Vasily Stalin and the Korean War
July 7, 14:54
Vasily Stalin and the Korean War
In continuation of the cycle dedicated to the Korean War, I propose to turn to the personality of the unfortunately slandered hero of Soviet history, Vasily Iosifovich Stalin. An excellent officer, a brave pilot of the Great Patriotic War, an outstanding military organizer, Vasily Stalin, by deed and courage, proved his right to occupy high positions in the red aviation. During the war years, under his leadership, flight units achieved serious combat successes. Moreover, Vasily Stalin led the units not only from the ground, but also directly in battle. At the same time, he was distinguished by modesty, high demands on himself and his subordinates, and a willingness to work for the result of a common cause. As Hero of the Soviet Union S.F. Dolgushin: Vasily Stalin commanded the regiment diligently, listened to us, more experienced pilots. As a regimental commander, he could, at his own discretion, make sorties as part of any squadron, but most often for some reason he flew as part of mine. During February-March 1943, we shot down a dozen enemy planes. With the participation of Vasily - three. Moreover, it should be noted that, as a rule, Vasily was the first to attack them, after these attacks the planes lost control, and then we finished them off. According to our flight laws, Vasily could count them as shot down personally, but he considered them shot down in a group. I once told him about it, but he waved his hand and said briefly: “Don’t!”
There is unconfirmed information, which, however, is found in many memoirs, that the son of the chairman of the State Defense Committee went on combat missions without a parachute, so that, in the event of a plane being shot down, he would not be captured alive. In addition to personal courage, Vasily Stalin demonstrates serious tactical talent at the front. So, according to the award list signed by the commander of the 1st Guards Fighter Aviation Corps, Lieutenant General E.M. Beletsky, the 3rd Guards Fighter Aviation Division under the command of Vasily Stalin “conducted 22 air battles in which pilots destroyed 29 aircraft enemy (own losses of 3 pilots and 5 aircraft). Based on this, the lieutenant general concluded that “guard colonel V.I. Stalin has excellent piloting technique, he loves flying. It flies on all types of fighter aircraft. Personally participates in battles. Tactically savvy. Possesses good leadership qualities. Worthy of a government award - the Order of the Red Banner.
After the war, Vasily Stalin continued to serve in aviation, holding several important posts. Here is the certification for Vasily Stalin given in 1947 by his immediate commander and friend, Lieutenant General E. Ya. -153, MiG-3, LAGG-3, Yak-1, Yak-7, Yak-9, Il-2, Boston, Siebel, La-5, La-7, Hurricane - total flight time 3174 hours 15 minutes. He has been in command of the 286th division since February 1945. Under his leadership, units of divisions to fulfill the UBP plan in 1946 made a total of 14,111 sorties, with a flight time of 8376 hours 12 minutes, of which 5091 flew on Po-2 during the day, with a flight time of 2996 hours 27 min. and at night 3392 flights with a flight time of 1357 hours 47 minutes. The flight personnel of the division's units practiced takeoffs in figure eights and landings in pairs and fours. The pilots were good at firing at air and ground targets. Much attention in the division is paid to shooting from photo-camera guns, in total 7635 shots were fired from photo-camera guns. Training with the flight and technical staff of the division is well organized and carried out systematically in the division's training room, which consists of 16 well-equipped classrooms. The technical and operational service of the division is well organized, as evidenced by the fact that during the attestation period there were no cases of equipment failure due to the fault of the technical staff ... The division headquarters is put together and works well: during the mentioned period, the division conducted 3 flight personnel of 4 regiments for interaction with bombers.
During the first half of 1946, 22 tactical flight exercises were carried out, all of them were organized, without incident. On the whole, the division ranks first in the corps in fulfilling the plan for all types of combat training. During the time that has passed since the war, the 286th division has noticeably grown and become more organized. The flight crew is fully trained to perform combat missions at medium altitudes. 40 percent of pilots can fly at high altitudes and in difficult weather conditions. Major General of Aviation Stalin himself has good organizational skills, operational-tactical training is good. He skillfully transfers his combat experience to the flight crew. Energetic and initiative, he achieves the same qualities from his subordinates. In his work, he pays great attention to new technology, often gives innovative ideas and persistently puts them into practice.
The state of health is poor. Quick-tempered and irritable, does not always know how to restrain himself. In communication with subordinates, he allows rudeness, sometimes he trusts subordinates too much, even at a time when they are not prepared and are not able to fulfill the decision of the commander. These shortcomings of a personal nature reduce his authority as a commander-leader. Personally disciplined, ideologically stable, morally stable.”
Conclusion: it is quite consistent with the position held, it can be appointed for promotion, it would be advisable to use it in the inspector apparatus of the Main Directorate of the Red Army Air Force. It is curious that already during the disgrace of Vasily Stalin, who during the period of the Khrushchev anti-Stalinist campaign defiantly refused to betray the memory of his father, the same E.Ya. Savitsky speaks about Vasily Stalin in a completely different way: "... apparently, some unkind genes were laid in him, if, having matured, he became so - despotic, vengeful, accustomed to living on a grand scale, commanding everyone."
On January 17, 1948, Vasily Stalin was appointed commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District. The appointment should have happened earlier, since many unit commanders considered him the most authoritative specialist for this position, but Joseph Stalin at meetings repeatedly suggested waiting with this appointment, since he very meticulously followed the service of his son, taking into account his opinion (for example, about failures in the work of the aviation industry), but at the same time very critical of many of his decisions. Due to his special attitude, Joseph Stalin considered his son too self-willed, incapable of assiduous organizational work. Here Stalin made a mistake. In a short time, Vasily Stalin solved many issues, starting with organizing leisure activities and providing decent housing for flight crews and their families, ending with the introduction of new models of jet aircraft in the Air Force. Vasily Stalin was well aware that the world is fraught with a new war, that the air war of the future is a war of jet aircraft, that the world has entered a military aviation revolution, when the pilot must constantly learn and relearn. He forces officers who do not have a school education to go to night schools, encourages attendance at new courses, the purchase and discussion of current aviation literature, and the constant improvement of theoretical, flight and combat training. Now it is customary to recall Vasily Stalin's support for army sports, but rarely does anyone remember that this was part of the physical and moral education of the fighters, who at any moment had to be ready for battle with the same Americans.
To summarize, Vasily Stalin proved that he was ready to solve the most complex military organizational tasks. Therefore, when the situation on the Korean Peninsula in connection with the Incheon invasion of the United States and its allies required air assistance for the Korean and Chinese comrades, in fact, Vasily Stalin became the main person responsible for it. It is believed that he received the combat mission of preparing aviation units to fight American aircraft as early as October 1950. Vasily Stalin began his work by strengthening discipline. More precisely, he continued to work in this direction. In this regard, it is necessary to recall one funny story, which I have already told about in the public “Digital History”:
“While analyzing the memoirs of Yevgeny Georgievich Pepelyaev “MiGs against Sabers”, the memoirs of the most productive ace of the Korean War, I came across a curious episode. After the Great Patriotic War, Pepelyaev served for some time in the 176th Guards Aviation Regiment, which was based at the Tyoply Stan airfield. Once, Vasily Stalin, the son of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, came to the airfield with another inspection. At that time, he held the post of commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District and carefully monitored the state of combat readiness of the aviation of the district. Stalin announced a drill. First, the operational lieutenant on duty named Molotov clearly conveyed the necessary background information to the pilots. Then Lieutenant Rykov, on duty at the airfield, reported to Stalin on the degree of readiness of equipment and runways. However, the authorities were absent, which affected that the pilots acted disorganized and sluggishly. Half an hour after the announcement of the alarm, the deputy chief of staff of the regiment, Major Voroshilov, appeared. And the bosses were all absent. And then Vasily Stalin shouted in his hearts: “What is happening - Stalin, Voroshilov, Molotov, even Rykov gathered, and the regiment is a mess. Still no regiment commander or chief of staff?” Soon the regimental commander was removed from his post. Major Hero of the Soviet Union A.S. Kumanichkin was appointed in his place.
It should be noted that after receiving an essentially combat mission, Vasily Stalin spent the whole of November 1950 without a break in Kubinka, where he personally (sic!) Prepared pilots for future battles with the Americans at the base of the 9th Volkhov Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. He entered the 324th Svir Fighter Aviation Division. This was the same division that participated in the famous air parades in the sky over Red Square under the direct leadership of Vasily Stalin. It was under Vasily Stalin that pilots learned to fly jet fighters. In addition, Vasily Stalin strongly recommended the legendary Colonel I.N. Kozhedub for the post of commander of the future combat unit in Korea. The preparation was intense but effective and already on February 13, 1951, the pilots personally selected by Vasily Stalin and Ivan Kozhedub received a combat assignment to the Far East. Vasily Stalin also oversaw the covert movement of pilots around the country.
It was Vasily Stalin who addressed the pilots with a speech about the goals and objectives of the war, in which they were soon to take part themselves. According to the article by Krylov L., Tepsurkaev Yu. “Government business trip” (Aviamaster, No. 3, 1997), Stalin allegedly claimed that the pilots would have to fight “neither for Kim, nor for Mao, nor for China, nor for Korea ..” . But according to the memoirs of E. Pepelyaev, Stalin “delivered a brief parting speech. He spoke about responsibility, about patriotism, internationalism, about the combat traditions of pilots in the Great Patriotic War. Personally, I have more confidence in Pepelyaev in this regard.
It should also be noted that Vasily Stalin, who was well versed in the performance characteristics of the latest jet aircraft and not only, according to E. Pepelyaev, is responsible for adopting the famous MiG-15, although then there was a serious dispute that in the sky of Korea they should fight La-15. In this, he was guided by the conclusions of the pilots from numerous, almost daily planning meetings regarding the "flying around" of new aircraft. But not only. Most likely, Vasily Stalin was familiar with the results of the first air battle between the American and Soviet Air Forces over the Yalu River in November 1950, when it was the MiGs that shot down several P-80s. Stalin's choice turned out to be the right one, which is confirmed by the Americans themselves. For example, the author of Air Power, Richard Stockwell, notes that "
The speed with which the Russians put the MiG-15 into mass production was truly incredible, but even more amazing is that no one on earth correctly appreciated this fact.
To summarize, it was largely thanks to Vasily Stalin that a combat-ready unit of the Soviet Air Force was created, which inflicted monstrous losses on American aviation, largely thwarted two attempts at an American offensive in 1951, and saved more than tens of thousands of lives of Chinese and Korean comrades. Many people know the MIG Alley, but we will soon talk about other successes of the red pilots. We also note that not a single red pilot was captured. For these achievements, Vasily Stalin was soon presented with the Order of Lenin, which for some reason was replaced with the Order of the Red Banner. In addition, he was awarded the qualification "Military Pilot 1st Class".
(c) Gleb Targonsky
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