Ivan Kozhedub

Ivan Kozhedub
Kozhedub in 1949
Native name
Іван Микитович Кожедуб
Nickname(s)Батя ("Dad"), Борода ("Beard")
Born8 June 1920
Obrazhiivka, Chernihiv Governorate, Ukrainian SSR
Died8 August 1991(1991-08-08) (aged 71)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance Soviet Union
Service/branch Soviet Air Force
Years of service1940–1985
RankMarshal of Aviation
Battles/warsWorld War II Korean War
AwardsHero of the Soviet Union (thrice)

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub or Ivan Mykytovych Kozhedub (Russian: Иван Hикитович Кожедуб; Ukrainian: Іван Микитович Кожедуб; 8 June 1920 – 8 August 1991) was a Soviet World War II fighter ace. Universally credited with over 60 solo victories, he is considered to be the highest scoring Soviet and Allied fighter pilot of World War II. He is one of the few pilots to have shot down a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet, and the first Soviet pilot to have done so. He was made a Hero of the Soviet Union on three occasions (4 February 1944, 19 August 1944, and 18 August 1945). After World War II, he remained in the military and went on to command the 324th Fighter Aviation Division during Soviet operations in the Korean War.

Early life

Kozhedub was born on 8 June 1920 to a Ukrainian family in the village of Obrazhiivka, in Chernihiv Governorate, located within what is now Shostka Raion of Ukraine's Sumy Oblast. After graduating from his seventh grade of school in his hometown in 1934 he went on to complete two more years of school in Shostka. There he initially worked as a librarian until completing his ninth grade of school in 1936, and from that year to 1940 he attended the Shostka Chemical Technology College. In addition to his studies, he attended training at the local aeroclub, from which he graduated in 1939. He subsequently joined the Red Army in February 1940, and in January 1941 he graduated from training at the Chuhuiv Military Aviation School of Pilots, where he initially learned to fly the UT-2, UTI-4, and I-16. Remaining at the school as a flight instructor, he continued to train pilots after the school was forced to evacuate to Shymkent in the autumn of 1941 due to the German invasion of the Soviet Union. He was sent to Moscow in November 1942, where was posted to the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment, but he did not arrive on the warfront until March 1943 when the 302nd Fighter Aviation Division was deployed to the Voronezh Front.

World War II

Pilot Ivan Kozhedub during WW II

Despite having started in the regiment as a regular pilot, he quickly mastered the new La-5 and was promoted to flight commander. He opened his tally on 6 July 1943 with the shootdown of a Ju 87 dive bomber. Kozhedub became friends with Kirill Yevstigneev, an accomplished flying ace; although they did not often fly together, Kozhedub acquired many of his tactics and, in a spirit of competition, they shared their experiences using different techniques. Vasily Mukhin, who often flew as Kozhedub's wingman, also went on to become a flying ace.

Over the next few months Kozhedub steadily gained more aerial victories and a promotion to squadron commander, but in the first half of October he rapidly increased his tally with 14 shootdowns. On 10 October 1943 he was nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union for flying 146 sorties, engaging in 27 aerial battles, and totaling 20 aerial victories; he was awarded the title on 4 February 1944.

In July 1944 the 240th Fighter Regiment was honored with the Guards designation and renamed the 178th Fighter Aviation Regiment, and Kozhedub was nominated for a second gold star for 46 aerial victories across 256 sorties. He did not stay with his regiment much longer, though, having been reassigned as the deputy commander of the 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, a special "free-hunting" regiment equipped with the new Lavochkin La-7 fighter, per the initiative of Chief Marshal of Aviation Aleksandr Novikov. There, he was rarely assigned such specific missions as escorting other aircraft or providing air support for troops, enabling him and his subordinates to tally more aerial victories. In mid-February 1945, during a free-hunting mission in an area south of Frankfurt with his wingman Dmitry Titarenko, Kozhedub shot down an Me 262 jet, thereby becoming the first Soviet pilot to do so. When Kozhedub and Titarenko encountered the Me 262, Kozhedub quickly accelerated from low to full speed; when the Me 262 banked left and slowed — spooked by tracer rounds fired by Titarenko — Kozhedub shot it down.

By the end of the war, Kozhedub tallied 330 sorties, had engaged in 120 dogfights, and had shot down 64 enemy aircraft. Having gained all his aerial victories on the La-5F, La-5FN, and La-7, he expressed his strong preference for Lavochkin fighters, and met with Semyon Lavochkin to comment on various aspects of the fighters' designs. Having been nominated for a third gold star in May 1945, he became thrice a Hero of the Soviet Union on 18 August 1945, and remained deputy commander of the 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment based in Schönwalde until September that year.

Preferring short, intense attacks to stun and bring down enemy aircraft, one favorite technique he developed and used in the war involved darting at a target from below and subsequently opening fire only when extremely close. Kozhedub used this tactic very successfully against the Ju 87 dive bomber, gaining him an unsurpassed 18 shootdowns of the type (equal with Arseny Vorozheykin). However, being so risky, the manoeuvre was neither promoted nor taught to young pilots. Though never shot down throughout the war, Kozhedub did experience several close calls. He nevertheless always managed to land his airplane, regardless of damage.

Post war era

Upon returning to the USSR, Kozhedub attended the Air Force Academy based in Monino, graduating in May 1949. He was originally to be posted as deputy commander of the 31st Fighter Aviation Division based in Baku, but — per orders 'from above' owing to his high status as a top flying ace — he was reassigned to the 324th Fighter Aviation Division. He initially served as assistant commander for flight training, but was soon promoted to command the division in November 1950. Shortly thereafter the unit was sent to China, where they initially trained Chinese and North Korean pilots. Kozhedub, despite being one of the first pilots to master the MiG-15 fighter jet back in 1949, was strictly forbidden from participating in combat sorties by order of his commanding officers. His division consisted of only two regiments (the 176th Guards and 196th Fighter Aviation Regiments) rather than the usual three. Nevertheless, pilots of his division claimed 216 aerial victories in Korea from April 1951 to February 1952, while sustaining only 27 MiG-15 losses and nine pilots killed.

Upon its return to the Soviet Union in February 1952, the 324th Fighter Division was stationed in Kaluga as an air defense unit. The following year he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in February 1955 attended the High Command Academy, graduating in 1956. He then served as deputy head of the air force's combat-training and frontline aviation-training directorates. Having become the 1st deputy commander of the 76th Air Army in April 1958, he visited Cuba alongside the unit's commander Viktor Davidkov from 1962 to 1963. From 1964 to February 1971 he served as 1st deputy commander of the air force of the Moscow Military District, although he ceased flying in 1969. During his career as a pilot he totaled 1937 flight hours, piloting the Yak-3, Yak-11, Yak-17, Yak-28, MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-21, Li-2, and Il-14 airplanes and the Mi-4 and Mi-8 helicopters. From 1971 to 1978 he served as deputy chief of combat training of the air force, and subsequently became a military advisor in the Ministry of Defense; in 1985 he was promoted to the rank of Marshal of Aviation. Beyond his military duties, he served as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from 1946 to 1962 and chairman of the Federation of Aviation Sports from 1967 to 1987. He resided in Moscow for the rest of his life, where he died of a heart attack on 8 August 1991 and was buried in the Novodevichy cemetery.

List of aerial victories

Lavochkin La-5, operated in 1943–1944
Lavochkin La-5FN, operated in 1944

According to Soviet aces 1941–1945. The victories of Stalin's Falcons (Russian: Советские асы 1941—1945. Победы сталинских соколов) by Mikhail Bykov.

## Date A/c type Location
1 6 July 1943 Ju 87 west of Zavidivka
2 7 July 1943 Ju 87 Gostishchevo station
3 9 July 1943 Bf 109 Krasna Polyana
4 9 July 1943 Bf 109 east of Pokrovka
5 9 August 1943 Bf 109 Prelestny
6 14 August 1943 Bf 109 Iskrivka
7 14 August 1943 Bf 109 Kolomna
8 16 August 1943 Ju 87 Rohan
9 22 August 1943 Fw 190 Liubotyn
10 9 September 1943 Bf 109 north of Iskrivka
11 30 September 1943 Ju 87 south-west of Borodayivka
12 1 October 1943 Ju 87 west of Borodayivka
13 1 October 1943 Ju 87 west of Borodayivka
14 2 October 1943 Bf 109 Ploskoye
15 2 October 1943 Ju 87 Petrivka
16 2 October 1943 Ju 87 south-west of Andriivka
17 2 October 1943 Ju 87 south-west of Andriivka
18 4 October 1943 Bf 109 north-west of Borodayivka
19 5 October 1943 Bf 109 south-west of Krasny Kut
20 5 October 1943 Bf 109 west of Kutsevalivka
21 6 October 1943 Bf 109 Borodayivka
22 10 October 1943 Bf 109 Dnsprovo-Kamyanka
23 12 October 1943 Ju 87 north of Ploske
24 12 October 1943 Bf 109 south of Petrivka
25 12 October 1943 Ju 87 south of Domotkan
26 29 October 1943 Ju 87 Kryvyi Rih
27 29 October 1943 He 111 west of Budivka
28 16 January 1944 Bf 109 Novo-Zlynka
29 30 January 1944 Bf 109 east of Nechayivka
30 30 January 1944 Ju 87 west of Lipivka
31 14 March 1944 Ju 87 Osiyivka
32 21 March 1944 Ju 87 LebedynShpola
33 11 April 1944 PZL P.24 Syrka
34 19 April 1944 He 111 north of Iaşi
35 28 April 1944 Ju 87 south-east of Vulturu
36 29 April 1944 Hs 129 Horleşti
37 29 April 1944 Hs 129 Horleşti
38 3 May 1944 Ju 87 Târgu Frumos — Dumbrăviţa
39 31 May 1944 Fw 190 east of Vulturu
40 1 June 1944 Ju 87 Cuza Vodă
41 2 June 1944 Hs 129 west of Stânca
42 3 June 1944 Fw 190 Rediu Ului — Tătăr
43 3 June 1944 Fw 190 Rediu Ului — Tătăr
44 3 June 1944 Fw 190 north-west of Iaşi
45 7 June 1944 Bf 109 Pârliţa
46 8 June 1944 Bf 109 Cârpiţi
47 22 September 1944 Fw 190 north-west of Strenči
48 22 September 1944 Fw 190 south-west of Rāmnieki — Daksti
49 25 September 1944 Fw 190 north-west of Valmiera
50 16 January 1945 Fw 190 south of Studziana
51 10 February 1945 Fw 190 north-west of Mohrin airfield
52 12 February 1945 Fw 190 west of Kinitz
53 12 February 1945 Fw 190 west of Kinitz
54 12 February 1945 Fw 190 Kietzer See Lake
55 17 February 1945 Me 262 east of Alt Friedland
56 19 February 1945 Bf 109 north of Fürstenfelde
57 11 March 1945 Fw 190 north of Brünchen
58 18 March 1945 Fw 190 north of Küstrin
59 18 March 1945 Fw 190 north-west of Küstrin
60 22 March 1945 Fw 190 north of Seelow
61 22 March 1945 Fw 190 east of Gusow
62 23 March 1945 Fw 190 Werbig station
63 17 April 1945 Fw 190 Wriezen
64 17 April 1945 Fw 190 Kinitz

Alleged shootdown of two USAAF P-51 fighters

In his autobiography, Kozhedub claimed to have downed two USAAF P-51 Mustang due to a friendly fire incident on 17 April 1945. By his account, he encountered a group of American B-17 Flying Fortresses under attack by Luftwaffe aircraft. His aircraft was apparently mistaken by American escort fighters for the enemy and attacked. Kozhedub, having no other option, defended himself by shooting down two of the P-51s. The story is highly suspect. Film footage exists that had been touted as Kozhedub's actual gun camera film from the event; however, the footage was shot using Zeiss equipment, which was used primarily by the Luftwaffe.

Awards and honors

Kozhedub on a 2020 stamp of Russia
Soviet Union
Foreign

Legacy

A military university in Kharkiv is named in his honor, the Kozhedub University of the Air Force.

In December 2022 the Kyiv City Council renamed, "with the aim of decolonizing the capital's toponymy", the Mikhail Kutuzov Street in Kyiv's Desnianskyi District Ivan Kozhedub Street.

Following the (April 2023) signing by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Law of Ukraine "On Condemnation and Prohibition of Propaganda of Russian Imperial Policy in Ukraine and Decolonization of Toponymy" [uk] the village Malynivka in Kharkiv Oblast decided to rename its Ivan Kozhedub Street.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Sources differ as to if he shot down the Me 262 on 17 or 19 February 1945

This page was last updated at 2023-12-23 04:47 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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