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Yak Pilots
This is where we pay a little tribute to the REAL YakPilots.
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Sergei Goshko
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2nd July 1941. Sergei took the tail off of a high altitude He-111 with the wing of his Yak-1
This bagged a set of important maps and codes being carried by a German general staff Colonel, and a Gold Heroes medal for Sergei (who took the silk road down). He went on to down another 6 enemy aircraft by the conventional means before making his last flight over Berlin on 8 May 1945.
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Boris Vasiliev
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22nd July 1941. Boris used the prop on his Yak-1 to saw off the tail of a JU-88 attacking Moscow.
Dont know if he had to take the silk road home or landed it.
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Alexei Petrovich Maresyev
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Alexei flew 92 combat missions, shot down 11 enemy aircraft and was only shot down once.
April 1942, at 1300 ft, 4 Yak-1s jumped by 12 Me109s. One pair latched onto Alexei and as he was evading them a 3rd took out his engine. Trees finished off his Yak and broke both his legs.
As his arms were OK he decided to crawl home, through snow that packed down into his flying boots, melted and refroze at -15 to -16c each night.
Surviving on berries,moss and ants, crawling and rolling, he killed a bear that took interest in him, and after 18 days was found by a peasant and taken to hospital, but by then it was too late for his legs.
By June 43, in time for Kursk, he was back in the cockpit (of a LA-5 now) and went on to claim his last 7 victories.
Now THAT is a YakPilot!!
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