WWII pilots. The youngest pilot in the history of the Great Patriotic War
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!
Probably the most important factor in the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War was mass heroism. About 500 Soviet pilots used a ram in air combat. Dozens of crews, like Captain N. Gastello, sent their burning aircraft to the concentrations of the enemy's combat force. Today we will talk about some of the heroes - the pilots of the Great Patriotic War, who forever entered their name in this heroic list.
1. Popkov Vitaly Ivanovich (05/01/1922 - 02/06/2010)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, ace pilot, flight commander of the 5th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 207th Fighter Aviation Division. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union.
By February 1945, he made 325 sorties, in 83 air battles he personally shot down 41 and in group 1 enemy aircraft. Participant in the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945 in Moscow.
The facts of the biography of Vitaly Ivanovich formed the basis of the film by Leonid Bykov “Only “old men” go into battle”.
2. Gulaev Nikolai Dmitrievich (02/26/1918 - 09/27/1985)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, fighter pilot, Colonel General of Aviation. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union.
In total, during the war he made 250 sorties. In 49 air battles personally shot down 55 enemy planes and 5 - in a group.
3. Rechkalov Grigory Andreevich (02/09/1918 (or 1920)- 20.12.1990)
In total, during the war, Rechkalov made 450 sorties, 122 air battles. Data on downed aircraft vary. According to one source, 56 planes were shot down personally and 6 - in a group.
4. Golovachev Pavel Yakovlevich (12/15/1917 - 07/02/1972)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, ace pilot, major general of aviation, twice Hero of the Soviet Union.
During the war, he made 457 sorties, in 125 air battles he shot down 31 personally and in a group - 1 enemy aircraft. He won his last victory on April 25, 1945 in the sky over Berlin.
5. Borovykh Andrey Egorovich (10/30/1921 - 11/07/1989)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, Colonel-General of Aviation, Commander of Aviation of the Air Defense Forces of the USSR (1969-1977), twice Hero of the Soviet Union.
In total, during the war years, he made more than 470 sorties, conducted over 130 air battles, shot down 32 personally and 14 enemy aircraft in a group.
6. Evstigneev Kirill Alekseevich (02/04(17), 1917 - 08/29/1996)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, fighter pilot, ace, Major General of Aviation, twice Hero of the Soviet Union.
By the spring of 1945, he made about 300 sorties, participated in 120 air battles, shot down 53 enemy aircraft personally, 3 - in a group; in addition, one bomber was not credited to him.
7. Koldunov Alexander Ivanovich (09/20/1923- 07.06.1992)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet military and statesman, Chief Air Marshal of the USSR, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Member of the Central Committee of the CPSU, deputy of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
In total, during the war years, he made 412 sorties, conducted 96 air battles, during which he personally shot down 46 enemy aircraft and 1 as part of a group.
8. Skomorokhov Nikolai Mikhailovich (05/19/1920- 14.10.1994)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, fighter pilot, air marshal, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Honored Military Pilot of the USSR. Member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
In total, during the Great Patriotic War, he made 605 sorties, conducted more than 130 air battles, personally shot down 46 fascist aircraft and 8 aircraft in a group, and also destroyed 3 enemy bombers on the ground. Skomorokhov himself was never wounded, his plane did not burn, was not shot down. He had the call sign "Skomorokh". The Nazis warned their pilots about his presence in the sky as a serious danger.
9. Efimov Alexander Nikolaevich (02/06/1923- 31.08.2012)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, Honored Military Pilot of the USSR, Air Marshal. Member of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, member of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union.
In total, during the war years, he made 288 sorties on the Il-2 attack aircraft, during which he personally and as part of a group destroyed 85 enemy aircraft at airfields (which is the highest achievement among Soviet pilots of all branches of aviation) and 8 aircraft were shot down in air battles, destroyed a large number of manpower and equipment of the enemy.
10. Klubov Alexander Fedorovich (01/18/1918- 01.11.1944)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, fighter pilot, Soviet ace, twice Hero of the Soviet Union.
In total, during the war years, he made 457 sorties. He personally shot down 31 enemy aircraft and 19 more in the group. Alexander Klubov died on November 1, 1944 during a training flight on the latest La-7 fighter.
11. Nedbaylo Anatoly Konstantinovich (28.01.1923 - 13.05.2008)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, squadron commander of the 75th Guards Aviation Regiment of the 1st Guards Assault Aviation Division of the 1st Air Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Lieutenant General of Aviation, twice Hero of the Soviet Union.
Captain Anatoly Nedbaylo made 209 sorties, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy in manpower and equipment.
12. Safonov Boris Feoktistovich (13 (26) 08.1915- 30.05.1942)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, the first twice Hero of the Soviet Union.
In total, during the hostilities, Boris Safonov made 234 sorties, personally shot down 20 enemy aircraft.
On May 30, 1942, Lieutenant Colonel B.F. Safonov, already the commander of the 2nd Guards Mixed Red Banner Aviation Regiment of the Northern Fleet Air Force, flew out at the head of a fighter unit to cover a caravan of PQ-16 ships going to Murmansk. During the battle with superior enemy forces, Boris Safonov died.
13. Vorozheykin Arseniy Vasilyevich (15 (28) 10.1912- 23.05.2001)
Participant in the battles at Khalkhin Gol, the Soviet-Finnish and Great Patriotic Wars, fighter pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, First Deputy Air Defense Commander of the Black Sea Fleet of the USSR, Major General of Aviation.
In total, the fighter pilot accounted for about 400 sorties, 52 personally shot down enemy aircraft (6 at Khalkhin Gol) and 14 in a group.
14. Grizodubova Valentina Stepanovna (14 (27) 04.1909- 28.04.1993)
Participant of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet pilot, colonel. The first woman - Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor, Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
During the Great Patriotic War, from March 1942 to October 1943, she commanded the 101st long-range aviation regiment. She personally made about 200 sorties (including 132 night ones) on a Li-2 aircraft to bombard enemy targets, to deliver ammunition and military supplies to the front line and to maintain communications with partisan detachments.
15. Pavlov Ivan Fomich (06/25/1922- 12.10.1950)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, commander of the 6th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment of the 3rd Air Army of the Kalinin Front, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Major.
In total, during the war he made 237 sorties on the Il-2 attack aircraft. He participated in the Rzhev-Sychevsk, Velikoluksky and Smolensk operations, in the liberation of Belarus and the Baltic states.
16. Glinka Boris Borisovich (14(27).09.1914- 11.05.1967)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union, colonel.
In total, during the war he shot down 30 aircraft personally and 1 in a group.
17. Odintsov Mikhail Petrovich (11/18/1921- 12.12.2011)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet military pilot of bomber and attack aircraft, military leader. Honored Military Pilot of the USSR, Colonel-General of Aviation, twice Hero of the Soviet Union.
During the war, he shot down 14 enemy aircraft in air battles, which is the highest achievement among attack pilots.
By the end of the war, he made 215 sorties, ended the war with the rank of Major Guard.
18. Pokryshev Pyotr Afanasyevich (08/24/1914- 22.08.1967)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, ace pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General of Aviation.
By August 1943, he made 282 sorties, participated in 50 air battles and had 22 downed enemy aircraft on his personal account and 7 in the group.
19. Dolina Maria Ivanovna (12/18/1920- 03.03.2010)
Participant of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union.
She completed 72 sorties on a Pe-2 aircraft, dropped 45,000 kilograms of bombs. In six air battles, her crew shot down 3 enemy fighters in the group.
20. Maresyev Alexey Petrovich (07 (20) 05.1916- 18.05.2001)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet military pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union.
In total, during the war he made 86 sorties, shot down 10 enemy aircraft. On April 5, 1942, Maresyev's plane was shot down. For 18 days the pilot made his way to his own. As a result, doctors were forced to amputate both of the pilot's frostbitten legs.
While still in the hospital, Alexey Maresyev began to train, preparing to fly with prostheses.
In February 1943 he made the first test flight. Got sent to the front. In June 1943 he arrived in the 63rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.
On July 20, 1943, during an air battle with superior enemy forces, Alexei Maresyev saved the lives of two Soviet pilots and immediately shot down 2 enemy Fw-190 fighters covering Ju-87 bombers.
21. Pokryshkin Alexander Ivanovich (06 (19) 03.1913- 13.11.1985)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet military leader, air marshal, ace pilot, the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union. Candidate member of the Central Committee of the CPSU, member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
In the Soviet Union, it was officially believed that during the war years Pokryshkin made 650 sorties, conducted 156 air battles, shot down 59 enemy aircraft personally and 6 in a group.
22. Kozhedub Ivan Nikitovich (06/08/1920- 08.08.1991)
Member of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet military leader, air marshal, ace pilot. Three times Hero of the Soviet Union, Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, People's Deputy of the USSR.
By the end of the war, Ivan Kozhedub, by that time a major in the guard, flew the La-7, made 330 sorties, shot down 62 enemy aircraft in 120 air battles.
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
On November 2, 1928, the son of Arkady was born in the family of a Soviet officer, pilot and future Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin. This boy had all the prerequisites and reasons to live an extraordinary, interesting life. And so, in fact, it happened, although fate gave him very few years for this.
Arkady Kamanin was born in the Far East, where his father was serving at the time. Having changed several places of residence, which was associated with a change in his father's duty stations, before the start of the war, he and his parents ended up in Moscow. Here, the Kamanin family soon enough received a luxurious apartment for those times in the eminent House on the embankment.
Already at a fairly young age, Arkady shows considerable interest in his father's service and in everything connected with it - in aircraft, in flight business. All the holidays he disappears at a military airfield, where he comprehends the nuances and subtleties of the profession of a mechanic. And in 1941, before the war, he even managed to work in this profession at the Moscow Aviation Plant.
However, the boy's interests are not limited to military affairs and aircraft. He goes in for sports, reads a lot, plays musical instruments (accordion and button accordion). Literature fascinated him passionately, he also devoted himself to music with all his heart. Well, there is nothing to say about sports.
War
In 1941, the service of N.P. Kamanin continued in Uzbekistan, in Tashkent. Arkady lived there with his family for about 2 years until 1943. In February 43, his father was appointed commander of one of the assault air corps, and in the spring of the same year, the boy and his mother moved to his father - to the location of his military unit - where he again began to work as an aircraft mechanic.
And here a natural question arises: how could a minor child - at that time Arkady Kamanin was only 14 years old - in wartime not be sent to the rear, but left at the location of a military unit? The answer to it is simple: the boy stubbornly declared “I won’t go!” and really refused to leave. The father was angry, amazed, but soon relented, reluctantly, because the high level of Arkady's qualifications as a mechanic turned out to be most welcome for the military unit that was in need of experienced professionals. However, during the war, the need for qualified technical workers was constantly urgent.
So, a 14-year-old boy was enrolled as a volunteer in the ranks of the Red Army for the position of a special equipment mechanic (in the 423rd communication air squadron of the Kalinin Front).
However, Kamanin Jr. was clearly not going to stop there. Now he tries himself as a pilot, learning from adult pilots who allow him to learn to pilot, helping to understand the theory and practice of this matter. So the first practical skills appeared, experience was gained. The first plane on which he took to the skies was the two-seat training U-2. At first, he flew on it as a navigator-observer and flight mechanic, but already in July 43 he received an official permit for independent flights. His own father handed it to Arkady after passing the relevant exams. The exactingness and severity of General Kamanin was well known, so there was no doubt about the professionalism of the communications pilot Arkady Kamanin.
And so the 14-15-year-old child began to make reconnaissance flights, extracting valuable information right "from under the noses" of the Nazis, delivering orders from the command to the commanders of the advanced units and performing other by no means simple tasks of his command.
The flyer - namely, the "flyer" was called Arkady by the adult pilots of the squadron - tried to protect, but the war did not leave much opportunity to avoid danger. Yes, he himself never aspired to this. The guy, along with everyone else, received combat missions and made flight after flight, each time risking not returning from the next flight.
“I have friends in the squadron. True, they are older than me. I am one among them, as a rookie, tonsured to zero. Next to me on the left are my closest friends: Sashko Druma and Vasily Osin. My commander, Major Pyotr Grigoryevich Trofimov, is standing by the plane.
“...Here it is, my “hellish machine of a hundred impure forces.” Squadron engineer Vasily Nikolaevich Rybin escorts me into flight.
He had amazing fearlessness. One of the cases confirming this is well known. Returning on his U-2 to the location of the squadron headquarters, he saw the wrecked Il-2, which made an emergency landing and lay on the neutral zone. Paying attention to the fact that the cockpit of the aircraft was closed, the young pilot realized that the pilot was inside the aircraft and was probably injured. Without thinking for a minute about the risk and danger of such an act for himself personally, Arkady landed his U-2 next to the downed aircraft, reloaded the pilot and photographic equipment from the downed Il-2 into it (the task, of course, is quite difficult, given that the wounded man was an adult man, and Arkady was just a teenager, who, by the way, was not particularly tall or excessively strong).
Hurrying up with a planned counterattack, artillerymen and tankers, with the assistance of attack aircraft, diverted the attention of the Germans from the impudent maize, and the U-2, dancing at the funnels, successfully took off from neutral. The boy managed to get to his headquarters unharmed, and even save the life of a wounded Soviet officer, who turned out to be Lieutenant Berdnikov. It was for this feat that Arkady Kamanin received his first award - the Order of the Red Star. He was then 15 years old.
This incident happened to Kamanin Jr. when he was already fighting on the 1st Ukrainian Front. And then there was also the 2nd Ukrainian (from September 44th). Just fighting on the 2nd Ukrainian Front, already at the beginning of the 45th year, Arkady received his Order of the Red Banner. This award was presented to him for the successful delivery of a secret package to a partisan detachment. Then the guy had to make an hour and a half flight along an unexplored route (near Brno in the Czech Republic) behind the front line. The task was especially difficult because the route passed through mountainous terrain, which was distinguished by difficult terrain.
In 1944, Sergeant Kamanin earned the second Order of the Red Star: during an attack on the front headquarters of a Bandera detachment, he took off under fire on his U-2, threw the attackers with hand grenades and called for reinforcements.
In general, the track record of the pilot A. N. Kamanin totals 283 hours of total flight time, which was accumulated in more than 400 - and according to some reports more than 650 - sorties. Moreover, many of them were carried out in difficult meteorological conditions and at the sight of enemy guns. During this time, he received 6 combat government awards. In addition to the Orders of the Red Star and the Red Banner, which have already been mentioned, these were: medals “for the capture of Budapest”, “For the capture of Vienna”, “For the victory over Germany” and another Order of the Red Star.
post-war period
The war is over. The future looked bright. 16-year-old Arkady, who lagged far behind his peers in studies, began to catch up with them with his usual zeal and conscientiousness. And managed to do it in a single academic year. In comprehension of the sciences, everything was also going well for him: having received a certificate of school education, already in 1946 (in October), foreman A.N. Kamanin was enrolled in the Air Force Academy. Zhukovsky as a student for a preparatory course, the program of which he began to master confidently and thoroughly.
Then there should have been years of study, then service in the Soviet Army and, perhaps, a chance to become a member of the Soviet cosmonaut corps, one of the leaders of which was his father later ... But fate decreed otherwise. At the age of 18, Arkady suddenly fell ill with meningitis and on April 13, 1947, he suddenly passed away. The youngest pilot in the history of the Great Patriotic War was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Our aces pilots during the Great Patriotic War terrified the Germans. The exclamation "Akhtung! Akhtung! Pokryshkin is in the sky!" became widely known. But Alexander Pokryshkin was not the only Soviet ace. We remembered the most productive.
Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub
Ivan Kozhedub was born in 1920 in the Chernigov province. He is considered the most successful Russian fighter pilot in personal combat, with 64 aircraft shot down. The beginning of the career of the famous pilot was unsuccessful, in the very first battle his plane was seriously damaged by the enemy Messerschmit, and when returning to the base, Russian anti-aircraft gunners fired on him by mistake, and only by a miracle did he manage to land. The plane was not subject to restoration, and they even wanted to retrain the unlucky newcomer, but the regiment commander stood up for him. Only during his 40th sortie on the Kursk Bulge, Kozhedub, having already become a “batya” - deputy squadron commander, shot down his first “lappet”, as ours called the German Junkers. After that, the score went to tens.
The last battle in the Great Patriotic War, in which he shot down 2 FW-190s, Kozhedub fought in the sky over Berlin. In addition, Kozhedub also has two American Mustang aircraft shot down in 1945, which attacked him, mistaking his fighter for a German aircraft. The Soviet ace acted on the principle that he professed even when working with cadets - "any unknown aircraft is an enemy." Throughout the war, Kozhedub was never shot down, although often his plane received very serious damage.
Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin
Pokryshkin is one of the most famous aces of Russian aviation. Born in 1913 in Novosibirsk. He won his first victory on the second day of the war, shooting down the German Messerschmitt. In total, he accounted for 59 personally shot down aircraft and 6 in the group. However, this is only official statistics, because, being the commander of an air regiment, and then an air division, Pokryshkin sometimes gave downed planes to young pilots in order to encourage them in this way.
His notebook, entitled "Fighter Tactics in Combat", became a real guide to air warfare. They say that the Germans warned about the appearance of a Russian ace with the phrase: “Akhtung! Achtung! Pokryshkin in the air. The one who knocked down Pokryshkin was promised a big reward, but the Russian pilot turned out to be too tough for the Germans. Pokryshkin is considered the inventor of the "Kuban whatnot" - a tactical method of air combat, the Germans called him the "Kuban escalator", because the planes arranged in pairs resembled a giant staircase. In battle, German aircraft leaving the first stage were hit by the second, and then the third stage. His other favorite tricks were "falcon strike" and "high-speed" swing ". It is worth noting that Pokryshkin won most of his victories in the early years of the war, when the Germans had a significant air superiority.
Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev
Born in 1918 in the village of Aksayskaya near Rostov. His first battle is reminiscent of the feat of the Grasshopper from the movie “Only Old Men Go to Battle”: without an order, for the first time in his life, taking off at night under the howling of an air raid on his Yak, he managed to shoot down a German Heinkel night fighter. For such arbitrariness, he was punished, while presenting him for a reward.
In the future, Gulaev was usually not limited to one downed aircraft per flight, he scored four victories three times a day, destroyed three aircraft twice, and made a double in seven battles. In total, he shot down 57 aircraft personally and 3 in the group. One enemy plane Gulaev, when he ran out of ammunition, took to ram, after which he himself fell into a tailspin and barely managed to eject. His risky manner of fighting became a symbol of the romantic trend in the art of aerial duel.
Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov
Born in 1920 in the Perm province. On the eve of the war, at the medical flight commission, he was found to have a slight degree of color blindness, but the regiment commander did not even look at the medical report - the pilots were very needed. He won his first victory on an outdated I-153 biplane number 13, unlucky for the Germans, as he joked. Then he got into Pokryshkin's group and was trained on the Aerocobra, an American fighter, which became famous for its tough temper - it very easily went into a tailspin at the slightest pilot error, the Americans themselves were reluctant to fly on such. In total, he shot down 56 aircraft personally and 6 in the group. Perhaps, none of our other ace on a personal account has such a variety of types of downed aircraft as Rechkalov, these are bombers, and attack aircraft, and reconnaissance aircraft, and fighters, and transport workers, and relatively rare trophies - "Savoy" and PZL -24.
Georgy Dmitrievich Kostylev
Born in Oranienbaum, now Lomonosov, in 1914. He began flying practice in Moscow at the legendary Tushino airfield, where the Spartak stadium is now being built. The legendary Baltic ace, who covered the sky over Leningrad, won the largest number of victories in naval aviation, personally shot down at least 20 enemy aircraft and 34 in a group.
He shot down his first Messerschmitt on July 15, 1941. He fought on a British Hurricane received under lend-lease, on the left side of which there was a large inscription "For Russia!". In February 1943, he landed in a penal battalion for having arranged a rout in the house of a major of the commissary service. Kostylev was struck by the abundance of dishes with which he regaled his guests, and could not restrain himself, because he knew firsthand what was happening in the besieged city. He was deprived of awards, demoted to the Red Army and sent to the Oranienbaum bridgehead, to the places where he spent his childhood. The prisoner saved the hero, and already in April he again lifts his fighter into the air and defeats the enemy. Later he was reinstated in the rank, the awards were returned, but he never received the second Star of the Hero.
Maresyev Alexey Petrovich
A legendary man who became the prototype of the hero of Boris Polevoy's story "The Tale of a Real Man", a symbol of the courage and stamina of a Russian warrior. Born in 1916 in the city of Kamyshin, Saratov province. In a battle with the Germans, his plane was shot down, the pilot, wounded in the legs, managed to land on the territory occupied by the Germans. After that, for 18 days he crawled out to his own, in the hospital both legs were amputated. But Maresyev managed to return to duty, he learned to walk on prostheses and again took to the skies. At first, they did not trust him, anything can happen in battle, but Maresyev proved that he can fight no worse than others. As a result, 7 more German aircraft were added to the 4 German aircraft shot down before being wounded. Polevoy's story about Maresyev was allowed to be printed only after the war, so that the Germans, God forbid, would not think that there was no one to fight in the Soviet army, they had to send invalids.
Popkov Vitaly Ivanovich
This pilot also cannot be ignored, because it was he who became one of the most famous incarnations of an ace pilot in cinema art - the prototype of the famous Maestro from the film “Only Old Men Go to Battle”. The "Singing Squadron" really existed in the 5th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, where Popkov served, it had its own choir, and Leonid Utyosov himself presented two aircraft to it.
Popkov was born in Moscow in 1922. He won his first victory in June 1942 over the city of Holm. Participated in battles on the Kalinin front, on the Don and the Kursk Bulge. In total, he made 475 sorties, conducted 117 air battles, personally shot down 41 enemy aircraft plus 1 in the group. On the last day of the war, Popkov shot down the legendary German Hartman, the most productive ace of World War II, in the sky over Brno, but he managed to land and stay alive, however, this still did not save him from captivity. Popkov's popularity was so great that a monument was erected to him during his lifetime in Moscow.
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