Nikita Rzhavskiy Fighter pilot Country: Ukraine

1. Biography of Nikita Rzhavsky
2. The Record-Breaking Pilot

Biography of Nikita Rzhavsky

Nikita Rzhavsky was a Soviet fighter pilot who was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for his courage and military valor in battles against the enemy. He was born in 1916 in the village of Pershemarievka in what is now the Slavyansk district of the Donetsk region, in a peasant family. He completed two courses at a workers' faculty and joined the Red Army in 1938. Rzhavsky graduated from the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation School for Pilots and served on the front lines of the Great Patriotic War from July 1941. He was the commander of the 153rd Fighter Aviation Regiment (5th Mixed Aviation Division, 23rd Army, Leningrad Front). Lieutenant N. K. Rzhavsky completed 283 combat sorties, including 81 for ground attack missions against enemy forces and equipment. On December 7, 1941, he was killed while carrying out a combat mission. On February 10, 1943, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and received the Order of Lenin twice. Rzhavsky was buried in a mass grave near the village of Suoranda in the Vsevolozhsky district of the Leningrad region. A monument was erected in his memory in the village.

The Record-Breaking Pilot

On October 15, 1941, Junior Lieutenant Nikita Rzhavsky celebrated a unique milestone. He had completed his 200th combat sortie, a feat that was not only reported in Leningrad newspapers but even in "Izvestia." Flying 200 combat sorties in less than four months of war was quite remarkable, especially in the intense year of 1941. Among the pilots of the 153rd Fighter Aviation Regiment, only Nikita Rzhavsky achieved such a combat record. When the regiment commander, Mironov, congratulated him on the achievement, the pilot felt a sense of humility. He had never thought about records. It seemed like a distant memory when he used to strive for production records in the metal construction workshop of the Novo-Kramatorsk Plant, where he worked as a fitter. Now, as Junior Lieutenant Nikita Rzhavsky, he only cared about giving the enemy no rest. Nevertheless, Mironov's congratulations brought joy to the pilot. Mironov was not just a regiment commander; he was a man who knew about combat. He had fought courageously during the winter of 1940 on the Karelian Isthmus and had been awarded the Gold Star of a Hero. Praise from such a person meant a lot, particularly when it came to Rzhavsky's performance as a fighter pilot. To be precise, he, like all the pilots in the regiment, should have been referred to as a fighter-bomber.

Ground attack missions were always difficult and dangerous, especially in 1941. There were still very few armored Ilyushin planes, known as flying tanks. Initially, the role of fighter-bombers in the early months of the war was often performed by the I-153 fighter aircraft, better known as the "Chaika" (Seagull). The fighter's armament was supplemented with rocket projectiles, and if necessary, the "Chaika" could also carry bombs, making its strikes very effective. In the combat journal, alongside Nikita Rzhavsky's name, there were daily reports of destroyed enemy vehicles, burning fuel tanks, suppressed firing points, and enemy aircraft destroyed on airfields.

... The Germans were preparing an attack on Leningrad. Rzhavsky, along with five comrades, struck an enemy airfield. Fifteen planes went up in flames on the ground. Rzhavsky was the last one to leave the target. He noticed that two enemy planes were trying to take off. However, they failed, as Rzhavsky set them ablaze during takeoff. Two months after his 200th sortie, Rzhavsky's comrades had another reason to congratulate him. He completed his 275th combat sortie. This sortie was no different from many others, except for the worse weather conditions. Such weather was once considered unfavorable for flying.

Rzhavsky took off, bombed enemy trenches, silenced an anti-aircraft machine gun, and was about to return when he spotted enemy tank crews fiddling around their vehicles behind the railway tracks. He had already used up all his bombs and projectiles. However, his machine guns still had ammunition. It was essential to preserve them as a reserve in case anything happened. Nevertheless, Rzhavsky decided to attack the tank crews. His attack was so sudden that they didn't even have time to take cover behind their tanks' armor.

After the attack, the pilot faced criticism for returning to the airfield without a single bullet. The commander sternly asked, "What if enemy fighters had attacked you?" Rzhavsky replied innocently, "Comrade commander, they don't fly in such weather. Leningrad clouds and Leningrad fog are not for them. I decided not to bring the ammunition home." This was the story of Nikita Rzhavsky's 275th combat sortie – ordinary, routine, and yet heroic...