Grigory Okhay

Grigory Ulyanovich Okhay (Григорий Ульянович Охай, Григорій Ульянович Охай; 5 January 1917 – 8 February 2002) was a Soviet MiG-15 flying ace during the Korean war, with an estimated 11 victories.

Okhay was born on 5 January 1917 in Tomak to a Ukrainian peasant family.

In December that year he became a squadron commander in the 272nd Fighter Regiment, where he remained until switching to the 523rd Fighter Regiment.

Shortly before being deployed to Northern China, Okhay was promoted in his regiment to deputy commander of training and combat tactics.

During the war shot down an estimated eleven aircraft over the course of 122 sorties and 68 dogfights in less than a year, flying the MiG-15.

After completing his secondary school he entered a trade school, and in 1935 he completed on year of instruction at the Melitopol Pedagogical Institute shortly before being drafted into the military.

In 1937 he graduated from the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation School of Pilots, after which he was assigned to the 46th Bomber Regiment.

In May 1939 he was transferred to the 1st Light Bomber Regiment.

In January 1940 he was deployed to the warfront of the Soviet-Finnish war as part of the 39th Bomber Regiment.

During the conflict he flew 28 sorties on an SB bomber, attacking Finnish targets.

Once the war ended he was transferred and began attending the Ryazan School of Navigators.

In October 1945 Okhay was transferred to the 18th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, where he was a senior lieutenant and deputy squadron commander.

After his seventh shootdown he was nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union, which was awarded on 13 November 1951.

He observed that the American Sabre performed better than the MiG-15 at lower altitudes but was disadvantaged at higher altitudes and took advantage of this information in combat.

Okhay remained in the air force until 1960.

After leaving the military he transferred to the field of civil aviation until retiring in 1978.

During that time he trained 85 pilots before entering the 897th Fighter Aviation Regiment.

Most sources indicate that he had no aerial victories during the war, but he did fly in the Battle of Kursk.

He died in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine on 8 February 2002 and was buried in the Zaporozhye cemetery.

After completing training for the Yak-1 he served as a flight instructor in the 13th Reserve Fighter Wing in the early phase of the war.