This book is the most complete, expanded, and corrected edition of the memoirs of the best Soviet ace—three times Hero of the Soviet Union, Ivan Kozhedub—whose combat record includes 64 destroyed Luftwaffe aircraft. This number does not include two American fighters, the «Mustangs», which in April 1945 accidentally opened fire on Kozhedub’s plane over Berlin and were immediately shot down in the return attack.
Six years later, Ivan Nikitovich had to clash again with former allies—in Korea—where he commanded the 324th fighter aviation division, the most effective air division of the Korean War, which destroyed 216 American aircraft, losing only 27 machines and 9 pilots.
«An impeccable fighter, pilot, and commander, a convinced non-greedy man, he possessed none of the “noble” qualities; he didn’t know and didn’t think it necessary to flatter, intrigue, or nurture the connections needed—and he didn’t build a career up the military bureaucracy ladder, although in the twilight of his life he received marshal’s stars». A man of Duty and Honor, wholeheartedly devoted to the Motherland, I.N. Kozhedub did not survive the death of the Fatherland—he died of a heart attack on August 8, 1991…
This edition also includes the author’s own handwritten revisions made in the manuscript shortly before his death. In addition, Kozhedub’s memoirs are supplemented by his letters from the Korean War.