Seven famous heroine pilots who took part in the Great Patriotic War. The story of the most effective pilot of World War II
Throughout the Great Patriotic War, with the exception of its last months, the Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber was one of the main opponents of Soviet fighter pilots, especially during periods of active hostilities. Therefore, in the lists of victories of many of our aces, “laptezhniki” (this is exactly the nickname the German dive-bomber received in our country for its characteristic non-retractable landing gear in massive fairings) occupy a prominent place.
The Ju 87B-2 from III./St.G, which made an emergency landing due to engine damage. 2, autumn 1941,
Chudovo station area, Leningrad region ( http://waralbum.ru)
Since there were a lot of victories over the Yu-87 (as the aircraft was designated in Soviet staff documents) - for every 3,000 ace pilots there are about 4,000 applications for the destruction of enemy dive bombers - their presence in the combat accounts of aces is, in fact, directly dependent on the total number of downed planes, and the top lines of the list are occupied by the most famous Soviet aces.
The most successful fighter pilot of the anti-Hitler coalition, three times Hero, shares first place among the hunters of “laptezhniki” Soviet Union Kozhedub Ivan Nikitovich and another famous ace - twice Hero of the Soviet Union Arseny Vasilyevich Vorozheikin. Both of these pilots have 18 Yu-87s shot down. Kozhedub shot down all his Junkers as part of the 240th IAP (the first victory over the Yu-87 was 07/06/1943, the last was on 06/01/1944), flying a La-5 fighter, Vorozheikin - as part of the 728th IAP on the Yak- 7B (the first Laptezhnik shot down was 07/14/1943, the last one was 04/18/1944). In total, during the war, Ivan Kozhedub scored 64 personal aerial victories, and Arseny Vorozheikin - 45 individually and 1 in a pair, and both of our outstanding pilots had the Yu-87 first on the extensive lists of aircraft they shot down.
Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub, the best ace of the anti-Hitler coalition, destroyed the most Yu-87 - on e
counted 18 German dive bombers ( http://waralbum.ru)
Second place in the conditional ranking of “stuka” destroyers is occupied by another pilot of the 240th IAP, who flew the La-5 - twice Hero of the Soviet Union Kirill Alekseevich Evstigneev, who during his combat career scored 13 personal victories over the Yu-87, also having another shot down in a group. In total, Evstigneev shot down 52 enemy aircraft personally and 3 in a group.
Third place in the list of personal victories is shared by pilots of the 205th Fighter Aviation Division, Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Pavlovich Mikhalev from the 508th IAP (213th Guards IAP) and twice Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev (27th IAP/129th Guards IAP), each having 12 destroyed “laptezhniki” (Vasily Mikhalev, in addition, has 7 dive bombers shot down in the group). The first began his combat career on the Yak-7B, “killing” 4 Yu-87s on it, and shot down the rest while in the cockpit of the Lend-Lease P-39 Airacobra fighter; the second - he sent the first 7 "pieces" to the ground, piloting the Yak-1 (and Gulaev shot down two "Junkers" with ram attacks), the rest of the victories were won on the "Air Cobra". Mikhalev’s final combat score was 23+14, and Gulaev’s was 55+5 aerial victories.
The fourth position in the ranking with 11 personal victories over the Yu-87 is occupied by the “magnificent five” fighter pilots of the KA Air Force, headed by Hero of the Soviet Union Fedor Fedorovich Arkhipenko, who also has 6 “laptezhniki” shot down in the group. The pilot won his victories over the Yu-87 in the ranks of two air regiments - the 508th IAP and the 129th Guards IAP, shooting down two bombers personally in the Yak-7B, the rest in the Airacobra. In total, during the war, Arkhipenko shot down 29 enemy aircraft personally and 15 in a group. Further on the list of pilots who shot down 11 Ju-87s each looks like this: Trofim Afanasyevich Litvinenko (fought as part of the 191st IAP on the P-40 Kittyhawk and La-5, final combat score - 18+0, Hero of the Soviet Union) ; Mikhalin Mikhail Fedorovich (191st IAP, “Kittyhawk”, 14+2); Rechkalov Grigory Andreevich (16th Guards IAP, “Airacobra”, 61+4, twice Hero of the Soviet Union); Chepinoga Pavel Iosifovich (27th IAP and 508th IAP, Yak-1 and Airacobra, 25+1, Hero of the Soviet Union).
Five more pilots have 10 personally shot down Yu-87s: Artamonov Nikolai Semenovich (297th IAP and 193rd IAP (177th Guards IAP), La-5, 28+9, Hero of the Soviet Union); Zyuzin Petr Dmitrievich (29th Guards IAP, Yak-9, 16+0, Hero of the Soviet Union); Pokryshkin Alexander Ivanovich (16th Guards IAP, Directorate of the 9th Guards IAD, “Airacobra”, 46+6, three times Hero of the Soviet Union); Rogozhin Vasily Aleksandrovich (236th IAP (112th Guards IAP), Yak-1, 23+0, Hero of the Soviet Union); Sachkov Mikhail Ivanovich (728th IAP, Yak-7B, 29+0, Hero of the Soviet Union).
In addition, 9 fighter pilots were sent to the ground by 9 diving Junkers, 8 people had 8 downed Yu-87s, 15 pilots had 7 each.
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 illustrious cohort of Soviet aces - the threat of the Luftwaffe. Today we remember the 10 most successful Soviet fighter pilots, who accounted for 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 history of Soviet fighter aviation during the war does not end with these two most famous aces. During the war, another 25 pilots were twice nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, not to mention those who were once awarded this highest military award in the country of those years.
Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub
During the war, Ivan Kozhedub made 330 combat missions, conducted 120 air battles and personally shot down 64 enemy aircraft. He flew on La-5, La-5FN and La-7 aircraft.
Official Soviet historiography listed 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 plane.
In all likelihood, if Ivan Kozhedub (1920-1991) had started the war in 1941, his count 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 combat mission, he shot down a German Ju-87 dive bomber. Thus, the pilot’s performance is truly amazing; in just two war years he managed to bring 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 heavily 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 burst from a German fighter; the armored back saved the pilot from an incendiary shell. And upon returning home, his plane was fired upon by its own air defense, the car received two hits. Despite this, Kozhedub managed to land the plane, which could no longer be full restoration.
The future best Soviet ace took 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 School of Pilots, after which he continued to serve in this school as an instructor. With the beginning of the 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 had been 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 fly 146 combat missions 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 for 256 combat missions and 48 downed enemy aircraft. 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 automatic 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 successes 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 aerobatics. 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 skies over Berlin, in this battle he shot down two German FW-190 fighters. The future air marshal (title awarded on May 6, 1985), Major Kozhedub, became a three-time Hero of the Soviet Union on August 18, 1945. After the war, he continued to serve in the country's Air Force and went through a very serious path through career ladder, bringing many 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 Pokryshki fought from the very first day of the war to the last. During this time, he made 650 combat missions, 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 aircraft.
The number of aircraft shot down is very arbitrary. Quite often, Alexander Pokryshkin made deep raids behind enemy lines, where he also managed to win victories. However, only those that could be confirmed by ground services were counted, that is, if possible, over their territory. He could have had 8 such unaccounted victories in 1941 alone. Moreover, they accumulated throughout the war. Also, Alexander Pokryshkin often gave the planes he shot down at the expense of his subordinates (mostly wingmen), thus stimulating them. In those years this 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 write down his notes on this matter in a notebook. He kept a careful record of the air battles in which he and his friends took part, after which he made a detailed analysis of what he had written. Moreover, at that time he had to fight in very difficult conditions of constant retreat of 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 associated 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 already commanded the regiment. On August 19, 1944, after 550 combat missions and 53 officially won victories, he became a three-time Hero of the Soviet Union, the first in history.
The wave of “revelations” that washed over him after the 1990s also affected 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 missions, then it can be noted that long time at the beginning of the war, Pokryshkin flew out on his MiG-3, and then the Yak-1, to attack enemy ground forces or perform reconnaissance flights. For example, by mid-November 1941, the pilot had already completed 190 combat missions, but the vast majority of them - 144 - were to attack enemy ground forces.
Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin was not only a cold-blooded, brave 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 matter with the regiment commander in 1942 led to the fact that the ace pilot was even expelled from the party and the case was sent to the tribunal. The pilot was saved by the intercession of the regiment commissar and higher command. The case against him was dropped and he was reinstated in the party. After the war Pokryshkin for a long time conflicted with Vasily Stalin, which had a detrimental effect on 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 he flew more than 450 combat missions, shooting down 56 enemy aircraft personally and 6 in a group in 122 air battles. According to other sources, the number of his personal aerial victories could exceed 60. During the war, he flew 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 like this rare car like 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 cleared 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 had a very contradictory and uneven character. Showing an example of determination, courage and discipline in one mission, in another he could be distracted from the main task and just as decisively begin the pursuit of 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, replacing him as squadron commander and regiment commander. Pokryshkin himself best qualities Grigory Rechkalov believed in frankness and directness.
Rechkalov, like Pokryshkin, fought since June 22, 1941, but with a forced break of almost two years. In the first month of fighting, he managed to shoot down three enemy aircraft in his outdated I-153 biplane fighter. He also managed to fly on the I-16 fighter. On July 26, 1941, during a combat mission 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 in Once again medical commission tried to put an insurmountable obstacle on the path of the future famous 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 district Air Force headquarters, 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 recalled from the front to be re-equipped with new American Airacobra fighters, which were sent 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, was perfectly able to 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 any 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 use new techniques: they began to fly in pairs rather than in flights, it was better to use radio for guidance and communication, and echeloned their machines with the so-called “ bookcase."
Grigory Rechkalov won 44 victories in the Airacobra, more than other Soviet pilots. After the end of the war, someone asked the famous pilot what he valued most in the Airacobra fighter, on which so many victories were won: the power of the fire salvo, speed, visibility, reliability of the engine? 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, according to him, was the radio. The Airacobra had excellent radio communication, rare in those years. Thanks to this connection, pilots in battle could communicate with each other, as if on the telephone. Someone saw something - immediately all members of the group are aware. Therefore, we did not have any surprises during combat missions.
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 to the reserve with the rank of major general. After which he lived and worked in Moscow. He died in Moscow on December 20, 1990 at the age of 70.
Nikolay Dmitrievich Gulaev
Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev found himself 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 missions he had a plane shot down, or on average more than one plane for every air battle. During the war, he flew I-16, Yak-1, P-39 Airacobra fighters; most of his victories, like Pokryshkin and Rechkalov, he won on Airacobra.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev shot down not much fewer planes than Alexander Pokryshkin. But in terms of effectiveness of fights, he far surpassed both him and Kozhedub. Moreover, 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 performed his most effective battle on May 30, 1944. In one air battle over Skuleni, he managed to shoot down 5 enemy aircraft at once: two Me-109, Hs-129, Ju-87 and Ju-88. During the battle he himself was seriously wounded in right hand, but having concentrated all his strength and will, he was able to bring his fighter to the airfield, bleeding, landed, and, having taxied to the parking lot, lost consciousness. The pilot only came to his senses in the hospital after the operation, and here he learned that he had been awarded the second title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The entire time 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 plane. He was wounded several times during this time, but after being wounded he invariably returned back to duty. At the beginning of 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 ordering them to the Air Force Academy. 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 its colorfulness. Only such a person, possessing unparalleled courage, would be able to conduct 10 super-effective air battles, recording two of his victories by successfully ramming 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 throughout his 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 combat missions, conducted 120 air battles, personally shooting down 53 enemy aircraft and 3 in the group. He flew La-5 and La-5FN fighters.
The almost two-year “delay” in appearing at the front was due to the fact that the fighter pilot suffered from a stomach ulcer, and with this disease he was not allowed to go to the front. Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he worked as an instructor at a flight school, and after that he drove Lend-Lease Airacobras. Working as an instructor gave him a lot, as did 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 and flew the La-5 fighter. On his first combat mission, on March 28, 1943, he scored two victories.
During the entire war, the enemy never managed to shoot down Kirill Evstigneev. But he got it twice from his own people. The first time the Yak-1 pilot, carried away by air combat, crashed into his plane from above. The Yak-1 pilot immediately jumped out of the plane, which had lost one wing, with a parachute. But Evstigneev’s La-5 suffered less damage, and he managed to reach the positions of his troops, landing the fighter next to the trenches. The second incident, more mysterious and dramatic, occurred over our territory in the absence of enemy aircraft in the air. The fuselage of his plane was pierced by a burst, damaging Evstigneev’s legs, the car caught fire and went into a dive, and the pilot had to jump from the plane with a parachute. At the hospital, doctors were inclined to amputate the pilot’s foot, but he filled them with such fear that they abandoned their idea. And after 9 days, the pilot escaped from the hospital and with crutches traveled 35 kilometers to his home unit.
Kirill Evstigneev constantly increased the number of his aerial victories. Until 1945, the pilot was ahead of Kozhedub. At the same time, the unit doctor periodically sent him to the hospital to treat an ulcer and a wounded leg, which the ace pilot terribly resisted. Kirill Alekseevich was seriously ill since 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 free time he tried to train young fighter pilots. He was the initiator of training air battles. For the most part, his opponent in them was Kozhedub. At the same time, Evstigneev was completely devoid of any sense of fear, even at the very end of the war he calmly launched 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 ended the Guard War as a navigator of the 178th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. The pilot spent his last battle in the skies of Hungary on March 26, 1945, on his fifth La-5 fighter of the war. After the war, he continued to serve in the USSR Air Force, retired in 1972 with the rank of major general, and lived in Moscow. He died on August 29, 1996 at the age of 79, and was buried at the Kuntsevo cemetery in the capital.
Information sources:
http://svpressa.ru
http://airaces.narod.ru
http://www.warheroes.ru
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Our ace pilots terrified the Germans during the Great Patriotic War. 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 ones.
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 start of the famous pilot’s career was unsuccessful; in the very first battle, his plane was seriously damaged by an enemy Messerschmitt, and when returning to base, he was mistakenly fired upon by Russian anti-aircraft gunners, and only by a miracle did he manage to land. The plane could not be restored, and they even wanted to repurpose the unlucky newcomer, but the regiment commander stood up for him. Only during his 40th combat mission on the Kursk Bulge, Kozhedub, having already become a “father” - deputy squadron commander, shot down his first “laptezhnik”, as ours called the German “Junkers”. After that, the count went to tens.
Kozhedub fought his last battle in the Great Patriotic War, in which he shot down 2 FW-190s, in the skies over Berlin. In addition, Kozhedub also has two American Mustang planes shot down in 1945, which attacked him, mistaking his fighter for a German plane. The Soviet ace acted according to 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 his plane often 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 a German Messerschmitt. In total, he has 59 planes shot down personally and 6 in a group. However, this is only official statistics, because, as 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 veritable manual for air warfare. They say that the Germans warned about the appearance of the Russian ace with the phrase: “Akhtung! Achtung! Pokryshkin in the air." The one who shot 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 nicknamed him the “Kuban escalator”, since the planes arranged in pairs resembled a giant staircase. In the battle, German planes leaving the first stage came under attack from the second, and then the third stage. His other favorite techniques were the falcon kick and the high-speed swing. It is worth noting that Pokryshkin won most of his victories in the first years of the war, when the Germans had a significant superiority in the air.
Nikolay 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 howl of an air raid on his Yak, he managed to shoot down a German Heinkel night fighter. For such self-will, he was punished and presented with a reward.
Subsequently, Gulaev usually did not limit himself to one downed plane per mission; three times he scored four victories in a day, twice destroyed three planes, and made a double in seven battles. In total, he shot down 57 aircraft personally and 3 in a group. Gulaev rammed one enemy plane when it ran out of ammunition, after which he himself got into a tailspin and barely had time to eject. His risky style of fighting became a symbol of the romantic trend in the art of aerial combat.
Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov
Born in 1920 in the Perm province. On the eve of the war, a slight degree of color blindness was discovered at the medical flight commission, but the regiment commander did not even look at the medical report - pilots were very much needed. He won his first victory on the outdated I-153 biplane number 13, which was unlucky for the Germans, as he joked. Then he ended up in Pokryshkin’s group and was trained on the Airacobra, an American fighter that became famous for its tough temperament - it very easily went into a tailspin at the slightest mistake by the pilot; the Americans themselves were reluctant to fly such aircraft. In total, he shot down 56 aircraft personally and 6 in a group. Perhaps no other ace of ours has personal account there is not such a variety of types of downed aircraft as Rechkalov’s, these are bombers, and attack aircraft, and reconnaissance aircraft, and fighters, and transport aircraft, and relatively rare trophies - “Savoy” and PZL-24.
Georgy Dmitrievich Kostylev
Born in Oranienbaum, present-day Lomonosov, in 1914. He began his flight practice in Moscow at the legendary Tushinsky airfield, where the Spartak stadium is now being built. The legendary Baltic ace, who covered the sky over Leningrad, who won greatest number 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 Rus'!” In February 1943, he ended up in a penal battalion for causing destruction in the house of a major in the quartermaster service. Kostylev was amazed by the abundance of dishes with which he treated his guests, and could not restrain himself, since he knew first-hand what was happening in the besieged city. He was deprived of his awards, demoted to the Red Army and sent to the Oranienbaum bridgehead, to the places where he spent his childhood. The penalty officers saved the hero, and already in April he again takes his fighter into the air and wins victory over the enemy. Later he was reinstated in rank and his awards were returned, but he never received the second Hero Star.
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 perseverance of the Russian warrior. Born in 1916 in the city of Kamyshin, Saratov province. In a battle with the Germans, his plane was shot down, and the pilot, wounded in the legs, managed to land on territory occupied by the Germans. After which he crawled to his people for 18 days, in the hospital both legs were amputated. But Maresyev managed to return to duty, he learned to walk on prosthetics and took to the skies again. At first they didn’t trust him; anything can happen in battle, but Maresyev proved that he could fight no worse than others. As a result, to the 4 German planes shot down before the injury, 7 more were added. Polevoy’s story about Maresyev was allowed to be published only after the war, so that the Germans, God forbid, would not think that in Soviet army There is no one to fight, so we have to send disabled people.
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 - the prototype of the famous Maestro from the film “Only Old Men Go to Battle.” The “Singing Squadron” actually existed in the 5th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, where Popkov served, it had its own choir, and two aircraft were given to it by Leonid Utesov himself.
Popkov was born in Moscow in 1922. He won his first victory in June 1942 over the city of Kholm. He took part in battles on the Kalinin Front, on the Don and the Kursk Bulge. In total, he flew 475 combat missions, conducted 117 air battles, and personally shot down 41 enemy aircraft plus 1 in the group. On the last day of the war, Popkov, in the sky over Brno, shot down the legendary German Hartmann, the most successful ace of World War II, but he managed to land and survive, however, this still did not save him from captivity. Popkov's popularity was so great that during his lifetime a monument was erected to him in Moscow.
Most of the names from the list of ace pilots of the Great Patriotic War are well known to everyone. However, besides Pokryshkin and Kozhedub, among the Soviet aces, another master of air combat is undeservedly forgotten, whose courage and courage even the most titled and successful pilots can envy.
Better than Kozhedub, better than Hartman...
The names of the Soviet aces of the Great Patriotic War Ivan Kozhedub and Alexander Pokryshkin are known to everyone who is at least superficially familiar with national history. Kozhedub and Pokryshkin are the most successful Soviet fighter pilots. The first has 64 enemy aircraft shot down personally, the second has 59 personal victories, and he shot down 6 more planes in the group.
The name of the third most successful Soviet pilot is known only to aviation enthusiasts. During the war, Nikolai Gulaev destroyed 57 enemy aircraft personally and 4 in a group.
An interesting detail - Kozhedub needed 330 sorties and 120 air battles to achieve his result, Pokryshkin - 650 sorties and 156 air battles. Gulaev achieved his result by carrying out 290 sorties and conducting 69 air battles.
Moreover, according to award documents, in his first 42 air battles he destroyed 42 enemy aircraft, that is, on average, each battle ended for Gulaev with a destroyed enemy aircraft.
Fans of military statistics have calculated that Nikolai Gulaev’s efficiency coefficient, that is, the ratio of air battles to victories, was 0.82. For comparison, for Ivan Kozhedub it was 0.51, and for Hitler’s ace Erich Hartmann, who officially shot down the most aircraft during the Second World War world war, - 0,4.
At the same time, people who knew Gulaev and fought with him claimed that he generously recorded many of his victories on his wingmen, helping them receive orders and money - Soviet pilots were paid for each enemy aircraft shot down. Some believe that the total number of planes shot down by Gulaev could reach 90, which, however, cannot be confirmed or denied today.
A guy from the Don.
Many books have been written and many films have been made about Alexander Pokryshkin and Ivan Kozhedub, three times Heroes of the Soviet Union, air marshals.
Nikolai Gulaev, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, was close to the third “Golden Star”, but never received it and did not become a marshal, remaining a colonel general. And in general, if in the post-war years Pokryshkin and Kozhedub were always in the public eye, engaged in the patriotic education of youth, then Gulaev, who was practically in no way inferior to his colleagues, remained in the shadows all the time.
Perhaps the fact is that both the war and post-war biography of the Soviet ace was rich in episodes that do not fit well into the image of an ideal hero.
Nikolai Gulaev was born on February 26, 1918 in the village of Aksai, which has now become the city of Aksai Rostov region. The Don freemen were in the blood and character of Nicholas from the first days until the end of his life. After graduating from a seven-year school and a vocational school, he worked as a mechanic at one of the Rostov factories.
Like many of the youth of the 1930s, Nikolai became interested in aviation and attended a flying club. This hobby helped in 1938, when Gulaev was drafted into the army. The amateur pilot was sent to the Stalingrad Aviation School, from which he graduated in 1940. Gulaev was assigned to air defense aviation, and in the first months of the war he provided cover for one of the industrial centers in the rear.
Reprimand complete with reward.
Gulaev arrived at the front in August 1942 and immediately demonstrated both the talent of a combat pilot and the wayward character of a native of the Don steppes.
Gulaev did not have permission to fly at night, and when on August 3, 1942, Hitler’s planes appeared in the area of responsibility of the regiment where the young pilot served, experienced pilots took to the skies. But then the mechanic egged Nikolai on:
- What are you waiting for? The plane is ready, fly!
Gulaev, deciding to prove that he was no worse than the “old men,” jumped into the cockpit and took off. And in the very first battle, without experience, without the help of searchlights, he destroyed a German bomber. When Gulaev returned to the airfield, the arriving general said: “For the fact that I flew out without permission, I am reprimanding, and for the fact that I shot down an enemy plane, I am promoting him in rank and presenting him for a reward.”
Nugget.
His star shone especially brightly during the battles on the Kursk Bulge. On May 14, 1943, repelling a raid on the Grushka airfield, he single-handedly entered into battle with three Yu-87 bombers, covered by four Me-109s. Having shot down two Junkers, Gulaev tried to attack the third, but ran out of ammunition. Without hesitating for a second, the pilot went to ram, shooting down another bomber. Gulaev’s uncontrollable “Yak” went into a tailspin. The pilot managed to level the plane and land it at the leading edge, but on his own territory. Having arrived at the regiment, Gulaev again flew on a combat mission on another plane.
At the beginning of July 1943, Gulaev, as part of four Soviet fighters, taking advantage of the surprise factor, attacked a German armada of 100 aircraft. Having disrupted the battle formation, shooting down 4 bombers and 2 fighters, all four returned safely to the airfield. On this day, Gulaev’s unit made several combat sorties and destroyed 16 enemy aircraft.
July 1943 was generally extremely productive for Nikolai Gulaev. This is what is recorded in his flight log: “July 5 - 6 sorties, 4 victories, July 6 - Focke-Wulf 190 shot down, July 7 - three enemy aircraft shot down as part of a group, July 8 - Me-109 shot down , July 12 - two Yu-87s were shot down.”
Hero of the Soviet Union Fedor Arkhipenko, who had the opportunity to command the squadron where Gulaev served, wrote about him: “He was a genius pilot, one of the top ten aces in the country. He never hesitated, quickly assessed the situation, his sudden and effective attack created panic and destroyed the enemy’s battle formation, which disrupted his targeted bombing of our troops. He was very brave and decisive, often came to the rescue, and sometimes one could feel the real passion of a hunter in him.”
Flying Stenka Razin.
On September 28, 1943, the deputy squadron commander of the 27th Fighter Aviation Regiment (205th Fighter Aviation Division, 7th Fighter Aviation Corps, 2nd Air Army, Voronezh Front), Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
At the beginning of 1944, Gulaev was appointed squadron commander. His not very rapid career growth is explained by the fact that the ace’s methods of educating his subordinates were not entirely ordinary. Thus, he cured one of the pilots of his squadron, who was afraid of getting close to the Nazis, from fear of the enemy by firing a burst from his on-board weapon next to the wingman’s cabin. The subordinate’s fear disappeared as if by hand...
The same Fyodor Archipenko in his memoirs described another characteristic episode associated with Gulaev: “Approaching the airfield, I immediately saw from the air that the parking lot of Gulaev’s plane was empty... After landing, I was informed that all six of Gulaev were shot down! Nikolai himself landed wounded at the airfield with the attack aircraft, but nothing is known about the rest of the pilots. After some time, they reported from the front line: two jumped out of planes and landed at the location of our troops, the fate of three more is unknown... And today, many years later, I see the main mistake Gulaev made then in the fact that he took with him into combat the departure of three young pilots who had not been shot at at once, who were shot down in their very first battle. True, Gulaev himself won 4 aerial victories that day, shooting down 2 Me-109, Yu-87 and Henschel.”
He was not afraid to risk himself, but he also risked his subordinates with the same ease, which sometimes seemed completely unjustified. The pilot Gulaev did not look like the “aerial Kutuzov”, but rather like the dashing Stenka Razin, who had mastered a combat fighter.
But at the same time he achieved amazing results. In one of the battles over the Prut River, at the head of six P-39 Airacobra fighters, Nikolai Gulaev attacked 27 enemy bombers, accompanied by 8 fighters. In 4 minutes, 11 enemy vehicles were destroyed, 5 of them by Gulaev personally.
In March 1944, the pilot received a short-term leave home. From this trip to the Don he came withdrawn, taciturn, and bitter. He rushed into battle frantically, with some kind of transcendental rage. During the trip home, Nikolai learned that during the occupation his father was executed by the Nazis...
The Soviet ace was almost killed by a pig...
On July 1, 1944, Guard Captain Nikolai Gulaev was awarded the second star of the Hero of the Soviet Union for 125 combat missions, 42 air battles, in which he shot down 42 enemy aircraft personally and 3 in a group.
And then another episode occurs, which Gulaev openly told his friends about after the war, an episode that perfectly shows his violent nature as a native of the Don. The pilot learned that he had become a twice Hero of the Soviet Union after his next flight. Fellow soldiers had already gathered at the airfield and said: the award needed to be “washed,” there was alcohol, but there were problems with snacks.
Gulaev recalled that when returning to the airfield, he saw pigs grazing. With the words “there will be a snack,” the ace boards the plane again and a few minutes later lands it near the barns, to the amazement of the pig owner.
As already mentioned, the pilots were paid for downed planes, so Nikolai had no problems with cash. The owner willingly agreed to sell the boar, who was loaded with difficulty into the combat vehicle. By some miracle, the pilot took off from a very small platform together with the boar, distraught with horror. A combat aircraft is not designed for a well-fed pig to dance inside it. Gulaev had difficulty keeping the plane in the air...
If a catastrophe had happened that day, it would probably have been the most ridiculous case of the death of a twice Hero of the Soviet Union in history. Thank God, Gulaev made it to the airfield, and the regiment cheerfully celebrated the hero’s award.
Another anecdotal incident is related to the appearance of the Soviet ace. Once in battle he managed to shoot down a reconnaissance plane piloted by a Nazi colonel, holder of four Iron Crosses. The German pilot wanted to meet with the one who managed to interrupt his brilliant career. Apparently, the German was expecting to see a stately handsome man, a “Russian bear” who would not be ashamed to lose... But instead, a young, short, plump captain Gulaev came, who, by the way, in the regiment had a not at all heroic nickname “Kolobok”. The German's disappointment knew no bounds...
A fight with political overtones.
In the summer of 1944, the Soviet command decided to recall the best Soviet pilots from the front. The war is coming to a victorious end, and the leadership of the USSR begins to think about the future. Those who distinguished themselves in the Great Patriotic War must graduate from the Air Force Academy in order to then take leadership positions in the Air Force and Air Defense.
Gulaev was also among those summoned to Moscow. He himself was not eager to go to the academy; he asked to remain in the active army, but was refused. On August 12, 1944, Nikolai Gulaev shot down his last Focke-Wulf 190.
And then a story happened, which, most likely, became the main reason why Nikolai Gulaev did not become as famous as Kozhedub and Pokryshkin. There are at least three versions of what happened, which combine two words - “brawler” and “foreigners”. Let's focus on the one that occurs most often.
According to it, Nikolai Gulaev, already a major by that time, was summoned to Moscow not only to study at the academy, but also to receive the third star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Considering the pilot’s combat achievements, this version does not seem implausible. Gulaev’s company included other honored aces who were awaiting awards.
The day before the ceremony in the Kremlin, Gulaev went to the restaurant of the Moscow Hotel, where his pilot friends were relaxing. However, the restaurant was crowded, and the administrator said: “Comrade, there is no room for you!” It was not worth saying such a thing to Gulaev with his explosive character, but then, unfortunately, he also came across Romanian soldiers, who at that moment were also relaxing in the restaurant. Shortly before this, Romania, which had been an ally of Germany since the beginning of the war, went over to the side of the anti-Hitler coalition.
The angry Gulaev said loudly: “Is it that there is no place for the Hero of the Soviet Union, but there is room for enemies?”
The Romanians heard the pilot’s words, and one of them uttered an insulting phrase in Russian towards Gulaev. A second later, the Soviet ace found himself near the Romanian and hit him in the face.
Not even a minute had passed before a fight broke out in the restaurant between the Romanians and Soviet pilots.
When the fighters were separated, it turned out that the pilots had beaten members of the official Romanian military delegation. The scandal reached Stalin himself, who decided to cancel the awarding of the third Hero star.
If we were talking not about the Romanians, but about the British or Americans, most likely, the matter for Gulaev would have ended quite badly. But the leader of all nations did not ruin the life of his ace because of yesterday’s opponents. Gulaev was simply sent to a unit, away from the front, Romanians and any attention in general. But how true this version is is unknown.
A general who was friends with Vysotsky.
Despite everything, in 1950 Nikolai Gulaev graduated from the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy, and five years later from the General Staff Academy. He commanded the 133rd Aviation Fighter Division, located in Yaroslavl, the 32nd Air Defense Corps in Rzhev, and the 10th Air Defense Army in Arkhangelsk, which covered the northern borders of the Soviet Union.
Nikolai Dmitrievich had a wonderful family, he adored his granddaughter Irochka, was a passionate fisherman, loved to treat guests to personally pickled watermelons...
He also visited pioneer camps, participated in various veteran events, but still there was a feeling that instructions had been given from above, saying modern language, do not promote his person too much.
Actually, there were reasons for this even at a time when Gulaev was already wearing general’s shoulder straps. For example, he could, with his authority, invite Vladimir Vysotsky to speak at the House of Officers in Arkhangelsk, ignoring the timid protests of the local party leadership. By the way, there is a version that some of Vysotsky’s songs about pilots were born after his meetings with Nikolai Gulaev.
Norwegian complaint.
Colonel General Gulaev retired in 1979. And there is a version that one of the reasons for this was a new conflict with foreigners, but this time not with the Romanians, but with the Norwegians. Allegedly, General Gulaev organized a hunt for polar bears using helicopters near the border with Norway. Norwegian border guards appealed to Soviet authorities with a complaint about the general's actions. After this, the general was transferred to a staff position away from Norway, and then sent to a well-deserved rest.
It is impossible to say with certainty that this hunt took place, although such a plot fits very well into the vivid biography of Nikolai Gulaev. Be that as it may, the resignation had a bad effect on the health of the old pilot, who could not imagine himself without the service to which his whole life was dedicated.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel General Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev died on September 27, 1985 in Moscow, at the age of 67 years. His final resting place was the Kuntsevo cemetery in the capital.
The huge flow of information that has literally fallen upon all of us recently sometimes plays an extremely negative role in the development of the thinking of the guys who are replacing us. And it cannot be said that this information is deliberately false. But in its “naked” form, without a reasonable explanation, it sometimes carries a monstrous and inherently simply destructive character.
How can this be?
Let me give you one example. More than one generation of boys in our country has grown up with the firm conviction that our famous pilots Ivan Kozhedub and Alexander Pokryshkin are the best aces last war. And no one ever argued with this. Neither here nor abroad.
But one day I bought in a store a children’s book “Aviation and Aeronautics” from the encyclopedic series “I Explore the World” from one very famous publishing house. The book, published in a circulation of thirty thousand copies, turned out to be really very “educational”...
For example, in the section “Gloomy Arithmetic” there are quite eloquent figures regarding air battles during the Great Patriotic War. I quote verbatim: “Three times Heroes of the Soviet Union, fighter pilots A.I. Pokryshkin and I.N. Kozhedub shot down 59 and 62 enemy aircraft, respectively. But the German ace E. Hartmann shot down 352 aircraft during the war years! And he was not alone. In addition to him, the Luftwaffe had such masters of air combat as G. Barkhorn (301 downed aircraft), G. Rall (275), O. Kittel (267)... In total, 104 pilots of the German Air Force had more than a hundred downed aircraft each, and the top ten destroyed a total of 2,588 enemy aircraft!”
Soviet ace, fighter pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union Mikhail Baranov. Stalingrad, 1942 Mikhail Baranov - one of the best fighter pilots of the Second World War, the most productive Soviet ace, fighter pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union Mikhail Baranov. Stalingrad, 1942 Mikhail Baranov is one of the best fighter pilots of the Second World War, the most effective at the time of his death, and many of his victories were won in the initial, most difficult period of the war. If not for his accidental death, he would have been as famous a pilot as Pokryshkin or Kozhedub - aces of the Second World War.
It is clear that any child who sees such numbers of air victories will immediately come to mind that it was not ours, but the German pilots who were the best aces in the world, and our Ivans were oh so far from them (by the way, the authors For some reason, the aforementioned publications did not provide data on the achievements of the best ace pilots of other countries: the American Richard Bong, the British James Johnson and the Frenchman Pierre Klosterman with their 40, 38 and 33 aerial victories, respectively). The next thought that flashes through the guys’ heads, naturally, will be that the Germans flew much more advanced aircraft. (It must be said that during the survey, not even schoolchildren, but students of one of the Moscow universities responded to the presented figures of aerial victories in a similar way).
But how should one generally react to such, at first glance, blasphemous figures?
It is clear that any schoolchild, if he is interested this topic, will go to the Internet. What will he find there? Easy to check... Let's dial in search engine the phrase “The best ace of World War II.”
The result is quite expected: a portrait of blond Erich Hartmann, hung with iron crosses, is displayed on the monitor screen, and the entire page is replete with phrases like: “German pilots are considered the best ace pilots of the Second World War, especially those who fought on the Eastern Front...”
Here you go! Not only did the Germans turn out to be the best aces in the world, but most of all they defeated not just any British, Americans or French and Poles, but our guys.
So, is it really possible that the true truth was laid out in educational books and on the covers of notebooks by uncles and aunts who bring knowledge to children? Just what did they mean by this? Why did we have such careless pilots? Probably not. But why do the authors of many printed publications and information hanging on the pages of the Internet, citing a lot of seemingly interesting facts, never bothered to explain to readers (especially young ones): where such numbers came from and what they mean.
Perhaps some of the readers will find the further story uninteresting. After all, this topic has been discussed more than once on the pages of serious aviation publications. And this is all clear. Is it worth repeating? That's just up to the ordinary boys of our country (taking into account the circulation of specialized technical journals) this information was never received. And it won't come. What about the boys? Show the above numbers school teacher stories and ask him what he thinks about it and what he will say to the children about it? But the boys, having seen the results of the aerial victories of Hartman and Pokryshkin on the back of their student notebooks, will probably ask him about it. I'm afraid that the result will shock you to the core... That's why the material presented below is not even an article, but rather a request to you, dear readers, to help your children (and maybe even their teachers) understand some "stunning" numbers . Moreover, on the eve of May 9, we will all again remember that distant war.
Where did these numbers come from?
But really, where did, for example, such a figure as Hartman’s 352 victories in air battles come from? Who can confirm it?
It turns out, no one. Moreover, the entire aviation community has known for a long time that historians took this figure from Erich Hartmann’s letters to his bride. So the first question that arises is: did the young man embellish his military achievements? There are known statements by some German pilots that at the final stage of the war, Hartmann’s aerial victories were simply attributed for propaganda purposes, because the collapsing Hitler regime needed a superhero along with a mythical miracle weapon. It is interesting that many of the victories claimed by Hartman are not confirmed by losses that day on our part.
The study of archival documents from the period of World War II convincingly proved that absolutely all types of troops in all countries of the world sinned with postscripts. It is no coincidence that in our army, soon after the start of the war, the principle of strict recording of downed enemy aircraft was introduced. The plane was considered downed only after ground troops discovered its wreckage and thereby confirmed the aerial victory.
The Germans, as well as the Americans, did not require confirmation from ground troops. The pilot could fly in and report: “I shot down the plane.” The main thing is that the film machine gun at least records the impact of bullets and shells on the target. Sometimes this allowed us to score a lot of “points”. It is known that during the “Battle of Britain” the Germans claimed to have shot down 3,050 British aircraft, while the British actually lost only 910.
From here the first conclusion should be drawn: our pilots were given credit for the planes they actually shot down. For the Germans - air victories, sometimes not even leading to the destruction of an enemy aircraft. And often these victories were mythical.
Why didn’t our aces have 300 or more air victories?
All that we mentioned just above in no way relates to the skill of ace pilots themselves. Let's look at this question: could German pilots even have shot down the stated number of planes? And if they could, then why?
A.I. Pokryshkin, G.K. Zhukov and I.N. Kozhedub
Oddly enough, Hartman, Barkhorn, and other German pilots, in principle, could have over 300 aerial victories. And it must be said that many of them were doomed to become aces, since they were real hostages of the Nazi command, which threw them into the war. And they fought, as a rule, from the first to the last day.
The command took care of and valued the ace pilots of England, the USA and the Soviet Union. The leadership of the listed air forces believed this: since a pilot shot down 40-50 enemy aircraft, it means that he is a very experienced pilot who can teach flying skills to a dozen talented young guys. And let each of them shoot down at least ten enemy aircraft. Then the total number of destroyed planes will be much greater than if they were shot down by a professional who remained at the front.
Let us remember that already in 1944, our best fighter pilot Alexander Pokryshkin was completely forbidden by the Air Force command to participate in air battles, entrusting him with command of an air division. And it turned out to be correct. By the end of the war, many pilots from his formation had more than 50 confirmed air victories to their combat account. Thus, Nikolai Gulaev shot down 57 German planes. Grigory Rechkalov - 56. Dmitry Glinka chalked up fifty enemy aircraft.
The command of the American Air Force did the same, recalling its best ace Richard Bong from the front.
It must be said that many Soviet pilots could not become aces only for the reason that there was often simply no enemy in front of them. Each pilot was assigned to his own unit, and therefore to a specific section of the front.
For the Germans, everything was different. Experienced pilots were constantly transferred from one sector of the front to another. Each time they found themselves in the hottest spot, in the thick of things. For example, during the entire war, Ivan Kozhedub took to the skies only 330 times and fought 120 air battles, while Hartman made 1,425 sorties and participated in 825 air battles. Yes, our pilot, even if he wanted to, could not even see as many German planes in the sky as Hartman caught in his sights!
By the way, having become famous aces, the Luftwaffe pilots did not receive indulgence from death. Literally every day they had to participate in air battles. So it turned out that they fought until their death. And only captivity or the end of the war could save them from death. Only a few of the Luftwaffe aces survived. Hartman and Barkhorn were just lucky. They became famous only because they miraculously survived. But Germany's fourth most successful ace, Otto Kittel, died during an air battle with Soviet fighters in February 1945.
A little earlier, Germany's most famous ace, Walter Nowotny, met his death (in 1944, he was the first Luftwaffe pilot to reach 250 aerial victories). Hitler’s command, having awarded the pilot all the highest orders of the Third Reich, instructed him to lead a formation of the first (still “raw” and unfinished) Me-262 jet fighters and threw the famous ace into the most dangerous part of the air war - to repel raids on Germany by American heavy bombers. The pilot's fate was sealed.
By the way, Hitler also wanted to put Erich Hartmann on a jet fighter, but the smart guy got out of this dangerous situation, managing to prove to his superiors that he would be more useful if he was again put on the old reliable Bf 109. This decision allowed Hartmann to save his life from inevitable death and eventually become the best ace in Germany.
The most important proof that our pilots were in no way inferior in air combat skills to the German aces is eloquently shown by some figures that people abroad don’t really like to remember, and some of our journalists from the “free” press, who undertake to write about aviation, they just don’t know.
For example, aviation historians know that the most effective Luftwaffe fighter squadron that fought on the Eastern Front was the elite 54th Air Group "Green Heart", which brought together the best aces of Germany on the eve of the war. So, out of 112 pilots of the 54th squadron who invaded the airspace of our Motherland on June 22, 1941, only four survived to see the end of the war! A total of 2,135 fighters from this squadron remained lying in the form of scrap metal in a vast area from Ladoga to Lvov. But it was the 54th squadron that stood out among other Luftwaffe fighter squadrons in that it had the lowest level of losses in air battles during the war years.
It is interesting to note one more little known fact, which few people pay attention to, but which very well characterizes both our and German pilots: already at the end of March 1943, when air supremacy still belonged to the Germans, bright “green hearts” proudly shone on the sides of the Messerschmitts and the Focke-Wulfs of the 54th squadron, the Germans painted them with matte gray-green paint, so as not to tempt the Soviet pilots, who considered it a matter of honor to “take down” some vaunted ace.
Which plane is better?
Anyone who has been interested in the history of aviation to one degree or another has probably heard or read statements from “experts” that the German aces had more victories not only because of their skill, but also because they flew better aircraft.
No one disputes that a pilot flying a more advanced aircraft will have a certain advantage in combat.
Hauptmann Erich Hartmann (04/19/1922 - 09/20/1993) with his commander Major Gerhard Barkhorn (05/20/1919 - 01/08/1983) studying the map. II./JG52 (2nd group of the 52nd fighter squadron). E. Hartmann and G. Barkhorn are the most successful pilots of the Second World War, having 352 and 301 aerial victories, respectively. In the lower left corner of the photo is E. Hartmann's autograph.
In any case, the pilot of a faster aircraft will always be able to catch up with the enemy, and, if necessary, leave the battle...
But here’s what’s interesting: the entire world experience of air wars suggests that in an air battle it is usually not the better plane that wins, but the one with the best pilot. Naturally, all this applies to aircraft of the same generation.
Although the German Messerschmitts (especially at the beginning of the war) were superior to our MiGs, Yaks and LaGGs in a number of technical indicators, it turned out that in the real conditions of the total war that was waged on the Eastern Front, their technical superiority was not so obvious.
The German aces gained their main victories at the beginning of the war on the Eastern Front thanks to the experience accumulated during previous military campaigns in the skies over Poland, France, and England. At the same time, the bulk of Soviet pilots (with the small exception of those who managed to fight in Spain and Khalkhin Gol) had no combat experience at all.
But a well-trained pilot, who knew the merits of both his plane and the enemy’s plane, could always impose his air combat tactics on the enemy.
On the eve of the war, our pilots had just begun to master the latest fighters such as the Yak-1, MiG-3 and LaGG-3. Lacking the necessary tactical experience, solid skills in controlling an aircraft, and not knowing how to shoot properly, they still went into battle. And therefore they suffered great losses. Neither their courage nor heroism could help. I just needed to gain experience. And this took time. But there was no time for this in 1941.
But those pilots who survived the brutal air battles of the initial period of the war later became famous aces. They not only beat the Nazis themselves, but also taught young pilots how to fight. Nowadays you can often hear statements that during the war years, poorly trained young people came to fighter regiments from flight schools, who became easy prey for German aces.
But at the same time, such authors for some reason forget to mention that already in fighter regiments, senior comrades continued to train young pilots, sparing neither effort nor time. They tried to make them experienced air fighters. Here is a typical example: from mid-autumn 1943 to the end of winter 1944 alone, the 2nd Guards Aviation Regiment flew about 600 flights just to train young pilots!
For the Germans, at the end of the war, the situation turned out to be worse than ever. The fighter squadrons, which were armed with the most modern fighters, were sent to unfired, hastily prepared boys, who were immediately sent to their deaths. “Horseless” pilots from defeated bomber air groups also ended up in fighter squadrons. The latter had extensive experience in air navigation and knew how to fly at night. But they could not conduct maneuverable air battles on equal terms with our fighter pilots. Those few experienced “hunters” who were still in the ranks could in no way change the situation. No amount of technology, even the most advanced technology, could save the Germans.
Who was shot down and how?
People far from aviation have no idea that Soviet and German pilots were placed in complete different conditions. German fighter pilots, and Hartmann among them, very often engaged in so-called “free hunting.” Their main task was to destroy enemy aircraft. They could fly when they saw fit, and where they saw fit.
If they saw a single plane, they rushed at it like wolves at a defenseless sheep. And if they encountered a strong enemy, they immediately left the battlefield. No, it was not cowardice, but precise calculation. Why run into trouble if in half an hour you can again find and calmly “kill” another defenseless “lamb”. This is how German aces earned their awards.
It is interesting to note the fact that after the war, Hartman mentioned that more than once he hastily left for his territory after he was informed by radio that Alexander Pokryshkin’s group had appeared in the air. He clearly didn’t want to compete with the famous Soviet ace and run into trouble.
What happened to us? For the command of the Red Army main goal was the delivery of powerful bombing attacks on the enemy and air cover for ground forces. Bomb attacks on the Germans were carried out by attack aircraft and bombers - relatively slow-moving aircraft and representing a tasty morsel for German fighters. Soviet fighters constantly had to accompany bombers and attack aircraft on their flight to and from their targets. And this meant that in such a situation they had to conduct not an offensive, but a defensive air battle. Naturally, all the advantages in such a battle were on the enemy’s side.
While covering the ground forces from German air raids, our pilots were also placed in very difficult conditions. The infantry constantly wanted to see the red star fighters above their heads. So our pilots were forced to “buzz” over the front line, flying back and forth at low speed and at low altitude. And at this time, the German “hunters” from a great height were only choosing their next “victim” and, having developed enormous speed in a dive, shot down our planes with lightning speed, the pilots of which, even seeing the attacker, simply did not have time to turn around or pick up speed.
Compared to the Germans, our fighter pilots were not allowed to fly on free hunts as often. Therefore, the results were more modest. Unfortunately, free hunting for our fighter aircraft was an unaffordable luxury...
The fact that free hunting made it possible to recruit significant number“points”, as evidenced by the example of French pilots from the Normandie-Niemen regiment. Our command took care of the “allies” and tried not to send them to cover troops or on deadly raids to escort attack aircraft and bombers. The French were given the opportunity to engage in free hunting.
And the results speak for themselves. So, in just ten days of October 1944, French pilots shot down 119 enemy aircraft.
Soviet aviation not only at the beginning of the war, but also at its final stage, had a lot of bombers and attack aircraft. But serious changes occurred in the composition of the Luftwaffe as the war progressed. To repel enemy bomber raids, they constantly needed more and more fighters. And the moment came that the German aviation industry was simply unable to produce both bomb carriers and fighters at the same time. Therefore, already at the end of 1944, the production of bombers in Germany almost completely ceased, and only fighters began to emerge from the workshops of aircraft factories.
This means that Soviet aces, unlike the Germans, no longer encountered large, slow-moving targets in the air so often. They had to fight exclusively with the fast Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters and the latest Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter-bombers, which were much more difficult to shoot down in air combat than a clumsy bomb carrier.
From this overturned Messerschmitt, damaged in battle, Walter Nowotny, who was at one time the No. 1 ace in Germany, had just been extracted. But his flying career (as, indeed, life itself) could well have ended with this episode…
Moreover, at the end of the war the skies over Germany were literally teeming with Spitfires, Tempests, Thunderbolts, Mustangs, Silts, Pawns, Yaks and Lavochkins. And if each flight of the German ace (if he managed to take off at all) ended with the accrual of points (which no one really counted then), then the Allied aviation pilots still had to look for an aerial target. Many Soviet pilots they recalled that since the end of 1944 their personal tally of air victories stopped growing. German planes were no longer seen in the sky so often, and combat missions of fighter air regiments were mainly carried out for the purpose of reconnaissance and attack of enemy ground forces.
What is a fighter jet for?
At first glance, this question seems very simple. Any person, even those not familiar with aviation, will answer without hesitation: a fighter is needed to shoot down enemy planes. But is it really that simple? As you know, fighter aircraft are part of the air force. The Air Force is an integral part of the Army.
The task of any army is to defeat the enemy. It is clear that all the forces and means of the army must be united and aimed at defeating the enemy. The army is led by its command. And the result of military operations depends on how the command manages to organize the management of the army.
The Soviet and German commands had different approaches. The Wehrmacht command instructed its fighter aircraft to gain air supremacy. In other words, German fighter aircraft had to stupidly shoot down all enemy aircraft seen in the air. The hero was considered the one who shot down the most enemy planes.
It must be said that this approach greatly appealed to the German pilots. They gladly took part in this “competition”, considering themselves real hunters.
And everything would be fine, but the German pilots never completed the task. A lot of planes were shot down, but what was the point? Every month there were more and more Soviet and allied aircraft in the air. The Germans were still unable to cover their ground forces from the air. And the loss of bomber aviation only made life even more difficult for them. This alone suggests that the Germans completely lost the air war in strategic terms.
The command of the Red Army saw the tasks of fighter aviation in a completely different way. First of all, Soviet fighter pilots had to cover ground forces from attacks by German bombers. They also had to protect attack and bomber aircraft during their raids on the positions of the German army. In other words, fighter aviation did not act on its own, like the Germans, but exclusively in the interests of the ground forces.
It was hard, thankless work, during which our pilots usually received not glory, but death.
It is not surprising that the losses of Soviet fighters were enormous. However, this does not mean at all that our planes were much worse, and the pilots were weaker than the German ones. In this case, the outcome of the battle was determined not by the quality of the equipment and the skill of the pilot, but by tactical necessity and a strict order from the command.
Here, probably, any child will ask: “And what are these stupid battle tactics, what are these idiotic orders, because of which both planes and pilots died in vain?”
This is where the most important thing begins. And you need to understand that in fact, this tactic is not stupid. After all, the main striking force of any army is its ground forces. A bomb attack on tanks and infantry, on weapons and fuel depots, on bridges and crossings can greatly weaken the combat capabilities of ground forces. One successful air strike can radically change the course of an offensive or defensive operation.
If a dozen fighters are lost in an air battle while protecting ground targets, but not a single enemy bomb hits, for example, an ammunition depot, then this means that the fighter pilots have completed their combat mission. Even at the cost of their lives. Otherwise, an entire division, left without shells, may be crushed by the advancing enemy forces.
The same can be said about escort flights for attack aircraft. If they destroyed an ammunition depot, bombed a railway station filled with trains with military equipment, and destroyed a defense base, this means that they made a significant contribution to the victory. And if at the same time the fighter pilots provided the bombers and attack aircraft with the opportunity to break through to the target through enemy air barriers, even if they lost their comrades, then they also won.
And this is truly a real aerial victory. The main thing is that the task set by the command is completed. A task that could radically change the entire course of hostilities this area front. From all this the conclusion suggests itself: German fighters are hunters, Red Army Air Force fighters are defenders.
With the thought of death...
No matter what anyone says, there are no fearless pilots (as well as tank crews, infantrymen or sailors) who are not afraid of death. In war there are plenty of cowards and traitors. But for the most part, our pilots, even in the most difficult moments of air combat, adhered to the unwritten rule: “die yourself, but help your comrade.” Sometimes, no longer having any ammunition, they continued to fight, covering their comrades, going to ram, wanting to inflict maximum damage on the enemy. And all because they defended their land, their home, their family and friends. They defended their homeland.
The fascists who attacked our country in 1941 consoled themselves with the thought of world domination. At that time, German pilots could not even think that they would have to sacrifice their lives for the sake of someone or for the sake of something. Only in their patriotic speeches were they ready to give their lives for the Fuhrer. Each of them, like any other invader, dreamed of receiving a good reward after the successful completion of the war. And in order to get a tasty morsel, you had to live until the end of the war. In this state of affairs, it was not heroism and self-sacrifice for the sake of achieving a great goal that came to the fore, but cold calculation.
We should not forget that the boys of the Soviet country, many of whom later became military pilots, were brought up somewhat differently than their peers in Germany. They took their cues from such selfless defenders of their people as, for example, epic hero Ilya Muromets, Prince Alexander Nevsky. At that time, the military exploits of the legendary heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812 and the heroes of the Civil War were still fresh in the memory of the people. And in general, Soviet schoolchildren were brought up mainly on books whose heroes were true patriots of the Motherland.
End of the war. Young German pilots receive a combat mission. In their eyes there is doom. Erich Hartmann said about them: “These young men come to us and are almost immediately shot down. They come and go like surf waves. This is a crime... I think our propaganda is to blame here.”
Their peers from Germany also knew what friendship, love, patriotism and native land were. But we should not forget that in Germany, with its centuries-old history of chivalry, the latter concept was especially close to all boys. Knightly laws, knightly honor, knightly glory, fearlessness were placed at the forefront. It is no coincidence that even the main award of the Reich was the knight's cross.
It is clear that every boy in his soul dreamed of becoming a famous knight.
However, we should not forget that the entire history of the Middle Ages indicates that the main task of the knight was to serve his master. Not to the Motherland, not to the people, but to the king, duke, baron. Even the independent knights-errant glorified in legends were, in essence, the most ordinary mercenaries, earning money by the ability to kill. And all these crusades glorified by chroniclers? Pure robbery.
It is no coincidence that the words knight, profit and wealth are inseparable from each other. Everyone also knows well that knights rarely died on the battlefield. In a hopeless situation, they, as a rule, surrendered. The subsequent ransom from captivity was quite an ordinary matter for them. Ordinary commerce.
And is it any wonder that the chivalric spirit, including in its negative manifestations, most directly affected the moral qualities of future Luftwaffe pilots.
The command knew this very well, because it considered itself a modern knighthood. No matter how much it wanted, it could not force its pilots to fight the way Soviet fighter pilots fought - sparing neither strength nor life itself. This may seem strange to us, but it turns out that even in the charter of German fighter aviation it was written that the pilot himself determines his actions in air combat and no one can forbid him to leave the battle if he considers it necessary.
It is clear from the faces of these pilots that these are victorious warriors. The photo shows the most successful fighter pilots of the 1st Guards Fighter Air Division of the Baltic Fleet: Senior Lieutenant Selyutin (19 victories), Captain Kostylev (41 victories), Captain Tatarenko (29 victories), Lieutenant Colonel Golubev (39 victories) and Major Baturin (10 victories)
That is why the German aces never protected their troops over the battlefield, that is why they did not protect their bombers as selflessly as our fighters did. As a rule, German fighters only cleared the way for their bomb carriers and tried to hinder the actions of our interceptors.
The history of the last world war is replete with facts of how German aces, sent to escort bombers, abandoned their charges when the air situation was not in their favor. The hunter's prudence and self-sacrifice turned out to be incompatible concepts for them.
As a result, it was aerial hunting that became the only acceptable solution that suited everyone. The Luftwaffe leadership proudly reported on its successes in the fight against enemy aircraft, Goebbels's propaganda enthusiastically told the German people about the military merits of the invincible aces, and they, working out the chance given to them to stay alive, scored points with all their might.
Perhaps something changed in the minds of German pilots only when the war came to the territory of Germany itself, when Anglo-American bomber aircraft began to literally wipe out entire cities from the face of the earth. Women and children died in tens of thousands under Allied bombs. Horror paralyzed the civilian population. Only then, gripped by fear for the lives of their children, wives, mothers, German pilots from the Air Defense Forces selflessly began to rush into deadly air battles with an enemy superior in numbers, and sometimes even went to ram “flying fortresses.”
But it was already too late. By that time, there were almost no experienced pilots left in Germany, nor sufficient quantity airplanes. Individual ace pilots and hastily trained boys could no longer save the situation even with their desperate actions.
The pilots who fought on the Eastern Front at that time were, one might say, lucky. Practically deprived of fuel, they almost never took off, and therefore at least survived until the end of the war and remained alive. As for the famous fighter squadron “Green Heart” mentioned at the beginning of the article, its last aces acted quite like a knight: on the remaining planes they flew to surrender to their “knight friends” who understood them - the British and Americans.
It seems that after reading all of the above, you will probably be able to answer your children’s question about whether German pilots were the best in the world? Were they really an order of magnitude superior to our pilots in their skill?
Sad note
Not long ago I saw in a bookstore a new edition of the same children's book on aviation with which I started the article. In the hope that the second edition would differ from the first not only with a new cover, but also give the guys some kind of intelligible explanation of such a fantastic performance of the German aces, I opened the book to the page that interested me. Unfortunately, everything remained unchanged: 62 planes shot down by Kozhedub looked like ridiculous numbers against the background of Hartman’s 352 aerial victories. Such sad arithmetic...