Three times Hero of the Soviet Union I.N. Kozhedub

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub was born on June 8, 1920 in the village. Obrazheevka, Glukhovsky district, Chernigov province, Ukrainian SSR (now Shostkinsky district, Sumy region, Ukraine). Father, Nikita Larionovich, was a factory worker, mother, Stefanida Ivanovna, led household. Ivan was the youngest, fifth child in the family, small in stature, but strong in build and healthy. From his father, who independently learned to read and write and loved to read, Ivan adopted a thirst for acquiring new knowledge and early age I also learned to read on my own. Therefore, earlier than his peers, at the age of six, he was admitted to school. From his mother, an embroiderer, Ivan inherited his ability to draw. During his studies, he designed wall newspapers, drew slogans and posters. Later, Ivan Nikitovich recalled: “Drawing developed my eye, visual memory, and powers of observation. And these qualities came in handy when I became a pilot.”

At school, Kozhedub took up gymnastics. At the age of thirteen, imitating a circus strongman who came to the village, he learned to lift and squeeze a two-pound weight with one hand. Later, participating in numerous air battles, Ivan was more than once convinced of the enormous importance of physical endurance for a pilot. He wrote: " Sharp declines from high altitude to low altitude, minute overloads, which sometimes make your eyes darken - all this is easily tolerated by a physically hardened person. Sometimes in battle, while performing a cascade of figures, you lose consciousness for a moment. When you come to your senses, you immediately engage in a combat situation and operate again at any altitude, at any speed, in any position. I developed this skill through sports training. Even in a front-line situation, I tried to find time to do exercises.”

Since childhood, Ivan Kozhedub had a desire to connect his destiny with military service. He listened carefully to the stories of his neighbor Sergei Andrusenko, a participant Civil War, was proud of his brother Yakov, who served on the border. Ivan was especially admired by a military school cadet who arrived in the village on leave. “I was so impressed,” he wrote, “by the squares on his buttonholes, shiny boots, and his dashing, confident posture that I began to imitate his manner of speaking and walking.” In 1934, finishing his studies at a seven-year school, Kozhedub tried to enroll as a student in a brass band at a military unit in Shostka, but due to his youth he was not accepted. Then, on the advice of his father, who believed that “the craft is not a rocker, it won’t stretch your shoulders,” Ivan entered evening school at the factory school. In his memoirs, Kozhedub noted: “In the slush, in the blizzard, in the cold, we walked seven kilometers every day to Shostka and seven kilometers back. It was not easy to study, I had to study the Russian language especially a lot: in our rural school, classes were taught in Ukrainian.” In addition to his studies, Ivan was appointed to the first position in his work history - a librarian with a salary of 100 rubles. I worked during the day and studied in the evening. “Working in the library gave me a lot,” said Kozhedub. - I fell in love with the world of books, newspapers, magazines. They became my true friends and armed me with knowledge.”

In 1936, Ivan entered the Shostka Chemical-Technological College and moved to Shostka to a student dormitory. During his studies, Kozhedub became interested in drawing, which came easily to him. He got used to precise measurements of parts, accuracy, and acquired skills that later, when he had to study the aircraft, were very useful to him. One day he saw two third-year students dressed in new military tunics and boots that were polished to a shine. This aroused surprise and interest in Kozhedub. It turned out that they were studying at a flying club. Ivan followed their example. In his book “Loyalty to the Fatherland,” Kozhedub recalled this time: “Combining studies at a technical school and at a flying club really turned out to be difficult. From nine to three there were classes at the technical school, and from five at the flying club. But I didn’t miss a single lecture at the technical school or a single class at the flying club. I still designed the wall newspaper at the technical school. On home training there were weekends left, late evenings, early mornings.” At the flying club, Ivan mastered the Po-2 aircraft and made several parachute jumps.

In the winter of 1940, a 4th year student at the technical school Kozhedub had to leave for pre-graduation practice. But a call came from the flight school. he passed a strict medical examination and in February was enrolled as a cadet at the Chuguev Military Aviation School. In March 1941, the status of this educational institution was reduced: the school was renamed the Chuguev Military Aviation School of Pilots, its graduates were awarded military rank"sergeant" and not "lieutenant" as before. Some of the cadets wrote reports for expulsion. Kozhedub decided to study further. The cadets mastered the UT-2, UTI-4 aircraft and I-16 combat fighter aircraft. The leadership characterized him as a strong-willed, energetic, decisive and proactive cadet, demanding of himself and his subordinates, who persistently puts his decisions into practice. In addition, it was noted that he flies competently, confidently and can pass on his knowledge to others. After graduation, Kozhedub was left at the aviation school as an instructor pilot. Therefore, when the war began, Sergeant Kozhedub’s report on being sent to the front was not satisfied. The head of the aviation school told the instructors who were eager to go into battle: “The front needs well-trained pilots. Therefore, your task is to prepare cadets even faster and better.”

In the fall of 1941, the aviation school was evacuated to Kazakhstan. The training squadron, which included Ivan, was located in the village. Mankent near Chimkent. In February 1942, on Red Army Day, Kozhedub was awarded the rank of senior sergeant. In the fall, Kozhedub achieved assignment to the active army. In November he was called to Moscow to the flight collection point. technical staff and enlisted in the 240th Fighter Wing. Kozhedub recalled: “We had to study and then master new aircraft in the shortest possible time. We plunged into classes headlong. We tried to do everything so that we knew the aircraft as best as possible - the single-seat fighter “La-5” designed by the Hero of Socialist Labor Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin.”

I.N. Kozhedub and S.A. Lavochkin (center) during a visit to the aircraft plant. August 1945

In March 1943, the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment as part of the 4th Fighter Aviation Corps of the 2nd Air Army, Lieutenant General S.A. Krasovsky arrived at the Voronezh Front. Ivan was eager to fight the enemy. His relatives remained in the occupation; his two older brothers, Yakov and Alexander, had been at the front for a long time. But on one of the very first flights, Kozhedub almost died. During takeoff, he lost sight of his leading junior lieutenant Ivan Mikhailovich Gabunia. I saw that enemy bombers were flying towards the airfield. Thinking that there was an opportunity to distinguish himself and shoot down the enemy in the first battle, Kozhedub himself found himself under attack from a German fighter. And after that, his La-5 was hit by three shells from anti-aircraft guns defending the airfield. Miraculously, Ivan saved his plane and himself.

In June 1943, junior lieutenant Kozhedub became a senior pilot, then a flight commander, in August he was promoted to lieutenant and was appointed squadron commander. In the same year, I. Kozhedub was admitted to the party. The first serious test for him was the Battle of Kursk. The enemy sent selected aviation units to the Belgorod-Kursk direction. To cover ground troops, pilots flew several sorties a day. On July 6, Ivan shot down the first enemy aircraft - a Yu-87 bomber. Two days later he led a four-fighter flight for the first time. In the air they were attacked by German aces returning from a “free hunt.” Ivan Nikitovich recalled: “...While the enemy was turning around, I caught the leader in sight at an altitude of 4000 meters. I wait until the distance is reduced to the opening fire range, and I don’t turn back. I open fire first. I shoot down the leader with a long burst. It turned over in a steep dive, hit the ground and exploded.” That day, Kozhedub took to the air two more times and shot down another enemy plane. In July and September 1943, the future Soviet ace was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for military distinction. He subsequently wrote: “In the first days of the fighting on Kursk Bulge I realized that air combat is truly a test of the moral, combat and physical qualities of a fighter; it is the greatest strain on the nerves.”

In the combat characteristics of I.N. Kozhedub for 1943 indicated that he “successfully completed 173 combat missions, of which: covering his troops on the front line - 64, escorting attack aircraft and bombers - 88, reconnaissance of enemy troops - 13, patrolling - 3, intercepting enemy aircraft - 5. Conducted 52 air battles, in which he personally shot down 25 enemy aircraft (12 Yu-87, 11 Me-109, 1 FV-190, 1 Xe-111). In air battles he showed himself to be a brave and decisive pilot and commander, skillfully leading the flight personnel of the squadron entrusted to him in battle.” In February 1944, I. Kozhedub was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for personally shooting down enemy aircraft and for his heroism in battle.

Pilots of the 240th IAP at the Urazovo airfield

Kozhedub's squadron took part in the liberation of Kharkov, in the battles on the Dnieper and in the liberation of Right Bank Ukraine. With his six aircraft, Ivan Nikitovich fought in the skies of Moldova, covering crossings across the Southern Bug and bridgeheads on the right bank of the Dniester. By this time, his flight record book listed 32 personal aerial victories. In the second half of April 1944, the Germans wanted to cut off our troops located between the Prut and Seret rivers with a blow north of Yassy. Major air battles ensued, from which the Soviet pilots emerged victorious. Among those shot down were German aces on planes painted with skulls, bones and other attributes of psychological influence. This attribute was often a reason for ridicule. The Soviet pilots chuckled that the enemy had prepared skulls and bones for themselves in advance.

Fighting in the Yass area continued in May 1944. At this time, Kozhedub received a new La-5FN aircraft, built with the personal savings of 60-year-old beekeeper Vasily Viktorovich Konev from the Bolshevik collective farm in the Stalingrad region. The car bore the name of a fellow villager and namesake Konev - commander of the 21st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union, Guard Lieutenant Colonel G.N. Konev, who died in an unequal air battle in December 1942. On this plane, during seven days of intense air battles in the skies of Romania, Kozhedub shot down eight enemy aircraft.

In July 1944, Ivan Nikitovich was called to Moscow and appointed to the post of deputy commander of the 176th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which fought as part of the 1st Belorussian Front. Before leaving for the regiment, he underwent retraining on the new La-7 aircraft. Here at the training airfield near Moscow on the Day Air fleet USSR (August 18), Captain Kozhedub received the news that he had been awarded the second “Golden Star”.

Ivan Nikitovich began his combat career in the 176th Fighter Aviation Regiment on the banks of the Vistula. Here he actively used flights for “free hunting”, that is, he led active search the enemy is far in his rear, tens of kilometers from the front line. Together with other experienced pilots of the regiment, he “hunted” enemy aircraft, vehicles, trains, and destroyed enemy personnel and equipment. In early September 1944, the 176th Regiment was awarded the title of Guards. Kozhedub also had a small contribution to this. When presenting part of the Guards banner, Ivan Nikitovich was entrusted with becoming its first standard bearer.

In the second half of September, a difficult air situation developed on the 3rd Baltic Front. The Germans transferred experienced “hunters” to one of the sectors of the front. Kozhedub was tasked with leading a group of 10 pilots to clear the air of enemy aircraft and ensure freedom of action for our aviation. For several days, the group used the method of free “hunting” to destroy enemy aircraft, while creating an advantage in the air. As a result of the air battles, eight enemy aircraft were shot down, of which Kozhedub personally shot down three. The fascist “hunters” have lost the desire to fly into our territory. They began to shy away from the fight, and by all appearances they were greatly demoralized.

From mid-January 1945, Kozhedub participated in the Vistula-Oder operation as part of the regiment. At the beginning of the offensive, due to difficult weather conditions, aircraft almost did not fly. These days, Ivan Nikitovich admired the actions of the ground troops: “Soviet tanks and infantry are moving like a mighty avalanche, artillery is hitting powerfully... How often in last days we flew over this area, and none of us noticed the concentration of such a huge number of troops! Our technology is only now, as they say, revealing itself, appearing as if from underground. ...We pilots admire the skill of our tank crews, artillerymen, and infantrymen. What a crushing blow they delivered in two days of offensive battles, even without air support!”

Day by day, the count of combat missions carried out by Major Kozhedub's guard and the enemy aircraft he destroyed grew. The combat description dated January 20 noted: “During the entire period of hostilities, he carried out 256 combat sorties, and in the air battles he personally shot down 48 enemy aircraft. In air battles, a brave, decisive, courageous commander. As a pilot, he flies excellently, his piloting technique is excellent. Well prepared for route flights and in difficult weather conditions. ...Works a lot to study combat experience Patriotic War and competently transfers it to subordinates. Being the deputy commander of the regiment, he proved himself to be a competent commander, able to correctly and timely organize the flight and technical personnel of the regiment to carry out the assigned tasks of the command.”

Debriefing. 1945

In February 1945, a difficult struggle ensued in the skies over the Oder. On February 12, a group of six aircraft under the command of Kozhedub, not far from the front line, entered into battle against 30 Focke-Wulf fighter-bombers. In this battle, our pilots shot down eight enemy aircraft (Kozhedub - three), losing one pilot. On February 24, while on a free hunt together with Guard Major D.S. Titorenko, Ivan Nikitovich was one of the first in Soviet aviation to shoot down the German Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter. The pilots of the regiment had known about these machines since the fall of 1944, when one of them was recorded by the cinematographic machine gun of the regiment commander, Hero of the Soviet Union, Guard Colonel P.F. Chupikova.

Kozhedub went down in history as a skilled air fighter who sought to be the first to attack the enemy and seize the initiative. He developed a number of new techniques and methods of conducting air combat. In total, during the war Kozhedub made 330 combat missions and took part in 120 air battles.

When, at one of the post-war meetings, young pilots asked Ivan Nikitovich which of the fascist planes shot down during the war is most often remembered, he replied: “The last two are the 61st and 62nd. These two enemy aircraft fell into the streets of burning Berlin on April 17, 1945. Then two Soviet pilots entered into battle with forty enemy aircraft. And we won! The thought that under the wings of the fascist beast, that Soviet troops were victoriously advancing very close to it, gave strength and confidence. I put all my knowledge and skill into this fight.”

August 18, 1945 for the accomplished feats of I.N. Kozhedub was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the third time. On October 1, he began studying at the Air Force Academy.

At the Air Force Academy among the students. 1945

Here, in the spring of 1948, Kozhedub sat at the controls of a jet aircraft for the first time. In June 1949, after graduating from the academy, Ivan Nikitovich was appointed deputy commander of the 31st Fighter Aviation Division in the Transcaucasian Military District, but a month later he was transferred to the position of assistant to the former regiment commander P.F. Chupikov, who now commanded the 324th Fighter Aviation Division, located in Kubinka near Moscow. Among the first, Lieutenant Colonel Kozhedub mastered the MiG-15 jet fighter, receiving the qualification of a 1st class military pilot. In December 1949, Kozhedub was appointed deputy commander, and in November 1950, commander of this division.

At this time, on the distant Korean Peninsula there was already a war going on between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea. The use of “carpet” bombing tactics by the United States, which intervened in the war, caused damage not only to the North Korean army and industry, but also killed thousands of civilians. Since the fall of 1950, Soviet fighter pilots based in Northeast China began to cover cities and objects in the DPRK. The 64th Fighter Corps was formed. In March 1951, the 324th Fighter Aviation Division of Guard Lieutenant Colonel I.N. arrived in China as part of the corps. Kozhedub. It consisted of the 176th Guards and 196th Fighter Aviation Regiments. On April 3, its pilots began flying combat missions. Ivan Nikitovich himself was strictly forbidden to participate in them.

During the Korean War with pilots of the 324th Division. From left to right: B. Abakumov, B. Bokach, I. Kozhedub, F. Shibanov, V. Nazarkin. 1951

On April 12, 1951, one of the largest air battles of the Korean War took place over the Yalu River. On this river there was a large hydroelectric power station and bridges along which reinforcements flowed to the Chinese people's volunteers who fought on the side of the North Koreans. On this day, 48 American bombers took part in the raid, covered by 42 fighters. An additional 36 fighter-bombers were assigned to suppress air defenses. The advanced radar posts of the Soviet 64th Fighter Air Corps were able to detect the enemy in advance. 44 fighters of the 176th Guards and 196th Air Regiments took off to intercept.

In the history of the Korean War and American military aviation, this day went down under the name “Black Tuesday.” According to Soviet sources, the US Air Force lost up to 12 bombers and six fighters on April 12. The time of unpunished American bombing of Korean cities was ending.

B-29 in the frame of the FKP MiG-15 bis pilot A. Suchkov. April 7, 1951

In total, between April 1951 and February 1952, pilots of the 324th Fighter Aviation Division shot down 200 aircraft of all types. In battles, the division lost 10 pilots and 29 aircraft. For their courage, 143 soldiers of the division were awarded orders and medals. Kozhedub, who exercised operational leadership of the division, participated in the training of flight personnel and the rearmament of the air forces of the People's Republic of China and the DPRK, was awarded the Soviet Order of the Red Banner and the PRC "Sino-Soviet Friendship" medal.

In February, the division returned to the USSR and was stationed in the Kaluga region. In August 1953, Kozhedub was awarded the rank of major general of aviation. In 1955 he entered the Higher Military Academy. K.E. Voroshilov. He passed part of the most difficult first course as an external student, since due to official circumstances he was delayed in starting classes. After graduating from the Academy I.N. Kozhedub held high command positions in Soviet military aviation. In November 1956, he was appointed deputy head of the Air Force Combat Training Directorate, and a year and a half later - first deputy commander of the 76th Air Army in the Leningrad Military District. In January 1964, Aviation Lieutenant General I.N. Kozhedub became the first deputy commander of aviation of the Moscow Military District. In 1971, Colonel General of Aviation Kozhedub was appointed first deputy chief of combat training of the Air Force. Since 1978, he has been in the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Until 1969, Ivan Nikitovich regularly flew fighter planes and mastered dozens of types of aircraft. He made his last flights on a MiG-21. In 1985, Kozhedub was awarded the rank of air marshal.

Three times Hero of the Soviet Union I.N. Kozhedub was awarded two Orders of Lenin, seven Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Alexander Nevsky, the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, two Orders of the Red Star, the Order “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces” of the USSR, 2nd and 3rd degrees and medals, and also foreign orders and medals.

Kozhedub is the author of a number of works, including the memoirs “Serving the Motherland” and “Loyalty to the Fatherland,” which are in many ways instructive for the modern generation of youth.

Ivan Nikitovich died on August 8, 1991 from a heart attack at his dacha in the village of Monino, Moscow Region. Buried at Novodevichy Cemetery Moscow.

Streets in Moscow and other cities of Russia and Ukraine are named after Kozhedub. The 237th Guards Aviation Equipment Display Center named after the Russian Air Force bears his name. In the Hero’s homeland in Obrazheevka, his bust was erected and a museum operated. Another bust is in the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945. in Moscow. Memorial plaque I.N. Kozhedub was installed on a house in Sivtsev Vrazhek in Moscow, where he lived in recent years. His La-7 aircraft is on display at the Central Air Force Museum in Monino.

Nazaryan E. A.,
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Junior Researcher
Military Research Institute
history of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces

Three times Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub said that he learned to fly and be a real person from the first fighter ace of our domestic aviation A.I. Pokryshkin, and he was far from phrase-mongering. Kozhedub did not know how to speak beautifully at all. To joke around and amuse your comrades - yes. He loved and knew how to do this, “to raise the general tone.” But his attitude towards the three times Hero of the Soviet Union Pokryshkin (later also an air marshal) was sacred.

“At first I had no luck in my favorite business - aviation,” admitted Ivan Nikitovich. “I did everything in a big way, with a jerk, relying most of all on my strength. But it was Alexander Ivanovich’s example that convinced me: aviation - even though you can’t get by for a day without courage - is a very precise thing! Each feat of an ace pilot is not only desperate courage, but at the same time a very accurate calculation, built on impeccable knowledge of technology. Then the risk is justified. And sometimes it changes - at the will of only one person! - the results of a major air battle, giving it a completely unexpected turn for the enemy.”

It is not surprising that these two heroes were destined to become true, sincere friends. And now, when both are no longer there, it is strange and sad to read in some newspaper publications which of them is “better”, who is “first”. They both went down in the history of the Patriotic War as the most worthy. And into the grateful hearts of his compatriots too.

The short biographical dictionary “Heroes of the Soviet Union” reports that the famous ace Kozhedub Ivan Nikitovich was born in the village. Obrazhievka, Shostkinsky district, Sumy region, June 8, 1920, he became the fifth, youngest child in a poor peasant family. Vanya was born after a terrible famine in the country. However, from the words of Kozhedub himself, it is known that the true date of his birth is July 6, 1922. Ivan Nikitovich “aged” himself for two years in order to enter the Shostka Chemical-Technological College after seven years, and in 1938, to the flying club. Not the least role in the decision to study at the flying club was played by the elegant uniform of the students. In April 1939, Ivan first flew above the ground in a training aircraft.

In 1940, when he was actually only 18 years old, he entered the Chuguev Military Aviation School of Pilots (now Kharkov Flight University), for excellent success after graduating from school in 1941, Sergeant Kozhedub was retained as an instructor. He approached flying “scientifically”: he studied tactics, took notes on descriptions of air battles, drew diagrams and flew - to the point of oblivion. Kozhedub recalled that time of his formation: “It would have been possible, so it seems, and I wouldn’t have gotten out of the plane. The piloting technique itself, polishing aerobatics gave me incomparable joy.” All his days, including weekends, were planned out minute by minute, everything was subordinated to one goal - to become a worthy air fighter.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Ivan Kozhedub bombarded his superiors with reports with a request to send him to the front, but they released him only in the fall of 1942, to the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment, where he had to retrain on the La-5, the latest fighter at that time. Ivan Nikitovich himself wrote about his first “baptism of fire”: “In March 1943, I arrived at the Voronezh Front as an ordinary pilot in a regiment commanded by Major Soldatenko. The regiment was armed with La 5 aircraft. From the first day, I began to look closely at the combat work of my new comrades. I listened carefully to the debriefings of the day's combat work, studied the enemy's tactics and tried to combine the theory acquired at school with front-line experience. So, day after day, I prepared for the battle with the enemy. Only a few days had passed, but it seemed to me that my preparation was dragging on endlessly. I wanted to fly out with my comrades to meet the enemy as soon as possible.
Kozhebub near the named plane

The meeting with the enemy happened unexpectedly. It happened like this: on March 26, 1943, I, together with the leading junior lieutenant Gabunia, taxied to the start line on duty. Suddenly we were given the signal to take off. Junior Lieutenant Gabunia quickly took off. I was somewhat delayed on takeoff and after the first turn I lost the leader. I was unable to contact either the presenter or the ground via radio. Then I decided to perform aerobatics over the airfield. Having gained 1500 m altitude, he began piloting. Suddenly, 800 meters below me, I noticed 6 planes that were approaching the airfield in a descent. At first glance, I mistook them for Pe-2s, but a few seconds later I saw bombs exploding and anti-aircraft gun fire at our airfield.

Then I realized that these were German Me 110 planes. I remember how hard my heart beat. There were enemy planes in front of me. I decided to attack the enemy, quickly turning around, maximum speed went closer. There were 500 m left when the air combat rule I heard from the commander flashed into my mind: “Before attacking, look behind you.” Looking around, I noticed an airplane with a white cooker approaching me from behind at high speed. Before I had time to recognize whose plane it was, he had already opened fire on me. One shell exploded in my cabin. With a sharp turn to the left and sliding I get out from under the blow. Two Me 109s passed at high speed to my right. Now I realized that they, noticing my attack, swooped down and attacked me. However, my failed attack forced the Me 110 to abandon its second bombing run. In this meeting, I saw in practice how important the role of the follower is to cover the leader when attacking the target.” (F.Ya. Falaleev “One hundred Stalinist falcons. In the battles for the Motherland”, M., “Yauza”, “Eksmo”. 2005).

Ivan Kozhedub shot down the first German plane together with his wingman Vasily Mukhin on the Kursk Bulge. And by October 1943 achievement list Squadron commander of the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Senior Lieutenant Kozhedub I.N. totaled 146 combat missions, 20 personally shot down aircraft. Demanding and demanding of himself, frantic and tireless in battle, Kozhedub was an ideal air fighter, proactive and efficient, daring and calculating, brave and skillful. “Precise maneuver, stunning swiftness of attack and strike from an extremely short distance,” - this is how Ivan Nikitovich defined the basis of air combat. He was born for combat, lived for combat, thirsted for it. In the battles for the Dnieper, the pilots of the regiment in which Ivan Kozhedub fought met for the first time with Goering’s aces from the Mölders squadron and emerged victorious from the fight. In these battles, Kozhedub significantly increased his score. Over 10 days of intense fighting, he personally shot down 11 enemy aircraft.

Here is a characteristic episode, noted by his fellow soldier, another famous ace Evstigneev K.A.: “Once Ivan Kozhedub returned from a mission, heated by battle, excited and, perhaps, therefore unusually talkative: “The bastards give! None other than the “wolves” from the Udet squadron. But we gave them a hard time - be healthy! - Pointing towards the command post, he hopefully asked the squadron adjutant: - How is it there? Is there anything else in sight?

Title of Hero of the Soviet Union, senior lieutenant Kozhedub I.N. received only on February 4, 1944, when the number of downed aircraft reached 48. Therefore, soon - on August 19, 1944, he became a twice Hero. (In year Battle of Kursk The star of the Hero of the Soviet Union was earned by the one who shot down 15 enemy aircraft, the second - 30 aircraft.) At the same time, Kozhedub was awarded the rank of captain, and he was appointed deputy commander of the 176th Guards Regiment. Kozhedub’s attitude towards his fellow pilots is characteristic. In March 1944, during one of the battles between six La-5s and a group of Junkers, one of our planes was shot down. Lieutenant P. Bryzgalov headed to the nearest airfield abandoned by the Germans. During landing, his plane overturned and the pilot was trapped in the cockpit. Ivan Kozhedub ordered two more pilots to land, and he himself landed on his “stomach” in liquid mud. With their joint efforts, the pilots freed their comrade from “captivity.”

“Kozhedub’s attitude towards the machine acquired the features of religion - that form of it that is called animatism. “The motor runs smoothly. The plane obeys my every move. I’m not alone - my fighting friend is with me” - these lines contain the attitude of the ace to the plane. This is not poetic exaggeration, not a metaphor. When approaching the car before departure, he always found a few kind words for it; during the flight he spoke as if he were a comrade doing an important part of the work. After all, besides flying, it is difficult to find a profession where a person’s fate would be more dependent on the behavior of a machine. During the war, he changed 6 bench planes, and not a single plane let him down. And he didn’t lose a single car, although it happened to burn, cause holes, and land on airfields dotted with craters.” (Ibid.).

In May-June Kozhedub I.N. flew on a personalized La-5FN aircraft (board number 14), built with the money of a collective farmer and beekeeper Vasily Konev, and, to the pride of the donor, shot down 7 fascist vultures with it. On the left side of this plane there was the inscription “In the name of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Colonel G.N. Konev.” (nephew of the donor), on the right - “From the collective farmer Vasily Viktorovich Konev.” In September, Kozhedub was transferred to the 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. And on his car, with bright, white inscriptions with red trim on both sides, flew K.A. Evstigneev, who destroyed 6 more enemy aircraft on it, and then P.A. Bryzgalov.

As you know, the pilots did not particularly like flashy signs on the plane, but this did not stop them from fighting well. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Kirill Evstigneev had 53 personal victories and 3 in the group by the end of the war, and Pavel Bryzgalov had 20 victories - he also became a Hero of the Soviet Union by the end of the war. Another 17 enemy vehicles were destroyed by Kozhedub on the La-7 (side number 27), on which he ended the war. Today this aircraft is an exhibit at the Air Force Museum and Exhibition in Monino.

“In April 1945, Kozhedub drove off a couple of German fighters from an American B-17 with a barrage and immediately noticed a group of approaching aircraft with unfamiliar silhouettes. The leader of the group opened fire on him from a very long distance. With a flip over the wing, Kozhedub quickly attacked the winger. It began to smoke heavily and descended towards our troops. Having performed a combat turn in a half-loop from an inverted position, the Soviet ace fired at the leader - he exploded in the air. Of course, he managed to look at the white stars on the fuselages and wings and returned to his room with anxiety: the meeting with the allies promised trouble. Fortunately, one of the downed pilots managed to escape. To the question “Who hit you?” he replied: “FockeWulf with a red nose.” The regiment commander P. Chupikov gave Kozhedub the films where victories were recorded over the Mustangs.
– Take them for yourself, Ivan... don’t show them to anyone. This battle was one of the first air battles with the Americans, a harbinger of the great air war in Korea, the long confrontation between the two superpowers.” (Ibid.).

On August 18, 1945, Guard Major Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub, third after his teacher A.I. Pokryshkin. and Marshal Zhukov G.K. , was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union three times. In total, during the war, Ivan Nikitovich conducted 330 combat missions and 120 air battles. Among Kozhedub’s 62 victories (Ivan Nikitovich calls 63) over fascist aces is a “new thing” in world aviation - the Me-262 jet, shot down over the Oder by a burst from behind and below in 1945. During the years of the Great Patriotic War, Kozhedub I.N. was never shot down, although his plane was damaged several times, but the skilled pilot landed his plane every time.

After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1949, I.N. Kozhedub was appointed deputy and then commander of the 326th Aviation Division, stationed near Moscow, in Kubinka. And in 1951, in the skies of Korea, Kozhedub’s 326th division met with armadas of jet aircraft. The division commander, three times Hero of the Soviet Union, Kozhedub, was strictly forbidden to participate in battles himself, but was given the responsibility to teach his skills to young pilots and lead combat operations. For the first time in the world, there was an air war on fast jet planes with the US Air Force, recent allies, who invaded a small defenseless state bordering our country. Who was stronger depended on whether tomorrow would be peaceful or military?

From March to February 1951, in the skies of Korea, Kozhedub’s division scored 215 victories over American aircraft, while losing 52 aircraft and 10 pilots. The number of American aircraft shot down included both “flying fortresses” and “superfortresses”. The superiority of Soviet aviation, ready to repel any enemy, was proven in practice.

In 1952, the 326th division was transferred to the air defense system and transferred to Kaluga. In the summer of 1953, Kozhedub became a major general. A year later he was sent to study at the General Staff Academy. I took part of the course as an external student, as due to work reasons I was delayed in starting classes. After graduating from the academy, Kozhedub was appointed first deputy head of the country's Air Force Combat Training Directorate; from May 1958 to 1964, he was first deputy commander of the Air Force of the Leningrad and then Moscow military districts.

Until 1970, Colonel General Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub regularly flew fighter aircraft and mastered dozens of types of aircraft and helicopters. He made his last flights on a MiG-23, then retired from flying work. It is interesting that the units commanded by Kozhedub always had a low accident rate, and he himself, as a pilot, had practically no accidents, although “emergency situations,” of course, did happen. So, in 1966, during a low-altitude flight, his MiG-21 collided with a flock of rooks; one of the birds hit the air intake and damaged the engine. It took all the flying skill of the ace to land the car... In 1978, Kozhedub was appointed to the group of general inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In 1985, he was awarded the rank of air marshal.

Kozhedub I.N. He was a very modest person; for example, he never took into account the planes he destroyed together with the newcomers. He never chalked up an enemy plane that was shot down (caught fire) unless he himself saw it fall to the ground. I didn’t even report this to the commander, because the downed plane could have reached its own. Therefore, in fact, the total number of planes shot down by him is much more than 63!

Kozhedub I.N. was simple and honest both with the first person of the state and with ordinary citizens during meetings, trips, speeches, interviews. He did not possess “noble” qualities, did not know how and did not consider it necessary to flatter, intrigue, cherish necessary connections, notice a funny, and sometimes even malicious jealousy of one’s fame. He was an officer, selflessly devoted to his work, an excellent pilot and commander.

Three times Hero of the Soviet Union Kozhedub I.N. was also awarded two Orders of Lenin, seven Orders of the Red Banner, Orders of Alexander Nevsky, Order of the Patriotic War 1st class, two Orders of the Red Star, Order “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR” 3rd class, medals, six foreign orders and foreign medals.

Kozhedub I.N. – author of the books: “Serving the Motherland” (1949), “Victory Festival” (1963), “Loyalty to the Fatherland” (1969). In the last years of his life, Ivan Nikitovich was seriously ill: the stress of the war years and difficult service in the peacetime took their toll. He died at his dacha of a heart attack on August 8, 1991, and was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub is a famous pilot ace of World War II, the most successful fighter pilot in Allied aviation (64 personal victories). Three times hero of the Soviet Union. He took part in hostilities from 1943 to 1945, making all his combat missions on fighters designed by Lavochkin - La-5 and La-7. During the entire war he was never shot down. At the end of the war, he continued to serve in the Air Force, remaining an active pilot and mastering the MiG-15 jet fighter. He graduated from the Red Banner Air Force Academy, and in 1985 the pilot was awarded the military rank of air marshal.

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub was born on June 8, 1920 into a peasant family in the small Ukrainian village of Obrazhievka, Shostkinsky district, Sumy region. Subsequently he graduated from the Chemical Technology College and the Shostka Aero Club. He entered the Red Army in 1940. In 1941 he graduated from the Chuguev Military Aviation School of Pilots, where he served as an instructor. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Ivan Kozhedub, along with the aviation school, was evacuated to Central Asia. After submitting numerous reports asking to be sent to the front, his wish was granted. In November 1942, Sergeant Ivan Kozhedub arrived at the disposal of the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP) of the emerging 302nd Fighter Aviation Division. In March 1943, parts of the division were sent to the Voronezh Front.

The future ace and Hero of the Soviet Union made his first combat mission on March 26, the flight ended unsuccessfully: his La-5 fighter (airborne number 75) was damaged in battle, and upon returning to the airfield it was also fired upon by its own anti-aircraft artillery. With great difficulty, the pilot was able to bring the car to the airfield and land. After that, I flew old fighters for about a month until I received the new La-5 again.

The ace pilot opened his combat account of his victories on July 6, 1943 at the Kursk Bulge, shooting down a Ju-87 dive bomber. The very next day, Kozhedub won a second aerial victory, shooting down another Ju-87, and in an air battle on July 9 he was able to shoot down 2 German Me-109 fighters at once. Already in August 1943, Ivan Kozhedub became squadron commander. The first title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal was received by the squadron commander of the 240th IAP, Senior Lieutenant Ivan Kozhedub, on February 4, 1944 for 146 combat missions, in which he shot down 20 German aircraft.

Since May 1944, Kozhedub fought on a new modification of the Lavochkin fighter - La-5FN (board number 14), which was built with money from the collective farmer of the Stalingrad region V.V. Koneva. Just a few days after receiving it, he shoots down a Ju-87 with it. Over the next six days, the ace pilot chalked up 7 more enemy aircraft. At the end of June he transfers his fighter to K.A. Evstigneev (later twice Hero of the Soviet Union), and he himself transferred to the training regiment. But already in August, Ivan Kozhedub was appointed deputy commander of the 176th Guards Regiment of the IAP. At the same time, the regiment is undergoing a rearmament procedure, receiving new La-7 fighters. The ace pilot received a plane with tail number 27. Ivan Kozhedub would fly it until the very end of the war.

The second Gold Star medal of the Guard, Captain Ivan Kozhedub, was awarded on August 19, 1944 for 256 combat missions, in which he personally shot down 48 German aircraft. Once, during an air battle on a La-7 fighter, which was passing over enemy territory, Kozhedub’s plane was shot down. The engine of the car stalled and Ivan Kozhedub, in order not to surrender to the Germans, chose a target for himself on the ground and began to dive on it. When there was very little left to the ground, the fighter’s engine suddenly started working again and Kozhedub was able to pull the car out of the dive and returned safely to the airfield.

On February 12, 1945, Ivan Kozhedub paired with his wingman Lieutenant V.A. Gromakovsky patrolled the space above the front line, being in “free hunting” mode. Having discovered a group of 13 FW-190 fighters, Soviet pilots immediately attacked them, shooting down 5 German fighters. Three of them were chalked up by Ivan Kozhedub, two by Gromakovsky. On February 15, 1945, in a flight over the Oder, Kozhedub was able to shoot down a German Me-262 jet fighter flown by non-commissioned officer K. Lange from I./KG(J)54.

By the end of the Great Patriotic War, Guard Major Ivan Kozhedub completed 330 combat missions and conducted 120 air battles, shooting down 64 enemy aircraft. This number does not include 2 American P-51 Mustang fighters, which the Soviet ace shot down in the spring of 1945. At the same time, the Americans were the first to attack the La-7 fighter, which was flown by the Soviet pilot. According to an American pilot who survived this air battle, they confused Kozhedub’s La-7 with a German FW-190 fighter and attacked him. Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub received the third “Golden Star” after the war for high military skill, personal courage and bravery.

Among the enemy aircraft shot down by Ivan Kozhedub were:

21 FW-190 fighters;
18 Me-109 fighters;
18 Ju-87 bombers;
3 Hs-129 attack aircraft;
2 He-111 bombers;
1 PZL P-24 fighter (Romanian);
1 Me-262 jet aircraft.

La-5 and La-5FN

La-5 is a single-engine wooden low-wing aircraft. Like the LaGG-3 fighter, the main structural material used in the aircraft's airframe was pine. Delta wood was used to produce some of the wing frames and spars. The wooden parts of the aircraft skin were glued together using special urea KM-1 or VIAM-B-3 resin glue.

The aircraft wing, composed of NACA-23016 and NACA-23010 profiles, was technologically divided into a center section and 2 two-spar consoles, which had a working plywood skin. The main landing gear was connected to the metal pipe using an end rib. Between the center section spars there were caissons for gas tanks, made of plywood, and in the bow there were domes for the landing gear wheels.
The plane's spars were made of wood with special shelves made of delta wood (on fighters of the La-5FN modification, starting in 1944, metal spars were mounted.) The consoles with plywood sheathing were joined by automatic slats, Frize-type ailerons with a duralumin frame, sheathed with percale and Schrenk-type flaps. The left aileron had a trimmer.

The fuselage of the fighter consisted of a wooden monocoque made as one piece with the keel and a forward metal truss. The frame consisted of 15 frames and 4 spars. The fuselage of the fighter was tightly fastened to the center section with 4 steel units. The pilot's cabin was covered with a plexiglass sliding canopy, which could be locked in the closed and open positions. On the frame behind the back of the pilot's seat there was an armor plate 8.5 mm thick.

The stabilizer is two-spar, completely wooden with plywood working skin, the tail is cantilever. The stabilizer of the vehicle consists of 2 halves, which were attached to the power elements of the tail section of the vehicle. The elevator with trimmer had a duralumin frame, which was covered with canvas and, like the stabilizer, consisted of two halves. Control of the fighter was mixed: elevators and yaws using cables, ailerons using rigid rods. The flaps were released and retracted using a hydraulic drive.

The fighter's landing gear was retractable, double-supported with a tail wheel. The main landing gear had oil-pneumatic shock absorbers. The main wheels of the La-5 had dimensions of 650x200 mm and were equipped with air chamber brakes. The freely oriented tail support was also retracted into the fuselage and had a wheel measuring 300 by 125 mm.

The fighter's power plant consisted of a radial air-cooled M-82 engine, which had a maximum power of 1850 hp. and a three-blade variable pitch propeller VISH-105V with a diameter of 3.1 meters. The exhaust pipes were combined into 2 reactive-type manifolds. To regulate the engine temperature, frontal louvers were used, which were located on the front ring of the hood, as well as 2 flaps on the sides of the hood behind the engine. The aircraft engine was started using compressed air. An oil tank with a capacity of 59 liters was located at the junction of the metal truss and the wooden part of the fuselage. Fuel with a volume of 539 liters was in 5 tanks: 3 center section and 2 console.

The fighter's armament consisted of two synchronized 20-mm ShVAK cannons with pneumatic and mechanical reloading. The total ammunition was 340 shells. Used to aim at the target red dot sight PBP-la. On La-5FN model aircraft, wing bomb racks were additionally installed, which were designed to carry bombs weighing up to 100 kg.

In addition to the standard set of control and flight navigation instruments, the fighter's equipment included an oxygen device, a short-wave radio station RSI-4 and a landing light. The oxygen supply was enough for 1.5 hours of flight at an altitude of 8000 m.

The letters FN in the La-5FN markings stood for Forced Direct Fuel Injection and referred to the engine. This aircraft began to enter service with the troops in March 1943. Its ASh-82FN engine developed a maximum power of 1850 hp. and could withstand forced mode for 10 minutes of flight. This version of the La-5 fighter was the fastest. At the ground, the car accelerated to 593 km/h, and at an altitude of 6250 meters it could reach a speed of 648 km/h. In April 1943, in Lyubertsy near Moscow, a series of air battles took place between the La-5FN and the captured Bf.109G-2 fighter. The training battles demonstrated the overwhelming superiority of the La-5 in speed at low and medium altitudes, which were the main ones for air battles on the Eastern Front.

The La-7 was a further modernization of the La-5 fighter and one of the best production aircraft of the end of World War II. This fighter had excellent flight characteristics, high maneuverability and good weapons. At low and medium altitudes, it had an advantage over the last piston fighters of Germany and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. The La-7, on which Kozhedub ended the war, is currently in the Central Museum of the Russian Air Force in the village of Monino.

In my own way appearance and the size of the fighter differed very slightly from the La-5. One of the significant differences were the spars, which, like on the latest La-5FN series, were made of metal. At the same time, the skin and ribs of the aircraft remained unchanged. The cross-sectional dimensions of the side members were reduced, which freed up additional space for fuel tanks. The mass of the fighter's spars has been reduced by 100 kg. The aerodynamics of the fighter have improved significantly, this was achieved, in particular, by moving and improving the shape of the radiator. The internal sealing of the aircraft has also been improved by completely eliminating the gaps between the pipes and the holes for them in the fire bulkhead and the cracks in the hood. All these improvements allowed the La-7 to gain an advantage over the La-5 in flight speed, climb rate and maximum ceiling. The maximum speed of the La-7 was 680 km/h.

The La-7 could be armed with two 20-mm ShVAK cannons or 3 20-mm B-20 cannons. The guns had hydromechanical synchronizers that prevented shells from hitting the propeller blades. Most of the La-7, like the La-5, was armed with two ShVAK cannons, which had 200 rounds of ammunition per barrel. The fighter's ammunition included armor-piercing incendiary and fragmentation incendiary shells weighing 96 grams. Armor-piercing incendiary shells at a distance of 100 meters normally pierced armor up to 20 mm thick. bombs weighing up to 100 kg could be suspended on two underwing units of the fighter.

Sources used:
www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=403
www.airwar.ru/enc/fww2/la5.html
www.airwar.ru/enc/fww2/la7.html
Materials from the free Internet encyclopedia "Wikipedia"

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub was born on June 8, 1920 in the village of Obrazheevka, now Shostkinsky district, Sumy region, into a peasant family. Graduated from incomplete high school and chemical and technological college. In 1939, he mastered it at the flying club. Since 1940 in the Red Army. The next year he studied at the Chuguev Military Aviation Pilot School, flying the Ut-2 and I-16. As one of the best cadets, he was retained as an instructor pilot.

Since March 1943, senior sergeant I.N. Kozhedub has been in the active army. Until September 1944 he served in the 240th IAP (178th Guards IAP); to May 1945 - in the 176th Guards IAP.

By October 1943, the squadron commander of the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Senior Lieutenant I.N. Kozhedub, flew 146 combat missions and personally shot down 20 enemy aircraft.

On February 4, 1944, for courage and military valor shown in battles with enemies, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (No. 1472).

In total, he made 330 combat missions, conducted 120 air battles and personally shot down 62 enemy aircraft.

After the war he continued to serve in the Air Force. In 1949 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. During the Korean War of 1950 - 1953, he commanded the 324th Fighter Aviation Division. In 1956 he graduated from the Military Academy General Staff. Since 1971 in the central office of the Air Force, since 1978 - in the General Inspection Group of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Air Marshal, Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 2nd - 5th convocations. Member of the Presidium of the DOSAAF Central Committee. Author of the books “Serving the Motherland”, “Victory Festival”, “Loyalty to the Fatherland”. Died on August 8, 1991.

Awarded the orders: Lenin (three times), Red Banner (seven), Alexander Nevsky, Patriotic War 1st degree, Red Star (twice), “For service to the Motherland in Armed Forces USSR" 3rd degree; medals.

The most successful fighter pilot of the USSR, a master of offensive combat, Ivan Kozhedub completed 330 combat missions during the Great Patriotic War, conducted 120 air battles and personally shot down 62 enemy aircraft. The automaticity of his movements in battle was worked out to the limit - he was an excellent sniper, he hit the target from any position of the aircraft. It should be added that Kozhedub was never shot down himself, although he repeatedly brought the damaged fighter to the airfield.

Coming from a poor peasant family with five children, the famous pilot was born in 1920 in the village of Obrazheevka, Sumy district. Vanya was the youngest in the family, an unexpected “last child”, born after a great famine. The official date of his birth, June 8, 1920, is inaccurate; the real date is July 6, 1922. He really needed two years to enter the technical school...

His father was an extraordinary man. Torn between factory earnings and peasant labor, he found the strength to read books and even write poetry. A religious man with a subtle and demanding mind, he was a strict and persistent teacher: having diversified his son’s duties around the house, he taught him to be hardworking, persevering, and diligent. One day, the father, despite his mother’s protests, began sending 5-year-old Ivan to guard the garden at night. Later, the son asked what this was for: thieves were rare then, and even such a watchman, if something happened, would be of little use. “I got you accustomed to trials,” was the father’s answer. By the age of 6, Vanya learned to read and write from his sister’s book, and soon went to school.

After graduating from the 7-year school, he was admitted to the workers' faculty of the Shostka Chemical and Technological College, and in 1938, fate brought him to the flying club. The elegant uniform of the accounts played an important role in this decision. Here, in April 1939, Kozhedub made his first flight, experiencing his first flight sensations. Beauty native land, which opened from a height of 1500 meters, made a strong impression on the inquisitive young man.

Ivan Kozhedub was admitted to the Chuguev Military Aviation School of Pilots at the beginning of 1940, where he successively underwent training on the UT-2, UTI-4 and I-16. In the fall of the same year, having completed 2 clean flights on the I-16, he, to his deep disappointment, was left at the school as an instructor.

He flew a lot, experimented, honing his aerobatic skills. “If it were possible, it seems I wouldn’t get out of the plane. The piloting technique itself, polishing the figures gave me incomparable joy,” Ivan Nikitovich later recalled.

At the beginning of the war, Sergeant Kozhedub (ironically, in the “golden edition” of 1941, the pilots were certified as sergeants), evacuated with the school to Central Asia, was even more persistently engaged in “fighter” self-education: studying issues of tactics, taking notes on descriptions of air battles, drawing them out scheme. Days, including weekends, are planned minute by minute, everything is subordinated to one goal - to become a worthy air fighter. Late autumn In 1942, after numerous requests and reports, Senior Sergeant Kozhedub, along with other instructors and graduates of the school, was sent to Moscow to a gathering point for flight technical personnel, from where he ended up in the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment, commanded by Spanish veteran Major Ignatius Soldatenko.

In August 1942, the 240th IAP was among the first to be armed with the latest La-5 fighters at that time. However, the retraining was carried out hastily, in 15 days; during the operation of the vehicles, design and manufacturing defects were revealed, and, having suffered heavy losses in the Stalingrad direction, after 10 days the regiment was withdrawn from the front. Apart from the regiment commander, Major I. Soldatenko, only a few pilots remained in the regiment.

The following training and retraining were carried out thoroughly: at the end of December 1942, after an intense month-long theoretical training with daily lessons, the pilots began flying the new machines.

In one of the training flights, when immediately after takeoff the thrust dropped sharply due to an engine failure, Kozhedub decisively turned the plane around and glided to the edge of the airfield. Having hit hard during landing, he was out of action for several days and by the time he was sent to the front he had barely flown any aircraft. new car 10 hours. This incident was only the beginning of a long streak of failures that haunted the pilot upon entering the military path.

In February 1943, the regiment was finally transferred to conduct military operations in the Southwestern direction. The start of Kozhedub’s career was not very successful. When distributing military equipment, he received a heavier five-tank La-5 of the first series, with the inscription on the side “Name of Valery Chkalov” and tail number “75” (a whole squadron of such vehicles was built with funds raised by the great pilot’s fellow countrymen).

The first plane of Ivan Kozhedub. Spring 1943.

On March 26, 1943, he flew on a combat mission for the first time. The flight was unsuccessful - during an attack on a pair of Me-110s, his Lavochkin was damaged by a Messer, and then fired upon by anti-aircraft artillery of its own air defense. Kozhedub miraculously survived: the armored back protected him from a high-explosive projectile from an aircraft cannon, but in the belt, a high-explosive projectile, as a rule, alternated with an armor-piercing one...

Kozhedub managed to bring the battered car to the airfield, but its restoration took a long time. for a long time. He made subsequent flights on old planes. One day he was almost taken away from the regiment to the warning post. Only the intercession of Soldatenko, who either saw a future great fighter in the silent loser, or who took pity on him, saved Ivan Nikitich from retraining. Only a month later he received a new La-5 (by that time his damaged car had been restored, but was already used only as a liaison vehicle).

Model of the plane on which Kozhedub flew.

...Kursk Bulge. July 6, 1943. It was then, on his 40th combat mission, that the 23-year-old pilot opened his combat account. In that duel, he had, perhaps, only one thing - courage. He could have been hit, he could have died. But having entered into a battle with 12 enemy aircraft as part of the squadron, the young pilot wins his first victory - he shoots down a Ju-87 dive bomber. The next day he wins a new victory - he shot down another Laptezhnik. July 9, Ivan Kozhedub destroys 2 Me-109 fighters at once. Despite the unloved missions of fighters to cover ground troops and escort, Kozhedub, carrying them out, won his first 4 official victories. This is how the fame of the outstanding Soviet pilot was born, this is how experience came to him.

In September 1942, Kozhedub already had eight enemy aircraft shot down when the fire flared up over the Dnieper. new stage fierce air battles. On September 30, while covering river crossings, he, by coincidence, was left without comrades and was forced to single-handedly repel a raid by 18 Ju-87s. Luftwaffe bombers began diving, and some of them even managed to drop bombs.

Having attacked the planes from a height of 3,500 meters, Kozhedub broke into the enemy’s battle formations and, with unexpected and sharp maneuvers, plunged the enemy into confusion. The Junkers stopped bombing and stood in a defensive circle. Although there was little fuel left in the fighter tanks, the Soviet pilot launched another attack and shot one of the enemy vehicles from below at point-blank range. The sight of the Ju-87 falling in flames made a proper impression, and the remaining bombers hastily left the battlefield.

By October 1943, the squadron commander of the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Senior Lieutenant I.N. Kozhedub, flew 146 combat missions and personally shot down 20 enemy aircraft. He is already fighting on equal terms with the German aces. He has courage, composure, and precise calculation to his credit. Kozhedub skillfully combines piloting techniques with firing, but before him there is still a wide field for polishing combat techniques.

In the book "People immortal feat"There is this episode:

“The day of October 2, 1943, when our troops expanded the bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper, repelling the fierce attacks of the enemy, became a hymn to the courage and skill of Kozhedub. The first time we were eliminated as nine. Kozhedub led the striking five. On the approach to the crossing in the Kutsevalovka - Domotkan area, we encountered a column of Ju-87 dive bombers, in which each nine was covered by six Me-109s.

The four covering forces immediately engaged the Messerschmitts in battle. Kozhedub, at the head of the five, attacked the bombers. The enemy began to rush about. Not even a minute had passed before two Junkers, engulfed in flames, fell to the ground. The presenter was knocked down by Ivan Kozhedub, another by Pavel Bryzgalov.

A “carousel” began in the sky. Following the first nine, the second was dispersed. In the heat of battle, while leading the battle, Kozhedub also managed to shoot down an Me-109. Five fires were already burning in the area of ​​the bridgehead. And the Junkers sailed in from the west again. But a group of Yakov fighters also approached the battlefield from the east. Dominance in air combat was ensured.

Having shot down 7 enemy aircraft in this battle, the squadron under the command of Kozhedub returned to its airfield. We had lunch right under the wing of the plane. We didn’t have time to debrief the battle - and we took off again. This time with four: Kozhedub - Mukhin and Amelin - Puryshev. A well-established combat team, battle-tested brothers-in-arms. The task is the same - covering troops on the battlefield. However, the balance of forces is different: it was necessary to repel the raid of 36, which came under the cover of six Me-109s and a pair of FW-190s.

“They fight not with numbers, but with skill,” Kozhedub encouraged his followers. He immediately knocked down the leader and organized the fight. The rest of the flight pilots also fought bravely. 2 more Junkers crashed into the ground. German fighters pinned down Amelin. Mukhin rushed to the rescue. Kozhedub covered it and immediately attacked the neighboring bomber. Another enemy plane found death in the skies of Ukraine. This was Kozhedub’s fourth victory of the day.”

October became an extremely busy month for Kozhedub. In one of the battles, he came out of the attack so low over the burning Junkers that he was set on fire by the gunner's fire from a German plane. Only a steep dive almost to the ground helped to knock down the flames from the wing of the La-5. Meetings with Luftwaffe “hunters” became more frequent, the purpose of which was disorganization Soviet groups fighters, distracting them from the cover area and destroying the leading ones. They also attacked single and downed aircraft.

The first battle over the Dnieper on a collision course with German aces left an unpleasant aftertaste in Kozhedub’s memory. In a frontal attack, he did not manage to open fire in time, and enemy shells passed only a few centimeters above his head, smashing the radio and interrupting the fighter's rudder. The next day, luck was on Kozhedub’s side - with a long burst, he managed to shoot through the leading pair of Messers, who were trying to shoot down the one lagging behind their formation.

On October 15, four La-5s, led by Kozhedub, again flew out to cover the ground forces. Despite the fact that all the pilots were on guard, 2 Me-109s were still able to catch the Lavochkins during a turn and with a sudden attack head-on from the direction of the sun they immediately knocked out 2 planes. Then, taking advantage of the advantage in height, they pinched Kozhedub’s fighter, firing offhand from an inverted position. Attempts to throw the enemy off the tail did not yield results, and in the end Kozhedub decided on a rather unusual maneuver - throwing the La-5 into a steep turn, he simultaneously performed a half-roll. The enemy fighters rushed forward, but immediately made a slide and easily escaped from the fire of the Lavochkin, which had lost speed. Powerless, Kozhedub could only shake his fist after them...

In the battles for the Dnieper, the pilots of the regiment in which Kozhedub fought met for the first time with Goering’s aces from the Mölders squadron and won the duel. Ivan Kozhedub also increased his score. In just 10 days of intense fighting, he personally shot down 11 enemy aircraft.

In November 1943, the 240th IAP, long time participated in the most difficult air battles, was taken to the nearest rear to rest. The pilots used the resulting time for flight training, studying the features of vertical maneuvers and multi-tiered combat formations of fighters. Kozhedub recorded all the innovations in his notebook, drawing various tactical schemes on paper. By this time, he had 26 downed enemy aircraft, for which, on November 7, he was awarded the Certificate of Honor of the Komsomol Central Committee.

At the beginning of 1944, the regiment re-engaged in hostilities, supporting the offensive Soviet troops on the right bank of Ukraine. In March, Red Army units crossed the Southern Bug. Crossings and bridgeheads again needed to be covered by fighter aircraft, but the Germans, retreating, first of all disabled the airfields, and the field sites were poorly suitable for basing aircraft due to the spring thaw. Therefore, the fighters could not position themselves closer to the front line and operated at the very limit of their flight radius.

The Luftwaffe units were in a better position - in such a situation they flew with almost impunity, without cover, and in case of danger, lining up in a defensive circle at low altitude. These days, Kozhedub paid great attention to the development of air combat tactics at low altitudes in conditions of low clouds and gray, homogeneous terrain without any visible landmarks. He later wrote:

“When we managed to meet with the Junkers, they stood in a defensive circle and pressed themselves to the ground. Repelling attacks - and not only the riflemen, but also the pilots fired from cannons - they gradually pulled back and went to the area where their anti-aircraft batteries. Watching the clouds spreading over the ground, I recalled the battles conducted at low altitudes and analyzed the tactics of the fighters in order to apply the necessary techniques in the new situation and the fight against the Junkers.

I came to the conclusion that the defensive circle could be broken with a surprise attack and that at least one plane had to be shot down - then a gap would form. Jumping in a straight line with small turns, you need to turn around and quickly attack from another direction, attacking in pairs. The experience I had already acquired allowed me to come to this conclusion.”

On February 4, 1944, for courage and military valor shown in battles with enemies, Ivan Kozhedub was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

On March 14, six La-5s flew to the crossings at a distance limiting for this type of fighter. From a strafing flight they attacked the Stuka nine over the forest. In a frontal attack from below, Kozhedub immediately shot down one bomber. Having dispersed the first group of German aircraft, the Soviet pilots attacked the next nine. Another Junkers caught fire again - the rest, hastily dropping their bombs, went back. One of the Lavochkins was also hit.

Lieutenant P. Bryzgalov headed to the nearest airfield abandoned by the Germans. However, during landing, his plane crashed, turned over “on its back” and pinned the pilot in the cockpit. Under the circumstances, Kozhedub ordered two more pilots to land, and he himself set an example by landing on his “stomach” in liquid mud. With their joint efforts, the colleagues freed their comrade from an absurd situation.

Demanding and demanding of himself, frantic and tireless in battle, Kozhedub was an ideal air fighter, proactive and efficient, daring and prudent, brave and skillful, a knight without fear or reproach. “Precise maneuver, stunning swiftness of attack and strike from an extremely short distance,” - this is how Kozhedub defined the basis of air combat. He was born for combat, lived for combat, thirsted for it. Here is a characteristic episode noticed by his fellow soldier, another great ace K. A. Evstigneev:

“Once Ivan Kozhedub returned from a mission, hot from battle, excited and, perhaps, therefore unusually talkative:

Those bastards give! None other than the “wolves” from the Udet squadron. But we gave them a hard time - be healthy! - Pointing towards the command post, he hopefully asked the squadron adjutant: - How is it there? Is there anything else in sight?

Kozhedub’s attitude towards the combat vehicle acquired the features of religion, that form of it that is called animatism. “The motor runs smoothly. The plane obeys my every movement. I’m not alone - my fighting friend is with me” - these lines convey the attitude of the ace to the plane. This is not poetic exaggeration, not a metaphor. When approaching the car before takeoff, he always found a few kind words for it, and during the flight he spoke as if he were a comrade doing an important part of the work. After all, besides flying, it is difficult to find a profession where a person’s fate would be more dependent on the behavior of a machine.

During the war he replaced 6 Lavochkins, and not a single plane let him down. And he did not lose a single car, although it happened that it was on fire, caused holes, landed on airfields dotted with craters...

In May 1944, the squadron commander, Captain I.N. Kozhedub, who already had 38 aerial victories, received a new La-5F - a gift from collective farmer V.V. Konev. He contributed his money to the Red Army Fund and asked to build an airplane named after his nephew, Lieutenant Colonel G.N. Konev, who died at the front. The patriot’s request was fulfilled and the car was handed over to Kozhedub.

It was an excellent lightweight fighter with the number “14” and inscriptions written in white with a red border: on the left side - “In the name of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Colonel G.N. Konev”, on the right - “From the collective farmer Vasily Viktorovich Konev”.

Another color option for Ivan Kozhedub’s personalized La-5 aircraft. On this plane, Kozhedub shot down 8 enemy aircraft (including 4 FW-190) in a short time, bringing his victory count to 45. He also shot down several famous German aces.

So, a few days after receiving the plane, a group of German “hunters” appeared in the regiment’s area of ​​operation in cars painted with skulls and crossbones, dragons and other emblems in a similar form. They were flown by aces who won many victories in the Western and Eastern fronts. One pair in particular stood out - with skulls and crossbones on the fuselages. They did not engage in active combat, preferring to act from the direction of the sun, usually from behind from above. Having carried out the attack, as a rule, they quickly disappeared.

On one of the flights, Kozhedub noticed in time a pair of “hunters” approaching from the direction of the sun. Instantly turning 180 degrees, he rushed to the attack. The leader of the enemy pair did not accept the frontal attack and left with a turn upward - into the sun. The wingman, not having time to repeat the maneuver of his commander, began to make a combat turn late and exposed the side of his FW-190 to the attack of the Lavochkin. Instantly placing the fuselage of an enemy vehicle in his sight, with skulls and bones painted on it, Ivan shot it in cold blood...

Ivan Kozhedub in front of his fighter.

After Kozhedub was transferred to another regiment, his “registered” La-5F was first fought by Kirill Evstigneev, who ended the war with 53 personal and 3 group victories and became twice Hero of the Soviet Union, and then by Pavel Bryzgalov (20 victories), who by the end of the war became Hero of the Soviet Union.

At the end of June 1944, the Soviet ace was transferred as deputy commander to the famous 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. This formation, the first in the Soviet Air Force, received the latest La-7 fighters in August 1944.

By mid-1944, Guard Captain I.N. Kozhedub brought the number of combat sorties to 256 and enemy aircraft shot down to 48.

For the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command, courage, bravery and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 19, 1944, he was awarded the title of the second Gold Star medal.

Having mastered the new fighter, Kozhedub, since September 1944, already in Poland, on the left wing of the 1st Belorussian Front, has been fighting using the “free hunt” method. At first he received a 3-gun version of the fighter, and then switched to a regular 2-gun. It is this aircraft with tail number “27”, on which Ivan Kozhedub won his last 17 victories, that is now a decoration in the collection of the Monino Aviation Museum.

At the end of September 1944, by order of the Air Force commander, Marshal A. A. Novikov, a group of pilots under the command of Kozhedub was sent to the Baltics to fight enemy “hunter” fighters. She had to act against a group of German aces. This is how the Soviet and German schools of fighters - “hunters” - came together against each other. Within just a few days of fighting, our pilots shot down 12 enemy aircraft, losing only 2 of their own. Kozhedub chalked up three victories. Having suffered such a crushing defeat, the German “hunters” were forced to stop active flights on this section of the front.

In the winter of 1945, the regiment continued to conduct intense air battles. On February 12, six Lavochkins had an intense battle with 30 enemy fighters. In this fight, our pilots achieved a new victory - they shot down 8 FW-190s, 3 of them by Kozhedub. Our losses are one car (the pilot died).

On February 19, 1945, in a battle over the Oder, Kozhedub added an important touch to his biography - he destroyed, in the cockpit of which was non-commissioned officer Kurt Lange from 1. / KG (J) 54. That day, taking off in the air together with Dmitry Titorenko, Kozhedub discovered an unknown car at an altitude of 3500 meters, flying at the maximum speed for Lavochkin. Two La-7s managed to quietly approach the enemy from behind, and Kozhedub further describes this duel as follows:

"…What's happened? Tracks are flying towards him: it’s clear - my partner was in a hurry after all! I silently scold the Old Man mercilessly; I am sure that my plan of action is irreparably violated. But its routes unexpectedly - unexpectedly - helped me: the German plane began to turn to the left, in my direction. The distance decreased sharply, and I got closer to the enemy. With involuntary excitement I open fire. And the jet plane, falling apart, falls.”

On April 17, 1945, in the 5th sortie of the day, over the capital of Germany, Ivan Kozhedub scored his last victories - he shot down 2 FW-190 fighters.

By the end of the Guard War, Major I.N. Kozhedub made 330 successful combat missions, conducted 120 air battles and personally shot down 63 enemy aircraft. For high military skill, personal courage and bravery, on August 18, 1945, he was awarded the title of three times Hero of the Soviet Union.

Each ace pilot has his own handwriting in the sky, unique to him alone. Ivan Kozhedub also had it, a man whose character harmoniously combined courage, bravery and exceptional composure. He knew how to accurately and quickly weigh the situation and instantly find the only correct move in the current situation. He was a master of the car and could drive it even with eyes closed. All his flights were a cascade of all kinds of maneuvers - turns and snakes, slides and dives... Everyone who had to fly with Kozhedub as a wingman had a hard time staying in the air behind their commander. Kozhedub always sought to find the enemy first. But at the same time, don’t “expose yourself” yourself. After all, in 120 air battles he was never shot down!

Kozhedub rarely returned from a combat mission without victory. But, being a brightly gifted, talented person, at the same time he invariably showed great modesty. For example, he never took credit for shooting down an enemy plane unless he himself saw it fall to the ground. Didn't even report.

After all, the German caught fire! “We saw everything,” the pilots said after returning to their airfield.

So what... What if he reaches his own? - Kozhedub objected in response. And it was impossible to argue with him: he stubbornly stood his ground.

Like many of our other pilots, Kozhedub never took credit for the planes he destroyed together with the newcomers. Here is one example of a classic group victory, given in his book “Loyalty to the Fatherland”:

“...August 1943. We receive an order to immediately fly out to repel a large group of enemy aircraft. Our ten rises into the air. Ahead I see at least 40 Ju-87 dive bombers escorted by Me-109s. Having broken through the fighter screen, we attack the Junkers. I get behind one of them, open fire and drive it into the ground... Soon the Junkers fly away, but it’s getting closer a new group- about 20 He-111 bombers. Together with Mukhin we attack the enemy.

I convey to the wingman: - We take the last one to the pincers, - we approach the bomber from both sides. The distance is appropriate. I command - Fire! Our guns started working. The enemy plane caught fire and began to fall quickly, leaving behind a trail of smoke..."

Upon returning to the airfield, this plane was recorded on the account of Vasily Mukhin. And Kozhedub had at least 5 such “handouts” in his assets. Thus, the real number of enemy aircraft he destroyed was much greater than what was officially listed on his personal account.

The lines from the book “Aces against the Aces” (Publishing House “Veche”, 2007) by O. S. Smyslov (author of another famous book - “Vasily Stalin. Portrait without retouching”) are also of interest. Speaking about Kozhedub, in particular, he writes: “During the period of participation in the war, Ivan Nikitovich changed 6 fighters, chalking up 62 official victories (of which only Me-109 - 17, FV-190 - 21 and Yu-87 - 15 ), not counting 29 group«.

As it now turns out, Kozhedub had slightly more personal victories: M. Yu. Bykov, in his research, found documentary evidence of 64 personally shot down aircraft. As for group victories, the question remains open. I have never seen such information anywhere else.

To the 64 German planes shot down by I.N. Kozhedub during the Great Patriotic War, we should add at least 2 more American fighters that he destroyed at the very end of the war. In April 1945, Kozhedub drove off a pair of German fighters from an American B-17 with a barrage, but was attacked by covering fighters that opened fire from a long distance. With a flip over the wing, Kozhedub quickly attacked the outer car. It began to smoke and descended towards our troops (the pilot of this vehicle soon jumped out with a parachute and landed safely).

Having performed a combat turn in a half-loop, from an inverted position, Kozhedub attacked the leader - he exploded in the air. A little later, he managed to see the white stars on unfamiliar cars - they were Mustangs. Thanks to the regiment commander P. Chupikov, everything worked out...

Unfortunately, this battle was not the only one between Soviet and American pilots during the Second World War...

After the Guard War, Major I.N. Kozhedub continued to serve in the 176th GvIAP. At the end of 1945, the famous fighter began family life- on the Monino train he met 10th-grader Veronica, who soon became his wife, a faithful and patient companion throughout his life, his main “adjutant and assistant.”

In 1949, Ivan Nikitovich graduated from the Air Force Academy and was appointed to the post of division commander near Baku, but V.I. Stalin left him near Moscow, in Kubinka, as deputy and then commander of the 326th Fighter Aviation Division. Among the first, this division was armed with new MiG-15 jet aircraft and at the end of 1950 it was sent to Far East. There, the famous Soviet pilot had the opportunity to take part in another one -.

From March 1951 to February 1952, repelling raids on North Korea, Kozhedub’s division scored 215 victories, shot down 12 “super-fortresses”, losing 52 aircraft and 10 pilots. This was one of the brightest pages combat use jet aviation in the history of the Soviet Air Force.

A strict order from the command forbade the division commander to engage in battle personally, and he did not win any official victories during this period. Although, according to the recollections of some pilots who participated in those long-ago events, several times (unofficially, of course), Ivan Kozhedub still took to the air...

But danger awaited the pilot not only in the sky: in the winter of 1951, he was almost poisoned by a cook: the war was fought using different methods. During his Guard assignment, Colonel I.N. Kozhedub not only exercised operational leadership of the division, but also took an active part in the organization, training and rearmament of the PRC Air Force.

In 1952, the 326th IAD was transferred to the air defense system and transferred to Kaluga. Ivan Nikitovich enthusiastically took up the new peaceful task of organizing the division’s personnel. Behind short term 150 houses for housing were received and installed, an airfield and a military camp were equipped and expanded. Only the life of the commander himself, who became a major general in the summer of 1953, remained unsettled. His family, with a young son and daughter, huddled either in a temporary shelter at the airfield, or together with a dozen other families in a “caravanserai” - an old dacha.

A year later he was sent to study at the General Staff Academy. I took part of the course as an external student, as due to work reasons I was delayed in starting classes.

After graduating from the academy, Kozhedub was appointed First Deputy Head of the Combat Training Directorate of the country's Air Force; from May 1958 to 1964, he was First Deputy Commander of the Air Force of the Leningrad and then Moscow Military Districts.

Until 1970, Ivan Nikitovich regularly flew fighter planes and mastered dozens of types of airplanes and helicopters. He made his last flights on a MiG-23. He left his flying job on his own and immediately...

The units that Kozhedub led always had a low accident rate, and he himself, as a pilot, had no accidents, although “emergency situations,” of course, did happen. So, in 1966, during a low-altitude flight, his MiG-21 collided with a flock of rooks; one of the birds hit the air intake and damaged the engine. It took all his flying skill to land the car.

From the post of commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District, Kozhedub returned to the post of First Deputy Head of the Air Force Combat Training Directorate, from where he was transferred almost 20 years ago.

An impeccable air fighter, pilot and commander, officer, selflessly devoted to his work, Kozhedub did not have “noble” qualities, did not know how and did not consider it necessary to flatter, intrigue, cherish the necessary connections, notice funny and sometimes malicious jealousy of his fame. In 1978, he was transferred to the group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In 1985 he was awarded the rank of Air Marshal.

All this time Kozhedub resignedly led a huge community work. A deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, chairman or president of dozens of different societies, committees and federations, he was simple and honest with both the first person of the state and the provincial truth-seeker. And what a lot of effort it took hundreds of meetings and trips, thousands of speeches, interviews, autographs...

In the last years of his life, Ivan Nikitovich was seriously ill: the stress of the war years and difficult service in the peacetime took their toll. He died at his dacha of a heart attack on August 8, 1991, two weeks before the collapse of the great state, of which he himself was a part of the glory.

The first "baptism of fire".

In March 1943, I arrived at the Voronezh Front as an ordinary pilot in a regiment commanded by Major I. Soldatenko. The regiment was armed with La-5 aircraft. From the first day, I began to take a closer look at the combat work of my new comrades. I listened carefully to the debriefings of the day's combat work, studied the enemy's tactics and tried to combine the theory acquired at school with front-line experience. So, day after day, I prepared for the battle with the enemy. Only a few days had passed, but it seemed to me that my preparation was dragging on endlessly. I wanted to fly out with my comrades to meet the enemy as soon as possible.

Photo by Ivan Kozhedub after the war.

The meeting with the enemy happened unexpectedly. It happened like this: on March 26, 1943, I, together with the leading junior lieutenant Gabunia, taxied to the start line on duty. Suddenly we were given the signal to take off. Junior Lieutenant Gabunia quickly took to the air.

I was somewhat delayed on takeoff and after the first turn I lost the leader. I was unable to contact either the presenter or the ground via radio. Then I decided to perform aerobatics over the airfield. Having gained 1500 meters of altitude, he began piloting.

Suddenly, 800 meters below me, I noticed 6 planes that were approaching the airfield in a descent. At first glance, I mistook them for Pe-2s, but a few seconds later I saw bombs exploding and anti-aircraft gun fire at our airfield. Then I realized that these were German multi-purpose Me-110 aircraft. I remember how hard my heart beat. There was an enemy in front of me.

I decided to attack the enemy, quickly turned around, and approached at maximum speed. There were 500 meters left when the air combat rule I heard from the commander flashed into my mind: “Before attacking, look behind you.”

Looking around, I noticed a plane with a white cooker approaching me from behind at high speed. Before I could recognize whose plane it was, he had already opened fire on me. One shell exploded in my cabin. With a sharp turn to the left and sliding I get out from under the blow. A pair of Me-109s passed at high speed to my right. Now I realized that they, noticing my attack, swooped down and attacked me. However, my failed attack forced the Me-110 to abandon a second bombing approach.

In this meeting, I saw in practice how important the role of the follower is to cover the leader when attacking the target.

Later, flying in a flying group, I won 63 victories without knowing defeat.

Air victories of Ivan Kozhedub

№	date	Type of aircraft shot down	Location of battle/fall
1.	06.07.1943	Yu-87	zap. Envy
2.	07.07.1943	Yu-87	Art. Gostishchevo
3.	09.07.1943	Me-109	Krasnaya Polyana
4.	09.07.1943	Me-109	eastern Pokrovki
5.	09.08.1943	Me-109	Charming
6.	14.08.1943	Me-109	Iskrovka
7.	14.08.1943	Me-109	Kolomna
8.	16.08.1943	Yu-87	Rogan
9.	22.08.1943	FV-190	Lyubotin
10.	09.09.1943	Me-109	north Sparks
11.	30.09.1943	Yu-87	southwest Borodayevka
12.	01.10.1943	Yu-87	zap. Borodayevka
13.	01.10.1943	Yu-87	zap. Borodayevka
14.	02.10.1943	Me-109	Flat
15.	02.10.1943	Yu-87	Petrovka
16.	02.10.1943	Yu-87	southwest Andreevka
17.	02.10.1943	Yu-87	southwest Andreevka
18.	04.10.1943	Me-109	from Borodayevka
19.	05.10.1943	Me-109	southwest of Krasny Kut
20.	05.10.1943	Me-109	zap. Kutsevalovka
21.	06.10.1943	Me-109	Borodayevka
22.	10.10.1943	Me-109	Dneprovo-Kamenka
23.	12.10.1943	Yu-87	north Flat
24.	12.10.1943	Me-109	south Petrovka
25.	12.10.1943	Yu-87	south Homespun
26.	29.10.1943	Yu-87	Krivoy Rog
27.	29.10.1943	Xe-111	zap. Cottages
28.	16.01.1944	Me-109	Novo-Zlynka
29.	30.01.1944	Me-109	eastern Nechaevki
30.	30.01.1944	Yu-87	zap. Lipovki
31.	14.03.1944	Yu-87	Osievka
32.	21.03.1944	Yu-87	Lebedin-Shpola
33.	11.04.1944	PZL-24	cheese
34.	19.04.1944	Xe-111	north Iasi
35.	28.04.1944	Yu-87	south to Vultura
36.	29.04.1944	Khsh-129	Horlesti
37.	29.04.1944	Khsh-129	Horlesti
38.	03.05.1944	Yu-87	Targu Frumos-Dumbravitsa
39.	31.05.1944	FV-190	eastern Vulture
40.	01.06.1944	Yu-87	Alien Water
41.	02.06.1944	Khsh-129	zap. Stynka
42.	03.06.1944	FV-190	Radiu-Ului - Teter
43.	03.06.1944	FV-190	Radiu-Ului - Teter
44.	03.06.1944	FV-190	north-west Iasi
45.	07.06.1944	Me-109	Pyrlitsa
46.	08.06.1944	Me-109	Kyrlitsy
47.	22.09.1944	FV-190	from Strenchi
48.	22.09.1944	FV-190	southwest Ramnieki-Daksty
49.	25.09.1944	FV-190	from Valmiera
50.	16.01.1945	FV-190	south of Studzian
51.	10.02.1945	FV-190	s-z airfield area Maureen
52.	12.02.1945	FV-190	zap. Kinitz
53.	12.02.1945	FV-190	zap. Kinitz
54.	12.02.1945	FV-190	lake Kitzer See
55.	17.02.1945	Me-190	eastern Alt-Friedland
56.	19.02.1945	Me-109	north Furstenfelde
57.	11.03.1945	FV-190	north Brünchen
58.	18.03.1945	FV-190	north Kustrina
59.	18.03.1945	FV-190	s-w Kustrina
60.	22.03.1945	FV-190	north Seelow
61.	22.03.1945	FV-190	eastern Guzov
62.	23.03.1945	FV-190	Art. Verbig
63.	17.04.1945	FV-190	Vritsen
64.	17.04.1945	FV-190	Kinitz
Total shot down: 64+0. Combat sorties: 330. Air battles: 120. The first 46 victories were won by Kozhedub on , the next - on .

An excellent film about Ivan Kozhedub and his military activities.

Airplanes of Ivan Kozhedub

Airplane I.N. Kozhedub - La-7. 176th GvIAP, Germany, May 1945

Notes:

Kozhedub and Pokryshkin

To be fair, it must be said that Ivan Kozhedub was not the only hero pilot during the war. When they talk about Soviet aces, they often remember Alexander Pokryshkin, who even in those days was considered, if not the main “enemy” of Ivan Kozhedub, who did not want to share the glory with him, then certainly his main rival. After the war, they often wrote that Pokryshkin and Kozhedub allegedly organized unofficial competitions among themselves: who could shoot down the most planes. In fact, this was not the case, because, among other things, the pilots served in different regiments and fought on different fronts. Ivan Nikitovich called Alexander Ivanovich his teacher, senior comrade, and brother-in-arms. True, after the war he did not deny that healthy competition between the two aces still took place, but the pilots were doing a common job - beating the enemy. And neither Kozhedub nor Pokryshkin considered it appropriate to talk about who shot down more planes. Although it was precisely about the exploits of Alexander Pokryshkin that not only Soviet, but since 1943, American and English newspapers began to write widely. And Hermann Goering personally received reports about a pilot who shot down 3-4 Luftwaffe planes in one battle. "Attention! In the sky - Pokryshkin! - warnings to German pilots sounded on air when his plane entered the battle.

Pokryshkin himself, being nine years older than Ivan Kozhedub, began fighting in 1941. Subsequently, he often said: only those who have been fighting since the first days of the war, have personally experienced the bitterness of defeat and survived, can call themselves an experienced fighter. Kozhedub, who studied the theory of air combat in the first years of the war and showed himself later, was offended to hear this from a person he respected. However, this did not stop him from gluing a portrait of Pokryshkin cut out from a newspaper in the cockpit of his plane. The pilots did not know each other for a long time. And this opportunity presented itself to Kozhedub: the plane of Hero of the Soviet Union, Divisional Commander Alexander Pokryshkin, landed at their airfield. But Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Kozhedub never decided to come up and meet the one he considered a teacher. Much later, when the hero pilots finally shook hands, Kozhedub admitted to Pokryshkin: if he, having fought from the first days, formed a theory from the practice of air combat, then he, carefully studying this theory in the rear, brought it to life and even improved.

Alexander Pokryshkin became the first who was allowed to fly out on a “free hunt”. He practiced such combat exits back in 1941. But then each such flight was considered arbitrary, not many pilots survived, and those who returned were worth their weight in gold. Therefore, they got off with strict warnings, which, however, were used only as a matter of form - those who returned always reported downed enemy planes. As you know, winners are not judged. And since 1942, “free hunting” for Soviet aces, which Pokryshkin was already without any doubt considered, was officially allowed - after all, German pilots had already received such a right. Through trial and error, being on the brink of death dozens of times, Lieutenant Pokryshkin day after day honed the combat system, which he later called the “falcon strike.” The victory formula he derived consisted of four components: “Speed ​​– altitude – maneuver – fire.” Seeing the enemy, he quickly gained altitude, performed a diversionary maneuver, and at the right moment, like a falcon, attacked his prey from above, opening targeted fire.

“Stalin's Falcons” is the title of a chapter of a popular book in the former Federal Republic of Germany by American aviation historians R. Toliver and T. Constable. Its authors did not write about Soviet pilots, but paid tribute to the best ace Luftwaffe Eric Hartmann. But American researchers also remembered the battle tactics developed by Alexander Pokryshkin and adopted by Ivan Kozhedub. Here is a small fragment from their book: “Pokryshkin by mathematical analysis found those fundamental formulas of tactics that Hartman subsequently came to purely intuitively. The similarity of concepts and conclusions is worthy of attention... Pokryshkin’s innovations largely contributed to the fact that Soviet fighter aviation abandoned the dogmatic doctrine of the pre-war era... Distortions should not lead to seeing Pokryshkin’s activities as a fighter pilot, commander and tactician as the result of naked propaganda. His fame is well deserved, and it is appropriate in this book to pay tribute to one who often fought with Hartman and the pilots of the 52nd Fighter Squadron."

Since the early 1990s, it has become fashionable to balance books about Soviet heroes war with publications about an equally heroic enemy. And numbers Soviet aircraft, shot down by the Germans, hit: Hartman - 352, Barkhorn - 301, Rall - 275 aircraft and so on. It seemed that three times Heroes Pokryshkin and Kozhedub, who shot down 59 and 62 aircraft, respectively, were a pale shadow of the Germans. “What are Soviet pilots worth then, since there is such a difference in the number of downed planes?” – then they started talking around. But this soon found its explanation: it turns out that the systems for counting downed aircraft that were kept in both armies were significantly different. Downed planes are one thing, but counted ones are another. The Germans kept records using a photo-machine gun mounted on an airplane. The very fact of hitting the enemy was taken into account, and they did not care what happened to him next. The ace's partner usually confirmed the fact that the plane had been shot down.

In the Soviet Air Force, to confirm victory in 1941, they demanded almost a part of a downed German plane with a number. Then the understanding came that in fighter aviation it is impossible in many situations to fix a downed plane on the ground and give one hundred percent confirmation that it was shot down. Pokryshkin, and later Kozhedub and other Soviet aces, were not counted for vehicles shot down behind the front line over enemy territory. But the pilots did not need “points,” but real victories. And they continued to attack enemy bombers on approach, as this was more effective. Therefore Soviet aces, including Pokryshkin and Kozhedub, and it turned out that there were a lot of uncounted aircraft.

From the book Pokryshkin author

Planet “Pokryshkin” He had a sharper eye for the genuine and the vain. He knew the true price of life, warmth and bread. He protected all living things around him. Hero of the Soviet Union Andrei Ivanovich Trud In the last year of his life, A. I. Pokryshkin completed the book of memoirs “Knowing Yourself in Battle.”

From the book Pilots, Planes, Tests author Shcherbakov Alexey Alexandrovich

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub Kozhedub is an outstanding ace of the Second World War. According to experts, and not only Soviet ones, he has the most high rating fighter pilot, although in terms of the number of aircraft shot down he is inferior to some German aces. Enough has been written about him.

From the book Against the “Messers” and “Sabres” author Kramarenko Sergey

Kozhedub Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub was born on June 8, 1920 in the small village of Obrazheevka in the present Sumy region. The region, like neighboring Poltava and Chernigov, was on the edge of Russian land, and the inhabitants of these places stood in its defense, constantly waging wars with the Pechenegs and

From the book Memoirs, letters, diaries of participants in the battles for Berlin by Berlin Sturm

THREE TIMES HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION GUARDS COLONEL A. POKRYSHKIN At the airfield near Jüterbog In the stubborn battles we fought from the foothills of the Caucasus to the center of Germany, the air warriors of my formation flew thousands of hours, and flew in the air for a total of about 12 million

From the book Soldiers of the Empire. Conversations. Memories. Documentation. author Chuev Felix Ivanovich

“THREE TIMES POKRYSHKIN USSR” An American pilot, whom I met in Angola, sent me postcards from Texas, a handsome and, I think, sincere guy. He collects photographs of outstanding aviators from different countries. I revealed to him that I knew a lot of Soviet pilots

From the book Heaven begins from earth. Pages of life author

Three Gold Stars. “Attention, Pokryshkin!” In the spring of 1943, the Kuban air battle took place - one of the largest in the last war. The battles in the sky went on over the earth from dawn until dark. The air was sometimes crowded with aircraft. Goering sent selected aircraft to Kuban

From the book Friends in the Sky author Vodopyanov Mikhail Vasilievich

“Attention, Pokryshkin!” In the spring of 1943, the Kuban air battle took place - one of the largest in the last war. Fighting in the sky went on over the ground from dawn to tempo. The air was sometimes crowded with aircraft. Goering sent selected aviation units to Kuban. They were met in

From the book Loyalty to the Fatherland. Looking for a fight author Kozhedub Ivan Nikitovich

I.N. Kozhedub in the Korean War

From the book Pokryshkin author Timofeev Alexey Viktorovich

From the book Pokryshkin author Timofeev Alexey Viktorovich

From the book Ivan Kozhedub author Kokotyukha Andrey Anatolievich

XX. Lieutenant Lermontov and Marshal Pokryshkin Yes, I will not change, and I will be strong in soul, Like you, like you, my iron friend. M. Yu. Lermontov. Dagger Frunzenskaya embankment. An elite, well-groomed metropolitan area. In the ensemble of “Stalinist” architecture, a monumental building with a coat of arms is noticeable

From the book Serving the Motherland. Pilot's stories author Kozhedub Ivan Nikitovich

XXI. Planet “Pokryshkin” He had a sharper eye for the genuine and the vain. He knew the true price of life, warmth and bread. He protected all living things around him. Hero of the Soviet Union Andrei Ivanovich Trud In the last year of his life, A. I. Pokryshkin completed the book of memoirs “Know yourself in

From the book 1941–1945. Holy war author Eliseev Vitaly Vasilievich

Kozhedub-instructor Closer to the autumn of 1941, an event occurred that again stirred up the lives of the pilots serving at the Chuguev airfield. The school command received an order to immediately form a regiment of experienced instructors with excellent command of piloting techniques. Them

From the author's book

IVAN KOZHEDUB Three times Hero of the Soviet Union

From the author's book

Chapter 22. Fighter pilot A. Pokryshkin In the summer of 1942, during the holidays, together with Shurik Moshkarov, I went to watch the film “Chapaev”. The fact that Chapaev drowned while swimming across the Ural River was all real lies. Guys we know who have already watched told us about this.