The Soviet fighter ace Polkovnik (Colonel) Lev Shestakov became legendary already during his lifetime. After the war, Vladimir Lavrinenkov (twice appointed Hero of the Soviet Union, credited with 35 + 11 kills), wrote a book - His Call code - Sokol (Falcon) 1 - about Shestakov.
Having drawn his first blood as a fighter pilot in the Spanish Civil War, Lev Shestakov flew in defense of Odessa as commander of 69 IAP (Fighter Aviation Regiment) in the first months of the Russo-German war.
The losses dealt to the Romanian Air Force above Odessa in 1941 by Shestakov's fighter pilots compelled the Romanian High Command to withdraw its entire air force from the Eastern Front.
A few months later, no less than twelve pilots of 69 IAP were awarded as Heroes of the Soviet Union. 69 IAP was adopted a guard's unit as 9 GIAP. During the Battle of Stalingrad, 9 GIAP became the first real "ace unit" when some of the most successful Soviet fighter aces of that time were posted to 9 GIAP.
Lev Shestakov eventually carried out more than 200 missions during the war, took part in 32 aerial combats and was credited with 26 kills before being killed in action in March 1944.
According to Lavrinenkov's book, Lev Shestakov fought a private war with a well-known German Stuka ace - a Kurt Renner, who was awarded the "Golden Knight's Cross".
No such Stuka ace existed, but the famous Stuka flyer Hans-Ulrich Rudel - who served in the same operational area as did Shestakov - was the only person to be awarded the Knight's Cross with the Golden Oak Leaves.
Interestingly, Lavrinenkov, who joined Shestakov's 9 GIAP in the fall of 1942, describes how he once met Rennerí on the ground. On August 23, 1943, Lavrinenkov's Airacobra was hit by debris from a FW 189 that he had shot down. Lavrinenkov bailed out over enemy-held territory and was captured by the Germans. He was brought to the Stalino airfield, where he claims to have been introduced to "Renner". According to Lavrinenkov, "Renner" had thought that the Soviet POW was Shestakov, because he had flown the Airacobra with call-code 01, indicating that it was the unit commander's aircraft. Later, Lavrinenkov managed to escape from a POW transport due to Germany, joined a partisan detachment and eventually managed to make it back to the regular Soviet troops, where he re-joined 9 GIAP and took up combat flights again.
During this time, Hauptmann Hans-Ulrich Rudel (appointed commander of III./St.G. 2 Immelmann in September 1943) was stationed in Stalino.
During the first months of 1944, Lev Shestakov was hunting a Ju 87 "with a viper painted along its fuselage sides" - assuming that this conspicuos aircraft was flown by "Renner". Major Rudel certainly flew a Ju 87 G - one of the few Ju 87s still active in 1944 - over the same battlefields as Shestakov during this time. Due to his considerable successes against Soviet tanks, Rudel was a highly coveted prey among the Soviet fighter pilots - as confirmed in Rudel's autobiography. Until March 1944, Rudel was credited with the destruction of more than 200 Soviet tanks and was awarded with the Diamonds to his Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
According to the Soviet version, on March 13, 1944, Lev Shestakov finally caught the Ju 87 he had been hunting for so long. Hit by a burst from Shestakov's La-5FN from short distance, the Ju 87 exploded in mid-air. But Shestakov didn't live to celebrate his victory. According to the Soviet report, his Lavochkin was thrown into a spin from the explosion and the famous ace fell toward his death.
In reality, Rudel survived the war. No other famous Stuka ace was killed on March 13, 1944, nor is it known that Rudel ever flew a Ju 87 with a viper painted on its fuselage side (although he used a Ju 87 with a chevron and two horizontal bars painted on the fuselage side, which was quite unsusual in the Stuka units).
It is quite possible that the Soviet account is an attempt to add glory to the event when one of the highest esteemed fighter pilots was killed in a fight with a single Ju 87.
In his autobiography, Hans-Ulrich Rudel recalls how his Ju 87 once came under attack from an excellent La-5 pilot:
"I just can't understand how he manages to follow my sharp turns in his fighter aircraft," wrote Rudel. Rudel started preparing himself for the final end, as he suddenly heard his rear-gunner, Stabsarzt Ernst Gadermann, cry over the R/T: "Got the Lag!" Rudel continues: "Was he shot down by Gadermann, or did he go down because of the backwash from my engine during these tight turns? It doesn't matter. My headphones suddenly exploded in confused screams from the Russian radio; the Russians have observed what happened and something special seems to have happened... From the Russian radio-messages, we discover that this was a very famous Soviet fighter pilot, more than once appointed as Hero of the Soviet Union."
Christer Bergström, Andrey Mikhailov 2000
From Here
http://www.bergstrombooks.elknet.pl/bc-rs/lev.htmlhttp://www.bergstrombooks.elknet.pl/bc-rs/index.htmRudel logged 2,530 combat missions, and was granted almost no leave throughout his four years of active duty. Unlike his Allied counterparts, there was no magical number of missions which would mean a furlough home, once attained. For Rudel, as well as for all German pilots, it was a matter of "fly and fight until the war ends, or you are killed": consequently, almost all eventually fell, and today only a tiny handful survive.
Rudel's personal victories as a ground-attack pilot were achieved exclusively against the Soviets, and despite the most primitive conditions imaginable, including operations solely from dirt, mud, and snow covered airfields, his confirmed victories (those witnessed by two or more fellow pilots) include:
518+ Tanks
700 Trucks
150+ Flak and Artillery positions
11 Fighter/Ground Attack Aircraft
Hundreds of bridges, railway lines, bunkers, etc.
Battleship October Revolution, Cruiser Marat, and 70 landing craft
Through direct action, he saved tens of thousands of German infantrymen from certain encirclement and annihilation during the long retreat which began in July 43 and lasted until the war's end, almost two years later.
He was shot down 32 times lost a leg and kept fighting til the end.
Shot down 32 times.
Innumerable aircraft brought back to base that were later written off, due to heavy combat damage.
Wounded on many occasions, including the partial amputation of his right leg in the Spring of 45, after which he continued to fly with a prosthetic limb.
March 44: Disaster struck when Rudel landed behind Soviet lines to retrieve a downed German aircrew. Snow and mud bogged down the airplane, making it impossible to take off. Approaching Soviet troops forced everyone to flee on foot, but barring their escape was the 900 foot wide river Dnjestr. The Germans stripped to their longjohns, and swam across the ice-clogged river. Rudel's close friend and crewman, Erwin Henstchel, drowned a few feet from the far shore. They had flown 1490 missions together at the time of Hentschel's death. His body was never recovered.
Rudel was pursued by hundreds of Soviet troops who were intent on collecting the 100,000 ruble bounty which Stalin had placed on his head, and he was shot in the shoulder while they chased him with dogs and on horseback. Through incredible ingenuity, audacity, and raw determination, Rudel escaped and made his way, alone and unarmed, back home, despite being more than 30 miles behind Soviet lines when he began his 24 hour trek. He was barefoot and almost naked in the sub-freezing winter weather, without food, compass, or medical attention. His escape stands as the single most legendary example of personal bravery and luck during the Second World War, but he never fully recovered emotionally from Hentschel's death, for which he blamed himself throughout the remainder of his life.
"Verloren ist nur, wer sich selbst aufgibt"
Lost are only those, who abandon themselves
http://www.achtungpanzer.com/gen9.htm
