February 26, 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev, the famous fighter pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, the third of the Soviet aces in terms of the number of personally shot down planes during the Great Patriotic War. On his account there were 55, according to other sources, 57 personal victories, and 5 more victories in the group. It so happened that today they know much less about Gulaev than about two other famous Soviet fighter pilots: Ivan Kozhedub and Alexander Pokryshkin.
And if in the number of personally shot down planes Nikolai Gulaev was inferior to some Soviet aces, then in his efficiency - the ratio of the number of enemy planes shot down to the number of air battles conducted - he was the best fighter pilot of the Second World War among all the howling countries. According to researchers, Ivan Kozhedub's efficiency indicator was 0.5, the famous German ace Erik Hartman's was 0.4, while Gulayev's was 0. 8. Almost every air battle ended with a downed enemy plane. Nikolai Gulaev was a super-productive Soviet ace. Three times during one day he managed to shoot down 4 enemy aircraft at once, twice - 3 aircraft each and 7 times - two enemy aircraft per day.
The future ace pilot Nikolai Gulaev was born on February 26, 1918 in the village of Aksayskaya (today it is the city of Aksai in the Rostov region) into a family of ordinary workers, Russian by nationality. After graduating from 7 classes of incomplete secondary school and school FZU (factory apprenticeship), Gulaev worked for some time as a mechanic at a plant in Rostov. At the same time, like many Soviet youths, Nikolai Gulaev was imbued with love for the sky, during the day he worked at the enterprise, and in the evenings he attended classes at the flying club. In many ways, these studies predetermined his future destiny.
In 1938, Gulaev was drafted into the Red Army, while classes in the flying club helped him in the army. He was sent for further training at the Stalingrad Aviation School, which he successfully graduated in 1940. The future ace pilot met the Great Patriotic War as part of the air defense aviation. The regiment in which Gulaev served provided protection for an industrial facility located far from the front line, so his combat debut was postponed until August 1942.
The first star on board the Gulaev fighter appeared on August 3, 1942. He shot down his first plane in the sky near Stalingrad. Already his first sortie was unusual. The pilot, who at that time did not have permission to fly in the dark, unauthorizedly raised his fighter into the night sky, where he shot down a German Heinkel-111 bomber. In the very first battle, in non-standard conditions for himself and without the help of searchlights, he shot down an enemy plane. For an unauthorized flight, the young officer was "awarded" with a reprimand, but also presented for the award, and then promoted in rank.
Fighter pilot Nikolai Gulaev especially distinguished himself during the battles in the Kursk Bulge area near Belgorod. Several super-successful battles with his participation took place here. In the very first battle in this direction on May 14, 1943, repelling an enemy raid on the Grushka airfield, Gulaev single-handedly entered into battle with three Ju-87 dive bombers, which were covered by 4 Me-109 fighters. The Soviet ace approached the leading bomber at low altitude and shot it down with the first burst, the second bomber's gunner managed to open fire, but Gulaev shot him down too. After that, he tried to attack the third Junkers, but he ran out of ammunition, so he decided to ram the enemy. With the left wing of his Yak-1 fighter, Gulaev hit the right plane of the Ju-87, after which it crumbled to pieces. From the impact, the Yak-1 went into a tailspin, the pilot managed to return the vehicle to controllability near the ground and land the plane near the forward edge at the location of our rifle division. Arriving at the regiment from the departure, in which three bombers were shot down, Nikolai Gulaev again flew on a combat mission, but on a different plane. For this feat of his, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
Nikolay Gulaev in January 1944 in his "Aircobra"
In early July 1943, the four fighters, led by Nikolai Gulaev, carried out a sudden and very daring attack on a large group of enemy aircraft, in which there were up to 100 aircraft. Having upset the enemy's battle formations, the fighter pilots were able to shoot down 4 bombers and 2 fighters, after which all four returned safely to their airfield. On the same day, Gulaev's link made several more sorties, shooting down a total of 16 enemy aircraft.
Already on July 9, 1943, Nikolai Gulaev makes his second aerial ram in the Belgorod region. After that, he had to leave his plane by parachute. July 1943 proved to be extremely productive for Gulaev. In his flight book for this month, the following information was recorded: July 5 - 6 sorties, 4 victories, July 6 - Focke-Wulf 190 was shot down, on July 7 - 3 enemy aircraft were shot down as part of the group, on July 8 - Me -109 , July 12 - two U-87 bombers were shot down.
A month later he was retrained for a new fighter "Airacobra" and in the first flight he shot down a German bomber, and literally two days later another bomb carrier - Ju-88. Even then, it could be said that the list of his victories was not typical for most front-line aviation pilots, whose list of victories consisted mainly of enemy fighters. It should also be remembered that Nikolai Gulaev almost never was in the so-called "free hunt" mode, which, with the proper skill of the pilots, and the skill of Gulaev, undoubtedly, was present in abundance, made it possible to significantly increase the score of aerial victories. Gulaev's combat missions mainly consisted of covering ground targets: airfields, railway junctions, crossings.
Already on September 28, 1943, Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev, Deputy Commander of the 27th Fighter Aviation Regiment (205th Fighter Aviation Division), was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. By that time, he had already completed 95 sorties and personally shot down 13 enemy aircraft and 5 more vehicles in the group.
Nikolay Gulaev in the cockpit of his "Airacobra"
At the beginning of 1944, Gulaev was already in command of the squadron. Together with his pilots, he takes part in the battles for the liberation of the Right-Bank Ukraine. In the spring of 1944, he conducted his most successful air battle. In the skies over Romania over the Prut River, Nikolai Gulaev, at the head of six P-39 Airacobra fighters, attacks a large group of enemy bombers - 27 vehicles, accompanied by 8 fighters. In four minutes of the battle, Soviet pilots shot down 11 enemy aircraft, of which 5 were personally shot down by Nikolai Gulaev.
On May 30, 1944, over the Skulyany, Nikolay shot down 4 enemy planes in one day, while he shot down a Yu-87 bomber and a Me-109 fighter in one battle. In the same battle, the Soviet ace himself was seriously wounded in his right arm. Concentrating all his willpower, he managed to bring the fighter to his airfield, landed the car, taxied into the parking lot and lost consciousness there. The hero came to himself only in the hospital, where he underwent an operation.
On July 1, 1944, Guard Captain Nikolai Gulaev was awarded the second star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. He learned about the next award when he returned from a combat mission. The renowned ace finished his combat work at the front in August 1944, when, despite protests, he was sent to study at the academy. It was the desire of the country's leadership, which wanted to preserve the color of our aviation, as well as give the heroic officers the opportunity to get an education at the Air Force Academy. By that time, he had already managed to personally shoot down 55 enemy aircraft in 69 air battles, which allowed him to set an absolute record for combat effectiveness for a fighter pilot. “He was a truly outstanding pilot,” aviation historian Nikolai Bodrikhin told RIA Novosti reporters. - For example, he won more victories over twin-engine aircraft than anyone else. The same Kozhedub shot down only 5 such planes, and Gulaev's account had more than 10 "twin-engine" aircraft.
Despite his truly outstanding successes in the sky, Nikolai Gulaev failed to gain the glory that went to his eminent colleagues - two Soviet aces - Ivan Kozhedub and Alexander Pokryshkin. Historians believe that in many ways the reason was the difficult character of the hero. Some sources said that Gulaev was already in 1944 awarded the third star of the Hero of the Soviet Union, but the performance was "turned off", as the pilot allegedly made a riot in a Moscow restaurant. This did not prevent the hero pilot from graduating from the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy in 1950, and from the General Staff Military Academy in 1960. At the same time, in the postwar years, Gulaev was one of the first Soviet pilots to master the control of a jet fighter.
After the end of World War II, Nikolai Gulaev at various times commanded an aviation division in Yaroslavl, and then managed to rise to the rank of commander of the 10th Air Defense Army with headquarters in Arkhangelsk. Co-workers of the hero-pilot in the 10th Air Defense Army recalled that the general did not perceive his life in the north of the country as a link and was always completely devoted to military service - the volume of tasks assigned to him was enormous. According to the recollections of colleagues, among the officers of his army there were still rumors that Gulaev had high-ranking ill-wishers in Moscow. He could well become the commander-in-chief of the air defense forces, but someone slowed down his advancement in the career ladder. Perhaps the front-line straightforwardness of Nikolai Gulaev and his unwillingness to grovel in front of his elders played a role.
Colonel Georgy Madlitsky, a former staff officer of the 10th Air Defense Army, noted: “Gulaev had the highest authority, although he did not like to talk about his military exploits. On the one hand, he was a very demanding and tough officer who could not stand idlers and slovens in the army. On the other hand, he treated people with great attention, trying in every way to help them, to improve living conditions and service. “Just imagine, in 1968 he personally invited Vladimir Vysotsky to our“village”, who spoke at the Officers' House, it was a great and memorable event,” recalls Georgy Madlitsky.
Bust of the hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Gulaev in the city of Aksai
Nikolai Gulaev commanded the 10th Air Defense Army from 1966 to 1974, by which time he was already a colonel general. In 1974, he was appointed head of the combat training directorate of the country's air defense forces. Formally, this could be considered a promotion, but in fact it meant an honorable resignation of the general. This event was preceded by an unpleasant episode. In 1973, Norwegian environmentalists approached Moscow, saying that the personnel of the 10th Army were poaching and shooting polar bears. In fact, according to Georgy Madlitsky, Gulaev gave the order to shoot the bears as they approach the units after two incidents of polar bear attacks on soldiers. As a result, Gulaev was summoned for analysis to Moscow to the party committee, where the general again demonstrated his character, could not restrain himself and declared: "I ask those who were at the front to stand up." Only a few have risen … ".
Colonel-General Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev retired in 1979 and lived in Moscow. Died on September 27, 1985 at the age of 67. Today, in the homeland of the hero in the city of Aksai, there is a street named after him, and a bust of the hero is also installed in Aksai. Not so long ago, veterans of this army installed a memorial plaque on the house in Arkhangelsk, where the colonel-general lived when he headed the 10th Air Defense Army. Every year on May 9, fresh flowers appear near it.
