Evstigneev Kirill Alekseevich
Kirill Alekseevich Evstigneev was born on February 17, 1917 in the village of Bolshiye Khokhly (now the Shumikhinsky district of the Kurgan region) into a peasant family. In 1935 he graduated from a seven-year school in Shumikha and entered the Chelyabinsk factory school, where he received the specialty of a turner. He worked at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant and studied at the flying club. In 1938, Evstigneev was drafted into the Red Army and sent to study at the Biysk Military Pilot School. After graduating from school, Kirill Alekseevich served as an instructor pilot in it.
On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, Evstigneev from March 17, 1943 won his first victory in the sky over the Kursk Bulge. On July 7, 1943, he shot down the leader of ten enemy bombers. Kirill Alekseevich was an outstanding master of air combat. But on his “Lavochkin” he brilliantly stormed enemy ground targets. His bombs were right on target. With his martial prowess, he admired his comrades.
On August 5, 1943, as part of a group of eight La-5s, Evstigneev flew to cover our troops on the outskirts of Belgorod. In a dogfight he was shot down and wounded in both legs. In the medical battalion he dissuaded the doctor from amputating the foot. On the ninth day, he escaped from the hospital on crutches at night. He walked thirty-five kilometers to the nearest airfield, from there he was transferred to his unit. A month later, he again went on a combat mission with the squadron and continued to show examples of combat skills. On August 2, 1944, the squadron commander, senior lieutenant Kirill Alekseevich Evstigneev, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal, and on February 23, 1945, he was awarded the second Gold Star medal.
Evstigneev ended the war as commander of the 178th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. Participated in the Budapest and Vienna offensive operations. The last battle was held in the sky of Hungary. In total, during the war years, he made 283 sorties, participated in 113 battles, personally shot down 53 and as part of a group – 3 enemy enemy aircraft.
He was awarded 28 state awards, including two Orders of Lenin, four Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Suvorov III degree, the Order of the Patriotic War I and II degree, the Red Star, medals and foreign awards. After the war, Kirill Alekseevich Evstigneev served in the Soviet Army. He graduated from flight tactical courses, the Air Force Academy, the Military Academy of the General Staff. He served in responsible command positions in Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, the North Caucasus and Ukraine, in Rostov-on-Don and Moscow.
In 1972, Major General of Aviation Yevstigneev retired, but he devoted a lot of energy to the patriotic education of youth, wrote memoirs. Kirill Alekseevich died on August 29, 1996.
In the city of Shumikha, Kurgan Region, a bronze bust of twice Hero of the Soviet Union Yevstigneev was erected, and a memorial plaque was placed on the building of school No. 2. In 2007, the Kurgan Aviation Sports Club ROSTO (DOSAAF) was named after the hero. A memorial plaque was installed on the building of the Kurgan organization ROSTO.
