Nikolai Dokashenko

Nikolai Grigorevich Dokashenko (Russian: Николай Григорьевич Докашенко; Ukrainian: Микола Григорович Докашенко 21 November 1921 – 22 February 1992) was a Soviet fighter pilot who was credited as a flying ace in the Korean War with nine shootdowns. He is also credited with two aerial victories from World War II.

Nikolai Grigorevich Dokashenko
Native name
Николай Григорьевич Докашенко
Born21 November 1921
Kindrativka village, Kharkov Governorate, Ukrainian SSR
Died22 February 1992 (aged 70)
Sumy, Ukraine
Allegiance Soviet Union
Service/branch Soviet Air Force
Years of service1941 – 1960
RankColonel
Battles/warsWorld War II
Soviet-Japanese War
Korean War
AwardsHero of the Soviet Union

Early life

Dokashenko was born on 21 November 1921 to a Ukranian family in Kindrativka village, now Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. In 1939 he completed his ninth grade of school and studied at a local aeroclub. Just a few days before the start of Operation Barbarossa he entered the military, but did not see combat in World War II until June 1944; he graduated from the Chuhuiv Military Aviation School of Pilots in 1943 and was initially assigned to the 22nd Reserve Aviation Regiment. Eventually he was transferred to the 17th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which he flew with for the remainder of the war. While on the eastern front he flew 113 sorties on the P-39 and gained two aerial victories, and after the capitulation of Nazi Germany he regiment was transferred to the Far East, where he flew just three sorties on the P-63 during the short war with Japan. After the war he was promoted to flight commander and became a member of the Communist Party in 1947.[1]

Korean War

Regiments of the 303rd Fighter Aviation Division were sent to Mukden, China in March 1951 in preparation for Soviet participation in the Korean war, and in June Dokashenko experienced his baptism by fire of the Korean war. In October he was promoted to captain and made commander of the 3rd squadron. The two previous commanders of the 3rd squadron had to be removed from their post for incompetence, and the squadron did not gain a single aerial victory until 18 August during a flight with the regimental commander, Grigory Pulov. Before his promotion, Dokashenko gained his first credited victory in Korea on the morning of 20 September, hitting an F-86.[2]

In October 1951 alone he was credited with five more aerial victories, becoming considered a jet ace. The identity of aircraft he shot down on 25 October was disputed due to the low quality of the film showing the event, but it was narrowed down to either a F6F-5 or F4U-4. Not long after that, he was credited with shooting down three F-86 on the afternoon of 28 October. Korean war veteran Douglas K. Evans recalled a heavy dogfight from that day in his book, Sabre Jets over Korea: a Firsthand Account. Historian Igor Seidov indicated that it is likely that Dokashenko and his wingman were the MiGs described by Evans.[3] After the incident in October he did not score any more aerial victories until 11 December, followed by his last two victories in January and February 1952 respectively. During the conflict he flew over 150 sorties, engaged in 45 dogfights, and was credited with nine aerial victories.[4]

Postwar

Shortly after his return to the Soviet Union he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1955 he was promoted to assistant commander of flight and tactical training in his regiment, and in April 1958 he became the deputy flight commander. He then became the head of the Kurgan DOSAAF aeroclub before retiring with the rank lieutenant colonel in 1960. He lived in Sumy where he worked with the Sumy Regional Committee of DOSAAF before he died on 22 February 1992.[5]

Awards

[1]

References

Bibliography

  • Seidov, Igor (2016). Советские асы корейской войны [Soviet Aces of the Korean War]. Moscow: Фонд содействия авиации «Русские витязи». ISBN 9785903389353. OCLC 970400945.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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