4 air rams. Boris Kovzan - air ace, or four rams of one pilot. The wounded pilot hardly noticed how one of the German planes launched a frontal attack on him. The cars quickly approached. “If the German can’t stand it now and turns up, then

He is the only ace in the world to have accomplished four air rams, while remaining alive.

On October 29, 1941, Boris Kovzan flew on a MiG-3 plane to escort attack aircraft to the area of ​​​​the city of Zagorsk, Moscow region. In an air battle with four Me-109s, it knocked out one of them, but at the same time used up all its ammunition. When returning to his airfield at an altitude of 5000 m, he discovered an enemy Ju-88 air reconnaissance aircraft. To prevent him from leaving, Kovzan decided to ram. He came behind the Junkers from below, gave the gas and suddenly took the handle. The impact shook the entire fighter, but Kovzan managed to control it. The Junkers, somersaulting, went towards the ground.

Four air rams by Boris Kovzan

On February 22, 1942, Senior Lieutenant Kovzan rammed an enemy bomber in the Vyshny Volochok area on a Yak-1 plane. Landed on a damaged plane.
On July 8, 1942, near the village of Lobnitsy, Novgorod Region, an enemy fighter was rammed by the same plane in an air battle. Landed on a damaged plane.
August 13, 1942 near the city Staraya Russa Captain Kovzan on a La-5 plane discovered a group of 7 Ju-88 and 6 Me-109. The enemy had already noticed our fighter and Kovzan had to engage in an unequal battle. Ignoring the escort fighter, Kovzan rushed towards the Junkers. One Me-109 tried to get in his way, but after a well-aimed burst it started smoking and began to fall. Suddenly an enemy burst hit the cabin. One bullet hit Kovzan in the right eye. He attempted to jump out with a parachute, but did not have enough strength. At this time, a Junkers appeared straight ahead and Kovzan directed his burning plane at it. The impact broke both planes into pieces. Our pilot was thrown out of the cockpit through an open canopy. From a height of 6000 m he fell into a swamp and this saved his life. In the fall, he broke his left leg, arm and several ribs. This was his fourth ramming.

The collective farmers arrived in time and pulled the pilot out of the quagmire and took him to the partisans, who ferried him across the front line. He was in the hospital for 10 months. It took almost a year for my health to recover. Instead of an eye, a glass dummy was inserted. After the hospital, he obtained permission to serve with one eye in fighter aviation. Until the end of the war he shot down 6 more enemy aircraft. In total, during the war years he made 360 ​​combat missions, conducted 127 air battles, and shot down 28 German aircraft.

After the war he continued to serve in aviation. I have already flown as an instructor on jet aircraft. In 1954 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. Since 1958, Lieutenant Colonel Kovzan has been in the reserve. Lived in Ryazan, worked as the head of a flying club. Then retired colonel Kovzan lived in Minsk. Awarded 2 Orders of Lenin, Order of the Red Banner, Order of the Patriotic War 1st degree, Order of the Red Star, and medals. Died August 31, 1985. He was buried at the Northern Cemetery in Minsk.

The self-sacrifice of Soviet pilots, who en masse went on air ramming missions, forced the Luftwaffe command to issue a directive prohibiting its pilots from getting too close to the Russians at a dangerous distance. But this did not always help, and even experienced aces became victims of mustacheless youths who went to deadly rams with the enemy.

Boris Kovzan became a real legend of Soviet fighter aviation, who made four such rams, and in three cases even managed to land a crippled aircraft on his airfield.

Hero of the Soviet Union Boris Ivanovich Kovzan

Born to fly and fight

A native of the city of Shakhty Rostov region born April 7, 1922. Grew up in Belarusian city Bobruisk, where he moved with his parents. There he graduated from the 8th grade of high school.

In 1939 he entered the Odessa Military Aviation School, which he graduated a year before the war, having mastered the principles of air combat and precision bombing.

He continued his military service in the Western Special Military District in the Gomel Region (Belarus), honing his flying skills and preparing for an early confrontation with the fighters of Nazi Germany. He flew an outdated I-15 bis fighter, which should have become an easy target for German aces who had traveled all over Europe.

Soviet fighter I-15 bis

The beginning of the Great Patriotic War was stunning. The Soviet Union lost great amount their military equipment. The losses of aircraft, many of which the Germans did not even give the opportunity to take off from their airfields, were simply catastrophic, so every fighter was worth its weight in gold.

Boris Kovzan entered into his first direct combat with the enemy on June 24, on the third day of the war. In his I-15 bis, he attacked a German bomber Heinkel-111 (according to other sources, Dornier-215), sending it burning to the ground.

German Dornier 215 bomber

Already in the fall of 1941 he was transferred to serve near Moscow. Boris “saddled” the more modern Yak-1 aircraft, which for several months became his true friend and savior.

Cut off the fascist's tail

The pilot as part of the group repeatedly flies out on combat missions, driving away German bombers trying to break through to the capital. He enters into air battles, but cannot boast of a new star on the fuselage of his fighter.

Various sources report differently about his first ramming, committed on October 29, 1941. Some say that Boris was returning from a combat mission, during which he shot all the ammunition. Others claim that our pilot ran out of ammunition during the battle with Hitler’s Me-110 reconnaissance plane.

Be that as it may, Boris Kovzan, who did not want to miss the enemy, cut him off tail unit the propeller of your plane. You need to understand what kind of virtuoso flying technique the pilot had to have for this.

The German reconnaissance aircraft that entered the dive exploded on the ground, and the Soviet pilot returned to the airfield, reporting to the command about the results of the combat mission. At the same time, he did not consider the perfect ram to be a special feat.

The enemy will not pass

On February 21 (according to some sources, 22), the Yakov group flew out to cover the movement of troops along the Moscow-Leningrad highway to the area of ​​​​the city of Torzhok, Tver Region.

Seeing three German Yu-88 bombers in the air, Boris Kovzan bravely attacked one of them, dodging oncoming fire. In the whirlwind of the air battle, he did not even notice how he had fired all the ammunition, without completing the assigned task.

Then Junior Lieutenant Kovzan decided to repeat his favorite trick. And he succeeded! The Junkers, which had lost its tail, crashed into the ground, and the Soviet pilot returned safely to the airfield.

The story of how Boris Kovzan shoots down german planes, quickly acquired a variety of details and flew around the entire North-Western Front. It was rumored that Goering himself gave the order never to get close to the “insane Russians”, so as not to give the latter the opportunity to commit an aerial ramming.

But when, on July 7, 1942, junior lieutenant Boris Kovzan, nominated for the Order of Lenin, cut off the tail of the third enemy fighter with a screw, he became a real legend. And the most interesting thing is that again, as if nothing had happened, he returned to the airfield in his Yak-1.

Soviet fighter Yak-1

Ready to give my life for my homeland

But Boris Kovzan was unlucky with the fourth ram. Although it was already a huge luck that he survived.

On August 13, 1942, in the sky over Staraya Russa, Novgorod region, his plane was returning from a combat mission. As always, with the ammunition shot down to the last bullet.

Suddenly, a flight of German Me-109 fighters emerged from the clouds. Quickly realizing that the Soviet pilot had nothing to shoot back with, the Nazis began to play cat and mouse with him, using the Yak-1 as an aerial target.

Methodically shooting at Kovzan's fighter, which was performing unimaginable aerobatics, they managed to break the canopy of his cockpit, seriously wounding the pilot himself (the bullet knocked out his eye). Wanting to give his life more dearly, the pilot turned around and tried to make a frontal ram.

Surprisingly, the fascist did not chicken out either. The head-on collision was so strong that both planes were broken into small pieces. The German died on the spot, and Kovzan was thrown out of the broken cabin.

Frontal ram

Thank you guardian angel

Subsequently, he could not remember exactly whether he was pulling the parachute ring, or whether it was opened by an unknown force. Well, I opened it... Not completely. The pilot rushed to the ground at high speed and fell into a local swamp.

He would probably have drowned if it had not been for the peasants working nearby, who pulled Boris Kovzan out of the swamp and hid him literally a few minutes before the German search team arrived at the scene (the battle took place over the occupied territory).

Policemen and fascists believed the words of former collective farmers, who claimed that the Soviet pilot was swallowed up by the quagmire. Moreover, we ourselves really didn’t want to smear our boots with “Russian mud.”

Within a couple of days, Boris was transported to the partisans, from where he was evacuated to the mainland.

Get yours at any cost

Doctors still managed to save the seriously wounded pilot, although the damaged right eye had to be removed. Boris Kovzan later said that the 10 months spent in the hospital became the most difficult in his life.

He almost completely recovered his health, but the medical commission declared the pilot unfit for fighter aviation service. This was a cruel blow for a guy who was barely 21 years old.

But this was not the character of the hero; he annoyed the members of the medical commissions so much that, in the end, he was allowed to fly without restrictions. And this is with one eye!!!

A small cog in a big Victory

Until the end of the war, Hero of the Soviet Union Boris Kovzan had 28 aerial victories, four of which were by ramming.

True, the brave prowess subsided a little, and he no longer went for rams.

After the war, he flew jets and taught this to young recruits. Colonel Kovzan retired in 1958 as a result of a massive reduction in the Soviet Army.

For some time he lived in Ryazan, where he led the local flying club, after which he moved to the capital of Soviet Belarus. Died August 31, 1985.

Streets in several cities are named after him. former USSR, and in 2014, the Russian Post issued a postage stamp dedicated to the feat of this extraordinary person.

Imagine the following situation. You are a military pilot who is in the deadly whirlwind of a hot air battle. You're out of ammunition, running out of fuel, and your car is damaged and on fire. And against you are superior enemy forces, from which you can no longer escape. Question: What are your actions? When I was a boy raised on war films like “Only old men go into battle”, then very boldly found a way out of a difficult situation. Answered bravely - “I’m going to ram!”...

Growing up, I realized that this feat is not so easy to decide on. For an air ram, you need to have nerves of steel and noble rage.

Six hundred Soviet pilots, who during the Great Patriotic War stopped the enemy with a deadly collision, had all this - both nerves and rage. Six hundred heroes deliberately went to their deaths in order to interrupt the flight of invaders over our Motherland. Thirty-four pilots accomplished this feat twice! Most of them died.

It is believed that the very first ram of the Great Patriotic War was carried out by senior lieutenant Ivan Ivanov June 22, 1941 at 4:25 am over the Mlynov airfield near the city of Dubno. The Red Star fighter rammed the Heinkel bomber, after which both planes fell. For this feat, Ivan Ivanov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Posthumously.

On the morning of the first day of the war, four more Soviet falcons committed a similar desperate act. Of the first five Soviet pilots who opened the account of air rams on June 22, 1941, only two survived the collision: Dmitry Kokorev in the area of ​​​​the city of Zambrov and Pyotr Ryabtsev in the sky over Brest.

Let's ask a rhetorical question: how is it possible to stay alive after a collision at a great height, and even at high speeds? Moreover, what is the probability of safely surviving two air rams?

What if there were three of them!? You understand that after the third plane crash, the chance of landing in health and consciousness tends to zero.

So, in the history of our country there is a man who committed four rams, survived, went through the entire war, crushed enemies until the very end and lived to a ripe old age.

This is a pilot Boris Ivanovich Kovzan.

He made his very first ram on October 29, 1941 in the Battle of Moscow. On that day, junior lieutenant Kovzan flew out on a MiG-3 fighter to escort attack aircraft, and on the way back to his airfield he noticed an enemy Junkers-88 reconnaissance aircraft. The Germans had long sought to discover our airfield near the city of Zaraisk.

It was impossible to allow the winged scout of the Krauts to complete the task assigned to him. But since all the ammunition had already been used up, Boris Kovzan decided to go for the ram.Our pilot came from behind and hit the tail fin of the enemy aircraft with his propeller. After the attack, the Junkers fell down, tumbling randomly, but the MiG still retained controllability, and Boris landed it in a field near some village.

What else is surprising in this heroic story. The next day Boris returned to his regiment. But he did not arrive on foot, not on a horse-drawn cart, and not in a passing car, as happened with many pilots who had to parachute from burning and damaged cars. No, Boris arrived in his MiG. He managed to repair the propeller damaged during the ramming... in the collective farm forge! Imagine, some folk Russian craftsman straightened and balanced a very complex aircraft part!

Boris Kovzan made the second ram on February 22, 1942. On that day, in the area of ​​Vyshny Volochok, he rammed a Junkers-87 dive bomber on a Yak-1 fighter, after which he returned to his airfield and again made a successful landing on the damaged aircraft.


It is necessary to note another brave act of our hero. In the spring of 1942, fierce battles took place in the north-west direction from Moscow. Fighter pilots sometimes had to make 6-7 combat missions in one day. On one of the flights, Kovzan noticed seven Junkers-88 bombers and started a battle with them. At this time, six fascist covering fighters approached. The Soviet pilot entered the fray.

He one fought a duel against thirteen enemy planes. And in that unequal battle, the incredible happened: 20-year-old Lieutenant Kovzan shot down a German aviation lieutenant colonel, an experienced pilot who bombed cities in Spain in 1936 and carried out raids on London in 1941.

The third ram for Kovzan also ended successfully.On July 7, 1942, near the village of Lyubnitsa, Novgorod Region, Boris shot down an enemy Messerschmitt-109 fighter in a head-on ram.

Once again I draw your attention: in a frontal attack!

The impact was wing on wing. The Messer rushed to the ground, spinning, but our MiG turned out to be stronger, and Kovzan managed to land his car, although without releasing the landing gear due to its damage.

The most famous, the most dangerous and the most incredible was the fourth ram of Boris Kovzan. On August 13, 1942, in the skies over the city of Staraya Russa, on a La-5 aircraft, he entered into battle with six German fighters. There was no chance of standing against six people at once. After a few minutes of hot air combat, a piece of glass from the broken cockpit damaged the pilot's eye. All ammunition was shot. The car was on fire. Kovzan radioed that he was leaving the plane and opened the cockpit to jump with a parachute. And at that moment he saw a German ace rushing towards him...

The Soviet pilot, wounded in the head, went on his next ramming attack on a burning plane. Fourth in a row…


The combat vehicles collided head-on and fell to pieces. The German pilot died immediately, and Kovzan was thrown out of the plane through the cockpit canopy that had been opened ahead of time. He's so lucky for the first time in that day.

In second Once Providence smiled on the pilot, when, having flown several thousand meters unconscious, he suddenly woke up, at a very low altitude (about 200 meters) above the ground, he pulled the exhaust ring and the parachute was able to open. It opened up, but the speed of the fall was too high and too dangerous.

IN third once Luck was with Kovzan when he landed him in a swamp. But the blow still turned out to be very strong. Boris broke his leg, arms and several ribs.

The swamp was near a village occupied by the Germans...

But, apparently, the Heavenly Forces favored the desperate pilot - the partisans, who had seen the air battle, arrived at the crash site and saved Kovzan. The fourth success in a row after the fourth ram! An obvious and absolutely incredible coincidence of circumstances of that unique day!

After being bandaged in the dugout of the partisan camp, Boris Kovzan was taken at night behind the front line - to his own. The Soviet ace came to his senses only on the seventh day in a Moscow hospital. He had several wounds from shrapnel; his collarbone and jaw were broken, his ribs, both arms and a leg were damaged. Doctors were unable to save the pilot’s right eye. For two months, doctors fought for the pilot’s life. Everyone understood well that in that battle only a Miracle saved him.

In 2014, in honor of Boris Ivanovich Kovzan, the only pilot of the Second World War who shot down four (!!!) fascist planes using air rams, a postage stamp was issued as a tribute to the feat of this outstanding fighter pilot.

Sky pilot

The future pilot was born on April 7, 1922 in the city of Shakhty, Rostov region. Already in 1940, he graduated from the Odessa Military Aviation School, where, together with other cadets, he studied flight skills and mastered the principles of bombing and air combat.

After graduating from aviation school, the pilot was sent to serve in the Western Special Military District, stationed in the Gomel region. Guarding the skies over Belarus, honing his flight techniques and improving his skills, the young fighter pilot meets here the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.

Already on the third day of the war, June 24, 1941, Boris had to demonstrate his training and skill as a fighter pilot. In the sky above Gomel, he entered an air battle with the enemy on a single-engine I-15bis fighter, shooting down an enemy Henkel-111 bomber.

In the fall of 1941, the young pilot was transferred to serve in the 42nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, where he received a more modern Yak-1 fighter, which became his true friend and savior. The regiment was supposed to provide cover from the enemy Moscow direction, preventing fascist bombers from approaching the Soviet capital.

First military victories

In the sky above the Moscow region on October 29, 1941, as part of a group of fighters, the pilot attacked an enemy column and discovered a Messerschmitt-1102 covering his bombers. Without thinking twice, the pilot decided to attack the enemy. As a result of a fierce battle, the Soviet fighter ran out of ammunition, and the enemy tried to escape.

Having sent the message “I’m going to ram” on the air, Kovzan directed the combat vehicle towards the enemy. The Soviet pilot managed to cut off the tail of an enemy bomber with the propeller blades. As a result of this attack, the German fighter crashed to the ground and exploded, and its pilot was never able to jump out with a parachute. Kovzan himself managed to return the plane to the airfield, where he fell into the arms of his comrades.

The pilot made the next ram on February 22, 1942 - during an operation to cover the Moscow-Leningrad highway. He again controlled the same Yak-1, which remained intact after the previous ramming.

The battering ram is the hero's weapon. Poster from the period of the Great Patriotic War.
Artist A. Voloshin

At an altitude of more than two thousand meters, the pilot noticed three German Junkers. Boris attacked the enemy, and when the entire combat supply ran out, he made his signature ramming attack and landed the plane safely.

First military awards

The story of how selflessly and skillfully the junior lieutenant of the Soviet army Kovzan carried out the ramming of an enemy bomber flew around the Northwestern Front in as soon as possible. The second ram in the young fighter pilot's service record was considered a real feat, definitely deserving of the highest award awarded in the USSR - the Order of Lenin. The highest state award was presented to the pilot by the front air force commander, aviation lieutenant general Kutsevalov.

The legendary pilot did not stop there; he continued to demonstrate his incredible skill, coupled with a sense of dedication and deep patriotism. He fought on the same Yak-1, which by some miracle survived two collisions and remained in good condition.

On July 7, near the village of Lyubtsy, Novgorod Region, a desperate pilot launched his third ram. In an unequal battle with two enemy bombers, the pilot had no ammunition left, and he damaged the enemy’s tail unit with the fuselage of his faithful Yak. The fascist plane lost control and crashed, and the crew of the second German fighter chose to retreat, hiding in the clouds from the “insane Russian,” who, although not without problems, landed at his airfield.

For this feat and incredible courage he received the extraordinary rank of senior lieutenant, as well as the Order of the Red Banner.

The most dangerous fight

The fourth aerial ramming of an enemy bomber almost became fatal. But perhaps it is the ineradicable will to win, the desire to protect one’s people and native land helped Boris Ivanovich stay alive.

This happened on August 13, 1942 in the sky over Staraya Russa, Novgorod region. Returning from a combat mission without ammunition, the fighter pilot was attacked by enemy Me-109s, which began to shoot him like an ordinary target.

Even high aerobatic skill did not allow the pilot to escape these attacks. The canopy (transparent folding roof) of the plane's cockpit shattered after several direct hits, and the pilot himself was seriously wounded in the head. Losing what was left of his strength and realizing that his life was over, the hero went to ram.

The German pilot also turned out to be not timid and did not turn away even when there were only a few seconds left before a head-on collision. The impact was so powerful that both the Soviet and German fighters were torn to pieces.

Our pilot was thrown out of the Yak-1 cockpit. After that, Kovzan did not remember anything: neither falling from a great height on a parachute that did not fully open, nor being rescued when he began to choke after falling into a swamp.

But Boris definitely had a caring guardian angel. An unequal battle and a falling pilot was seen local residents. Together, they managed to pull the 20-year-old hero out of the quagmire.

The collective farmers hid the rescued pilot in the hay and did not hand him over to the Germans, who sent an entire team to search for him. The policemen and the fascists believed that Soviet pilot drowned in the swamp, and stopped the search. Then there was the road to the partisans, who organized the sending of Boris to the mainland.

Long rehabilitation period

The pilot himself later admitted that treatment in a Moscow military hospital, which lasted ten whole months, was the most difficult test of his life. Several times the officer was on the brink of death, and only thanks to the professionalism of Moscow doctors who tirelessly fought for Boris’s life, he was able to get back on his feet.

During the time spent in the hospital, Kovzan underwent several very difficult operations, which not only saved the pilot’s life, but also almost completely restored his health. Unfortunately, Boris lost his right eye, shattered by a shrapnel, forever; Moscow doctors had no chance of restoring it. Instead of a real eye, the pilot had to wear a glass dummy from then until the very end of his life.

After being discharged from the hospital, the pilot, through incredible efforts, managed to return to military service. The war was not over, and the Soviet boy, who loved and strived to defend his homeland with all his heart, could not live in peace, knowing that his comrades were dying.

Boris had to appear before several medical commissions until he was declared fit for further service and allowed to fly without restrictions.

Until the end of the Patriotic War, Kovzan won 6 more air victories, and in total during the war years he shot down 28 fascist planes.

Life after the war

On August 24, 1943, the legendary Soviet fighter pilot Boris Ivanovich Kovzan was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. And when the war ended, it began new life, new trials - of course, incomparable with those that had to be endured at the fronts.

After the war he decided to remain in service in Soviet aviation– Boris flew jet planes already as an instructor. In addition, the young officer continued his studies and graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1954. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, but in 1958, due to cuts in the Air Force, he was forced to retire.

For some time, the legendary pilot lived in Ryazan and ran a flying club. A little later, already with the rank of colonel, he moved to Minsk, where he spent the rest of his life. The Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Red Banner, the Red Star and many medals, and devoted the rest of his life to instilling patriotism in the younger generation.

The brave hero's heart stopped beating on August 31, 1985. The cause of such an early death was combat wounds and severe overloads suffered during air battles.

The personality of Boris Kovzan is a vivid example of heroism and the fight for freedom, the embodiment of love for the Fatherland. His heroic air rams should be remembered by all subsequent generations of defenders of our Motherland, ready to sacrifice their own lives for the defense of the Fatherland.

Russian ace Boris Kovzan of the 28 aircraft he shot down

Four were destroyed by rams.

Born on April 7, 1922 in the city of Shakhty, now the Rostov region, in the family of an employee. He graduated from 8 classes in the city of Bobruisk and the flying club, Odessa Aviation School in 1940.

On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War since 1941. Participant in the defense of Gomel. Fighter pilot Senior Lieutenant B.I. Kovzan is one of the few pilots in the world who rammed 4 enemy aircraft: 10.29.1941 over the city of Zagorsk, Moscow region, 22.2.1942 over the city of Torzhok, Kalinin region, 9.7.1942 over the village of Lyubnitsa and in August 1943 near the city of Staraya Russa, Novgorod region.

In total, he made 360 ​​combat missions, conducted 127 air battles, and shot down 28 enemy aircraft personally and in a group with his comrades.

On August 24, 1943, for courage and military valor shown in battles with enemies, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Boris Ivanovich Kovzan participated in the war from day one. He opened his combat account on June 24, 1941, by shooting down a Do-215 bomber.

He committed his first ram on October 29, 1941. On that day, junior lieutenant Kovzan On a MiG-3 plane, he flew to escort attack aircraft to the area of ​​​​the city of Zagorsk, Moscow region.

Modification of MiG-3

Wingspan, m 10.20 Length, m 8.25 Height, m ​​3.50

Wing area, m2 17.44

Weight, kg of empty aircraft 2699 takeoff 3350 fuel 463

Engine type 1 PD AM-35A Power, hp nominal 1 x 1200 takeoff 1 x 1350

Maximum speed, km/h at the ground 505 at an altitude of 640

Practical range, km 1250

Rate of climb, m/min 877

Practical ceiling, m 12000

Armament: one 12.7 mm UBS machine gun,

two 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns
6 NURS 57-mm RS-82 or 2x 100 kg

bombs FAB-100 or FAB-50

Having received a hit from ground anti-aircraft guns, he fell slightly behind his comrades and on the way back his plane was overtaken by four Messers. One of them Kovzan managed to shoot down. managed to break away from the rest, going to a height unattainable for the Germans. When he was already approaching his airfield, he saw the leading aerial reconnaissance Junkers - The Germans had long sought to discover this airfield, and it seems that this reconnaissance aircraft was close to completing its task.

All the cartridges had already been spent, and Kovzan decided to go for the ram. After this ram Kovzan committed forced landing and was declared missing. But two days later he was found sitting on the belly of the plane. The pilot, who was not injured, could have reached the airfield on foot, but did not dare to abandon the plane.

Second ram Kovzan produced on February 22, 1942. On that day, in the area of ​​Vyshny Volochok, on a Yak-1 plane, he rammed a Ju-87 dive bomber, after which he returned to his airfield and successfully landed on the damaged plane.

Modification

Wingspan, m

Height, m

Wing area, m2

Weight, kg

empty plane

normal takeoff

engine's type

1 PD M-105PA

Power, hp

Maximum speed, km/h

on high

Practical range, km

Rate of climb, m/min

Practical ceiling, m

Weapons:

one 20-mm ShVAK cannon and two 7.62-mm ShKAS machine guns

Third ram for Kovzana also ended almost painlessly. Having shot down a Me-109 ram on July 8, 1942 near the village of Lobnitsy, Novgorod Region, he successfully returned to his airfield.

The most famous was his fourth ram. Returning from a mission, Kovzan entered into battle with six German fighters. Having been wounded in the head and left without ammunition Kovzan, reported on the radio that he was leaving the plane and had already opened the canopy to leave it. And at that moment he saw a German ace rushing towards him. The planes collided head-on.

The German pilot died immediately, and Kovzana thrown out of the plane through the canopy. He fell unconscious, but during the fall his parachute somehow partially opened. The pilot landed straight into a swamp, breaking his leg and several ribs. The partisans who arrived in time pulled him out of the swamp and transported him across the front line. In hospital Kovzan spent 10 months, lost his right eye. However, after the hospital he returned to duty and brought his victories to 28 aircraft shot down.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 24, 1943, for courage and bravery shown in battles with enemies, captain Kovzanu Boris Ivanovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 1103).

After the war Kovzan worked as the head of a flying club.

 

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