Captain Nikolay Sutyagin (5 May 1923 – 12 November 1986) was a Sovietfighter pilot in the Second World War and the Korean War. He was the top ace of the Korean War scoring 21 victories.
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting. A fighter pilot with at least five air-to-air kills becomes known as an ace.
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
The Korean War was a war between North Korea and South Korea. The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following a series of clashes along the border.
Nikolay Vasil'yevich Sutyagin was born in 1923 near Nizhniy Novgorod, then known as Gorkiy. His parents were actors, and eventually moved to the city when Nikolay was 11. Joining the Komsomol in 1939, Nikolay was then able to get into the DOSAAF program where he was exposed to flying in the Polikarpov Po-2 biplane. In March 1941 he was conscripted into the Red Army, but was then posted to the Soviet Air Force.
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it was officially independent and referred to as "the helper and the reserve of the CPSU".
DOSAAF, full name Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Navy, was a paramilitary sport organisation in the Soviet Union, concerned mainly with weapons, automobiles and aviation. The society was established in 1927 as OSOAVIAKhIM and from 1951 to 1991 carried the name of DOSAAF.
The Polikarpov Po-2 served as a general-purpose Soviet biplane, nicknamed Kukuruznik, NATO reporting name "Mule". The reliable, uncomplicated concept of the Po-2's design made it an ideal trainer aircraft, as well as doubling as a low-cost ground attack, aerial reconnaissance, psychological warfare and liaison aircraft during war, proving to be one of the most versatile light combat types to be built in the Soviet Union. As of 1978 it remained in production for a longer period of time than any other Soviet-era aircraft.
He then went to pilot school, graduating in 1942, and was sent to the 5th Fighter Aviation Regiment in the Far East. He remained in the Far East until the end of the war, acquiring some combat experience in the war with Japan after the Soviets declared war on the Japanese Empire. After the war, Sutyagin learned to fly the American P-63 Kingcobra, also flying as an instructor in the Soviet-converted UTI P-63 two-seater.
The Bell P-63 Kingcobra is an American fighter aircraft developed by Bell Aircraft in World War II from the Bell P-39 Airacobra in an attempt to correct that aircraft's deficiencies. Although the P-63 was not accepted for combat use by the United States Army Air Forces, it was adopted by the Soviet Air Force.
In April 1947 Sutyagin joined the 17th Fighter Aviation Regiment, part of the 190th Fighter Aviation Division (IAD) in the Far East Military District. In 1950 the 17th was moved to the new 303rd IAD, which included the 523rd Fighter Aviation Regiment and 18th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, and the entire division was equipped with the new MiG-15 jet fighter. Sutyagin completed 54 flights in the MiG-15 before the division was ordered on a "secret tour" and reassigned to the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps at Mukden in Manchuria, with its regiments forward deployed to Myaogao and Antung airfields on the Korean border, in order to counter UN airpower over Korea.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate swept wings to achieve high transonic speeds. In combat over Korea, it outclassed straight-winged jet day fighters, which were largely relegated to ground-attack roles, and was quickly countered by the similar American swept-wing North American F-86 Sabre. The MiG-15 is often mentioned, along with the F-86 Sabre, as the best fighter aircraft of the Korean War.
The 64th Fighter Aviation Corps was an aviation corps of the Soviet Air Forces. The corps was the parent unit for Soviet interceptor units based in northeastern Manchuria during the Korean War.
Manchuria is a name first used in the 17th century by Japanese people to refer to a large geographic region in Northeast Asia. Depending on the context, Manchuria can either refer to a region that falls entirely within the People's Republic of China or a larger region divided between China and Russia. "Manchuria" is widely used outside China to denote the geographical and historical region. This region is the traditional homeland of the Buyeo, Xianbei, Khitan, and Jurchen peoples, who built several states within the area historically.
Sutyagin began combat operations in April 1951. When he left Korea in February 1952, Captain Sutyagin had been credited with shooting down 21 UN aircraft.[dubious–discuss] He was the biggest ace in the Korean war, outscoring the top U.S ace Captain Joseph C. McConnell by 5 kills.
Joseph Christopher McConnell Jr. was a United States Air Force fighter pilot who was the top American flying ace during the Korean War. A native of Dover, New Hampshire, Captain McConnell was credited with shooting down 16 MiG-15s while flying North American F-86 Sabres. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions in aerial combat. McConnell was the first American triple jet-on-jet fighter ace and is still the top-scoring American jet ace.
Sutyagin was awarded the Gold Star and the title Hero of the Soviet Union, and was soon promoted to Major. By 1970 he was a chief instructor and Major-General of Aviation (the equivalent of US rank of Brigadier general).
The Gold Star medal is a special insignia that identifies recipients of the title "Hero" in the Soviet Union and some of its allies, and several post-Soviet states.
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.
Sutyagin served a further combat tour as chief instructor for flight training to the Vietnamese People's Air Force and taught combat tactics in 1970-1971, flying the MiG-21PF and MiG-17. Suffering ill health he returned to the USSR in May 1972 and was sent to GSFG in East Germany to recuperate. Due to his failing vision Sutyagin was removed from flight status and relegated to either trainers or transports.
Sutyagin retired in May 1978 at the age of 55, and spent the last years of his life with his family, dying in November 1986 at the age of 63. Over the course of his career he flew 20 types of aircraft and logged over 3,300 flight hours.
Sutyagin's record is generally held to be 21 victories, with another two shared.[3] However at least one source suggests that only five victories are verifiable.[4]
22 June 1951 – Sutyagin's second North American F-86 Sabre claim; victim Howard Miller (POW); he also claimed a third Sabre on this day. (2 F-86's were credited to Sutyagin this day and to a pilot of the 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, but both the 176th claim and Miller (the only loss that day) were early in the morning. Sutyagin's claims were mid-morning.
24 June 1951 – Damaged the F-86A of Colonel Glenn T. Eagleston (CO of the 4th FIW), who belly-landed in Suwon. (No F-86 was lost on the 24th; Eagleston was shot up on the 25th; only Eagleston's aircraft was hit that day.)
26 June 1951 – Fifth kill; a Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star piloted by Bob Lauterbach (KIA). Sutyagin was credited with an F-86 on this day, not an F-80, and no F-86's were lost. Lauterbach's loss was credited to AAA.
29 July 1951 – Shot down F-86A 49-1098, for his 6th kill. (Sutyagin was credited with an F-80 on this day, not an F-86. The 17th Fighter Aviation Regiment claimed 4 F-80's and correspond to an engagement with 16th FIS F-80's. No F-80's were lost. The loss of 49-1098 corresponds to one of 4 F-86 claims made by MiG pilots other than Sutyagin.
9 August 1951 – Claimed an F-80. (The claims of the 17th Fighter Aviation Regiment this day correspond to an engagement with 51st FIG F-80's; none were hit.)
25 August 1951 – Together Major G. Pulov (CO of the 17th Fighter Aviation Regiment), Sutyagin intercepted Gloster Meteors of No. 77 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force (77 Sqn RAAF); Sutyagin and Pulov claimed one Meteor each. (This was 77 Sqn's first engagement with MiG's; no Meteors were lost.)
26 September 1951 – In two separate sorties the 17th Fighter Aviation Regiment engaged Meteors of 77 Sqn and Sabres of the 336th FIS; first, Sutyagin damaged the Meteor of P/O D. A. Armit (written off later that day) and later shooting down the F-86A of Lt. Carl Barnett (MIA). (A Meteor flown by W/O Bill Michelson, serial 77-726 was also damaged, but repaired and returned to service on 6 October. Lt. Yakovlev – as well as Sutyagin – was credited with a Meteor destroyed. Four pilots of the 17th and 523rd Fighter Aviation Regiment's were credited with F-86s, including Sutyagin, compared to one actual loss.)
November 1951 – Claimed three F-86 and one Republic F-84 Thunderjet shot down (none confirmed by US records.)
3 December 1951 – Claimed another Sabre; 49-1184 and one F-84. (Sutyagin was credited with an F-86 this day, no F-84 were lost, but F-86 49-1184 was lost on 4 December to an uncertain cause).
15 December 1951 – Damaged a F-86E of the 334th FIS. The pilot, William F. Prindle, crashed and died while trying to land at Suwon (3 Soviet F-86 claims this day, two correspond in time to the single loss: Sutyagin's and one by Maj. Popov of the 523rd Fighter Aviation Regiment.)
6 January 1952 – Two victories claimed: F-84E of Donald Grey (KIA) and a F-86E of Lester Page (MIA). (Grey was lost to AAA while 9 F-86's were credited to Soviet pilots this day, 8 including Sutyagin's in a morning engagement where Page was lost.)
11 January 1952 – Sutyagin made his 21st victory claim: a F-86E piloted by Thiel M. Reeves (MIA). (Eight Soviet and six Chinese claims this day, against a single F-86 lost. Yevgeny Pepelyaev was also credited with an F-86.)
The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Soviet MiG-15 in high-speed dogfights in the skies of the Korean War (1950–1953), fighting some of the earliest jet-to-jet battles in history. Considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in that war, the F-86 is also rated highly in comparison with fighters of other eras. Although it was developed in the late 1940s and was outdated by the end of the 1950s, the Sabre proved versatile and adaptable and continued as a front-line fighter in numerous air forces until the last active operational examples were retired by the Bolivian Air Force in 1994.
Francis Stanley "Gabby" Gabreski was a Polish-American career pilot in the United States Air Force who retired as a colonel after 26 years of military service. He was the top American and United States Army Air Forces fighter ace over Europe during World War II and a jet fighter ace with the Air Force in the Korean War.
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