Grave of the Soviet World War II Ace of Aces Ivan Kozhedub at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, Russia
Marshal of Aviation Ivan Mykytovych Kozhedub (June 8, 1920 - August 12, 1991) was a Soviet Ukrainian military aviator and a World War II fighter ace. Arguably Kozhedub, as he revealed in his memoirs, took a part in the Korean War as fighter pilot, whilst being a commander of Soviet aviation Corps. in Korea. He is credited with 64 +2 (P-51) individual air victories, most of them flying the Lavochkin La-5. He is one of the few Soviet pilots to shoot down a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet. He was made a Hero of the Soviet Union on three occasions (4 February 1944; 19 August 1944; 18 August 1945). Kozhedub holds the record for the highest number of confirmed air combat victories of any Soviet or Allied pilot (effectively the Allied "Ace of Aces") during World War II (called the 'Great Patriotic War' in the Soviet Union). He is regarded as the best Soviet flying ace of the war, and is associated with flying the Lavochkin La-7. He was also reputed to have a natural gift for 'deflection shooting', the rare ability to hit targets from very oblique angles. Kozhedub's World War II record consists of : - 330 combat missions - 120 aerial engagements - 62 enemy aircraft shot down, including one Me 262 jet fighter.
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Novodevichy Cemetery, 2 Luzhnetski Proezd, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia, Eastern Europe, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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