Sergei Kramarenko Sergei Makarovich Kramarenko ( ) ( born 23 April 1923 ) was a Soviet Air Force officer who fought in the World War II and the Korean War . For his service in Korea became a holder of the Title of Hero of the Soviet Union . He achieved several high command positions in the USSR and was also Air Force advisor in Iraq and Algeria in the 1970s . Retired in 1977 with the rank of Major - General , he lives with his family in Moscow . Childhood and Encounter with Aviation . Sergei Kramarenko was born on 23 April 1923 in the village of Kalinovka in Sumskaya province , Ukraine , the eldest of three sons of Makar Kramarenko and Nadezhda Galkovskaya . His parents were divorced when he and his brothers were still children and he went with his mother and brothers to live first in the Caucasus , and later to a kolkhoz ( collective farm ) near the Volga river . During the 1930s the young Kramarenko listened to radio broadcasts about the deeds of Soviet airmen like Valery Chkalov and Georgiy Baidukov , and so decided to become a pilot . In the autumn of 1940 he began a flying course at the Dzerzhinskiy aeroclub , and as one of the 80 who graduated with the highest marks was offered the opportunity to become a military pilot . Kramarenko accepted and began military training on 1 April 1941 at Borisoglevsk aerodrome . The German - Soviet War ( 1941 - 45 ) . Sergei Kramarenko first saw action in late November 1942 over Stalingrad , as part of the 523rd IAP - equipped with the LaGG - 3 . Like most inexperienced fliers , he began as wingman to more experienced pilots , such as Capt . Mikhail Baranovskiy and Lt . Yury Ryzhov . In early 1943 his unit was re - equipped with the Lavochkin La - 5 , which performance - wise proved to be on a par with the German FW - 190 and Bf - 109 . First aerial victory . On 23 February 1943 he was flying as wingman in a flight led by Capt . Baranovskiy when they engaged a group of dive - bomber [ Ju - 87 Stuka ] s . Several escorting FW - 190s jumped his element leader Ryzhov and he promptly rushed to assist : In that moment in front of me , with a left turn at 100 - 150 meters arrived two unknown aircraft of green color - in their fuselages were black crosses . In spite it was the first time I saw them , immediately I knew they were two FW - 190s . As soon as they finished their turn , one of them began to shoot at my leader . I opened fire against the trailing airplane and I saw shell strikes all over the aircraft . I watched that suddenly it went upwards turning , and his leader after him . Right then , ahead of me from the left went by tracers . I looked to the left and saw that 300 meters behind at the left were two Focke - Wulfs . They shoot right at me , and the tracers of their aircraft get closer and closer to my airplane . What should I do ? To climb was impossible , because there were two more Focke - Wulfs . Immediately broke to the left , underneath the tracers . I dove [ . . . ] Many years later , while I described this episode to a journalist friend of mine , he told me that he saw in German memoirs a report of the leader of that " schwarm " . [ . . . ] After the combat with me , while returning home , one of his pilots , because of unexplainable reasons , got into a dive and crashed into the ground . I realized that one of the shells of my cannons hit the pilot ' s cockpit and wounded the pilot , who because of the loss of blood fainted and crashed to his death . Kramarenko ' s first victory claim was FW - 190A - 3 ( WkNr 2265 ) of " Oberfeldwebel " Karl Stadeck , ( of 2 . / JG 51 " Mölders " ) , who was killed . He claimed while flying Lavochkin La - 5 " Red 34 " . Downed , Wounded , Captured and Rescued . On 19 March 1944 three La - 5FN s of the 19th IAP intercepted a group of Ju - 88 bombers escorted by six Bf - 110 fighters . Kramarenko ' s leader - Pavel Maslyakov - shot down one of the Junkers , but was in return jumped by one of the Bf - 110s . Kramarenko was ready to cover him , scoring hits on the Messerchmitt . He then fell prey to the Bf - 110 wingman , who set his aircraft on fire and forced him to bail out with severe burns to face and hands . Kramarenko was captured almost immediately by German troops , and as he was unwilling to answer the questions of his SS interrogator he was to be executed . Fortunately for Kramarenko the order was cancelled at the last minute by a Wehrmacht General , who ordered also that Kramarenko be sent to a German field hospital . Two weeks later Kramarenko was rescued by Soviet troops liberating the hospital . Service in Kozhedub ' s 176th GIAP . After several months of convalescence in a Moscow burns hospital , he returned to his regiment ( now redisignated 176th GIAP ) . Kramarenko was appointed wingman to the Regiment navigator Major Aleksandr Kumanichkin , already an ace with 35 aerial victories ( he claimed five more in Korea ) . Both men were aggressive and disciplined in the air and they became a lethal team . He flew Kumanichkin ' s wing for several of the ace ' s victories , and shared some of them . On 16 April 1945 Kramarenko scored his second full victory : a FW - 190 over Eastern Prussia . The aircraft he flew that day was the Lavochkin La - 7 " Red 27 " , of the regimental executive officer Major Ivan Kozhedub . Kozhedub had lent Kramarenko his aircraft because he was not scheduled to fly and no other aircraft was available . The Post War and the beginning of the Cold War ( 1945 - 50 ) . In 1946 the 176th GIAP was redeployed to the aerodrome of Teplyy Stan on the south - west outskirts of Moscow and was among the first units to receive the new prop - driven La - 9 , the jet - propelled La - 15 , and in late 1949 the MiG - 15 . Already the " zamkomesk " ( Замкомэск , заместител командир эскадрилии = " zamestitel komandir eskadrilii " = deputy squadron leader ) of the regiment ' s 3rd AE of Aleksandr Vasko , Капитан ( " Kapitan " = Captain ) Kramarenko flew the MiG - 15 during the 1950 May Day fly - past over the Kremlin and Red Square , and on 14 August over Tushino airbase ( for Air Force Day ) . The Korean War ( 1950 - 53 ) . In early October 1950 the 176th GIAP were called to a meeting in the Officers ' Club at Teplyy Stan by General Redkin , the Executive Officer of the Air Defense of Moscow , with Vasily Stalin ( son of Joseph Stalin ) also attending . Redkin detailed the critical situation in North Korea , with American B - 29 heavy bombers bombing the poorly defended North Korean cities . The Soviet - backed Democratic Republic of Korea had officially requested Soviet assistance . When asked for volunteers all pilots , including Kramarenko , raised their hands . The unit was soon deployed to Korea . Soviet involvement would be a secret until well after the end of the Cold War . Travelling across Siberia , Kozhedub ' s 324th IAD ( made up of the 176th GIAP and 196th IAP ) arrived in the city of Dunfyn , where they were given Chinese uniforms to wear . The Soviet fliers received their first salary in Chinese currency which they spent at local markets , buying civilian clothing to replace the Chinese uniforms . An intense period of air - to - air training in the MiG - 15 followed . The Russians trained alongside Chinese pilots in the nearby airbase of Mukden . Kozhedub brought Kramarenko with him and personally checked the training of their Chinese and Korean apprentices . Kramarenko remembered the poor training of the Chinese students who could barely perform even basic training flights . Both he and Kozhedub also realized the meager diet of rice they received was a problem . As soon as the Chinese rations were replaced by meat and other high - calorie food the situation improved . First victories . Both regiments of the 324th IAD redeployed to the forward airbase at Antung , and entered into battle in early April 1951 . On 3 April they suffered three losses for no victories , although on 4 April 1951 Fiodor Shebanov managed to shoot down an F - 86 and the pilot captured ) . Kramarenko noted that the main reason for such a defeat was that they failure to enter Korean airspace higher than American aircraft and at high speed . Yevgeny Pepelyaev ( 196th IAP ' s commander ) and Sergei Vishnyakov ( 176th GIAP ' s executive officer ) instructed the MiG pilots to jump the American formations in co - ordinated attacks from different directions . Now with these coordinated attacks and both height and high speed the MiG - 15 fliers had combat conditions in their favor . These tactics were tested on 12 April 1951 when forty - four MiG - 15s of the 176th GIAP and 196th IAP faced an American formation made up of forty - eight B - 29s escorted by ninety - six jet fighters . Against these uneven odds the Soviet fliers claimed some ten B - 29s , three F - 80s and one F - 86 shot down . Kramarenko ' s first victory in Korea was the F - 80C of Captain A . B . Swanson ( 18th ABG ) . Kramarenko ' s second victory in the Korean sky occurred on 2 June , as he recalls : In such conditions ( on 2 and 17 June [ 1951 ] I managed to shot down some Sabres . For example , reminded me the following combat : We flew in a " zveno " [ a flight , a 4 - airplanes formation ] in the area assigned to patrol , having performed some circuits , when we spotted a group of eight Sabres . heading in a head - on course . We maneuvered to gain altitude and turned around to attack them from the rear hemisphere , but the Sabres spotted us and turned around too . A quartet kept on flying straight , and I with a dive began to chase the aircraft of the rearmost quartet . Two Sabres went to left , and two to the right ; Lazutin ' s pair attacked the pair on the left , and went towards the right . The Sabres began to dive , but by then the range had decreased , and at about 400 meters I open fire . I see hits all over the Sabre wingman , which releasing smoke kept on diving . My wingman jumped the second Sabre , but his aircraft began to shake , due to the speed had almost reached 1 . 000 km / h , and consequently missed . We got out of the dive , and we saw that below remained only one Sabre - no trace of the second . Soon the ground control confirmed us , that he fell . His victory was probably confirmed by the interception of American radio dialogue : the F - 86A Bu . No 49 - 1130 of Thomas C . Hanson ( 336th FIS , Killed ) , although USAF records list the aircraft as lost in an accident shortly after take - off . Clash of Titans . On 17 June 1951 Kramarenko and his six wingmen almost fell in an American ambush when they engaged eight Sabres who were acting as bait for three more F - 86s lying in wait and ready to attack from above . What follows is Kramarenko ' s account of the duel he had against an American ace of World War II : " Then the Sabres changed to another tactic . Individual pairs of their most experienced pilots would sit off to the side , and when combat was joined would pounce on the trailing aircraft of our group , and frequently shoot them down . [ . . . ] My flight was flying to reinforce the strike group in the lead battle . As we got to the place of combat , the enemy were just finishing up moving out over the sea . Our side was also running out of fuel , and they were heading for home . As we got there , we could see an eight of Sabres coming right at us at the same altitude . Without thinking , I gave the command “ Let ’ s attack them ” and turned at a nearly 90 degree bank to wind up 600 meters behind this group . It was just as I got the leader in my sights and gave him a burst that I got a sensation of that something was behind me . That sensation made me turn right and look behind me , and what it was I do not know to this day . Perhaps I had seen something . But inexplicable as it was , there I now saw less than 100 meters behind me the huge nose of a Sabre and the blasts and tracers of its six machine guns firing at me . Without thinking , in the space of a few hundredths of a second I reacted automatically , and my MiG momentarily did a half roll , dropping into a dive . While in the dive , I looked back and saw a group consisting of three Sabres right behind me in a dive . [ . . . ] I could have initiated a dive , but I have been told that the Sabre was heavier than the MiG , so it should dive better . Because of that , to dive wasn ' t an option . Then I saw right in front of me a cluster of saving clouds . My only choice was to head my aircraft towards one of them . Once inside the cloud , I made a very sharp turn of 90° to the left , I got out of the clouds and performed a right turn . I supposed that the lead Sabre would thought that my MiG kept on diving straight after getting out of the cloud . And that was exactly what happened . Now , below me , there were these three Sabres , which were looking for me downwards . Without losing not even a second , I jumped them . I have turned the wits . Now it was my turn to attack . But somehow they spotted me and immediately they split : the wingmen performed a diving turn to the left , and the leader a climbing right turn . This tactic allow them to neutralize my attack and to transform me into their prey : it was a trap . Whichever one I attacked , I would be forced to turn my tail to the others and then they would get me under fire . What was I to do ? I could climb up and give battle , but I did not want to get into this interesting and advantageous situation : if you are going to do battle with strong pilots , with the Sabre wing commander , you had better be in a better position . It is true that they were 3 , but it didn ' t matter to me : I was very self - confident in my skills and my MiG . But now , I should decide fast who I shall to attack . Should I attack the pair which was diving , or the Sabre which was climbing ? If I would jumped the first ones , the latter would dive after me and he would shoot me down . That ' s why I choose the later , because it was closer and was making a climbing turn to the right . So , I dived and soon I put myself behind him , I aimed , and at a distance of about 600 meters , I opened up . To slow down and to hold my fire until to be closer it was impossible , because the two remaining Sabres could catch me . My shells struck the Sabre . Evidently , some of the projectiles should hit it close to the engine , because the aircraft began to leave a trail of dark - gray smoke . The Sabre began to descend , and later entered in a steep dive . I could not see all the fall , because when I looked back , I saw a couple of Sabres at 500 meters . A little bit more , and both would open fire with their 12 , 7 mm ( 0 , 50 " ) machineguns . Evidently , that was when I made a mistake . I should increase my angle of climbing and drag the Sabres to high altitude , where the MiG had the advantage . But I came to that conclusion only a long time later . At that time I reversed my heading , passed over the Sabres and in a slight dive I led my aircraft to a small group of clouds . Once there I turned to the right and went I got out of them , I started a ‘ Boyeboj Razvorot [ ‘ Combat Turn ’ , a climbing turn with a roll angle of 40 - 50° ] to the left , but I didn ’ t found the Sabres bellow where I expect them to be , but behind at my left . [ . . . ] I threw my aircraft in a dive , but instead of a sharp pull - up into a climb I began to slowly roll my aircraft into a flat dive . The Sabres , who didn ’ t expect that , stayed in the height , far above and behind . I dived to the right towards the hydroelectric station over the Yalu river [ this station is referred in the Russian cartography as Suphun hydroelectric station , and as Suiho Dam / Reservoir in the American one – Note of the authors ] . This huge reservoir had a dam of 300 meters height and a power station which provided energy not only to half of Korea but also the whole North - East of China . Precisely it was the main target we should protect . Besides us , their defense consisted in a dozen of anti - aircraft batteries , which had the order to shoot at any airplane which get closer to the dam . I had the hope that the gunners of these batteries would help me to get these Sabres out of my tail . And that was what happened : the gunners accomplished their order to open fire at any intruder , and in front of me it appeared a dark cloud caused by the detonation of the anti - aircraft shells . I didn ’ t want to evade that cloud , because the Sabres would reduce the distance and they would shot me down . At that moment I preferred to eventually die in the hands of my fellow gunners , rather than the bullets of the Sabres , so I headed for the very center of a cloud . The aircraft punched into the cloud . Once inside and away from the shell bursts I immediately swung the aircraft from side to side , up and down . Grabbing the stick , I pulled back on it . The results were that the wings fluttered a bit . But after several tens of seconds passed , suddenly I was once again out in the sunshine . The aircraft had punched through the black cloud . Behind and below me were the dam and the reservoir . Off to the left I could see the departing Sabres , having lost me in the cloud and perhaps figured I was dead . Following me had proven to be useless , the sea was near , and not wanting a new fight , even though I had come close to passing out from the stress . In order to not lose consciousness I focused my attention in front of me and pinched the arteries in my neck , as I did not want the blood to leave my head . It was far easier for the Sabre pilots to take this stress – they had a special anti - G suit which , when it sensed increased stress on the pilot , filled with air and , grasping him tightly , prevented the blood from leaving his head . Up until then our designers had never thought of such an idea . I circled the airfield a couple of times , landed and then , taxiing over to the hardstand , saw my wingmen . They , having lost me during the sharp turn , continued to go after the eight Sabres , but when they got to the coastline had to turn back , searched for me , and not finding me , returned to the airfield . Subsequent examination of my gun camera footage showed good hits on the Sabre . Ground command reported where it had impacted . ” The Sabre downed by Kramarenko was the F - 86A BuNo 49 - 1281 of Lt . Col . Glenn Todd Eagleston ( 4th FIG ' s commander , a famed World War II ace with 18 . 5 Luftwaffe kills while flying a P - 51 Mustang , and two victories against MiGs in Korea ) , who belly - landed his jet at Kimpo Airbase South Korea . The jet was damaged beyond repair and was written off . The leader of the two Sabres who came to assist Eagleston was also a notable combat pilot : Lt . Col . Bruce Hinton , the first Sabre pilot to shoot down a MiG on 17 December 1950 . First Jet - vs - Jet Ace in History . Kramarenko ' s streak of successes continued during June and July . On the 23rd he was credited with another F - 86 kill ( although records show no Sabre was lost that day ) . On 11 July the 176th GIAP engaged a group of Sabres escorting F - 80s , while the 196th IAP intercepted the fighter - bombers . While leading six MiG - 15bis Kramarenko engaged a flight of six Sabres , and at 300 meters shot down one F - 86 which was seen to crash south - west of Tetsuzan , the pilot ejecting into the sea . On 29 July 1951 sixteen MiG - 15bis of the 176th GIAP relieved other MiGs of the 17th IAP which were tangling with Sabres . Kramarenko ' s flight was among them , and flying at 14 , 000 meters he spotted two F - 86s at 10 , 000 meters . A single burst at 250 meters sent one of them downwards out of control . The heavy 37 and 23 mm shells from Kramarenko ' s MiG - 15bis destroyed the rudder and elevators of the F - 86A BuNo 49 - 1098 ( 4th FIW ) and its pilot managed to reach South Korea where he bailed out safely . This was Kramarenko ' s fifth victory . Sergei Kramarenko was the actual first ace of the Korean War , and due to the fact that all his victims were jets the First Jet - vs - Jet Ace in History . Hero of the Soviet Union . The 324th IAD had been fighting without a respite since April . During August it was allowed to rest for a month . When the unit came back into the fight , Kramarenko soon claimed new victories : Kramarenko was postulated to be awarded the " Zolotaya Svezda " , which is given the title of " Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza " ( Hero of the Soviet Union ) . He was finally decorated with this award on 10 November 1951 by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR , Nikolay Shvernik . On his return to the skies over Korea , Kramarenkokept on scoring victories : " After takeoff and climb to altitude we saw the entire sky was filled with moving dots . We dropped our tanks and hit the throttles , and our MiGs went into combat . Immediately the regiment broke up into several groups and pairs . I and my six were following the group commander ’ s flight , which were attacking a group of Sabres flying an intersecting course from below the Sabres . At that moment his group found itself under attack from a flight of Sabres . I gave the command to my wingman to repulse the attack , and we proceeded to cut through their flight . A long burst in front of the Sabres forced them to break off the attack and climb away . I gave the command to Lazutin to go after them , while I and my wingman turned to follow the group commander , who had opened fire as he closed on the Sabres , but they made a sharp maneuver to avoid his fire and split up . One flight went into steep left bank , and the other did the same to the right . Vishnyakov ’ s flight split up as well and began to go after both groups as pairs . At that moment his pair was jumped from above by a pair of Sabres , who literally popped up about 300 - 400 meters from me . I immediately went over to get on their tails . The Sabres rolled over and went into a dive . I ordered Gogolev , my third pair leader , “ Cover the commander , ” and tried to go after the Sabres . I could see that the Sabres were holding a dive at an angle of about 60 degrees – I aimed at them and immediately gave one of them a burst . I saw the shells detonate in the area of the cockpit , and there was clearly black smoke now visible inside the cockpit ; the Sabre ’ s dive angle increased and he kept ongoing down . At that moment , Gulyy called me : - I ’ m spinning ! I looked behind me and saw his aircraft nearly inverted . I gave the command : - Hit your air brakes ! Pull out ! I saw Gulyy pull out of the inverted position and we then went into a dive , climbed back up to altitude , and returned home . [ . . . ] Fifty years later a special group carrying out a search for American pilots who were missing in action asked me if the pilot of the Sabre I shot down had bailed out . I could only repeat what I wrote above . ” Fired Upon . On 17 January 1952 Kramarenko flew his last combat mission in Korea . During it he damaged an F - 86 , but was not only shot down himself but also fired upon by the Sabre flier while he was hanging defenseless in his parachute . He himself describes the events : “ 17 January was a heavy day for me . The radar station picked up the approach of a group of ground attack aircraft on their way to Anju . Our regiment was sent out to repulse them . Arriving in the area of combat operations , we just spotted the last group of Thunderjets sliding along above the clouds to our south . Vishnyakov went to go after them , but we were not able to attack as the Thunderjets went into a cloud and we found ourselves over the coastline . Not seeing the usual Sabre escort , we made a left turn and began a level climb and had just turned around when I spotted two groups of Sabres diving down to attack Vishnyakov . We were engaging under the most unfavorable conditions , but nevertheless we beat off the first attack of the Sabres and , by using maneuver , climbed back up to about 9000 meters . At that moment another group of Sabres showed up , and moved to come down to attack the regimental commander ’ s group from above . As for me , as I virtually had no speed due to the climb , managed to increase my climb angle and at 600 meters I opened fire on the Sabre group leader . His aircraft ran through my tracers , and I saw several explosions on it . He increased his dive and angle and headed down . Turning around , I saw that my group was also being attacked from above by a group of Sabres . I gave the command : “ Everybody break ! ” and we turned under the Sabres , but now I saw that my rear wingman , Senior Lieutenant Voronoy , was being fired on by two Sabres . Voronoy went into a sharp dive and headed down . I returned to the battle . At that moment my third pair came under attack from two Sabres coming down from above which , as they opened fire , cut through them and headed out directly towards above me . I followed them , firing at the wingman . He , evidently damaged , turned and banked over into a dive . I was not able to go after the damaged aircraft , as I suddenly felt a sharp blow and the aircraft around me began to rapidly spin . I kicked hard left rudder , but the controls did not respond . It was so sudden that one wing suddenly broke off . I made the decision to bail out of the uncontrollable aircraft , as it was now in a vertical spin downward . With a great deal of difficulty – as I was rammed into the left side of the aircraft – I managed to get my hand on the ejection seat control lever and pull it . A sharp blow momentarily pressed down on my eyes , so I have no idea how I flew out of the aircraft . As I came back to life I was falling together with the seat , I released the harness and kicked out of the seat with my legs . I could see that the clouds below me were coming up rapidly , so I pulled on the parachute ripcord ring , and after I yanked it the canopy opened . I came to a sharp halt , and now I was floating under the parachute . Above me was the blue sky , below me the clouds . They were about 800 meters below . I glanced around and saw a Sabre coming at me very quickly . He came on for a few more seconds , and suddenly I saw the smoke and tracers that he was firing his six machine guns . Death was coming for me , and all I could do was wait as he came after me . Fortunately , the Sabre was about 800 - 1000 meters away , and the tracers flew by tens of meters below me . But for those very few seconds the tracers began to head up towards my legs and only stopped a few meters away . Perhaps at the last second I could pull my legs up at the moment that I felt the bullets were about to hit my legs . But at that precise moment the tracers stopped . I could see the Sabre bank away sharply when 500 meters away , and passing about 50 meters away from me , make a quick turn . I got nauseous from his jet exhaust as he passed . I saw the Sabre make another turn and come back to attack me again . Now I understood that he wanted to get even for the death of his leader , but then I didn ’ t want to think about that so silently waited for the end to come . The second time , I thought , he won ’ t miss . I looked down . The cloud was now much closer – perhaps 50 - 100 meters away . I thought : ‘ What will happen first – will I go into the cloud or will his tracers hit me ? If the Sabre opens fire , he won ’ t miss . ’ But when the Sabre closed to 800 meters and new tracers flew from it , I poked into the cloud . It immediately became quite dark , humid , but it was a beautiful sensation that I was safe , as he could not see me and I did not see the approaching Sabre and his tracers . " Kramarenko landed safely was found by a North Korean villager who took care of him until he was recovered by a search party and returned to Antung . The Sabre attacked by Kramarenko was the F - 86E BuNo 50 - 636 of Major George V . Wendling ( 16th FIS ) , which received " major damage " on that day . Almost certainly the pilot who shot down and shot at the Soviet ace was Major William F . Shaeffer , of the 16th FIS , 51st FIW . Following the decision of General Staff of USSR ' s Armed Forces , the VVS 303rd and 324th IAD were replaced by PVO divisions , the 97th and 190th IAD . So , on 31 January 324th , IAD ceased combat operations in Korea and 176th GIAP ( and Kramarenko with it ) returned to the Soviet Union . Credits for aerial victories of Sergei Makarovich Kramarenko . In the German - Soviet War Sergei Kramarenko scored two individual victories and 10 more group ( shared ) kills , plus a balloon . During the Korean War he flew 104 combat sorties , engaged UN aircraft in 42 occasions , and was officially credited with 13 victories . After cross - referencing his credited victories with German and US losses , it seems that in fact he shot down one German warplane during World War II , and he scored at least eight or nine victories in Korea , besides seriously damaging three more UN jets . ( * ) = Loss not credited in US records to MiG - 15 action . KORWALD lists Captain A . B . Swanson loss date is given as " 13 " . 04 . 1951 and that he was hit by AAA , bailed out successfully and was rescued . Ditto lists Lt Thomas C . Hanson loss date " 05 " . 06 . 1951 crashed on take off off end of runway Suwon K - 13 after jettisoning fuel tanks ; Ditto lists Captain Ridgeway as being lost " 13 " . 01 . 1952 . Cause of loss is given as " Engine explosion , crashed " and " Explosion in engine section " ; { Pilot } successfully ejected N of K - 14 , rescued . ( * * ) = Overclaim in good faith . ( * * * ) = KORWALD reports only " one " F - 86 lost " between " dates of 21 . 06 . 1951 and 24 . 06 . 1951 - on 22 June 1951 F - 86A 49 - 1276 of 4th Ftr - Int Gp / 336th Ftr - Int Sq was shot down by MIG at 645L . Pilot 1Lt Howard P . Miller remains recovered in " Operation Glory " Likewise KORWALD reports that on 24 . 06 . 1951 a F - 80C of 49th Ftr - Bmdr Gr / 8th Ftr - Bmdr Sq - a Flight of 4 F - 80s attacked by 12 MiG - 15s , downed by MiG over Chonsodae ( Sonchon ) ; 1Lt Ernest C Dunning Jr Captured and returned during Operation Big Switch . Post War Career and Family . After his return to the Soviet Union , he studied at the Air Force Academy , where he graduated in 1954 . Around that same time , in Moscow , he met an art student - Yulya Alekseyevna . Soon they began dating and going together to the Bolshoy Theater and others . In 1956 he got his first command duty as deputy commander of a regiment placed in Machulishchi , Belarus . In 1957 he proposed marriage to Yulya , and she accepted . Already married , that same year Kramarenko received his second command assignment - the 167th IAP in Georgia . Soon other commissions followed all over the Soviet Union , and he was also blessed by the births of his son Aleksandr and his daughter Nadezhda . In 1970 he received a new appointment , this time on foreign soil : the Iraqi Air Force had bought brand new MiG - 21s , and Kramarenko helped Iraqi pilots and officers to learn to operate the Soviet aircraft and trained them in tactics . A similar duty followed in Algeria in the mid - 1970s . Finally , already a Major - General of the Air Force , Kramarenko retired in 1977 . Today Sergei Kramarenko is the vice - president of the " Rossiskaya Assotsiatsya Geroev " ( Russian Association of Heroes , the War Veteran Association , named that way because many of his members are Heroes of the Soviet Union ) , author of his autobiography and collaborator in many other books where Russian pilots have openly described his wartime experiences . Sergei Kramarenko lives currently in his flat in Moscow together with his wife , receiving the love of his daughter and four grandsons .