The pilot who made 4 air rams. Boris kovzan is an air ace, or four rams of one pilot. Long rehabilitation period

He is the only ace in the world who has completed four air ramming while remaining alive.

On October 29, 1941, Boris Kovzan flew on a MiG-3 plane to escort attack aircraft to the area of ​​the city of Zagorsk, Moscow Region. In an air battle with four Me-109s, he knocked out one of them, but at the same time used up all the ammunition. When returning to his airfield at an altitude of 5000 m, he found an enemy air reconnaissance Ju-88. To prevent him from leaving, Kovzan decided to ram. He entered the "Junkers" from behind from below, gave the gas and abruptly took the handle over himself. The impact shook the entire fighter, but Kovzan took control. “Junkers”, tumbling, went to the ground.

Boris Kovzan's four air rams

On February 22, 1942, senior lieutenant Kovzan rammed an enemy bomber on a Yak-1 plane in the Vyshny Volochok area. I landed on a damaged aircraft.
On July 8, 1942, in the area of ​​the Lobnitsy village of the Novgorod region, an enemy fighter rammed in an air battle on the same plane. I landed on a damaged plane.
On August 13, 1942, in the area of ​​Staraya Russa, Captain Kovzan discovered a group of 7 Ju-88s and 6 Me-109s on a La-5 aircraft. The enemy had already noticed our fighter and Kovzan had to engage in an unequal battle. Not paying attention to the escort fighter, Kovzan rushed to the Junkers. One Me-109 tried to get in his way, but after a queue mark it started to smoke and began to fall. Suddenly, an enemy fire hit the cockpit. One bullet hit Kovzan in the right eye. He made an attempt to jump out with a parachute, but he was not strong enough. At this time, a Junkers appeared directly on the course and Kovzan directed his burning plane at him. From the impact, both aircraft fell to pieces. Our pilot was thrown out of the cockpit through an open canopy. From a height of 6000 m, he fell into a swamp and this saved his life. In the fall, he broke his left leg, arm and several ribs. This was his fourth ram.

The collective farmers who arrived in time took the pilot out of the bog and brought him to the partisans, who ferried him across the front line. For 10 months he was in the hospital. Health was restored for almost a year. Instead of an eye, a glass dummy was inserted. After the hospital, he obtained permission to serve with one eye in fighter aircraft. Until the end of the war, he shot down 6 more enemy aircraft. In total, during the war years, he flew 360 sorties, conducted 127 air battles, and shot down 28 German aircraft.

After the war he continued to serve in the aviation. He flew as an instructor already on jet planes. In 1954 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. Since 1958, Lieutenant Colonel Kovzan has been in reserve. He lived in Ryazan, worked as the head of the flying club. Then retired colonel Kovzan lived in Minsk. Awarded 2 Orders of Lenin, Orders of the Red Banner, Patriotic War 1 degree, Red Star, medals. He died on August 31, 1985. He was buried at the Northern cemetery in Minsk.

Russian ace Boris Kovzan from 28 planes shot down by him

He destroyed four with rams.

Born on April 7, 1922 in the city of Shakhty, now Rostov region, in the family of an employee. He graduated from 8 classes in the city of Bobruisk and the flying club, Odessa aviation school in 1940.

On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War since 1941. Participant in the defense of Gomel. Fighter pilot Senior Lieutenant B.I.Kovzan is one of the few pilots in the world who rammed 4 enemy aircraft: 10/29/1941 over the city of Zagorsk, Moscow region, 2/22/1942 over the city of Torzhok, Kalinin region, 7/7/1942 over the village of Lyubnitsa and in August 1943 near the town of Staraya Russa, Novgorod region.

In total, he flew 360 sorties, conducted 127 air battles, shot down 28 enemy aircraft personally and in a group with comrades.

On August 24, 1943, for courage and military valor displayed in battles with enemies, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Boris Ivanovich Kovzan participated in the war from the first day. He opened his combat account on June 24, 1941, by shooting down a Do-215 bomber.

He made his first ram on October 29, 1941. On that day, the junior lieutenant Kovzan on a MiG-3 aircraft flew to escort attack aircraft to the area of ​​the city of Zagorsk, Moscow region.

Modification of the MiG-3

Wingspan, m 10.20 Length, m 8.25 Height, m ​​3.50

Wing area, m2 17.44

Weight, kg empty aircraft 2699 takeoff 3350 fuel 463

Engine type 1 PD AM-35A Power, h.p. rated 1 x 1200 takeoff 1 x 1350

Maximum speed, km / h at sea level 505 at an altitude of 640

Practical range, km 1250

Rate of climb, m / min 877

Practical ceiling, m 12000

Armament: one 12.7 mm UBS machine gun,

two 7.62-mm ShKAS machine guns
6 NURS 57 mm RS-82 or 2x 100 kg

bombs FAB-100 or FAB-50

Having received a hit from a ground anti-aircraft gun, he slightly lagged behind his comrades and on the way back his plane was overtaken by four Messers. One of them Kovzan managed to shoot down. he managed to break away from the rest, having gone to a height inaccessible to the Germans.When he was already flying up to his airfield, he made out the leading aerial reconnaissance Junkers - the Germans had long sought to find this airfield, and it seems that this reconnaissance officer was close to fulfilling his task.

All cartridges have already been used up, and Kovzan decided to go to the ram. After this ram Kovzan committed emergency landing and was reported missing. But two days later he was found at the plane that landed on its belly. The pilot, who was not injured, could have reached the airfield on foot, but did not dare to abandon the plane.

Second battering ram Kovzan produced on February 22, 1942. On that day, he rammed a Ju-87 dive bomber in the Vyshny Volochok area on a Yak-1 plane, after which he returned to his airfield and successfully landed on a damaged plane.

The third ram for Kovzan also ended almost painlessly. Having shot down on July 8, 1942 in the area of ​​the Lobnitsy village of the Novgorod region with a Me-109 ram, he successfully returned to his airfield.

The most famous was his fourth ram. Returning from the assignment, Kovzan entered into battle with six German fighters. Having been wounded in the head and left without ammunition Kovzan, reported on the radio that he was leaving the plane and had already opened the flashlight to leave it. And at that moment he saw a German ace rushing at him. The planes collided head-on.

The German pilot died immediately, and Kovzan thrown out of the plane through the cockpit canopy. He fell unconscious, but during the fall, his parachute somehow partially opened. The pilot landed right in the swamp, breaking his leg and several ribs. The partisans who came to the rescue pulled him out of the swamp and transported him across the front line. In hospital Kovzan spent 10 months, lost his right eye. Nevertheless, after the hospital, he returned to service and brought the set of his victories to 28 downed aircraft.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 24, 1943 for courage and courage shown in battles with enemies, to the captain Kovzanu Boris Ivanovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 1103).

After the war Kovzan worked as the head of the flying club.

Imagine the following situation. You are a military pilot who is in a deadly whirlwind of hot air combat. You are out of ammunition, you are running out of fuel, your car is damaged and on fire. And against you are superior enemy forces, from which you can no longer escape. The question is: what are your actions? When I was a boy raised on war movies like "Only old men go to battle", then very boldly found a way out of a difficult situation. Bravely answered - "I'll go to the ram!" ...

Growing up, an understanding came that it was not so easy to decide on this feat. For an air ram, one must have nerves of steel and noble fury.

All this - both nerves and fury - were in the possession of six hundred Soviet pilots, who during the Great Patriotic War stopped the enemy with a deadly collision. Six hundred heroes deliberately went to their deaths in order to interrupt the flight of the invaders over our Motherland. Thirty-four pilots have accomplished this feat twice! Most of them died.

It is believed that the very first ram of the Great Patriotic War was carried out by a senior lieutenant. Ivan Ivanov June 22, 1941 at 4:25 am over the Mlynov airfield near the city of Dubno. A red star fighter rammed the Heinkel bomber, after which both planes crashed. For this feat, Ivan Ivanov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Posthumously.

On the morning of the first day of the war, four more Soviet falcons made a similar desperate act. Of the first five Soviet pilots who opened an air ram account on June 22, 1941, only two survived after the collision: Dmitry Kokorev in the area of ​​the city of Zambrov and Peter Ryabtsev in the sky over Brest.

Let's ask a rhetorical question: how can you survive after a collision at a great height, and even at high speeds? Moreover, what is the probability of safely surviving two air rams?

And if there were three !? You yourself understand that after the third plane crash the chance to land in health and consciousness tends to zero.

So, in the history of our country there is a person who committed four rams, survived, went through the entire war, smashed enemies to the very end and lived to a ripe old age.

This is a pilot Boris Ivanovich Kovzan.

He made his very first ram on October 29, 1941 in the battle of Moscow. On that day, Junior Lieutenant Kovzan flew out on a MiG-3 fighter to escort attack aircraft, and on the way back to his airfield noticed an enemy reconnaissance aircraft Junkers-88. The Germans have long sought to find our airfield near the city of Zaraisk.

The winged Fritz scout could not be allowed to carry out his task. But since all the ammunition had already been used up, Boris Kovzan decided to go to the ram.Our pilot came in from behind and hit the tail fins of the enemy aircraft with the propeller. After the attack, Junkers fell down, tumbling randomly, but the MiG still retained controllability, and Boris planted it in a field near some village.

What's more amazing about this heroic story. The next day Boris returned to his regiment. But he arrived not on foot, not on a horse-drawn carriage, and not in a passing car, as happened with many pilots who had to parachute from burning and damaged cars. No, Boris flew in his MiG. He managed to repair the screw damaged during the ram ... in the collective farm smithy! Imagine, some folk Russian craftsman straightened and balanced the most complex aircraft part!

The second ram was carried out by Boris Kovzan on February 22, 1942. On that day, in the Vyshny Volochok area, on a Yak-1 fighter, he rammed a Junkers-87 dive bomber, after which he returned to his airfield and again made a successful landing on a damaged aircraft.

One more courageous deed of our hero should be noted. In the spring of 1942, fierce battles were fought in the north-western direction from Moscow. Fighter pilots sometimes had to make 6-7 sorties in one day. In one of the flights, Kovzan noticed seven Junkers-88 bombers and started a fight with them. At this time, six fascist cover fighters approached. The Soviet pilot entered the fray.

He one fought against thirteen enemy aircraft. And in that unequal battle, the incredible happened: 20-year-old Lieutenant Kovzan shot down a lieutenant colonel of German aviation, an experienced pilot who in 1936 bombed the cities of Spain, and in 1941 raided London.

The third ramming ram for Kovzan also ended well.On July 7, 1942, near the village of Lyubnitsa, Novgorod Region, Boris shot down an enemy Messerschmitt-109 fighter in a head-on ram.

Once again, I would like to draw your attention: in a frontal attack!

The blow hit the wing on the wing. Messer rushed to the ground, spinning, and our MiG turned out to be stronger, and Kovzan managed to land his car, however, without releasing the chassis due to its damage.

The most famous, most dangerous and most incredible was the fourth ram of Boris Kovzan. On August 13, 1942, in the sky over the city of Staraya Russa on a La-5 plane, he entered into battle with six German fighters. There were no chances to stand up to the six at once. After a few minutes of hot air combat, a shard of glass from the shattered cockpit injured the pilot's eye. All the ammunition was shot. The car was on fire. Kovzan reported by radio that he was leaving the plane and opened the cockpit to jump with a parachute. And at that moment he saw a German ace rushing towards him ...

A Soviet pilot wounded in the head on a burning plane went to his next ram. Fourth in a row…

Combat vehicles collided head-on and fell to pieces. The German pilot died immediately, and Kovzan was thrown out of the plane through the canopy open ahead of time. So lucky for him for the first time in that day.

In second Once Providence smiled at the pilot, when, having flown several thousand meters unconscious, he suddenly woke up, at a very low altitude (about 200 meters) above the ground, he pulled the exhaust ring and the parachute was able to open. He opened up, but the speed of the fall was too high and too dangerous.

V third Once Luck accompanied Kovzan when she landed him in the swamp. But the blow was still very strong. Boris broke his leg, arms and several ribs.

There was a swamp near a village occupied by the Germans ...

But, apparently, the Heavenly Forces favored the desperate pilot - the partisans who saw the air battle arrived in time to the place of the fall, and rescued Kovzan. Fourth luck after the fourth battering ram! An obvious and absolutely incredible coincidence of circumstances of that unique day!

After bandaging in the dugout of the partisan camp, Boris Kovzan was taken at night to the front line - to his own. The Soviet ace came to his senses only on the seventh day in a hospital in Moscow. He had several wounds from shrapnel, his collarbone and jaw were broken, his ribs, both arms and leg were damaged. The doctors could not save the pilot's right eye. For two months, doctors fought for the pilot's life. Everyone well understood that only Miracle saved him in that battle.

TO Ovzan Boris Ivanovich - pilot of the 744th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 240th Fighter Aviation Division of the 6th Air Army of the North-Western Front, captain; the only Soviet fighter pilot who committed four air rams in battles.

Born on April 7, 1922 in the town of Shakhty, now in the Rostov Region, in the family of an employee. Russian. Member of the CPSU (b) / CPSU since 1945. He graduated from 8 classes in the city of Bobruisk, Mogilev region, Byelorussian SSR.

In the Red Army since 1939. Graduated from the Odessa Military Aviation Pilot School in 1940. Since 1940 he served in the 160th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Force of the Belarusian Special Military District.

Member of the Great Patriotic War since September 1941. Pilot of the 42nd Fighter Aviation Regiment (Bryansk Front) Komsomolets Junior Lieutenant B.I. Kovzan he opened his combat account in August 1941, shooting down a Do-215 bomber. Then he fought in the 126th, 184th and 744th air regiments.

On October 29, 1941, he flew on a MiG-3 aircraft to escort attack aircraft to the area of ​​the city of Zagorsk, Moscow Region. In an air battle with 4 Me-109s, I knocked out one of them, but at the same time I used up all the ammunition. When returning to his airfield at an altitude of 5000 meters, he discovered an enemy air reconnaissance Ju-88. To prevent him from leaving, Kovzan decided to ram. He entered the "Junkers" from behind from below and adjusted the speed. Then he turned on the gas and abruptly took the handle over himself. The impact shook the entire fighter, but Kovzan took control. "Junkers", tumbling, went to the ground. He landed at his airfield.

On February 21, 1942, junior lieutenant Kovzan in the Vyshny Volochok area rammed an enemy bomber Ju-88 on a Yak-1 plane. I landed on a damaged aircraft.

On July 9, 1942, in the area of ​​the village of Myatunovo, Lobnitsky district, Novgorod region, in an air battle on the same aircraft on a head-on course, an enemy Me-109f fighter rammed with a plane strike. I made a safe landing on a damaged plane. For three ramming enemy aircraft in early July 1942, he was promoted to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but at the headquarters of the 6th Air Army, the award was replaced with the Order of the Red Banner.

Pilot of the 744th Fighter Aviation Regiment (240th Fighter Aviation Division, 6th Air Army, North-Western Front), Senior Lieutenant B.I. Kovzan by mid-July 1942, made 142 sorties, personally shot down 3 and in group 1 enemy aircraft.

On August 13, 1942, in the area of ​​Staraya Russa, Captain Kovzan discovered a group of 7 Ju-88s and 6 Me-109s on a La-5 aircraft. The enemy had already noticed our fighter and Kovzan had to engage in an unequal battle. Not paying attention to the escort fighters, Kovzan rushed to the Junkers. One Me-109 tried to get in his way, but after a queue mark it started to smoke and began to fall. Suddenly, enemy fire hit the cockpit. One bullet hit Kovzan in the right eye. He made an attempt to jump out with a parachute, but he was not strong enough. At this time, a Junkers appeared directly on the course and Kovzan directed his burning plane at him. From the impact, both aircraft fell to pieces. Our pilot was thrown out of the cockpit through an open canopy. From a height of 6,000 meters, he fell into a swamp and this saved his life. In the fall, he broke his left leg, arm and several ribs. This was his fourth ram.

The collective farmers who arrived in time took the pilot out of the quagmire and brought him to the partisans, and those who had never regained consciousness of the pilot were transported to Moscow.

Have By the kaz of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on August 24, 1943, for courage and courage shown in battles with enemies, Captain Boris Ivanovich Kovzan was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

The fighter pilot spent ten months in hospitals. After being discharged, he obtained permission to serve with one eye in fighter aviation, was appointed an instructor-pilot in the technique of piloting the regiment, assistant commander of the regiment, deputy commander of the fighter regiment of the 144th fighter aviation division of the country's air defense.

After the war he continued to serve in Soviet army... Since 1945 - assistant commander of the 123rd fighter air division of the country's air defense. In 1954 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. Since 1954 - head of the Ryazan flying club DOSAAF. Since 1958, Lieutenant Colonel B. I. Kovzan has been in reserve. He lived in the city of Ryazan, continued to work as the head of the flying club. Since 1969 he lived and worked in the hero city of Minsk. Died on August 30, 1985. He was buried at the Northern cemetery in Minsk.

Colonel (1975). He was awarded 2 Orders of Lenin (05/15/1942, 08/24/1943), Orders of the Red Banner (07/16/1942), the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (03/11/1985), the Red Star, medals.

In Minsk, a memorial plaque was installed on the house in which the Hero lived. In Bobruisk, a street is named after him.

Sources of

		Aviation and cosmonautics of the USSR. - Moscow: Military Publishing, 1968.
		Aviation: An Encyclopedia. - M .: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 1994.
		Immortal feats. - Moscow: Military Publishing, 1980
		Vazhin F.A. Air ram. - 2nd ed., Trans. and additional - M.: Military Publishing, 1962.
		Vodopyanov M.V. The sky starts from the ground. M., 1976

The self-sacrifice of Soviet pilots, who went en masse to air rams, forced the Luftwaffe command to issue a directive forbidding their pilots to approach the Russians at a dangerous distance. But this did not always help, and even experienced aces fell prey to beardless youths who went on deadly rams with the enemy.

Boris Kovzan became a real legend of Soviet fighter aviation, who committed four such rams, and in three cases even managed to land a crippled car at his airfield.

Hero of the Soviet Union Boris Ivanovich Kovzan

Born to fly and fight

A native of the city of Shakhty, Rostov Region, he was born on April 7, 1922. He grew up in the Belarusian city of Bobruisk, where he moved with his parents. He graduated from the 8th grade of secondary school there.

In 1939 he entered the Odessa Military Aviation School, from which he graduated a year before the war, having mastered the principles of air combat and precision bombing.

He continued his military service in the Western Special Military District on the territory of the Gomel region (Belarus), honing his flying skills and preparing for an imminent confrontation with the fighters of Nazi Germany. He flew on an outdated I-15 bis fighter, which should have become an easy target for the German aces who passed all of Europe.

Soviet fighter I-15 bis

The beginning of the Great Patriotic War was overwhelming. The Soviet Union lost a huge amount of its military equipment. The loss of aircraft, many of which the Germans did not even give the opportunity to take off from their airfields, were simply catastrophic, so each fighter was worth its weight in gold.

Boris Kovzan entered the first direct clash with the enemy on June 24, on the third day of the war. In his I-15 bis, he attacked the German Heinkel-111 bomber (according to other sources, Dornier-215), sending it burning to the ground.

German bomber Dornier-215

In the fall of 1941 he was transferred to serve near Moscow. Boris "saddled" the more modern Yak-1 aircraft, which for several months became his real friend and savior.

Cut off the fascist's tail

The pilot, as part of the group, repeatedly flies on combat missions, driving off German bombers trying to break through to the capital. He enters air battles, but cannot boast of a new star on the fuselage of his fighter.

About his first ram, committed on October 29, 1941, various sources report differently. Some say that Boris was returning from a combat mission, during which he shot all the ammunition. Others argue that our pilot ran out of ammunition already during the battle with Hitler's Me-110 reconnaissance aircraft.

Be that as it may, but not wanting to miss the enemy, Boris Kovzan cut off his tail unit with the propeller of his plane. You need to understand what kind of virtuoso flight technique the pilot had to possess for this.

The German reconnaissance officer who entered the peak exploded on the ground, and the Soviet pilot returned to the airfield, reporting to the command on the results of the sortie. At the same time, he did not consider a perfect ram to be a special feat.

The enemy will not pass

On February 21 (according to some sources, 22), 1942, the Yakov group flew out to cover the movement of troops along the Moscow-Leningrad highway to the Torzhok area of ​​the Tver region.

Seeing three German Ju-88 bombers in the air, Boris Kovzan courageously attacked one of them, dodging the oncoming fire. In the whirlwind of air combat, he did not even notice how he shot all the ammunition, and did not complete the task.

Then junior lieutenant Kovzan decided to repeat his favorite trick. And he succeeded! Having lost the tail unit, Junkers crashed into the ground, and the Soviet pilot returned safely to the airfield.

The story of how Boris Kovzan shot down German planes quickly became overgrown with various details and flew around the entire North-Western Front. It was rumored that Goering himself gave the order never to approach the "deranged Russians" in order to prevent the latter from making an aerial ram.

But when on July 7, 1942, the junior lieutenant Boris Kovzan, presented for the award of the Order of Lenin, cut off the tail of the third enemy fighter with a propeller, he became a real legend. And the most interesting thing - again, as if nothing had happened, he returned to the airfield on his Yak-1.

Soviet fighter Yak-1

I am ready to give my life for the Motherland

But Boris Kovzan was not lucky with the fourth ram. Although it turned out to be great luck that he survived.

On August 13, 1942, in the skies over Staraya Russa, Novgorod Region, his plane was returning from a combat mission. As always, with ammunition loaded to the last bullet.

Suddenly, a link of German Me-109 fighters emerged from the clouds. Quickly realizing that the Soviet pilot had nothing to shoot back with, the Nazis began to play cat and mouse with him, using the Yak-1 as an air target.

Methodically shooting Kovzan's fighter, performing unthinkable aerobatics, they managed to smash the canopy of his cockpit, seriously wounding the pilot himself (the bullet knocked out his eye). Wanting to give his life at a higher price, the pilot turned around and tried to make a head-on ram.

Surprisingly, the fascist did not shy away either. The head-on collision was of such force that both aircraft flew into small pieces. The German died on the spot, and Kovzan was thrown out of the wrecked cabin.

Frontal ram

Thank you guardian angel

Subsequently, he could not remember exactly whether he pulled the parachute ring, or it was opened by an unknown force. Well, I opened it ... Not completely. The pilot rushed to the ground at high speed and fell into a local swamp.

He would certainly have drowned if it were not for the peasants working nearby, who pulled Boris Kovzan out of the swamp and hid him literally a few minutes before the German search team arrived at the scene (the battle was going on over the occupied territory).

Policemen and fascists believed the words of the former collective farmers, who claimed that the Soviet pilot was swallowed up in a quagmire. Moreover, we ourselves did not want to smear our boots with “Russian mud”.

After a couple of days, Boris was transported to the partisans, from where he was evacuated to the mainland.

Get your way at any cost

The doctors still managed to save the seriously wounded pilot, although the damaged right eye had to be removed for this. Later Boris Kovzan said that the 10 months spent in the hospital were the most difficult in his life.

He almost completely recovered his health, but the medical commission found the pilot unfit for service in fighter aviation. This came as a severe blow to the guy who was barely 21 years old.

But this was not the character of the hero, he so "got" the members of the medical commissions that, in the end, he was allowed to fly without restrictions. And this is with one eye !!!

A small screw of the big Victory

Until the end of the war, Hero of the Soviet Union Boris Kovzan had 28 aerial victories, four of which - with the help of a ram.

True, the valiant prowess subsided a little, and he did not go to ramming anymore.

After the war, he flew in jets and taught this to the young recruits. Colonel Kovzan retired in 1958 as a result of the massive reduction of the Soviet Army.

For some time he lived in Ryazan, where he headed the local flying club, after which he moved to the capital of Soviet Belarus. He died on August 31, 1985.

Streets in several cities are named after him the former USSR, and in 2014 the Russian Post issued a postage stamp dedicated to the feat of this extraordinary person.