Names of Soviet aces of the Great Patriotic War Ivan Kozhedub And Alexandra Pokryshkina known to anyone 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 total number aircraft shot down by Gulaev could reach 90, which, however, today cannot be confirmed or denied.
Heroes 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 in the post-war years Pokryshkin and Kozhedub were always in sight, they were engaged in patriotic education young people, then Gulaev, who was practically in no way inferior to his colleagues, remained in the background all the time.
Perhaps the fact is that both military and post-war biography 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 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 the front edge, but on its own territory. Arriving at the regiment, Gulaev again flew on a combat mission on another plane.
In early July 1943, Gulaev, as part of four Soviet fighters, using 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, Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev 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, Gulaev’s main mistake made then, I see that he took with him in combat the flight of three young, not at all shelled pilots at once, who were shot down in their 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 combat 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 active army but got rejected. 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 a 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 the vivid biography of Nikolai Gulaev.
Be that as it may, the resignation had a bad effect on the health of the old pilot, who could not imagine himself without 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.
... the squadron lost 80 pilots in a fairly short period of time,
of which 60 never shot down a single Russian aircraft
/Mike Speke "Aces of the Luftwaffe"/
With a deafening roar, the Iron Curtain collapsed, and a storm of exposés of Soviet myths arose in the media of independent Russia. The most popular theme was the Great Patriotic War - inexperienced soviet man was shocked by the results of the German aces - tankers, submariners and, especially, Luftwaffe pilots.
Actually, the problem is this: 104 German pilots have an account of 100 or more downed aircraft. Among them are Erich Hartmann (352 wins) and Gerhard Barkhorn (301), who showed absolutely phenomenal results. Moreover, Harmann and Barkhorn won all their victories on Eastern Front. And they were no exception - Gunther Rall (275 victories), Otto Kittel (267), Walter Novotny (258) - also fought on the Soviet-German front.
At the same time, the 7 best Soviet aces: Kozhedub, Pokryshkin, Gulaev, Rechkalov, Evstigneev, Vorozheikin, Glinka were able to overcome the bar of 50 downed enemy aircraft. For example, Three times Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Kozhedub destroyed 64 German aircraft in air battles (plus 2 American Mustangs shot down by mistake). Alexander Pokryshkin is a pilot about whom, according to legend, the Germans warned by radio: “Akhtung! Pokryshkin in der Luft!”, chalked up “only” 59 air victories. The little-known Romanian ace Constantin Contacuzino has about the same number of victories (according to various sources, from 60 to 69). Another Romanian, Alexandru Serbanescu, shot down 47 aircraft on the Eastern Front (another 8 victories remained “unconfirmed”).
The situation is much worse for the Anglo-Saxons. The best aces were Marmaduke Pettle (about 50 wins, South Africa) and Richard Bong (40 wins, USA). In total, 19 British and American pilots managed to shoot down more than 30 enemy aircraft, while the British and Americans fought on the best fighters in the world: the inimitable P-51 Mustang, P-38 Lightning or the legendary Supermarine Spitfire! On the other hand, the best ace of the Royal Air Force did not have a chance to fight on such wonderful aircraft - Marmaduke Pettle won all his fifty victories, flying first on the old Gladiator biplane, and then on the clumsy Hurricane.
Against this background, the results of the Finnish fighter aces look completely paradoxical: Ilmari Yutilainen shot down 94 aircraft, and Hans Wind - 75.
What conclusion can be drawn from all these figures? What is the secret of the incredible performance of the Luftwaffe fighters? Maybe the Germans just didn't know how to count?
The only thing that can be asserted a high degree confidence - the accounts of all aces without exception are overstated. To extol the successes of the best fighters is a standard practice of state propaganda, which, by definition, cannot be honest.
German Meresyev and his "Thing"
As an interesting example, I propose to consider the incredible story of the bomber pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel. This ace is less known than the legendary Erich Hartmann. Rudel practically did not participate in air battles, you will not find his name in the lists of the best fighters.
Rudel is famous for having made 2530 sorties. He piloted the Junkers-87 dive bomber, at the end of the war he moved to the helm of the Focke-Wulf 190. During his combat career, he destroyed 519 tanks, 150 self-propelled guns, 4 armored trains, 800 trucks and cars, two cruisers, a destroyer and heavily damaged the battleship Marat. In the air he shot down two Il-2 attack aircraft and seven fighters. He landed six times on enemy territory to save the crews of wrecked Junkers. The Soviet Union placed a reward of 100,000 rubles on the head of Hans-Ulrich Rudel.
Just the epitome of a fascist
He was shot down 32 times by return fire from the ground. In the end, Rudel's leg was torn off, but the pilot continued to fly on a crutch until the end of the war. In 1948, he fled to Argentina, where he became friends with the dictator Peron and organized a mountaineering club. He climbed the highest peak of the Andes - the city of Aconcagua (7 kilometers). In 1953 he returned to Europe and settled in Switzerland, continuing to talk nonsense about the revival of the Third Reich.
Without a doubt, this outstanding and controversial pilot was a tough ace. But for any person accustomed to thoughtfully analyze events, one important question should arise: how was it established that Rudel destroyed exactly 519 tanks?
Of course, there were no camera guns or cameras on the Junkers. The maximum that Rudel or his gunner-radio operator could notice was the covering of a column of armored vehicles, i.e. possible damage to tanks. The exit speed of the Yu-87 from a dive is more than 600 km / h, while overloads can reach 5g, in such conditions it is unrealistic to see anything accurately on the ground.
Since 1943, Rudel moved to the Yu-87G anti-tank attack aircraft. The characteristics of this "lappet" are simply disgusting: max. speed in level flight - 370 km / h, rate of climb - about 4 m / s. Two VK37 cannons (caliber 37 mm, rate of fire 160 rds / min) became the main aircraft, with only 12 (!) shells per gun. Powerful guns mounted in the wings, when firing, created a large turning moment and rocked the light aircraft so that firing in bursts was pointless - only single sniper shots.
And here is a funny report on the results of field tests of the VYa-23 aircraft gun: in 6 sorties on the IL-2, the pilots of the 245th assault aviation regiment, with a total consumption of 435 shells, achieved 46 hits in the tank column (10.6%). It must be assumed that in real combat conditions, under intense anti-aircraft fire, the results will be much worse. Where is the German ace with 24 shells on board the Stukka!
Further, hitting a tank does not guarantee its defeat. An armor-piercing projectile (685 grams, 770 m/s) fired from the VK37 cannon pierced 25 mm of armor at an angle of 30° from the normal. When using sub-caliber ammunition, armor penetration increased by 1.5 times. Also, due to the aircraft's own speed, armor penetration in reality was about 5 mm more. On the other hand, the thickness of the armored hull Soviet tanks only in some projections it was less than 30-40 mm, and there was nothing to dream of hitting a KV, IS or heavy self-propelled gun in the forehead or side.
In addition, breaking through the armor does not always lead to the destruction of the tank. Echelons with damaged armored vehicles regularly arrived in Tankograd and Nizhny Tagil, which were restored in a short time and sent back to the front. And the repair of damaged rollers and chassis was carried out right on the spot. At this time, Hans-Ulrich Rudel drew himself another cross for the "destroyed" tank.
Another question for Rudel is related to his 2530 sorties. According to some reports, in the German bomber squadrons it was accepted as an encouragement to count a difficult sortie for several sorties. For example, the captured captain Helmut Putz, commander of the 4th detachment of the 2nd group of the 27th bomber squadron, explained the following during interrogation: “... in combat conditions, I managed to make 130-140 night sorties, and a number of sorties with a complex combat mission were credited to me , like others, for 2-3 departures. (protocol of interrogation dated 06/17/1943). Although it is possible that Helmut Putz, having been captured, lied, trying to reduce his contribution to attacks on Soviet cities.
Hartmann vs everyone
There is an opinion that aces-pilots filled their bills uncontrollably and fought "on their own", being an exception to the rule. And the main work at the front was carried out by pilots secondary qualification. This is a profound misconception: in a general sense, pilots of "medium qualification" do not exist. There are either aces or their prey.
For example, let's take the legendary Normandy-Neman air regiment, which fought on Yak-3 fighters. Of the 98 French pilots, 60 did not win a single victory, but the “selected” 17 pilots shot down 200 German aircraft in air battles (in total, the French regiment drove 273 aircraft with a swastika into the ground).
A similar pattern was observed in the 8th US Air Force, where out of 5,000 fighter pilots, 2,900 did not win a single victory. Only 318 people chalked up 5 or more downed aircraft.
The American historian Mike Spike describes the same episode related to the actions of the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front: "... the squadron lost 80 pilots in a fairly short period of time, of which 60 did not shoot down a single Russian aircraft."
So, we found out that aces pilots are the main force of the Air Force. But the question remains: what is the reason for that huge gap between the performance of Luftwaffe aces and pilots Anti-Hitler coalition? Even if you divide the incredible accounts of the Germans in half?
One of the legends about the failure of large accounts of German aces is associated with an unusual system for counting downed aircraft: by the number of engines. Single-engine fighter - one downed aircraft. Four-engine bomber - four downed aircraft. Indeed, for the pilots who fought in the West, a parallel offset was introduced, in which for the destruction of the “Flying Fortress” flying in battle formation, the pilot was credited with 4 points, for a damaged bomber that “fell out” of the battle formation and became easy prey other fighters, the pilot was recorded 3 points, because. he did most of the work - breaking through the hurricane fire of the Flying Fortresses is much more difficult than shooting a damaged single plane. And so on: depending on the degree of participation of the pilot in the destruction of the 4-engine monster, he was awarded 1 or 2 points. What happened then with these reward points? They must have been converted into Reichsmarks somehow. But all this had nothing to do with the list of downed aircraft.
The most prosaic explanation for the Luftwaffe phenomenon is that the Germans had no shortage of targets. Germany fought on all fronts with the numerical superiority of the enemy. The Germans had 2 main types of fighters: Messerschmitt-109 (34 thousand were produced from 1934 to 1945) and Focke-Wulf 190 (13 thousand were produced in the fighter version and 6.5 thousand in the attack aircraft version) - a total of 48 thousand fighters.
At the same time, about 70 thousand Yaks, Lavochkins, I-16s and MiG-3s passed through the Red Army Air Force during the war years (excluding 10 thousand fighters supplied under Lend-Lease).
In the Western European theater of operations, Luftwaffe fighters were opposed by about 20 thousand Spitfires and 13 thousand Hurricanes and Tempests (this is how many aircraft visited the Royal Air Force from 1939 to 1945). And how many more fighters did Britain get under Lend-Lease?
Since 1943, American fighters have appeared over Europe - thousands of Mustangs, P-38s and P-47s plowed the skies of the Reich, escorting strategic bombers during raids. In 1944, during the landings in Normandy, the Allied aviation had a sixfold numerical superiority. “If there are camouflage planes in the sky, this is the Royal Air Force, if there are silver ones, the US Air Force. If there are no planes in the sky, it is the Luftwaffe,” the German soldiers joked sadly. How could British and American pilots have big bills under such conditions?
Another example - the Il-2 attack aircraft became the most massive combat aircraft in the history of aviation. During the war years, 36154 attack aircraft were produced, of which 33920 Ils entered the army. By May 1945, the Red Army Air Force included 3585 Il-2 and Il-10, another 200 Il-2 were part of naval aviation.
In a word, the Luftwaffe pilots did not have any superpowers. All their achievements are explained only by the fact that there were many enemy aircraft in the air. Allied fighter aces, on the contrary, needed time to detect the enemy - according to statistics, even the best Soviet pilots had an average of 1 air battle for 8 sorties: they simply could not meet the enemy in the sky!
On a cloudless day, from a distance of 5 km, a WWII fighter is visible like a fly on a window pane from the far corner of the room. In the absence of radars on aircraft, air combat was more of an unexpected coincidence than a regular event.
It is more objective to count the number of downed aircraft, taking into account the number of pilot sorties. Viewed from this angle, Erich Hartmann's achievement pales in comparison: 1,400 sorties, 825 dogfights, and "only" 352 aircraft shot down. This figure is much better for Walter Novotny: 442 sorties and 258 victories.
Friends congratulate Alexander Pokryshkin (far right) on receiving the third star of the Hero of the Soviet Union
It is very interesting to trace how aces pilots began their careers. The legendary Pokryshkin in the very first sorties demonstrated piloting skills, audacity, flight intuition and sniper shooting. And the phenomenal ace Gerhard Barkhorn did not win a single victory in the first 119 sorties, but he himself was shot down twice! Although there is an opinion that Pokryshkin also did not go smoothly: the Soviet Su-2 became his first downed plane.
In any case, Pokryshkin has his own advantage over the best German aces. Hartman was shot down fourteen times. Barkhorn - 9 times. Pokryshkin was never shot down! Another advantage of the Russian miracle hero: he won most of his victories in 1943. In 1944-45. Pokryshkin shot down only 6 German aircraft, focusing on training young personnel and managing the 9th Guards Air Division.
In conclusion, it should be said that one should not be so afraid of the high scores of the Luftwaffe pilots. This, on the contrary, shows what a formidable enemy the Soviet Union defeated, and why the Victory is of such high value.
Aces Luftwaffe World War II
The film tells about the famous German aces pilots: Erich Hartmann (352 downed enemy aircraft), Johan Steinhoff (176), Werner Mölders (115), Adolf Galland (103) and others. Rare shots of interviews with Hartman and Galland are presented, as well as unique newsreel of air battles.
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Aces of the Luftwaffe in World War II
Germany undeniably had the best fighter pilots of World War II. Both in the East and in the West, Luftwaffe experts shot down Allied aircraft by the thousands.
During the First World War, fighter pilots, aces were on both warring sides. Their personal exploits, like those of knights, were a welcome contrast to the nameless bloodshed in the trenches.
Five downed enemy aircraft served as the threshold for awarding the status of ace, although the scores of outstanding pilots were much higher.
In Germany, the pilot's personal account was requested each time before receiving the coveted "Pour le Merite" - the highest award of the Empire for bravery, also known as the "Blue Max".
Pour le Merite - Blue Max, the Empire's highest award for gallantry
This award did not decorate the neck of Hermann Goering until 1918, when he shot down more than 20 enemy aircraft. In total, 63 pilots were awarded the "Blue Max" for the First World War.
Hermann Göring on Blue Max's neck
From 1939 Göring introduced the same system when Hitler's best pilots fought for the Knight's Cross. Compared with the First World War, the threshold was increased several times, and the issue of awarding the highest categories of the Knight's Cross was submitted to the aces of the Luftwaffe for outstanding victorious achievements. Thirty-five German aces shot down 150 or more Allied aircraft, the total score of the top ten experts is 2552 aircraft.
Knight's Crosses of the Third Reich 1939
The tactical advantage of the aces of the Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe had a head start over their opponents thanks to the Spanish Civil War. The Condor Legion included a significant number of future aces from the top lines, including Werner Mölders, who shot down 14 Republican aircraft.
Combat practice in Spain forced the Luftwaffe to abandon some World War I tactics and develop new ones. This was a huge advantage for Germany at the start of World War II.
Germany had a first-class fighter "Messerschmitt" Me-109, but the Allied aircraft were at least as good, but remained true to the pre-war tactics of 1940. The squadrons stubbornly continued to fly in close formation of three aircraft, which required the pilots to concentrate their attention and forces to maintain building. They were observing in the sky mainly against the sun. German aircraft flew in free pairs and in groups of four, known as swarms (schwam).
Werner Mölders with officers 1939
The British eventually copied this formation, calling it "four fingers" because the swarm consisted of two pairs arranged like the fingers of an outstretched hand.
A significant number of German pilots achieved impressive results in battles against Britain. Werner Mölders' personal account was 13 shot down during the Battle of Britain and another 22 shot down in the West before he was sent to Russia.
Werner Mölders - the most productive ace of the Luftwaffe civil war in Spain. The first to receive the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, had 115 victories and died in 1941.
The funeral of the German ace Werner Melders 1941, the coffin is Reichsmarschall Goering
After the Battle of Britain, victories by Luftwaffe pilots became rare. Opportunity turned up in North Africa, and since June 1941 - in the "anti-Bolshevik crusade" launched in the East.
Major Helmud Wikk became the highest scoring ace when on the morning of November 28, 1940, he added another Spitfire shot down to a total of 56 victories. But Wicca's record was soon surpassed. Hauptmann Hans Joachim Marseille ultimately shot down 158 aircraft, 151 of them over North Africa; he once shot down 17 RAF planes in one day!!! I just don't believe it.
Helmud Wikk the number of victories of the German ace is growing August 1940 Bf-109E4
Hans Joachim Marseille is the most successful pilot in the Western theater of operations, the Nazi press honored him with the title "Star of Africa".
Air war over the Reich.
Two years later, the main task of the Luftwaffe was to protect their home. British heavy bombers attacked the Reich at night, US bombers operated during the day. Night air warfare produced its own aces, and two of them boasted over a hundred victories.
At first, fighters were involved in daytime interceptions, attacking unescorted American bombers. But the bombers flew in close formation, so the fighters could be brought down by fire from an awesome amount of heavy machine guns. However, if it was possible to separate the bomber from formation, then it could be destroyed with less risk.
The results of the attacks were formally counted according to the German "results system", showing the progress of the pilot to the highest awards for bravery. The destruction of a four-engine bomber was worth 3 points, and the separation of one from the formation gave 2 points. A downed enemy fighter was worth 1 point.
The one who scored twelve points deserved the German Cross in gold, for 40 points the Knight's Cross was given.
Oberleutnant Egon Mayer was the first to shoot down a hundred planes in the sky Western Europe. He discovered that The best way to attack a formation of US bombers is to enter them directly in the forehead with a slight excess in height. Only some of the bombers' machine guns could fire in that direction, and hitting the cockpit of a bomber is a surefire way to send an aircraft to the ground.
But at the same time, the approach speed increased terribly, the fighter pilot had, at best, one second to go to the side, otherwise he could collide with his target. Ultimately, the US Air Force added a machine gun turret forward-under the fuselage of its B-17s, but Mayer's tactics were used until the end of the war.
The armament of some Focke-Wulf Fw-190s was increased to six 20-mm cannons, which gave them a chance to destroy the bomber in the first run. But as a result, the aircraft became slower and less maneuverable, requiring cover from American single-seat fighters.
The use of R4M unguided air-to-air missiles has created a new contradiction between firepower and flight performance.
Note that a small part of the pilots accounted for a huge proportion of downed aircraft. At least 15 experts shot down 20 US four-engine bombers each, three aces destroyed more than 30 aircraft each.
The appearance of American P-51 Mustangs over Berlin signaled the end of the war, although Goering did not acknowledge their existence, believing that he could drive them away.
Aces of the Luftwaffe in World War II
In 1944, luck turned against many experts. The Allied fighters matched, if not outnumbered, their German opponents, and there were many more of them.
Allied pilots were heading into battle after intense training, while new Luftwaffe pilots entered combat with less and less training. Allied pilots reported a constant drop in the average skill level of their opponents, although engaging in combat with one of the experts was always regarded by them as unexpected surprises. Such as the appearance of the reactive Me-2b2.
We continue watching Asa Goering on different fronts
Most of the names from the list of pilot-aces of the Great Patriotic War are well known to everyone. However, in addition to Pokryshkin and Kozhedub, among the Soviet aces, another master of air combat is undeservedly forgotten, whose courage and courage even the most titled and productive pilots can envy.
Better than Kozhedub, cooler than Hartman...
The names of the Soviet aces of the Great Patriotic War Ivan Kozhedub and Alexander Pokryshkin are known to everyone who is at least superficially familiar with Russian 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. Nikolai Gulaev during the war years 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, Ivan Kozhedub had 0.51, and Hitler's ace Erich Hartman, who officially shot down the most aircraft during World War II, had 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.
Don guy.
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 in the 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 the 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.”
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 the front edge, but on its own territory. Arriving at the regiment, Gulaev again flew on a combat mission on another plane.
In early July 1943, Gulaev, as part of four Soviet fighters, using 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 Arkhipenko, 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, Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev 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, Gulaev’s main mistake made then, I see that he took with him in combat the flight of three young, not at all shelled pilots at once, who were shot down in their 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 ...
The Soviet ace was almost killed by a pig ...
On July 1, 1944, Guard Captain Nikolai Gulaev was awarded the second star of the Hero of the Soviet Union for 125 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...
A fight with political overtones.
In the summer of 1944, the Soviet command decides to recall the best Soviet pilots from the front. The war is coming to a victorious end, and the leadership of the USSR begins to think about the future. Those who 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.
And then a story happened, which, most likely, became the main reason why Nikolai Gulaev did not become as famous as Kozhedub and Pokryshkin. There are at least three versions of what happened, which combine two words - "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 a 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 veterans' events, but still there was a feeling that the top was instructed, in modern terms, not to promote his person 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 use his power to invite Vladimir Vysotsky to a speech at the House of Officers in Arkhangelsk, ignoring the timid protests of the local party leadership. By the way, there is a version that some of Vysotsky's songs about pilots were born after his meetings with Nikolai Gulaev.
Norwegian complaint.
Colonel-General Gulaev retired in 1979. And there is a version that one of the reasons for this was a new conflict with foreigners, but this time not with the Romanians, but with the Norwegians. Allegedly, General Gulaev organized a hunt for polar bears using helicopters near the border with Norway. 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 the vivid biography of Nikolai Gulaev. Be that as it may, the resignation had a bad effect on the health of the old pilot, who could not imagine himself without 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.
When they talk about aces of the Second World War, they usually mean pilots, but the role of armored vehicles and tank troops in this conflict also cannot be underestimated. There were also aces among the tankers.
Kurt Knispel
Kurt Knipsel is considered the most productive tank ace of World War II. He has almost 170 tanks to his credit, but not all of his victories are still confirmed. During the war years, he destroyed 126 tanks as a gunner (20 unconfirmed), as a commander of a heavy tank - 42 enemy tanks (10 unconfirmed).
Knipsel was presented to the Knight's Cross four times, but never received this award. Biographers of the tanker attribute this to his difficult character. Historian Franz Kurowski in his book about Knipsel writes about several incidents in which he showed far from the best discipline. In particular, he stood up for a beaten Soviet soldier and got into a fight with a German officer.
Kurt Knipsel died on April 28, 1945, after being wounded in a battle with Soviet troops near the Czech city of Vostice. In this battle Knipsel destroyed his 168th officially registered tank.
Michael Wittmann
Michael Wittmann, unlike Kurt Knipsel, was conveniently made a hero of the Reich, even though not everything in his "heroic" biography was pure. So, he claimed that during the winter battles in Ukraine in 1943-1944 he destroyed 70 Soviet tanks. For this, on January 14, 1944, he received extraordinary title and was awarded the Knight's Cross and oak leaves to it, but after some time it turned out that the Red Army did not have tanks at all on this sector of the front, and Wittmann destroyed two "thirty-fours" captured by the Germans and in the service of the Wehrmacht. Wittmann's crew in the dark did not see the identification marks on the tank turrets, and mistook them for Soviet ones. However, the German command decided not to advertise this story.
Wittmann took part in the battles on the Kursk Bulge, where, according to him, he destroyed 28 Soviet self-propelled guns and about 30 tanks.
According to German sources, as of August 8, 1944, Michael Wittmann accounted for the destruction of 138 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns and 132 artillery pieces.
Zinovy Kolobanov
The feat of the tanker Zinovy Kolobanov entered the Guinness Book of Records. On August 20, 1941, 5 tanks of the company of senior lieutenant Kolobanov destroyed 43 German tanks, 22 of them were hit within half an hour.
Kolobanov competently built a defensive position.
The camouflaged tanks of Kolobanov met the German tank column with volleys. 3 lead tanks were immediately stopped, then the commander of the gun, Usov, transferred fire to the tail of the column. The Germans were deprived of the opportunity to maneuver and could not leave the sector of fire.
Kolobanov's tank was subjected to massive shelling. During the battle, he withstood more than 150 direct hits, but the strong armor of the KV-1 survived.
For their feat, the crew members of Kolobanov were presented with the title of Heroes of the Soviet Union, but the award again did not find a hero. On September 15, 1941, Zinovy Kalabanov was seriously injured (his spine and head were damaged) when a German shell exploded near the KV-1 while refueling a tank and loading ammunition. However, in the summer of 1945, Kolobanov returned to service again and served in Soviet army another 13 years.
Dmitry Lavrinenko
Dmitry Lavrinenko was the most productive Soviet tank ace of World War II. In just 2.5 months, from October to December 1941, he destroyed or disabled 52 two German tanks. Lavrinenko's success can be explained by his determination and combat ingenuity. Fighting in the minority against superior enemy forces, Lavrinenko managed to get out of almost hopeless situations. In total, he happened to participate in 28 tank battles, he burned in a tank three times.
On October 19, 1941, Lavrinenko's tank defended Serpukhov from the German invasion. His T-34 single-handedly destroyed an enemy motorized column that was advancing along the highway from Maloyaroslavets to Serpukhov. In that battle, Lavrinenko, in addition to military trophies, managed to get important documents.
On December 5, 1941, the Soviet tank ace was presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Even then, he accounted for 47 destroyed tanks. But the tanker was awarded only the Order of Lenin. However, by the time the award was to take place, he was no longer alive.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to Dmitry Lavrinenko only in 1990.
Creighton Abrams
It must be said that the masters of tank combat were not only in German and Soviet troops. The allies also had their own "aces". One of them is Creighton Abrams. His name is preserved in history, the famous American M1 tank is named after him.
Abrams was the one who organized a tank breakthrough from the Normandy coast to the Moselle River. The tank units of Creighton Abrams reached the Rhine, with the support of the infantry, they rescued the landing group surrounded by the Germans in the German rear.
Abrams' units accounted for about 300 pieces of equipment, however, for the most part not tanks, but supply trucks, armored personnel carriers and other auxiliary equipment. The number of wrecked tanks among the "trophies" of Abrams' units is small - about 15, of which 6 are personally registered with the commander.
The main merit of Abrams was that his units managed to cut the enemy's communications on a large sector of the front, which significantly complicated the position of the German troops, leaving them without supplies.
