Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub is a famous ace pilot of the Second World War, the most successful fighter pilot in Allied aviation (64 personal victories). Three times Hero of the Soviet Union. Participated in hostilities from 1943 to 1945, all his sorties were made on Lavochkin-designed fighters - 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. Graduated from the Red Banner Air Force Academy, in 1985 the pilot was awarded military rank air marshal.

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub was born on June 8, 1920 into a peasant family in the small Ukrainian village of Obrazhievka, Shostka district, Sumy region. Later he graduated from the chemical-technological technical school and the Shostka flying club. He joined the Red Army in 1940. In 1941 he graduated from the Chuguev Military Aviation Pilot School, where he served as an instructor. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Ivan Kozhedub, together with the aviation school, was evacuated to Central Asia. After submitting numerous reports with a request to send him to the front, his desire 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.

Your first sortie, the future ace and Hero Soviet Union spent March 26, the flight ended unsuccessfully: his La-5 fighter (tail number 75) was damaged in battle, and when returning to the airfield, in addition, he was fired upon by his anti-aircraft artillery. With great difficulty, the pilot was able to bring the car to the airfield and land. After that, he flew old fighters for about a month, until he again received a new La-5.

The ace-pilot opened his battle account for his victories on July 6, 1943 on the Kursk Bulge, shooting down a Ju-87 dive bomber. The very next day, Kozhedub scored a second air 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 a squadron commander. The squadron commander of the 240th IAP, Senior Lieutenant Ivan Kozhedub, received the first title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal on February 4, 1944 for 146 sorties in which he shot down 20 German aircraft.

Since May 1944, Kozhedub fought on a new modification of the Lavochkin fighter - La-5FN (tail number 14), which was built with the money of the collective farmer of the Stalingrad region V.V. Konev. A few days after receiving it, he shoots down a Ju-87 on it. Over the next six days, the ace pilot writes down 7 more enemy aircraft to his account. At the end of June, he hands over 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 IAP. At the same time, the regiment is undergoing a rearmament procedure, receiving new La-7 fighters. The ace pilot got a plane with tail number 27. Ivan Kozhedub would fly on it until the very end of the war.

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

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

By the end of the Great Patriotic War, Major Ivan Kozhedub completed 330 sorties and conducted 120 air battles, while shooting down 64 enemy aircraft. This number does not include 2 American P-51 Mustang fighters shot down by a Soviet ace in the spring of 1945. At the same time, the Americans were the first to attack the La-7 fighter, which was controlled 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 "Gold Star" after the war for high military skill, personal courage and courage.

Among the enemy aircraft shot down by Ivan Kozhedub were:

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

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 airframe was pine. For the production of some frames and wing spars, delta wood was used. The wooden parts of the aircraft skin were glued together using a special carbamide KM-1 or resin glue VIAM-B-3.

The aircraft wing, assembled from NACA-23016 and NACA-23010 profiles, was technologically divided into a center section and 2 two-spar consoles, which had plywood working skin. The main landing gear was attached to the metal pipe with the help of an end rib. Between the spars of the center section there were caissons for gas tanks glued out of plywood, and domes for the wheels of the chassis were placed in the bow.
The spars of the aircraft were wooden with special shelves made of delta wood (on fighters of the La-5FN modification, starting from 1944, metal spars were mounted.) Automatic slats, Fraise-type ailerons with a duralumin frame, sheathed with percale and flaps of the "Schrenk" type. The left aileron had a trim tab.

The fuselage of the fighter consisted of a wooden monocoque made as one piece with the keel and a front 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 knots. The cockpit was closed 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 was an armor plate 8.5 mm thick.

Stabilizer - two-spar, completely wooden with plywood working skin, plumage - cantilever. The stabilizer of the machine consists of 2 halves, which were attached to the power elements of the tail section of the machine. The elevator with a trimmer had a duralumin frame, which was sheathed with fabric and, like the stabilizer, consisted of two halves. The control of the fighter was mixed: elevators and rudders with the help of cables, ailerons with the help of rigid rods. The release and cleaning of flaps-flaps occurred with the help of a hydraulic drive.

The landing gear of the fighter was retractable, two-bearing 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. Tail freely orienting support also retracted into the fuselage and had a wheel size of 300 to 125 mm.

The power plant of the fighter consisted of a star-shaped air-cooled engine M-82, 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 jet-type manifolds. To control the temperature of the engine, frontal blinds 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 with 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 armament of the fighter consisted of 2 synchronous ShVAK cannons of 20 mm caliber with pneumatic and mechanical reloading. The total ammunition was equal to 340 shells. For aiming at the target, a PBP-la collimator sight was used. On aircraft of the La-5FN model, 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 and navigation instruments, the fighter's equipment included an oxygen device, a short-wave radio station RSI-4 and a landing light. The supply of oxygen was enough for 1.5 hours of flight at an altitude of 8000 m.

The letters FN in the La-5FN marking stood for Forced Direct Fuel Injection and referred to the engine. This aircraft began to enter the troops in March 1943. Its ASh-82FN engine developed a maximum power of 1850 hp. and could withstand the forced mode for 10 minutes of flight. This version of the La-5 fighter was the fastest. Near 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. 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. Eastern Front.

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

In my own way appearance and the size of the fighter was very slightly different from the La-5. One of the significant differences was 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 spars were reduced, which made it possible to free up additional space for fuel tanks. The weight of the fighter spars has decreased by 100 kg. The aerodynamics of the fighter has improved significantly, this was achieved, in particular, by transferring and improving the shape of the radiator. Also, the internal sealing of the aircraft was improved by completely eliminating the gaps between the pipes and holes for them in the fire bulkhead and slots in the hood. All these improvements allowed the La-7 to gain an advantage over the La-5 in flight speed, rate of climb and maximum ceiling. The maximum speed of the La-7 was 680 km/h.

Two 20-mm ShVAK cannons or 3 20-mm B-20 cannons could be installed as weapons on the La-7. The guns had hydromechanical synchronizers that prevented projectiles from entering the propeller blades. Most of the La-7, like the La-5, was armed with two ShVAK guns, 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 pierced armor up to 20 mm thick along the normal. bombs weighing up to 100 kg could be suspended on two underwing nodes 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 of the free Internet encyclopedia "Wikipedia"

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, Chernihiv province, Ukrainian SSR (now Shostka district, Sumy region, Ukraine). Father, Nikita Larionovich, was a factory worker, mother, Stefanida Ivanovna, was a housewife. Ivan was the youngest, the fifth child in the family, of small stature, but strong physique and health. From his father, who independently learned to read and write and was very fond of reading, Ivan took over the thirst for acquiring new knowledge and in early age He also taught himself to read. Therefore, earlier than peers, at the age of six, he was admitted to school. From his mother, an embroiderer, Ivan inherited the ability to draw. During his studies, he designed wall newspapers, painted slogans and posters. Later, Ivan Nikitovich recalled: “Drawing developed my eye, visual memory, observation. And these qualities were useful to me 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 convinced more than once how important physical endurance is for a pilot. He wrote: “Sharp descents from high to low altitude, minute overloads, from which sometimes it gets dark in the eyes - all this is easily tolerated by a physically hardened person. Sometimes in battle, performing a cascade of figures, you lose consciousness for a moment. You will come to your senses, immediately join the combat situation and again act at any height, at any speed, in any position. This skill has developed in me through sports training. Even in a front-line situation, I tried to find time to do exercises.

From childhood, Ivan Kozhedub had a desire to link his fate with military service. He listened attentively 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 cadet of a military school who arrived in the village on a visit. “I was so impressed,” he wrote, “with the squares on his buttonholes, shiny boots, youthful, 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 in 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 yoke, it will not stretch its shoulders," Ivan entered the evening school at the factory school. In his memoirs, Kozhedub noted: “In slush, in a snowstorm, in frost, we walked seven kilometers daily to Shostka and seven kilometers back. It was not easy to study, especially I had to study Russian a lot: in our rural school, classes were in Ukrainian.” In combination with his studies, Ivan was appointed to the first position in his career biography - a librarian with a salary of 100 rubles. Worked during the day, studied at night. “Working in the library gave me a lot,” said Kozhedub. - I fell in love with the world of books, newspapers, magazines. They became my real friends, armed me with knowledge.”

In 1936, Ivan entered the Shostka Chemical-Technological College and moved to Shostka in a student hostel. During his studies, Kozhedub became interested in drawing, which was easy for him. He was accustomed to accurate measurement of details, accuracy, 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 polished boots. This caused surprise and interest in Kozhedub. It turned out that they are studying at the flying club. Ivan followed suit. In his book “Loyalty to the Fatherland”, Kozhedub recalled this time as follows: “It really turned out to be difficult to combine teaching at a technical school and at an flying club. From nine to three there were classes at the technical school, and from five at the flying club. But I did not miss a single lecture at the technical school, not a single lesson at the flying club. As before, he designed a wall newspaper at the technical school. Weekends, late evening, early morning were left for home preparation. In the flying club, Ivan mastered the Po-2 aircraft, made several parachute jumps.

In the winter of 1940, the 4th year student of the technical school Kozhedub had to leave for undergraduate 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 lowered: the school was renamed the Chuguev Military Aviation Pilot School, its graduates were awarded the military rank of "sergeant", and not "lieutenant", as before. Some of the cadets wrote a report for expulsion. Kozhedub decided to study further. 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 competently, confidently flies and can transfer his knowledge to others. After graduation, Kozhedub was left at the aviation school as an instructor pilot. Therefore, when the war began, the report of Sergeant Kozhedub about being sent to the front was not satisfied. The head of the aviation school said to the instructors eager for battle: “The front needs well-trained pilots. Therefore, your task is to train cadets even faster and better.”

In autumn 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 the Day of the Red Army, Kozhedub was awarded the rank of senior sergeant. In the fall, Kozhedub achieved a referral to the active army. In November, he was summoned to Moscow for a flight crew assembly point and enrolled in the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Kozhedub recalled: “We had to study as soon as possible, and then perfectly master new aircraft. We plunged headlong into the lessons. We tried to do everything so that we knew the plane as best as possible - a 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 an aircraft factory. 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 burning with the desire to fight the enemy. His relatives remained in the occupation, two older brothers - Yakov and Alexander had long been at the front. But in one of the very first sorties, Kozhedub almost died. During takeoff, he lost sight of his leading junior lieutenant Ivan Mikhailovich Gabunia. I saw that enemy bombers were flying to the airfield. Thinking that there is an opportunity to distinguish himself and bring down the enemy in the first battle, Kozhedub himself was under attack German fighter. And after that, three shells from their anti-aircraft guns that defended the airfield hit his La-5. 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 Battle of Kursk. The enemy threw selected aviation units into the Belgorod-Kursk direction. To cover the ground troops, the pilots made several sorties a day. On July 6, Ivan shot down the first enemy aircraft - a Yu-87 bomber. Two days later, he led the flight of four fighters for the first time. In the air, they were attacked by German aces returning from "free hunting". Ivan Nikitovich recalled: “... While the enemy was turning, I caught the leader in the sight at an altitude of 4000 meters. I wait until the distance is reduced to the distance of opening fire, I do not turn off. I open fire first. I knock down the leader with a long line. He rolled over from a steep dive, hit the ground and exploded. On that day, Kozhedub took to the air twice more and shot down another enemy plane. In July and September 1943, for combat distinctions, the future Soviet ace was awarded with orders Red Banner. Subsequently, he wrote: “In the early days of the fighting on the Kursk Bulge, I realized that air combat is really a test of morale and combat and physical qualities fighter, this is the greatest tension of the nerves.

In the combat characteristics of I.N. Kozhedub for 1943, it was 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, interception of enemy aircraft - 5. Held 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 resolute pilot and commander, skillfully leading the flight crew 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 downing enemy aircraft and for his heroism in battle.

Pilots of the 240th IAP at the Urazovo airfield

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

Fighting in the Yass region continued into 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 - the commander of the 21st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Hero of the Soviet Union Guards Lieutenant Colonel G.N. Konev, who died in an unequal air battle in December 1942. Kozhedub shot down eight enemy aircraft on this plane in seven days of intense air battles in the skies of Romania.

In July 1944, Ivan Nikitovich was summoned 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 for the new La-7 aircraft. Here, at the training airfield near Moscow, on the Day of the USSR Air Fleet (August 18), Captain Kozhedub found the news of the award of the second "Gold Star".

The combat path in the 176th Fighter Aviation Regiment Ivan Nikitovich began on the banks of the Vistula. Here he actively used flights for "free hunting", that is, he actively searched for the enemy far in his rear, tens of kilometers from the front line. Together with other experienced pilots of the regiment, he “hunted” for enemy aircraft, vehicles, echelons, destroyed manpower and enemy equipment. In early September 1944, the 176th regiment was awarded the rank of guards. This was, albeit small, but the contribution of Kozhedub. When handing over a part of the guards banner, Ivan Nikitovich was entrusted with becoming his 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 instructed to lead a group of 10 pilots in order to clear the air of enemy aircraft and ensure freedom of action for our aircraft. For several days, the group, using the free “hunt”, destroyed enemy aircraft, while creating an advantage in the air. As a result of air battles, eight enemy planes were shot down, of which Kozhedub personally shot down three. The fascist "hunters" lost the desire to fly into our territory. They began to evade the fight, and it was felt that they were very 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, aviation 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 powerfully hitting ... 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 technique is only now, as they say, revealed itself, appearing as if from under the ground. ... We, the pilots, admire the skill of our tankmen, gunners, infantrymen. What a crushing blow they inflicted in two days of offensive battles, even without air support!

From day to day, the number of sorties of the guards of Major Kozhedub and the enemy planes defeated by him grew. In the combat characteristic dated January 20, it was noted: “During the entire period of hostilities, he made 256 sorties, in air battles he personally shot down 48 enemy aircraft. In air battles, a brave, resolute, courageous commander. As a pilot, he flies excellently, the piloting technique is excellent. It is well prepared for flights along the route and in difficult weather conditions. ... He works a lot on studying the combat experience of the Patriotic War and competently transfers it to his 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 staff of the regiment to fulfill the assigned tasks of the command.

Debriefing. 1945

In February 1945, a hard fight broke out 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 the 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, being on a free hunt, paired with Major D.S. Titorenko, Ivan Nikitovich was one of the first in Soviet aviation to shoot down a German Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter. The pilots of the regiment knew about these machines since the autumn of 1944, when one of them was recorded by a film camera gun of the commander of the regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union, Guards Colonel P.F. Chupikov.

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 air combat. In total, during the war, Kozhedub made 330 sorties, participated in 120 air battles.

When, at one of the post-war meetings, young pilots asked Ivan Nikitovich which of the fascist aircraft shot down in the war is more 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 they won! The thought that under the wings is the lair of the fascist beast, that it is very close to it victoriously advancing Soviet troops gave strength and confidence. I put all my knowledge and skills 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 his studies at the Air Force Academy.

At the Air Force Academy among the students. 1945

Here, in the spring of 1948, Kozhedub for the first time sat at the helm of a jet aircraft. 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 post of assistant to the former regimental 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, having received the qualification of a military pilot of the 1st class. In December 1949, Kozhedub was appointed deputy commander, and in November 1950, commander of this division.

At that time, a war was already going on on the distant Korean Peninsula 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, thousands of civilians died. Since the autumn of 1950, Soviet fighter pilots based in Northeast China began to cover cities and facilities in North Korea. The 64th Fighter Corps was formed. In March 1951, the 324th Fighter Aviation Division of the Guard Lieutenant Colonel I.N. arrived in China. Kozhedub. It included the 176th Guards and 196th Fighter Aviation Regiments. Since April 3, its pilots began to make sorties. Ivan Nikitovich himself was strictly forbidden to participate in them.

During the Korean War with the 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 went to the Chinese people's volunteers who fought on the side of the North Koreans. On this day, 48 American bombers under cover of 42 fighters took part in the raid. An additional 36 fighter-bombers were allocated to suppress air defense. 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 rose to intercept.

In the history of the war in Korea and American military aviation, this day entered 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 coming to an end.

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

In total, in the period from April 1951 to February 1952, the pilots of the 324th Fighter Aviation Division shot down 200 aircraft of all types. In combat, the division lost 10 pilots and 29 aircraft. For courage, 143 servicemen of the division were awarded orders and medals. Kozhedub, who carried out operational leadership of the division, participated in the training of flight personnel and the rearmament of the Chinese Air Force People's Republic and the DPRK was awarded the Soviet Order of the Red Banner and the PRC medal "Sino-Soviet Friendship".

In February, the division returned to the USSR and was deployed in 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 year as an external student, as due to official circumstances he was delayed with the start of classes. After graduating from the Academy I.N. Kozhedub held high command positions in the 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, Lieutenant General of Aviation I.N. Kozhedub became the first deputy aviation commander 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. Ivan Nikitovich until 1969 regularly flew fighters, mastered dozens of types of aircraft. He made his last flights on the 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, Orders of Alexander Nevsky, Orders of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, two Orders of the Red Star, the Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces" of the USSR of the 2nd and 3rd degrees and medals, and as well as foreign orders and medals.

Peru Kozhedub owns 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. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.

Streets in Moscow and other cities of Russia and Ukraine are named after Kozhedub. The 237th Guards display center bears his name. aviation technology named after the Russian Air Force. In the homeland of the Hero 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 is installed on a house in Sivtsev Vrazhek in Moscow, where he lived in recent years. His La-7 aircraft is exhibited at the Central Air Force Museum in Monino.

Nazaryan E. A.,
candidate historical sciences, junior research fellow
Research Institute of the Military
history of the VAGSh of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub was born on June 8, 1920 in the village of Obrazheevka, Shostka district, Sumy region, in the family of a simple rural worker.

The father brought up little Ivan in severity, taught him to work from childhood. The brothers Yakov, Alexander and Grigory, worked as laborers for wealthy people, bringing home meager pennies and food at the end of the season. Yes, and Ivan himself was forced to earn money in childhood, when his father arranged for him to be a shepherd. Fate was favorable to him from childhood and kept him throughout his life.

Even in childhood, as Ivan Nikitovich himself recalled, in his book “Loyalty to the Fatherland”,

could die by drowning in the Desna. The guys went to the flood in a boat to a distant island and in the evening, with a strong wind, they returned to the village. A gust of wind turned the boat across the waves and turned it over. Caught in cold water, the children swam to a tree that was nearby and climbed onto the branches. By nightfall, the survivors began to freeze, and Vanya's friend Andreika drowned. Yes, and Vanya himself was blown off the branch by the wind when, exhausted, he could not hold on. Falling into the water, Vanya immediately went to the bottom.

The miracle of his salvation was that at that time help on a longboat just approached, where Vanya's brother Alexander was. He managed to notice where the future Soviet air sniper fell and, diving, saved him. On that day, little Ivan experienced the first bereavement in his life. And how much more fate had in store for him...

From childhood, Vanya was fond of sports, these are exercises on the horizontal bar and weightlifting - kettlebell lifting. Father often scolded Ivan for the yard pitted with weights. As a result of these classes, the future defender of the Fatherland developed an excellent vestibular apparatus and endurance.

At school, Vanya was fond of drawing and drew a lot, which developed the eye, the visual memory of the future ace. Tried to paint in oils.

Like everything in life, childhood flew by unnoticed. After graduating from the seven-year period, Ivan entered the school of working youth, where, working as a librarian, he read not only fiction books, but also technical literature. Two more years passed and, on the advice of his father, Ivan entered the Shostka Technical School, at the chemical-technological department. It was far to go home, and Kozhedub moved to a hostel at a technical school. Only the mother did not want to part with her youngest son.

One weekend, with a heavy feeling in his soul, Ivan was returning home from the technical school for the weekend. On the threshold of the house his father met him. Ivan's mother, who undermined her strength at hard work in people, became seriously ill and refused all persuasion to go to the hospital. It's time to go back to college. Ivan did not want to go, apparently foreseeing trouble, but his mother persuaded him to return. Until late at night, Kozhedub sat behind books, reproaching himself for not insisting that his mother go to the hospital, and at dawn his brother Yakov woke him up. Seeing the tear-stained face of his older brother, Ivan immediately understood everything.

Having been widowed, Nikita Kozhedub also moved to Shostka, to a hostel at the factory and often came to visit his son.

About his first meeting with the plane, Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub himself will tell better than me:

“... one afternoon, while playing skittles, I heard the roar of an engine: an airplane was flying at a low altitude. It was the first time I saw him so close. The two passengers sitting in the back waved their hands at us. The car quickly disappeared over the hill.
If only I could climb up and look down on the Desna, on our spacious lands.
Just before leaving, I found out that it was possible to fly: passengers were taken for a ride, but it was already too late. And the plane, frankly speaking, inspired me not only with curiosity, but also with timidity. I even admitted to myself that, perhaps, I would not have dared to fly. And I decided to myself that it is difficult to learn flying, and pilots must be fabulously brave people: just think - they rise into the air, make such flights! And not for a second then did I have the idea to devote my life to aviation.
(Ivan Kozhedub. "Loyalty to the Fatherland").

Ivan took the next step towards his destiny after the war at Lake Khasan, in the summer of 1938. It was then that Ivan remembered his recent meeting with the students of the technical school, who entered the flying club. They came to the technical school to train on sports equipment. At a subsequent meeting with them, Ivan asked the question of how to submit documents to the flying club, to which he received a little encouraging answer, it was too late to submit documents, classes had already begun. But Ivan nevertheless took a chance and entered the flying club, having given his word to catch up with fellow students in theory, before the start of flight practice. He caught up with the group, moreover, he was one of the first members in the group.

It was difficult for the future hero to keep up with everything. Ivan studied at the flying club, not forgetting about the technical school, because he had not yet decided to fly all his life.

At first, I had to hide from my father. Kozhedub recalls how he once asked: “What, a tattoo, if I learned to fly?” ("tatu" - in Ukrainian means "dad").

To which the father waved his hands: “Where are you going to chase the crane in the sky ?!”

But Ivan could only hide until summer holidays at the technical school. A little light was going to Shostka to the airfield, to fly. So the father found out about his son's hobby, but, having already got used to his independence, he did not flog the hero.

In the same 1939, Kozhedub decided to link his fate with fighter aircraft, having met his fellow countryman, who came on vacation to his homeland. Young pilots enthusiastically listened to the stories of their flying club graduate, looking enviously at military uniform. Of course, in those days, the pilots had a special chic uniform. All military officers wore tunics, and the pilots wore shirts with ties and a tunic.

In January 1940, Kozhedub was summoned to the Chuguev School of Military Pilots. By order People's Commissar Defense of the USSR S. K. Timoshenko No. 0362 of December 22, 1940 "On changing the order of service for junior and middle commanding staff Air Force of the Red Army", Ivan Kozhedub successfully graduated in the fall of 1940. He was waiting for distribution. Like all his classmates, he was preparing to serve in western border, where the entire issue of that year was sent, but the command ordered otherwise. As one of the best cadets, Sergeant Kozhedub was left as an instructor at the school.

The war caught Ivan Nikitovich as an instructor. From the first days of the war, Kozhedub bombarded the authorities with reports asking them to be sent to the front, but the authorities were adamant. “Your duty is to train pilots for the Red Army. The front is suffering heavy losses.

At the end of 1941, the school was transferred to the city of Chimkent, in Kazakhstan. There, cadres for the front were forged in an accelerated mode. Kozhedub continues to besiege the authorities with reports, to which he receives negative answers and even reprimands. Continues to train pilots for the front.

Newspapers from the front reached them, and in some, there were notes about the exploits of their comrades, former cadets, instructors from the school. The modest workers of the rear airfield envied their friends who beat the enemy over the expanses of the Motherland.

Finally, in the fall of 1942, Ivan Nikitovich was sent to the front. In Moscow, Ivan learned that one of his best cadets, Vyacheslav Bashkirov, had been awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Kozhedub is proud of his student and perhaps happy for himself. If the student has surpassed the teacher - best estimate teacher as a professional.

Kozhedub was enrolled in the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment, commanded by Major Soldatenko. The regiment suffered heavy losses in the battles near Stalingrad and was on staffing. In Gorky, the regiment was retrained for new La-5 fighters. New planes have just begun to arrive at the front and have already gained fame in the Battle of Stalingrad.

In the reserve regiment, Ivan continues to study, studies new equipment, undergoes training flights, studies captured Me-109s, sketching their silhouettes and studying vulnerable spots.

Finally, in January 1943, Kozhedub received a new La-5, number 75 from the squadron named after Valery Chkalov. But he is unhappy with the first car. The plane is equipped with five tanks - a bit heavy.

In March 1943, Kozhedub fought his first air battle. Paired with his leader, Kozhedub was supposed to guard his airfield. Everything went wrong from the start. During takeoff, Kozhedub lost sight of the leader's plane and remained alone in the air. Having made several circles, Ivan saw approaching planes, similar in silhouette to Pe-2 bombers.

Ivan remembered the rule of the fighter in time - If you do not recognize the aircraft, consider it as an enemy aircraft. Explosions on the ground convinced Kozhedub of the accuracy of the rule.

The trouble was that while he was figuring out who was in front of him, the Me-110s launched an attack on the airfield. Kozhedub prepared to attack the enemy, removed the guns from the fuses, but then he remembered one more rule - "before attacking, make sure you are not being attacked." He looked around - a plane with a white spinner was approaching him. While I was thinking who it was, my own or someone else's, the "white cook" opened fire. There was a crash from behind, the cockpit smelled of burning. Ivan was saved by the fact that a high-explosive fragmentation projectile, and not an armor-piercing one, got into the cockpit. Me-109s sat on him tightly, they were about to finish him off, but then anti-aircraft artillery opened fire and the Messers fell off. La-5 Kozhedub also came under fire and received a few more holes. It took a lot of work for Ivan to land the riddled plane. After landing, more than fifty holes were counted.

Now Ivan flew occasionally.

After the first unsuccessful battle, they generally wanted to transfer him to ground service. He lost his leader, allowed the enemy to bomb the airfield, almost died himself, and the plane was under repair for a long time. Car number 75 stood for a long time under repair.

Two tanks were removed from it, it was not suitable for battle, and Ivan sometimes flew as a messenger. All the time he learned to beat the enemy, drew diagrams, studied the experience of famous pilots such as A. I. Pokryshkin.

Pokryshkin's battle formula: "Height - speed - maneuver - fire", Ivan wrote down in his front-line notebook. In the same place, he drew diagrams, silhouettes of enemy aircraft, so as not to waste time in the future on identifying the aircraft. He learned well the lesson taught him by the Germans.

There were "battles of local significance", but even in these battles the regiment was losing people. Leading Kozhedub Vano Gabunia died by ramming an enemy plane, squadron commander Gavrish. On April 14, 1943, during a raid, the regiment commander, Major Soldatenko, was killed.

By the summer, reinforcements arrived in the regiment. Kozhedub was appointed to the post of deputy squadron commander. Vasily Mukhin was appointed to his pair.

The new pair took their first battle in July 1943 on the Kursk Bulge on July 6, 1943. The regiment was ordered to cover ground troops. Above the front line, the group, which included the Kozhedub-Mukhin pair, met with a large group of Yu-87 bombers.

A fierce battle ensued. In the air, their own and other people's planes mixed up. With a burst of cannons, Ivan forced the Me-109 to turn Semenov's commander away from the plane.

The bombers formed a defensive circle. A few minutes passed and Kozhedub went to the line of fire. The cannons have started working, but the "lappeter" does not fall. Ivan continues to shoot. Junkers began to maneuver. Forgetting everything, Ivan continues the attack, deciding that if he does not bring down the enemy, he will ram, as his dead leader Vano Gabunia did. Almost at point-blank range, Kozhedub thrusts a long burst into the enemy. The plane burst into flames and crashed.

To celebrate, Ivan shouted to the follower: “Vasya! Banged one!

He looked around, and saw how the Messer rolled off from him, followed by Mukhin.

Team commander "Collection". But Kozhedub sees another group of Junkers, reports to the commander, but he continues to collect the group. Then Ivan decides to attack the enemy with the forces of his pair. Attached in the tail to the extreme Yu-87, at point-blank range opens fire, but the guns are silent. Shooting long bursts, Ivan shot all his ammunition. Commands Mukhina to attack, he imitates attacks. The Junkers leave, and the couple, at the limit of fuel, returned to their airfield.

Ivan Nikitovich recalled in his book how, during a report on the battle, the squadron commander severely reprimanded him for breaking away from the group.

“Is that so? Chasing the downed. In such an environment, one cannot be unrestrained and imprudent. Killed in an instant. Well, anyway, congratulations on the first shot down.

Since July 10, Kozhedub has been temporarily acting as a commander, instead of Semenov, who was injured.

In September 1943, Ivan received the long-awaited news from home. From his father's letter, he learned that brother Yakov from the first days in the battles, Grigory was driven into slavery by the Nazis, and brother Sashko is working in the rear in the Urals.

The usual for him weekdays of the war flowed. Several times a day, our pilots took off to complete tasks.

September 30, 1943. Kozhedub's group flew out to cover ground troops. On the way to the front line, Ivan was attacked by a couple of German hunters. Having replaced them in time, he abruptly turned around, not having time to give a command to his own. In a frontal attack, the Germans opened fire. In the plane, behind, there was a crash and the opponents dispersed on a collision course. Kozhedub's maneuver was so fast that the fighters of his group, seeing the hunters coming out of the attack, thought that Ivan had been shot down and chased the Germans, burning with a desire for revenge. Ivan was left alone in the cover area. There was no response to all Ivan's orders by radio. Some time passed and Kozhedub's group returned, but passed by towards their base without noticing their commander. And then the Germans appeared and, Kozhedub alone accepted the battle. From all sides, at the limit of the car, Ivan attacked Yu-87. He forced them to stop bombing and put them in a defensive circle. But the Germans did not leave, and the fuel was melting. Someone had to be hit. Ivan finally chose one and shot point-blank. Seeing a colleague engulfed in flames, a falling colleague, the “laptezhniki” randomly bombed and began to leave. On fuel vapor, Kozhedub returned home.

Another day, which Ivan Nikitovich remembers especially.

For the third time, he then led his squadron to cover the troops. At the front line we met a large group of enemy bombers. They immediately attacked and dispersed, but an order was received from the ground to catch up and finish off the enemy. The fighters rushed after them to shoot the defenseless Ju-87s.

This fight is best described in the words of Ivan Nikitovich himself.

“I start attacking him from above - he is so pressed to the ground that you can’t come up from below. The gunner fires back fiercely, but machine-gun trails fly past. A long burst and the bomber bursts into flames.
Soaring over a blazing bomber An indistinct sound is heard - you hear any impact on the plane, despite the hum of the engine. I hear the frightened voice of Vasya Mukhin: “Dad, you are on fire!”
I quickly examine the left plane - everything is in order here. He looked to the right - a fiery jet is knocked out of the gas tank. A chill ran down my spine: yes, I really am burning! Before it's too late, you need to jump with a parachute. I quickly open the lantern. I unfasten my seat belts. And suddenly I remember - below the enemy.
(Ivan Kozhedub. "Loyalty to the Fatherland").

Ivan decides to ram a ground target with a flaming plane. But he continues to fight for his life - he tries to knock down the flame by sliding. Nothing worked. At the bottom, he noticed a cluster of enemy equipment and put the plane into a dive...

Different sources tell about this case in different ways. Therefore, I think it would be right to tell the end of this incident in the words of Ivan Nikitovich himself.

“... I'm directing the plane right at them. The earth is growing fast. There is still hope that it is possible to break the flame if I sharply lift the nose of the aircraft. I grab the plane right over the heads of the dumbfounded Germans. And I hear the joyful voice of the slave:
Dad, the flame is broken! We live!
(Ibid.).

On this day, fate spared him, once again.

Having flown over the front line, Kozhedub wanted to leave the plane again, but could not - he felt sorry for the car. He loved his planes very much. Always identified them with living beings. And never once in the entire war, did not leave the car.

On February 4, 1944, friends congratulated Ivan on conferring on him the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By that time, Kozhedub's personal account had exceeded 30 downed enemy vehicles.

In May 1944, when the regiment of Ivan Kozhedub was already fighting over Romania, Ivan received an order to overtake a new aircraft from the city of Balti to his airfield. Arriving at the place, Kozhedub learned that La-5 FN, number 14, named after the Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Colonel N. Konev, the command of the air force decided to transfer it to him.

Collective farmer Konev Vasily Viktorovich, the father of the Hero who died in the battles for the Motherland, bought a plane with his personal savings and asked him to transfer it to the best pilot. They would recognize Ivan Kozhedub.

To fight on such a machine was not only honorable, but also dangerous. The German aces were well aware that not ordinary pilots fly on such aircraft. Very often they attacked Ivan, seeing the inscriptions on the sides, but the faithful wingman always reliably covered the commander. Paired with Mukhin, as Ivan Nikitovich recalled, he could not be afraid for his tail.

And he paid in full for the reliability of the follower. His meager memories are worthy of great respect:

“... I look around. I see that Mukhin is in an advantageous position. I broadcast on the radio: “Vasya! Beat him! I cover!..”

Or: "... Vasya, we take the last one in pincers!" (In this battle, the couple shot down a Heinkel-111, which was credited to Mukhin).

And he himself was a Hero and gave the opportunity to become Heroes to others.

On one of the days of the 44th year, a group of aircraft landed at the airfield of the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment. The airfield resounded: “Pokryshkin, Pokryshkin!”. Ivan wanted to come up and get acquainted with the famous ace, but he was shy, and while he hesitated, Pokryshkin's planes flew away. Only after the war, Ivan again saw the Glorious Pilot at the Academy. M. V. Frunze. Perhaps he met with him in preparation for the Victory Parade.

In the summer of 1944, Kozhedub was summoned to Moscow. There Kozhedub learned about his new assignment to the 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.

Ivan did not sleep all night, trying to find words so as not to leave his native regiment, but General Shatsky, sympathizing, remained adamant. He expressed his understanding of the situation, but orders from above are not discussed, they are carried out.

At the familiar alternate airfield, where Ivan was still a stupid, inexperienced pilot, he was recognized and congratulated on his success. Ivan Nikitovich had to retrain for the new La-7 aircraft. The regiment of air hunters, where he was to fight, flew precisely on these machines.

On August 19, Ivan learned about the awarding of A. I. Pokryshkin with the third Gold Star medal. And he himself was congratulated on being awarded the title of Twice Hero. Kozhedub by that time shot down 45 fascist planes.

From the end of August 1944, Kozhedub took up the duties of deputy regiment commander. The regiment performs aerial hunting missions, staffed by experienced pilots with long flying hours and rich combat experience. Gone are the days when our sky was protected by yellow-mouthed chicks trained in an accelerated take-off and landing course. Now, young pilots, if the situation allowed, were introduced into battle gradually.

And in the Kozhedub regiment there were truly experienced pilots. The planes in the regiment had a special color - gray with a red nose and a white keel. Ivan's car was repainted overnight to match the others. So, on a car with tail number 27, Kozhedub flew until the end of the war.

In his memoirs, Ivan Nikitovich talks very sparingly about his downed. It all comes down to simple phrases: "... I see the enemy, I attack, I shoot down ..." and no colorful descriptions. The period of service in the 176th GIAP, Kozhedub describes the exploits of his fellow soldiers more, seeing ordinary workdays in his sorties.

February 19, 1945. Kozhedub, paired with Dmitry Titarenko, flew out to hunt. In the Frankfurt area, at an altitude of 3,500 meters, they saw a single plane flying at high speed. Having squeezed everything to the limit from his “shop”, Kozhedub managed to get closer to an unknown car. It was a jet Me-262. According to the intelligence, with which the pilots were introduced, these aircraft were fundamentally new and dangerous in combat. The German flew without much concern for safety - he hoped for high speed. The Soviet couple gradually approached the jet fighter.

Knowing the character of Titarenko, Kozhedub asks: “Dima, take your time!”

But the tracks flew into the enemy plane, and the German began to turn away from the line of fire. The distance between Kozhedub and Me-262 was sharply reduced, which allowed the Soviet ace to complete the attack logically. After a well-aimed turn, the Me-262 aircraft, falling apart, fell to the ground.

Kozhedub shot down the last two fascists on April 17 near Berlin. These were the Foke-Wulf-190. It was his last dogfight in that war.

In the late spring of 1945, Ivan Nikitovich, by order of the command, flew to Moscow.

Part 2. The secret life of Ivan Kozhedub.

IN Lately, removed many vultures of secrecy. Some cases that happened to him in the last period of the war also became unclassified information.

In the preface N.G. Bodrikhin to the book by I.N. Kozhedub "Loyalty to the Fatherland" of later editions are given Interesting Facts about the air battle between Kozhedub and the Americans. I will quote:

“As Ivan Nikitovich himself told me, on April 17, 1945, having met the Allies’ Flying Fortresses in the air, he drove a couple of Messerschmitts away from them with a barrage, but a second later he himself was attacked by American cover fighters.

"To whom is fire? Me?!" - Kozhedub recalled indignantly half a century later. The line was long, with a long distance, a kilometer, with bright, unlike ours and German, tracer shells. Due to the long distance, it was clear how the end of the line was bent down I rolled over and, quickly approaching, attacked the extreme American (by the number of fighters in the escort, I already understood who it was) something exploded in his fuselage, he got very steamy and went down towards our troops. from an inverted position, I attacked the next one, my shells fell very well, the plane exploded in the air.

When the tension of the battle subsided, my mood was not at all victorious, because I had already managed to make out the white stars on the wings and fuselages. “They will arrange for me ... on the first day,” I thought, putting the car in. But everything worked out. In the cockpit of the Mustang, which had landed on our territory, sat a hefty Negro. To the question of the guys who arrived in time for him, who shot him down (or rather, when they managed to translate this question), he answered: “Focke-Wulf” with a red nose ... I don’t think that he played along then; the allies had not yet learned to look both ways ...

When the films of the FKP (photo film machine gun) were shown, the main moments of the battle were recorded on them very clearly. The films were watched by the command of the regiment, and the division, and the corps. The division commander Savitsky, to whom we were then under operational control, after watching said: "These victories in - on account of a future war." And Pavel Fedorovich Chupikov, our regimental commander, soon gave me these films with the words: “Take them for yourself, Ivan, and don’t show them to anyone.”

It was one of several military clashes between Soviet and American aviation that took place in 1944-1945 ... ”(Internet newspaper“ Centrazia ”No. 18 of May 13, 2004.)

Another significant battle was fought by Ivan Nikitovich before Victory Day on May 6, when a group of "flying fortresses" with cover planes entered the Soviet zone. The Soviet pilots warned the Americans with tracers, but they continued to fly, responding with machine gun fire. Then it's time for Kozhedub. In twenty minutes of battle, he drove three invincible "fortresses" into the ground.

However, they were not allowed to draw stars even then, but they had to fight with the Americans. Now it was on Far East, where the division of the 64th Air Corps, together with its commander, Major General Kozhedub, fought in Korea. Although, even without the "fuselage stars" it is known that 264 American pilots did not reach their bases there ... (Viktor Anisimov. Article "How Kozhedub shot down Americans." Nashe Delo newspaper, October 13, 2007). Until recently, we could all learn about the military path of Ivan Kozhedub.

So, during the Great Patriotic War, Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub made 330 sorties, conducted 120 air battles, shooting down 62 Nazi aircraft. Not a bad account. Quote from the Radiovoice of Russia newspaper: “Historians say that Ivan Kozhedub shot down many more planes than official sources say. The fact is that he did not chalk up an enemy car if he himself did not see how it fell to the ground. “And suddenly, he will make it to his own?”, - the pilot explained to his brother-soldiers ... ”(The newspaper“ Radio Voice of Russia ”).

On June 24, 1945, I. N. Kozhedub carried the banner of one of the regiments in the ranks of the combined regiment of the First Ukrainian Front across Red Square.

In the summer of 1945, after the Victory Parade, Ivan Nikitovich was sent to military academy them. M. V. Frunze. As Vladimir Lavrinenkov recalls in his book “Without War”, Kozhedub “escaped” to the Air Force Academy in Monino.

G. Kislovodsk. In the late evening of November 1950, two MGB officers came for Kozhedub, who was resting in a local sanatorium, and gave him a few minutes to get ready.

In the regional committee of the party, through government communications, he receives an order from the commander of the Air Force of the Moscow district, V.I. Stalin, to arrive in Moscow. "There is work, and Vanya is resting ...".

In an atmosphere of secrecy, under the name of Krylov Kozhedub, he has been in command of the 324th Fighter Air Division in North Korea for 10 months.

On April 12, 1951, the Kozhedub troops conducted their first air battle over the Yalu River. Fighters defended a strategically important bridge across the river. 40 American bombers went to the bridge under the cover of about 100 fighters.

Kozhedub lifted all 50 MiG-15s into the air. Or a chest in crosses, or a head in the bushes. A fellow soldier of Ivan Nikitovich, Sergei Kramarenko, recalls: “In total, 12 bombers and 5 fighters fell to the ground. 120 pilots were taken prisoner by the Chinese and Koreans. Kozhedub himself did not participate in this battle.

But could the gambler three times Hero of the Soviet Union really sit quietly on the ground?

He is strictly prohibited from flying on combat missions. Even in Moscow, V.I. Stalin told him: “You are good, here you can fight with your own methods,” says Nikolai Bodrikhin in Sergei Medvedev’s film “Secrets of the Century. Two wars of Ivan Kozhedub.

The UN Assembly recognized North Korea the aggressor and, any military assistance to her, was outlawed. If Kozhedub had been shot down, a severe international scandal could have happened, and the UN troops could have started fighting against the USSR.

And yet Ivan Nikitovich made several sorties.

I don't want to retell the whole movie. I’ll just finish this episode from Kozhedub’s life by repeating the words of the author of the film, Sergei Medvedev: “Later, Ivan Nikitovich’s Chinese friends, in great secrecy, told the son of the Soviet ace that during his stay in Korea, he added 17 more to his“ American account ” enemy planes.

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub died at his dacha on August 8, 1991, from a heart attack. And a few days later, his Fatherland ceased to exist, the loyalty of which he kept all his glorious life.

This plane still remembers the stinking smell of Fokkers.

Materials used in this article:

1.I. N. Kozhedub. Loyalty to the Motherland.

2. Article by Yuri Nersesov "The American Account of Major Kozhedub" from the Internet newspaper "Centrazia" No. 18 dated May 13, 2004.

4. The film "Two Wars of Ivan Kozhedub". From the series Secrets of the Century with Sergei Medvedev.

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub - one of the best pilots of the Soviet era. He went through the Great Patriotic War, and was never shot down, bringing a fighter to the airfield in any condition. The feat of Kozhedub is dozens of enemy aircraft sold and hundreds of combat flights. He is three times Hero of the Soviet Union.

short biography

Kozhedub Ivan Nikitovich was born into a large peasant family in Ukraine in the village of Obrazhievka, Chernihiv province. He was the most youngest child, had three older brothers and a sister. The date of birth is officially considered to be June 08, 1920, but, as you know, he added two years to himself, which were needed to enroll in a technical school. The real date of birth of Ivan Kozhedub is July 06, 1922. His father worked in the land and worked in a factory, but found time for books and even wrote poetry himself. He brought up children in strictness, tried to instill in them such qualities as perseverance, diligence and diligence.

When Vanya went to school, he already knew how to write and read. He studied well, but attended school intermittently, because after the end of the first school year his father sent him to a neighboring village to work as a shepherd. Before entering the Chemical Technology College in 1934, Ivan Nikitovich managed to work in the library. 1938 was a turning point in the fate of the young man - then he begins to visit the flying club. In the spring of 1939, his first flight took place, which leaves great impression. Already in 1940, having decided to become a fighter, he enters the military flight school, after which he is left as an instructor here.

The Great Patriotic War

After the start of the Great Patriotic War, Ivan Kozhedub and the entire school were transferred to Kazakhstan, but after numerous reports, in the fall of 1942 he was sent to Moscow. Here he falls into the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment under the command of Ignatius Soldatenko. Ivan Nikitovich flew out on his first combat mission in March 1943, but when he came under fire, he miraculously managed to land almost unscathed. About a month passed before the future great pilot sat down at his new La-5 aircraft.

Ivan Kozhedub opens his personal combat account in July 1943, during the Battle of Kursk. This was his fortieth sortie. For several days, 4 victories were already on the list. On August 6, 1943, Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub received his first award - the Order of the Red Banner of War. At the same time, he himself begins to command the squadron. In the autumn of 1943 he was sent to the rear, hot heavy battles were ahead, it was necessary to recuperate.

Combat missions 1943-1945

After returning to the front, he decides to change his tactics, stopping at low level flight, which required courage and great skill. For military merit in early February 1944, a young promising fighter pilot was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By August 1944, Kozhedub had already received the second Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union, at which time he personally shot down 48 enemy aircraft in 246 sorties. In the first autumn month of 1944, a group of pilots led by Kozhedub was sent to the Baltic.

Here, in just a few days, under his command, 12 German aircraft were shot down, they lost only 2 of their own. After such a victory, the enemy abandoned active operations in this territory. Another significant air battle took place in the winter, in February 1945. Then 8 enemy planes were shot down, and 1 plane was destroyed Soviet army. A significant personal achievement for Ivan Kozhedub was the destruction of the Me-262 jet, which was significantly faster than his Lavochkin. In April 1945, the great fighter pilot shot down his last 2 enemy aircraft.

By the end of the Great Patriotic War, Ivan Kozhedub was already a major, on his account there were 62 downed aircraft and 330 sorties and 120 air battles. In August 1945, for the third time, he was a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Postwar years

After the end of the war, he decided to continue his service. At the end of 1945, Ivan Nikitovich met his future wife. Their marriage had two children: a son and a daughter. He also continued to study, in 1949 he graduated from the Air Force Academy, and in 1956 from the Military Academy General Staff. Participated in hostilities in Korea, under his command was the 324th Fighter Aviation Division. In 1985, Ivan Kozhedub was awarded the high rank of Air Marshal.

It should also be noted in his biography social activities. He was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, as well as a People's Deputy of the USSR. Ivan Kozhedub died at his dacha on August 08, 1991.

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub was never shot down during the Great Patriotic War, and although he was knocked out, he always landed his plane. Kozhedub also has the world's first jet fighter, the German Me-262, on his account. In total, during the war, he made 330 sorties. In these sorties, 64 enemy aircraft were destroyed. He is three times Hero of the Soviet Union.

Each pilot has his own ace, unique to him alone, handwriting in the sky. Ivan Kozhedub also had him - a man whose character harmoniously combined courage, courage and exceptional composure. He knew how to accurately and quickly weigh the situation, to instantly find the only right move in the current situation.

He masterfully owned the car, he could drive it even with his eyes closed.

All his flights were a cascade of various maneuvers - turns and snakes, slides and dives. It was not easy for everyone who had to fly with Kozhedub as a wingman to stay in the air behind their commander. Kozhedub always sought to find the enemy first. But at the same time, do not "substitute" yourself. Indeed, in 120 air battles, he was never shot down!

Childhood and youth

Kozhedub Ivan Nikitovich was born into a large peasant family in Ukraine in the village of Obrazhievka, Chernihiv province. He was the youngest child, had three older brothers and a sister. The date of birth is officially considered to be June 08, 1920, but, as you know, he added two years to himself, which were needed to enroll in a technical school. The real date of birth of Ivan Kozhedub is July 06, 1922. His father worked in the land and worked in a factory, but found time for books and even wrote poetry himself. He brought up children in strictness, tried to instill in them such qualities as perseverance, diligence and diligence.

When Vanya went to school, he already knew how to write and read. He studied well, but attended school intermittently, because at the end of the first school year, his father sent him to a neighboring village to work as a shepherd. Before entering the Chemical Technology College in 1934, Ivan Nikitovich managed to work in the library. 1938 was a turning point in the fate of the young man - then he begins to visit the flying club.

In the spring of 1939, his first flight took place, which leaves a great impression. Already in 1940, having decided to become a fighter, he entered the military flight school, after which he was left as an instructor here.

Here, in just a few days, under his command, 12 German aircraft were shot down, they lost only 2 of their own. After such a victory, the enemy abandoned active operations in this territory. Another significant air battle took place in the winter, in February 1945. Then 8 enemy planes were shot down, and 1 plane of the Soviet army was destroyed. A significant personal achievement for Ivan Kozhedub was the destruction of the Me-262 jet, which was significantly faster than his Lavochkin. In April 1945, the great fighter pilot shot down his last 2 enemy aircraft.

Postwar years

After the end of the war, he decided to continue his service. At the end of 1945, Ivan Nikitovich met his future wife. Their marriage had two children: a son and a daughter. He also continued to study, in 1949 he graduated from the Air Force Academy, and in 1956 from the Military Academy of the General Staff. Participated in hostilities in Korea, under his command was the 324th Fighter Aviation Division. In 1985, Ivan Kozhedub was awarded the high rank of Air Marshal.

Also in his biography it is necessary to note social activities. He was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, as well as a People's Deputy of the USSR. Ivan Kozhedub died at his dacha on August 08, 1991.

The end of 1946 made changes in the personal life of Ivan Kozhedub. Returning in the evening to Monino, near Moscow, by train, Ivan met a tenth-grader Veronika, who soon became his wife, a faithful and patient companion throughout his life, the main adjutant and assistant, as Ivan Nikitovich himself called her. Little is known about Kozhedub's personal life, and there is an explanation for this: his true personal life, according to relatives, there was and remained aviation. But something can be learned from the stories of the son of the famous pilot, Nikita Ivanovich, captain of the 1st rank of the reserve. So it became known that the first acquaintance in the train could be the last for both young people. At first, Veronica did not like the young officer, he seemed unattractive because of his short stature and Ukrainian accent. But, having coolly parted, the young people after a while met again in the same train. Ivan took the initiative into his own hands and persuaded Veronica to go dancing with him to the garrison club.

It was in winter, under the very New Year. Kozhedub met Veronica in a flight raglan, worn over a tunic. While they were walking through the territory of the unit to the club, the girl was surprised that all the officers, even higher in rank, saluted Ivan. I thought: what kind of a major is this, if even the colonels salute him and stretch out to attention. The fact is that to salute and carry out the command “Attention!” before the Hero of the Soviet Union, even senior officials were obliged by the military rules established by Joseph Stalin (under Khrushchev, these rules were canceled). But Ivan did not confess to her what the secret was until they entered the club.

When he took off the raglan, the girl saw three Stars of the Hero, a bunch of planks of orders - and was speechless

After the dances, there was a feast where Kozhedub, according to the tradition that has developed in part, introduced his chosen one to the officers. Then he told Veronica how his comrades approached him and whispered in his ear: “Well, Ivan, I approve of the choice.” New, 1947, young people have already met together. And on the morning of January 1, in the village council of Monino, they were quickly, without witnesses, painted. Since then, the Kozhedubs have lived in perfect harmony for almost fifty years.

Home driving force The Kozhedub family has always had only love.

Children did not remember that their parents had ever offended each other

But they remembered that from each trip, dad always brought gifts not only to them, but also to mom. In all domestic affairs, Ivan Nikitovich relied on his wife and diligently concealed from her the dangers of his professional life - he took care of his wife.

In 1947, a daughter, Natalya, was born, and in 1953, a son, Nikita (captain of the 3rd rank of the USSR Navy).

Planes flown by Ivan Kozhedub

La-5. The Hero of the Soviet Union conducted his first sortie on March 26, the flight ended unsuccessfully: his first combat fighter La-5 (side number 75) was damaged in battle, and when returning to the airfield, in addition, he was fired upon by his anti-aircraft artillery. With great difficulty, the pilot was able to bring the car to the airfield and land. After that, he flew old fighters for about a month, until he again received a new La-5. It was an excellent lightweight fighter with the number "14" and inscriptions drawn in white with a red border: on the left side - "In the name of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Colonel Konev G.N.", on the right side - "From the collective farmer Konev Vasily Viktorovich." La-5 is a single-engine wooden low-wing aircraft. The main structural material used in the airframe was pine. For the production of some frames and wing spars, delta wood was used. The armament of the fighter consisted of 2 synchronous ShVAK cannons of 20 mm caliber with pneumatic and mechanical reloading. The total ammunition was equal to 340 shells. For aiming at the target, a PBP-la collimator sight was used.

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