Klubov, Aleksandr

Born Jan. 18, 1918, in the village of Iarunovo, in present-day Vologda Raion, Vologda Oblast; died Nov. 1, 1944, in L’vov. Soviet pilot. Twice a Hero of the Soviet Union (Apr. 13, 1944 and June 27, 1945). Captain (1944). Became a member of the CPSU in 1943. The son of a poor peasant.

In 1935, Klubov graduated from a factory apprenticeship school in Leningrad and worked as a lathe operator. He was in the Soviet Army from 1939. Klubov graduated from the Chuguev Military Aviation School (1940). During the Great Patriotic War (1941–45) he was a pilot, flight commander, and then squadron commander of the Tenth and subsequently the Sixteenth Guards Fighter Air Regiment. He took part in battles near Mozdok, in the Kuban’, near Iaşi, and on the Dnieper and Vistula rivers. Klubov flew 457 sorties, survived 95 air combats, shot down 31 enemy airplanes, and had 19 assists. He died in a crash at an airport near the front. Klubov was awarded the Order of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of the Patriotic War First Class, and the Order of Alexander Nevsky.