The Greatest Fighter Pilot in WW II???

[lesofprimus]

Nice info dude...

[toffi]

Marseille was able to shot down these Tomahawks with his machine guns only, because they have set up a "defensive-ring". RAF pilots thought that their opponents won't attack (if you get behind someone's tail, the next guy in the ring will be behing your tail as well). But Marseille was smarter than British expected. He attacked only from below and shoot straight into the bellys of circling Tomahawks till his ammo ended.

[kiwimac]

Hartmann shot down a Russian Plane and on returning to base found 1 Cannon-shell gone. Hell of a pilot, hell of an ace. He shot down Spits and Mustangs as well as the Russian-built machines and all from a Me 109 G.

Kiwimac

[lesofprimus]

I found this inteview with Kozehdub... Here are some parts of it that make interesting readin... Kinda long, but worth the read...

AH: Your first week of combat was over the Kharkov sector, during the last great Soviet defeat prior to the decisive battle of Kursk. Allegedly, you yourself were badly shot-up during your first combat by German fighters. What was the state of morale among you and your comrades at this time?

Kozhedub: In my first combat, I did not get a single scratch, but my plane was badly damaged. My commander said, with good reason, "Make haste only when catching fleas." I did not heed his advice. It seemed to me I could down at least two or three enemy planes at one go. Carried away by the attack, I did not notice an umbrella of Messerschmitt Bf-110s approaching me from behind. Of course, that was a bitter experience and a serious lesson for me.

Despite general failures, our morale was quite high. Many, like myself, had their families in Nazi-occupied territory. We were all thirsting for revenge.

AH: What was your impression of the skill and courage of your Luftwaffe opponents at this time--and later? Did you perceive any changes in their skill and élan between 1943 and 1945?

Kozhedub: The sinister colors of the German Messerschmitt Bf-109s and Focke-Wulf Fw-190s with the drawings of cats, aces, arrows and skulls on their sides, were designed to scare Soviet pilots witless. But I didnt pay much attention to them, trying to guess as soon as possible the plans and methods of my enemy, and find weak spots in his tactics. However, I always respected the courage of the German aces. It would have been stupid to underrate the enemy, especially at the start of the war.

After August 1943, the supremacy in the air finally went over to the Soviet pilots and, by the end of the war, we were locking horns with hastily trained youths more and more often. The onetime conceit of invincibility claimed by Göring's aces had gone up in smoke.

AH: How did Soviet and German aircraft compare throughout the war? What type of enemy aircraft did you have a particular respect for?

Kozhedub: In combat potential, the Yak-3, La-7 and La-9 fighters were indisputably superior to the Bf-109s and Fw-190s. But, as they say, no matter how good the violin may be, much depends on the violinist. I always felt respect for an enemy pilot whose plane I failed to down.

AH: Describe a typical "day's work" for a Soviet fighter pilot. How many sorties did you normally fly per day?

Kozhedub: The phrase "day's work" does not fit in here, for we had to fly all day long. I myself was surprised at the potential endurance of the human body in an emergency. Three to four sorties a day during an offensive was quite routine. True, one sortie would be very different from the next.

AH: Your first success was over Kursk on July 6, 1943. What were the circumstances of that victory'?

Kozhedub: We were ordered to attack a group of Junkers Ju-87 dive bombers. I chose a "victim" and came in quite close to it. The main thing was to fire in time. Everything happened in a twinkling. It was only on the ground, among my friends, that I recalled the details of this battle. Caution is all-important and you have to turn your head 360 degrees all the time. The victory belonged to those who knew their planes and weapons inside out and had the initiative. On July 7, I downed a second plane and, on July 8, I destroyed another two Bf-109 fighters.

AH: The Battle of Kursk involved thousands of aircraft in a mammoth struggle for tactical control over the battlefield. What role did you and your comrades play toward the Soviet victory?

Kozhedub: In actual fact, I had my true baptism of fire near Kursk. We escorted bombers, fought enemy fighters and neutralized air defense batteries. The battle for Kursk was a landmark in the development of the forms and methods for operational and tactical use of Soviet aviation in the war years. In its first defensive stage, our airmen flew 70,219 sorties. Tactical aviation accounted for 76 percent of the total, long-range aviation for 18 percent, and air defense fighters for six percent. During that period, they destroyed 1,500 enemy planes. Our losses were 1,000 aircraft. During the counteroffensive, our flyers made 90,000 sorties, about 50 percent of which were designed to support attacking troops, and 31 percent to achieve supremacy in the air. The enemy lost up to 2,200 planes in that time.

AH: On May 2, 1944, you received an La-5FN specially dedicated "In the name of Hero of the Soviet Union Lt.Col. N. Koniyev." You allegedly scored eight victories in seven days flying this aircraft. How much of an improvement over the La-5 was that La-5FN?

Kozhedub: It was, practically speaking, a simplified version of the La-5 developed in the same year, 1942. It had a boosted engine with direct fuel injection But it was important to me for different reasons. Vasily Koniyev, a beekeeper from the Bolshevik collective farm (Budarin district, Stalingrad region), bought it with his own money and asked that it be named after the nephew of the famous Marshal Vasily Konev, killed at the beginning of the war. Indeed, this plane was a lucky one for me. Out of the eight Nazi aircraft I destroyed while flying it, five were the much-vaunted Fw-190s.

AH: How did the La-7 compare with its La-5-series predecessors?

Kozhedub: The La-7 had top-notch flying characteristics. It was a very obedient plane, which attained a high speed by the standards of those days. I must say that the La-7, the La-9 and Yak-3 were perfect planes. Their characteristics virtually reached the ceiling for piston-engine planes.

AH: For a wooden airplane, La-7 No. 27 must have been a sturdy and reliable airplane to serve you faithfully over 10 months of combat. What was the key to the robustness of these aircraft?

Kozhedub: The Lavochkins were simple, reliable aircraft. I met with their designer, Semyon Lavochkin, and visited plants where they were built. He always listened attentively to all remarks. The margin of safety was so great that, while pursuing the enemy, I exceeded the estimated loads without thinking twice. I was certain that the plane wouldn't let me down. I reached speeds of 700 kilometers per hour (434 mph) and even more on it. The La-7 was an upgraded version of the quite good La-5FN, which had the M-82FN engine. Lavochkin modified the design of the airfoil, changed the locations of the aircooling intakes, and upgraded the design of the central part of the wings.

AH: What were the circumstances of your success over the Me-262?

Kozhedub: On February 19, 1945, 1 was on a lone-wolf operation together with Dmitry Titorenko to the north of Frankfurt. I noticed a plane at an altitude of 350 meters (2,170 feet). It was flying along the Oder at a speed that was marginal for my plane. I made a quick about-face and started pursuing it at full throttle, coming down so as to approach it from under the "belly." My wingman opened fire, and the Me-262 (which was a jet, as I had already realized) began turning left, over to my side, losing speed in the process. That was the end of it. I would never have overtaken it if it had flown in a straight line. The main thing was to attack enemy planes during turns, ascents or descents, and not to lose precious seconds.

AH: What of your last combat, with Lieutenant Titorenko on April 19, 1945?

Kozhedub: On the evening of April 17, we went on a lone-wolf operation over the suburbs of Berlin. All of a sudden we saw a group of 40 Fw-190s with bomb loads, flying at an altitude of 3,500 meters in our direction. We climbed to the left and flew behind them under the cover of clouds. The odds were obviously not in our favor, but we still decided to attack since the enemy aircraft were heading for our troops. At maximum speed, we approached the tail of the formation, out of the sun. I opened fire almost point-blank at the wingman of the last pair of aircraft. The first Fw-190 fell into the suburbs of the city. Several planes turned to the west, while others continued their flight.

We decided to drive a wedge into the combat formation and break it up. Making a steep dive, we swept past enemy planes. As often happened in such cases, the Nazis thought that there were a lot of us. Confused, they started jettisoning bombs. Then they formed a defensive circle--each fighter covering the tail of the one in front of him--and began to attack us. Titorenko skillfully downed the plane that followed me. At that point, we saw our fighters and we turned for home. But suddenly, we saw yet another Fw-190 with a bomb. Apparently, the pilot had received a warning, for he made a quick dive and jettisoned his bomb over the suburbs of Berlin. But I still reached him on the recovery from his dive. The plane literally burst in the air. We made a good landing but our fuel tanks were completely empty. After that battle, I brought my personal score of downed Nazi planes to a total of 62.

AH: In retrospect, which did you consider the better Soviet fighter design--the La-5 series or the Yak9 series?

Kozhedub: I always preferred the La-5s and always considered them the best ones. When I was a bit younger, I often went to Monino, about 25 miles northeast of Moscow, where my La-7 is on display at the National Air Museum. I would sit in its cabin, and life would seem more cheerful. For me, it is the time machine that takes me back to my youth, to the formidable '40s.

AH: What do you consider to have been the best fighter airplane--regardless of nationality--of World War II?

Kozhedub: The La-7. I hope you understand why.

[lesofprimus]

Date Type
6 July 1943 1 Ju 87
7 July 1943 1 Ju 87
9 July 1943 2 Bf 109 (in 2 sorties)
9 Aug 1943 1 Bf 109
14 Aug 1943 2 Bf 109
16 Aug 1943 1 Ju 87
22 Aug 1943 1 Fw 190
9 Sept 1943 1 Bf 109
30 Sept 1943 1 Ju 87
1 Oct 1943 2 Ju 87
2 Oct 1943 3 Ju 87
4 Oct 1943 1 Bf 109
5 Oct 1943 2 Bf 109 (in 2 sorties)
6 Oct 1943 1 Bf 109
10 Oct 1943 1 Bf 109
12 Oct 1943 2 Ju 87, 1 Bf 109
29 Oct 1943 1 He 111, 1 Ju 87
16 Jan 1944 1 Bf 109
30 Jan 1944 1 Ju 87, 1 Bf 109
14 March 1944 1 Ju 87
21 March 1944 1 Ju 87
11 April 1944 1 Bf 109
19 April 1944 1 He 111
28 April 1944 1 Ju 87
29 April 1944 2 Hs 129
3 May 1944 1 Ju 87
31 May 1944 1 Fw 190
1 June 1944 1 Ju 87
2 June 1944 1 Hs 129
3 June 1944 3 Fw 190 (in 2 sorties)
7 June 1944 1 Bf 109
22 Sept 1944 2 Fw 190
25 Sept 1944 1 Fw 190
16 Jan 1945 1 Fw 190
10 Feb 1945 1 Fw 190
12 Feb 1945 3 Fw 190
19 Feb 1945 1 Me 262
11 March 1945 1 Fw 190
18 March 1945 2 Fw 190
22 March 1945 2 Fw 190
23 March 1945 1 Fw 190
17 April 1945 2 Fw 190

Apart from these 62 victories, Ivan Kozhedub also was forced to shoot down two U.S. P-51 Mustangs that mistakenly attacked his La-7 on one occasion. Both these P-51 losses have been verified by USAAF sources.

[lesofprimus]

This is Kozhedubs La-5 FN, the one talked about in the interview...


A pic of him with said aircraft...

[lesofprimus]

Here is Kozhedubs La-7, which he flew from April 1945 till the end of hostilities...

And another here that i added to library...

[lesofprimus]

Here's some interesting dialogue about Hartmann...

III./JG 52's commander, Major Hubertus von Bonin, placed Hartmann under Oberfeldwebel Grislawski's wings. The miner's son Alfred Grislawski found a particular pleasure in teaching this newcomer the name of the game. He made a few mock combats with Hartmann. This relieved Hartmann of some of his ambitious ideas, but Grislawski had to admit that although Hartmann had much to learn regarding combat tactics, he actually was a quite talented pilot.
The trouble started when they started flying combat missions together. Grislawski immediately noted that the newcomer was one of those who thought they were going to "shoot together a Knight's Cross" in no time. Hartmann barely had started to leave his place behind Grislawski's aircraft to direct his Bf 109 against an I-16, when his earphones seemed to explode: "You bloody idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing? I'm your leader! Get back in place or I'll shoot you down!" Grislawski kept cursing over the R/T all the way back to base, and when they had landed, the Oberfeldwebel gave the Leutnant a dressing down that he would never forget. Then, in front of the sweating Hartmann, Grislawski turned to his friend "Paule" Rossmann and said: "Oh man, this is too much! What a baby they have sent us! Just look at his face - like a cute little boy!" From then on, Grislawski never addressed Hartmann as anything but Bubi, "little boy".
Hartmann proved to be extremely individualistic, and von Bonin definitely knew what he was doing when he assigned a vigorous and harsh worker's son like Alfred Grislawski as his teacher. The men at Soldatskaya used to gather around the radio equipment and listen to the R/T communication with amusement when Grislawski and Hartmann were out on combat missions.
"Are you so anxious to die, Bubi?"
"I'm sorry, sir!"
"Don't you 'sir' me, look after your tail instead!"
"I'll nail you for this, Bubi!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Your mother will be sorry!"

From the book "Graf & Grislawski: A Pair of Aces" by Christer Bergström

Alittle more info...

In August '43 the Russians were attacking in the area and Dieter Hrabak gave the orders to support Hans Rudel and his Stukas in a counter attack. Then things changed. The Russians began bombing German ground positions in support of their offensive and Hartmann and his flight of 8 fighters was sent to attack them. About 40 Yaks and Laggs were supporting another 40 or so Sturmoviks that were busy striking ground targets. Hartmann shot down 2 before his plane was hit by "something" and he was forced to make an emergency landing. As Soviet ground troops approached the plane, Hartmann faked that he was injured. The Soviet soldiers took him to their HQ and his acting won over the doctor there as well. They put him on a stretcher and packed him into the back of a captured German truck. Waiting for the opportune moment Hartmann jumped the single gaurd just as Stukas began an attack. He jumped out the back and ran like hell. He found a large field of giant sunflowers and tried to lose the pursuing soldiers who were all the while firing wildly in his direction. He made it to a small village occupied by Russians and decided to to go back where he had been and wait for nightfall.

Hartman's 109...

[lesofprimus]

As a side note....

Hartmann scored his 352 kills in 1456 missions...
Barkhorn scored his 301 kills in 1104 missions...
Rall scored his 275 kills in 621 missions...
Kittle scored his 267 kills in 563 missions...
Nowotney scored 250 kills in 442 missions...

Erich Rudorffer had 13 kills in 17 minutes....
Hans-Joachim Marseille had 17 kills in 1 day...
Kurt Welter, Highest Scoring JET Ace w/ 26 Kills (+4 prob kills)
Total of 63 Kills (in 93 missions, 56 of them night sorties)


And of course, something special for Lancaster Kicks Ass...
Heinz -Wolfgang Schnaufer, 121 kills, top German Night Fighter, claimed 9 Lancasters on 21 Feb 1945

[lesofprimus]

Some more info on Rudorffer...

On August 24, 1943 he shot down 5 Russian aircraft on the first mission of the day and followed that up with three more victories on the second mission. He scored seven victories in seven minutes on October 11, but his finest achievement occurred on November 6 when in the course of 17 minutes, thirteen Russian aircraft fell to his guns! Only Emil 'Bully' Lang, another Grunherzflieger, and Hans-Joachim Marseille rival Rudorffer's mastery at multiple scoring.

Rudorffer became known to Russian pilots as the 'fighter of Libau'. Returning from a sortie on October 28, 1944 and about to land, he spotted a huge formation of Il-2 'Sturmoviks'. He quickly aborted the landing and moved to engage the armada. In less than ten minutes, nine of the heavily armored Russian planes were shot down causing the rest to flee in panic. In anti-climatic fashion, he shot down a further two Russians in an afternoon sortie...

In all, Erich Rudorffer scored a total of 222 victories, placing him 7th on the all time list. This score did not come without a cost: Rudorffer flew over 1,000 missions, never took leave, was shot down 16 times, and 'hit the silk' 9 times! Of note are the 58 Il-2 Sturmoviks included in his 136 Eastern Front victories (all while flying the Fw 190) and the 10 4-engine bombers shot down in Defense of the Reich missions.

[the lancaster kicks ass]

that's a very impressive list and interview, he made downing that 262 so easy...............

[lesofprimus]

Hey Lanc, did u miss my Lancaster comment up above there???

And of course, something special for Lancaster Kicks Ass...
Heinz -Wolfgang Schnaufer, 121 kills, top German Night Fighter, claimed 9 Lancasters on 21 Feb 1945...

Thought u might enjoy that... (wink)

[Lightning Guy]

Schnaufer was something special no doubt. Flying at night was the most difficult of all environments during WWII and he scored more kills than any Allied day pilot and all but the most elite Axis pilots.

[lesofprimus]

There were some extremely extroidinary indiviuals during WWII...

And I love learning about them...

[the lancaster kicks ass]

to be honest (while i have a huge respect for the men that flew them) i profer to learn about the planes.................