Yevgeny Pepelyaev
Encyclopedia
Colonel Yevgeny Georgievich Pepelyaev (born 18 March 1918 in Bodaybo
, Irkutsk
, Eastern Siberia) is a Soviet fighter pilot
of the Korean War
, tallying 20 kills, second only to his compatriot Nikolay Sutyagin
's 21.
in Eastern Siberia, the son of a railroad worker. His elder brother Konstantin enlisted in the Soviet air force, and thus with the intention to follow the steps of his brother he worked in Odessa
with the city aeroclubs. He graduated in 1938 from the 8th Military Pilots School and was sent to serve in a regiment deployed in the Far East.
With the German invasion of the USSR in June 1941, he was retained in the Far east despite several requests for a combat posting in the West, especially after his brother Konstantin was killed in action. In late 1943 he was still an instructor with the 162nd IAP. In 1945 he was deputy commander of the 300th IAP, and participated in operations against Japan in Manchuria
. Pepelyayev flew 20 combat sorties in the Yak-9T, claiming a locomotive and a truck destroyed on the ground before the end of the war in August 1945.
The 300th IAP was then assigned surveillance duties covering the deployment of the US troops in Korea until March 1946, when the unit was sent back to the Soviet Union. In December 1947 he became the Executive officer of the 196th IAP, 324th IAD. This unit was among the first in the VVS to equip with the newest Lavochkin La-15
. In July 1949 the regiment began to receive the MiG-15 jet fighter.
The 196th IAP arrived in Manchuria in January 1951, and re-deployed to Antung.
On 20 May 1951 a force of 36 MiGs clashed with 28 Sabres, and both sides overclaimed, with the USAF claiming three MiGs and the VVS four F-86s. In fact one MiG was lost and three Sabres were damaged. Captain James Jabara
shot down one of the Pepelyayev’s pilots, Kpt. Viktor Nazarkin, and Pepelyayev claimed a F-86; the burst fired by Pepelyayev hit the right wing of Sabre F-86A 49-1080 flown by 1/Lt. Milton Nelson of the 335th FIS, destroying the hydraulic lines of Nelson's aircraft. Nelson managed to bring his crippled Sabre back to Kimpo, where it was written off.
On July 11 26 MiG-15s of the 196th IAP led by Pepelyayev dogfighted with Sabres again, claiming F-86A 49-1297 (336th FIS), which force-landed back at Suwon. The pilot was not injured though the F-86A was written off. (Official USAF records indicate the loss as a “landing accident”.)
On July 21 the 196th IAP intercepted a formation of "F-94s" (actually F9F-2Bs of the USMC's VMF-311). Pepelyayev claimed two of the enemy aircraft, and his unit claimed five more. (VMF-311 in fact lost one aircraft.)
On 6 October 1951 Colonel Pepelyayev clashed with Sabres of 4th FIW at 8,000 metres, downing 2 F-86s. The F-86A 49-1319 of Capt. Gill M. Garrett (334th FIS), ditched in Sokhoson Bay, while another F-86A, 49-1267 (334th FIS), according to USAF official records was lost because of an "engine failure".
On October 16 Pepelyayev and his wingman Aleksandr Ryzhkov caught a pair of Sabres of the 336th FIS (Douglas Evans and Nicholas Kotek) and one 23 mm shell hit Kotek's F-86A in the fuel tank. Initially that was not noticed by the US pilots, but during the return flight Kotek realised he was running out of fuel and was forced to bail out before reaching base.
On 8 November 1951 two more American aircraft were claimed; over Pkhenvon he spotted four F-86s, and opened fire at 150–200 meters, downing F-86A 49-1338 of Charles W. Pratt (334th FIS), who perished. A few hours later Pepelyayev intercepted a RF-80A of the 15th TRS and shot it down - the pilot, Dennis W. Hill, ejected and was rescued.
Over 3 days in late November Pepelyayev bagged four more American aircraft. On November 27 he downed a F-80C of 7th FBS, 49th FBW, (Bernard K. Seitzinger was KIA) and the next day destroyed 2 F-86s; F-86A 49-1166 and F-86A 50-673 in flames (Lt. Dayton Ragland POW.)
Pepelyayev scored his 14th kill on 29 November 1951, when he claimed the F-86A 48-301 of the 334th FIS over Syukusen. The Sabre managed to limp back to Kimpo, but the aircraft was written off on 9 December .
On December 1, 1951 Pepelyayev forced Lt. Thomas T. Mounts to eject from F-80C 49-855, while on 7 January 1952 Pepelyayev led 18 MiG-15s to engage a group of Sabres of the 51st FIW, and Pepelyayev hit the F-86E 50-651, forcing Charles E. Stahl to eject and be captured.
Yevgeny claimed another F-86 next day, but his victim (F-86E 50-679) was only damaged,and was repaired and returned to combat.
His next three victories were one F-80 on 1 December, a F-86 on 6 December and another Sabre on 11 January 1952; these have no confirmation in USAF records. Ironically a victory that was classified "probable" was confirmed by American sources: an F-86 attacked by Pepelyayev on 15 January 1952 was one piloted by 1/Lt. Vernon D. Wright, who was captured .
In total Pepelyayev flew 109 combat sorties, participated in 38 aerial combats, and was credited with 19 aerial victories against American aircraft (14 F-86s, two F-84s, one F-80 and two "F-94s".
During a 1993 interview, Pepelyaev stated that he shot down 12 aircraft for sure, probably 15, while independent research matching claims with American and Australian records puts the tally at 14. He stated that the practice was, if a pilot shot at an enemy aircraft, he was given credit for shooting it down. Soviet verification procedures became much more stringent as the war progressed, as the Soviet high command was finding the numbers of claimed shoot downs to be dubious.
Pepelyaev was awarded the Order of Lenin
twice, three Orders of the Red Banner
, Order of the Patriotic War
1st and 2nd Class and two Orders of Red Star.
Bodaybo
Bodaybo is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vitim River at its confluence with the Bodaybo River. Population: 12,800 ....
, Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
, Eastern Siberia) is a Soviet 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...
of 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...
, tallying 20 kills, second only to his compatriot Nikolay Sutyagin
Nikolay Sutyagin
Captain Nikolay Sutyagin was a Russian 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...
's 21.
Early years and world war II
Pepelyayev was born on 18 March 1918 in Bodaybo, IrkutskIrkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
in Eastern Siberia, the son of a railroad worker. His elder brother Konstantin enlisted in the Soviet air force, and thus with the intention to follow the steps of his brother he worked in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
with the city aeroclubs. He graduated in 1938 from the 8th Military Pilots School and was sent to serve in a regiment deployed in the Far East.
With the German invasion of the USSR in June 1941, he was retained in the Far east despite several requests for a combat posting in the West, especially after his brother Konstantin was killed in action. In late 1943 he was still an instructor with the 162nd IAP. In 1945 he was deputy commander of the 300th IAP, and participated in operations against Japan 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...
. Pepelyayev flew 20 combat sorties in the Yak-9T, claiming a locomotive and a truck destroyed on the ground before the end of the war in August 1945.
The 300th IAP was then assigned surveillance duties covering the deployment of the US troops in Korea until March 1946, when the unit was sent back to the Soviet Union. In December 1947 he became the Executive officer of the 196th IAP, 324th IAD. This unit was among the first in the VVS to equip with the newest Lavochkin La-15
Lavochkin La-15
-See also:-Bibliography:*Gordon,Yefim. Lavochkin's Last Jets. Midland Publishing. Hinkley. 2007. ISBN 1 85780 253 3-Further reading:*Gunston, Bill. The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875-1995. London:Osprey, 1995. ISBN 1-85532-405-9....
. In July 1949 the regiment began to receive the MiG-15 jet fighter.
Korea
In June 1950 the Korean War began. By October 1950 Colonel Pepelyayev commanded the 196th IAP. Secretly the USSR sent several air regiments equipped with the MiG-15 to the Chinese base of Antung in Manchuria to support Chinese ground forces. In December 1950 the 64th IAK (Fighter Corps) with two fighter regiments was created; the 176th GvIAP and 196th IAP (Pepelyayev’s unit).The division was put under the command of Colonel Ivan Kozhedub.The 196th IAP arrived in Manchuria in January 1951, and re-deployed to Antung.
On 20 May 1951 a force of 36 MiGs clashed with 28 Sabres, and both sides overclaimed, with the USAF claiming three MiGs and the VVS four F-86s. In fact one MiG was lost and three Sabres were damaged. Captain James Jabara
James Jabara
James "Jabby" Jabara was the first American jet ace in history. Born in Oklahoma, he lived in Kansas where he enlisted as an aviation cadet at Fort Riley after graduating high school. Jabara attended four flying schools in Texas before he received his pilot's wings and was commissioned as a ...
shot down one of the Pepelyayev’s pilots, Kpt. Viktor Nazarkin, and Pepelyayev claimed a F-86; the burst fired by Pepelyayev hit the right wing of Sabre F-86A 49-1080 flown by 1/Lt. Milton Nelson of the 335th FIS, destroying the hydraulic lines of Nelson's aircraft. Nelson managed to bring his crippled Sabre back to Kimpo, where it was written off.
On July 11 26 MiG-15s of the 196th IAP led by Pepelyayev dogfighted with Sabres again, claiming F-86A 49-1297 (336th FIS), which force-landed back at Suwon. The pilot was not injured though the F-86A was written off. (Official USAF records indicate the loss as a “landing accident”.)
On July 21 the 196th IAP intercepted a formation of "F-94s" (actually F9F-2Bs of the USMC's VMF-311). Pepelyayev claimed two of the enemy aircraft, and his unit claimed five more. (VMF-311 in fact lost one aircraft.)
On 6 October 1951 Colonel Pepelyayev clashed with Sabres of 4th FIW at 8,000 metres, downing 2 F-86s. The F-86A 49-1319 of Capt. Gill M. Garrett (334th FIS), ditched in Sokhoson Bay, while another F-86A, 49-1267 (334th FIS), according to USAF official records was lost because of an "engine failure".
On October 16 Pepelyayev and his wingman Aleksandr Ryzhkov caught a pair of Sabres of the 336th FIS (Douglas Evans and Nicholas Kotek) and one 23 mm shell hit Kotek's F-86A in the fuel tank. Initially that was not noticed by the US pilots, but during the return flight Kotek realised he was running out of fuel and was forced to bail out before reaching base.
On 8 November 1951 two more American aircraft were claimed; over Pkhenvon he spotted four F-86s, and opened fire at 150–200 meters, downing F-86A 49-1338 of Charles W. Pratt (334th FIS), who perished. A few hours later Pepelyayev intercepted a RF-80A of the 15th TRS and shot it down - the pilot, Dennis W. Hill, ejected and was rescued.
Over 3 days in late November Pepelyayev bagged four more American aircraft. On November 27 he downed a F-80C of 7th FBS, 49th FBW, (Bernard K. Seitzinger was KIA) and the next day destroyed 2 F-86s; F-86A 49-1166 and F-86A 50-673 in flames (Lt. Dayton Ragland POW.)
Pepelyayev scored his 14th kill on 29 November 1951, when he claimed the F-86A 48-301 of the 334th FIS over Syukusen. The Sabre managed to limp back to Kimpo, but the aircraft was written off on 9 December .
On December 1, 1951 Pepelyayev forced Lt. Thomas T. Mounts to eject from F-80C 49-855, while on 7 January 1952 Pepelyayev led 18 MiG-15s to engage a group of Sabres of the 51st FIW, and Pepelyayev hit the F-86E 50-651, forcing Charles E. Stahl to eject and be captured.
Yevgeny claimed another F-86 next day, but his victim (F-86E 50-679) was only damaged,and was repaired and returned to combat.
His next three victories were one F-80 on 1 December, a F-86 on 6 December and another Sabre on 11 January 1952; these have no confirmation in USAF records. Ironically a victory that was classified "probable" was confirmed by American sources: an F-86 attacked by Pepelyayev on 15 January 1952 was one piloted by 1/Lt. Vernon D. Wright, who was captured .
In total Pepelyayev flew 109 combat sorties, participated in 38 aerial combats, and was credited with 19 aerial victories against American aircraft (14 F-86s, two F-84s, one F-80 and two "F-94s".
During a 1993 interview, Pepelyaev stated that he shot down 12 aircraft for sure, probably 15, while independent research matching claims with American and Australian records puts the tally at 14. He stated that the practice was, if a pilot shot at an enemy aircraft, he was given credit for shooting it down. Soviet verification procedures became much more stringent as the war progressed, as the Soviet high command was finding the numbers of claimed shoot downs to be dubious.
Pepelyaev 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...
twice, 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
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...
1st and 2nd Class and two Orders of Red Star.