Photo of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General I. I. Geibo

The original photo is in excellent collector's condition. The size is 94*141 mm. The reverse side is clean. Guarantee of authenticity.

Joseph Ivanovich Geibo (1910-1992) was a Soviet military fighter pilot. He participated in the battles on Khalkhin Gol, the Soviet-Finnish and the Great Patriotic Wars. Hero of the Soviet Union (04/28/1945). Major General of Aviation (08/3/1953). Joseph Ivanovich participated in the battles with the Nazi invaders on the morning of June 22, 1941, as part of the Southwestern Front. He fought on I-16, LaGG-3, and Yak-1 aircraft. At the 20th minute of the war, he was one of the first (if not the first) to shoot down a German plane, for which he was subsequently awarded the second Order of the Red Banner. In early August 1941, the regiment was incorporated into the 6th Fighter Aviation Corps of the Moscow Air Defense Zone, and in the second half of August it was already fighting on the outskirts of Leningrad as part of the 8th Mixed Aviation Division of the 11th Army of the Northwestern Front. On August 19, 1941, Joseph Ivanovich was seriously wounded in the Pulkovo area and was hospitalized until December 1941. After recovering, he was promoted to the rank of major and in February 1942 was appointed commander of the 20th Fighter Aviation Regiment in the Air Force of the 50th Army of the Western Front. In May 1942, the regiment joined the 201st Fighter Aviation Division of the 1st Air Army of the Western Front. As part of it, Joseph Ivanovich defended the skies of the Moscow region, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In the summer of 1942, the division took part in the first Rzhev-Sychev operation. In November 1942, he was appointed deputy commander of the 263rd Fighter Aviation Division of the 3rd Air Army of the Western Front.

On February 18, 1943, Lieutenant Colonel I. I. Geibo became commander of the 309th Fighter Aviation Division in the Western Front, and on June 28, 1943, he was awarded the regular military rank of colonel. In July 1943, the young commander was sent to study. In January 1944, he completed advanced training courses for air division commanders at the Military Academy of Command and Navigation Personnel of the Red Army Air Force.

On February 2, 1944, Joseph Ivanovich was appointed commander of the 6th Guards Fighter Aviation Division of the 8th Air Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front, which he successfully commanded until the end of the war. Under his command, the division participated in the Nikopol-Krivoy Rog operation and the Crimean operation. For the division's successful actions during the liberation of Crimea, Joseph Geibo was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class. In July—August 1944, the Geibo division participated in the Lviv-Sandomierz and Iasi-Kishinev operations. Then the division was withdrawn to the reserve of the Supreme Commander's Headquarters and, after being completed in mid-September 1944, became part of the 5th Air Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. As part of its 6th Guards Fighter Division, under the command of Guard Colonel I. I. Geibo, participated in the Debrecen, Budapest, Vienna and Prague operations. By April 1945, Guard Colonel I. I. Geibo had flown 177 sorties and personally shot down 5 enemy aircraft[3]. On April 28, 1945, Colonel Joseph Ivanovich Geibo was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his exemplary performance of command tasks and his courage, bravery and heroism. The war for Joseph Ivanovich ended on May 11, 1945, not far from Prague.