Ivan Ilyich Babak (Ukrainian: Іван Ілліч Бабак, Russian: Ива́н Ильи́ч Баба́к; 26 July 1919 – 24 June 2001) was a Ukrainian Soviet Air Forces captain, flying ace, and a Hero of the Soviet Union. A schoolteacher, Babak joined the Red Army before Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began, and completed pilot training in 1942, after which he flew the Yakovlev Yak-1 and later the Bell P-39 Airacobra. He distinguished himself in the air battles over the Kuban bridgehead in April 1943 and was credited with eighteen aerial victories when he received the title Hero of the Sov
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