The fall of the Soviet Union brought hope that Soviet records would open and provide new information on a wide range of topics, including the air war in Korea. Regrettably, in the decade and a half since that event, the yield has been at best disappointing and certainly much more frustrating than illuminating. Information—or perhaps better put, statements and assertions—from the Communist side does not match up well with American sources, and on a number of important points the information is in terrible disagreement. With this in mind, what follows is a discussion of the top Red pilots based on Communist materials and sources that have appeared in English. Clearly it is unsatisfactory, but it is the best we have at this time. Perhaps it will stimulate scholarly work that is undoubtedly needed in this neglected area.
The Communist aviators claim to have downed 1,337 UN aircraft in aerial combat, including at least 650 F-86s. On its part, the USAF registered 757 losses to enemy action, 139 in air-to-air action.1 While that overall number is not far off for all UN aircraft losses (including those to antiaircraft fire), the number of Sabres claimed is many times actual combat losses. The USAF admits 78 F-86s were lost in air-to-air action, with another 26 listed as unknown or missing.2 (My estimate is that about 100 Sabres were lost in air-to-air battle.) We would expect the combatants to know their own losses and thus have numbers that reflect reality, absent a vast conspiracy. Some fifty years after the war, there is no evidence of an American effort to cover up losses, at worst, only some poor bookkeeping around the margins.
Secondary sources state that there were about forty-three to sixty Soviet aces, six to nine Chinese aces, and two to four North Korean aces.3 This compares with forty U.S. aces, all but one flying F-86s. Sources credit fifteen to eighteen of the Soviet aces with ten or more victories,4 compared with eleven U.S. aces with ten or more victories. The top two Chinese aces had nine credits, and the top two North Korean aces eight or nine.5
There are considerable problems with Communist claims. The Soviet system of claims awards is unclear, and unlike the USAF, there is no official Soviet victory credit listing. It is little wonder that the secondary sources, which do not cite their sources, conflict. Certainly some of this information is recycled from source to source. Therefore, what follows is of questionable reliability, although at present it is the best view we have from “the other side of the hill.”
Although the Soviets sent their top World War II ace, Ivan Kozhedub (sixty-two victories), to the Korean War, he was not allowed to fly in combat. The most successful Soviet fighter pilot in the Korean War was Nikolai Sutyagin. He was born in May 1923, joined the army in 1941, and earned his wings the next year. The Soviets stationed Sutyagin in the Far East during the war, where he did not score any aerial victories. His unit was posted into the Korean War in the spring of 1951. Sutyagin claimed his first victory in June and went on to score twenty-one individual victories and two undefined shared victories, including fifteen Sabres. He flew 149 sorties and engaged in 66 dogfights before he returned to the Soviet Union in February 1952. Sutyagin went on to serve as an advisor to North Vietnam in 1970, retired from the military in 1978 as a general major, and died in November 1986.6
Evgeny Pepelyaev closely pursued Sutyagin in the race to be the top-scoring Soviet fighter pilot in Korea. Much more has appeared in print, at least in English, about Pepelyaev. He was born in March 1918 and worked in railroad construction and aviation repair before attending a Soviet aviation school. He graduated in 1938 and served mostly in the Far East. He flew twelve combat missions against the Germans and engaged in three air battles, but made no claims. He also flew thirty ground support missions in the brief operations against the Japanese in Manchuria. In April 1951 he took his unit to Antung airfield. Pepelyaev scored his first victory in May and his last in mid-January 1952, flying 108 missions and fighting in 38 aerial duels. His victory record is variously stated between fifteen and twenty victories, mostly F-86s. Pepelyaev asserts that he downed twenty-three, including twelve F-86s, but “gave” three credits to his wingman. He retired from the air force in 1973.7
Pepelyaev admits that the Soviet pilots were not as experienced or as well trained as the Americans, even though 90 percent of his unit’s pilots had fought in World War II and had scored victories against the Luftwaffe. His men were not ready for combat because they had “lost their combat awareness.” He noted, however, that the Chinese were at an even worse disadvantage and suffered heavy losses. Pepelyaev states that the Sabre could outturn and outdive the MiGbis but was inferior in climb and armament. The Soviet ace conceded the advantages of the American gunsight but went on to laud the MiG for its “fantastic” survivability.8
A number of sources credit two Soviet aces with fifteen victories. Lev Shchukin was born in October 1923 and joined the army in 1941, but it was not until 1944 that he earned his wings. In the spring of 1951 he was sent to the Korean conflict, where he flew 212 sorties, was shot down two or three times, and claimed fifteen victories. He retired from the air force as a colonel in 1977.9
Born in November 1919, Alexandr Smorchkov entered the army in 1939. He saw action in World War II, during which he claimed five victories. In the spring of 1951, his unit entered the Korean War. Between May 1951 and February 1952, Smorchkov flew 191 sorties and claimed twelve to fifteen victories. He retired as a colonel in 1975. Smorchkov thought American pilots and the F-86 were very good. He also highly praised the MiG-15. However, he noted one major flaw: the fighter’s engine would stop during sharp turns.10
Three sources also credit Dmitrii Oskin with fifteen victories, other sources use fourteen, and three imply the true number may be eleven. In any event, he was born in October 1919, joined the army in 1938, and graduated from military school in 1940. Although he served in World War II, there is no record of his accomplishments. In Korea he scored eight victories in just over three weeks in October and November 1951. According to one source, Oskin flew 122 sorties on which he engaged UN aircraft 86 times, while another source states that he fought 62 combats on 150 missions. He was one of the longest serving officers who had flown fighters in Korea, retiring in 1987 as a general lieutenant.11
In a similar way, Mikhail Ponomarev is credited with ten to fourteen victories. He was born in December 1920, joined the army in 1940, and earned his wings in 1942. He served in World War II and scored two victories. The Soviets sent him to the Korean War in spring 1951 where he flew 140 sorties. He retired from the air force in 1968.12
Sergei Kramarenko may have been a double ace in World War II and an ace in Korea, one of only four Soviet pilots who were aces in both wars. But again, there are conflicts between the sources, which are undocumented. Born in April 1923, he completed pilot training in August 1942. Kramarenko was shot down once but went on to log somewhere between three and fourteen victories in World War II. He was also shot down once in Korea. Nevertheless, he racked up twelve or thirteen victories (nine F-86s) on 149 missions. Kramrenko retired as a major general in 1981.13
Kramarenko states that the F-86 was superior to the MiG in maneuverability especially at low levels, but the MiG had an advantage in rate of climb. He describes two actions in which he was at a disadvantage, the second of which ended up with Kramarenko ejecting from his damaged fighter. He claims that the Sabres then made a firing pass on him as he floated earthward. Some Sabre pilots did fly toward parachuting MiG pilots and fire to one side in order to capture the event on their gun camera film.14
Konstantin Sheberstov claimed twelve victories between the spring of 1951 and February 1952. His total is in question, however, because of a disputed claim between him and Pepelyaev regarding events on 6 October 1951. According to the latter, Sheberstov made a false claim that was exposed and he was disgraced. Pepelyaev asserts that this is why Sheberstov was not awarded the highest Soviet decoration, Hero of the Soviet Union, as were the other top aces and a few others. He later observed “it is dangerous to lead the leadership, especially those in Moscow, into error and, besides, to be caught red-handed. Such things are not forgiven.”15 This incident may explain why even less is known about this pilot than the other Soviet aces already discussed.
In all, the Soviets awarded twenty-two airmen the Hero of the Soviet Union decoration. All of the airmen mentioned above, with the notable exception of Sheberstov, received this honor. One other who was so decorated deserves mention. Serafim Subbotin was born in January 1921, joined the army in 1938, and earned his wings in 1942 after transferring into the air force. There is no record of his World War II experience. Like so many of the other Soviet aces, he arrived in the theater in Spring 1951. On 18 June 1951 he downed two Sabres. Subbotin was with a formation of eight MiGs that bounced sixteen F-86s. He shot down one Sabre, which exploded, and then rushed to the aid of another Communist pilot who was being shot up by a pair of F-86s. At this point, he was hit, his engine began to make grinding noises, and smoke filled the cockpit. The Red pilot jettisoned the canopy and went into a spiraling dive, closely followed by two Sabres. He then deployed his speed brakes and slowed so suddenly and rapidly that the lead F-86 collided with the damaged MiG. Subbotin then successfully bailed out; the American pilot was not as fortunate. Capt. William Crone (334FS) did not survive the collision.16 Subbotin is credited with nine to fifteen victories, although most of the secondary sources use the lower number. He retired in 1973.17
At least one other top Soviet ace of the Korean War was an ace in World War II. Grigorii Okhai was born in January 1917, joined the army in 1937, and flew bombers in the 1939–40 Finnish War. He later transitioned into fighters during World War II, first serving as an instructor before getting into combat in 1943, during which he claimed six or eight German aircraft destroyed. In Korea, he flew 122 missions and engaged in 86 dogfights. He claims three Sabres among his eleven victories. Okhai writes that in Korea, his MiG was only hit once with one .50-caliber bullet in the aileron. He confirms that the F-86 was more maneuverable than the MiG, especially at lower altitudes. Okhai also notes that the MiG was better in the vertical plane but had less range than the Sabre. He retired from the air force in 1960.18
Grigorii Ges was born in April 1916, joined the army in 1937, and won his wings in 1941. He served mainly as an instructor until posted to a combat unit in October 1944. He flew twenty-one sorties, engaged in twenty dogfights, and claimed five German aircraft destroyed. The Soviets sent him to the Korean War in 1951, where he flew 120 or more missions and claimed eight or ten UN aircraft. Ges retired as a major in 1957 and died in January 1968.19
It is difficult to compare the American and Communist aces of the Korean War. Both groups were an elite subgroup of the much greater number of fighter pilots engaged in that conflict. We can assume that they were perhaps better fliers, surely more aggressive, and probably luckier than their fellow pilots. Three other aspects can be noted. First, the overwhelming number of the top aces had World War II experience, some in combat. Fourteen of the top eighteen or so Soviet aces flew in World War II; we do not have clear information on the remaining four. On the American side, all but three of the top eleven American aces had a similar opportunity. Second, as already noted, four of the top American aces were downed in combat, three were shot down, and one ran out of fuel. One was killed and another captured, with the remaining two rescued. Eight Soviet aces were shot down, one of these twice. Four of these pilots were killed, the rest recovered. A third aspect derived from the relatively sparse data we have is that the Soviet pilots had a much greater chance of engaging in aerial combat than did the American pilots. While many Sabre pilots complained of few engagements on their one mission tour, four Red aces had dogfights between 35 and 70 percent of their sorties. These aces also flew more missions than their American counterparts with nine averaging almost 150 missions, 10 percent more than any American ace.20