Nikolai Dmitriyevich Gulayev (; 26 February 1918 – 27 September 1985) was the fourth highest scoring Soviet
flying ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...
from World War II, with over 50 individual aerial victories. He went on to become a Colonel-General of Aviation in the Soviet Air Forces.
Early life
Gulayev was born on 26 February 1918 to a working-class Russian family in Aksai village. After completing secondary school in 1934, he attended a vocational school until 1935 and then worked at an enamel factory in Rostov while training at a local aeroclub. He left his factory job to join the military in December 1938 after completing training at the aeroclub.
World War II
Two years after joining the military Gulayev graduated from the Stalingrad Military Aviation School and was assigned to a fighter aviation regiment in the
Belorussian Military District
The Byelorussian Military District (; alternatively Belarusian; ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before World War I as the Minsk Military District out of the remnants of the Vilno Military District an ...
. He was sent to the front in June 1941 after the German invasion of the Soviet Union as part of the
162nd Fighter Aviation Regiment on the
Western Front, but did not begin flying combat missions until August 1942. From July to September 1941 he underwent retraining in Kuznetsk as part of the 13th Reserve Fighter Aviation Regiment. After completing training he was assigned to the 423rd Fighter Aviation Defense Regiment where he served from April to August 1942 until he was reassigned as commander of the 487th Fighter Aviation Defense Regiment. Despite holding the position of regimental commander he flew missions on MiG-3 and Yak-7B aircraft to provide air cover to strategically important areas of Gorky and Voronezh. On 3 August he scored his first aerial victory when he shot down a
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and medium bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Due to restrictions placed on Germany a ...
at night. He did not receive permission to takeoff from his superior and was reprimanded for making the departure but especially given his lack of training in flying at night but was later praised for the successful shootdown of an approaching enemy aircraft.
In January 1943 he completed navigator's courses from the 3rd Reserve Aviation Brigade based in
Saratov
Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...
and was sent to the 27th Fighter Aviation Regiment as deputy regimental commander. In addition to serving as deputy regimental commander he served as a navigator and squadron commander on missions; the unit later received the
Guards designation and was renamed the 129th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment in October 1943. He distinguished himself in battles over the
Voronezh
Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...
and
Steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the tropical and subtropica ...
fronts and in the battles of
Kursk
Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of
Kursk ...
, the
Dnieper
The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...
,
Kirovograd,
Korsun Shevchenko,
Umansko-Botoshanskoy, and
Lvov-Sandomir. On 14 May 1943 he rammed a
Junkers Ju 87
The Junkers Ju 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the ...
dive bomber with his
Yak-1
The Yakovlev Yak-1 () was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 239.
The Yak-1 was a man ...
over Gostishchevo,
Belgorod
Belgorod (, ) is a city that serves as the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River, approximately north of the border with Ukraine. It has a population of
It was founded in 1596 as a defensiv ...
and bailed out with his parachute after running out of ammunition taking out two other German planes. In June he made his first flight on a
Bell P-39 Airacobra
The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by th ...
; in early July he led a formation of four fighters in an attack on a numerically superior enemy formation of roughly 100 aircraft. All four of his squadron's aircraft safely landed after shooting down enemy four bombers and two fighters, disrupting the formation. That same day his formation made more combat missions and collectively shot down 16 enemy aircraft. For his heroism in aerial combat and his first 95 sorties he was awarded his first Hero of the Soviet Union gold star on 28 September 1943 by decree of the Supreme Soviet.
In early 1944 he served as squadron commander of a group of six Bell P-39 Airacobras and led them in an attack on a formation of 27 bombers led by eight fighters. Within the span of four minutes the group shot down eleven enemy aircraft, five of which were shot down by Gulayev himself, making him an ace-in-a day. On three other occasions other he personally shot down four planes over the course of a single day. After an aerial engagement on 31 May 1944 he sustained a serious wound to his right hand that required surgery, but managed to lead his squadron back to the airfield just before passing out. On 1 July 1944 he received his second gold star for his service. After recovering in the hospital he went back to flying combat missions in August and scored three more victories, but was soon recalled from the front lines to attend the Air Force Academy like many other flying aces from the war. In total he made 200 combat sorties and fought in 69 aerial engagements, scoring 55 individual and five shared aerial victories in the process, giving him one of the highest kill ratios of any allied ace in the war.
Postwar life
After the war Gulayev graduated from the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy in 1950 and then went on to hold various leadership positions in the Soviet Air Forces. In 1960 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff and was appointed as commander of the 15th Air Defense Division in Lipetsk, where he served until he was transferred to the 2nd Air Defense Corps in the Tver oblast. He rose through the ranks and held multiple commands before reaching the rank of Colonel-General in 1972. In 1974 he became the deputy commander-in-chief of the combat training division of the Air Defense Forces and in 1976 went on to become the assistant commander of the armament division
Moscow Air Defense District, a position he held until he retired from the military in 1979. He died on 27 September 1985 in Moscow and was buried in the
Kuntsevo Cemetery
The Kuntsevo Cemetery () is a cemetery servicing Kuntsevo, Moscow. It is located on the bank of the Setun River, to the south of the Mozhaisk Highway (the continuation of the Kutuzovsky Prospekt). The local five-domed church was commissioned in 16 ...
.
Awards and honors
;Soviet
* Twice
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...
(28 September 1943 and 1 July 1944)
* Two
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...
(28 September 1943)
*
Order of the October Revolution
The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...
(4 March 1975)
* Four
Order of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...
(15 May 1943, 21 January 1944, 29 April 1957, 23 February 1971)
* Two
Order of the Patriotic War
The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...
1st class (22 October 1944 and 11 March 1985)
* Two
Order of the Red Star
The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...
(22 February 1955 and 26 October 1955)
* campaign and jubilee medals
;Foreign
* Poland - Gold
Cross of Merit (6 October 1973)
* Romania - Orders of Tudor Vladimirescu 2nd class
* East Germany -
Patriotic Order of Merit
The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...
2nd class
Footnotes
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulayev, Nikolay
1918 births
1985 deaths
Heroes of the Soviet Union
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner
Recipients of the Cross of Merit (Poland)
Soviet colonel generals
People from Aksaysky District
Soviet Air Force generals
Soviet World War II flying aces
Pilots who performed an aerial ramming
Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni