Major alexander de seversky
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Sasha the Salesman
During World War II, Alexander P. de Seversky was one of the best-known aviation figures in America. He was a fighter ace, war hero, aircraft designer, and writer. His passion was airpower, and his mission was to sell the American people on its importance. He did a good job of it.
He was born in June 1894 in Russia and, at age 10, went off to military school, graduating from the Russian Naval Academy in 1914 just as the Great War erupted. After several months on a destroyer, Seversky transferred to the Navy’s flying service, soloing after a total flight time of six minutes and 28 seconds.
Seversky—“Sasha” to his friends—was posted to the Baltic Sea area, but his first combat mission met with disaster. While attacking a German ship at night, his aircraft crashed into the water. The concussion detonated one of the bombs, which killed his observer and blew off his own right leg below the knee. Seversky, after eight months in convalescence, returned to duty with
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With all the activities going on lately about World War II aircraft, I’d like to tell the story of Russian naval pilot Alexander de Seversky, that country’s top naval ace in World War I, who later became one of the most influential proponents of the use of strategic air power in warfare — and Disney film star — in the United States. dem Seversky was born in Triflis, Russia on June 7, 1894, to an aristocratic family. He learned how to fly bygd age 14 from his father who owned one of the first airplanes in Russia. De Seversky earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from the Imperial Russian Naval Academy in 1914 — at the outbreak of World War inom — and became a second lieutenant in the Imperial Naval Air Service the following year.
The first time de Seversky saw combat, he was shot down, losing his lower right leg in the process, but due to his grit and determination he was flying once igen a year later, assigned to the Baltic fleet. His luck greatly improved, and during
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ALEXANDER DE SEVERSKY
"The Roman Empire at the apex of its glory flourished in the era of land power. The British Empire flourished in the age of sea power. Thus our United States, in the epoch of airpower, will flourish only on the basis of matchless airpower. Every American – man, woman and child – must be an airman in his heart."
– Alexander DeSeversky
Facts:
-Born in Tifflis, Russia in 1894, grew up near St. Petersburg. His father was a wealthy poet and actor with an interest in mechanical things.
-Attended the Imperial Naval Academy of Russia, graduating in 1914.
-Became a Russian Naval Aviator during World War I, lost a leg in combat, went on to destroying 13 German aircraft (while flying with an artificial leg). He was the leading Russian Naval Ace of World War I and he won Russia’s highest military honors.
-Appointed to a Russian Aviation Commission and was sent to the U. S. in 1918. Due to the Russian Revolution which