Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin was a Soviet fighter pilot in World War II, and later a marshal of aviation. He was one of the highest-scoring Soviet aces, and the highest-scoring pilot ever to fly an American aircraft, having achieved the great majority of his kills in the Lend-Lease Bell P-39 Airacobra. During the war Pokryshkin earned the title Hero of the Soviet Union three times: 24 May 1943, 24 August 1943, and 19 August 1944. After the war, he served in the Soviet Air Defense Forces, reaching the rank of Marshal of Aviation; he retired in 1981.
Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak, also known as Lilya, was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II. Historians' estimates for her total victories range from thirteen to fourteen solo victories and four to five shared kills in her 66 combat sorties. In about two years of operations, she was the first female fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft, the first of two female fighter pilots who have earned the title of fighter ace and the holder of the record for the greatest number of kills by a female fighter pilot. She was shot down near Orel during the Battle of Kursk as she attacked a formation of German aircraft.
Mikhail Petrovich Devyataev ; 8 July 1917 – 24 November 2002) was a Soviet fighter pilot known for his incredible escape from a Nazi concentration camp on the island of Usedom, in the Baltic Sea.
Omon Ra is a short novel by Russian writer Victor Pelevin, published in 1992 by the Tekst Publishing House in Moscow. It was the first novel by Pelevin, who until then was known for his short stories.
Kirill Alekseyevich Yevstigneyev was a Soviet fighter pilot and one of the top Soviet aces of World War II. During his career he claimed 53 solo and 3 shared aerial victories flying the Lavochkin La-5 and La-7 fighters.
The Story of a Real Man is an opera in four acts by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, his opus 117. It was written from 1947 to 1948, and was his last opera.
Leonid Nikitovich Khrushchev was a Soviet fighter pilot and the son of Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev served as a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Forces during the Winter War and the Eastern Front of World War II. Khrushchev's plane was shot down in 1943 but his death was never confirmed and he was listed as missing in action. The exact circumstances of his death remain unknown and the subject of conspiracy theories.
Aleksey Vasilyevich Alelyukhin was a Soviet World War II flying ace and twice Hero of the Soviet Union who later became a major general. During World War II, Alelyukhin shot down at least 28 enemy aircraft. He served in the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment and went on to a series of postwar command positions, retiring as a major general in 1985. He also flew during the Korean War.
Dmitry Borisovich Glinka was a Soviet flying ace during World War II who was twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his achievements, having scored 50 individual aerial victories by the end of the war. His older brother, Boris Glinka, was also a flying ace and Hero of the Soviet Union.
Vasily Aleksandrovich Zaitsev was a Soviet Air Forces World War II flying ace who was twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
Aleksandr Fyodorovich Klubov a Soviet flying ace during the Second World War who was twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. During the war he completed 457 sorties, in which he gained at least 31 individual kills, making him one of the highest-scoring Soviet flying aces.
Vladimir Dmitrievich Lavrinenkov was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Forces who became a flying ace during the Second World War and was twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for being one of the top flying aces in the Soviet Union.
Pyotr Afanasyevich Pokryshev was a fighter pilot and squadron commander in the Soviet Airforce during the Second World War who became a flying ace with 18 individual and 9 shared confirmed shootdowns who was twice awarded with the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
Valeria Dmitrievna Khomyakova was a Soviet fighter pilot and military officer during World War II. She was widely reported as the first woman pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft, but later changed to the first in a night battle. Khomyakova was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, but was killed in a flight accident only two weeks later.
Nikolai Mikhailovich Skomorokhov was a flying ace in the Soviet Air Forces who scored over 40 individual shootdowns of enemy aircraft during the Second World War. He was twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and went on to become a Marshal of Aviation.
Ivan Nikiforovich Stepanenko was a Soviet pilot who became a flying ace with over 30 solo shootdowns during World War II. He remained in the military after the end of the war and went on to fly a variety of MiG aircraft and become a Major-General.
Aleksey Konstantinovich Ryazanov was a Soviet flying ace during world War II. With over 30 solo shootdowns of enemy aircraft, he remained in the military after the war and became a General-Major.
Aleksey Semyonovich Smirnov was a fighter pilot and flying ace of the Soviet Air Forces during the Second World War. He gained 35 solo victories during the war and was one of the few people awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union twice.
Zakhar Artyomovich Sorokin was a Soviet fighter pilot and flying ace who flew in combat with prosthetic feet from 1943 to 1945, having lost his feet to frostbite in 1941 after crashing in tundra in his MiG-3. He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of the British Empire for his perseverance, and after the war he wrote several memoirs.
Major Leonid Georgievich Belousov was a Soviet flying ace who served throughout World War II, even after both of his legs had to be amputated due to injuries.
Soviet Union 
Soviet Air Force 
