Alexander
Kozakov
Name: Aleksandr
Alexandrovich Kozakov
Country: Russia
Rank: Polkovnik
Service: Imperial Russian Air Service
Units: 4th Corps Air
Detachment 19th Corps Detachment
Victories: 20
Date Of Birth: January 15, 1889
Place of Birth: Kherson Province
Date Of Death: August 1, 1919
Place of Death: Near BeneznikyRussia's highest scoring ace was educated in military schools and
entered the army in 1908. After serving in the cavalry, he
transferred to aviation in 1913 and by the following year was
assigned to the 4th Corps Air Detachment in Poland where he flew
reconnaissance and bombing missions in a Morane-Saulnier. Having
made several unsuccessful attempts to bring down enemy aircraft by
dangling explosives and grappling hooks beneath his plane, Kozakov
scored his first victory in the spring of 1915 by ramming his
opponent.
In September of 1915, he assumed command of the 19th Corps Air
Detachment but scored no additional victories that year and only 2
more by August of 1916 when he assumed command of the 1st Combat Air
Group. In February of 1917, his CAG was ordered to Romania where
Kozakov scored eight more victories before being wounded in action
on 27 June 1917. With 20 victories, he resigned his commission in
January of 1918 and joined the British Joint Military forces at
Murmansk in June. Promoted to the rank of Major, he commanded the
Slavo-British air detachment at Benezniky and continued flying
combat missions until he was again wounded in January of 1919
In March, he returned to duty but became deeply depressed by the
withdrawal of British forces from Russia in the summer of 1919. On
the evening of August 1, 1919, ignoring an invitation to a farewell
dinner for British pilots, he took off in a Sopwith only to crash to
his death a few moments later. Having watched Kozakov pull a loop at
low altitude and stall the plane, Ira Jones concluded the Russian
Ace of Aces "brought about his own death and staged it in the most
dramatic manner."
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