Victor Dibovsky


Victor Dibovsky, was a Russian aviation pioneer.

Early life

Victor Dibovsky was born in Smolensk into a gentry family. He started naval service in 1901, seeing action in the Russo-Japanese War, including the Battle of Tsushima. He served in Baltic Fleet and Black Sea Fleet of the Imperial Russian navy. He started studying aeronautics in 1909.

Aviation career

Dibovsky was the first pilot to detect a submerged submarine in 1911., and first Russian to use radio on an aircraft. In 1912 he covered the distance between Sevastopol and St Petersburg in 25 flight hours, a record at the time. In 1913 he designed an airplane, “Dolphin”, remarkable for outstanding aerodynamic qualities.

World War I

During World War I, Victor Dibovsky fought in the 20 Corps aviation group, earning orders of St George, St Stanislaus, St Vladimir and a number of medals. He was the inventor of the Scarff-Dibovski synchronization gear, used by the UK Royal Naval Air Service
In 1916 he was promoted to commander and came to London as the head of Russian naval air mission.

Emigration and death

The revolution prevented Victor Dibovsky from coming back to Russia. He lived in UK, France, USA and later in Britain again. He patented some new inventions and his research received media coverage. In 1953 he died of tuberculosis in London and was buried in a paupers’ grave at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery. In 2019, the place of his burial was marked with a memorial.

Honours and awards