The Smuglyanka home for Soviet aviation pictures

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

So I figured I have upwards of 600 photos gathered from all over the internet, some rare and some common, and it would be a shame not to share them in one place.

 

Obviously none of these were taken by me, so the credit goes to the photographers, and to the heroes who flew these machines in the face of combat.

 

Whenever possible I will add information about the pictures, but sometimes the image speaks for itself and we will be left guessing what unit and pilot were involved.

 

Here are the first 10:

 

 

Identification guide for the Su-2 bomber, showing it from different angles. The type was initially secret in the opening days of the Axis invasion which prompted friendly fire incidents, the most well-known being a Su-2 which was Pokryshkin's first downed aircraft.

 

 

A SB bomber being maintained, about to be loaded with FAB-100 bombs. Year and unit unknown.

 

The P-39 (likely P-39N) "Krasnoyarskiy Komsomolets" (Krasnoyarsk Komsomol) being delivered to the pilots of the 21st Guards Fighter Aviation Group (GIAP), May 1943.

 

 

Perhaps the most famous pilot of the early war years in Soviet aviation, Navy pilot Boris F. Safonov from 72 Mixed Aviation Regiment (SAP), Northern Fleet, stands in front of his I-16, with the inscription "Za Stalina!" (For Stalin!)

 

 

"Who said you must drop music during the war?" Pilots during a break in operations, Germany, 1st May 1945.

 

 

Friendship: Soviet and American airmen and ground crew socialise in front of a Pe-2 in Poltava Airfield, June 1944.

 

 

A LaGG-3 comes in for landing. While there is little information on this picture, the mountains in the background suggest it was taken in the Caucasus.

 

 

A favourite of mine: what initially looks like a wrecked P-39 is actually a Soviet Airacobra undergoing a routine overall maintenance, with its rear-mounted engine removed.

 

 

Pilots from 102nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (102 GIAP) pose happily in front of a P-39 Airacobra, tactical no. 33., 1943. Left to right, the pilots are Jr. Lt. Zhileostov, Jr. Lt. Anatoliy Grigorevich Ivanov (killed), Jr. Lt. Boldyrev, Sr. Lt . Nikolay Petrovich Aleksandrov (killed), Dmitriy Andrianovich Shpigun (killed), N. A. Kritsin, Vladimir Gorbachev. Deputy squadron commander, already Guards Sr. Lt. Ivanov, was killed near Lautaranta on a training flight 17/08/1944, and buried in a mass grave in Zelenogorsk, Leningrad oblast. Guards Sr. Lt. Shpigun went missing 12/02/1944 on the Sverdlovsk-Kazan ferry route, in a weather forecast mistake that killed 16 pilots.

 

 

Soviet ace Vladimir Dmitrevich Lavrinenkov, deputy squadron commander at the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Group (9 GIAP, 268 IAD, Southern Front, also home to Amet-Khan, Shestakov and other aces), some time in 1943. In August, Lavrinenkov was captured after ramming a Fw-189 near Rostov to prevent it from delivering intel, and the Germans sent him to Berlin for interrogation. Halfway there however, Lavrinenkov and a fellow pilot jumped out of the train going at full speed in the middle of the night, fought with the Partisans during August, September and part of October, finally rejoined his regiment then. Upon his return he was promoted to Guards Captain, and shortly after that scored his 28th victory, a Ju-88 over the Dnieper. 9 GIAP took part in a curious incident with the French Normandie-Niemen squadron where 9 GIAP pilots argued the La-7 was a better aircraft, while NN pilots swore the Yak-3 was better. They squared off on a series of mock 2 x 2 duels armed with guncams. All fights were draws!

 

More coming tomorrow

Edited March 2, 2016 by Lucas_From_Hell

[[APAF]VR_Spartan85]

S~! Lucas,  

 

These photos are awesome!  The P-39 under maintenance was a shocker for me to see, then it all made sense  You really get to see that at the time the pilots were just kids ,the 102nd.  

 

The argument at the end between the two planes and ending result is just fantastic.  

 

It would seem that may be the only way to solve disputes in the forums these days, make a tournament between pilots to take it out in the sky other than flooding pages with useless bickering.

 

Thanks for this distraction away from DD123. Can't wait to see more!

 

Happy landings!

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Thanks a bunch for the feedback! The P-39 was a shocker to me as well, once I saw it my first reaction was to ask what the hell happened to it, and then the caption cleared it up.

 

The 102 GIAP picture does show the men behind the uniform and their ages. One pilot who I believe is the perfect example of this is Ivan Kleschev. He fought against Japan in the border conflicts of 1938 and 1939, commanded a squadron in 521 IAP in 1941 and was appointed as regiment commander for the elite 434 IAP in early 1942, at the rank of Major, having already been awarded a Gold Star for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By the autumn of 1942 he had shot down 16 enemy aircraft himself, and had 24 shared victories. With this impressive career behind him, the man was barely 22 years old! Unfortunately he died in an accident right on the 31st December 1942, when he was to take his Yak-9 to spend New Year's Eve with none other than movie star Zoya Fyodorova whom he had met in September when he was invited to the Kremlin to receive a new Gold Star after his original was ripped off while bailing out of a burning Yak-7 over Stalingrad.

 

One interesting bit about the La-7 vs. Yak-3 duel is that nearly every pilot who flew either type will say that the one they flew was the best aircraft of the war. Considering that two units with equally highly skilled pilots could not get an edge over the other while flying them, it seems they were after all an even match.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Lucas_From_Hell

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Here go another 10:

 

 

17th June 1943, deputy commander of the Normandie squadron Captain Albert Littolf (7 victories plus 8 shared) aboard his Yak-1. He was killed shortly after that, on the 16th July 1943. His career is covered here, in French (use Google Translate if needed).

 

 

On the road to Victory, this Yak-3 belongs to the Normandie-Nieman group as well. The pilot of n.5 is Roger Sauvage. 1945, Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

 

 

A rarity: in the foreground pilots of the 260th Mixed Aviation Division (260 SAD, 7th Air Army, Karelian Front) watch as one of them describes how they bounced someone from below. In the background, the shiny aircraft is one of the three MiG-9s (I-210) pressed into service. This design was essentially a MiG-3 fitted with a Shvetsov M-82 engine and it first flew on the 23rd July 1941. Numerous changes to the airframe were made to accommodate the new engine, but results were disappointing, as the MiG-9 ended up slower than contemporary Yak-1 and LaGG-3 variants.

 

 

A formation of Pe-2 bombers in flight. The blister turret and number of engine exhausts indicate these are likely to be aircraft from the Pe-2s later series, already equipped with the Klimov M-105PF engines.

 

This colourful UTI-4 (trainer variant of the I-16 fighter) photographed in the summer of 1942 belongs to the 2nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Northern Fleet Air Force (2 GIAP, formerly 72 SAP until January 1942). The unit distinguished itself under the leadership of Boris Safonov, who died on the 30th May 1942 after his P-40 ditched in the Barents sea.

 

 

Navy aircrew planning a flight in front of a Tu-2 bomber. The type was introduced in 1942, but only entered proper mass production and service in 1944.

 

 

Normandie pilots and their faithful ground crew surrounding a Yak-1, 1943. This photo shows the common Soviet method of aircraft dispersion whenever the vegetation allowed; you can see the nose of another Yak popping out of the foliage on the background.

 

 

Major A. F. Matisov (right) chatting with pilots of the Free French Normandie squadron.

 

 

Captain Anatoliy A. Morozov, Hero of the Soviet Union (awarded 27th March 1942), 4th Fighter Aviation Regiment (4 IAP), 1943. Born in 1916 in modern-day Bryansk, Morozov took part in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. On the 7th July 1941 over Moldova he rammed an enemy bomber, parachuted then proceeded to capture its crew by himself. Morozov commanded the regiment until 1944, when he was transferred to the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (9 GIAP) as its commander. Then already Guards Lieutenant Colonel Morozov, with 11 personal victories, 6 shared and 8 aircraft destroyed on the ground, was killed on the 18th June 1944 in a freak accident while 9 GIAP was on the rear: a captured TNT block exploded prematurely while he was using it to fish. Earlier that year, in a letter to his son, Morozov wrote: "Obviously I like anyone else want to live (...) but death? I don't fear it, because for people like us, death means immortality."

 

Here is a detailed profile on him (in Russian).

 

 

Good-looking people dressed to impress: Hero of the Soviet Union airmen who took part in the first Victory Parade in Moscow, 10th June 1945. The requirements to take part in the parade were strict. In addition to heroic achievements, you must have the look of a warrior and be at least 1.70m tall to ensure the visual aspects were all in check. The General Staff specified regiments to have 1059 people marching, plus 10 readily available replacements. However, as it were, the number increased to 1465 despite the replacements still numbering 10. Unfortunately I do not have a list of pilots in the photo, even if some faces look familiar.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Lucas_From_Hell

[6./ZG26_5tuka]

Not quite on topic, but the Su-2 is a very nice looking aircraft and would actually be interesting for reconissence and light bomber missions.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Stab/JG26_5tuka

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

It would be a great addition, I believe whenever we get some early 1941 aircraft/maps the Su-2 will come along together with the I-153 and whanot.

[Falco_Peregrinus]

Thanks for sharing Lucas, fantastic pictures and histories.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Ioshic

[Wulf]

The Normandie- Nieman guys look pretty swish with their smart looking riding-boots and jodpurs.  If I ever get my Caterham 7 that 'look' would work nicely I think  

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Those NN uniforms do look as sharp as it gets, and their Yaks also fit the bill.

 

Not posting any today because FNBF drained my last energies, but expect 10-20 tomorrow as usual.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Another 10:

 

 

A P-39L-1 belonging to the famous 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Kuban, Spring of 1943.

 

 

A Yak-1B fighter in flight, location, date, pilot and unit unknown.

 

 

A. Pronin and D Zimin, 124 Fighter Aviation Regiment, later 102 Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Spring of 1943.

 

Description from the family albums of A. Pronin: "Last picture taken with my best friend. Dima was shot down in combat, when attempting a forced landing in a forest the aircraft's stick received a mortal blow."

 

 

An I-16 about to go on a mission, near Odessa, 1941. Note the twin ShVAK 20mm cannons on the wings.

 

 

Pilots from the 69 Fighter Aviation Group (69 IAP, later 9 GIAP).

 

Sitting, left to right: Lt. Gregory Sechin Mitrofanovich (KIA 15/06/1944, 10 victories), Hero of the Soviet Union flight leader Lt. Aleksey Tikhonovich Cherevatenko (286 combat flights, 87 of these ground attack, 7 personal plus 9 group victories), Hero of the Soviet Union flight leader Sr. Lt. Ivan Georgievich Korolev (408 combat flights, 200 of these ground attack, 7 personal and 6 group victories), Hero of the Soviet Union flight leader Lt. Vladimir Aleksandrovich Serogodskiy (killed in an accident 24/12/1942, 10 personal victories), Lt. Viktor Vasilyevich Shelemin (never returned from a mission on the 27/08/1942).

 

Standing, left to right_ Sr. Sgt. Nikolai Trofimovich Kovalskiy (never returned from a mission on the 26/06/1942), Lt.  Aleksey Vasilyevich Alelyukhin (twice Hero of the Soviet Union, 601 combat flights, shot down no less than 40 enemy aircraft plus 17 in a group), Jr. Lt. Ivan Prokofevich Bogachek (never returned from a mission 30/08/1942), Sr. Lt. Vasiliy Efimovich Bondarenko (Hero of the Soviet Union, 400 combat flights, 29 personal plus 6 shared victories), Sr. Sgt. Pavel Nikolayevich Chadovich (crashed while returning in a damaged aircraft from combat, 12/07/1942), Sr. Sgt. Dmitriy Ivanovich Kozakov (never returned on the 26/06/1942).

 

 

Written on the back of the photograph: "In memory of the joint efforts of the 6th Guards Fighter Twice-Red Banner Aviation Regiment of the Air Forces of the Black Sea Fleet in the years of the Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945. From the deputy command of 6 GDK-SIAP Guards Major Pyatnitskiy, 20/07/1946."

 

 

Aces at work: this photo shows the collaboration of two decorated regiments of the 216th Fighter Aviation Division. Grigoriy Rechkalov (16 GIAP) and Dmitriy Borisovich Glinka (45 IAP, later 100 GIAP) together with their wingmen plan a combat mission on the wing of a late-series Yak-1, 1942. D. B. Glinka at this point had 6 victories in the Yak-1, and on the 13th July he filled in for his 7th - a He-111H-6, flown by III./KG 4 commander Capt. Hermann Kühl.

 

 

A Yak-9 fighter. Details unknown.

 

Airfield staff prepares to help free a Tupolev TB-1 (ANT-4) bomber that is stuck in the hard ice and deep snow.

 

 

Deputy squadron commander at 16 GIAP  (216 IAD, 4 VA, North-Caucasus Front), Guards Sr. Lt. Nikolai Mikhailovich Iskrin. Started fighting the enemy on the 22nd June 1941, flying at 131 IAP. Transferred to 16 GIAP on February 1942. Flew 218 missions on the North-Caucasus front, 49 of these ground attack, 31 of these reconnaissance, 56 of these escort missions and 82 covering ground troops from the air. Engaged in 58 aerial combats. Destroyed 22 cars loaded with troops, 3 enemy tanks, 2 artillery pieces with crew, 1 radio station, 3 freight and 1 passenger wagons (near Kurchanskiy), killed approx. 140 enemy soldiers and officers.

 

In the year, Iskrin personally shot down 10 enemy aircraft and one shared. These included 7 Me-109s, 2 Ju-88s, 1 Do-215, and 1 shared Ju-88.

Edited March 5, 2016 by Lucas_From_Hell

[C-Bag]

Thanks so much for these photos Lucas, they are incredible.

 

On the gutted P-39, there is a company here called TM Technology that teaches the lost art of acetylene welding aluminum and how to form it like they used to. They have extensive videos of how to do the different procedures. Along with some old training films and one orientation film for working at the Bell plant. In the orientation film they go through the various parts of the process for making the P-39 like stamping parts and frames and welding things like the wing tips. All before tig-welding. At one point there is a couple of short looks at the assembly line where they are plumbing engines and doing the wiring. Looks mighty messy compared to the usual forward mounting of most piston AC.

[216th_Peterla]

Nice ones Lucas.

Keep them coming!

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Thanks, Peterla and C-Bag!

 

I'll try to get back on track this week, there are a lot of cool things you guys need to see

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Back by popular demand.

 

 

 

A crew prepares an A-20 bomber to make the ALSIB route. Nome, Alaska, USA.

 

 

 

Aces of the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (9 GIAP), formerly 69th Fighter Aviation Regiment (69 IAP) in front of a P-39. The unit was equipped with Airacobras between July 1943 and May 1944, when it received some of the first operational La-7s. Left to right: A. Karasev, V. Lavrinenkov, I. Korolev, A. Kovachevich, A. Morozov, A. Alelyukhin, S. Amet-Khan, I. Borisov, P. Golovachev.

 

 

 

Pilot Boris Yeremin on a Yak-1B. The inscription on the fuselage reads: "To the pilot of the Stalingrad Front Guards' Major Yeremin, from the farmer of collective farm "Stakhnovets", comrade Golovatiy." Yeremin (1913-2005) made 342 combat flights, attacked over 100 enemy ground positions, engaged in 70 aerial combats, shot down 23 enemy aircraft (8 individual, 15 shared). Yeremin was shot down twice, and wounded twice. He was awarded multiple awards, including an impressive 6 Orders of the Red Banner, and was recommended twice to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (in 1944 and 1945), but only received the award on 1990.

 

 

 

Building of a shelter for a Hawker Hurricane of 151 Wing, Vaenga, Autumn 1941.

 

 

 

This still from a video shows pilots of the 120th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Moscow Air Defence (120 IAP-PVO) taking the oath to become the 12th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (12 GIAP-PVO), 7th March 1942. 120 IAP distinguished itself during the Battle of Moscow, performing intercept and ground-attack missions in defense of the capital.

 

[216th_Peterla]

Excellent pics again Lucas.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

 

Il-2Ms of the 90th Guards Attack Aviation Regiment (90 GShAP). Aircraft number 13 and 21 are clearly recognisable here; these were constructed at Zavod N. 1.

 

 

Before the LaGG-3s and cats: Hero of the Soviet Union, Captain Gal'chenko stands in front of his I-16, autumn 1941.

 

An exposition of weaponry near Leningrad organised after the war. This Hurricane bears the usual painting. The aircraft's rudder and spinner are painted white, as elements of quick identification. Behind the cockpit is either the Guards badge or an Order of the Red Banner. A Yak-3 is seen in the foreground.

 

 

Disaster in 1941: a Ju-52/3M lands on a Soviet airfield amidst abandoned I-16s and I-153s.

 

 

Pilots, staff and airport crew of the 30th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (30 GIAP) pose for a photo in front of the colourful P-39Q belonging to Guards Captain Aleksandr Pavlovich Filatov. Poland, 1944. Filatov shot down 20 aircraft in less than a year, between May 1943 and April 1944.

 

 

Aces of the 32nd Guards Fighter Aviation Group (32 GIAP), formerly 434 IAP, Heroes of the Soviet Union S. F. Dolgushin, I. M. Kholodov, A. Ya. Baklan, A. F. Moshin.

 

This fighter regiment rose to glory over the skies of Stalingrad flying the Yakovlev Yak-7 fighter under the leadership of Guards Major Ivan Kleschev, already a Hero of the Soviet Union and famous ace at the age of 22. It was also in this regiment that Stepan Mikoyan, who tested Il-2: Battle of Stalingrad for 777/1C:GS, started his combat career together with his brother, who was killed in action over Stalingrad.

 

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

 

More aces from 434 IAP, later 32 GIAP:

 

Lieutenant Kornachenok completed 349 combat flights, shot down 12 enemy aircraft personally and 11 in a group. Captain I. I. Izbinskiy made 267 combat flights, personally shot down 8 Fascist aircraft and 4 in a group. In the picture, from left to right: Captain I. Izbinskiy and Lieutenant N. Kornachenok. Photo by N. Alekseev.

 

 

 

Guards Captain E. T. Tsyganov, deputy squadron commander at the 4th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet (4 GIAP-KBF) in front of his La-5 with the inscription "From the farmers of the Gorkiy region". On the other side, the aircraft had the inscription "Valeriy Chkalov Squadron".

 

 

 

An early-series LaGG-3 belonging to 44 IAP, near Leningrad, late 1941. Like other aircraft in the regiment, it bore big tactical numbers and had no red start on the fuselage.

 

 

 

 

Tu-2 torpedo bombers of the 52th Mine and Torpedo Aviation Regiment, Pacific Fleet (52 MTAP-TOF), late 1945.

 

 

Scramble at a grass airfield, summer of 1944.

 

 

 

Airacobras of 213 GIAP being repainted for the spring of 1945.

 

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

 

 

"For the great Stalin!" - Liberation of Crimea. The Navy crew of a Pe-2 dive bomber of the 40th Bomber Aviation Regiment, Black Sea Fleet (40 BAP-ChF), after returning from a mission, Crimea, May 1944. Left to right: crew commander Nikolai Ivanovich Goryachkin, navigator Yuri Vasilyevich Tsyplenkov, gunner-radio operator Sergey, nickname "Knopka" ('Button').

 

 

 

Vasily Ivanovich Chizh in front of the P-39 belonging to Fedor Ivanovich Shikunov, 69th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.

 

 

 

Squadron commander in 69 GIAP Fedor Ivanovich Shikunov on the wing of his P-39. An accomplished ace and very brave pilot, Shikunov was killed on the 15th March 1945 by anti-aircraft fire while leading a blockade of a German airfield. For his actions, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

 

 

 

Another photo of Shikunov and his Airacobra "21".

 

 

 

Captioned: "Happy baptism of fire!"  Captain Ivan Batychko (left) and Captain Dmitry Nikolaenkov.

 

Behind them is a Yak-1b belonging to their unit, the famous 812th Fighter Aviation Regiment (812 IAP), identifiable by the emblem of the dragon's wing with the star. The regiment distinguished itself during the liberation of Crimea and Sevastopol in 1944, flying their Yak-1b and later Yak-9 aircraft.

 

 

 

Refueling of a PS-41 - converted Tupolev SB for Aeroflot, beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Multiple Lisunov Li-2/PS-84 transports are seen in the background.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

 

 

A Soviet Air Force Tomahawk II, winter of 1941.

 

 

 

Three Tomahawk IIs belonging to 126 IAP, Moscow Air Defense, winter of 1941.

 

 

 

Pilots of the 180th Fighter Aviation Regiment (180 IAP), Kalinin Front, in front of a late-series MiG-3. From left to right: S. F. Dolgushin (later an important part of 32 GIAP), S. V. Makarov, N. F. Borovoy. Makarov, an ace with 18 victories, was killed in action on the 10th February 1942. Four MiG-3s led by Makarov were patrolling over Soviet positions when a group of eighteen Bf-110s came to attack it. In the ensuing battle, two Bf-110s were shot down. Makarov fatally damaged a third one and came within 20-30m of it, believing the gunner to be dead. Unfortunately however, the gunner turned out to be alive and shot a burst that killed Makarov, whose aircraft fell in the vicinity of Voskresenskoe.

 

 

 

Captioned: "First flight on the South-Western Front." 12.06.1942, Ivanovo, 180th Fighter Aviation Regiment (180 IAP).

 

 

 

A P-39 belonging to the 212nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, 22nd Guards Fighter Aviation Division (212 GIAP, 22 GIAD), spring of 1945. You can see the Guards emblem next to an Order of Aleksandr Nevskiy painted on the door.

 

[216th_Peterla]

Excellent pictures Lucas. You've got a hell of information. Thanks for sharing all.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Thanks! I only have the photos mostly - the information I find on the fly

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

 

 

A P-39Q (likely between models 21-25) painted in post-war grey camouflage. The aircraft belongs to 213 GIAP, 22 GIAD, and bears the tactical number "Red 100". During the war, it belonged to Major Pavel Iosifovich Chepinoga until he was transferred from the unit in the beginning of 1945. Chepinoga is in the picture however. Note the comemorative swords held by the officers.

 

 

 

1st Squadron commander Sr. Lt. A. I. Svistunov, 2nd Squadron commander Sr. Lt. N. V. Stroykov and flight leader Lt. M. I. Orlov. The Airacobra in the back is Stroikov's P-39Q-25, NB 44-32386.

 

213 GIAP, 1944, Razvaduv, Poland.

 

Photo by V. Stepanenko

 

 

 

An Il-2M, marked "White 6", belonging to 144 GShAP, built at Zavod 18.

 

 

 

"Long live the Soviet pilots, proud falcons of our country!" Depicted are Stalin and Voroshilov. Artwork by Nikolai Denisov and Nina Vatolina, 1938.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

 

 

A Yak-3 in flight, with Yakovlev test pilot Viktor Rastorguyev at the commands.

 

 

2nd Squadron of the 5th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (2 AE, 5 GIAP) in front of a LaGG-3, Kalinin Front,  06.12.1941. On this day, the regiment, formerly 129 IAP, was turned into a Guards Regiment.

 

Standing: Sr. Batallion Commissar V. Rulin (regiment commissar), Sr. Political Officer V. Shilkin, Sr. Lt. V. Mikhailov, Cpt. F. Mochalov, Cpt. I. Meshcheryakov, Cpt. P. Peskov, Maj. Yu. Berkal' (regiment commander), Maj. D. Rusanov (regiment chief of staff).

 

Sitting: Jr. Lt. Pilonov (squadron adjutant), Jr. Lt. Pimenov, Cpt. N. Gorodnichev, Sr. Lt. A. Karaev, Cpt. Logvinovskiy (commander of the Batallion of Airfield Affairs - BAO).

 

Lying down: Sr. Lt. I. Laveikin, Sr. Lt. A. Istomin.

Edited April 18, 2016 by 55IAP_Lucas_From_Hell

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

 

 

Commander of the 298th Fighter Aviation Group Lt. Col. Ivan Andreevich Taranenko (28.12.1942-04.03.1995, third from the left) with his regiment comrades. Left to right: V. M. Drygin, I. Yeroshkin, I. A. Taranenko, S. P. Gubarev, K. Vishinevetskiy, Novikov.

 

 

 

Nevermind the bandages - here is the face of a happy pilot, Sgt. Ilya Mikhailovich Chumbaryov, 237 IAP, 220 IAD, 16th Air Army, Stalingrad Front. Behind him is a destroyed Focke-Wulf Fw-189, the so-called Rama, which he destroyed.

 

Here is an excerpt of his recommendation for the Order of Lenin: "14.9.42, took off to intercept and ambush the enemy's Focke-Wulf bomber/scout. He described his attack clearly through the radio - he approach the enemy from below and rammed him, digging the propeller blades of his Yak-1 into the enemy's empenage. The enemy aircraft disintegrated mid-air, and its crew was taken prisoner near M. Ivanovka. Chumbaryev himself safely landed at his airfield, with bent propeller blades."

 

 

 

Self-captioned.

 

 

 

Battle friends. Left to right: A. V. Kalmykov, A. I. Yumkin, I. A. Zub, G. P. Koval', P. A. Gnido, S. D. Gorelov, V. N. Chulkov. 1945.

 

Behind this decorated crew is the La-7 Major P. A. Gnido flew in the spring of 1945, 111th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (111 GIAP).

 

[216th_Peterla]

Good ones again Lucas. Keep them coming!

[[DBS]Tx_Tip]

Good ones again Lucas. Keep them coming!

 

Yep.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

 

 

Pilots of the 115th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment with a Yak-9T.

 

 

436 IAP, Leningrad Front, 11 September 1941. Squadron commander Sr. Lt. Zhukov with Jr. Lieutenants Dobrovolskiy, Savchenko, Grachev, Kuznetsov and Plaevskiy.

 

 

Lend-lease in action: P-39Qs in Alaska loaded with external fuel tanks ahead of the long ALSIB trip to reach the front, sometime in 1944.

 

 

 

Major Lomotsev commends Sr. Lt. Gagarin, 617th Ground Attack Aviation Regiment (617 ShAP), August 1943. You can see on the back an Il-2 with a portrait of legendary Russian general Aleksandr Suvorov. This particular aircraft was crewed by pilot Jr. Lt. V. P. Aleksukhin and gunner A. D. Gatayunov, the most successful pilots of 617 ShAP at the time of the fight for Kharkov in 1943.

 

[DCAL4]

These are great photos. Please keep posting more as you find them

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Worry not, I have some 2000 of them here. The hard bit is finding the story behind them, or rather, finding the time to do so. I've been short on time these days but it's temporary, I'll go back to updating these soon enough

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

 

 

Pilots gather around MiG-3s of 7 IAP, Black Sea Fleet. The unit also operated P-40s during the period. Kuban, 1943.

 

 

Konstantin Andreevich Grigor'yev, navigator of 3rd Squadron, 5th Guards Torpedo-Mine Aviation Regiment, 2nd Guards Torpedo-Mine Aviation Division, Black Sea Fleet Air Force. Started the Great Patrotic War in the ranks of the Baltic Fleet Air Force prior to transfer to the Black Sea Fleet Air Force. Fought on the northern shore of the Azov Sea, by Rostov, Bataisk, took part in the defense of Novorossiysk and the battles for Kuban and Sevastopol.

 

 

A Soviet P-39N in flight.

 

The crew of an SB bomber belonging to the 33rd Bomber Aviation Regiment, Pacific Fleet Air Force, plotting out a training flight.

[LLv24_Zami]

Nice pics Lucas!

 

I don`t recall seeing many of these before.

[707shap_Srbin]

20 giap, P-40C, Tomahawk.

Dowble ram by Khlobystov.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Great photos, Panzerbar! I hadn't seen half of these, thanks for sharing
 
Some more information on the incident:
 

On the whole, because of their durability and flight range, the pilots liked both the Tomahawk and the Kittyhawk. The strength of its 5-longeron wing became legendary after an aerial engagement on 8 April 1942. On this day, flight commander Lieutenant Aleksey Khlobystov rammed German aircraft two times in a single engagement. He cut off the tail assembly of one Messerschmitt in an overtaking maneuver and severed a portion of the wing of a second Messerschmitt. Both times he struck the enemy aircraft with the same right wing panel. Both Messerschmitts went down and the Tomahawk landed safely at its airfield, where it was repaired without any particular difficulty. Its pilot, who did not suffer even a scratch, was recommended for the HSU rank and received the monetary bonus of 2000 rubles for two destroyed enemy fighters.

 

Aleksey Khlobystov executed a third ramming maneuver on 14 May 1942, which concluded with a prolonged stay in the hospital. He pointed his No. 812 Kittyhawk at a Messerschmitt that was attempting to engage him head-on. Khlobystov was saved by luck-during the ensuing collision he was ejected from his aircraft [20]. Aleksey Khlobystov fought in the P-40 until the end. On 13 December 1943, in Kittyhawk No. 1134, he was pursuing a German reconnaissance aircraft along with his wingman, Lieutenant Kalegaev (No. 1167). He was shot down by the German rear gunner over enemy territory. Neither pilot returned to the regiment.

[707shap_Srbin]

His victim was Bf110E-1:

 

08.04.1942

Bf110E-1

10.(Z)/JG 5

WNr. 4 114

LN + FR

Russian A/C, 20 GuIAP, Hawk

Ltn. Karl Koch

near Petsamo

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

 

 

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Petr Pokryshev (29 victories) inspects his pilots of 159 IAP near an La-5.

 

 

The nose art on an Il-2 belonging to Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Meilus, 958th Attack Aviation Regiment.

 

 

 

Pilots and ground crew from the 102nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment stand by a MiG-3 in a shelter. Levashovo, Leningrad.

 

 

 

Il-4 pilots of the Black Sea Fleet's aviation during briefing, Crimea

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

 

In the centre: Lieutenant Ivan Vasilevich Mischenko. Earned the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the capture and holding of the bridgehead on the Pripyat river in 1943.
 
On the back of the photo, an inscription says: "These are my machine gunners and I am between them. September 1943."

 

 

 

Hero of the Soviet Union, Aleksandr Kovalenko, in front of a P-40.

 

 

 

A pilot stands in front of an A-20G from the 13th GDBAP (mast-top bombers), Black Sea Fleet. 1944, by Evgeniy Khaldei.

 

 

 

A crew prepares a mission in front of an Il-4, allegedly belonging to the 5th Guards MTAP, Black Sea Fleet. Spring 1943.

 

 

A flight of Il-4T aircraft belonging to 24 MTAP (Mine and Torpedo Regiment) during a mission over the Baltic Sea, 1942.

Edited October 10, 2016 by 55IAP_Lucas_From_Hell

[216th_Peterla]

Nice ones Lucas and Panzerbar. Keep them coming!