Cigarette Case Recovered from LA-5 Crash

[GrimesSU]

 

This Cigarette case was recovered from an LA-5 crash in the 1991 during construction on a drainage canal in Nikopol.

 

I was able to get in contact with an archivist who was able to find his war records.

 

 

The pilot's name was Mikhail Grigoryevich Shabayev.

 

He flew the I-16 first, then got an LA-5.

- Unit order and citation for an Order of the Red Star, awarded on July 10, 1943 when he was a Senior Sergeant serving as a senior pilot in the 116th Fighter Regiment. It states he flew 74 combat sorties and shot down 1 enemy aircraft and details some of his missions;

- Unit order and citation for an Order of the Red Banner, awarded on October 21, 1943 when he was a Junior Lieutenant and flight leader in the 116th Fighter Regiment. It states he has now flown 141 combat sorties, took part in 25 aerial battles and shot down 9 aircraft, and details some of his missions;

- Report from Corps headquarters to the Personnel Losses Directorate, stating he went missing in action on November 19, 1943;

- Order from the Main Personnel Directorate dated March 11, 1947, stating he is considered killed in action and removed from the rolls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside is an inscription. It roughly reads,

 

"To Tvardyets and to Shabayev. In commemoration of combat in Stalingrad, 563 fighter aviation regiment in 1942. 12.10.1943”

 

 

I highlighted the words as best I could in the first photo.

 

 

(Click the link for the full image)

 

 

https://imgur.com/4lKZ5la

 

 

 

 

https://imgur.com/B0TgGYN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His war records and a picture of him with his combat group. The arrow indicates him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2022 by GrimesSU

[dbuile]

I was left hanging on the edge of my seat when the transcript was about to tell us what happened, then ended    This is fantastic work, and thanks for posting it.

[Billsponge1972]

A stunning piece of history.

[GrimesSU]

On 12/7/2022 at 7:16 AM, dbuile said:

I was left hanging on the edge of my seat when the transcript was about to tell us what happened, then ended    This is fantastic work, and thanks for posting it.

 

Yes, unfortunately the rest of it was lost to time.

 

I tried to find info on the individual who found it with no luck as I have no contacts in that area of the world.