Biplane fighter aces

Soviet Union

Polkovnik Ivan Sergeyevich Zudilov HSU

8 June 1919 – 7 October 1980

Decorations
Date Decoration Note
25/07/41 Order of the Red Banner 1st
24/02/42 Order of the Red Banner 2nd
05/05/42 Gold Star of the Hero of Soviet Union No. 1034
05/05/42 Order of Lenin  
??/??/4? Order of the Red Banner 3rd
09/07/43 Order of the Red Banner 4th
06/07/44 Order of Aleksandr Nevsky  

Ivan Zudilov was born in Krutovo on 8 June 1919.

He joined the Red Army in 1938.

In 1939, he graduated from Orenburg Military Aviation School.

In June 1941, mladshiy leitenant Zudilov served in 42 IAP, flying Polikarpov I-153s.

On 22 June, he claimed a Bf 109 by a taran ramming attack.

In July 1941, he was posted to 163 IAP. With this unit, he flew Yak-1s.

He was wounded in air combat on 12 August.
Without getting any treatment, he escaped from the hospital and returned to his regiment.

On 5 May 1942, he was decorated with the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union (no. 1034) and the Order of Lenin.

163 IAP’s Yak-1s intercepted Ju 88s in the Rzhev area on 5 August and Zudilov and Sergey Kotyukov (victory no. 7 of a total of 13) claimed one each.

The Yak-1s from 163 IAP fought with Bf 109s in the Rzhev area on 25 August and Zudilov and Sergey Kotyukov (victory no. 13 of a total of 13) claimed one each.

Zudilov was posted to 157 IAP in November 1942 as a CO of a eskadrilya and was to fly LaGG-3s, Yak-7s, Yak-9s, Yak-1s and Yak-3s with this unit.

On 6 July 1943, ten Yaks from 157 IAP under the command of kapitan Zudilov covered troops in the area of Ponyri-Maloarkhangelsk, Oryol oblast. At an altitude of 1,500 meters and flying under clouds, the Soviet fighters were surprised by a reported twelve FW 190s attacked through the clouds. One Yak-7B was immediately shot down but the pilot was able to parachute and landed in friendly territory.
The subsequent combat took place in and out through the clouds down to an altitude of 500-600 meters.
At an altitude of 1,200 meters, Zudilov attacked a FW 190 from below while it tried to get on the tail of one of the Yak-7 and shot it down from 100 meters west of Ponyri. Starshiy leitenant Savchenkov claimed a second FW 190 at an altitude of 1,400 meters when he attacked it from below and to the right of it. At an altitude of 800-1000 meters leitenant Ivan Maslov claimed a third from 100-50 meters while serzhant Grigoriy Yakimovich at an altitude of 1,000-1,200 meters claimed a fourth FW 190 north-west of Ponyri. A fifth FW 190 was claimed by Viktor Yashin east of Ponyri.
Having lost five aircraft, the enemy fighters withdrew from the battlefield.

On 7 July, Zudilov claimed one FW 190 south of Vozy while Grigoriy Yakimovich claimed a second over Vozy.

157 IAP intercepted Ju 88s between Novo-Yamskaya and Semonovskaya on 19 August. Zudilov claimed one of them destroyed while Nikolay Stepanov claimed a second.

The Yak-9s of 157 IAP claimed at least five FW 190s on 23 February 1944, when Zudilov claimed one over Novosolki and one west of Rogachev, Nikolay Brodskiy (14 victories) claimed one over Rogachev and one south-east of Bliznetsy while Nikolay Kaznacheyev (11 victories) claimed one east of Rogachev. Kaznacheyev also claimed a Ju 87 west of Rogachev.

At the end of the war, Zudilov was credited with 1 biplane victory and a total of 26.
These had been claimed during 378 missions and 100 air combats.

He continued to serve in the VVS after the war and in 1949, he graduated from the Air Force Academy.

He resigned from the VVS as a polkovnik in 1961 due to health reasons to live in Odessa.

Ivan Zudilov passed away on 7 October 1980

Claims:
Kill no. Date Time Number Type Result Plane type Serial no. Locality Unit
  1941                
1 22/06/41   1 Bf 109 (a) Destroyed I-153   Vilnius 42 IAP
  05/08/41   1/? Hs 126 Shared destroyed Yak-1   Kholmy 163 IAP
2 09/08/41   1 Hs 126 Destroyed Yak-1   Boltutino 163 IAP
3 10/08/41   1 Bf 109 Destroyed Yak-1   Boltutino 163 IAP
4 09/09/41   1 Ju 88 Destroyed Yak-1   Yel’nya 163 IAP
  10/09/41   1/? Hs 126 Shared destroyed Yak-1   Khmary 163 IAP
5 04/10/41   1 Ju 88 Destroyed Yak-1   Yel’nya 163 IAP
6 11/10/41   1 He 111 Destroyed Yak-1   Spas-Demensk 163 IAP
  1942                
7 21/01/42   1 Ju 88 Destroyed Yak-1   Kholm 163 IAP
  04/02/42   1/2 Hs 126 Shared destroyed Yak-1   Kholm 163 IAP
8 11/02/42   1 Ju 52/3m Destroyed Yak-1   Kholm airfield 163 IAP
9 11/02/42   1 Ju 52/3m Destroyed Yak-1   Kholm airfield 163 IAP
  20/02/42   1/2 Ju 52/3m Shared destroyed Yak-1   NW Kuzenkino 163 IAP
10 26/02/42   1 Ju 88 Destroyed Yak-1   SE Kholm airfield 163 IAP
11 11/07/42   1 Bf 109 Destroyed Yak-1   Belyy 163 IAP
12 02/08/42   1 Bf 109 Destroyed Yak-1   Rhzev area 163 IAP
13 05/08/42   1 Ju 88 Destroyed Yak-1   Rhzev area 163 IAP
14 10/08/42   1 Bf 109 Destroyed Yak-1   Santalovo 163 IAP
15 24/08/42   1 Bf 109 Destroyed Yak-1   Rhzev 163 IAP
16 25/08/42   1 Bf 109 Destroyed Yak-1   Rhzev area 163 IAP
17 27/08/42   1 Bf 109 Destroyed Yak-1   Rhzev area 163 IAP
18 28/08/42   1 Ju 88 Destroyed Yak-1   Santalovo 163 IAP
  1943                
  16/01/43   1/2 FW 189 (b) Shared destroyed LaGG-3   Sady 157 IAP
19 05/07/43   1 Bf 109 Destroyed Yak-7B   Yezhiluta 157 IAP
20 06/07/43   1 FW 190 Destroyed Yak-7B   W Ponyri 157 IAP
21 07/07/43   1 FW 190 Destroyed Yak-7B   S Vozy 157 IAP
22 19/08/43   1 Ju 88 Destroyed Yak-7B   Novo-Yamskaya - Semonovskaya 157 IAP
  1944                
23 23/02/44   1 FW 190 Destroyed Yak-9   Novosolki 157 IAP
24 23/02/44   1 FW 190 Destroyed Yak-9   W Rogachev 157 IAP
25 01/05/44   1 FW 189 Destroyed Yak-1B   S Liski 157 IAP
26 11/08/44   1 FW 190 Destroyed Yak-3   Nova Volya 157 IAP

Biplane victories: 1 destroyed.
TOTAL: 26 and 5 shared destroyed.
(a) Claimed in a taran ramming attack.
(b) Not verified with Luftwaffe records.

Sources:
All aces of Stalin 1936–1953 – Mikhail Bykov, 2014
Russian Fighter Aces of 1914-1953 years
Soviet Aces 1936-1953
Soviet Fighter Pilots 1936-1953 - Mikhail Bykov




Last modified 13 April 2021