23 February 1918 – 13 December 1943

Aleksei Khlobystov was born on 23 February 1918 in Zakharovo in the Ryazan region and learned to fly at the Uhtomskom aeroclub during 1938.

In 1939 he joined the army and attended Kachin Military Air Collage where he won his wings in 1941.

He was posted to the 20 IAP before the war.

In June 1941 he was serving as leitenant at the 153 IAP on the Leningrad Front flying I-153s.

On 22 July, he was decorated with the Order of the Red Banner.

During the autumn of 1941, he was wounded and hospitalized.

Later he served with the same unit at the Volkhov Front flying MiG-3s.

On 1 January 1942, he was posted to the 147 IAP on the Karelian Front near Murmansk flying Curtiss P-40C Tomahawks.

Six Tomahawks flying a mission between Lake Kuik-Yavr - Lubol - Lake Yal-Yavr became involved in combat with Bf 109s on 13 February 1942, claiming five of them shot down as shared among the pilots. Known pilots taking part where leitenant Anatoliy Yeliseyev, leitenant Khlobystov and leitenant Nikolay Yurilin.

By March 1942, he had become a flight commander.

On 4 April 1942, 147 IAP was designated the 20 GIAP.

On 8 April, he was approved for Communist Party membership, Khlobystov receiving his party card in a ceremony held on the flight line.
Later the same day, four Hurricanes and two Tomahawks of the 20 GIAP rose to intercept a formation of 15 Ju 87s of I/StG 5 that were returning after an unsuccessful mission against Murmansk. The Stukas was escorted by a Bf 110 Schwarm of 10.(Z)/JG 5.
The Soviet fighters caught up with the Germans near Restikent, southwest of Murmansk. One of the Bf 110s was badly shot up before eight Bf 109s intervened. Starshiy leitenant Khlobystov singled out a Bf 110, which was under attack from serzhant Mikhail Bychkov and leitenant V. R. Semen’kov, and chased it down to the deck but the German aircraft simply refused to go down. He flew closer through the Bf 110s propwash and rammed the tailplane with one of his wings whereupon the Bf 110 fell out of control and crashed.
Khlobystov maintained effective control over his fighter and re-joined formation with kapitan Aleksey Pozdnyakov and leitenant I. D. Fateyev to bounce the Stukas. One Ju 87 blew up and plunged earthward after their first attack while the others broke formation and dove away.
Pozdnyakov was then seen to engage a Bf 109 head-on with both planes exploding in a mid-air collision, as neither would weaver. Khlobystov wound up with two more Bf 109s on his tail but racked his P-40 around and struck the tailplane of one of these with his damaged wing. While breaking away he observed his victim go down and explode, giving the pilot no chance of survival. To make the whole thing even more remarkable he managed to return with his damaged aircraft and landing it with part of one wing missing!
In all 20 GIAP claimed 5 enemy aircraft including three by ramming, with only one loss (kapitan Pozdnyakov). Khlobystov was credited with one Bf 110 and one Bf 109 destroyed and one additional Bf 110 and a Ju 87 as shared among five pilots (Bychkov, Semen’kov, Pozdnyakov, Fateyev and Khlobystov). The fifth (Bf 109) was credited to Pozdynakov.
Oberfeldwebel Theodor Weissenberger of 10.(Z)/JG 5 claimed one Soviet fighter in this combat (Totally 208 victories). According to German records only one Bf 110 was lost and the Stukas managed to slip away without losses.

Khlobystov checking the wingtip of his Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk after the combat on 8 April 1942.

Shortly after the combat on 8 April, he was promoted to kapitan.

On 23 April, kapitan Khlobystov claimed six shared enemy aircraft (1 Bf 110, 2 Bf 109s and 3 Ju 87s) over Lake Pyayve-Yavr together with starshiy leitenant Adam Kontsevoy, starshiy leitenant Ivan But (Hurricane), starshiy leitenant Dmitriy Gorelysev, mladshiy serzhant Mikhail Bychkov, serzhant A. I. Chibisov, serzhant Petelin and serzhant Zurov.
Starshiy leitenant But and serzhant Chibisov were both shot down and killed during the day.

Two shared Bf 109s were claimed on 29 April over Bol'shaya Zapadnaya Litsa together with kapitan Georgiy Gromov, starshiy leitenant Dmitriy Gorelysev, starshiy leitenant Kotov, starshiy leitenant V. I. Krymskiy and starshiy leitenant Nikolay Yurilin.

On 9 May, he claimed a shared Bf 109 over Bol'shaya Zapadnaya Litsa together with starshiy leitenant Dmitriy Gorelysev, starshiy leitenant V. I. Krymskiy, starshiy leitenant Nikolay Yurilin, leitenant Lomakin and Krutikov.
Kapitan Khlobystov and starshiy leitenant Yurilin claimed two more Bf 109 together with three other pilots over Zapadnaya Litsa.

On 14 May 1942, he claimed a third victory by ramming when after that his Kittyhawk had been set on fire by a Bf 109’s 20mm shells, he rammed another Bf 109 over Zapadnaya Litsa.
However, no German fighter is listed as lost in this area on this date.
Khlobystov was wounded in an arm and in a leg after this combat.

On 6 June, he was awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin for his more recent actions. He had by this time claimed 5 and 7 shared victories on 266 sorties and 16 air engagements as of 10 April 1942. At the time he was convalescing in hospital from his wounds.
The day before (5 June), he had been decorated with a second Order of the Red Banner.

Following months of recuperation whilst performing non-combat duties, he eventually managed to return to active service with 20 GIAP.

On 13 December 1943, by which time he was leading an eskardrilya in the 20 GIAP, he flew a free hunt mission together with another pilot over the front and along the Petsamo – Titovka road. Neither of the pilots returned from the mission.
Khlobystov’s body was found in 2009.

At the time of his death, Khlobystov had claimed 3 biplane victories and a total of 6. These were claimed on 335 sorties.

Claims:

Kill no.	Date	Time	Number	Type	Result	Plane type	Serial no.	Locality	Unit
	1941
1	05/07/41		1	Bf 109	Destroyed	I-153		N Konevista Island	153 IAP
2	07/07/41		1	I-15	Destroyed	I-153		Sakkola	153 IAP
3	04/08/41		1	Gladiator	Destroyed	I-153		-Lahti	153 IAP
	1942
	13/02/42		1/6	Bf 109	Shared destroyed	Tomahawk		Lake Kuik-Yavr - Lubol - Lake Yal-Yavr	147 IAP
	13/02/42		1/6	Bf 109	Shared destroyed	Tomahawk		Lake Kuik-Yavr - Lubol - Lake Yal-Yavr	147 IAP
	13/02/42		1/6	Bf 109	Shared destroyed	Tomahawk		Lake Kuik-Yavr - Lubol - Lake Yal-Yavr	147 IAP
	13/02/42		1/6	Bf 109	Shared destroyed	Tomahawk		Lake Kuik-Yavr - Lubol - Lake Yal-Yavr	147 IAP
	13/02/42		1/6	Bf 109	Shared destroyed	Tomahawk		Lake Kuik-Yavr - Lubol - Lake Yal-Yavr	147 IAP
	08/04/42		1/5	Bf 110	Shared destroyed	Tomahawk	”58”	Restikent	20 GIAP
	08/04/42		1/5	Ju 87 (a)	Shared destroyed	Tomahawk	”58”	Restikent	20 GIAP
4	08/04/42		1	Bf 110 (b)	Destroyed	Tomahawk	”58”	Restikent	20 GIAP
5	08/04/42		1	Bf 109 (c)	Destroyed	Tomahawk	”58”	Restikent	20 GIAP
	23/04/42		1/8	Bf 110	Shared destroyed	Tomahawk		Lake Pyayve-Yavr	20 GIAP
	23/04/42		1/8	Bf 109	Shared destroyed	Tomahawk		Lake Pyayve-Yavr	20 GIAP
	23/04/42		1/8	Bf 109	Shared destroyed	Tomahawk		Lake Pyayve-Yavr	20 GIAP
	23/04/42		1/8	Ju 87	Shared destroyed	Tomahawk		Lake Pyayve-Yavr	20 GIAP
	23/04/42		1/8	Ju 87	Shared destroyed	Tomahawk		Lake Pyayve-Yavr	20 GIAP
	23/04/42		1/8	Ju 87	Shared destroyed	Tomahawk		Lake Pyayve-Yavr	20 GIAP
	29/04/42		1/6	Bf 109	Shared destroyed	Kittyhawk		Bol'shaya Zapadnaya Litsa	20 GIAP
	29/04/42		1/6	Bf 109	Shared destroyed	Kittyhawk		Bol'shaya Zapadnaya Litsa	20 GIAP
	09/05/42		1/6	Bf 109	Shared destroyed	Kittyhawk		Bol'shaya Zapadnaya Litsa	20 GIAP
	09/05/42		1/5	Bf 109	Shared destroyed	Kittyhawk		Zapadnaya Litsa	20 GIAP
	09/05/42		1/5	Bf 109	Shared destroyed	Kittyhawk		Zapadnaya Litsa	20 GIAP
6	14/05/42		1	Bf 109 (d)	Destroyed	Kittyhawk	”812”	Zapadnaya Litsa	20 GIAP

Biplane victories: 3 destroyed.
TOTAL: 6 and 18 shared destroyed.
(a) Claimed in combat with Ju 87s from I./StG 5, which didn’t suffer any losses.
(b) Claimed by ramming in combat with Bf 110s from 10.(Z)/JG 5. 20 GIAP claimed 2 victories in this combat but only one Bf 110 was lost.
(c) Claimed by ramming.
(d) Claimed by ramming. However, no German fighter is listed as lost in this area on this date.

Sources:
Aeroram
All aces of Stalin 1936–1953 – Mikhail Bykov, 2014
Black Cross/Red Star Volume II - Christer Bergström and Andrey Mikhailov, 2001 Pacifica Military History, ISBN 0-935553-51-7
Soviet Aces 1936-1953
Soviet Fighter Pilots 1936-1953 - Mikhail Bykov
Soviet Lend-Lease Fighter Aces of World War 2 - George Mellinger, 2006 Osprey Publishing Limited, Oxford, ISBN 1-84603-041-2
Stalin's Eagles - Hans D. Seidl, 1998 Schiffer Publishing, ISBN 0-7643-0476-3
Stalin's Falcons - Tomas Polak and Christhoper Shores, 1999 Grub Street, London, ISBN 1-902304-01-2
Additional information kindly provided by Ondrej Repka.