Jurgis Dobkevičius
Jurgis Dobkevičius (born March 23, 1900 in Saint Petersburg, died testing his own construction airplane Dobi-III in a crash June 8, 1926 in Kaunas) was a Lithuanian aviator and aircraft designer.
Military biography
Dobkevičius was a volunteer of the Lithuanian Army and the first officially recognised military pilot of the Lithuanian Air Force, Commander of Air Squadron in 1920. He was known for his outstanding memory—contemporary sources say that at the dinner table he played one or two games of chess with any opponent without a board. Dobkevičius participated as reconnaissance pilot in Lithuanian-Polish War, completing 24 combat missions.[1] After retiring from military service in 1923, Dobkevičius studied at L'Ecole Superieure d'Aeronautique in Paris, graduating in 1925 and becoming the first professional Lithuanian aircraft designer. Dobkevičius designed a line of aircraft Dobi: Dobi-I, Dobi-II and the fatal variant, Dobi-III.
Jurgis Dobkevičius was buried in Panemunė Cemetery.
References
- Historic Lithuanian Aviators. Vilnius Airport: Vilnius Airport. 2011.
External links
- (in English)Short biography and photo
- (in Lithuanian)Article about Dobkevičius