Who made 4 air rams. “Deranged Russian”: four air rams by Boris Kovzan. Born to fly and fight

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 the Soviet fighter aircraft, 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, to which 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 He flew an outdated I-15 bis fighter, which should have become an easy target for German aces who had traveled all over Europe.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 off his tail with the propeller of his plane. You need to understand what kind of virtuoso flying technique the pilot had to have to do this.

A German reconnaissance aircraft entering 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.

About 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.

August 13, 1942 in the sky above Staraya Russa In the 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 a 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.

Boris Ivanovich Kovzan participated in the war from the first day. He opened his combat account on June 24, 1941, by shooting down a Do-215 bomber. He made his first ram on October 29, 1941.

During the Great War, Soviet pilots made more than 600 aerial rams (their exact number is unknown, since research continues to this day, new exploits of Stalin’s falcons are gradually becoming known)

In the fall of 1941, a circular was even sent out to the Luftwaffe, which prohibited approaching Soviet aircraft closer than 100 meters in order to avoid air ramming.

It should be noted that Soviet Air Force pilots used rams on all types of aircraft: fighters, bombers, attack aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft.

Perhaps the most famous ground ram is a feat that was accomplished on June 26, 1941 by a DB-3f (Il-4, twin-engine long-range bomber) crew of captain Nikolai Gastello. The bomber was hit by enemy anti-aircraft artillery fire and committed the so-called. “fiery ram”, hitting the enemy’s mechanized column.

In addition, it cannot be said that an air ram necessarily led to the death of the pilot. Statistics show that approximately 37% of pilots died during an aerial ramming. The remaining pilots not only remained alive, but even kept the plane in a more or less combat-ready condition, so many aircraft could continue the air battle and made a successful landing. There are examples when pilots made two successful rams in one air battle. A few dozens Soviet pilots committed the so-called “double” rams are when the enemy’s plane could not be shot down the first time and then it was necessary to finish it off with a second blow. There is even a case when fighter pilot O. Kilgovatov had to make four ramming strikes to destroy the enemy. 35 Soviet pilots each made two rams, N.V. Terekhin and A.S. Khlobystov - three each.

And our hero is the only pilot in the world who made four air rams, and three times he returned to his home airfield in his plane.

In October 1941, in the deep Volovsky region Tula region The 42nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, which had previously worked against the enemy from Yelets, flew over.

In those days, the situation near Moscow was such that every pilot was in demand, especially with combat experience: the enemy captured Oryol and was rushing to Tula. And Boris already had a downed plane to his credit. True, I had never flown the MiGs that were in service with this regiment before. He, together with the regimental engineer, had to study the Mig-3.

This machine, conceived as a high-altitude interceptor, at an altitude of 5 thousand meters reached a speed of up to 630 kilometers per hour, which far exceeded the capabilities of any other fighter, and had good maneuverability, but it lacked cannon armament: the “migs” had machine guns - a rather weak weapon against enemy bombers. In addition, the closer to the ground, the more the aircraft lost its qualities, while most air battles took place at altitudes of up to three thousand meters.

A few days later, Zimin was informed that the pilot was ready for an independent flight.

On October 29, 1941, junior lieutenant Kovzan flew out in his Mig-3 to escort attack aircraft to the area of ​​​​the city of Zagorsk, Moscow region. 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. Kovzan managed to shoot down one of them. He 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 seemed that this reconnaissance aircraft was close to completing its task.

All the cartridges had already been spent, and Kovzan decided to go for a ram. An aerial carousel ensued, each trying to get behind the other. The enemy began to maneuver, leaving the battle. Kovzan reached after him, waiting for the right moment to hit the stabilizer of the enemy aircraft with his propeller.

“At that moment, it seems as if you swallowed a piece of ice - you get cold inside,” Kovzan said years later. - This, of course, is the same fear that is characteristic of all living things. But we are people, we overcome it within ourselves! I had to go through this “cold” four times. And what’s interesting: then, on the ground, I could usually remember almost the entire battle in order, as if my mind was photographing every moment...

After the impact, the enemy vehicle went down, tumbling randomly, but the Mig still retained controllability. After this ram, Kovzan committed forced landing on a collective farm field, near the village of Titovo. People were already running towards his plane... The pilot, who was not injured, could have reached the airfield on foot, but did not dare to abandon the plane. He managed to repair the propeller at the collective farm forge and flew to his native regiment on his plane.

For the downed plane, the pilot was awarded the Order of the Red Banner

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.

Third ram for Kovzan it also ended almost painlessly. Having shot down an 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. On August 13, 1942, on a La-5 fighter, Captain B.I. Kovzan discovered a group of enemy bombers and fighters and engaged them in battle. In a fierce battle, his plane was shot down. An enemy machine-gun burst hit the fighter's cockpit, the instrument panel was smashed, and the pilot's head was cut by shrapnel. The car was on fire. He radioed that he was jumping with a parachute and had already opened the canopy to leave the plane.

The wounded pilot hardly noticed how one of the German planes launched a frontal attack on him. The cars quickly approached. “If now the German can’t stand it and turns up, then we’ll have to ram,” thought Kovzan. The pilot, wounded in the head, was going to ram a burning plane.

The planes collided head-on. But the German’s canopy was closed and he fell with the destroyed plane, and Kovzan was thrown out of the cockpit because the canopy was open. 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.

Kovzan spent 10 months in the hospital and lost his right eye. He was wounded, but is now healthy, his head is in place, his arms and legs have recovered. The commission’s verdict for Boris Kovzan was very difficult: "You can't fly anymore". But this was a real Soviet falcon, who could not imagine life without flights and the sky.

As a result, the pilot reached the Air Force Commander-in-Chief A. Novikov. He promised to help. A new conclusion from the medical commission was received: “Fit to fly on all types of fighter aircraft.” Boris Kovzan writes a report with a request to be sent to the warring units, but receives several refusals. But this time he achieved his goal, the pilot was enlisted in the 144th Air Defense Division near Saratov.

In total, during the years of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet pilot made 360 ​​combat missions, took part in 127 air battles, shot down 28 German planes, and 6 of them after being seriously wounded and being one-eyed.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 24, 1943, for the courage and bravery shown in battles with enemies, Captain Boris Ivanovich Kovzan 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 he continued his service. In 1954 he graduated from the Air Force Academy.

Since 1958, Lieutenant Colonel Kovzan has been in reserve. Lived in Ryazan, worked as the head of a flying club. Then retired colonel Kovzan lived in Minsk. Boris Ivanovich died in Minsk on August 31, 1985 at the age of 63.

In 2005, in the city of Ryazan, a memorial plaque was installed on the house where he lived. And in Bobruisk there is a street named after. Kovzana.

The following materials were used in preparing this post.

Ramming as a method of air combat remains the last argument that pilots resort to in a hopeless situation. Not everyone manages to survive after it. Nevertheless, some of our pilots resorted to it several times.

The world's first ram

The world's first aerial ramming was carried out by the author " dead loop» Staff Captain Petr Nesterov. He was 27 years old, and having flown 28 combat missions at the beginning of the war, he was considered an experienced pilot.
Nesterov had long believed that an enemy airplane could be destroyed by hitting the planes with its wheels. This was a necessary measure - at the beginning of the war, planes were not equipped with machine guns, and aviators flew on missions with pistols and carbines.
On September 8, 1914, in the Lvov region, Pyotr Nesterov rammed a heavy Austrian aircraft under the control of Franz Malina and Baron Friedrich von Rosenthal, which was flying over Russian positions on reconnaissance missions.
Nesterov, in a light and fast Moran airplane, took off into the air, caught up with the Albatross and rammed it, striking it from top to bottom in the tail. This happened in front of the local residents.
The Austrian plane crashed. Upon impact, Nesterov, who was in a hurry to take off and was not wearing his seat belts, flew out of the cockpit and crashed. According to another version, Nesterov jumped out of the crashed plane himself, hoping to survive.

First ram of the Finnish War

The first and only ram of the Soviet-Finnish War was carried out by senior lieutenant Yakov Mikhin, a graduate of the 2nd Borisoglebsk military aviation school of pilots named after Chkalov. This happened on February 29, 1940 in the afternoon. 24 Soviet I-16 and I-15 aircraft attacked the Finnish Ruokolahti airfield.

To repel the attack, 15 fighters took off from the airfield.
A fierce battle ensued. Flight commander Yakov Mikhin, in a frontal attack with the wing of the aircraft, hit the fin of the Fokker, the famous Finnish ace Lieutenant Tatu Gugananti. The keel broke off from the impact. The Fokker crashed to the ground, the pilot died.
Yakov Mikhin, with a broken plane, managed to reach the airfield and safely landed his donkey. It must be said that Mikhin went through the entire Great Patriotic War, and then continued to serve in the Air Force.

The first ram of the Great Patriotic War

It is believed that the first ram of the Great Patriotic War was carried out by 31-year-old senior lieutenant Ivan Ivanov, who on June 22, 1941 at 4:25 am in an I-16 (according to other sources - on an I-153) over the Mlynov airfield near Dubno rammed a Heinkel bomber ", after which both planes fell. Ivanov died. For this feat he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
His primacy is disputed by several pilots: junior lieutenant Dmitry Kokorev, who rammed a Messerschmitt in the Zambro area 20 minutes after Ivanov’s feat and remained alive.
On June 22 at 5:15, junior lieutenant Leonid Buterin died over Western Ukraine(Stanislav), taking the Junkers-88 to ram.
Another 45 minutes later, an unknown pilot on a U-2 died over Vygoda after ramming a Messerschmitt.
At 10 am, a Messer was rammed over Brest and Lieutenant Pyotr Ryabtsev survived.
Some pilots resorted to ramming several times. Hero of the Soviet Union Boris Kovzan made 4 rams: over Zaraisk, over Torzhok, over Lobnitsa and Staraya Russa.

The first "fire" ram

A “fire” ram is a technique when a pilot directs a downed aircraft at ground targets. Everyone knows the feat of Nikolai Gastello, who flew the plane towards a tank column with fuel tanks. But the first “fiery” ram was carried out on June 22, 1941 by 27-year-old senior lieutenant Pyotr Chirkin from the 62nd assault aviation regiment. Chirkin directed the damaged I-153 at a column of German tanks approaching the city of Stryi (Western Ukraine).
In total, during the war years, more than 300 people repeated his feat.

First female ram

Soviet pilot Ekaterina Zelenko became the only woman in the world to perform a ramming mission. During the war years, she managed to make 40 combat missions and participated in 12 air battles. On September 12, 1941, she made three missions. Returning from a mission in the Romny area, she was attacked by German Me-109s. She managed to shoot down one plane, and when the ammunition ran out, she rammed the enemy plane, destroying it. She herself died. She was 24 years old. For her feat, Ekaterina Zelenko was awarded the Order of Lenin, and in 1990 she was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

First ram by jet

A native of Stalingrad, Captain Gennady Eliseev carried out his ramming attack on a MiG-21 fighter on November 28, 1973. On this day in air space The Soviet Union was invaded over the Mugan Valley of Azerbaijan by the Iranian Phantom-II, which carried out reconnaissance on behalf of the United States. Captain Eliseev took off to intercept from the airfield in Vaziani.
The air-to-air missiles did not produce the desired result: the Phantom released heat traps. To carry out the order, Eliseev decided to ram and struck with his wing tail unit"Phantom". The plane crashed and its crew was detained. Eliseev's MiG began to descend and crashed into a mountain. Gennady Eliseev was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The crew of the reconnaissance aircraft - an American colonel and an Iranian pilot - were handed over to the Iranian authorities 16 days later.

The first ramming of a transport aircraft

On July 18, 1981, a transport plane of the Argentine airline Canader CL-44 violated the USSR border over the territory of Armenia. There was a Swiss crew on board the plane. The deputy of the squadron, pilot Valentin Kulyapin, was tasked with imprisoning the violators. The Swiss did not respond to the pilot’s demands. Then the order came to shoot down the plane. The distance between the Su-15TM and the “transport aircraft” was small for the launch of R-98M missiles. The intruder walked towards the border. Then Kulyapin decided to go for the ram.
On the second attempt, he hit the Canadara's stabilizer with his fuselage, after which he safely ejected from the damaged aircraft, and the Argentine fell into a tailspin and fell just two kilometers from the border, his crew was killed. It later turned out that the plane was carrying weapons.
For his feat, the pilot was awarded the Order of the Red Star.

Born on April 7, 1922 in the city of Shakhty, now the Rostov region, in the family of an employee. He graduated from 8th grade in the city of Bobruisk. Boris Kovzan, like many of his peers,...

Born on April 7, 1922 in the city of Shakhty, now the Rostov region, in the family of an employee. He graduated from 8th grade in the city of Bobruisk.

Boris Kovzan, like many of his peers, learned to fly at a local flying club. In 1939 he was drafted into the Red Army, a year later he graduated from the Odessa Military Aviation Pilot School.

From the very first days of the Great Patriotic War at the front. Junior Lieutenant Kovzan opened his combat account already in August 1941, having shot down an enemy Dornier-215 bomber. Boris Ivanovich himself recalls:

“My heart bled when I learned that on the first day of the war several bombs were dropped on my native Bobruisk. On the third day of the war, German “vultures” were spotted in the skies over Gomel, where I served. He asked for permission to take off... The fascist Ace behaved impudently. This made me even more excited! Well, I think now I’ll show you where the crayfish spend the winter. He chose a comfortable position and opened fire. Ace flared up and went down...

And he first went to ram an enemy plane in the battle of Moscow, October 29, 1941, fighting as part of the 42nd Fighter Aviation Regiment. On that day, Boris Kovzan flew on a MiG-3 plane to escort attack aircraft to the area of ​​​​the city of Zaraysk, Moscow region:

— I was firing at an enemy column, and suddenly I noticed a Messerschmitt-110, which was “covering” its own. I decided to attack. I knew that aircraft of this type had strong offensive weapons and a coaxial machine gun that protected the rear hemisphere. Nevertheless, I managed to hit the shooter, but then I ran out of ammunition, and the fuel was running out. Then he went to ram... He himself landed safely at his airfield.”

For this feat he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. On February 22, 1942, Senior Lieutenant Kovzan in the Vyshny Volochok area again rammed an enemy bomber on a Yak-1 fighter. And again he landed on the damaged plane.


... Fierce fighting took place. Fighter pilots had to make 6-7 combat missions per day. This day seemed to be calm. But no, the enemy was not asleep. The combat alarm sounded at the airfield. Kovzan in the air. The air controller radioed: go to locality Guilt. Before reaching Vin, Boris intercepted seven Ju-88s and started a battle with them. At this time, six covering fighters approached. He entered the fight: one with thirteen...

“The battle was unique: you attack a bomber, and then a fighter comes at you. One Messer comes to the rear of my car. To get out of the impact, I dropped sharply, then took the handle, turned the car onto its back and sharply removed the gas. The fighter that attacked me from behind passes under my car. From this inverted position, I noticed that another Messer was launching a frontal attack. From a distance of 1200 meters I open fire. The enemy plane was flying, flying, then bit and went down. I see a paratrooper jumping out...

One Soviet fighter fought against 13 enemy aircraft for 45 minutes. Kovzan, who was only 19 years old, shot down Lieutenant Colonel German army, who was 54 years old. The seasoned air wolf bombed Spanish cities in 1936, flew to London in 1941, then was transferred from Berlin air defense to our Northwestern Front.

How you need strong friendship in battle, a reliable shoulder of a comrade! And the infantryman will be lost without it, and the tanker, and the reconnaissance officer needs it, and, of course, the winged people there, in the sky, high above the earth.

Pilot Manov loved to joke with his friend. But when he laughed at “Mukha” (that was the name of Kovzan’s regiment) on the ground, he knew that in the air there was no friend more reliable than Boris.

On July 9, 1942, a group of Soviet bombers headed for the German airfield of Demyansk. Eight of our fighters covered the heavily loaded vehicles. Kovzan, together with Senior Lieutenant Manov, received orders to remain above the entire group of fighters and distract the enemy when he appeared on the flight path. Not reaching 20 kilometers from the airfield, Boris noticed 2 German fighters that launched an attack on Manov. To save his comrade, he sharply turned the car around and fired barrage ahead of the enemy aircraft.

The German pilots used the following tactics: one tried to get behind Kovzan’s car, the other launched a frontal attack. On the second run, the German broke through the water-oil system in Kovzan’s car. Boris barely kept it on the wing and was still able to strike the enemy’s wing with his wing on a collision course. This happened in the area of ​​the village of Lyubnitsa, Novgorod region.

The blow was so strong that sparks fell from the eyes - red, black. When Kovzan came to his senses, his car with a severed wing was rushing towards the ground. Straining his last strength, he managed to go into horizontal flight, pull over the highway and sit on his “belly” without letting go of the wheels. Boris Ivanovich recalls:

“When I rammed the enemy for the third time, my plane already had several holes, but still obeyed me. The German pilot jumped out with a parachute, but he got entangled in the wreckage of the plane that caught fire... Somehow, I landed in a broken car. Residents of the village of Demyanik, over which the battle took place, watched the fight. The kids ran up to me in a crowd: “Uncle, uncle...” What kind of uncle am I to you, - I tell them, - I’m only 20 years old... Even though I was terribly tired, I didn’t risk leaving the car. Knew that local residents valuable parts could have been stolen. I waited for the local policeman...

After his return, there was a rally at the airfield. Friends congratulated Kovzan on another victory. But not everyone was destined to live to see the bright day of Victory. Of Kovzan’s 16 fighting friends, only three survived...

Grigory Konev. He was awarded three Orders of the Red Banner. He fought many air battles. He had 28 downed planes. He died in one of the air battles.

Sasha Berko. Shot down 24 planes. His car was set on fire. Jumped out by parachute. He was captured and hanged in the city of Smolensk.

Ivan Samsonov had 12 downed planes. Died while performing a combat mission.

It always became sad in the dugout when friends found out: this bed will be empty today too... The owner will not return, everyone understood what had happened. The night dragged on for a long time. In the morning, the gloomy friends of the deceased again left on fighter planes across the front line to avenge the death of their comrade.



07.04.1922 - 30.08.1985
Hero of the Soviet Union

TO Ovzan Boris Ivanovich - pilot of the 744th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 240th Fighter Aviation Division of the 6th Air Army of the North-Western Front, captain; the only Soviet fighter pilot to complete four air rams in combat.

Born on April 7, 1922 in the city of Shakhty, now the Rostov region, in the family of an employee. Russian. Member of the CPSU(b)/CPSU since 1945. He graduated from 8 classes in the city of Bobruisk, Mogilev region, Belarusian SSR.

In the Red Army since 1939. He graduated from the Odessa Military Aviation School of Pilots in 1940. Since 1940, he served in the 160th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Belarusian Special Military District.

Participant of the Great Patriotic War since September 1941. Pilot of the 42nd Fighter Aviation Regiment (Bryansk Front), Komsomol member, junior lieutenant Kovzan B.I. opened his combat account in August 1941, shooting down a Do-215 bomber. Then he fought as part of the 126th, 184th and 744th air regiments.

On October 29, 1941, he 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 4 Me-109s, he knocked out one of them, but at the same time used up all the ammunition. Upon returning to our airfield, an enemy Ju-88 reconnaissance aircraft was detected at an altitude of 5,000 meters. To prevent him from leaving, Kovzan decided to ram. He came behind the Junkers from below and equalized the speed. Then he gave the gas and suddenly took the stick. The impact shook the entire fighter, but Kovzan managed to control it. "Junkers", somersaulting, went to the ground. He landed at his airfield.

On February 21, 1942, junior lieutenant Kovzan rammed an enemy Yu-88 bomber in the Vyshny Volochok area on a Yak-1 plane. Landed on a damaged plane.

On July 9, 1942, in the area of ​​the village of Myatunovo, Lobnitsa district, Novgorod region, in an air battle on the same plane, on a collision course, an enemy Me-109f fighter was rammed with a plane strike. Made a safe landing on a damaged plane. For three rams of enemy aircraft in early July 1942, he was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but at the headquarters of the 6th Air Army the award was replaced by the Order of the Red Banner.

Pilot of the 744th Fighter Aviation Regiment (240th Fighter Aviation Division, 6th Air Army, Northwestern Front) Senior Lieutenant Kovzan B.I. by mid-July 1942, he made 142 combat missions, personally shot down 3 and 1 enemy aircraft in the group.

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 fighters, 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 meters 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 transported the pilot, who never regained consciousness, to Moscow.

U By the order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on August 24, 1943, for the courage and bravery shown in battles with enemies, Captain Boris Ivanovich Kovzan was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

The fighter pilot spent ten months in hospitals. After discharge, he obtained permission to serve with one eye in fighter aviation, and was appointed pilot instructor in regimental piloting techniques, assistant regiment commander, and deputy commander of the fighter regiment of the country's 144th Air Defense Fighter Aviation Division.

After the war he continued to serve in the Soviet Army. Since 1945 - assistant commander of the country's 123rd Air Defense Fighter Aviation Division. In 1954 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. Since 1954 - head of the Ryazan DOSAAF flying club. Since 1958, Lieutenant Colonel B.I. Kovzan has been in reserve. He lived in the city of Ryazan and continued to work as the head of a flying club. Since 1969 he lived and worked in the hero city of Minsk. Died on August 30, 1985. He was buried at the Northern Cemetery in Minsk.

Colonel (1975). Awarded 2 Orders of Lenin (05/15/1942, 08/24/1943), Orders of the Red Banner (07/16/1942), Order of the Patriotic War 1st degree (03/11/1985), Red Star, medals.

In Minsk, a memorial plaque was installed on the house in which the Hero lived. In Bobruisk a street is named after him.

Sources
Aviation and cosmonautics of the USSR. - M.: Voenizdat, 1968.
Aviation: Encyclopedia. - M.: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 1994.
Immortal feats. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1980
Vazhin F.A. Air ram. - 2nd ed., trans. and additional - M.: Voenizdat, 1962.
Vodopyanov M.V. Heaven begins from earth. M., 1976

 

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