Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev

Nikolai Gulaev (1944)

Bust of Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev in Aksai

Nikolai Dmitrijewitsch Gulajew ( Russian: Николай Дмитриевич Гулаев ; born February 26, 1918 in Stanitsa Aksaiskaja near Aksai ( Rostov Oblast ), Soviet Russia ; † September 27, 1985 in Moscow ) was a Soviet fighter pilot , a double ace in the Second World War and a hero of the Soviet Union .

Life

Gulaev was born to a laborer in a village near Aksai. In his early youth he found employment as a locksmith in Rostov . In addition to his work, he became a student pilot in the local aeroclub. In 1938 he was a member of the Red Army and sent to the Stalingrad Military Aviation School, which he graduated in 1940. He then took up his service as an I-16 air defense fighter pilot (PWO) in the 423rd Fighter Regiment (IAP). After the German invasion of the Soviet Union , Gulajew was transferred to the front in 1942 at the 487th IAP, which was equipped with more modern types, in the area around Belgorod , where he achieved initial successes; Among other things, he brought an opposing bomber to crash by ramming it. In February 1943 Gulajew came to the 129th Gw IAP (Guards Hunting Air Regiment) and took part in the battle in the Kursk Arc , after which he was first awarded the Star of a Hero of the Soviet Union on September 28, 1943 with the rank of first lieutenant . By then, Gulaev had completed 95 combat flights and achieved 13 aerial victories . In the further course of the war he was promoted to captain and appointed squadron leader at the 129th Gw IAP. The second time Gulaev received the highest Soviet award on July 1, 1944. By then he had completed 240 combat flights in which he managed to kill 32 enemy aircraft in 69 air battles. During the fighting in the Prut area , he scored five kills in a single operation. At the end of the war he was officially awarded 57 aerial victories, making him one of the most successful Soviet and Allied fighter pilots in World War II after Ivan Koschedub and Alexander Pokryschkin .

After the war, Gulaev began studying at the Zhukovsky Academy in Moscow and graduated in 1950. In 1960 another followed at the General Staff Academy . In the further course of his life he held several leading positions within the Soviet air defense force, most recently with the rank of colonel general. Gulaev retired in 1979 and died in Moscow in 1985.

Gulaev was a holder of high honors. In addition to the double star of the Hero of the Soviet Union , he received the Order of Lenin twice , the Order of the October Revolution and the Order of the Red Banner four times .

literature

• Wilfried Copenhagen : Lexicon Soviet Aviation . Elbe-Dnjepr, Klitzschen 2007, ISBN 978-3-933395-90-0 , p. 82/83 .
• Waldemar Trojca: Soviet flying ace 1941–1945. (= History of the Great Patriotic War ), VDM, Zweibrücken 2019, ISBN 978-3-86619-152-5 .

Web links

Commons : Nikolai Gulayev  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files