Arkady Kovachevich

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Arkady Fyodorovich Kovachevich (Russian: Аркадий Фёдорович Ковачевич; 3 May 1919 – 28 November 2010) was a Soviet flying ace and regimental commander during World War II who went on to become a general-lieutenant. Kovachevich was born on 3 May 1919 to a Ukrainian working-class family in Chernogoriya. Before being drafted into the Red Army in 1937 he attended technical school in Kirovgrad, where he trained an aeroclub. After graduating from the Odessa Military Aviation School of Pilots in 1938 he was assigned to the 27th Fighter Aviation Regiment; there he quickly mastered MiG-3 and received a promotion to flight commander. Immediately upon the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Kovachevich and the rest of his regiment began flying sorties to defend the Moscow region. On 11 October 1941 he shot down his first enemy aircraft, a Bf 109, after which he quickly increased his tally of aerial victories. Having participated in the battle for Moscow, he went on to fly the La-5 in the Battle for Stalingrad until being transferred to the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment as a squadron commander. By then he had already tallied thirteen solo aerial victories, for which he was nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union in February 1943, which he received on 1 May that year. He continued to fly in combat, and was wounded during a mission, but remained in the regiment and continued active service upon recovery. During the battle for Crimea he was promoted to assistant commander for flight training, and subsequently deputy regimental commander in April 1944.