Kostylev, Georgy Dmitrievich

Born in Oranienbaum in a working class family, graduated from 9th grade of a high school, then Osoaviahima summer school, was a worker at the Krasnaya Zarya factory ^[1] , in 1934 he graduated from the central flying club named after Chkalov in Tushino .

Since 1939 he served in the Air Force of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet . For participation in the Soviet-Finnish war he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner .

5th IAP Air Force KBF / 3rd Guards IAP Air Force KBF

The Great Patriotic War began on the fighter I-16 (type 29) as part of the 5th IAP Air Force KBF . The first combat flight during the war took place on June 29, 1941 , the first victory in the air was already on July 15 , having shot down a heavy Me-110 fighter , and on July 22 it shot down three planes at once: two Yu-88 and one Me-110. By the end of July, Kostylev has already won 7 air victories.

At the end of August, on a new LaGG-3 aircraft, it shot down Me-109 , and on September 16, in an aerial battle over the battleship " Marat " as part of the six, which also included I. A. Kaberov , disperses the Yu-87 group , knocking down one of them. He also took part in the defense of the battleship "Marat" from an air raid on September 23 .

On November 2, the link, which included Kostylev and Kaberov, intercepted in the area of ​​the Sommers island and destroyed the Finnish SB (Soviet-made ANT-40 bomber) . Later, flying with Kaberov, he mistakenly shot down his I-153 fighter , controlled by Lieutenant Colonel Biskup, the chief of staff, who survived by a lucky chance - the pilots out of habit took him for a Finnish pilot.

By the beginning of February 1942, the 5th IAP of the KBF Air Force was transformed into the 3rd Guards and Aviation Regiment of the KBF Air Force . By that time, the commander of the 2nd squadron G. D. Kostylev had 18 air victories on his account, but on February 5 he was shot down himself. Wounded in the arm, he managed to use a parachute, and the wind carried it to his own.

By April 1942, Kostylev had 233 sorties, 59 air battles, 9 planes shot down personally and 34 as part of the group. With these data, he was submitted to the assignment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

From May to November 1942, Kostylev flies on the Hurricane .

October 22, 1942 Kostylev commands a squadron of fighters that destroyed 14 enemy aircraft in the battle for the island of Sukho . As a result, an attempt to land an enemy landing in the area of ​​the road of life failed. On October 23, the Captain Kostylev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (medal No. 654).

4th Guards Air Force Aviation Command KBF

In February 1943, Kostylev was presented for the second time to the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union, but a tragic incident prevented him from receiving the second star of the hero. On the occasion of the presentation for the award, Kostylev was granted leave during which he visited his mother who lived in besieged Leningrad and got acquainted with the life of Leningrad residents. Shortly before the end of the vacation, Kostylev met with the rear major and was invited to visit him in Oranienbaum . The contrast in the life of the officer and ordinary residents amazed Kostylev so much that a fight broke out between him and the major. As a result, Kostylev was convicted, demoted to ordinary , deprived of all awards, a new submission to the title of Hero was withdrawn.

Kostylev managed to cope with troubles with the help of his friend, pilot ace V.F. Golubev . Golubev requested the transfer of Kostylev to his squadron.

G. D. Kostylev was allowed to fly in the 4th Guards and Airborne Force of the KBF Air Force only in April 1943. In the first battle on April 21, Kostylev shot down the Finnish Fiat G.50 over the Gulf of Koporye , and then, pressing the second one to the water, allowed his slave to bring it down. After this battle, Kostylev was appointed a flight commander. Fighting on La-5 , shot down 9 aircraft, including three FW-190s .

In 1944, Kostylev was awarded the title of Major Guard for courage and all military awards were returned. Submission to the second rank of Hero of the Soviet Union, however, did not take place.

Air Force Chief Inspector KBF

From 1944 until the end of the war, Kostylev served as chief inspector of the Air Force of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet. In this position, flights were forbidden to him, but this ban was violated at every opportunity. Arriving in various units with inspection, Kostylev shot down several more planes, while victories were not recorded in his name.

So, on July 21, 1944, two La-5FNs , controlled by Kostylev and Lieutenant Prasolov, shot down 3 enemy aircraft in an unequal battle with five FW-190s .

Data on the total number of victories made by Kostylev in different sources do not match. In total, he flew from 400 to 418 sorties, took part in 89 (according to other sources 112) air battles, shot down from 46 to 54 enemy aircraft.

After the war

After the war, he remained in the service of the Navy. He retired to the reserve in 1953 .

He died on November 30, 1960 .
He was buried in accordance with the will ^[2] at the memorial cemetery in Martyshkino .

Total air victories: 10 + 35 (of which 10 + 21 were found in operational documents)
sorties - 418
air battles - 112

^{** - group wins}

Order of the Red Banner (04.1939)

Order of the Red Banner (09.1941) ^[3]

Order of Lenin (10.21.1942) ^[4]

Gold Star Medal and the Order of Lenin ^[5]

Medal "For the Defense of Leningrad" ^[6]

Medal "For the victory over Germany" (09.1945) ^[7]

• In honor of the hero in 1965, Pioneer Street, the former Elizabethan Street, was renamed Kostyleva Street .
• On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the native of Oranienbaum, fighter pilot Georgy Kostylev, who became the prototype of the main character of Chukovsky’s novel “Baltic Sky”, the local history museum prepared the program “Invincible Hero of the Soviet Union Georgy Dmitrievich Kostylev”. Petersburg diary // December, 2012 .
• “ Baltic Sky ” is a two-part feature film shot in 1960 by director Vladimir Vengerov based on the novel of the same name by Nikolai Chukovsky . The main character Konstantin Lunin, played by Peter Glebov , is G. D. Kostylev ^[9] .

• Ace of the Baltic sky Georgy Kostylev: memoirs, documents, letters / ed. Yu. A. Myasnikov ; N.N. Zinoviev . - SPb. : LLC “ArtEgo” , 2012. - 248 p. : ill., tab. - ISBN 978-5-91014-042-8 . ^[ten]

• List of aces pilots of World War II .

• Kostylev, Georgy Dmitrievich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• History 3 GIAP. Georgy Dmitrievich Kostylev .
• A. Serebryakov. Our Hero . // “Sea newspaper”.
• Tamara Kuklina . Vazhsky territory. Hero of the land of Rovdinsky .