Ivan Kozhedub
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* 8th June 1920 + 12th August 1991 Marshal Kozhedub joined army in 1940. In March 1943 he was assigned to unit 240th IAP, equipped with the Lavochkin La-5. He operated on the Voronezh Front and, in July, over the Kursk battlefields. His first kill was a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, shot down over Pokrova on 6 July 1943. He is one of the few Soviet pilots to shot down a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet. His final victory was over Berlin on 16 April 1945. |
| The most successful Soviet and also Allied fighter ace credited with 62 victories in 330 combat missions. Three times he was awarded by Hero of the Soviet Union. |