Grigorij Koceba Fighter pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Date of Birth: 29.11.1917 Country: Ukraine

Biography of Grigory Kotseba

Grigory Kotseba was a fighter pilot and a Hero of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War. He was born into a peasant family in Ukraine. In 1933, he completed 8 years of secondary school, and in 1937, he finished 3 courses at a worker's faculty.

In 1937, Kotseba joined the Red Army and in 1940, he graduated from the Chuguev Military Aviation School for Pilots. He participated in the Great Patriotic War from September 1941, serving as the commander of a squadron in the 44th Fighter Aviation Division of the 6th Army of the Southwest Front. He flew the I-153 aircraft.

Kotseba became a member of the Communist Party in 1941. On September 14, 1941, under the command of Lieutenant Kotseba, the pilots received orders to attack an enemy airfield near Verkhovtsevo. As the enemy fighters approached, Kotseba skillfully maneuvered and led them away from the airfield, allowing the other pilots to successfully strike the target. They destroyed seven enemy bombers and a fuel depot without any losses.

On September 22, 1941, Kotseba set fire to the construction materials and pontoons prepared by the enemy for a river crossing at Orel, disrupting their plans. By October 1941, Lieutenant Kotseba had already completed 40 combat missions, destroying enemy manpower and military equipment.

On November 20, 1941, Kotseba was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and was presented with the Gold Star medal (No. 641). In early January 1943, Captain Kotseba was appointed as a navigator in the 8th Reserve Fighter Aviation Regiment, and later became the commander of the 402nd Fighter Aviation Regiment.

On March 4, 1943, he tragically died in a plane crash at the Telgino airfield. He was buried in the village of Stepygino, Domodedovo district, Moscow region. A monument was erected in his honor in the village of Dobrynicha, Domodedovo district.