Nikolay Sutyagin
Encyclopedia
Captain Nikolay Sutyagin (5 May 1923 - 12 November 1986) was a Russia
n fighter pilot
in the Second World War
and the Korean War
.
Nikolay Vasil'yevich Sutyagin was born in 1923 near Nizhniy Novgord. His parents were actors, and eventually they moved to the city of Gor'kiy when Nikolay was 11. Joining the Komsomol in 1939, Nikolay was then able to get into the DOSAAF program where he was exposed to flying in the Polikarpov U-2 biplane. In March 1941 he was conscripted into the Red Army, but was then posted to the Soviet Air Force.
He then went to pilot school, graduating in 1942, and was sent to the 5th IAP in the Far East. He remained in the Far East until the end of the war, acquiring some combat experience in the war with Japan after the Soviets declared war on the Japanese Empire. After the war, Sutyagin learned to fly the P-63 Kingcobra, also flying as an instructor in the Soviet-converted UTI P-63 two-seater.
In April 1947 Sutyagin joined the 17th IAP, part of the 190th Fighter Aviation Division (IAD) in the Far East Military District. In 1950 the 17th was moved to the new 303rd IAD, which included the 523rd IAP and 18th Guards IAP, and the entire division was equipped with the new MiG-15 jet fighter. Sutyagin completed 54 flights in the MiG-15 before the division was ordered on a "secret tour" and reassigned to the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps at Mukden in Manchuria
, with its regiments forward deployed to Myaogao and Antung airfields on the Korean border, in order to counter UN airpower over Korea.
Sutyagin began combat operations in April 1951. When he left Korea in February 1952, Captain Sutyagin had been credited with shooting down 21 UN aircraft.
Sutyagin was awarded the Gold Star medal and the title Hero of the Soviet Union
, and was soon promoted to Major. By 1970 he was a chief instructor and Major-General of Aviation (US brigadier general equivalent.)
Sutyagin served a further combat tour as chief instructor for flight training to the Vietnamese People's Air Force, and in 1970-1971 taught combat tactics to the VPAF, flying the MiG-21PF and MiG-17. Suffering ill health he returned to the USSR in May 1972 and was sent to GSFG in East Germany to recuperate. Due to his failing vision Sutyagin was removed from flight status and relegated to either trainers or transports.
Sutyagin retired in May 1978 at the age of 55, and spent the last years of his life with his family, dying in November 1986 at the age of 63. Over the course of his career he flew 20 types of aircraft and logged over 3,300 flight hours.
Sutyagin was the top Soviet fighter ace
in the Korean War. He claimed 15 F-86 Sabre
s, two F-84 Thunderjet
s, two P-80 Shooting Star
s and two Gloster Meteor
s shot down. Sutyagin's Korean War record was 149 combat missions, 66 aerial engagements and 21 enemy aircraft shot down.
Sutyagin was awarded the Order of Lenin
, three Orders of the Red Banner
, Order of the Patriotic War First Class
and a Hero of the Soviet Union
in 1952.
Nikolay Sutyagin is the top-scoring fighter ace in jet-versus-jet combat history.
Sutyagin's maximum confirmable score is therefore at least 5 compared to 21 official.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
in the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
Nikolay Vasil'yevich Sutyagin was born in 1923 near Nizhniy Novgord. His parents were actors, and eventually they moved to the city of Gor'kiy when Nikolay was 11. Joining the Komsomol in 1939, Nikolay was then able to get into the DOSAAF program where he was exposed to flying in the Polikarpov U-2 biplane. In March 1941 he was conscripted into the Red Army, but was then posted to the Soviet Air Force.
He then went to pilot school, graduating in 1942, and was sent to the 5th IAP in the Far East. He remained in the Far East until the end of the war, acquiring some combat experience in the war with Japan after the Soviets declared war on the Japanese Empire. After the war, Sutyagin learned to fly the P-63 Kingcobra, also flying as an instructor in the Soviet-converted UTI P-63 two-seater.
In April 1947 Sutyagin joined the 17th IAP, part of the 190th Fighter Aviation Division (IAD) in the Far East Military District. In 1950 the 17th was moved to the new 303rd IAD, which included the 523rd IAP and 18th Guards IAP, and the entire division was equipped with the new MiG-15 jet fighter. Sutyagin completed 54 flights in the MiG-15 before the division was ordered on a "secret tour" and reassigned to the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps at Mukden in Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
, with its regiments forward deployed to Myaogao and Antung airfields on the Korean border, in order to counter UN airpower over Korea.
Sutyagin began combat operations in April 1951. When he left Korea in February 1952, Captain Sutyagin had been credited with shooting down 21 UN aircraft.
Sutyagin was awarded the Gold Star medal and the title Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
, and was soon promoted to Major. By 1970 he was a chief instructor and Major-General of Aviation (US brigadier general equivalent.)
Sutyagin served a further combat tour as chief instructor for flight training to the Vietnamese People's Air Force, and in 1970-1971 taught combat tactics to the VPAF, flying the MiG-21PF and MiG-17. Suffering ill health he returned to the USSR in May 1972 and was sent to GSFG in East Germany to recuperate. Due to his failing vision Sutyagin was removed from flight status and relegated to either trainers or transports.
Sutyagin retired in May 1978 at the age of 55, and spent the last years of his life with his family, dying in November 1986 at the age of 63. Over the course of his career he flew 20 types of aircraft and logged over 3,300 flight hours.
Sutyagin was the top Soviet fighter ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
in the Korean War. He claimed 15 F-86 Sabre
F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...
s, two F-84 Thunderjet
F-84 Thunderjet
The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 flew in 1946...
s, two P-80 Shooting Star
P-80 Shooting Star
The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces. Designed in 1943 as a response to the German Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter, and delivered in just 143 days from the start of the design process, production models were flying but...
s and two Gloster Meteor
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...
s shot down. Sutyagin's Korean War record was 149 combat missions, 66 aerial engagements and 21 enemy aircraft shot down.
Sutyagin was awarded the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
, three Orders of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
, Order of the Patriotic War First Class
Order of the Patriotic War
The Order of the Patriotic War is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans for heroic deeds during the German-Soviet War, known by the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.- History :The Order was...
and a Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
in 1952.
Nikolay Sutyagin is the top-scoring fighter ace in jet-versus-jet combat history.
Kill Tally
- 22 June 1951 - his 2nd F-86 claim; victim Howard Miller (POW); he also claimed a 3rd Sabre on this day. (2 F-86's were credited to Sutyagin this day and to a pilot of the 176th GIAP, but both the 176th claim and Miller (the only loss that day) were early in the morning. Sutyagin's claims were mid-morning.
- 24 June 1951 - shot up the F-86A of Colonel Glenn Todd Eagleston (CO of the 4th FIW), who belly landed in Suwon. (No F-86 was lost on the 24th; Eagleston was shot up on the 25th; only Eagleston's aircraft was hit that day.)
- 26 June 1951 - 5th kill, a F-80C of Bob Lauterbach (KIA.(Sutyagin was credited with an F-86 on this day, not an F-80, and no F-86's were lost. Lauterbach's loss was credited to AAA.
- 29 July 1951 - shot down F-86A 49-1098, for his 6th kill (Sutyagin was credited with an F-80 on this day, not an F-86. The 17th IAP claimed 4 F-80's and correspond to an engagement with 16th FIS F-80's. No F-80's were lost.The loss of 49-1098 corresponds to one of 4 F-86 claims made by MiG pilots other than Sutyagin.
- 9 August 1951 - claimed an F-80.(The claims of the 17th IAP this day correspond to an engagement with 51st FIG F-80's; none were hit.)
- 25 August 1951 - together with the CO of the 17th IAP, Maj. G. Pulov, intercepted "Australian Meteors" and claimed one Meteor each.(This was 77 Squadron RAAF's first engagement with MiG's; none were hit.)
- 26 September 1951 - in two separate sorties the 17th IAP engaged Meteors of the No. 77 Sqdn and Sabres of the 336th FIS, and he scored in both ; first shooting up the Meteor of P/O DA Armit (written off later that day) and later shooting down the F-86A of Lt. Carl Barnett (MIA)(The Meteor hit in this engagement was flown by W/O Bill Michelson, serial 77-726, and was repaired and returned to service on 6 October. Lt. Yakovlev -as well as Sutyagin- was credited with a Meteor destroyed. Four pilots of the 17th and 523rd IAP's were credited with F-86's, including Sutyagin, compared to one actual loss.
- November 1951 - claimed three F-86 and one F-84 shot down(none confirmed by US records.)
- 3 December 1951 - another Sabre ; 49-1184 and one F-84.(Sutyagin was credited with an F-86 this day, no F-84 were lost, but F-86 49-1184 was lost on 4 December to an uncertain cause).
- 15 December 1951 - shot-up a F-86E of the 334th FIS. The pilot, William F. Prindle, crashed and died while trying to land at Suwon (3 Russian F-86 claims this day, two correspond in time to the single loss: Sutyagin's and one by Maj. Popov of the 523rd IAP.)
- 6 January 1952 - two victories claimed: F-84E of Donald Grey (KIA) and a F-86E of Lester Page (MIA). (Grey was lost to AAA while 9 F-86's were credited to Soviet pilots this day, 8 including Sutyagin's in a morning engagement where Page was lost.)
- 11 January 1952 - his 21st: a F-86E of Thiel M. Reeves (MIA).(8 Soviet and 6 Chinese claims this day against a single F-86 loss. Yevgeny PepelyaevYevgeny PepelyaevColonel Yevgeny Georgievich Pepelyaev is a Soviet fighter pilot of the Korean War, tallying 20 kills, second only to his compatriot Nikolay Sutyagin's 21.- Early years and world war II :...
was also credited with an F-86.)
Sutyagin's maximum confirmable score is therefore at least 5 compared to 21 official.