Quick Facts
Biography
Jurgis Dobkevičius (born March 23, 1900 in Saint Petersburg, died testing his own construction airplane Dobi-III in a crash June 8, 1926 in Kaunas) was a Lithuanian aviator and aircraft designer
Military biography
Dobkevičius was a volunteer of Lithuanian Army and first officially recognised military pilot of Lithuanian Air Force, Commander of Air Squadron in 1920. He's known for outstanding memory—contemporary sources say, that he at the dinner table played one or two games of chess with any opponent without a board. Dobkevičius participated as reconnaissance pilot in Lithuanian-Polish War, completing 24 combat missions. After retiring from military service in 1923, Dobkevičius has studied at L'Ecole Superieure d'Aeronautique in Paris, graduating in 1925 and becoming first professional Lithuanian aircraft designer. Dobkevičius has designed a line of aircraft Dobi: Dobi-I, Dobi-II and the fatal variant, Dobi-III.
Jurgis Dobkevičius was buried in Panemunė Cemetery.