Soviet Union
Leitenant Sergei Georgievich Bulkin
Soviet Union
Leitenant Sergei Georgievich Bulkin
Sergei Bulkin was born in 1908.
Before going to Spain, he was a Zvena CO in 118 IAE, Moscow Military District.
Bulkin served as a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, arriving in October 1936.
In Spain he served in the Escuadrilla Turzhanskii, flying I-15s on the Northern Front.
He was decorated with the Order of the Red Banner on 2 January 1937.
On 4 January 1937, the He 51B-1s of J/88 escorted Ju 52/3ms bombing enemy positions when they were surprised above Torrijos by Republican I-15s. The escorting fighters claimed three enemy fighters over the Bilbao area when Leutnant Wolf-Heinrich von Houwald (2 Staffel) claimed an I-16 and Unteroffizier Erwin Sawallisch (4 Staffel) and Oberleutnant Harro Harder (1 Staffel) claimed an I-15 each. Oberleutnant Harder (flying He 51B-1 2-64) described his first claim for a subsequent propaganda article:
“I hear machine guns behind me. A Red is coming for me sharply from above, his radial engine appearing like a giant eye. I pull “2-64” into a turn and the Red streaks past with two of our fighters already in pursuit. Far below, down in the valley, I see one turning around. Using my superior speed I know I can block him off. I get behind him, fire, he turns, I cut him off, another turn, the smoke twists from my tracer shells disappear into his machine. Now he climbs, black, with a red band in front of the tail, rolls onto his back and plunges almost vertically to the ground. I pull myself together - the intoxication has blinded me to everything else going on. I see a He 51 nearby. Exhausted, I pull up and fly to Vitoria, where I make a low-level loop over the airfield.”One Ju 52/3m from 3.K/88 was lost over Bilbao when they attacked the Campsa fuel depots. Oberfeldwebel Adolf Hermann and Karl Schmidt parachuted but Feldwebel Herbert Barowski, Unteroffizier Paul Ziepek and Gefreiter Hans Schüll were all unable to escape the burning bomber and were all killed. This was the only bomber loss on this day. Once upon the ground, Oberfeldwebel Adolf Hermann tried to defend himself with his pistol from an armed mob but was rapidly overpowered. His body was dragged through the streets of Bilbao provoking a demand for rerisals by the Legion Condor which were, however, refused.
He left Spain on 7 April 1937.
During his time in Spain, he had claimed two biplane victories.
After Spain, he was a Detachment CO in 26 IAE, Moscow Military District.
He later took part in the Second World War and from August 1941 to October 1942, he was CO of 130 AE flying Polikarpov U-2s on the Ukrainian Front.
He died during the war.
Claims:
| Kill no. | Date | Time | Number | Type | Result | Plane type | Serial no. | Locality | Unit |
| 1937 | |||||||||
| 1 | 04/01/37 | 1 | Ju 52/3m (a) | Destroyed | I-15 | Bilbao area | Escuadrilla Turzhanskii | ||
| 2 | ??/??/3? | 1 | Enemy aircraft | Destroyed | I-15 | Spain | Escuadrilla Turzhanskii |
Biplane victories: 2 destroyed.
TOTAL: 2 destroyed.
(a) Republican fighters claimed 2 Ju 52/3m and 2 He 51. Only the loss of 1 Ju 52/3m can be verified.
Sources:
Aces of the Legion Condor – Robert Forsyth, 2011 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-84908-347-8
Condor: The Luftwaffe in Spain 1936-1939 - Patrick Laureau, 2000 Hikoki Publications, Ottringham, ISBN 1-902109-10-4
Russian Fighter Aces of 1914-1953 years
Soviet airmen in the Spanish civil war 1936-1939 - Paul Whelan, 2014 Schiffer Publishing Ltd, ISBN 978-0-7643-0
Spanish Republican Aces – Rafael A. Permuy López, 2012 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-84908-668-4
The Legion Condor - Karl Ries and Hans Ring, 1992 Schiffer Publishing, ISBN 0-88740-339-5
