Sergey Danilovich Lugansky (; 1 October 1918 – 16 January 1977) was a flying ace in the

Soviet Air Forces 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 ...

during the

Second World War 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 ...

who was twice awarded the title

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 having gained at least 34 solo shootdowns during the war. A resident of the Kazakh SSR, he was close friends with

Talgat Bigeldinov Talgat Jakypbekuly Bigeldinov (, ) was a ground-attack pilot during the World War II, Second World War and the only Kazakh people, Kazakh who was twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. He remained in the military after the war and reac ...

Early life

Lugansky was born on 1 October 1918 to a Russian peasant family in the town of Verniy in the

Turkestan ASSR The Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (TASSR; ; ), originally called the Turkestan Socialist Federative Republic, was an autonomous republic of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic located in Soviet Central Asia which e ...

(present-day

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

, Kazakhstan). He 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 ...

in 1936 after completing eight grades of secondary school that year. In December 1938, he graduated from the Orenburg Military Aviation School of Pilots, after which he was assigned to the 49th Fighter Aviation Regiment; the unit was equipped with

I-15 I15 may refer to: * Interstate 15, a north–south Interstate Highway in the United States of America * Polikarpov I-15, a Soviet fighter aircraft * I15 (band), a band * , of the Imperial Japanese Navy * Älvsborg Regiment The Älvsborg Regiment ...

and

I-153 The Polikarpov I-153 ''Chaika'' () is a late 1930s Soviet sesquiplane fighter. Developed from the I-15 with a retractable undercarriage, the I-153 fought in the Soviet-Japanese combats in Mongolia and was one of the major Soviet fighter types ...

fighters. From November 1939 to March 1940, he flew 59 sorties on the I-153 as part of the Winter War. In May 1941, he was made a deputy squadron commander in the 271st Fighter Aviation Regiment, where he initially flew the I-16 fighter.

World War II

Lugansky was deployed to the front of World War II in October 1941. From then until May 1942, he remained in his position as a deputy squadron commander in the 271st Fighter Aviation Regiment; there scored two aerial victories and participated in the fighting over Rostov before he was transferred to the 270th Fighter Aviation Regiment as a squadron commander. While he scored only one aerial victory in 1942, the next year he increased his victory tally significantly after switching from 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 S ...

to the

Yak-1 The Yakovlev Yak-1 () was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 239. The Yak-1 was a man ...

, mostly in Summer 1943. Later, he was presented with a custom-painted Yak-1, a gift from the city of Alma-ata that was raised money for the construction of the aircraft. In 1944, Lugansky's regiment received a delegation of American pilots. A colonel from the delegation offered to engage in a training duel, and Lugansky accepted the offer. The American piloted a

P-63 The Bell P-63 Kingcobra is an American fighter aircraft that was developed by Bell Aircraft during World War II. Based on the preceding Bell P-39 Airacobra, the P-63's design incorporated suggestions from P-39 pilots and was superior to its pr ...

, which Lugansky successful managed to tail for the duration of the flight from his Yak-1. On 4 June 1944, the commander the 270th Fighter Aviation Regiment was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over enemy territory; Lugansky was chosen as his replacement. That month, the unit was honoured with the

Guards designation Guards units () were elite units and formations in the Soviet Armed Forces that continue to exist in the Russian Armed Forces and other post-Soviet states. These units were awarded Guards status after distinguishing themselves in wartime service ...

and renamed the 152nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. Under his command, the unit participated in the Lvov-Sandomierz and Silesian Offensives. In March 1945, on the orders of Marshal of the Soviet Union,

Ivan Konev Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf, links=no; 28 December 1897 – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forc ...

, he was sent the Air Force Academy in Moscow, forcing him to relinquish command of the regiment. By the end of the war, he had flown 390 sorties, and gained at least 34 solo aerial victories as well as at least one shared shootdown. For his high number of aerial victories, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 2 September 1943 and 1 July 1944.

Post-war

After the end of the Second World War, Lugansky remained at the Air Force Academy, which he graduated from in 1949. He commanded the 42nd Fighter Aviation Division from May 1952 until March 1956, in which he flew MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters. From March 1956 to March 1957, he was the commander of the 37th Fighter Aviation Division, in which he flew MiG-17 and MiG-17PF fighters. From then until July 1960, he was the commander of the 72nd Guards Fighter Aviation Corps; he was promoted to the rank of General-Major of Aviation on 28 May 1957. He became the deputy commander of the 11th Air Defence Corps in 1960, a position a he remained in until he retired in December 1964. In addition to his command posts in the military, he was a deputy in the

Supreme Soviet of the Turkmen SSR The Supreme Soviet of the Turkmen SSR (; ) was the Supreme Soviet, supreme soviet (main Legislature, legislative institution) of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, Turkmen SSR, one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, union republics of the ...

from 1959 to 1964. For the remainder of his life he lived in Alma-ata. After suffering a severe stroke in November 1968, he became paralyzed on his right side, rendering him unable to speak, walk, and drive. Before regaining the ability to speak, he would communicate with nodding; his condition improved somewhat over time and he eventually managed to walk and speak, but he died of a second stroke in January 1977, less than a year after his wife Mariya died. His friend

was greatly saddened by his death.

Awards and honors

* Twice

(2 September 1943 and 1 July 1944) *

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 September 1943) * Two

Orders 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 Sovi ...

(23 February 1942 and 22 July 1943) * Orders of Aleksandr Nevsky (5 September 1944) * Two Orders of the Red Star (19 May 1940 and 19 November 1951) * campaign and service medals

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lugansky, Sergey 1918 births 1977 deaths 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 Alexander Nevsky Soviet Air Force generals Soviet major generals People from Almaty