- Lev Shestakov
Lev Lvovich Shestakov ( _ru. Лев Львович Шестаков;
December 28 1915 -March 13 1944 ) was a Soviet military aviator and the Red Air Force's leading ace in theSpanish Civil War .Upon graduating from military college in 1936 he applied for combat in
Spain , joining a fighter squadron in 1937. FlyingPolikarpov I-16 s he claimed eight solo victories and 31 collaborative. At the time of the German invasion of theSoviet Union in June 1941, Shestakov led a fighterregiment on theOdessa front . Over the next three years he held other commands in various regions, includingStalingrad . As acolonel , on 13 March 1944 (other sources state 12 March), he intercepted German bombers but was never seen again (he was probably shot down byHans-Ulrich Rudel ). His 26 victories in theGreat Patriotic War raised his career total to 65 with 42 shared.His decorations included
Hero of the Soviet Union ,Order of Lenin ,Order of the Red Banner , andOrder of the Patriotic War .According to research by Tomas Polak and Christopher Shores, Shestakov rates as Russia's all-time second-ranking fighter pilot, ahead of
Ivan Kozhedub (62) and behind V.M. Neydenko (99).References
*Tomas Polak and Christopher Shores (1999). "Stalin's Falcons: The Aces of the Red Star". Grub Street, London.
External links
*ru icon [http://avia.lib.ru/bibl/1025/02.html Biography]
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