Every side in WWII had its great aces, but only one pilot from the Allied nations achieved a score that stands among the war’s absolute elite. Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub — three-time Hero of the Soviet Union — finished the war with 62 confirmed aerial victories, making him the highest-scoring Allied ace of the entire conflict.

A Late Start, A Fast Rise

Born in 1920 in Obrazhiivka, Ukraine, Ivan Kozhedub trained as a military pilot before the war and spent the early years of the German invasion stuck as a flight instructor — a frustrating posting for a man who desperately wanted to fight. He didn’t fly his first combat sortie until 1943, and his introduction to air combat was inauspicious: on one of his first missions, his aircraft was so badly damaged he barely made it back.

But Kozhedub was a fast learner with exceptional natural talent. He flew the Lavochkin La-5 and later the La-7 — among the best Soviet fighters of the war — and developed a combat style of aggressive, decisive action. He believed in pressing the attack regardless of odds, trusting his superior aircraft and his own skill to see him through.

62 Victories — Zero Losses

Kozhedub flew 330 combat sorties and engaged in 120 aerial battles. He was never shot down — not once. In an era when even the finest pilots were typically forced down several times, Kozhedub’s unblemished record speaks to both his skill and his tactical intelligence. He could be aggressive because he was never reckless; he chose his moments with the precision of a natural predator.

His 62 victories included 17 in a single week during the Battle of the Dnieper, and in the closing stages of the war he was shooting down German jet aircraft — including at least two Me 262s — in his piston-engined La-7. He received the Hero of the Soviet Union three times — an honour given to only a handful of pilots in the entire war.

Korea and a Cold War Secret

After WWII, Kozhedub commanded Soviet forces during the Korean War, where Soviet pilots flew MiG-15s under Chinese markings against American F-86 Sabres. He reportedly shot down two more aircraft over Korea, though this has never been officially confirmed by the Russian government. He rose to Marshal of Aviation — the Soviet Union’s highest air force rank — and died in 1991, just months before the country he had served collapsed. His legacy, however, endures: the finest Allied fighter ace of the deadliest air war in history.

Watch: Ivan Kozhedub Documentary