Alexander Fedorovich Klubov was born in 1918, under Epiphany frosts on January 18th. His native village is Yarunovo, in the Vologda province. His family was on the verge of poverty. My father served as a sailor on the Aurora, and participated in the legendary revolution in October 1917. True, in 1921 he was killed in his own village. Local kulaks became the killers.
Youth
Alexander Fedorovich Klubov graduated from a rural seven-year school, after which he went to Leningrad. In this city, he managed to enter the school of factory speci alties. This training allowed him to become an employee of the Bolshevik enterprise.
Being a big fan of aviation, he did not miss his chance and became a member of the local flying club. There he spent all the time free from factory shifts. Thanks to the classes in the club, he learned to fly the plane superbly.
Military student
In 1939, Klubov makes a fateful decision - he goes into the army, and on his own initiative. The command, having studied his case, directs the guyto the military aviation academy. Klubov excels in his studies. He excels at many final exams and becomes a fighter pilot.
Study at the academy ended in 1940. And the further service of the pilot Alexander Fedorovich Klubov took place in one of the aviation units near the Caucasus Mountains.
The initial war years
They came when Klubov was a junior lieutenant in the army hierarchy. The service obliged the young pilot to engage in air battles.
The guy was not afraid of this, but on the contrary, he was eager to fight. To perform the most important tasks, he was given an old model I-15-bis "Seagull".
His first battle took place on July 28, 1941. He shot down an enemy plane without any problems.
Klubov in battle was distinguished by impudence, composure and he himself looked for the enemy. Very quickly, he replenished his account of downed aircraft with three more units. True, he was also shot down. I had to make an emergency landing. He was able to escape from the flaming plane, but suffered severe burns to his face.
Working with Pokryshkin A. And
It was 1943. The war was in full swing. And in May, Alexander Fedorovich Klubov was sent to the squadron commanded by Pokryshkin Alexander Ivanovich.
The mentor helped the new pilot master the control of the P-39 Airacobra fighter. It was on this machine that Klubov went to subsequent air battles.
The young pilot took over from his leader vast experience and developed his own unique style of combat. It involved making very complex maneuvers. Thanks to her, Klubov seized the initiative in battles and imposed his will on the opponent. And for three months of work under the command of Pokryshkin, he took part in 28 air battles. On his account, a dozen downed fascist aircraft.
For these merits he received two orders:
- "Red Banner".
- "Alexander Nevsky".
Award Act 1943
It was posted on September 4th. By this date, Klubov already had the rank of captain of the guard. This sheet provided information regarding his military merits in the period from August 10, 1942 to May 1943
The pilot worked in the 84th IAP, represented the North Caucasian Front. His combat vehicles were I-153 and I-16.
He made 242 service sorties on them, of which 151 were aimed at assaulting enemy troops. As a result of this work, Klubov deprived the enemy of many pieces of military equipment. They are reflected in the table below:
| Technique | Quantity |
| Tanks | 16 |
| Trucks | 37 |
| Anti-aircraft guns | 12 |
| Armored vehicles | 2 |
Also in the asset of the pilot forthe designated period are:
- Five assaults on German airfields, which deprived the enemy of 16 aircraft.
- 56 fights in the sky.
Second Award List
It refers to the period from May to autumn 1943. The departure dated August 30th stands out in particular. Six Aerocobras flew out to cover ground troops in the area of such villages as Evremovka and Fedorovka. They were resisted by about 50 German Yu-87 aircraft, which were covered by the Me-109 division.
There were 8 Klin bombers in the enemy camp. Soviet pilots attacked the fascist squadron in the forehead. Thanks to this, the order of the bombers was destroyed. Klubov managed to shoot down two Yu-87 cars. They collapsed near Malo-Kirsanovka.
In this battle, the Aircobras did not suffer a single loss, and returned to their home airfield without any problems.
Highest hour
In the biography of Alexander Fedorovich Klubov there are many military merits and successful battles. And nine triumphs in the battles over Iasi are considered his finest hour. And they were won in just a few days.
Then it was June 1944. On an alarm signal, a group of high-speed fighters (16 units) under the leadership of Captain Klubov urgently set off to intercept enemy aircraft.
In a matter of seconds, they collide. The captain, with his daring actions, breaks the enemy's battle formation. Some of his bombers tend to leave the battle. But they are overtaken by the attacks of Soviet fighters.
The group operates effectively andlightning fast. The enemy did not expect such pressure. And its composition of 50 bombers and 15 fighters was defeated. There are only 4 downed cars in Klubov's group. Over the next 4 days, he shot down 12 more German aircraft.
The captain explained the success of his group by the fact that he had timely unraveled the enemy plans to divert Soviet aircraft from the target. And the group quickly went on boarding. The German pilots panicked, began to leave the battle, randomly throwing bombs at their own army.
For this, Pokryshkin presented the pilot for the second award of the Hero of the USSR. Alexander Ivanovich had no doubt that his subordinate would very soon join the ranks of the military command. However, the order to award the award was issued only a year later, on June 27.
Already being a Hero of the Soviet Union, Alexander Fedorovich Klubov personally carried out 147 victorious sorties to perform various tasks. Of which:
- 69 is army cover on the ground.
- 17 - destruction of enemy vehicles.
- 36 - escort of domestic bombers.
- 19 - Clearing the air.
- 6 - intelligence operations
Feat
Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin treated Klubov with great respect. He was impressed with his many outstanding fights. But there was one situation that deserved special attention. This is a true feat of Alexander Fedorovich Klubov.
He was returning from another assignment. When contacted, he stated that he was fighting, and then fell silent. The fellow soldiers became worried, and the anxiety grew stronger.
But soon a familiar plane appeared onhorizon. He behaved strangely. From the ground it looked like he was falling. Colleagues realized that the control was broken in the car, and the pilot was driving it only at the expense of the motor. The risk of collapse was enormous.
Besides, communication with the pilot was broken. He did not hear instructions to eject and sought to land. The plane, planning, went to the ground, but Klubov was able to raise it a little with a jerk of gas. By covering the gas and his skill, he was able to land the car on its "belly".
It turned out that she was riddled with bullets. And the pilot, leaving the cockpit, began to schematically depict this battle on the sand. He paired up with 6 German aircraft - "Messerschmitts".
He eliminated two, but his car went out of control. However, he still managed to lower her to the airfield.
Tragedy in Poland
Date of death of Alexander Fedorovich Klubov - 01.11.1944. The fatal place was the front-line airfield of Tournai (in Poland).
The pilot was testing the new La-7 model. It was an ordinary training flight. On this machine, the hydraulic system was malfunctioning, which prevented the flaps from extending. Therefore, the pilot made the landing at top speed. In addition, the situation was complicated by a strong wind from the side. And the car drifted to the right of the landing line. One wheel hit soft ground. The plane suddenly braked sharply, the pilot hit his head hard on the sight and lost consciousness. The car then rolled over and landed on its back. Her left side hit right on the pilot's head.
Hero AlexanderFedorovich Klubov was buried in Lvov. A memorial service was held at the memorial service. And over his grave, the fighters staged a farewell salute.
