Our ace pilots terrified the Germans during the Great Patriotic War. The exclamation “Akhtung! Akhtung! Pokryshkin is in the sky!” became widely known. But Alexander Pokryshkin was not the only Soviet ace. We remembered the most productive ones.
Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub
Ivan Kozhedub was born in 1920 in the Chernigov province. He is considered the most successful Russian fighter pilot in personal combat, with 64 aircraft shot down. The start of the famous pilot’s career was unsuccessful; in the very first battle, his plane was seriously damaged by an enemy Messerschmitt, and when returning to base, he was mistakenly fired upon by Russian anti-aircraft gunners, and only by a miracle did he manage to land. The plane could not be restored, and they even wanted to repurpose the unlucky newcomer, but the regiment commander stood up for him. Only during his 40th combat mission on the Kursk Bulge, Kozhedub, having already become a “father” - deputy squadron commander, shot down his first “laptezhnik”, as ours called the German “Junkers”. After that, the count went to tens.
Kozhedub fought his last battle in the Great Patriotic War, in which he shot down 2 FW-190s, in the skies over Berlin. In addition, Kozhedub also has two American Mustang planes shot down in 1945, which attacked him, mistaking his fighter for a German plane. The Soviet ace acted according to the principle that he professed even when working with cadets - “any unknown aircraft is an enemy.” Throughout the war, Kozhedub was never shot down, although his plane often received very serious damage.
Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin
Pokryshkin is one of the most famous aces of Russian aviation. Born in 1913 in Novosibirsk. He won his first victory on the second day of the war, shooting down a German Messerschmitt. In total, he has 59 planes shot down personally and 6 in a group. However, this is only official statistics, since, as the commander of an air regiment, and then an air division, Pokryshkin sometimes gave downed planes to young pilots in order to encourage them in this way.
His notebook, entitled “Fighter Tactics in Combat,” became a veritable manual for air warfare. They say that the Germans warned about the appearance of the Russian ace with the phrase: “Akhtung! Achtung! Pokryshkin in the air." The one who shot down Pokryshkin was promised a big reward, but the Russian pilot turned out to be too tough for the Germans. Pokryshkin is considered the inventor of the “Kuban whatnot” - a tactical method of air combat; the Germans nicknamed him the “Kuban escalator”, since the planes arranged in pairs resembled a giant staircase. In the battle, German planes leaving the first stage came under attack from the second, and then the third stage. His other favorite techniques were the falcon kick and the high-speed swing. It is worth noting that Pokryshkin won most of his victories in the first years of the war, when the Germans had a significant superiority in the air.
Nikolay Dmitrievich Gulaev
Born in 1918 in the village of Aksayskaya near Rostov. His first battle is reminiscent of the feat of the Grasshopper from the movie “Only Old Men Go to Battle”: without an order, for the first time in his life, taking off at night under the howl of an air raid on his Yak, he managed to shoot down a German Heinkel night fighter. For such self-will, he was punished and presented with a reward.
Subsequently, Gulaev usually did not limit himself to one downed plane per mission; three times he scored four victories in a day, twice destroyed three planes, and made a double in seven battles. In total, he shot down 57 aircraft personally and 3 in a group. Gulaev rammed one enemy plane when it ran out of ammunition, after which he himself got into a tailspin and barely had time to eject. His risky style of fighting became a symbol of the romantic trend in the art of aerial combat.
Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov
Born in 1920 in the Perm province. On the eve of the war, a slight degree of color blindness was discovered at the medical flight commission, but the regiment commander did not even look at the medical report - pilots were very much needed. He won his first victory on the outdated I-153 biplane number 13, which was unlucky for the Germans, as he joked. Then he ended up in Pokryshkin’s group and was trained on the Airacobra, an American fighter that became famous for its tough temperament - it very easily went into a tailspin at the slightest mistake by the pilot; the Americans themselves were reluctant to fly such aircraft. In total, he shot down 56 aircraft personally and 6 in a group. Perhaps no other ace of ours personally has such a variety of types of downed aircraft as Rechkalov, these include bombers, attack aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, fighters, transport aircraft, and relatively rare trophies - “Savoy” and PZL -24.
Georgy Dmitrievich Kostylev
Born in Oranienbaum, present-day Lomonosov, in 1914. He began his flight practice in Moscow at the legendary Tushinsky airfield, where the Spartak stadium is now being built. The legendary Baltic ace, who covered the skies over Leningrad and won the largest number of victories in naval aviation, personally shot down at least 20 enemy aircraft and 34 in the group.
He shot down his first Messerschmitt on July 15, 1941. He fought on a British Hurricane, received under lend-lease, on the left side of which there was a large inscription “For Rus'!” In February 1943, he ended up in a penal battalion for causing destruction in the house of a major in the quartermaster service. Kostylev was amazed by the abundance of dishes with which he treated his guests, and could not restrain himself, since he knew first-hand what was happening in the besieged city. He was deprived of his awards, demoted to the Red Army and sent to the Oranienbaum bridgehead, to the places where he spent his childhood. The penalty officers saved the hero, and already in April he again takes his fighter into the air and wins victory over the enemy. Later he was reinstated in rank and his awards were returned, but he never received the second Hero Star.
Maresyev Alexey Petrovich
A legendary man, who became the prototype of the hero of Boris Polevoy’s story “The Tale of a Real Man,” a symbol of the courage and perseverance of the Russian warrior. Born in 1916 in the city of Kamyshin, Saratov province. In a battle with the Germans, his plane was shot down, and the pilot, wounded in the legs, managed to land on territory occupied by the Germans. After which he crawled to his people for 18 days, in the hospital both legs were amputated. But Maresyev managed to return to duty, he learned to walk on prosthetics and took to the skies again. At first they didn’t trust him; anything can happen in battle, but Maresyev proved that he could fight no worse than others. As a result, to the 4 German planes shot down before the injury, 7 more were added. Polevoy’s story about Maresyev was allowed to be published only after the war, so that the Germans, God forbid, would not think that there was no one to fight in the Soviet army, they had to send disabled people.
Popkov Vitaly Ivanovich
This pilot also cannot be ignored, because it was he who became one of the most famous incarnations of an ace pilot in cinema - the prototype of the famous Maestro from the film “Only Old Men Go to Battle.” The “Singing Squadron” actually existed in the 5th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, where Popkov served, it had its own choir, and two aircraft were given to it by Leonid Utesov himself.
Popkov was born in Moscow in 1922. He won his first victory in June 1942 over the city of Kholm. He took part in battles on the Kalinin Front, on the Don and the Kursk Bulge. In total, he flew 475 combat missions, conducted 117 air battles, and personally shot down 41 enemy aircraft plus 1 in the group. On the last day of the war, Popkov, in the sky over Brno, shot down the legendary German Hartmann, the most successful ace of World War II, but he managed to land and survive, however, this still did not save him from captivity. Popkov's popularity was so great that a monument was erected to him during his lifetime in Moscow.
The title ace, in reference to military pilots, first appeared in French newspapers during the First World War. In 1915 Journalists nicknamed “aces”, and translated from French the word “as” means “ace”, pilots who shot down three or more enemy aircraft. The legendary French pilot Roland Garros was the first to be called an ace.
The most experienced and successful pilots in the Luftwaffe were called experts - “Experte”
Luftwaffe
Eric Alfred Hartman (Boobie)
Erich Hartmann (German: Erich Hartmann; April 19, 1922 - September 20, 1993) was a German ace pilot, considered the most successful fighter pilot in the history of aviation. According to German data, during the Second World War he shot down “352” enemy aircraft (of which 345 were Soviet) in 825 air battles.
Hartmann graduated from flight school in 1941 and was assigned to the 52nd Fighter Squadron on the Eastern Front in October 1942. His first commander and mentor was the famous Luftwaffe expert Walter Krupinsky.
Hartmann shot down his first plane on November 5, 1942 (an Il-2 from the 7th GShAP), but over the next three months he managed to shoot down only one plane. Hartmann gradually improved his flying skills, focusing on the effectiveness of the first attack
Oberleutnant Erich Hartmann in the cockpit of his fighter, the famous emblem of the 9th Staffel of the 52nd Squadron is clearly visible - a heart pierced by an arrow with the inscription “Karaya”, in the upper left segment of the heart the name of Hartman’s bride “Ursel” is written (the inscription is almost invisible in the picture) .
German ace Hauptmann Erich Hartmann (left) and Hungarian pilot Laszlo Pottiondy. German fighter pilot Erich Hartmann - the most successful ace of World War II
Krupinski Walter is the first commander and mentor of Erich Hartmann!!
Hauptmann Walter Krupinski commanded the 7th Staffel of the 52nd Squadron from March 1943 to March 1944. Pictured is Krupinski wearing the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, which he received on March 2, 1944 for 177 victories in air combat. Shortly after this photograph was taken, Krupinski was transferred to the West, where he served with 7(7-5, JG-11 and JG-26), ending the war in an Me-262 with J V-44.
In the photo from March 1944, from left to right: commander of 8./JG-52 Lieutenant Friedrich Obleser, commander of 9./JG-52 Lieutenant Erich Hartmann. Lieutenant Karl Gritz.
Wedding of Luftwaffe ace Erich Hartmann (1922 - 1993) and Ursula Paetsch. To the left of the couple is Hartmann's commander, Gerhard Barkhorn (1919 - 1983). On the right is Hauptmann Wilhelm Batz (1916 - 1988).
Bf. 109G-6 Hauptmann Erich Hartmann, Buders, Hungary, November 1944.
Barkhorn Gerhard "Gerd"
Major Barkhorn Gerhard
He began flying with JG2 and was transferred to JG52 in the fall of 1940. From January 16, 1945 to April 1, 1945 he commanded JG6. He ended the war in the “squadron of aces” JV 44, when on 04/21/1945 his Me 262 was shot down while landing by American fighters. He was seriously wounded and was held captive by the Allies for four months.
Number of victories - 301. All victories on the Eastern Front.
Hauptmann Erich Hartmann (04/19/1922 - 09/20/1993) with his commander Major Gerhard Barkhorn (05/20/1919 - 01/08/1983) studying the map. II./JG52 (2nd group of the 52nd fighter squadron). E. Hartmann and G. Barkhorn are the most successful pilots of the Second World War, having 352 and 301 aerial victories, respectively. In the lower left corner of the photo is E. Hartmann’s autograph.
The Soviet fighter LaGG-3, destroyed by German aircraft while still on the railway platform.
The snow melted faster than the white winter color was washed off the Bf 109. The fighter takes off right through the spring puddles.)!.
Captured Soviet airfield: I-16 stands next to Bf109F from II./JG-54.
In tight formation, a Ju-87D bomber from StG-2 “Immelmann” and “Friedrich” from I./JG-51 are carrying out a combat mission. At the end of the summer of 1942, the pilots of I./JG-51 switched to FW-190 fighters.
Commander of the 52nd Fighter Squadron (Jagdgeschwader 52) Lieutenant Colonel Dietrich Hrabak, commander of the 2nd Group of the 52nd Fighter Squadron (II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 52) Hauptmann Gerhard Barkhorn and an unknown Luftwaffe officer with a Messerschmitt fighter Bf.109G-6 at Bagerovo airfield.
Walter Krupinski, Gerhard Barkhorn, Johannes Wiese and Erich Hartmann
The commander of the 6th Fighter Squadron (JG6) of the Luftwaffe, Major Gerhard Barkhorn, in the cockpit of his Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 fighter.
Bf 109G-6 “double black chevron” of I./JG-52 commander Hauptmann Gerhard Barkhorn, Kharkov-Yug, August 1943.
Note the aircraft's own name; Christi is the name of the wife of Barkhorn, the second most successful fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe. The picture shows the plane Barkhorn flew in when he was commander of I./JG-52, when he had not yet crossed the 200-victory mark. Barkhorn survived, in total he shot down 301 aircraft, all on the eastern front.
Gunther Rall
German ace fighter pilot Major Günther Rall (03/10/1918 - 10/04/2009). Günther Rall was the third most successful German ace of World War II. He has 275 air victories (272 on the Eastern Front) in 621 combat missions. Rall himself was shot down 8 times. On the pilot’s neck is visible the Knight’s Cross with oak leaves and swords, which he was awarded on September 12, 1943 for 200 aerial victories.
“Friedrich” from III./JG-52, this group in the initial phase of Operation Barbarossa covered the troops of the countries operating in the coastal zone of the Black Sea. Note the unusual angular tail number “6” and the “sine wave”. Apparently, this plane belonged to the 8th Staffel.
Spring 1943, Rall looks on approvingly as Lieutenant Josef Zwernemann drinks wine from a bottle
Günther Rall (second from left) after his 200th aerial victory. Second from right - Walter Krupinski
Shot down Bf 109 of Günter Rall
Rall in his Gustav IV
After being seriously wounded and partially paralyzed, Oberleutnant Günther Rall returned to 8./JG-52 on 28 August 1942, and two months later he became a Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. Rall ended the war, taking an honorable third place in performance among Luftwaffe fighter pilots
won 275 victories (272 on the Eastern Front); shot down 241 Soviet fighters. He flew 621 combat missions, was shot down 8 times and wounded 3 times. His Messerschmitt had the personal number "Devil's Dozen"
The commander of the 8th squadron of the 52nd fighter squadron (Staffelkapitän 8.Staffel/Jagdgeschwader 52), Oberleutnant Günther Rall (1918-2009), with the pilots of his squadron, during a break between combat missions, plays with the squadron mascot - a dog named “Rata” .
In the photo in the foreground from left to right: non-commissioned officer Manfred Lotzmann, non-commissioned officer Werner Höhenberg, and lieutenant Hans Funcke.
In the background, from left to right: Oberleutnant Günther Rall, Lieutenant Hans Martin Markoff, Sergeant Major Karl-Friedrich Schumacher and Oberleutnant Gerhard Luety.
The picture was taken by front-line correspondent Reissmüller on March 6, 1943 near the Kerch Strait.
photo of Rall and his wife Hertha, originally from Austria
The third in the triumvirate of the best experts of the 52nd squadron was Gunther Rall. Rall flew a black fighter with tail number “13” after his return to service on August 28, 1942 after being seriously wounded in November 1941. By this time, Rall had 36 victories to his name. Before being transferred to the West in the spring of 1944, he shot down another 235 Soviet aircraft. Pay attention to the symbols of III./JG-52 - the emblem on the front of the fuselage and the “sine wave” drawn closer to the tail.
Kittel Otto (Bruno)
Otto Kittel (Otto "Bruno" Kittel; February 21, 1917 - February 14, 1945) was a German ace pilot, fighter, and participant in World War II. He flew 583 combat missions and scored 267 victories, which is the fourth most in history. Luftwaffe record holder for the number of shot down Il-2 attack aircraft - 94. Awarded the Knight's Cross with oak leaves and swords.
in 1943, luck turned his face. On January 24, he shot down the 30th plane, and on March 15, the 47th. On the same day, his plane was seriously damaged and fell 60 km behind the front line. In thirty-degree frost on the ice of Lake Ilmen, Kittel went out to his own.
This is how Kittel Otto returned from a four-day journey!! His plane was shot down behind the front line, 60 km away!!
Otto Kittel on vacation, summer 1941. At that time, Kittel was an ordinary Luftwaffe pilot with the rank of non-commissioned officer.
Otto Kittel in the circle of comrades! (marked with a cross)
At the head of the table is "Bruno"
Otto Kittel with his wife!
Killed on February 14, 1945 during an attack by a Soviet Il-2 attack aircraft. Shot down by the gunner's return fire, Kittel's Fw 190A-8 (serial number 690 282) crashed into a swampy area near Soviet troops and exploded. The pilot did not use a parachute because he died in the air.
Two Luftwaffe officers bandage the hand of a wounded Red Army prisoner near a tent
Airplane "Bruno"
Novotny Walter (Novi)
German ace pilot of World War II, during which he flew 442 combat missions, scoring 258 air victories, including 255 on the Eastern Front and 2 over 4-engine bombers. The last 3 victories were won while flying the Me.262 jet fighter. He scored most of his victories flying the FW 190, and approximately 50 victories in the Messerschmitt Bf 109. He was the first pilot in the world to score 250 victories. Awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Any war is a terrible grief for any people that it affects in one way or another. Throughout its history, humanity has experienced many wars, two of which were world wars. The First World War almost completely destroyed Europe and led to the fall of some major empires, such as the Russian and Austro-Hungarian ones. But even more terrible in its scale was the Second World War, in which many countries from almost all over the world were involved. Millions of people died, and many more were left homeless. This terrible event still affects modern man in one way or another. Its echoes can be found everywhere in our lives. This tragedy left behind a lot of mysteries, disputes over which have not subsided for decades. The heaviest burden was assumed in this life-and-death battle by the Soviet Union, which was not yet fully strengthened from the revolution and civil wars and was only expanding its military and peaceful industry. An irreconcilable rage and desire to fight the invaders who encroached on the territorial integrity and freedom of the proletarian state settled in the hearts of people. Many went to the front voluntarily. At the same time, the evacuated industrial facilities were reorganized to produce products for the needs of the front. The struggle has assumed a truly national scale. That is why it is called the Great Patriotic War.
Who are the aces?
Both the German and Soviet armies were well trained and equipped with equipment, aircraft and other weapons. The personnel numbered in the millions. The collision of such two war machines gave birth to its heroes and its traitors. Some of those who can rightfully be considered heroes are the aces of World War II. Who are they and why are they so famous? An ace can be considered a person who has achieved heights in his field of activity that few others have managed to conquer. And even in such a dangerous and terrible matter as the military, there have always been their professionals. Both the USSR and the Allied forces, and Nazi Germany had people who showed the best results in terms of the number of enemy equipment or manpower destroyed. This article will tell about these heroes.
The list of World War II aces is extensive and includes many individuals famous for their exploits. They were an example for an entire people, they were adored and admired.
Aviation is without a doubt one of the most romantic, but at the same time dangerous branches of the military. Since any equipment can fail at any time, the job of a pilot is considered very honorable. It requires iron endurance, discipline, and the ability to control oneself in any situation. Therefore, aviation aces were treated with great respect. After all, to be able to show good results in such conditions when your life depends not only on technology, but also on yourself is the highest degree of military art. So, who are these ace pilots of World War II, and why are their exploits so famous?
One of the most successful Soviet ace pilots was Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub. Officially, during his service on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, he shot down 62 German aircraft, and he is also credited with 2 American fighters, which he destroyed at the end of the war. This record-breaking pilot served in the 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment and flew a La-7 aircraft.
The second most productive during the war was Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin (who was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union three times). He fought in Southern Ukraine, in the Black Sea region, and liberated Europe from the Nazis. During his service he shot down 59 enemy aircraft. He did not stop flying even when he was appointed commander of the 9th Guards Aviation Division, and achieved some of his aerial victories while already in this position.
Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev is one of the most famous military pilots, who set a record of 4 flights per destroyed aircraft. In total, during his military service he destroyed 57 enemy aircraft. Twice awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
He also had a high result. He shot down 55 German aircraft. Kozhedub, who happened to serve for some time with Evstigneev in the same regiment, spoke very respectfully of this pilot.
But, despite the fact that the tank forces were one of the most numerous in the Soviet army, for some reason the USSR did not have ace tankers of the Second World War. Why this is so is unknown. It is logical to assume that many personal scores were deliberately inflated or underestimated, so it is not possible to name the exact number of victories of the above-mentioned masters of tank combat.
German tank aces
But the German tank aces of World War II have a much longer track record. This is largely due to the pedantry of the Germans, who strictly documented everything, and they had much more time to fight than their Soviet “colleagues.” The German army began active operations back in 1939.
German tanker No. 1 is Hauptsturmführer Michael Wittmann. He fought with many tanks (Stug III, Tiger I) and destroyed 138 vehicles throughout the war, as well as 132 self-propelled artillery installations from various enemy countries. For his successes he was repeatedly awarded various orders and badges of the Third Reich. Killed in action in 1944 in France.
You can also highlight such a tank ace as For those who are in one way or another interested in the history of the development of the tank forces of the Third Reich, the book of his memoirs “Tigers in the Mud” will be very useful. During the war years, this man destroyed 150 Soviet and American self-propelled guns and tanks.
Kurt Knispel is another record-breaking tanker. During his military service, he knocked out 168 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns. About 30 cars are unconfirmed, which prevents him from matching Wittmann's results. Knispel died in battle near the village of Vostits in Czechoslovakia in 1945.
In addition, Karl Bromann had good results - 66 tanks and self-propelled guns, Ernst Barkmann - 66 tanks and self-propelled guns, Erich Mausberg - 53 tanks and self-propelled guns.
As can be seen from these results, both Soviet and German tank aces of World War II knew how to fight. Of course, the quantity and quality of Soviet combat vehicles was an order of magnitude higher than that of the Germans, however, as practice has shown, both were used quite successfully and became the basis for some post-war tank models.
But the list of military branches in which their masters distinguished themselves does not end there. Let's talk a little about submarine aces.
Masters of Submarine Warfare
Just as in the case of aircraft and tanks, the most successful are the German sailors. Over the years of its existence, Kriegsmarine submariners sank 2,603 ships of allied countries, the total displacement of which reaches 13.5 million tons. This is a truly impressive figure. And the German submarine aces of World War II could also boast of impressive personal accounts.
The most successful German submariner is Otto Kretschmer, who has 44 ships, including 1 destroyer. The total displacement of the ships sunk by him is 266,629 tons.
In second place is Wolfgang Lüth, who sent 43 enemy ships to the bottom (and according to other sources - 47) with a total displacement of 225,712 tons.
He was also a famous naval ace who even managed to sink the British battleship Royal Oak. This was one of the first officers to receive oak leaves; Prien destroyed 30 ships. Killed in 1941 during an attack on a British convoy. He was so popular that his death was hidden from the people for two months. And on the day of his funeral, mourning was declared throughout the country.
Such successes of German sailors are also quite understandable. The fact is that Germany began a naval war back in 1940, with a blockade of Britain, thus hoping to undermine its naval greatness and, taking advantage of this, to successfully capture the islands. However, very soon the plans of the Nazis were thwarted, as America entered the war with its large and powerful fleet.
The most famous Soviet submarine sailor is Alexander Marinesko. He sank only 4 ships, but what ones! The heavy passenger liner "Wilhelm Gustloff", the transport "General von Steuben", as well as 2 units of the heavy floating battery "Helene" and "Siegfried". For his exploits, Hitler added the sailor to his list of personal enemies. But Marinesko’s fate did not work out well. He fell out of favor with the Soviet regime and died, and people stopped talking about his exploits. The great sailor received the Hero of the Soviet Union award only posthumously in 1990. Unfortunately, many USSR aces of World War II ended their lives in a similar way.
Also famous submariners of the Soviet Union are Ivan Travkin - he sank 13 ships, Nikolai Lunin - also 13 ships, Valentin Starikov - 14 ships. But Marinesko topped the list of the best submariners of the Soviet Union, as he caused the greatest damage to the German navy.
Accuracy and stealth
Well, how can we not remember such famous fighters as snipers? Here the Soviet Union takes the well-deserved palm from Germany. Soviet sniper aces of World War II had a very high track record. In many ways, such results were achieved thanks to massive government training of the civilian population in shooting from various weapons. About 9 million people were awarded the Voroshilov Shooter badge. So, what are the most famous snipers?
The name of Vasily Zaitsev frightened the Germans and inspired courage in Soviet soldiers. This ordinary guy, a hunter, killed 225 Wehrmacht soldiers with his Mosin rifle in just a month of fighting at Stalingrad. Among the outstanding sniper names are Fyodor Okhlopkov, who (during the entire war) accounted for about a thousand Nazis; Semyon Nomokonov, who killed 368 enemy soldiers. There were also women among the snipers. An example of this is the famous Lyudmila Pavlichenko, who fought near Odessa and Sevastopol.
German snipers are less known, although several sniper schools have existed in Germany since 1942, which provided professional training. Among the most successful German shooters are Matthias Hetzenauer (345 killed), (257 killed), Bruno Sutkus (209 soldiers shot). Also a famous sniper from the countries of the Hitler bloc is Simo Haiha - this Finn killed 504 Red Army soldiers during the war years (according to unconfirmed reports).
Thus, the sniper training of the Soviet Union was immeasurably higher than that of the German troops, which allowed Soviet soldiers to bear the proud title of aces of the Second World War.
How did you become aces?
So, the concept of “ace of World War II” is quite broad. As already mentioned, these people achieved truly impressive results in their business. This was achieved not only through good army training, but also through outstanding personal qualities. After all, for a pilot, for example, coordination and quick reaction are very important, for a sniper - the ability to wait for the right moment to sometimes fire a single shot.
Accordingly, it is impossible to determine who had the best aces of World War II. Both sides performed unparalleled heroism, which made it possible to single out individual people from the general mass. But it was possible to become a master only by training hard and improving your combat skills, since war does not tolerate weakness. Of course, dry statistics will not be able to convey to modern people all the hardships and adversities that war professionals experienced during their rise to the honorary pedestal.
We, the generation that lives without knowing such terrible things, should not forget about the exploits of our predecessors. They can become an inspiration, a reminder, a memory. And we must try to do everything to ensure that such terrible events as the past wars do not happen again.
The air force plays one of the key roles during any war. Sometimes a timely sortie of aircraft can change the outcome of a battle. However, the air “machines” themselves will not do anything without competent pilots. Among these pilots there are also those who deserve the title of “ace pilot”, for the large number of destroyed enemy aircraft. Such pilots were in the Luftwaffe of the Third Reich.
1. Erich Hartmann
The most successful fighter pilot of Nazi Germany was Erich Hartmann. He is also recognized as the most successful pilot in the entire world history of aviation. Taking part in battles on the side of Germany, he made 1,404 combat missions, as a result of which he scored 352 victories over the enemy, most of them - 347 - were downed USSR aircraft. Eric won these victories while taking part in 802 battles with the enemy. Hartman shot down the last enemy aircraft on May 8, 1945.
Eric came from a middle-class family with two sons. The younger brother was also a Luftwaffe pilot. Eric's mother was also interested in aviation, and was among the first women to fly an airplane. The family even had a light plane, but it had to be sold due to lack of money in the family. Soon his mother set up a flight school, where Eric trained. Soon he becomes an instructor in the Hitler Youth.
In 1939 he entered the gymnasium in Korntal, where his sniper abilities were revealed, and at the end of his training he was an excellent fighter pilot. In the fall of 1942, after graduation, he was sent to the North Caucasus. Because of his youthful appearance, he received the nickname “Baby” among the pilots. Eric shot down the first enemy plane in November 1942, but the Battle of Kursk was the most effective for him; in September 1943, he had about ninety downed planes.
His victories were often questioned by the Luftwaffe and were rechecked three or four times, and during the flight he was followed by an observer plane. For his numerous victories, Hartmann was awarded the highest orders and medals in Germany. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. After the war he ended up in a Soviet camp, where he had to stay for ten years, after returning he served in the German aviation, and died in 1993.
2. Gerhard Barkhorn
The second place in the number of enemy aircraft shot down belongs to Gerhard Barkhorn. During his combat career, he flew more than 1,100 combat missions and destroyed 301 enemy aircraft, all of his effective missions during battles with the Soviet Union. Gerhard's flying career began after he joined the Luftwaffe in 1937.
He made his first flight as a fighter pilot in May 1940 while fighting in France. Barkhorn made his first successful flight in the Eastern direction in July 1941. From that moment on, he became the real “master of the sky.” And at the end of 1942, he already had 100 downed planes. After shooting down the 250th plane, Gerhard is awarded the Knight's Cross, later oak leaves and Swords are added to this award. However, he never received the highest award for shooting down three hundred planes - Diamonds to the Knight's Cross, since in the winter of 1945 he was transferred to the Western Front, which happened a couple of days after the downing of the three hundredth plane.
On the Western Front, he led JG 6, but did not make a single effective mission. In April, Barkhorn was transferred to a jet plane; he was soon wounded and captured by Allied forces, but was released in 1946. Soon he entered military service in Germany, where he remained until 1976. Gerhard Berkhorn died in 1983 as a result of a car accident.
3. Gunther Rall
The 52nd fighter squadron, where Hartmann and Barkhorn served, also served as the third-ranked ace pilot, Günter Rall. He flew a Misserschmitt, with personal number 13. Having completed 621 combat missions, Gunther was able to destroy 275 enemy aircraft, most in the Soviet direction and only three on the Western Front. His plane was shot down eight times, and the pilot himself was wounded three times.
Rall entered military service in 1936, and initially he joined an infantry regiment, but soon transferred to the Luftwaffe. He took part in the war from the beginning of the French campaign, and already in May 1940 he shot down the first Curtis -36 fighter; a couple of days later he already had two aircraft to his name. At the beginning of the summer of 1941, he received a transfer to the Eastern Front, and in November 1941, having already had 35 effective sorties to his name, he was seriously wounded. It took nine months to recover from the wound; after leaving the hospital, Rall received a knight's cross for 65 downed aircraft, and two months later the Oak Leaves from the hands of the Fuhrer were added to it for 100 victories.
A year later, in the summer of 1943, Gunther became the commander of the third group, and at the end of the summer he received the Swords to his Knight's Cross for 200 destroyed aircraft. In the spring, Gunther already had 273 aircraft shot down. In April, he was appointed commander of the second group in the air defense of the Third Reich, while in this position Günther shot down two more planes, and in mid-May 1944, while repelling the first mass raid of American fighters on the Reich oil industrial complex, Rall shot down his last plane. During this battle, the ace pilot was seriously injured, as a result of which he was prohibited from flying, so he transferred to the position of head of the fighter pilot school.
After the surrender of Germany, Gunther had to work in industry for some time, and later he entered service in the German aviation. While serving in the Air Force, he took part in the development of the F-104 fighter aircraft. Günter Rall's military career ended in 1975 as a member of the NATO military committee. Rall was the only German ace pilot to survive the 20th century, and died in 2009.
4. Otto Kittel
German fighter pilot Otto Kittel is fourth in the ranking of Luftwaffe aces. He had five hundred and eighty-three combat missions to his name with a total of 267 victories. It went down in the history of the Luftwaffe as the fighter that destroyed the largest number of Il-2s, a total of ninety-four aircraft. Kittel was born in the town of Kronsdorf, and in 1939 he entered the Luftwaffe, where he soon received the rank of non-commissioned officer. For the first time at the controls of a fighter aircraft, he participated in a battle in April 1941 in Yugoslavia, but Otto was plagued by failures, he was unable to shoot down enemy planes, and at the end of May the engine failed during a flight and Otto ejected.
From the first days of the opening of the Eastern Front, he was transferred there by the leadership. And just two days later he shot down his first two SB-2 aircraft. A couple of days later, two more Il-2s were shot down. For his achievements, shooting down 12 aircraft, at the end of 1941 he was nominated for the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class. In 1942 he was already flying as a wingman, and at the end of the year he had more than twenty successful attacks. In February 1943, he received the Golden German Cross for forty aircraft shot down. In March 1943, during an air battle, his plane’s engine failed, and he landed it on USSR territory near Lake Ilmen. To avoid being captured, Kittel walked more than sixty kilometers in the cold and forded a river, but still reached his troops.
In the fall of 1943, he was sent as an instructor to France, he already had 130 downed aircraft, but in 1944 he was returned to the Soviet direction. After his victory count reached 200 in the fall, he was sent on leave while already holding the rank of lieutenant. During his entire service, his plane was shot down by the enemy twice. At the beginning, 1945, in the Baltic states, he was shot down for the third time, the plane fell into a swamp, Kittel did not have time to eject, as he died in the air. For his victories he was awarded the German Golden Cross and the Knight's Cross with Swords and Oak Leaves.
5. Walter Nowotny
The top five German pilots are aces Walter Nowotny. His personal record is 258 aircraft shot down; for this he needed 442 sorties; 255 aircraft were shot down on the Eastern Front. His flying career began on a twin-engine bomber, later he was given control of a four-engine bomber, and shot down his last three aircraft in the Me.262 jet fighter. He is the first pilot in the history of aviation to shoot down 250 enemy aircraft. In his personal collection is the Knight's Cross with Swords, Oak Leaves and Diamonds.
Walter came from a family of employees; in 1939 he volunteered to join the Luftwaffe. Initially, he wanted to be a simple pilot, but he was recommended for training to become a fighter pilot. Between 1939 and 1941 he rose to the rank of major and served as commander of one of the fighter aviation units. Walter's first flights were unsuccessful, for which he even received the playful nickname "Quax", but he opened his personal account with three planes at once, but he himself was shot down, this happened in July 1941.
However, a year later he had fifty planes shot down, and in mid-1943 their number exceeded a hundred. It took Novotny his last hundred kills in just over seventy days, and by October 1944 he had set a record of 250 kills. Nowatny's last flight took place in November 1944. On this day, he received orders to intercept two United States bombers. It is not entirely clear what happened in the sky, so he shot down two enemy planes and reported that his plane was also on fire, the connection was lost, and the plane crashed near the town of Bramsche.
Our ace pilots terrified the Germans during the Great Patriotic War. The exclamation “Akhtung! Akhtung! Pokryshkin is in the sky!” became widely known. But Alexander Pokryshkin was not the only Soviet ace. We remembered the most productive...Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub
Ivan Kozhedub was born in 1920 in the Chernigov province. He is considered the most successful Russian fighter pilot in personal combat, with 64 aircraft shot down.
The start of the famous pilot’s career was unsuccessful; in the very first battle, his plane was seriously damaged by an enemy Messerschmitt, and when returning to base, he was mistakenly fired upon by Russian anti-aircraft gunners, and only by a miracle did he manage to land.
The plane could not be restored, and they even wanted to repurpose the unlucky newcomer, but the regiment commander stood up for him. Only during his 40th combat mission on the Kursk Bulge, Kozhedub, having already become a “father” - deputy squadron commander, shot down his first “laptezhnik”, as ours called the German “Junkers”. After that, the count went to tens.
Kozhedub fought his last battle in the Great Patriotic War, in which he shot down 2 FW-190s, in the skies over Berlin. In addition, Kozhedub also has two American Mustang planes shot down in 1945, which attacked him, mistaking his fighter for a German plane. The Soviet ace acted according to the principle that he professed even when working with cadets - “any unknown aircraft is an enemy.”
Throughout the war, Kozhedub was never shot down, although his plane often received very serious damage.
Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin
Pokryshkin is one of the most famous aces of Russian aviation. Born in 1913 in Novosibirsk. He won his first victory on the second day of the war, shooting down a German Messerschmitt. In total, he has 59 planes shot down personally and 6 in a group. However, this is only official statistics, since, as the commander of an air regiment, and then an air division, Pokryshkin sometimes gave downed planes to young pilots in order to encourage them in this way.
His notebook, entitled “Fighter Tactics in Combat,” became a veritable manual for air warfare. They say that the Germans warned about the appearance of the Russian ace with the phrase: “Akhtung! Achtung! Pokryshkin in the air." The one who shot down Pokryshkin was promised a big reward, but the Russian pilot turned out to be too tough for the Germans.
Pokryshkin is considered the inventor of the “Kuban whatnot” - a tactical method of air combat; the Germans nicknamed him the “Kuban escalator”, since the planes arranged in pairs resembled a giant staircase. In the battle, German planes leaving the first stage came under attack from the second, and then the third stage. His other favorite techniques were the falcon kick and the high-speed swing.
It is worth noting that Pokryshkin won most of his victories in the first years of the war, when the Germans had a significant superiority in the air.
Nikolay Dmitrievich Gulaev
Born in 1918 in the village of Aksayskaya near Rostov. His first battle is reminiscent of the feat of the Grasshopper from the movie “Only Old Men Go to Battle”: without an order, for the first time in his life, taking off at night under the howl of an air raid on his Yak, he managed to shoot down a German Heinkel night fighter. For such self-will, he was punished and presented with a reward.
Subsequently, Gulaev usually did not limit himself to one downed plane per mission; three times he scored four victories in a day, twice destroyed three planes, and made a double in seven battles. In total, he shot down 57 aircraft personally and 3 in a group.
Gulaev rammed one enemy plane when it ran out of ammunition, after which he himself got into a tailspin and barely had time to eject. His risky style of fighting became a symbol of the romantic trend in the art of aerial combat.
Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov
Born in 1920 in the Perm province. On the eve of the war, a slight degree of color blindness was discovered at the medical flight commission, but the regiment commander did not even look at the medical report - pilots were very much needed.
He won his first victory on the outdated I-153 biplane number 13, which was unlucky for the Germans, as he joked. Then he ended up in Pokryshkin’s group and was trained on the Airacobra, an American fighter that became famous for its tough temperament - it very easily went into a tailspin at the slightest mistake by the pilot; the Americans themselves were reluctant to fly such aircraft.
In total, he shot down 56 aircraft personally and 6 in a group. Perhaps no other ace of ours personally has such a variety of types of downed aircraft as Rechkalov, these include bombers, attack aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, fighters, transport aircraft, and relatively rare trophies - “Savoy” and PZL -24.
Georgy Dmitrievich Kostylev
Born in Oranienbaum, present-day Lomonosov, in 1914. He began his flight practice in Moscow at the legendary Tushinsky airfield, where the Spartak stadium is now being built.
The legendary Baltic ace, who covered the skies over Leningrad and won the largest number of victories in naval aviation, personally shot down at least 20 enemy aircraft and 34 in the group. He shot down his first Messerschmitt on July 15, 1941. He fought on a British Hurricane, received under lend-lease, on the left side of which there was a large inscription “For Rus'!”
In February 1943, he ended up in a penal battalion for causing destruction in the house of a major in the quartermaster service. Kostylev was amazed by the abundance of dishes with which he treated his guests, and could not restrain himself, since he knew first-hand what was happening in the besieged city. He was deprived of his awards, demoted to the Red Army and sent to the Oranienbaum bridgehead, to the places where he spent his childhood.
The penalty officers saved the hero, and already in April he again takes his fighter into the air and wins victory over the enemy. Later he was reinstated in rank and his awards were returned, but he never received the second Hero Star.
Maresyev Alexey Petrovich
A legendary man, who became the prototype of the hero of Boris Polevoy’s story “The Tale of a Real Man,” a symbol of the courage and perseverance of the Russian warrior. Born in 1916 in the city of Kamyshin, Saratov province.
In a battle with the Germans, his plane was shot down, and the pilot, wounded in the legs, managed to land on territory occupied by the Germans. After which he crawled to his people for 18 days, in the hospital both legs were amputated. But Maresyev managed to return to duty, he learned to walk on prosthetics and took to the skies again.
At first they didn’t trust him; anything can happen in battle, but Maresyev proved that he could fight no worse than others. As a result, to the 4 German planes shot down before the injury, 7 more were added. Polevoy’s story about Maresyev was allowed to be published only after the war, so that the Germans, God forbid, would not think that there was no one to fight in the Soviet army, they had to send disabled people.
Popkov Vitaly Ivanovich
This pilot also cannot be ignored, because it was he who became one of the most famous incarnations of an ace pilot in cinema - the prototype of the famous Maestro from the film “Only Old Men Go to Battle.” The “Singing Squadron” actually existed in the 5th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, where Popkov served, it had its own choir, and two aircraft were given to it by Leonid Utesov himself.
Popkov was born in Moscow in 1922. He won his first victory in June 1942 over the city of Kholm. He took part in battles on the Kalinin Front, on the Don and the Kursk Bulge. In total, he flew 475 combat missions, conducted 117 air battles, and personally shot down 41 enemy aircraft plus 1 in the group.
On the last day of the war, Popkov, in the sky over Brno, shot down the legendary German Hartmann, the most successful ace of World War II, but he managed to land and survive, however, this still did not save him from captivity. Popkov's popularity was so great that a monument was erected to him during his lifetime in Moscow.
Grigory Shuvalov
