Introduction to a Desperate Tactic
Air ramming was one of the most striking manifestations of the heroism of Soviet pilots during the Great Patriotic War. This Russian combat technique involved a pilot, having exhausted all other options, directing his aircraft at an enemy plane to destroy it by collision. While extremely dangerous, leading to the deaths of many pilots, over six hundred air rammings were carried out, reflecting not only the high morale of Soviet aviators but also the mass heroism of the entire nation.
Unfortunately, these unparalleled acts of valor, which played a crucial role especially in the initial period of the war, are still not sufficiently studied. Information published in the media from the 1940s to the 1980s is not always confirmed by archival verification. Only recently have efforts begun to cross-reference data on rammings with archival materials from the opposing side, inevitably revealing contradictions.
During the war, for various reasons, both sides often presented desired outcomes as factual, and sometimes outright falsified information. However, the study of enemy documents has now allowed for the discovery of details, clarification of information, and the uncovering of new pages previously unknown to Soviet historians. While pilots who received the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union for an air ramming are widely known, many others who performed this feat were not awarded the title and are therefore less recognized.
This article aims to specifically address the topic of rammings carried out by naval aviation pilots of the Black Sea Fleet during the Great Patriotic War. Although dozens of rammings were also performed by Air Force pilots in the Black Sea region, they are not covered here. A distinctive feature of naval pilots is that they often had to operate over water. Therefore, a naval pilot deciding on an air ramming understood that the sea offered fewer chances of survival than land. Even a successful parachute jump and safe ditching did not guarantee their lives, especially when landing in cold water, where many froze or drowned before they could be found and assisted.
Early Black Sea Rams: Heroism and Discrepancies
It is generally believed that Black Sea Fleet pilots carried out eighteen air rammings, involving twenty aviators: eighteen pilots and two other crew members. Their names are immortalized on a monument in Kacha, the birthplace of naval aviation near Sevastopol. We will attempt to examine the circumstances of each ramming in chronological order, confirming their facts according to archival data from our former adversaries.
The first air ramming over the Black Sea, on July 25, 1941, was attributed to Lieutenant Yevgraf Mikhailovich Ryzhov of the 32nd Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP). At 8:10 AM, while intercepting an enemy He-111 reconnaissance aircraft heading towards Sevastopol, Ryzhov’s MiG-3 was damaged by machine-gun fire, and his own weapons failed. Ryzhov then used his propeller blades to strike the tail of the “Heinkel.” The impact momentarily knocked him unconscious, and his engine soon stalled. Ryzhov managed to ditch his MiG-3 in the sea, was rescued four hours later, and awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
However, enemy archive documents found no confirmation of Ryzhov’s ramming. According to German data, on that day, a Ju-88 (Serial No. 573) of the 3rd Squadron, 121st Long-Range Reconnaissance Group, crashed and burned in the Iași airfield area in Romania due to engine damage, with three crew members dying. It is highly probable that Ryzhov was simply shot down by the enemy reconnaissance aircraft’s gunner. Ryzhov later became a Hero of the Soviet Union, ending the war with 17 victories (11 personal and 6 in group engagements).
On August 10, 1941, Black Sea pilots were credited with two rammings. One was by Junior Lieutenant Boris Grigorievich Cherevko of the 9th IAP. While covering ships evacuating 2000 civilians, Cherevko attacked four Do-215 bombers. After being wounded and running out of ammunition, he rammed the tail of a bomber at 1000 meters with his propeller blades. The force of the impact ejected him from the cockpit, but he managed to open his parachute at 500 meters and was rescued. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for the ramming and died in combat on May 9, 1942.
The second pilot credited with a ramming on August 10 was Cherevko’s friend, Junior Lieutenant Vladimir Fedorovich Grek from the same regiment. While covering a floating dock evacuating residents, Grek engaged enemy bombers and their escorts. After shooting down one bomber and being attacked by ten enemy fighters, Grek, likely out of ammunition, rammed one of them with his I-15bis. He and his burning fighter crashed into the sea and he perished, being posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class.
Regarding these two rammings, enemy documents show no Do-215s in the area; only Ju-88s of the 1st Group, 51st Bomber Wing “Edelweiss,” operated, and they suffered no losses in air combat. Me-109s of the 2nd Group, 77th Fighter Wing, also reported no losses near Ochakov. It is concluded that Cherevko was likely shot down by a Ju-88 gunner, and Grek died in combat with Me-109s, despite Soviet claims.
Five days later, on August 15, a ramming was reportedly carried out by Lieutenant Alexander Ivanovich Katrov of the 9th IAP in a Yak-1. However, this incident is not confirmed by any combat documents, and Katrov had been wounded in air combat on August 12, likely still being in hospital. Katrov tragically died on June 9, 1942, when his parachute failed to open after his Yak-1 was shot down. He is buried in a mass grave near Sevastopol.
On August 28, 1941, Junior Lieutenant Ivan Solomonovich Berishvili of the 8th IAP was credited with a ramming. After claiming an Me-110 (likely a Potez-63), he engaged maneuverable Romanian PZL-11 fighters. In a high-speed pursuit, the enemy plane crashed, and Berishvili’s I-16 also crashed and burned in enemy territory, likely because he was wounded and unconscious. Although not a ramming in the strict sense, Berishvili was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class. Romanian records confirm the loss of four aircraft that day, including one PZL-11 rammed by another Soviet pilot, and another likely shot down by Berishvili, though further verification is needed.
Confirmed Acts of Valor: Pilots Who Made History
On September 28, 1941, Senior Lieutenant Semyon Yevstigneevich Karasev of the 32nd IAP performed a ramming. Patrolling near Sevastopol, he attacked a German Ju-88 reconnaissance aircraft. After his machine guns failed, Karasev attempted to ram twice with his propeller, being thrown aside by the Ju-88’s slipstream. On his third attempt, he struck the “Junkers'” tail with the wing of his MiG-3. He was ejected from his cockpit, parachuted into the sea, and was rescued along with two captured German pilots.
Karasev was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for the ramming. He finished the war as a major, having personally shot down 11 enemy aircraft and several more in groups. German archives fully confirm this ramming: two reconnaissance aircraft, a Do-215 and a Ju-88 (Serial No. 555) of the 3rd Squadron, 121st Long-Range Reconnaissance Group, disappeared that day. Without doubt, the latter was the aircraft rammed by Karasev, with the loss of its crew.
On October 18, 1941, Lieutenant Nikolai Ivanovich Savva of the 32nd Regiment distinguished himself. Alongside Yevgraf Ryzhov, he attacked an enemy Do-215 reconnaissance aircraft. After Ryzhov’s engine was damaged by German gunners (again), Savva, fighting alone and out of ammunition, rammed the “Dornier’s” right tail fin with his MiG-3’s propeller blades. The reconnaissance aircraft caught fire and crashed into the sea, while Savva made a forced water landing and was rescued two hours later. One German pilot was found dead.
Savva was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. German data confirms that on October 18, 1941, Do-215 (Serial No. 0063) of the 3rd Squadron, Long-Range Reconnaissance Group of the Luftwaffe High Command, did not return from its mission, and its crew was reported missing. With full certainty, this aircraft was rammed by Savva. Savva continued to defend Sevastopol and the Caucasus, destroying 5 aircraft before tragically dying in a take-off accident on January 14, 1942, in Anapa.
On November 12, 1941, Junior Lieutenant Yakov Matveevich Ivanov of the 32nd Regiment took off to repel an enemy air raid on Sevastopol. After exhausting his ammunition, Ivanov used his MiG-3’s propeller to ram the tail of one of nine He-111 bombers. The German aircraft crashed and exploded, while Ivanov safely landed his plane with minor damage. This was the first instance in the Black Sea Fleet where a pilot successfully rammed and returned with his aircraft. German archives confirm that one He-111 (Serial No. 4277) of the 1st Group, 27th Bomber Wing “Boelcke,” did not return from the Sevastopol raid that day, its crew listed as missing. This aircraft was undoubtedly rammed by Ivanov.
Amazingly, just four days later, on November 16, 1941, Ivanov performed another ramming, again confirmed by the opposing side’s data. During a massive German raid on Sevastopol, he shot down one Me-109 fighter and, out of ammunition, rammed a Do-215 bomber with his propeller. The impact was so powerful that the enemy aircraft disintegrated, but Ivanov also tragically died, his fighter crashing into the sea. German documents did not report Me-109 or Do-215 losses in this raid, but did record an He-111 (Serial No. 4516) of the 3rd Group, 27th Bomber Wing “Boelcke,” being shot down by a Russian fighter, its pilot, Werner Kokott, rescued and captured.
German documents also note that Oberleutnant Walter Nonn (77th Fighter Wing) shot down a Soviet MiG-3 during the same battle. It is possible this was Ivanov’s damaged aircraft attempting a forced landing after the ramming. For his two confirmed ramming attacks against aircraft of the 27th Wing, Ivanov was the first in the Black Sea Fleet to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on January 17, 1942. He destroyed a total of 5 enemy aircraft during the battles for Sevastopol.
Rams of 1942-1943 and the End of an Era
Air rammings continued into 1942. On April 2, Captain Vasily Yevgrafovich Chernopashchenko of the 7th IAP, while covering a convoy, encountered two “Hamburg-140” torpedo bombers (an erroneous identification of Blohm & Voss Bv 138s). He shot down one, and then, out of ammunition, rammed the tail of the second, which was attacking a tanker, with his propeller. He died in the collision and was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class. Despite his sacrifice, the tanker, carrying valuable fuel, was torpedoed and sunk.
German records indicate that three He-111 torpedo bombers of the 2nd Group, 26th Bomber Wing “Lion,” sank a tanker that day, and one Soviet fighter was shot down. It is likely that Chernopashchenko was shot down by enemy gunners during his brave attack. On April 28, 1942, Sergeant Leonid Ivanovich Sevryukov of the same regiment, inspired by his commander, rammed a Ju-88 with his LaGG-3, tearing off its tail. He also died and was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
According to German data for April 28, 1942, the 51st Bomber Wing “Edelweiss” lost two Ju-88s near Novorossiysk, one to anti-aircraft fire and another listed as missing. It can be assumed that the latter was destroyed by Sevryukov’s ramming, although other Soviet pilots also claimed shoot-downs that day. On July 10, 1942, Sergeant Nikolai Konstantinovich Zinoviev of the 62nd IAP, after running out of ammunition, rammed a German Ju-88 with his LaGG-3. He died instantly and was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class.
However, German documents do not confirm Zinoviev’s ramming. On that day, German Me-109 fighters shot down three Soviet fighters, and no Ju-88 bombers were lost. Thus, it is highly probable that Zinoviev was shot down by a German fighter. On August 10, 1942, Junior Lieutenant Mikhail Alexeevich Borisov of the 62nd Regiment performed a double ramming. In combat against five He-111s over Novorossiysk, his LaGG-3 caught fire, yet he rammed the stabilizer of one He-111, and then, while falling, struck another.
Only one German pilot, Friedrich Vogel, survived from the shot-down bombers and was captured. Borisov also parachuted but drowned at sea. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. German documents confirm the loss of three He-111s from the 2nd Group, 55th Bomber Wing “Griffin,” that day. One He-111 was rammed by a Soviet fighter and crashed into the sea, its crew (including Vogel, though he was captured) reported as lost. Another He-111 made a forced water landing, and a third was lost in air combat. Thus, one of Borisov’s rammings is definitively confirmed.
On September 10, 1942, a ramming was credited to pilot Fyodor Denisovich Shaposhnikov of the 62nd Regiment in a Yak-1. He attacked a German Fw-189 reconnaissance aircraft. After a first attack missed, Shaposhnikov rammed the Fw-189 with the right wing of his fighter at low altitude. Both aircraft crashed, and Shaposhnikov died. He was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class. This act was a form of “atonement” for Shaposhnikov, who had been unjustly demoted early in the war. German records confirm the loss of an Fw-189, but attribute it to anti-aircraft fire, requiring further verification of Shaposhnikov’s ramming.
On September 18, 1942, Captain Semyon Stepanovich Mukhin of the 62nd Regiment destroyed another Fw-189 by air ramming. Wounded and out of ammunition, he struck the tail of the enemy aircraft with the propeller blades of his LaGG-3. He then unbuckled his harness and fell out of his damaged aircraft at 3,500 meters, parachuting into the sea. Two Germans also parachuting nearby started shooting at him. Mukhin drew his pistol, and in this unusual air duel, killed both enemies before being rescued. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
German documents confirm that an Fw-189 of the 7th Squadron, 32nd Short-Range Reconnaissance Group, did not return from a mission that day, its crew listed as missing. It is now certain that these pilots died as a result of Mukhin’s ramming. This was likely the last ramming in 1942. In 1943, air superiority gradually shifted to Soviet pilots, and the number of air rammings significantly decreased.
On August 7, 1943, Lieutenant Vasily Alexandrovich Kalinin of the 9th IAP performed a ramming. While escorting Il-2 attack aircraft, in fierce aerial combat with enemy Me-109s, Kalinin executed a high-speed head-on attack against a German fighter threatening the Il-2s. Both aircraft collided and crashed into the sea, and Kalinin died. He had shot down 7 enemy aircraft. German records confirm that the ace Werner Kwast (84 victories) collided with a Soviet fighter that day and was captured. The discrepancy in aircraft types remains, but the collision is clear.
The history of air rammings over the Black Sea also includes two cases involving attack aircraft crews. On September 23, 1943, Sergeant Mikhail Pavlovich Kolodiy of the 47th Attack Aviation Regiment (ShAP), with his air gunner Yevgeny Evdokimovich Alekhin, was attacked by two Me-109s in his Il-2. Out of ammunition, Kolodiy rammed one of the fighters, and both aircraft crashed. The crew died. Although a German Me-109 was lost that day, it was attributed to air combat, and its pilot survived, so Kolodiy’s ramming is not fully confirmed.
On November 3, 1943, Lieutenant Boris Naumovich Volovodov of the 47th ShAP performed a ramming. After expending all his ammunition during a ground attack mission, Volovodov, in his Il-2 with navigator Junior Lieutenant Vasily Leontievich Bykov, turned to confront approaching Ju-88 bombers escorted by Me-110s. In a head-on attack, he rammed the leading Ju-88. Both aircraft exploded, and the Soviet crew died. Volovodov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. German records, however, indicate the loss of an Me-110 night fighter near Kerch that day, not a Ju-88, which suggests a possible misidentification by Soviet observers.
This was the last ramming by Black Sea Fleet pilots during the Great Patriotic War. No rammings were recorded in 1944 as the front moved further west. Traditionally, Soviet propaganda portrayed enemy pilots as cowards. However, more recent studies show that Luftwaffe pilots were formidable adversaries, often engaging in head-on attacks and close-range combat, which frequently resulted in collisions.
Rammings by Luftwaffe Pilots
Although Germans did not categorize these incidents as “rammings” but as collisions, there were cases of deliberate ramming. The first documented ramming by a German pilot over the Black Sea occurred on August 3, 1941. During a massive Soviet bomber raid on Constanta, Feldwebel Scheib, in an Me-109, collided with a DB-3f bomber 50 kilometers east of Constanta. Scheib successfully parachuted and was rescued, while the Soviet crew died.
In 1942, no German rammings were recorded in the Black Sea area, but in 1943, there were five similar incidents. On April 20, 1943, Feldwebel Hans Gleissner, an ace with 37 victories, collided with a Soviet fighter over Anapa and died. On the night of June 14, 1943, Oberleutnant Hans Janke, in an Me-110, collided with a Soviet Il-4 bomber near Kerch. Janke and his radio operator parachuted and were rescued; the Soviet pilot, Captain Vasily Andreev, was captured.
On August 7, 1943, Oberfeldwebel Werner Kwast collided with Lieutenant Kalinin, as mentioned earlier. Both crashed into the sea, and Kwast was captured. On September 27, 1943, Oberfeldwebel Josef Koziok, an ace with 33 victories, collided with a Soviet Il-4 bomber during a night ramming and died when his parachute failed. Finally, on November 3, 1943, Oberleutnant Hubert Reichelt collided with Lieutenant Volovodov’s Il-2. In this last case, both crews died. Research into these events is ongoing, with hopes for new materials to emerge.