List of casualties Soviet aviation V Korean War (1953)

IN this list lists the losses of combat aviation of the USSR during the Korean War for 1953.

All data are based on Igor Seydov's book “Red Devils in the Sky of Korea. Soviet aviation in the war 1950-1953. Chronicle of air battles ”(M .: Yauza; Eksmo, 2007), which in 2007, apparently, is the most full time dedicated to the actions of Soviet aviation in Korea.

Losses are specified in the following format: date; rank and name of the pilot; unit (air regiment or division); the reason for the loss; the fate of the pilot. The type of aircraft is not specified, since all aircraft in the list are MiG-15 fighters. All combat and non-combat losses are given, the details of which are known. It should be noted that Seydov's book does not describe all the losses suffered by the 64th Fighter Air Corps; in particular, he notes that he does not know the exact number of losses for October 1951, but, according to a rough estimate, 10-12 aircraft were lost (the text of the book provides details of the loss of 8 aircraft). Despite this, in most cases, Seidov's data coincide with the monthly statistics of the 64th Air Corps available to him.

According to official data from the US Air Force, 827 MiG-15 fighters were shot down in air battles by Air Force aircraft. However, the actual losses of aviation of the USSR, China and North Korea amounted to 566 aircraft, and not all of them were MiG-15s. As Seydov's book shows, in most cases, overestimated data on air victories ah, they were explained by the fact that the damaged enemy aircraft were counted as shot down to the American pilots. In all likelihood, it was difficult to clarify the number of victories because American aviation was fighting over the territory of the enemy, which excluded the possibility of attracting ground observers and searching for the wreckage of downed aircraft.

Abbreviations:

  • iap- fighter regiment
  • hyap- Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment

Losses

January 1953

  • Senior Lieutenant Sokolov Nikolai Pavlovich (224th IAP). Shot down by F-86 over Supkhun HPP. The pilot landed on the ice of the reservoir, but the ice broke and the plane sank. The pilot died in the car.
  • Ilyashenko Sergey Nikolaevich (224th IAP). Shot down by F-86 over Supkhun HPP. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Mishchenko Vitaly Mikhailovich (726th IAP). Shot down (presumably F-86). The pilot is dead.
  • Captain Andrushchenko V.D. (578th IAP Pacific Fleet). Engine failure on takeoff, planned, but did not reach the runway. The pilot survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Karpov I.I. (913th IAP). Shot down by an F-86 piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Heller, Commander of the 16th Air Squadron. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Zemtsov (578th IAP Pacific Fleet). Engine failure in flight. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Udovikov G.M. (913th IAP). Loss of orientation. Forced landing on the Liaodong Peninsula (Xuzhou area). The pilot survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Senyutkin B.G. (535th IAP). Loss of orientation when flying in snow. Forced landing near the city of Andong. The pilot injured his spine.

February 1953

  • Lieutenant Demyanov I.K. (913th IAP). Shot down by F-86. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Masleev Fedor Ilyich (535th IAP). F-86 shot down, pilot sat on his belly outside the Dapu runway. The pilot survived.
  • Captain Zelensky I.F (913th IAP). Shot down by F-86. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Sokolov Ilya Konstantinovich (535th IAP). F-86 was shot down, in the area of ​​Supkhun HPP, forced landing, the catapult worked through the lantern. The pilot is dead.
  • Major Babich S.I. (913th IAP). Shot down by F-86 in the Anshu area (during a raid to the Sea of ​​Japan). The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Smirnov (913th IAP). Shot down by F-86 in the Anshu area (during a raid to Sea of ​​Japan). The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Lieutenant Colonel Akimov P.S. (535th IAP). Shot down by F-86 in the area of ​​Supkhun hydroelectric power station, when entering the alternate airfield. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Zabolotny Petr Petrovich (535th IAP). Shot down by F-86 in the area of ​​Supkhun hydroelectric power station, when entering the alternate airfield. The pilot ejected and survived.

End of February

  • Senior Lieutenant Popov A.K. (913th IAP). Accident during testing of the new Kuandian airfield. MiG-15 burned down on the runway. The pilot survived.

March 1953

  • Seliververstov Vasily Mitrofanovich (commander of the 1st air squadron of the 878th IAP). A group of F-86s tried to squeeze him into a "box". The pilot exited the aircraft by flipping it over.
  • Senior Lieutenant Chepusov Dmitry Ivanovich (878th IAP). Shot down by F-86, collided with a hill during landing. The pilot is dead.
  • Senior Lieutenant Rochikashvili Vasily (Vaso) Ivanovich (224th IAP). The F-86 was shot down, while landing it jumped over the runway and crashed into the parapet. The pilot is dead.
  • Senior Lieutenant Kuan Vadim Nikolaevich (224th IAP). Leaving from under the attack of the F-86, he fell into a tailspin at low altitude. The pilot is dead.
  • Senior Lieutenant Khristoforov N.A. (913th IAP). Shot down by F-86. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Lieutenant Stroilov E. (224th IAP). Collided with the leader and beat off the tail. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Odintsov N.K. (224th IAP). Cut off the tail as a result of the collision. The pilot ejected but injured his spine.
  • Senior Lieutenant Sedashev Vladimir Nikolaevich (518th IAP). F-86 shot down, catastrophe on the runway of the Miaogou airfield. The pilot is dead.
  • Senior Lieutenant Kabanov V.Ya. (535th IAP). Shot down by F-86 near Supkhun HPP. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Lapygin V.N. (535th IAP). Shot down by F-86 near Supkhun HPP. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Captain Ilinykh (781st IAP Pacific Fleet) F-86 shot down. The pilot ejected and survived.

April 1953

  • Senior Lieutenant Motanahi V.I. (726th IAP). As a result of the overload, the wing fell off. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Shkurko Nikolai Ivanovich (298th Niap). Night crash landing at Andong airfield. The pilot was killed (the only loss of the regiment).
  • Senior Lieutenant Popov A.K. (913th IAP). Shot down by F-86. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Captain Fedorets S.A. (913th IAP). Shot down by F-86. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Markov Vladimir Sergeevich (224th IAP). Shot down by an F-86 in the Deeguangdong area. The pilot is dead.
  • Captain Lazarev Vasily Nikolaevich (224th IAP). Shot down by F-86. The pilot is dead.
  • Senior Lieutenant Nikolay Yakovlevich Kislukhin (676th IAP). During takeoff from the Dapu airfield, the PTBs came off. The pilot is dead.

May 1953

  • Captain Batrakov N.D. (224th IAP). Shot down by an F-86 in the Anshu area. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Kamenshchikov Vasily Grigorievich (781st IAP Pacific Fleet). Shot down by an F-86 in the Anshu area. The pilot is dead.
  • Senior Lieutenant Kolesnikov L.P. (224th IAP). Shot down by an F-86 in the Suphun area. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Zabolotny P.P. (535th IAP). Shot down by an F-86 in the Suphun area. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Borisov Yu.B. (224th IAP). We ran out of fuel on the way back from the Suphun area. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Krivich V.P. (535th IAP). Shot down by F-86s attached to a group of MiG fighters with non-dropped PTBs. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Rybakov Alexei Konstantinovich (518th IAP). Shot down by an F-86 in the Suphun area. The pilot is dead.
  • Captain Stadnik E.I. (518th IAP). Shot down by an F-86 in the Suphun area. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Captain Grishenchuk Viktor Lukyanovich (913th IAP). Shot down by an F-86 while landing at Andong. The pilot is dead.
  • Senior Lieutenant Titenko (535th IAP). Shot down by an F-86 on approach to Miaogou. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Pronin Ivan Vasilievich (415th IAP). Shot down by F-86. The pilot is dead.
  • Senior Lieutenant Kuprin N.G. (415th IAP). Shot down by F-86. The pilot ejected and survived.

June 1953

  • Senior Lieutenant Timoshin Vasily Stepanovich (781st IAP Pacific Fleet). Shot down by an F-86 in the Hichen-Anshu area. The pilot is dead.
  • Senior Lieutenant Krasnikov N.P. (224th IAP). The plane crashed after running out of fuel due to loss of orientation. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Solovyov Leonid (676th IAP). Shot down by F-86 near Supkhun HPP. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Tsarenko Vladimir Fedorovich (781st IAP Pacific Fleet). Shot down by F-86 during takeoff from Dapu airfield. The pilot died as a result of an unsuccessful ejection.
  • Senior Lieutenant Kucherenko E.P. (781st IAP Pacific Fleet). Shot down by F-86 during takeoff from Dapu airfield. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Pushkarev Boris Vladimirovich (781st IAP Pacific Fleet). Shot down by F-86. The pilot is dead.
  • Senior Lieutenant Stepan Aleksevich Dorokhov (535th IAP). Shot down by F-86 during takeoff from Dapu airfield. The pilot is dead.
  • Captain Blinov Petr Nikolaevich (535th IAP). Shot down by F-86 during takeoff from Dapu airfield. The pilot survived.
  • Captain Balandin Vasily (781st Iap Pacific Fleet). Shot down by an F-86 while landing at the Dapu airfield. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Captain Tabakov A.P. (676th IAP). Shot down by an F-86 in the Shiojio area. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Borisov Vasily Ivanovich (913th IAP). Crashed on landing at Andong airfield. The pilot is dead.
  • Senior Lieutenant Pimenov V.I. (224th IAP). Shot down by F-86. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Potapov Petr Smenovich (913th IAP). Shot down by F-86 near Supkhun HPP. The pilot died as a result of an unsuccessful ejection.
  • Lieutenant Kriklivets Ivan Petrovich (913th IAP). Shot down by F-86 near Supkhun HPP. The pilot ejected and died by drowning in the reservoir.
  • Lieutenant Korshunov Boris Vasilyevich (518th IAP). Shot down by F-86 near Supkhun HPP. The pilot is dead.
  • Lieutenant Pletnev (676th IAP). Shot down by F-86 near Supkhun HPP. The damaged aircraft crashed on landing at Andong airfield. The pilot survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Kashin V.V. (878th IAP). Shot down by an F-86 in the Dougondong area. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Averyanov M. (878th IAP). Shot down by an F-86 in the Dougondong area. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Kulaev Vil Pavlovich (224th IAP). "Valezhka" during a training flight. The pilot is dead.
  • Senior Lieutenant Pustovarov (676th IAP). F-86 shot down, landing accident. The pilot survived.
  • Captain Karpov I.I. (913th IAP). Landing accident. The pilot survived.
  • Captain Khristoforov N.A (913th IAP). Shot down by F-86. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Captain Alikin Arkady Georgievich (415th IAP). Shot down by F-86. In battle, he covered the leading commander of the regiment. The pilot is dead.
  • Major Marchenko V.A. regiment commander (913th IAP). Shot down by F-86 during takeoff from Andong airfield. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Lieutenant Colonel Gorbunov Ivan Mikhailovich, GSS (676th IAP). Shot down by F-86 after takeoff from Andong airfield. The pilot ejected and was shot by F-86s in the Ulunbei area.
  • Senior Lieutenant Levchatov (224th IAP). Shot down by F-86. The pilot ejected and survived.

July 1953

  • Lieutenant Alexander Nikolaevich Kolpakov (535th IAP). Crash during a training flight. The pilot is dead.
  • Senior Lieutenant Abidin M.L. (518th IAP). Shot down by an F-86 on landing in the Miaogou area. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Captain Viktor Mikhailovich Belov (781st IAP Pacific Fleet). Shot down by an F-86 at an altitude of 15 m on landing at the Andong airfield. The pilot is dead.
  • Lieutenant Galin Alexander Ivanovich (224th IAP). Shot down by F-86 in the Andong Gishu area. The pilot died as a result of an unsuccessful ejection.
  • Borisov Yu.B (224th IAP). The plane was fired upon landing at the Dapu airfield. The pilot survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Germanov A.A. (224th IAP). Shot down by F-86 in the Dapu area. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Malevsky L.I. (913th IAP). Crashed after running out of fuel as a result of a battle in the Mukden area. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Gagarinov (535th IAP). Shot down by F-86 near the airfield. The plane crashed on landing. The pilot survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Shishkin G.P. (726th IAP). Shot down by F-86. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Pavlov (913th IAP). Shot down by F-86 near Supkhun HPP. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Senior Lieutenant Potibenko V.I. (535th IAP). Shot down by F-86 in the Andong Gishu area. The pilot ejected and survived.
  • Lieutenant Gerasimchuk Nikolai Petrovich (913th IAP). Shot down by F-86 near Supkhun HPP. The pilot died as a result of an unsuccessful ejection.
  • Senior Lieutenant E.I. Lugovtsov (781st IAP Pacific Fleet). Shot down by F-86. The pilot ejected and survived.

general Statistics

According to Seydov, in 1953, the 64th Fighter Air Corps lost 86 MiG-15bis aircraft, excluding night battles. The table below summarizes the list data.

Notes

Bibliography

  • Seidov, Igor"Red Devils" in the sky of Korea. - M .: Yauza, Eksmo, 2007. - S. 704. -
April 12, 1951 was called "Black Thursday" by Americans. IN dogfight over Korea, Soviet pilots managed to shoot down 12 American B-29 bombers, which were called "superfortresses" and were considered practically invulnerable before.

In total, during the years of the Korean War (1950-1953), Soviet aces shot down 1097 American aircraft. Another 212 destroyed ground-based air defense systems. Today, communist North Korea is perceived as a kind of rudiment cold war, which once divided the world into Soviet and capitalist camps. However, six decades ago, hundreds of Soviet pilots gave their lives to ensure that this state remained on the world map.

To be more precise, according to the official version, 361 Soviet servicemen died during the Korean War. A number of experts believe that this is an underestimate, since the list of losses did not include those who died from wounds in hospitals in the USSR and China.


Data on the ratio of losses of American and Soviet aviation vary greatly. However, even US historians unequivocally admit that American losses are an order of magnitude higher.

This is explained, firstly, by the superiority of the Soviet military equipment. The command of the US Air Force, in the end, was forced to admit that the B-29 bombers were very vulnerable to the fire of 23 and 37-mm guns, which were in service with the Soviet MiG-15 fighters. Only a few shells that hit the bomber could destroy it. The guns with which the MiGs were armed (caliber 37 and 23 mm) had a significantly greater range of effective fire, as well as destructive power compared to the large-caliber B-29 machine guns.

In addition, the machine-gun mounts mounted on the winged "fortresses" could not provide effective fire and aiming at aircraft that attacked at an approach speed of 150-160 meters per second.
Well, and, of course, the "human factor" played a significant role. Most of the Soviet pilots who took part in air battles had vast combat experience gained during the Great Patriotic War.


Yes, and in the post-war years, the training of combat pilots in the USSR was given great value. As a result, for example, Aviation Major General Nikolai Vasilyevich Sutyagin shot down 19 enemy aircraft in the three years of the Korean War. Apart from three, the death of which could not be confirmed. The same number (19 confirmed victories) was shot down by Evgeny Georgievich Pepelyaev.

There were 13 Soviet aces who shot down 10 or more American vehicles. The average total number of personnel of the corps as of 1952 was 26 thousand people. Alternately changing, 12 Soviet fighter aviation divisions, 4 anti-aircraft artillery divisions, 2 separate (night) fighter aviation regiments, 2 anti-aircraft searchlight regiments, 2 aviation technical divisions and 2 fighter aviation regiments of the Navy Air Force. In total, about 40 thousand Soviet military personnel took part in the Korean War.

For a long time, the heroism and even just the participation of Soviet pilots in fierce air battles in the sky over Korea were carefully hidden. All of them had Chinese documents without photographs, wore the uniform of Chinese military personnel. Air Marshal, the famous Soviet fighter Ivan Kozhedub admitted in an interview that this disguise was sewn with white threads” and, laughing, said that for three years his surname became LI SI TSIN. However, during the air battle, the pilots spoke Russian, including with the help of "idiomatic expressions." Therefore, the Americans had no doubts about who was fighting them in the skies over Korea.

It is interesting that official Washington kept silent all three years of the war about the fact that Russians were at the controls of most of the MiGs that smashed the “flying fortresses” to smithereens.


Many years after graduation hot phase Korean War (officially, peace between North and South Korea has not yet been concluded), President Truman's military adviser Paul Nitze admitted that he was prepared secret document. It analyzed whether it was worth divulging the direct participation of Soviet pilots in air battles.

As a result, the US government came to the conclusion that this should not be done. After all big losses the American Air Force was hard-pressed by the whole society and outrage at the fact that "the Russians are to blame for this" could lead to unpredictable consequences. Including nuclear war.

The REAL jet war unfolded in the early fifties in Korea on November 8, 1950. On that day, Russian MiG-15 jet aircraft with North Korean identification marks appeared in the Korean frontline sky. They immediately entered into fierce duels with the American F-80 Shooting Star and F-84 Thunderjet. The American commander, MacArthur, had to report to the chiefs of staff that the pilots in Korea had encountered military equipment that was significantly superior to the American one, their morale began to decline. The US command urgently had to introduce the latest F-86 Saber jet fighters to protect the bombers. A jet air war unfolded, waged by US pilots with allies on the one hand, and on the other, Soviet, Chinese and North Korean pilots. The MiG-15s and F-86 Sabers involved were state-of-the-art jet aircraft.
“Attacking aircraft rushed from great heights, where MiGs had an advantage, down to low altitudes, where Sabers dominated,” recalled one of the American pilots. “On a collision course with a total speed of more than 1,900 km / h, the planes approached so quickly eyes and human reactions were at their limits."

In jet air warfare, success remained with the Soviet aces. Overseas specialists counted over 30 tactics used by MiG pilots. And this, in general, is not surprising. Thus, the 324th division, which was one of the first to arrive in Northern China for air defense of North Korean targets, was commanded by the legendary Ivan Kozhedub. That is why the "oblique loop", and "carousel", and "slide to the sun" and "trap", and "mouth" were in use ... Let's note that in the USA they assessed the level of training of their opponent in different ways. Fighter wing commander "jet" ace Colonel Harrison Ting believed: "The MiG-15 is terrible if it is controlled by a good, enterprising pilot."

These were Captain Nikolai Sutyagin, Colonel Evgeny Pepelyaev, Captain Lev Shchukin, Major Dmitry Oskin, and other Soviet pilots - the fearless aces of the Korean War.

The first "reactive" ace of the planet was our pilot - Senior Lieutenant Fedor Shabanov. On a jet fighter, he destroyed 5 jet planes. It happened on May 20, 1951. Let's remember the date of birth of the first "jet" ace - May 20, 1951. It was then that Fedor Shabanov scored his sixth victory over the F-86, which was the fifth "jet". On this day, American pilot James Jabara also won his fifth "jet" victory.


Soviet air "jet" aces Nikolai Sutyagin (left) and
Evgeny Pepelyaev (right)

Well, the deputy commander of the squadron of the 17th regiment of the 303rd fighter aviation division Captain Nikolai Sutyagin. Your account jet victories it opened June 19 fifty-first. And after three days it increases them to 3.

Then, at the time of the turn, the flight of Soviet pilots, led by Nikolai Sutyagin, entered the “tail” of the four F-86s. Skillful maneuver, and our pilots are already in the tail of the Sabers. Noticing the MiGs, the Americans, after a left turn, went into a dive. Sutyagin opened fire on the wingman from a distance of 400-500 meters. But the second pair of Americans went into the "tail" link, this was noticed by the led senior lieutenant Shulev - he got out of the strike with a sharp maneuver. The leader of the first American pair, noticing that they were shooting at the follower, went to the "oblique loop". But he could not resist the skill of Sutyagin, who, in the upper position, having already approached 250-300 meters, opened fire on him. F-86 blazed and began to fall. A little later, another Saber was destroyed.
Sutyagin's ability to fight the Americans was envied throughout the division, as was his determination to win.
The summer of 51st became productive for Nikolai - 6 downed enemy aircraft, the autumn was even more productive - 8 destroyed vehicles. In December alone, Sutyagin scored 5 air victories. At the beginning of the 52nd, he began to fly out on combat missions less often, as an ace he was instructed to speak to the pilots of second-echelon regiments preparing for battle. However, in January 52, he shot down 3 enemy aircraft.

So, during the fighting from June 17, 1951 to February 2, 1952, Nikolai Sutyagin made 149 sorties, conducted 66 air battles, personally shot down 22 aircraft - the highest result in the Korean War. He has 15 F-86 Saber, 2 F-80 Shooting Star, 3 F-84 Thunderjet and 2 Gloucester Meteor.

By the way, not all criteria used in the analysis of the results of the pilots of the Second World War are applicable to the Korean War. Warring parties were in roughly equal conditions. Even Soviet and American pilots fought on planes that were close in terms of basic flight performance. The MiG-15 was superior to the F-86 in rate of climb and specific thrust-to-weight ratio. The Saber gained speed faster when diving, was more maneuverable, and had a greater flight range. However, the MiG was distinguished by its armament, two 23-mm cannons and one 37-mm cannon were characterized by a high rate of fire, and the shells pierced any armor. 6 large-caliber "Sabre" machine guns "Colt Browning" did not give such an effect.
Captain Nikolai Sutyagin has the highest result. He owns almost all the records of air combat on jet technology. He won the largest number of victories - 22. Shot down the largest number of jets. Most of them destroyed the most modern at that time F-86 "Saber" - 15. He also achieved a high result in air duels in one month - 5 victories.
The US Air Force had no pilot equal to Nikolai Sutyagin in courage and skill in jet warfare. As, however, and Evgeny Pepelyaev.

The commander of the 176th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 324th Fighter Aviation Division, Colonel Yevgeny Pepelyaev, scored 19 air victories with 108 sorties. Plus, 4 aircraft shot down by him went to the account of the wingman. This Russian pilot has the highest performance according to the formula - the number of victories per one sortie is 0.19. For 5 sorties, he shot down an enemy aircraft. In two battles, Pepelyaev destroyed two aircraft each. On his account - 14 American F-86 "Saber", two - F-84 "Thunderjet", one - F-80 "Shooting Star", two - F-94.
Captain Lev Shchukin and Major Dmitry Oskin destroyed 15 enemy aircraft each. By the way, Dmitry Oskin holds the record for the highest performance for a certain period among our pilots. In October-December 1951, in 23 days, he won victories. 13 victories on account of captain Sergei Kramarenko. Major Konstantin Sheberstov, Major Mikhail Ponomarev (September 11, 1951, in one day he destroyed four jet attack aircraft, three of them in one sortie), Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Smorchkov, 11 each Captain Grigory Okhai, Major Stepan Bakhaev, have won 12 fights each. captain Peter (?) Milaushkin, 10th senior lieutenant Dmitry Samoilov, captain Ivan (?) Suchkov.

Here we should also mention Captain Stepan Naumenko, who became the first Soviet ace in the Korean War - on December 24, 1950, when he shot down his fifth plane. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Karasev, who on September 19 of this year won three victories by sending a trio of F-84 attack aircraft to the ground. Major Anatoly Karelin, who shot down 6 B-29 aircraft - the famous "flying fortresses" in night air battles.

In total, during the Korean War, 51 Soviet pilots became an ace, having won 5 or more victories.

The results of American pilots are more modest. The most successful was Captain Joseph McConnell. In 106 sorties, he shot down 16 enemy aircraft. The second "jet" ace among the Americans is reputed to be Captain James Jabara, who won 15 victories. The third is Captain Manuel Fernander, who personally shot down 14 aircraft and one in the group. The fourth ace, Major George Davis, shot down 14 aircraft. Colonel Royal Baker (he is the fifth American ace) scored 13 aerial victories. Another 8 American pilots have won from 10 to 14 fights. And 40 pilots became aces. For comparison, let's say that during the Korean War, 51 Soviet pilots became an ace, having won 5 or more victories. (Both in the first and second cases, the pilots also had destroyed piston engines.)

And now it is appropriate to say this. The Americans, both pilots and researchers of the Korean War, turned out to be great masters of falsification. They "took" all the records for themselves, thus proving the thesis, or rather, the myth of their combat superiority. An example is the book "MiG Alley", published in Texas in 1970.

Overseas researchers are trying with might and main to raise the skill of their pilots. They often emphasize that Captain James Jabara became the first jet ace in history, having shot down 5 aircraft by May 20, 1951 (in total, Jabara accounted for 15 air victories). It is noted that the strongest pilot of the Korean War is Captain Joseph McConnell (he won 16 fights). As we have seen, this is not at all the case.

Of course, one must pay tribute to the courage and skill of the American pilots, they fought with dignity, and sometimes on an equal footing with the Soviet aces. Moreover, the same Joseph McConnell and James Jabara, as they say, remained faithful to heaven to the end. The first was killed during test flights in 1954. The second set the goal of becoming an ace and during Vietnam War, was sent there, but did not achieve his goal - he died in a plane crash. By the way, there he could run into the pupils of Nikolai Sutyagin, who was an adviser in the Vietnamese Air Force.

Without belittling the skill of the American pilots, let's say that the score of the Soviet aces is more solid. Well, almost all the records of the "reactive" war, as I have already noted, belong to Nikolai Sutyagin. What, by the way, Russian researchers need to remember more often, clarifying certain positions in the history of air wars.

Until now, the United States is trying to correct the overall outcome of the war. So, in the "Encyclopedia of Aviation" (New York, 1977) it is noted that during the war American pilots shot down 2,300 "communist" aircraft (USSR, China and North Korea), losses of the USA and their allies - 114. The ratio - 20:1 Impressive?However, the most serious American experts in the fifties, when it was difficult to hide the losses (see the book "Air power - the decisive force in Korea", Toronto - New York - London, 1957) noted that the Air Force The United States lost about 2,000 aircraft in combat alone, while at that time they estimated the losses of "communist" aircraft more modestly - at about 1,000 aircraft.However, these figures are far from the truth.

In 1993, the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces declassified documents from the Korean War. Here is the general data. Soviet pilots of the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps (during the war it alternately - from 6 months to one year - included ten divisions) conducted 1,872 air battles, during which 1,106 enemy aircraft were shot down, of which F-86 - 650 units. Hull losses - 335 aircraft. The ratio is 3:1 in favor of Soviet pilots, including the latest machines (MiG-15 and F-86 Saber) - 2:1. Note that the American pilots acted less effectively than the pilots of the United air army which included parts of China and North Korea. They shot down 231 aircraft and lost 271.

In a word, in Korea, the upper hand remained with the school, which was represented by the legendary Soviet ace Ivan Kozhedub, who initiated the destruction of jet technology in February of the victorious 1945-ro, and the fearless aces of jet war Nikolai Sutyagin and Evgeny Pepelyaev.

The Korean War ended sixty years ago. One of the most interesting and at the same time controversial aspects of this conflict was the dogfights. For a number of reasons, even now it is impossible to accurately establish the ratio of the losses of the parties and, as a result, to correctly assess the tactics of the actions of certain units. IN various sources a variety of figures are called, both based on documents of that time, and “grown up” in the specific political situation of the first years of the Cold War. Therefore, even in Western publications, which are difficult to suspect of sympathy for Soviet, Chinese or North Korean pilots, there is different information. So, in various books and articles there are estimates of the ratio of losses from 2: 1 in favor of the USSR, China and North Korea to the success of the UN pilots at the level of 20:1.

MiG-15 - "workhorse" of Soviet pilots in Korea


Against the backdrop of disputes over the exact numbers of downed and damaged aircraft, another no less important topic. It is not difficult to guess that the final figures of victories and losses were not formed immediately. Pilots on both sides of the front had to learn to fight each other, and such training took weeks, months and dozens of sorties. Therefore, during the first months of the war, each new victory in the air was the result of the application of new tactical finds and ideas, which made it especially interesting. Let us recall the first achievements of Soviet pilots, which gave impetus to further successes in the air war over the Korean Peninsula.

First, it is worth remembering who exactly fought on the side of North Korea. In the first weeks of the war, in the middle of the summer of 1950, the air force of the Korean People's Army was frankly weak. Only about 150 aircraft were based at airfields north of the 38th parallel. various types. The UN troops, in turn, had an order of magnitude larger air fleet. In this regard, already in the fall of that year, the North Korean command turned to the Soviet Union for help. In November 1950, the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps (JAC) was formed, the purpose of which was to cover the territory of friendly China from UN air raids, including American ones. In less than three years, 12 fighter air divisions went through the war as part of the 64th IAC. About a year after the creation of the 64th Corps, in December 1951, two Chinese fighter divisions appeared in Korea. spring next year they and the first North Korean fighter air division were reduced to the Joint Air Army.


American bomber B-29 Superfortress over the target, 1951

After the appearance of Soviet MiG-15 fighters over Korea, the situation in the air changed dramatically. In just a few weeks, US and UN aircraft almost completely finished off the few North Korean air force and felt like the sole mistress of the air. However, already in December, Soviet pilots from the 64th IAC showed in practice what self-confidence and carelessness can turn into. On the afternoon of November 1, a few weeks before the official formation of the fighter air corps, the pilots of the 72nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment made their first combat sortie during the Korean War. Five pilots on the MiG-15 under the command of Major Stroykov attacked a group of American P-51 Mustang piston fighters with the expected result - Senior Lieutenant Chizh opened the score Soviet victories. There is also information about the F-80 Shooting Star fighter shot down on the same day.

In Western literature, the fact of the destruction of the F-80 fighter on November 1, 1950 is not recognized. The most common claim is that this aircraft was damaged by anti-aircraft fire and crashed. Moreover, the first weeks of the combat work of the 64th Fighter Corps in foreign sources are most often described in just a couple of lines. Probably, the fact is that due to the absence of a serious enemy, Soviet pilots actively shot down the Americans. Naturally, such facts, especially during the Cold War, were not made public in the West. Because of this, the main narrative of the air war in Korea in foreign literature often begins only with later events.

Shortly after the first sortie, an account of losses was opened. Already on November 9, an air battle took place, the results of which are not in doubt on both sides. On the morning of that day, American planes bombed the bridge over the Yalu River. The attack aircraft group was covered by F9F Panther fighters. To protect the object, 13 MiG-15 fighters from the 28th and 151st Fighter Aviation Divisions (IAD) arrived in the area. Probably not seeing all the enemy forces, the Soviet pilots attacked the attack aircraft, dropping bombs on the bridge. Because of this, the American F9F fighters were able to unexpectedly approach, break the MiG-15 system and shoot down the commander of the 1st squadron, Captain M. Grachev. Lieutenant U. Emen, having taken a position advantageous for the attack, fired almost until Grachev crashed into a hill.

On the same day, November 9, pilots N. Podgorny from the 67th Regiment and A. Bordun from the 72nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP) with a difference of several hours won the first victories over long-range B-29 Superfortress bombers. Subsequently, the fighters of the USSR, China and North Korea shot down, according to various sources, from one and a half dozen to 70 such aircraft.

Seeing serious losses of old piston and obsolete jet aircraft, the American command already in December 1950 transferred the latest F-86 Saber fighters to Korea. This step eventually led to the expected result. Confirmation of the correctness of sending the Sabers to the war is the fact that four dozen (all but one) American aces pilots who scored five or more victories flew precisely on such fighters.


F-86 Saber - the main enemy of the Soviet "Migs"

The first collision of the most advanced fighters of that time - the MiG-15 and F-86 - occurred on December 17, 1950. Unfortunately, this battle ended not in favor of the Soviet pilots. US Air Force Lieutenant B. Hinton shot down Major Y. Efromeenko from the 50th Air Division. Just a few days later, on December 21, Captain Yurkevich (29th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment) got even with the Americans for this by shooting down the first F-86. However, according to American documents, the first Saber was lost the next day.

On December 22, several fairly large air battles took place with the participation of the F-86 and MiG-15, which received abroad common name"Big Day of UN Pilots". During the day, pilots from both sides fought several air battles, as a result of which their personal accounts increased by a total of five F-86s and six MiG-15s. It is worth noting that these figures turned out to be erroneous. In fact, only two Soviet and one American fighters were lost that day. Such erroneous estimates of the number of aircraft shot down are constant problem any air combat. However, the battles of December 22 differed in that they became the first major clashes between the newest fighters of the USSR and the USA. It was the events of that day that big influence for the entire subsequent course of the war in the Korean air.

On December 24, the commander of the 1st squadron of the 29th IAP captain S.I. Naumenko shot down one in two battles American fighter"Saber". Returning to the airfield after the second battle, Naumenko had five victories to his credit. Thus, Captain S. Naumenko became the first Soviet ace in the Korean War. In May of the following year, the pilot was awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union.


Hero of the Soviet Union S.I. Naumenko

In the future, the first of its kind achievements of Soviet pilots began to appear less and less frequently. For example, the first night victory in air combat took place only at the end of the spring of 1952. US heavy bombers by this time were flying exclusively at night, making interception difficult. At the end of May 52, Major A. Karelin (351st IAP) accurately hit a B-29 bomber during a night flight. The enemy plane was in the rays of anti-aircraft searchlights and did not notice the attack Soviet fighter. According to some sources, six months later, in November 52, Karelin received accurate guidance on an American bomber and even hooked it, crushing several parts of the fuselage. After the impact, the arrows opened fire and revealed themselves. This was the last flight of that B-29.

Finally, in February 1953, A.M. Karelin became the first Soviet ace with five victories exclusively at night. This time the battle turned out to be very difficult: the arrows of the B-29 bomber seriously damaged the MiG-15 of the Soviet pilot. Karelin, having shot down an enemy plane, returned to his airfield with a stopped engine. Almost 120 holes were found in the fighter, 9 of which were in the cockpit. The pilot himself was not injured. After this sortie, Karelin was banned from flying on combat missions, and soon the regiment was sent home to the Soviet Union. In July 53 A. Karelin became a Hero of the Soviet Union.


Hero of the Soviet Union A.M. Karelin

According to the Soviet side, during the Korean War, the pilots of the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps made over 64,000 sorties and carried out almost 1,900 air battles. In these battles, UN troops lost about 1,100 aircraft, including 651 F-86s. Flak corps destroyed 153 aircraft (40 Sabers). For comparison, Korean and Chinese pilots flew 22,000 sorties and took part in combat 366 times. Pilots of the United Air Force destroyed 271 enemy aircraft, including 181 F-86s.

These colossal figures concerning the combat work of the Soviet pilots of the 64th IAC did not appear immediately. For several years in a row, pilots flew missions every day and gradually increased the number of sorties, battles and victories. Each list of such events began with a battle or victory obtained by the forces of a very specific pilot. Unfortunately, such aspects of the Korean War are not covered, studied and discussed as actively as the already rather annoying questions of the exact number of downed aircraft.

According to the websites:
http://airforce.ru/
http://airwar.ru/
http://rocketpolk44.narod.ru/
http://warheroes.ru/

April 12, 1951 in history American aviation called Black Thursday. Such a large number of Americans have not lost strategic bombers in one air battle since the end of World War II.

Fighting between North and South Korea began on June 25, 1950. This war lasted exactly three years and one month. The United States acted openly in Korea, under the UN flag on the side South Korea, and the Soviet Union - behind the scenes on the side of the DPRK.

The US armed forces in this conflict were represented by all branches of the military, which included several hundred thousand military personnel. The Soviet armed forces were only one separate fighter air corps, which, however, in addition to aviation units, included several anti-aircraft artillery divisions, several anti-aircraft searchlight regiments and several radar battalions.

In addition, in the units of the armed forces of the DPRK and the Chinese People's Volunteers, who also actively participated in this war, there were two to three hundred of our military advisers and several military hospitals.

Only anti-aircraft gunners and pilots actively participated in the hostilities, who, as part of the 64th Fighter Air Corps, opposed the powerful 5th Air Army and the aviation of their allies - Australia, Canada, England, South Korea, South Africa. Soviet pilots of the 64th Fighter Air Corps began combat operations on November 1, 1950 on MiG-15 jet fighters designed by Mikoyan and Gurevich.


MiG-15 with North Korean markings

From that moment on, the undivided air supremacy of the Americans and their allies came to an end. This air war involved the best planes on both sides, new tactics air warfare on jet technology.

Already the first fights in the sky proved that the American F-80 Shooting Star and F-84 Thunderjet jets are significantly inferior to the MiG-15 in terms of speed, rate of climb and armament. The fights ended with their flight.

To remedy the situation, at the beginning of 1951, the US Air Force urgently sent the latest fighters, the F-86 Saber, to the Korean Peninsula. Yielding to the MiG in rate of climb and specific thrust, they surpassed it in maneuverability, greater flight range and speed gain when diving.

But the MiG-15 had advantages in armament: three guns (two calibers 23 mm and one 37 mm) with effective range 800 m against 6 machine guns of 12.7 mm caliber with a firing range of 400 m. However, MiGs had to deal in the air not only with the Americans, but also with the military of other countries flying under the UN flag.

Thus, Australia also provided its military forces. However fighting qualities Australian pilots and the technical equipment of their aircraft was such that after the first meetings with the Soviet aces, out of sixteen aircraft, only four survived.


F-86 Saber

The Soviet shield over the Korean sky forced the Americans to reduce the activity of small groups of fighter-bombers. The daytime reconnaissance and bomber flights ceased. The period of air battles of large groups of F-86 fighters with MiGs has begun.

One of the most massive American air raids took place on April 12, the so-called Black Thursday of 1951, when the Americans tried to bomb the railway bridge over the Yalu River near the village of Singisu.

It was the only railroad that supplied the North Korean troops.


B-29

More than forty B-29 bombers participated in the skirmish. This is a huge machine capable of carrying more than 9 tons of bombs. Her defensive weapons included a dozen and a half heavy machine guns. It was this plane that dropped atomic bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The B-29s operated under the cover of hundreds of F-80s and F-84s, divided into small groups. In addition, groups of pinning F-86 fighters, numbering a total of about fifty aircraft, participated in the raid.

To repel this raid, 36 MiG-15s from the 324th Svir Air Division, commanded by Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub, were raised from the Andun airfield.

The battle took place at an altitude of 7-8 thousand meters for 20 minutes. MiG-15s in pairs and fours attacked groups of B-29s, not paying attention to escort groups. As a result, 14 American aircraft were shot down - 10 B-29s and four Sabers.

Although the Americans had a three-fold numerical superiority, the battle on April 12 turned out to be a complete rout for them, dozens of parachute domes opened in the sky over Yalujiang, the crews of American bombers tried to save their lives, and captivity awaited them ahead. Two Soviet aircraft were damaged, but soon, having fixed the problems, they were returned to service. In total, only three were able to break through the river in this battle. American aircraft. They dropped three six-ton ​​radio-controlled bombs, the explosion from which damaged one of the bridge pillars, but after a few days strategically important bridge was restored. In the US Air Force, mourning was declared for the dead pilots for a whole week.

The most productive ace of the Korean War Evgeny Pepelyaev (1918-2013)

In Korea, 46 Soviet pilots became aces. In total, this fifty pilots shot down 416 enemy aircraft. The best Soviet ace of the Korean War is the commander of the 196th IAP of the 324th Air Division, Lieutenant Colonel Evgeny Georgievich Pepelyaev, an excellent commander, an excellent fighter pilot and a faithful senior friend to his subordinates.

It is known that when his wingman, senior lieutenant Valery Larionov, was shot down and killed in one of the battles, Pepelyaev did not hesitate to rewrite three of his victories into his account.

Thus, the official number of enemy aircraft shot down by a young pilot reached five, and Larionov posthumously received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, which guaranteed his widow, who remained with baby on hand, extensive benefits.

Together with these three, the number of enemy aircraft destroyed by Pepelyaev in the sky over the Korean Peninsula reaches 23 pieces (1 F-80, 2 F-84, 2 F-94, 18 F-86).

Nikolai Vasilievich Sutyagin (May 5, 1923 - November 12, 1986) - Hero of the Soviet Union, Honored Military Pilot of the USSR, Major General of Aviation.

The top American ace, Captain Joseph Christopher McConnell, Jr., boasts only 16 downed aircraft.

In second place among our aces is Captain Nikolai Sutyagin from 17 IAP with 21 victories. The 64th Fighter Air Corps fought in Korea for almost three years.

In total, during this time, 1525 enemy aircraft were shot down, 1099 of them were shot down by aviation forces.

Soviet losses amounted to 319 MiG-15 and La-11 aircraft. 120 pilots died in the battles.

Many of our dead pilots were mostly buried in China, eternal memory to them!

The post was prepared based on the materials of the Russian Portal