Otari G. Chechelashvili ( 1923 - 1959 ) - Squadron 141 th Guards Attack Aviation Regiment (9 th Guards Attack Air Division, 1st Guards Ground Attack Air Corps , 2nd Air Army , 1st Ukrainian Front ), Guard Captain , Hero of the Soviet Union .
| Chechelashvili Otari Grigorievich | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | December 24, 1923 | |||||||||
| Place of Birth | Tbilisi city | |||||||||
| Date of death | July 8, 1959 (35 years) | |||||||||
| Place of death | Tbilisi city, USSR | |||||||||
| Affiliation |  the USSR | |||||||||
| Rank | captain  | |||||||||
| Battles / Wars | The Great Patriotic War | |||||||||
| Awards and prizes |
| |||||||||
| Retired | lieutenant colonel  | |||||||||
Content
Biography
Born December 24, 1923 in Tbilisi in a working class family.
He graduated from high school and the local flying club .
Since March 20, 1940 in the Red Army. In December 1941 he graduated from the Yeisk Naval Aviation School.
On the fronts of World War II from February 2, 1942 . He fought in bomber aircraft on the Crimean front. Then he moved to the assault aircraft. He fought in the North Caucasus, the 2nd and 1st Ukrainian Fronts as part of the 667th Assault Aviation Regiment (which later became the 141st Guards SHAP). He was a pilot, flight navigator, deputy commander and squadron commander. He flew an IL-2 plane donated by Georgian collective farmers.
In 1943, the regiment pilots fought over the Oryol-Kursk arc. Then, being on the 2nd Ukrainian Front, they participated in the liberation of Kharkov . By the end of the war, the regiment was transferred to the 1st Ukrainian Front and took part in the attack on Berlin . Member of the CPSU (b) / CPSU since 1944.
In April 1945, Chechelashvili flew at the head of the Il-2 pair and under the cover of two fighters to attack the pontoon bridge across the Spree River ( Germany ). Having destroyed the crossing, he returned to his airfield. On the radio from the ground, he was warned that an enemy reconnaissance appeared over the airfield. When approaching the airfield, he discovered the enemy aircraft Ju-88 , which was fired by anti-aircraft guns. He asked on the radio that the anti-aircraft guns ceased firing, while he himself directed his attack aircraft towards the scout. He opened fire on "Junkers", but there were only enough rounds for one round. In order to prevent the enemy from leaving, Chechelashvili delivered a ram attack with a screw on the tail of the enemy machine. Damaged "IL" planted on its airfield.
By May 1945, the squadron commander of the 141st Guards Ground Attack Aviation Regiment, Captain Otari Chechelashvili, made 220 combat sorties for the bombardment of defensive targets, attack ground of manpower and combat equipment of the enemy. Destroyed 34 tanks, 49 cars with manpower and equipment, 8 warehouses with ammunition, 4 ferries, 4 barges. In 43 air battles he personally shot down 5 and in the group of 10 enemy aircraft.
After the war, Otari G. continued to serve in the Air Force. He was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR II-nd convocation (1947-1951) [1] .
Since 1958, the guard lieutenant colonel O. G. Chechelashvili is in reserve.
He lived and worked in Tbilisi. He died July 8, 1959 . Buried in Tbilisi.
Memory
- Otari Chechelashvili is the author of the book On Steel Wings.
- Archival materials on Chechelashvili [2] were in the TSSAOR of the Georgian SSR.
Awards
- By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 27, 1945 for courage and heroism shown in air battles with the German fascist invaders of the guard Captain Otari G. Chechelashvili he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 7462) [3 ] .
- He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner (twice), Alexander Nevsky, the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, the Patriotic War of the 2nd degree (twice), the Red Star and medals.
Notes
Links
Chechelashvili, Otari Grigorievich . The site " Heroes of the country ."