945 when he shot down an Fw 190 over Budapest. At the end of the war he was a Major; over the course of the war, he flew 283 combat missions, engaged in 119 dogfights, and gained 53 solo and three shared aerial victories. He flew in a variety of major battles including the ones for a

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

, the

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Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

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, and

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Postwar

In 1949 he finished several Tactical Aviation Courses, and by 1955 served at the Military Aviation Academy. By 1960 he was on the Military Academy of General Staff. He then became Major General of aviation in 1966, from 1972 he served in the reserve. After retirement he lived in Moscow, where he died on 29 August 1996. He is buried at the Kuntsevskoe cemetery in Moscow. A bronze bust of him stands in Shumikha, Kurgan province, near the village of his birth.

Awards and decorations

*Twice

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 ...

(2 August 1944 and 23 February 1945) *

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 ...

(2 August 1944) *Four

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

(11 October 1943, 26 October 1943, 22 February 1945, and 22 February 1968) *

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...

3rd class (2 October 1943) *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

1st class (11 March 1985) *

2nd class (30 April 1943) *

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 ...

(3 November 1953) *

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(1943) *campaign and commemorative medals

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yevstigneyev, Kirill 1917 births 1996 deaths People from Kurgan Oblast People from Chelyabinsky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet major generals Soviet Air Force generals Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Soviet World War II flying aces Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 3rd class Members of the Order of the British Empire Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery