Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub 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 Me 262 jet, and the first Soviet pilot to have done so.

In WWII

Despite having started off in the regiment as a regular pilot, he quickly mastered the new La-5 and gained a promotion to flight commander by the time he opened his tally on 6 July 1943 with the shootdown of a Ju-87 dive bomber. Having made friends with Kirill Yevstigneev, an accomplished flying ace, even though they did not fly often together, Kozhedub picked up on many of his tactics and they shared their experiences about different techniques in addition to developing a competitive spirit. In addition, Vasily Mukhin, who often flew with Kozhedub as wingman, also went on to become a flying ace.

Over the next few months Kozhedub steadily gained more aerial victories in addition to a promotion to squadron commander, but in October he rapidly added to his tally, totaling 14 shootdowns in the first half of the month; 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 for the first time on 4 February 1944.

In mid-February 1945, during a mission with his wingman Dmitry Titarenko, Kozhedub shot down a Me-262 jet, making him the first Soviet pilot to do so. During the encounter, Kozhedub and Titarenko went on a free hunting flight in an area south of Frankfurt, where they encountered the Me 262; originally flying at a low speed, Kozhedub quickly went up to full speed, and then shot it down after it banked left and slowed down, having been spooked by the tracer rounds fired by Titarenko.

By the end of the war, Kozhedub totaled 330 sorties, during which he engaged in 120 dogfights and 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 design. Having been nominated for a third gold star in May 1945, he became a thrice 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 of his favorite techniques he developed and used in the war was a method of darting at a target from below and subsequently opening fire only when extremely close; while Kozhedub was very successful in using this tactic against the Ju-87 dive bomber, allowing him to total 18 shootdowns of the type (putting him at a tie with Arseny Vorozheykin for the most shootdowns of the type). However, because the maneuver was so risky, it was not promoted or taught to young pilots. He was never shot down in the war, although he did experience several close calls; nevertheless, he always managed to land his airplane, despite damage sustained.

Post-War and Korea

Upon returning to the USSR Kozhedub attended the Air Force Academy based in Monino, which he graduated from in May 1949 and was originally supposed to be posted as deputy commander of the 31st Fighter Aviation Division based in Baku, but due to his high status as a top flying ace he was instead reassigned to the 324th Fighter Aviation Division per orders from above. There, he initially served as assistant commander for flight training, but was soon promoted to command the division in November 1950. Soon thereafter in the unit was sent to China, where initially they trained Chinese and 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 many of his commanding officers. In addition, his division consisted of only two regiments (the 176th Guards and 196th Fighter Aviation Regiments) instead of the usual three. Nevertheless, the 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.

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 aircraft as well as Mi-4 and Mi-8 helicopters. From 1971 to 1978 he served as the deputy chief of combat training of the air force, and subsequently he became a military advisor in Ministry of Defense; in 1985 he was promoted to the rank of Marshal of Aviation. In addition to 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.

Announcements & Information

Megathreads and spaces to hang out:
❤️ Come listen to music with your fellow Hexbears in Cy.tube
💖 Come talk in the New weekly queer thread
🧡 Monthly Neurodiverse Megathread
💛 Read about a current topic in the news
⭐️ June Movie Thread ⭐️

Reminders:
💚 You can join specific comms to see posts about all sorts of topics
💙 Hexbear’s algorithm prioritizes comments and discussions over upbears
💜 Sorting by new makes your comrades happy
🌈 If you ever want to make your own megathread, you can go here

‏‏‎ ‎
Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):