On August 19, 1944, the famous ace pilot, Colonel Alexander Pokryshkin, was awarded the third Gold Star medal, and he became the first three times Hero in the history of the country. Soviet Union. The award was fully deserved.

Lieutenant Pokryshkin began his war in June 1941 and, it must be said, began with an incident - he shot down a Soviet Su-2 aircraft. Then the car only began to arrive in parts, and few of the pilots were familiar with it. Having met the plane in the sky of Moldova, Pokryshkin thought that he was a fascist and shot down Drying. The very next day, Alexander Ivanovich was rehabilitated - the first Messerschmitt-109 was recorded on his account, and how many more there will be ...

First, Alexander Pokryshkin flew MiGs, later on the American Airacobra,

delivered under Lend-Lease, on which he won most of his air victories.

He quickly rose in ranks, in the summer of 1944 he headed the 9th Guards Air Division.

Officially, Alexander Pokryshkin shot down 59 enemy aircraft personally and 6 in the group, another 15 official victories, won in 1941, were not included in his account - during the bombing, award documents at the headquarters of the air regiment burned down. The famous pilot met the Victory Parade in Berlin - he was an honorary standard-bearer of the 1st Ukrainian Front. After the war, Alexander Ivanovich remained in the army and reached the rank of Air Marshal.

We remembered a few more famous Soviet aces pilots and are ready to tell you about them.

The most productive Ivan Kozhedub

The most successful pilot-ace of all Allied forces in World War II

was born in 1920 in the village of Obrazhievka, Chernihiv province, into a peasant family.

From childhood, Ivan was "drawn to the sky": at first he studied at the local flying club, and at the age of 20 he joined the Red Army. In the same 1940 he graduated from the famous Chuguevskaya

aviation school and stayed there as an instructor. In the formidable front-line sky, Kozhedub's plane appeared only in 1943. The first battle almost became the last - with a well-aimed burst of Messerschmit-109, our hero's La-5 was disabled. Ivan miraculously landed the plane, but was forced to fly whatever he had to, on any free planes in the squadron. They even wanted to send him to a service not related to flights - the regiment commander interceded. And I didn't guess. On the Kursk Bulge, making the 40th sortie, Kozhedub shot down his first officially confirmed aircraft - the fascist Junkers bomber. The next day, another "bomber", smoking, collapsed to the ground under the bursts of Ivan. Feeling the taste for victory, a day later the pilot "landed" two German fighters at once. Throughout his combat career, Kozhedub fought on domestic aircraft designed by Lavochkin - first on La-5, then on La-7. The first, by the way, was built with the money of a collective farmer-beekeeper from the Stalingrad region, such beggars there were collective farmers.

Total Three times Hero of the Soviet Union Kozhedub shot down 62 German aircraft, the last

Air Marshal.

White Lily of Stalingrad: Lydia Litvyak

From the age of 14, Muscovite Lydia Litvyak studied at the flying club, where she made her first

flight, and after graduating from the Kherson aviation school she became an instructor pilot. In 1942

year, a girl with such promising data was drafted into the army and enrolled in

one of the many fighter regiments. The 586th IAP was distinguished by only one thing - it was an entirely female air regiment. Lydia Litvyak. Further, the fate of Lydia Vladimirovna is entirely connected with Stalingrad. In the ever difficult struggle in the sky above the city, she not only survived, she won. On September 13, in the second sortie, she shot down a fighter and a bomber, and one of the downed pilots turned out to be a well-known German air ace. Then again victory - the Yu-88 bomber was shot down. Lydia asked to draw a non-standard identification mark on the hood of her plane - a white lily, which is why she received the nickname "White Lily of Stalingrad" in the troops, both Soviet and German.


She was extremely lucky in the sky. On February 11, 1943, her plane was shot down, she made an emergency landing on German territory. The Nazis had already tried to capture her. A familiar attack pilot came to the rescue: with the fire of onboard machine guns, he drove German soldiers, landed on the field and saved Lydia.

War is a cruel thing, but there is also time for love. It was at the front that Lydia met Hero of the Soviet Union Alexei Solomatin. On May 21, 1943, Alexei was seriously wounded in an air battle, brought his plane to the airfield, but failed to land - he crashed in front of his colleagues and his beloved. Since then, the "White Lily of Stalingrad" did not know peace, she got involved in the most violent fights, either to take revenge, or to die. Death found 21-year-old Lydia Litvyak on August 1, 1943, over the Mius River. By that time, Lydia had 16 downed enemy aircraft on her account - 12 personally and 4 in the group.

He was rejected in the 41st. Grigory Rechkalov

This person is unique. Fate itself made him a thunderstorm of air spaces, and people,

people interfered as much as they could. Grigory Rechkalov. Grigory Rechkalov graduated from aviation school back in 1939, and on the eve of the war, his regiment was stationed in Moldova. Rechkalov could never see the war, literally and figuratively. On June 21, 1941, the military medical commission "rejected" this promising military flight - the doctors nevertheless discovered carefully concealed color blindness in Grigory Rechkalov. The command acted wisely - what difference does it make what color the fascist plane is? You can distinguish a swastika from a star even without it, and even more so the shape and contours of the fuselage of Soviet and German aircraft. Grigory justified the trust - in the first week of the war he shot down three enemy aircraft at once, was wounded, but brought his car to the airfield. He was sent to the rear to master a new brand of aircraft, but in April 1942, twenty-two-year-old Grigory got tired of this, and he fled back to his regiment, to the front. finest hour fighter Rechkalov was the famous air battle for the Kuban, played out in the spring of 1943. For 14 days, he chalked up 19 downed aircraft. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Grigory Rechkalov went through the entire war, flew in the skies of Ukraine, Poland, Germany, shooting down 61 enemy aircraft. Another 4 aircraft shot down in 1941 were not confirmed: the documents burned down during the bombing of the headquarters (along with the documents of Pokryshkin, who was Rechkalov's fellow soldier).


After the war, Grigory Rechkalov retired with the rank of lieutenant general.

He did not see victory. Alexander Klubov


The son of a sailor from the Aurora, Alexander Klubov, dreamed of becoming a pilot since childhood, he graduated from the air force school and served in the Caucasus by the beginning of the war. First fight junior

In May 1943, Alexander Klubov was sent to the squadron of the Hero of the Soviet

Union of Alexander Pokryshkin. They soon became friends. Pokryshkin spoke like this

about Alexander Ivanovich: “The soul of a fighter lived in Klubov. I was pleased with his manner of fighting, he was always looking for a fight. The combat score of Alexander Klubov is impressive - the pilot shot down 31 German aircraft personally and 19 in the group.

Before the Victory, the Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Klubov did not live, he died. And not in battle

but because of an accident. On November 1, 1944, there was a training flight on a type of aircraft little known to Alexander. On landing approach, the car swerved. The hero could not be saved. He was posthumously awarded a second Gold Star medal.

"Shoot now!" Arseny Vorozheykin

The future hero of Khalkhin Gol and the Great Patriotic War Arseniy Vorozheikin was born in

1912 in the Gorodetsky district Nizhny Novgorod province. In the summer of 1939, the 22nd Aviation Regiment, together with its commissar Vorozheikin, was sent to distant Mongolia on the Khalkhin Gol River. There, the border conflict escalated into real war between the Japanese on the one hand, the Mongolian and Soviet troops- with another. Arseny Vorozheikin. The intensity of the air battles was fierce - at some periods in the sky over a small area


the conflict rose to 200 aircraft on both sides. The campaign turned out to be fleeting - July-August 1939, but during this time Vorozheykin shot down 6 Japanese aircraft, and was almost shot. It happened like this. Only the new commander, Georgy Zhukov, who arrived, was dissatisfied with the course of the fighting and began, as they say, to “turn the screws”. Arseny Vasilyevich also managed to fall under hot hand. He flew from a mission at dusk and saw a column dusting along the road. One's own, someone else's - not to make out, fly up closer - the fuel is running out. Vorozheikin sat down and reported what he had seen. They called Arseniy Vasilievich to Georgy Konstantinovich, and he immediately and head-on said: "If the column is ours, not the enemy, then we will shoot you for misleading the command." Arseniy Vorozheikin was not such a person to endure such injustice. He pulled himself up, straightened his tunic, they say, if such a song-dance went, why pull something, shoot now. Zhukov grunted and, as a sign of approval (a real man, they say), treated Vorozheykin with cognac. And the next morning it turned out that they were the Japanese and the pilot received an award. Now the head from the shoulders, then dance the hut and the stove.

Our hero participated in the Great Patriotic War from August 1942 until the very end.

In total, Vorozheykin personally shot down 52 enemy aircraft and 6 aircraft in the group, becoming the fifth most successful Soviet fighter pilot.

Life and destiny: Amet-Khan Sultan

There are still many rumors around the fate of this wonderful pilot and

insinuations. The thing is that Amet Khan's father was a Lak, but his mother was a Crimean Tatar. As you know, among the majority of representatives of this nation, anti-Russian

sentiments were extremely strong, and many, after the occupation of the Crimea, went to serve

the Germans. Amet Khan was not like that, he honestly fought for his country. Amet-Khan Sultan. The junior lieutenant made the first flight on June 22, 1941 on an outdated I-153. In the autumn of 1941, the pilot covers the sky of Rostov-on-Don, and from the spring of 1942 - Yaroslavl. There happened interesting case. Amet Khan rammed an enemy bomber, but


our hero's plane just got stuck in the Junkers. Amet Khan did not lose his head, he jumped out of

parachute. Soon "Junkers" flaunted on main square Yaroslavl for public viewing, in the same place, with a large gathering of people, the city authorities handed a nominal watch to the brave fighter.

liberation of Rostov-on-Don, Melitopol, native Crimea. After release

peninsula began deportation Crimean Tatars. The family of a pilot, twice a Hero

The Soviet Union was spared - by a special Decree of the Supreme Council they were allowed to stay in the Crimea, but even after the war, when arriving at their native places, the pilot was forced to check in at the local Alupka police station. Last Stand Amet Khan took in the skies over Berlin, ended the war with a score of 30 personally and 19 in the group of downed enemy aircraft. Soon the famous ace moved to Moscow, became a test pilot, he has a great merit in introducing domestic aviation jet aircraft.

One day, the Air Force command decided that test pilots were getting too

inflated salaries. And so that the pilots would not grumble, they “asked” them to write about their

agreed to significantly lower rates. Amet Khan wrote, like his comrades, about

his consent, but made a postscript: "That's just the wife is categorically against it."

Stalin showed constant interest in how the creation of the latest types of

fighters. When he saw the receipt of the famous test pilot, he imposed

his resolution: "I fully agree with the wife of Amet-Khan." Salaries for pilots

testers remained the same.

Colonel Amet Khan Sultan died in 1971 while testing a new aircraft. He was 51 years old.

29-year-old General Pavel Rychagov

Career smiled at Pavel Vasilyevich. He was born in 1911 in the Moscow region. At the age of 25, the military pilot Rychagov was sent to Spain, where the Civil War was going on. The sky there was restless - the Germans supporting Franco sent selected pilots to Spain - the Condor Legion. The Soviet volunteers, who fought on the side of the republican government, did not lose face and, as they say, set the Germans in the heat. In a short period of time, Rychagov also distinguished himself - he shot down six enemy aircraft personally and 14 in the group. Under New Year December 31, 1936 Pavel Vasilievich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.


Since December 1937 - a new assignment, again to the front, to China. This time Rychagova is a senior military adviser on the use of Soviet aviation. Under the government of Chiang Kai-shek, who at that time led hard war with the Japanese. Then he was transferred to command the Primorsky Air Force Group. And again the war - the conflict at Lake Khasan. Rychagov proved to be a decisive and strong-willed commander, capable of organizing fighting large aviation formations in a remote theater and direct their massive use on the battlefield.

In 1939-1940, the young "veteran" commanded the air force of the 9th Army in Finnish war. In August 1940, at the age of 29, Lieutenant General Rychagov became the commander of the country's Air Force. Such a career take-off was not in vain - the comrade did not know much, there was much to learn, and there was a great war ahead. In April 1941, Rychagov was removed from his post and sent to finish his studies at the Military Academy of the General Staff.

The Great Patriotic War was the end of Pavel Rychagov's career. Still with him our

aviation was relocated closer to the border and on June 22, almost all of them died under the first blow of the Germans. On June 24, 1941, Rychagov was arrested and on October 28, 1941, along with many other aviation generals, he was shot without trial in the village of Barbysh, Kuibyshev Region.

Pilots - heroes of the Great Patriotic War and their exploits


sky knights

Although the war remained somewhere in May of the distant 1945, however, entire generations of our country were brought up on the example of the exploits of pilots-aces of the Great Patriotic War. Their names sounded from the lips of millions, they were admired, many boys imitated them, they aroused fear and respect in the enemy. Military pilots are not just aces, they are real air knights.

Popkov Vitaly Ivanovich (05/01/1922 - 02/06/2010)

The Soviet pilot Popkov Vitaly Ivanovich, the son of Moscow workers, graduated from the aviation school in Chuguev at the age of nineteen, and then from the aviation school in Bataysk. 1942 brought the young pilot his first triumph, and at the age of 21 he already earned the star of the Hero of the USSR. 325 sorties, that's how many times the pilot rushed the car into the sky, bringing victory closer and completing tasks, destroying 41 Luftwaffe aircraft. Showing courage and lack of fear, fighting the invaders, he was listed in the top ten aces of the Soviet Union. According to some biographical events of the hero, the film “Only Old Men Go to Battle” was filmed, in which the pilot became the prototype of the character Titarenko, known in the film as “Maestro”.

Skomorokhov Nikolai Mikhailovich (05/19/1920 - 10/14/1994)

The call sign "Skomorokh" - that's how the young pilot Nikolai Mikhailovich Skomorokhov was called at the front. This ordinary village boy from the Russian hinterland graduated from the aviation school in Bataysk in 1942. For absolute fearlessness and courage, as well as an unbearable zeal to get even for a friend who died in an air battle, there were legends about Nikolai Skomorokhov about fierce hatred for the enemy. Flying out on a "free hunt", he attacked the Luftwaffe pilots like a predator, making it impossible to jump out of the battlefield unharmed. "Skomorokh" caused panic among the enemy with just one call sign, and he had 46 destroyed enemy vehicles on his account.

Gulaev Nikolai Dmitrievich (26.02.1918 - 27.09.1985)

“And one warrior in the field” - this statement exactly describes the feat of Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev, who shot down 55 enemy aircraft. A locksmith by education, keen on aviation, he attended an aviation club, and in 1940 he graduated from the Stalingrad aviation school. During the operation in the Kursk-Oryol direction, Gulaev was surrounded in a fight by four German aircraft at once. Having performed several competent maneuvering techniques, showing courage, Gulaev shot down two of them, having used up ammunition, while risking his life, rammed the third one. For this feat, Gulaev was awarded the Gold Star, and a year later, having shot down 5 Luftwaffe aircraft in less than 5 minutes of battle, the ace pilot again became the holder of the highest award.

Pokryshkin Alexander Ivanovich (03/06/1913-11/13/1985)

One of the most productive pilots of the Red Army, a Siberian from a family of a simple worker, Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin, who graduated with honors from the school of aircraft engineers and the Kachinsk flight school, began to fight in June 1941. Constantly writing down all your air battles in a diary. The fighter pilot competently analyzed and analyzed in detail the outcome of each battle. Such zeal and desire to fight in the sky soon bore fruit. Being a good strategist, Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin made competent tactical moves in the air, as if he were winning a game of chess. It was participation in heavy defensive battles of 1941-1942 that influenced the development of various tactics air combat. Having met the end of the war near Berlin, Pokryshkin, who became the first Thrice Hero in history, had 59 downed German aircraft to his credit.

Rechkalov Grigory Andreevich (02/09/1920 - 12/20/1990)

Another famous pilot who participated in combat battles from the very first day of the war, scored 56 victories and made 450 sorties, was Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov. The color blindness discovered by the military medical commission on the eve of the Great Patriotic War almost put an end to participation in air battles of the future Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. However, this did not prevent the fighter pilot from shooting down three enemy aircraft in the first days of the war. Despite long-term treatment in hospitals after severe injuries, Rechkalov was able not only to return to duty, but at the age of 22, in two weeks of fighting in the sky over the Kuban, he was able to shoot down 19 enemy vehicles. And in the same 1943 he mastered new type fighter "Aircobra". It was the American Airacobra that became the working machine of the Soviet ace, on which he shot down 44 enemy aircraft.

Kozhedub Ivan Nikitovich (06/08/1920 - 08/08/1991)

The most productive Soviet pilot was Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub, a native of the Chernihiv region from a peasant family. Before becoming a skilled pilot, the future ace was trained at the Shostka flying club and graduated from the aviation school in Chuguev. Kozhedub started the war in his incomplete 23 years and soon won the first victory, and a couple of months later the Gold Star was awarded to the pilot. He successfully covered from the air offensive operations, including on the Kursk Bulge, meeting Pobeda in the sky over Berlin. Kozhedub regularly improved his piloting skills both in the air and with a detailed analysis of flights on the ground, which allowed him to become a real cold-blooded and fearless military pilot. Surprisingly, Kozhedub was never shot down during the entire war. Even when his plane was badly damaged, the pilot reached his airfield and saved combat vehicle. In the period from 1943 to 1945, Ivan Nikitovich won an air victory 62 times with 330 sorties.

Evstigneev Kirill Alekseevich (02/04/1917 - 08/29/1996)

Obsessed with the sky and aviation - this is exactly what can be said about Kirill Alekseevich Evstigneev. No one could have imagined that the boy from the family of a poor Kemerovo peasant would become a famous ace in many years. Having trained as a lineman at a railway school, and then as a turner, Kirill Evstigneev graduated from the Burma Aviation School in 1941. Having a serious stomach ailment, he fought with the Luftwaffe only in 1943. Very often he had to endure hellish pain while piloting an airplane, but the desire to fly and fight was always stronger. In his first battle in March 1943, Evstigneev was able to destroy two enemy vehicles at once. He repeatedly escaped from the hospital and returned to his regiment, for which he received the nickname "Flint" from his colleagues. The Great Victory caught Kirill Evstigneev in Hungary. He accounted for 52 destroyed German aircraft and 283 sorties.

All these legendary pilots of the Great Patriotic War went down in history and forever remained in the memory of the many million people of our Motherland. And as long as this memory is alive, they will also live, just like many years ago, covering us from the sky.

Video about the legendary pilots of the Great Patriotic War.

We remember our heroes! 13 military photos are dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory! Infographics: the best Soviet pilot aces Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). Before the treacherous attack on the USSR air Force Nazi Germany did not consider Soviet pilots, oddly enough, as serious and dangerous opponents. In the Luftwaffe (German air force), it was generally accepted that only Soviet air defense. However, soon after the aggression, the Nazi fascists had to radically change their attitude towards the brave Soviet pilots. Our aviation gave the invaders such a rebuff that the Nazis, naturally, had not yet encountered anywhere in Europe. Look at the infographic provided by AiF.ru, which of the Soviet hero pilots shot down the most German aircraft. As well as the unique video "Heroes of the Sky" - a high-quality series of videos dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, filmed by order of the Russian Military Historical Society.

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub was born in the village of Obrazhievka, Glukhovsky district, Chernihiv province (now Shostka district, Sumy region of Ukraine). Kozhedub's first meeting with aviation began at the flying club of the chemical-technological technical school in the city of Shostka, where he entered after school. It was there in April 1939 that he made his first flight. The beauties of the native land, opened from a height of 1500 meters, made a strong impression on the young man and predetermined his whole future life.

In early 1940, Kozhedub was admitted to the Chuguev Military Aviation School. According to the recollections of classmates, he flew a lot, often experimented, honing his piloting skills and adored the theory of aircraft construction. The skills acquired during his studies were later very useful to Kozhedub: according to his comrades, he knew the fighting machine better than his own five fingers. Throughout the war, the pilot was never shot down, even a heavily damaged fighter, risking his life, he always returned to the airfield.

After the defeat of Nazi Germany, Kozhedub continued his studies, in 1949 he graduated with honors from the Red Banner Air Force Academy. Strong knowledge and rich experience of the pilot very soon found their application. In 1951-52. Kozhedub during the war in Korea commanded an entire aviation division, his falcons shot down 258 enemy aircraft in that conflict.

Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin

Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin was born in Novonikolaevsk (now Novosibirsk). He became interested in aviation at the age of 12 when he saw airplanes flying in the sky. Subsequently, Pokryshkin entered the 3rd Military School of Aircraft Technicians, and at the end of 1934 he became a senior aircraft technician of the 74th Taman Rifle Division. However, in order to become not an aircraft engineer, but a pilot, Pokryshkin had to go through a long and hard way. To get this profession, he persistently studied the history of flights for four years and military history, physics and mathematics, physiology and descriptive geometry.

Pokryshkin wrote 39 reports to the commanders with a request to let him go to the flight school, but each time he was refused. The situation did not suit the young man at all, and in September 1938, during the next vacation for seventeen days, he mastered the two-year program of the Krasnodar flying club and externally passed the exam with excellent marks. Finally, in his 40th report, he enclosed a certificate of graduation from the flying club and already in November 1938 he became a student at the Kachin Military Aviation School. A year later, he graduated with honors, now becoming a pilot.

The educational path covered was worth it: already in 1941, having a reputation as a virtuoso of flying, senior lieutenant Pokryshkin was appointed deputy squadron commander. There is a common legend that, having received information about the approach of this pilot's fighter, the Germans began to send urgent messages to each other: "Akhtung, Achtung! Pokryshkin is in the sky!"

Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev

Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev was born in the village of Aksaiskaya (now the city of Aksai Rostov region). Graduated from 7 classes incomplete high school and the FZU school, in the evenings he studied at the flying club. This passion helped him 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. During the war, Gulaev enjoyed a reputation as a daredevil. In August 1942, an incident happened to him, which showed both courage and a certain willfulness of his character. The young pilot did not have a permit for night flights, and when on August 3, 1942, Nazi planes appeared in the area of ​​​​responsibility of the regiment where Gulaev served, experienced pilots went into the sky. Together with them, Gulaev also flew, who decided to prove that he was no worse than the "old people". As a result, in the first battle, without experience, without the help of searchlights, a German bomber was destroyed. When Gulaev returned to the airfield, the general who arrived said: "For the fact that I took off without permission, I announce a reprimand, but for the fact that I shot down an enemy plane, I raise my rank and present for a reward."

Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov

Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov was born in the village of Khudyakovo, Irbitsky district, Perm province (now the village of Zaikovo, Irbitsky district). Sverdlovsk region). He got acquainted with aviation while studying in the circle of glider pilots at the factory school of the Verkh-Isetsky plant in Sverdovsk. In 1937, he entered the Perm Military Pilot School and subsequently graduated with success. In 1939, with the rank of sergeant, he was enrolled in the 55th Aviation Fighter Regiment in Kirovograd.

The main feature of Rechkalov was perseverance. Despite the fact that the medical board determined that the pilot had color blindness, he won the right to continue his service and in 1941 was sent to the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment. According to colleagues, Rechkalov had a rather uneven character. Showing a model of discipline in one sortie, in the next he could be distracted from performing main task and just as resolutely begin the pursuit of a random enemy.

Kirill Alekseevich Evstigneev

Kirill Alekseevich Evstigneev was born in the village of Khokhly, Ptichensky volost, Chelyabinsk district, Orenburg province (now the village of Khokhly, Kushmyansky village council, Shumikhinsky district, Kurgan region). According to the recollections of his fellow villagers, he grew up as a strong and very hardy boy. Evstigneev combined classes at the flying club with work at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant. He later graduated from the Burma Air Force Military School. Observing the light and precise cascade of figures performed by him in the air, it was difficult to assume that Evstigneev was suffering from an ailment, having which it was forbidden to serve in aviation - a peptic ulcer. However, like the other ace pilot Rechkalov, Estigneev persisted and ensured that he was left in the service. The skill of the pilot was so high that, according to the stories of colleagues, he could land a fighter on one wheel or on a narrow path cleared of snow between two meter-long ice barriers.

Names of Soviet aces of the Great Patriotic War Ivan Kozhedub And Alexandra Pokryshkina known to everyone who is at least superficially familiar with national history.

Kozhedub and Pokryshkin are the most productive Soviet fighter pilots. On account of the first 64 enemy aircraft shot down personally, on account of the second - 59 personal victories, and he shot down 6 more aircraft in the group.

The name of the third most successful Soviet pilot is known only to aviation lovers. Nikolay Gulaev during the war he destroyed 57 enemy aircraft personally and 4 in the group.

An interesting detail - Kozhedub needed 330 sorties and 120 air battles to achieve his result, Pokryshkin - 650 sorties and 156 air battles. Gulaev, on the other hand, 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 machine.

Fans of military statistics have calculated that the efficiency ratio, that is, the ratio of air battles and victories, Nikolai Gulaev was 0.82. For comparison, it was 0.51 for Ivan Kozhedub, and for the Nazi ace Erich Hartmann, who officially shot down the most aircraft in the Second 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 the followers, helping them receive orders and money - Soviet pilots were paid for each downed enemy aircraft. Some believe that the total number of aircraft shot down by Gulaev could reach 90, which, however, cannot be confirmed or denied today.

Heroes of the Soviet Union pilots Alexander Pokryshkin (second from left), Grigory Rechkalov (center) and Nikolai Gulaev (right) on Red Square. Photo: RIA Novosti

Guy from the Don

About Alexander Pokryshkin and Ivan Kozhedub, three times Heroes of the Soviet Union, air marshals, many books have been written, many films have been shot.

Nikolai Gulaev, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, was close to the third "Gold Star", but he never received it and did not go to the marshals, remaining a colonel general. And in general, if post-war years Pokryshkin and Kozhedub were always in sight, engaged in the patriotic education of young people, 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 military and post-war biography of the Soviet ace was rich in episodes that do not fit too well into the image of an ideal hero.

Nikolai Gulaev was born on February 26, 1918 in the village of Aksayskaya, which has now become the city of Aksay, Rostov Region.

Don freemen was in the blood and character of Nicholas from the first days to 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 studied at the flying club. This passion 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 the air defense aviation, and in the first months of the war he provided cover for one of industrial centers in the rear.

Reprimand complete with award

Gulaev ended up 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 a permit for night flights, and when on August 3, 1942, Nazi planes appeared in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bresponsibility of the regiment where the young pilot served, experienced pilots went into the sky.

But then the mechanic urged Nikolai:

— What are you waiting for? The plane is ready, fly!

Gulaev, determined to prove that he was no worse than the "old men", jumped into the cockpit and took off. And in the first battle, without experience, without the help of searchlights, he destroyed a German bomber.

When Gulaev returned to the airfield, the general who arrived said: “For the fact that I flew out without permission, I announce a reprimand, but for the fact that I shot down an enemy plane, I increase my rank and present for a reward.”

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union pilot Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev. Photo: RIA Novosti

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 the cartridges ran out. Without hesitating for a second, the pilot went to ram, shooting down another bomber. Gulaev's uncontrolled "Yak" went into a tailspin. The pilot managed to level the plane and land it at leading edge but on their own territory. Arriving at the regiment, Gulaev again flew on a combat mission on another plane.

In early July 1943, Gulaev, as part of the four Soviet fighters, taking advantage of the surprise factor, attacked the German armada of 100 aircraft. Having upset the battle formation, shooting down 4 bombers and 2 fighters, all four returned safely to the airfield. On this day, Gulaev's link made several sorties and destroyed 16 enemy aircraft.

July 1943 was generally extremely productive for Nikolai Gulaev. Here is what is recorded in his flight book: "July 5 - 6 sorties, 4 victories, July 6 - Focke-Wulf 190 was shot down, July 7 - three enemy aircraft were shot down as part of the group, July 8 - Me-109 was shot down" July 12 - two Yu-87s were shot down.

Hero of the Soviet Union Fyodor Archipenko, who happened to command the squadron where Gulaev served, wrote about him: “He was a nugget pilot, one of the top ten aces of the country. He never hesitated, he 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, sometimes he felt the real excitement of a hunter.

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 Gulaev Nikolai Dmitrievich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In early 1944, Gulaev was appointed squadron commander. His not too rapid career growth is explained by the fact that the ace's methods of educating subordinates were not quite ordinary. So, one of the pilots of his squadron, who was afraid to get close to the Nazis at close range, he cured of fear of the enemy, giving a burst of airborne weapons next to the cockpit of the wingman. The fear of the subordinate was taken away as if by hand ...

The same Fyodor Arkhipenko in his memoirs described another characteristic episode related to Gulaev: “Flying up to the airfield, I immediately saw from the air that Gulaev’s plane was empty ... After landing, I was informed that all six of Gulaev were shot down! Nikolai himself, wounded, sat down at the airfield with attack aircraft, and nothing is known about the rest of the pilots. Some time later, 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, major mistake Gulaev, admitted then, I see in the fact that he took with him on a sortie at once three young, not at all shelled pilots, who were shot down in their very first battle. True, Gulaev himself scored 4 air victories that day at once, shooting down 2 Me-109, Yu-87 and Henschel.

He was not afraid to risk himself, but he risked his subordinates with the same ease, which at times looked completely unjustified. The pilot Gulaev did not look like the “air Kutuzov”, but rather like the dashing Stenka Razin, who mastered the 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 Aircobra fighters, Nikolai Gulaev attacked 27 enemy bombers, accompanied by 8 fighters. In 4 minutes, 11 enemy vehicles were destroyed, 5 of them personally by Gulaev.

In March 1944, the pilot received a short leave home. From this trip to the Don, he returned closed, taciturn, bitter. He rushed into battle furiously, with some transcendent fury. During a trip home, Nikolai learned that during the occupation, his father was executed by the Nazis ...

On July 1, 1944, Guard Captain Nikolai Gulaev was awarded the second star of the Hero of the Soviet Union for 125 sorties, 42 air battles, in which he shot down 42 enemy aircraft personally and 3 in a group.

And then another episode occurs, about which Gulaev frankly told his friends after the war, an episode that perfectly shows his violent nature, a native of the Don.

The fact that he became twice Hero of the Soviet Union, the pilot learned after the next flight. Brother-soldiers have already gathered at the airfield, who said: the award should be “washed”, there is alcohol, but there are problems with the snack.

Gulaev remembered that when he returned to the airfield, he saw grazing pigs. With the words "there will be a snack," the ace boards the plane again and, after a few minutes, puts it near the barns, to the amazement of the owner of the pigs.

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, which was loaded with difficulty into the fighting vehicle.

By some miracle, the pilot took off from a very small platform along with a boar distraught with horror. A combat aircraft is not designed for the fact that a plump pig will 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 case is related to the appearance of the Soviet ace. Once in battle, he managed to shoot down a reconnaissance aircraft piloted by a Hitlerite colonel, holder of four Iron Crosses. The German pilot wanted to meet the one who managed to interrupt his brilliant career. Apparently, the German expected to see a stately handsome man, a “Russian bear”, who is not shameful to lose ... But instead, a young, short, overweight captain Gulaev came, who, by the way, in the regiment did not have the heroic nickname “Kolobok” at all. The disappointment of the Germans knew no bounds...

Fight with political overtones

In the summer of 1944, the Soviet command decides to recall the best Soviet pilots. The war is coming to a victorious end, and the leadership of the USSR begins to think about the future. Those who proved 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 among those who were called to Moscow. He himself did not rush to the academy, he asked to be left in the army, but was refused. On August 12, 1944, Nikolai Gulaev shot down his last Focke-Wulf 190.

There are at least three versions of what happened, which combine two words - "brawl" and "foreigners". Let's focus on the one that occurs most often.

According to her, Nikolai Gulaev, by that time already a major, was called to Moscow not only to study at the academy, but also to receive the third star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Given the combat achievements of the pilot, this version does not look implausible. In the company of Gulaev, there were other honored aces who were waiting for the award.

The day before the ceremony in the Kremlin, Gulaev went to the restaurant of the Moskva Hotel, where his fellow pilots were relaxing. However, the restaurant was full, and the administrator said: "Comrade, there is no place for you!".

It was not worth it at all to say something like that to Gulaev with his explosive character, but then, unfortunately, he also came across the Romanian military, 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 enraged Gulaev said loudly: “What is it, there is no place for the Hero of the Soviet Union, but are there enemies?”

The words of the pilot were heard by the Romanians, and one of them issued an insulting phrase in Russian to Gulaev. A second later, the Soviet ace was near the Romanian and relish hit him in the face.

Less than a minute later, a fight broke out in the restaurant between Romanians and Soviet pilots.

When the fighters were separated, it turned out that the pilots had beaten the members of the official Romanian military delegation. The scandal reached Stalin himself, who decided: to cancel the awarding of the third star of the Hero.

If it were not about the Romanians, but about the British or Americans, most likely, the case for Gulaev would have ended quite badly. But the leader of all peoples did not break the life of his ace because of yesterday's opponents. Gulaev was simply sent to a unit, away from the front, the Romanians and, in general, any attention. But how true this version is is unknown.

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 Academy of the General Staff.

He commanded the 133rd Aviation Fighter Division, located in Yaroslavl, the 32nd Air Defense Corps in Rzhev, the 10th Air Defense Army in Arkhangelsk, which covered the northern borders of the Soviet Union.

Nikolai Dmitrievich had wonderful family, he adored his granddaughter Ira, was a passionate fisherman, loved to treat guests with personally salted watermelons ...

He also visited pioneer camps, participated in various veteran events, but still there was a feeling that an order had been given from above, saying modern language, do not promote his persona too much.

Actually, there were reasons for this even at a time when Gulaev was already wearing the general's shoulder straps. For example, he could, by his authority, invite Vladimir Vysotsky, 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. The Norwegian border guards appealed to the Soviet authorities with a complaint about the actions of the general. After that, the general was transferred to a headquarters 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 bright biography Nikolay 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 service, to which his whole life was devoted.

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel General Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev died on September 27, 1985 in Moscow, at the age of 67. The place of his last resting place was the Kuntsevo cemetery of the capital.

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 successful...

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 shot down in 1945 on his account. American aircraft"Mustang", 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" - tactical technique air combat, the Germans called it 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 mild degree 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 the Pokryshkin group and was trained on the Aerocobra - 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 such.

In total, he shot down 56 aircraft personally and 6 in the group. Perhaps none of our other ace on personal account there is no such variety of types of downed aircraft as Rechkalov’s, these are bombers, attack aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, 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 victories in naval aviation, personally shot down at least 20 enemy aircraft and 34 in the 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 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 Soviet army there is no one to fight, you 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 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.

Grigory Shuvalov