L Avrenov Alexander Filippovich - Assistant Commander of the 291st Fighter Aviation Regiment for Air Rifle Service of the 265th Fighter Aviation Division of the 3rd Fighter Aviation Corps of the 4th Air Army of the North Caucasus Front, lieutenant.
Born on April 20, 1920 in the village of Pechernikovskiye Vyselki, Mikhailovsky District, Ryazan Region, in a peasant family. Russian. Member of the CPSU since 1943. After graduating from 7 classes in 1936, he came to Moscow. He graduated from the FZU school, worked as a turner at the Dynamo plant. Studied at the flying club.
In the Red Army since 1938. In 1940 he graduated from the Borisoglebsk military aviation school for pilots.
In the army since April 1943. Fought on the North Caucasian, Southern, 4th Ukrainian fronts. He participated on the Yak-1 aircraft in air battles in the Kuban, on the Molochnaya River, for the city of Melitopol and the Crimea.
By June 1943, Lieutenant Lavrenov made 47 sorties, in 26 air battles shot down 17 personally and as part of a group of 3 enemy aircraft.
At Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 1, 1943 for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the struggle against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism shown to the lieutenant Alexander Filippovich Lavrenov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 1273).
In total, he completed about 150 sorties, participating in 40 air battles, chalked up 26 personal victories and 3 in the group.
On March 26, 1944, he died in an air battle over Sivash. He was buried in the village of Krasnoarmeiskoye, Krasnoperekopsky district, Crimean region.
He was awarded the Order of Lenin, 2 Orders of the Red Banner, Orders of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, the Order of the Red Star.
A memorial plaque is installed on the school building in the village of Pechernikovskiye Vyselki. A street in the city of Mikhailov, Ryazan Region, and a ship of the Ministry of River Economy bear his name.
Alexander Lavrenov began his front-line path in April 1943 in the skies of the Kuban. On April 29, he shot down his first Messerschmitt. A few days later, on May 2, 1943, over the Blue Line, in a fierce battle with the aces of the squadron, General Udet shot down 2 more Messerschmitts over the Kyiv station.
On May 27, 1943, Lieutenant Lavrenov took to the skies as part of six Yak-1s to escort 12 Pe-2 bombers. When the "pawns" dropped bombs on the positions of the Nazis in the village of Krymskaya, Lavrenov saw 3 groups of Yu-88 bombers approaching the front. He and his partner went on the attack. The very first shots from a cannon and machine guns shot down one "bomber". Having missed the second group, our pilots went on the attack on the third. Lavrenov approached one of the bombers from below and pressed the trigger. The enemy car rushed down, pulling a black tail of smoke behind it.
Junior Lieutenant Vasily Konobaev also set fire to the Junkers and, having slipped past him, attacked the second one. The fascist pilot, noticing the danger, rushed to the side and collided with another bomber, walking in a single formation. Both Junkers, tumbling randomly, flew down. At this time, eight "Messers" appeared. But a couple of Soviet pilots, skillfully maneuvering, went over to the attack on their own. One attack by Lavrenov was successful: the "Messer" went to the ground. As a result, the pair shot down 6 aircraft in one battle!
Already in early June, a month and a half after the start of combat work, Lieutenant Lavrenov was introduced to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By this time, he shot down 17 enemy aircraft in 47 sorties. Almost a plane for every 3rd flight!
In July 1943, Alexander Lavrenov received a new fighter built at the expense of Academician V.N. Obraztsov and named "Rtishchevsky Railwayman". On this fighter, he continued sorties.
In the fall of 1943, Alexander Lavrenov's regiment was relocated to the Southern Front. The Nazi command made a lot of efforts to keep the city of Melitopol - the gate to the Crimea and the lower Dnieper.
On September 10, 1943, Lavrenov, together with Konobaev, found a train with ammunition in the town of Bolshoi Tokmak and immediately went on the attack. A cannon roared, machine guns fired, and a red-orange column of explosion rose into the sky. For a long time, shells, gas tanks were exploding at the station, black fountains of smoke flew up into the sky ...
On September 15, 1943, a group of fighters under the command of Lavrenov flew out to intercept Heinkels flying to storm our ground forces. "Yaks" crashed into a group of "Heinkels" and began to disperse them. In a short fight, Lavrenov and Konobaev were shot down by this "Heinkel".
On January 20, 1944, Lavrenov with a new partner, Junior Lieutenant Morya (Konobaev died on September 18, 1943), flying out on a free “hunt”, found an enemy airfield, on which there were about 50 Yu-52 transport aircraft. Lavrenov turned the Yak into a dive. With a well-aimed burst, one aircraft was set on fire, and at the exit from the attack, the second. The sea was smashed by another Junkers. At this time, 2 "Messerschmitts" appeared and went on the attack on Lavrenov. Pilot of the Sea promptly covered his commander and with a well-aimed burst struck down the leading "Messer". Arriving at the airfield, Lavrenov reported on the explored airfield. An hour later, Il-2 attack aircraft took off. They were led by Lavrenov and Morya. In that battle, 20 Yu-52 aircraft were destroyed.
March 26, 1944 turned out to be the darkest day of the entire war for the 291st Fighter Aviation Regiment. On this day, the commander of the 278th Fighter Aviation Division sent unflying pairs of young pilots to cover the crossing over the Sivash. And for aces, he arranged a seminar. Over Sivash, the newcomers met with several dozen fascist bombers, escorted by fighters. Dispersed, they started fighting one by one.
The commander of the 291st air regiment, Major Volkov, Captain Lavrenov, and several other fighters flew to the rescue. But they couldn't fix things. They had to fight with the German aces from the 52nd Fighter Squadron. Volkov managed to shoot down one "Messer", but got into the pincers of two pairs of Me-109. Lavrenov rushed to the rescue of the commander. But it was already too late. Volkov's plane caught fire and began to fall to the ground. Captain Lavrenov fired a long burst into the nearest "Messer", but did not have time to turn aside and crashed into the tail of an enemy aircraft ... Both aircraft fell apart ....
On this rainy day - March 26, 1944 - in addition to the commander of the regiment A.A. Volkov and the Hero of the Soviet Union A.F. Lavrenov, 8 more pilots of the 291st Fighter Aviation Regiment died in an unequal battle ...
By this time, on the combat account of Alexander Filippovich Lavrenov, there were officially 29 air victories won by him personally and in a group with his comrades.
On August 19, 1944, the famous ace pilot, Colonel Alexander Pokryshkin, was awarded the third Gold Star medal, and he became the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union in the history of the country. The award was fully deserved.
Lieutenant Pokryshkin began his war in June 1941 and, it must be said, began with an incident - he shot down a Soviet Su-2 aircraft. Then the car only began to arrive in parts, and few of the pilots were familiar with it. Having met the plane in the sky of Moldova, Pokryshkin thought that he was a fascist and shot down Drying. The very next day, Alexander Ivanovich was rehabilitated - the first Messerschmitt-109 was recorded on his account, and how many more there will be ...
First, Alexander Pokryshkin flew MiGs, later on the American Airacobra,
delivered under Lend-Lease, on which he won most of his air victories.
He quickly rose in ranks, in the summer of 1944 he headed the 9th Guards Air Division.
Officially, Alexander Pokryshkin shot down 59 enemy aircraft personally and 6 in a group, another 15 official victories won in 1941 were not included in his account - award documents at the headquarters of the air regiment burned down during the bombing. The famous pilot met the Victory Parade in Berlin - he was an honorary standard-bearer of the 1st Ukrainian Front. After the war, Alexander Ivanovich remained in the army and reached the rank of Air Marshal.
We remembered a few more famous Soviet aces pilots and are ready to tell you about them.
The most productive Ivan Kozhedub
The most successful pilot-ace of all Allied forces in World War II
was born in 1920 in the village of Obrazhievka, Chernihiv province, into a peasant family.
Since childhood, Ivan was "drawn to the sky": at first he studied at the local flying club, and at the age of 20 he joined the Red Army. In the same 1940 he graduated from the famous Chuguevskaya
aviation school and stayed there as an instructor. In the formidable front-line sky, Kozhedub's plane appeared only in 1943. The first battle almost became the last - with a well-aimed burst of Messerschmit-109, our hero's La-5 was disabled. Ivan miraculously landed the plane, but was forced to fly whatever he had to, on any free planes in the squadron. They even wanted to send him to a service not related to flights - the regiment commander interceded. And I didn't guess. On the Kursk Bulge, making the 40th sortie, Kozhedub shot down his first officially confirmed aircraft - the fascist Junkers bomber. The next day, another "bomber", smoking, collapsed to the ground under the bursts of Ivan. Feeling the taste for victory, a day later the pilot "landed" two German fighters at once. Throughout his combat career, Kozhedub fought on domestic aircraft designed by Lavochkin - first on La-5, then on La-7. The first, by the way, was built with the money of a collective farmer-beekeeper from the Stalingrad region, such beggars there were collective farmers.
Total Three times Hero of the Soviet Union Kozhedub shot down 62 German aircraft, the last
Air Marshal.
White Lily of Stalingrad: Lydia Litvyak
From the age of 14, Muscovite Lydia Litvyak studied at the flying club, where she made her first
flight, and after graduating from the Kherson aviation school she became an instructor pilot. In 1942
year, a girl with such promising data was drafted into the army and enrolled in
one of the many fighter regiments. The 586th IAP was distinguished by only one thing - it was an entirely female air regiment. Lydia Litvyak. Further, the fate of Lydia Vladimirovna is entirely connected with Stalingrad. In the ever difficult struggle in the sky above the city, she not only survived, she won. On September 13, in the second sortie, she shot down a fighter and a bomber, and one of the downed pilots turned out to be a well-known German air ace. Then again victory - the Yu-88 bomber was shot down. Lydia asked to draw a non-standard identification mark on the hood of her plane - a white lily, which is why she received the nickname "White Lily of Stalingrad" in the troops, both Soviet and German.
She was extremely lucky in the sky. On February 11, 1943, her plane was shot down and she made an emergency landing on German soil. The Nazis had already tried to capture her. A familiar attack pilot came to the rescue: with the fire of onboard machine guns, he drove away the German soldiers, landed on the field and saved Lydia.
War is a cruel thing, but there is also time for love. It was at the front that Lydia met Hero of the Soviet Union Alexei Solomatin. On May 21, 1943, Alexei was seriously wounded in an air battle, brought his plane to the airfield, but failed to land - he crashed in front of his colleagues and his beloved. Since then, the "White Lily of Stalingrad" did not know peace, she got involved in the most violent fights, either to take revenge, or to die. Death found 21-year-old Lydia Litvyak on August 1, 1943, over the Mius River. By that time, Lydia had 16 downed enemy aircraft on her account - 12 personally and 4 in the group.
He was rejected in the 41st. Grigory Rechkalov
This person is unique. Fate itself made him a thunderstorm of air spaces, and people,
people interfered as much as they could. Grigory Rechkalov. Grigory Rechkalov graduated from aviation school back in 1939, and on the eve of the war, his regiment was stationed in Moldova. Rechkalov could never see the war, literally and figuratively. On June 21, 1941, the military medical commission "rejected" this promising military flight - the doctors nevertheless discovered carefully hidden color blindness in Grigory Rechkalov. The command acted wisely - what difference does it make what color the fascist plane is? You can distinguish a swastika from a star even without it, and even more so the shape and contours of the fuselage of Soviet and German aircraft. Grigory justified the trust - in the first week of the war he shot down three enemy aircraft at once, was wounded, but brought his car to the airfield. He was sent to the rear to master a new brand of aircraft, but in April 1942, twenty-two-year-old Grigory got tired of this, and he fled back to his regiment, to the front. The finest hour of the Rechkalov fighter was the famous air battle for the Kuban, which took place in the spring of 1943. For 14 days, he chalked up 19 downed aircraft. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Grigory Rechkalov went through the entire war, flew in the skies of Ukraine, Poland, Germany, shooting down 61 enemy aircraft. Another 4 aircraft shot down in 1941 were not confirmed: the documents burned down during the bombing of the headquarters (along with the documents of Pokryshkin, who was Rechkalov's fellow soldier).
After the war, Grigory Rechkalov retired with the rank of lieutenant general.
He did not see victory. Alexander Klubov
The son of a sailor from the Aurora, Alexander Klubov, dreamed of becoming a pilot since childhood, he graduated from the air force school and served in the Caucasus by the beginning of the war. First fight junior
In May 1943, Alexander Klubov was sent to the squadron of the Hero of the Soviet
Union of Alexander Pokryshkin. They soon became friends. Pokryshkin spoke like this
about Alexander Ivanovich: “The soul of a fighter lived in Klubov. I was pleased with his manner of fighting, he was always looking for a fight. The combat score of Alexander Klubov is impressive - the pilot shot down 31 German aircraft personally and 19 in the group.
Before the Victory, the Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Klubov did not live, he died. And not in battle
but because of an accident. On November 1, 1944, there was a training flight on a type of aircraft little known to Alexander. On landing approach, the car swerved. The hero could not be saved. He was posthumously awarded a second Gold Star medal.
"Shoot now!" Arseny Vorozheykin
The future hero of Khalkhin Gol and the Great Patriotic War Arseniy Vorozheikin was born in
1912 in the Gorodetsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod province. In the summer of 1939, the 22nd Aviation Regiment, together with its commissar Vorozheikin, was sent to distant Mongolia on the Khalkhin Gol River. There, the border conflict escalated into a real war between the Japanese on the one hand, the Mongolian and Soviet troops on the other. Arseny Vorozheikin. The intensity of the air battles was fierce - at some periods in the sky over a small area
the conflict rose to 200 aircraft on both sides. The campaign turned out to be fleeting - July-August 1939, but during this time Vorozheykin shot down 6 Japanese aircraft, and was almost shot. It happened like this. Only the new commander, Georgy Zhukov, who arrived, was dissatisfied with the course of the fighting and began, as they say, to “turn the screws”. Arseny Vasilyevich also managed to fall under a hot hand. He flew from a mission at dusk and saw a column dusting along the road. One's own, someone else's - not to make out, fly up closer - the fuel is running out. Vorozheikin sat down and reported what he had seen. They called Arseniy Vasilievich to Georgy Konstantinovich, and he immediately and head-on said: "If the column is ours, not the enemy, then we will shoot you for misleading the command." Arseniy Vorozheikin was not such a person to endure such injustice. He pulled himself up, straightened his tunic, they say, if such a song-dance went, why pull something, shoot now. Zhukov grunted and, as a sign of approval (a real man, they say), treated Vorozheykin with cognac. And the next morning it turned out that they were the Japanese and the pilot received an award. Now the head from the shoulders, then dance the hut and the stove.
Our hero participated in the Great Patriotic War from August 1942 until the very end.
In total, Vorozheykin personally shot down 52 enemy aircraft and 6 aircraft in the group, becoming the fifth most successful Soviet fighter pilot.
Life and destiny: Amet-Khan Sultan
There are still many rumors around the fate of this wonderful pilot and
insinuations. The thing is that Amet Khan's father was a Lak, but his mother was a Crimean Tatar. As you know, among the majority of representatives of this nation, anti-Russian
sentiments were extremely strong, and many, after the occupation of the Crimea, went to serve
the Germans. Amet Khan was not like that, he honestly fought for his country. Amet-Khan Sultan. The junior lieutenant made the first flight on June 22, 1941 on an outdated I-153. In the autumn of 1941, the pilot covers the sky of Rostov-on-Don, and from the spring of 1942 - Yaroslavl. An interesting incident took place there. Amet Khan rammed an enemy bomber, but
our hero's plane just got stuck in the Junkers. Amet Khan did not lose his head, he jumped out of
parachute. Soon, the Junkers flaunted on the main square of Yaroslavl for everyone to see, and there, with a large gathering of people, the city authorities handed over a nominal watch to the brave fighter.
liberation of Rostov-on-Don, Melitopol, native Crimea. After release
peninsula began the deportation of the Crimean Tatars. The family of a pilot, twice a Hero
The Soviet Union was spared - by a special Decree of the Supreme Council they were allowed to stay in the Crimea, but even after the war, when arriving at their native places, the pilot was forced to check in at the local Alupka police station. Amet Khan took his last battle in the skies over Berlin, he ended the war with a score of 30 personally and 19 in a group of downed enemy aircraft. Soon the famous ace moved to Moscow, became a test pilot, he has a great merit in introducing jet aircraft into domestic aviation.
One day, the Air Force command decided that test pilots were getting too
inflated salaries. And so that the pilots would not grumble, they “asked” them to write about their
agreed to significantly lower rates. Amet Khan wrote, like his comrades, about
his consent, but made a postscript: "That's just the wife is categorically against it."
Stalin showed constant interest in how the creation of the latest types of
fighters. When he saw the receipt of the famous test pilot, he imposed
his resolution: "I fully agree with the wife of Amet-Khan." Salaries for pilots
testers remained the same.
Colonel Amet Khan Sultan died in 1971 while testing a new aircraft. He was 51 years old.
29-year-old General Pavel Rychagov
Career smiled at Pavel Vasilyevich. He was born in 1911 in the Moscow region. At the age of 25, the military pilot Rychagov was sent to Spain, where the Civil War was going on. The sky there was restless - the Germans supporting Franco sent selected pilots to Spain - the Condor Legion. The Soviet volunteers, who fought on the side of the republican government, did not lose face and, as they say, set the Germans in the heat. In a short period of time, Rychagov also distinguished himself - he shot down six enemy aircraft personally and 14 in the group. On December 31, 1936, on New Year's Eve, Pavel Vasilyevich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Since December 1937 - a new assignment, again to the front, to China. This time Rychagova is a senior military adviser on the use of Soviet aviation. Under the government of Chiang Kai Shek, who at that time was waging a difficult war with the Japanese. Then he was transferred to command the Primorsky Air Force Group. And again the war - the conflict at Lake Khasan. Rychagov proved to be a resolute and strong-willed commander, capable of organizing combat operations of large aviation formations in a remote theater and directing their massive use on the battlefield.
In 1939-1940, the young "veteran" commanded the air force of the 9th Army in the Finnish War. In August 1940, at the age of 29, Lieutenant General Rychagov became the commander of the country's Air Force. Such a career take-off was not in vain - the comrade did not know much, there was much to learn, and there was a great war ahead. In April 1941, Rychagov was removed from his post and sent to finish his studies at the Military Academy of the General Staff.
The Great Patriotic War was the end of Pavel Rychagov's career. Still with him our
aviation was relocated closer to the border and on June 22, almost all of them died under the first blow of the Germans. On June 24, 1941, Rychagov was arrested and on October 28, 1941, along with many other aviation generals, he was shot without trial in the village of Barbysh, Kuibyshev Region.
February 6 is the day of memory of the famous pilot, retired lieutenant general of aviation, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Vitaly Popkov. On his single-engine fighter La-5FN, he made 475 sorties and conducted 113 air battles, including one ram. According to various sources, Popkov had from 40 to 60 victories: he is rightfully one of the recognized aces of the Great Patriotic War. By the way, it was he who became the prototype for the two heroes of the famous film "Only Old Men Go to Battle" - "Maestro" Titarenko and "Grasshopper" Alexandrov.
We have collected facts about the Soviet aces who shot down the largest number of enemy vehicles.
Vitaly Popkov
Twice hero of the Soviet Union, personally shot down 47 enemy aircraft and 13 in the group.
Popkov graduated from the flight school in the "star" graduation: together with the future aces - Kozhedub, Lavrinenkov, Borovoy, Likholetov. The young man was sent to the front in 1942. He ended up in the 5th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. They say that when he reached the airfield on the crossbars, Popkov could not resist and climbed into an unfamiliar LaGG-3 aircraft, where he was discovered by a sentry. The commander offered the nimble guy to fly on his shift.
Popkov won his first victory in June 1942, in the vicinity of the city of Holm - all on the same LaGG-3, he shot down a Do-217 bomber. Shortly before that, he violated flight discipline, showed himself to be a reckless driver and was appointed eternal duty officer in the kitchen. On that day, two Do-217s and two Me-109s covering them appeared over the airfield. Popkov, right in an apron, jumped into the plane and, from the very first approach, shot down one Dornier. The regiment commander only managed to say: “Why didn’t you take the Messers too?” So the young pilot was again opened the road to sky.
Popkov recalled that in August of the same year he shot down one of the most famous fascist aces. It was near Stalingrad. Herman Grafa, ace of the Luftwaffe, at that time had 212 victories. He spent several years in Soviet camps and returned to Germany as a convinced anti-fascist.
Ivan Kozhedub
Three times a hero of the Soviet Union, he has 64 victories in his track record. He flew on La-5, La-5FN, La-7, Il-2, MiG-3 aircraft. Kozhedub fought his first air battle on La-5 in March 1943. Paired with the leader, he was supposed to protect the airfield, but after taking off, the pilot lost sight of the second plane, received damage from the enemy, and then also came under his own anti-aircraft artillery. Kozhedub hardly landed the plane, in which more than 50 holes were counted.
After an unsuccessful battle, they wanted to transfer the pilot to ground service. However, he firmly decided to return to the sky: he flew as a messenger, studied the experience of the famous fighter Pokryshkin, from whom he adopted the battle formula: "Altitude - speed - maneuver - fire." In his first battle, Kozhedub lost precious seconds to recognize the plane that attacked him, so he spent a lot of time memorizing the silhouettes of aircraft.
Having been appointed deputy squadron commander, Kozhedub took part in air battles on the Kursk Bulge. In the summer of 1943, he received his first Order of the Red Banner of War. By February 1944, the number of aircraft shot down by Kozhedub exceeded three dozen. The pilot was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
They say that Kozhedub was very fond of his planes, considered them "alive". And never once during the entire war did he leave his car, even when it was on fire. In May 1944, he was given a special La-5 FN aircraft. Vasily Viktorovich Konev, a beekeeper from the Bolshevik agricultural artel of the Budarinsky district of the Stalingrad region, transferred his personal savings to the Defense Fund and asked them to build an aircraft named after his deceased nephew, fighter pilot, hero of the Soviet Union Georgy Konev. On one side of the plane they wrote: "In the name of Lieutenant Colonel Konev", on the second - "From the collective farmer Konev Vasily Viktorovich." The beekeeper asked to transfer the aircraft to the best pilot. It turned out to be Kozhedub.
In February 1945, the ace shot down a German Me-262 jet fighter, and attacked the last enemy aircraft in April. In total, Kozhedub made 330 sorties and conducted 120 air battles.
Alexander Pokryshkin
Three times Hero of the Soviet Union, who personally shot down 59 enemy aircraft and six aircraft in a group. He flew the MiG-3, Yak-1, P-39, Aerocobra.
The genius of flying received a baptism of fire in the first days of the war. Then he was the deputy squadron commander of the 55th air regiment. There was a misunderstanding: on June 22, 1941, Pokryshkin shot down a Soviet Su-2 short-range bomber. The plane landed on the fuselage in a field, the pilot survived, but the navigator died. Pokryshkin later admitted that he simply did not recognize the plane: "Dry" appeared in military units right before the war.
But the very next day, the pilot distinguished himself: during a reconnaissance flight, he shot down a Messerschmitt Bf.109 fighter. This was Pokryshkin's first combat victory. And on July 3, he was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery over the Prut. By that time, the pilot had won at least five victories.
While in the hospital, Pokryshkin began to take notes in a notebook, which he entitled "Fighter tactics in battle." It was in it that his science of winning was described. Many of Pokryshkin's combat and reconnaissance sorties were unique. So, in November 1941, in conditions of limited visibility (the edge of the clouds dropped to 30 meters), he obtained information about tank divisions in the Rostov region. On the eve of the 1942 offensive, the pilot was awarded the Order of Lenin. Then he had already been shot down twice and had 190 sorties.
In the air battle in the Kuban in the spring of 1943, Pokryshkin for the first time widely used the Kuban bookcase battle formation, which was later distributed to all fighter air units. The pilot had many original tactics to win the battle. For example, he came up with a way out from under the blow of the enemy on a downward "barrel" turn, with a loss of speed. The enemy was then on target.
By the end of the war, Pokryshkin was the most famous pilot on the fronts. Then the phrase was spread: "Akhtung! Akhtung! Pokryshkin is in the air!". The Germans actually warned the pilots about the flights of the Russian ace, warning them to be careful, to gain altitude so as not to risk it. Until the end of the war, the famous pilot was the only hero of the Soviet Union three times: he was awarded the third Golden Star on August 19, 1944, after 550 sorties and 53 official victories. Georgy Zhukov became a hero three times on June 1, and Ivan Kozhedub on August 18, 1945.
By the end of the war, Pokryshkin made more than 650 sorties and took part in 156 air battles. According to unofficial data, the ace had more victories - up to a hundred.
Nikolay Gulaev
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. personally shot down 57 enemy aircraft and four aircraft - in the group. He flew on Yak-1, Il-2, La-5, La-7, P-39, Aerocobra aircraft.
At the beginning of the war, Gulaev was assigned to the air defense of one of the industrial centers located far from the front line. But in March 1942, he, among the ten best pilots, was sent to the defense of Borisoglebsk. On August 3, Gulaev took the first battle: he took off without an order, at night, shot down a German Heinkel bomber. The command announced a penalty to the pilot and immediately presented him with an award.
In February 1943, Gulaev was sent to the 27th Fighter Aviation Regiment, in which he shot down more than 50 enemy aircraft in a year. He was extremely productive: he shot down up to five aircraft a day. Among them were twin-engine bombers 5 He-111 and 4 Ju-88; FW-189 spotters, Ju-87 dive bombers. The other pilots of front-line aviation had mostly downed fighters in their service records.
On the Kursk Bulge, in the Belgorod region, Gulaev distinguished himself especially. In his first battle, on May 14, 1943, the pilot single-handedly entered into battle with three Ju-87 bombers, which were covered by four Me-109s. At a low altitude, Gulaev made a "hill" and shot down from the first stage, first the leader, and then another bomber. The pilot tried to attack the third plane, but he ran out of ammunition. And then Gulaev decided to go to the ram. The left wing of the Yak-1, on which he flew, hit the plane of the Ju-87. The German plane crashed. The Yak-1, having lost control, went into a tailspin, but Gulaev was able to straighten it out and land it. The infantrymen of the 52nd Rifle Division, who carried the wounded, as they thought, pilot, from the cockpit in their arms, were witnesses of the feat. However, Gulaev did not receive a scratch. He did not tell the regiment anything - what he had done became known several hours later, after the report of the infantrymen. After the pilot complained that he was left "horseless", he was given a new plane. And later awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
Gulaev made his last sortie from the Polish airfield Turbya on August 14, 1944. Three days in a row the day before, he shot down one plane at a time. In September, the ace was forcibly sent to study at the Air Force Academy. He served in aviation until 1979, until he retired.
In total, Gulaev made 250 sorties and 49 air battles. His performance was considered a record.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union pilot Nikolai Gulaev. A photo: RIA Novosti www.ria.ru
By the way
Soviet aces made up about three percent of the total number of pilots. They destroyed a third of the enemy aircraft. 27 pilots were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union twice and thrice. During the war, they scored from 22 to 62 victories and shot down a total of 1044 aircraft.
Representatives of the Soviet air force made a huge contribution to the defeat of the Nazi invaders. Many pilots gave their lives for the freedom and independence of our Motherland, many became Heroes of the Soviet Union. Some of them forever entered the elite of the Russian Air Force, the famous cohort of Soviet aces - the thunderstorm of the Luftwaffe. Today we recall the 10 most productive Soviet fighter pilots, who chalked up the most enemy aircraft shot down in air battles.
On February 4, 1944, the outstanding Soviet fighter pilot Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub was awarded the first star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. By the end of the Great Patriotic War, he was already three times Hero of the Soviet Union. During the war years, only one more Soviet pilot was able to repeat this achievement - it was Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin. But the war does not end with these two most famous aces of the Soviet fighter aviation. During the war, another 25 pilots were twice presented with the title of Heroes of the Soviet Union, not to mention those who were once awarded this highest military award of the country of those years.
Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub
During the war years, Ivan Kozhedub made 330 sorties, conducted 120 air battles and personally shot down 64 enemy aircraft. He flew on La-5, La-5FN and La-7 aircraft.
The official Soviet historiography featured 62 downed enemy aircraft, but archival research showed that Kozhedub shot down 64 aircraft (for some reason, two air victories were missing - April 11, 1944 - PZL P.24 and June 8, 1944 - Me 109) . Among the trophies of the Soviet ace pilot were 39 fighters (21 Fw-190, 17 Me-109 and 1 PZL P.24), 17 dive bombers (Ju-87), 4 bombers (2 Ju-88 and 2 He-111), 3 attack aircraft (Hs-129) and one Me-262 jet fighter. In addition, in his autobiography, he indicated that in 1945 he shot down two American P-51 Mustang fighters, which attacked him from a long distance, mistaking him for a German aircraft.
In all likelihood, had Ivan Kozhedub (1920-1991) started the war in 1941, his account of downed aircraft could have been even higher. However, his debut came only in 1943, and the future ace shot down his first plane in the battle of Kursk. On July 6, during a sortie, he shot down a German Ju-87 dive bomber. Thus, the performance of the pilot is really amazing, in just two war years he managed to bring the score of his victories to a record in the Soviet Air Force.
At the same time, Kozhedub was never shot down during the entire war, although he returned to the airfield several times in a badly damaged fighter. But the last could have been his first air battle, which took place on March 26, 1943. His La-5 was damaged by a German fighter burst, the armored back saved the pilot from an incendiary projectile. And upon returning home, his own air defense fired at his plane, the car received two hits. Despite this, Kozhedub managed to land the plane, which was no longer subject to full restoration.
The future best Soviet ace made his first steps in aviation while studying at the Shotkinsky flying club. At the beginning of 1940, he was drafted into the Red Army and in the fall of the same year he graduated from the Chuguev Military Aviation Pilot School, after which he continued to serve at this school as an instructor. With the outbreak of war, the school was evacuated to Kazakhstan. The war itself began for him in November 1942, when Kozhedub was seconded to the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 302nd Fighter Aviation Division. The formation of the division was completed only in March 1943, after which it flew to the front. As mentioned above, he won his first victory only on July 6, 1943, but a start was made.
Already on February 4, 1944, Senior Lieutenant Ivan Kozhedub was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, at that time he managed to make 146 sorties and shoot down 20 enemy aircraft in air battles. He received his second star in the same year. He was presented for the award on August 19, 1944, already for 256 combat missions and 48 enemy aircraft shot down. At that time, as a captain, he served as deputy commander of the 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.
In air battles, Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub was distinguished by fearlessness, composure and automatism of piloting, which he brought to perfection. Perhaps the fact that before being sent to the front he spent several years as an instructor played a very large role in his future success in the sky. Kozhedub could easily conduct aimed fire at the enemy at any position of the aircraft in the air, and also easily performed complex aerobatic maneuvers. Being an excellent sniper, he preferred to conduct air combat at a distance of 200-300 meters.
Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub won his last victory in the Great Patriotic War on April 17, 1945 in the sky over Berlin, in this battle he shot down two German FW-190 fighters. Three times Hero of the Soviet Union, the future air marshal (the title was awarded on May 6, 1985), Major Kozhedub became on August 18, 1945. After the war, he continued to serve in the country's Air Force and went through a very serious career path, bringing more benefits to the country. The legendary pilot died on August 8, 1991, and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin
Alexander Ivanovich Tires fought from the very first day of the war to the last. During this time, he made 650 sorties, in which he conducted 156 air battles and officially personally shot down 59 enemy aircraft and 6 aircraft in the group. He is the second most successful ace of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition after Ivan Kozhedub. During the war he flew MiG-3, Yak-1 and American P-39 Airacobra.
The number of downed aircraft is very conditional. Quite often, Alexander Pokryshkin made deep raids behind enemy lines, where he also managed to win victories. However, only those of them were counted that could be confirmed by ground services, that is, if possible, over their own territory. He could have had 8 such unrecorded victories only in 1941. At the same time, they accumulated throughout the war. Also, Alexander Pokryshkin often gave the planes he shot down to the account of his subordinates (mostly followers), stimulating them in this way. In those days it was quite common.
Already during the first weeks of the war, Pokryshkin was able to understand that the tactics of the Soviet Air Force were outdated. Then he began to enter his notes on this account in a notebook. He kept an accurate record of the air battles in which he and his friends took part, after which he made a detailed analysis of what was written. At the same time, at that time he had to fight in very difficult conditions of the constant retreat of the Soviet troops. He later said: "Those who did not fight in 1941-1942 do not know the real war."
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and massive criticism of everything that was connected with that period, some authors began to "cut down" the number of Pokryshkin's victories. This was also due to the fact that at the end of 1944, official Soviet propaganda finally made the pilot "a bright image of a hero, the main fighter of the war." In order not to lose the hero in a random battle, it was ordered to limit the flights of Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin, who by that time had already commanded the regiment. On August 19, 1944, after 550 sorties and 53 officially won victories, he became three times Hero of the Soviet Union, the first in history.
The wave of “revelations” that swept over him after the 1990s also went through him because after the war he managed to take the post of Commander-in-Chief of the country’s air defense forces, that is, he became a “major Soviet official.” If we talk about the low ratio of victories to completed sorties, then it can be noted that for a long time at the beginning of the war, Pokryshkin on his MiG-3, and then the Yak-1, flew to attack enemy ground forces or perform reconnaissance flights. For example, by mid-November 1941, the pilot had already completed 190 sorties, but the vast majority of them - 144 were to attack enemy ground forces.
Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin was not only a cold-blooded, courageous and virtuoso Soviet pilot, but also a thinking pilot. He was not afraid to criticize the existing tactics of using fighter aircraft and advocated its replacement. Discussions on this issue with the regiment commander in 1942 led to the fact that the ace pilot was even expelled from the party and sent the case to the tribunal. The pilot was saved by the intercession of the regimental commissar and the higher command. The case against him was dropped and reinstated in the party. After the war, Pokryshkin was in conflict with Vasily Stalin for a long time, which adversely affected his career. Everything changed only in 1953 after the death of Joseph Stalin. Subsequently, he managed to rise to the rank of air marshal, which was awarded to him in 1972. The famous ace pilot died on November 13, 1985 at the age of 72 in Moscow.
Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov
Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov fought from the very first day of the Great Patriotic War. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. During the war years, he completed more than 450 sorties, shooting down 56 enemy aircraft in person and 6 in a group in 122 air battles. According to other sources, the number of his personal air victories could exceed 60. During the war years, he flew the I-153 Chaika, I-16, Yak-1, P-39 Airacobra aircraft.
Probably no other Soviet fighter pilot had such a variety of downed enemy vehicles as Grigory Rechkalov. Among his trophies were Me-110, Me-109, Fw-190 fighters, Ju-88, He-111 bombers, Ju-87 dive bomber, Hs-129 attack aircraft, Fw-189 and Hs-126 reconnaissance aircraft, as well as such a rare car as the Italian "Savoy" and the Polish PZL-24 fighter, which was used by the Romanian Air Force.
Surprisingly, the day before the start of the Great Patriotic War, Rechkalov was suspended from flying by decision of the medical flight commission, he was diagnosed with color blindness. But upon returning to his unit with this diagnosis, he was still allowed to fly. The beginning of the war forced the authorities to simply turn a blind eye to this diagnosis, simply ignoring it. At the same time, he served in the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment since 1939, together with Pokryshkin.
This brilliant military pilot was distinguished by a very contradictory and uneven character. Showing a model of determination, courage and discipline within the framework of one sortie, in another, he could be distracted from the main task and just as resolutely start pursuing a random enemy, trying to increase the score of his victories. His combat fate in the war was closely intertwined with the fate of Alexander Pokryshkin. He flew with him in the same group, replaced him as a squadron commander and regiment commander. Pokryshkin himself considered frankness and directness to be the best qualities of Grigory Rechkalov.
Rechkalov, like Pokryshkin, fought from June 22, 1941, but with a forced break for almost two years. In the first month of fighting, he managed to shoot down three enemy aircraft on his outdated I-153 biplane fighter. He also managed to fly on the I-16 fighter. On July 26, 1941, during a sortie near Dubossary, he was wounded in the head and leg by fire from the ground, but managed to bring his plane to the airfield. After this injury, he spent 9 months in the hospital, during which time the pilot underwent three operations. And once again, the medical commission tried to put an insurmountable obstacle in the way of the future illustrious ace. Grigory Rechkalov was sent to serve in a reserve regiment, which was equipped with U-2 aircraft. The future twice Hero of the Soviet Union took this direction as a personal insult. At the headquarters of the district air force, he managed to ensure that he was returned to his regiment, which at that time was called the 17th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. But very soon the regiment was withdrawn from the front for re-equipment with the new American Airacobra fighters, which went to the USSR as part of the Lend-Lease program. For these reasons, Rechkalov began to beat the enemy again only in April 1943.
Grigory Rechkalov, being one of the domestic stars of fighter aviation, could perfectly interact with other pilots, guessing their intentions and working together as a group. Even during the war years, a conflict arose between him and Pokryshkin, but he never sought to throw out some kind of negativity about this or blame his opponent. On the contrary, in his memoirs he spoke well of Pokryshkin, noting that they managed to unravel the tactics of the German pilots, after which they began to apply new techniques: they began to fly in pairs, not in flights, it is better to use radio for guidance and communication, to separate their cars in the so-called " whatnot."
Grigory Rechkalov won 44 victories on the Aerocobra, more than other Soviet pilots. Already after the end of the war, someone asked the famous pilot what he most appreciated in the Airacobra fighter, on which so many victories were won: the power of a fire salvo, speed, visibility, engine reliability? To this question, the ace pilot replied that all of the above, of course, mattered, these were the obvious advantages of the aircraft. But the main thing, he said, was in the radio. The Airacobra had excellent, rare radio communications in those years. Thanks to this connection, the pilots in battle could communicate with each other, as if by telephone. Someone saw something - immediately all the members of the group are aware of it. Therefore, in combat missions, we did not have any surprises.
After the end of the war, Grigory Rechkalov continued his service in the Air Force. True, not as long as other Soviet aces. Already in 1959, he retired with the rank of major general. After that he lived and worked in Moscow. He died in Moscow on December 20, 1990 at the age of 70.
Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev
Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev ended up on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War in August 1942. In total, during the war years, he made 250 sorties, conducted 49 air battles, in which he personally destroyed 55 enemy aircraft and 5 more aircraft in the group. Such statistics make Gulaev the most effective Soviet ace. For every 4 sorties, he had a downed aircraft, or an average of more than one aircraft for each dogfight. During the war, he flew the I-16, Yak-1, P-39 Airacobra fighters, most of his victories, like Pokryshkin and Rechkalov, he won on the Airacobra.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev shot down not much less aircraft than Alexander Pokryshkin. But in terms of the effectiveness of the battles, he far surpassed both him and Kozhedub. At the same time, he fought for less than two years. At first, in the deep Soviet rear, as part of the air defense forces, he was engaged in the protection of important industrial facilities, protecting them from enemy air raids. And in September 1944, he was almost forcibly sent to study at the Air Force Academy.
The Soviet pilot made his most productive battle on May 30, 1944. In one air battle over Skuleni, he managed to shoot down 5 enemy aircraft at once: two Me-109s, Hs-129s, Ju-87s and Ju-88s. During the battle, he himself was seriously wounded in the right hand, but having concentrated all his strength and will, he was able to bring his fighter to the airfield, bleeding, landed and, having already taxied to the parking lot, lost consciousness. The pilot came to his senses only in the hospital after the operation, here he learned about the award of the second title of Hero of the Soviet Union to him.
All the time while Gulaev was at the front, he fought desperately. During this time, he managed to make two successful rams, after which he managed to land his damaged aircraft. Several times during this time he was wounded, but after being wounded he invariably returned back to duty. In early September 1944, the ace pilot was forcibly sent to study. At that moment, the outcome of the war was already clear to everyone, and they tried to protect the famous Soviet aces by sending them to the Air Force Academy by order. Thus, the war ended unexpectedly for our hero.
Nikolai Gulaev was called the brightest representative of the "romantic school" of air combat. Often the pilot dared to commit "irrational actions" that shocked the German pilots, but helped him win victories. Even among other far from ordinary Soviet fighter pilots, the figure of Nikolai Gulaev stood out for his colorfulness. Only such a person, possessing unparalleled courage, would be able to carry out 10 super-successful air battles, recording two of his victories for a successful ramming of enemy aircraft. Gulaev’s modesty in public and in his self-esteem was dissonant with his exceptionally aggressive and persistent manner of conducting air combat, and he managed to carry openness and honesty with boyish spontaneity through his whole life, retaining some youthful prejudices until the end of his life, which did not prevent him from rising to the rank of rank of Colonel General of Aviation. The famous pilot died on September 27, 1985 in Moscow.
Kirill Alekseevich Evstigneev
Kirill Alekseevich Evstigneev twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Like Kozhedub, he began his military career relatively late, only in 1943. During the war years, he made 296 sorties, conducted 120 air battles, personally shooting down 53 enemy aircraft and 3 in a group. He flew La-5 and La-5FN fighters.
The almost two-year "delay" with the appearance at the front was due to the fact that the fighter pilot suffered from stomach ulcers, and they were not allowed to go to the front with this disease. From the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he worked as an instructor at a flight school, and after that he overtook Lend-Lease Aerocobras. Work as an instructor gave him a lot, like another Soviet ace Kozhedub. At the same time, Evstigneev did not stop writing reports to the command with a request to send him to the front, as a result, they were nevertheless satisfied. Kirill Evstigneev received his baptism of fire in March 1943. Like Kozhedub, he fought as part of the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment, flew a La-5 fighter. On his first sortie on March 28, 1943, he scored two victories.
For the entire duration of the war, the enemy never managed to bring down Kirill Evstigneev. But from his own he got twice. For the first time, the Yak-1 pilot, who was carried away by air combat, crashed into his plane from above. The Yak-1 pilot immediately jumped out of the plane, which lost one wing, with a parachute. But Evstigneev's La-5 suffered less, and he managed to reach the positions of his troops by landing the fighter next to the trenches. The second case, more mysterious and dramatic, occurred over its territory in the absence of enemy aircraft in the air. The fuselage of his plane was burst through, damaging Yevstigneev's legs, the car caught fire and went into a dive, and the pilot had to jump out of the plane with a parachute. At the hospital, doctors were inclined to amputate the pilot's foot, but he overtook them with such fear that they abandoned their idea. And after 9 days, the pilot escaped from the hospital and with crutches got to the location of his native part of 35 kilometers.
Kirill Evstigneev constantly increased the number of his air victories. Until 1945, the pilot was ahead of Kozhedub. At the same time, the doctor of the unit periodically sent him to the hospital to treat an ulcer and a wounded leg, which the ace pilot terribly opposed. Kirill Alekseevich was seriously ill from the pre-war times, in his life he underwent 13 surgical operations. Very often, the famous Soviet pilot flew, overcoming physical pain. Evstigneev, as they say, was obsessed with flying. In his spare time, he tried to train young fighter pilots. He was the initiator of training air battles. For the most part, Kozhedub turned out to be his opponent in them. At the same time, Evstigneev was completely devoid of a sense of fear, even at the very end of the war he calmly went into a frontal attack on the six-gun Fokkers, winning victories over them. Kozhedub spoke of his comrade-in-arms like this: "Flint pilot."
Captain Kirill Evstigneev finished the war of the Guards as a navigator of the 178th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. The pilot spent his last battle in the sky of Hungary on March 26, 1945, on his fifth La-5 fighter during the war. After the war, he continued to serve in the USSR Air Force, in 1972 he retired with the rank of Major General, and lived in Moscow. He died on August 29, 1996 at the age of 79, was buried at the Kuntsevsky cemetery of the capital.
Sources of information:
http://svpressa.ru
http://airaces.narod.ru
http://www.warheroes.ru
Many boys after the end of World War II dreamed of becoming pilots. No one really thought about how difficult it is to fly in the sky. It seemed to the guys that the pilots were romantics who got great pleasure from the flight.
How did the first Hero pilots get their ranks?
For the first time, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded in 1934, although from the moment the Soviet state was founded until 1939 there were no wars, that is, the pilots did not perform combat missions. Note that it was the pilots who became the first Heroes of the Soviet Union. These names are not as well known as the names of some aviators of the WWII period. Let's remember who these first pilots are - the Heroes of the Soviet Union.
As you know, in 1934 there was an operation to rescue the Chelyuskinites. Without the participation of aircraft, it was not possible to save people. At the same time, the technology at that time was still poorly developed, and the rescue mission could only get a positive result thanks to the high professionalism and heroism of the pilots.
The first Heroes by name
Nikolai Kamanin received the Gold Star of Hero No. 1 at the age of 25. He made 9 sorties over the Arctic, while saving 34 people (on the sunken icebreaker "Chelyuskin" the crew consisted of 104 people). In the photo below, Kamanin is shown on the left.
The complexity of the mission to rescue the sailors was that the area was insufficiently studied at that time. Also, the pilots did not have complete confidence in the reliability of the engines, because at that time they practically did not fly at such long distances.
Mikhail Vodopyanov made three difficult sorties, during which he was able to save more than 10 people. The uniqueness of the participation of this pilot in the rescue operation lies in the fact that a few months before that he received severe injuries and was treated for a long time. The authorities did not want to allow him to the operation, but he insisted.
Also such pilots - Heroes of the Soviet Union, as Ivan Doronin, Sigismund Levanevsky, Vasily Molokov, Mauritius Slepnev took part in this operation. Each pilot made a huge contribution to saving people in the Arctic Ocean.
War and great pilots
Analyzing orders to confer the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War, we find an interesting trend: more than 50% of the noted legendary warriors who defended our Motherland from invaders are pilots. Of course, fighting on the ground is also not easy, but air battles are much more difficult than ground ones. The level of courage and endurance of Soviet pilots is simply amazing. WWII pilots - Heroes of the Soviet Union made a huge contribution to the victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany.
In this section, it is worth mentioning about Alexei Maresyev and Peter Shemendyuk. These heroes, even despite severe physical injuries, continued to serve in aviation.
For example, Maresyev is a well-known hero of B. Polevoy's work "The Tale of a Real Man".
His plane was shot down over the territory controlled by the Germans at that time. The pilot could not eject. Fell to the ground along with the car. It so happened that during the impact on the ground he was thrown out of the cab. For 18 days, the hero crawled to the front line. Discovered by Soviet children in the Novgorod region. After that, he was treated for some time in the Novgorod village. After a long treatment and amputation of both legs, he was able to return to service and made more than one sortie.
Fighter pilots - Heroes of the Soviet Union often returned to the front after being wounded. According to verified but little-known information, about 20 Soviet pilots fought against the Nazis with amputated legs, arms or other severe limb injuries.
It is worth noting that for many pilots the Second World War was not the first combat experience. Everyone knows that many Soviet soldiers took part in the fighting in Spain (civil war). For example, Sergei Gritsevets is considered one of the aces pilots of the 1930s. Belarusian by nationality, he was born in 1909 in the Grodno province. He came to aviation on a Komsomol ticket in 1931. The track record of the pilot, according to official information, is 40 downed aircraft.
The development of military aviation of the USSR
Pilots - Heroes of the Soviet Union showed themselves perfectly during the Second World War. Although initially the technical level of German aircraft exceeded the equipment and quality of Soviet aircraft, but the level of skill of the "red" pilots, some time after the start of the war, more than compensated for all the shortcomings in technology.
The improvement of Soviet military aviation actually took place already during the war. The fact is that in the first days of hostilities, most Soviet aircraft were destroyed at airfields during Nazi bombing. According to many experts, this is even better. If the wooden planes had entered into battle with the Junkers or other fighters, then they would not have had a single chance to win in an air battle. Such decisiveness of the Nazis saved the lives of many Soviet pilots.
During the war years, according to approximate estimates, the aces shot down more than 4,000 of the best German aircraft. The rating of Soviet aces is determined primarily by the number of Junkers shot down. Let's talk about each of the best separately.
The legendary Ivan Kozhedub was born in 1920 on the territory of the Shostka region of modern Ukraine. After graduating from school in 1934, he entered the chemical-technological technical school. Aviation for a long time was nothing more than a hobby for him. Kozhedub's path in aviation began with military service in 1940. He got to the front at the end of 1942 after working as an instructor at an aviation school. By the way, the first battle in the air for the legendary pilot could also be the last one, because first his plane was shot down by the Germans, and then by "our own". Kozhedub passed this test and was able to land his car. In the photo below, it is shown on the right.
Such pilots - three times Heroes of the Soviet Union, like Ivan Kozhedub, quickly become professionals in their field. They don't need much time to prepare. So, for some time after this accident, Kozhedub did not fly. The stellar time of the pilot came during the Battle of Kursk. For several sorties in July 1943, he managed to shoot down 4 Junkers. Until the beginning of 1944, there were already several dozen victories in the hero's track record. Until the end of the war, he was able to shoot down 18 aircraft of this brand.
Semyon Vorozheikin and other twice Heroes of the USSR
This result was not surpassed by anyone, and only Vorozheikin Arseniy Aleksandrovich could repeat. This pilot was awarded the Star of the Hero twice. The total combat result of Vorozheykin is 46 enemy aircraft shot down. Besides him, pilots - twice - are:
- Alekseenko Vladimir Avramovich;
- Alelyuhin Alexey Vasilievich;
- Amet Khan Sultan;
- Andrianov Vasily;
- Yakubekovich;
- Trouble Leonid Ignatievich;
- Beregovoy Georgy Timofeevich;
- Gulaev Nikolay Dmitrievich;
- Sergei Prokofievich Denisov.
For the successful use of aviation technology, it must pass flight tests. That's what test pilots are for. Very often they risk their lives, because no one has flown before them on the aircraft model being tested. Many were awarded the Star of the Hero of the USSR. The most outstanding tester of aviation technology of the Soviet period is considered
The crews under the leadership of Chkalov made 2 record air flights for their time (Moscow-Vancouver via the North Pole and Moscow-Far East). The length of the route to Vancouver was 8504 km.
Other Soviet test pilots include Stepan Mikoyan, Vladimir Averyanov, Mikhail Gromov, Ivan Dziuba, Nikolai Zamyatin and Mikhail Ivanov. Most of these pilots did not have a technical education at first, but the entire aviation elite is united by one feature: they underwent theoretical training in the system of aviation clubs developed at that time. Such peculiar schools enabled the students to receive theoretical and practical training at a fairly high level.
Assault aircraft of the USSR during the Second World War
Attack pilots, Heroes of the Soviet Union during the war years, occupy an honorable place in the lists of people marked with state awards for their exploits during air battles of 1941-1945. According to historical data, more than 2,200 pilots received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Moreover, it is the attack aircraft that can be found on the list most of all (860 names).
There are also many representatives of this type of aviation in the lists of twice Heroes of the Union. As you know, two heroic Golden Stars had 65 pilots in their assets. In this list, attack aircraft also occupy the first place (27 people).
Who could get the title of Hero three times?
Alexander Pokryshkin and Ivan Kozhedub - these pilots, three times Heroes of the Soviet Union, inscribed their names in golden letters in the annals of the Second World War.
The fact is that three times the state awarded only three people with such a high rank. In addition to two pilots, this is Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny, a military man known since the revolution. Pokryshkin received his awards by orders of May 24 and August 24, 1943, and also on August 19, 1944. Ivan Kozhedub was marked by orders of the Commander-in-Chief of February 4 and August 19, 1944, as well as after the end of hostilities in August 1945.
The contribution of Soviet pilots to the victory over the enemy is simply invaluable!
