Lev Shestakov Lev Lvovich Shestakov ( ; December 28 , 1915 - March 13 , 1944 ) was a Soviet military aviator and the Red Air Force ' s leading ace in the Spanish Civil War . Career . Upon graduating from military college in 1936 he applied for combat in Spain , joining a Spanish Republican Air Force fighter squadron in 1937 . Flying Polikarpov I - 16 s he claimed eight solo victories and 31 collaborative ( shared ) victories gained in 90 sorties during the Spanish Civil War . Shestakov joined 69 IAP in September 1939 , and was at the time one of the most famous Soviet aces . At the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 , Shestakov was serving with 69 IAP ( Fighter Aviation Regiment ) on the Odessa front , and became the Regiment Leader on 16 July 1941 . During the battle for Odessa 69 IAP pilots achieved 94 air victories . The losses inflicted on the Romanian Air Force above Odessa in 1941 by Shestakov ' s fighter pilots compelled the Romanian High Command to withdraw its entire air force from the Eastern Front . At the end of 1941 69 IAP received the LaGG - 3 to replace the outdated I - 16 and relocated to the Stalingrad area . Over the next three years he held other commands in various regions , including Stalingrad . On 9 August , Shestakov was engaged by fourteen Bf 109 s of II . / JG 77 escorting He 111 s of KG 27 . 69 IAP claimed nine Bf 109s shot down without loss ( II . / JG 77 reported one damaged Bf 109E ) Shestakov eventually flew more than 200 missions during the war , took part in 32 aerial combats and was credited with 26 kills before being killed in action on 13 March 1944 . On 13 March 1944 ( other sources state 12 March ) , he intercepted German bombers but was never seen again . After the war , fellow ace Vladimir Lavrinenkov wrote a book about Shestakov called " His Call code - Sokol ( Falcon ) 1 " . According to Lavrinenkov ' s book , Shestakov fought a private war with a well - known Stuka ace - a ' Kurt Renner ' , who was awarded ' the Golden Knight ' s Cross ' . No such Stuka ace existed , although the Stuka ace Hans - Ulrich Rudel - who flew over the same operational area as did Shestakov - was the only person to be awarded the Knight ' s Cross with the Golden Oak Leaves . Shestakov apparently tried to shoot him down during the first months of 1944 , and reportedly searched for a Ju 87 with a viper painted along its fuselage , assuming that this conspicuous aircraft was flown by Renner / Rudel . After his death , it was rumoured that he died seconds after shooting at Rudel ' s plane , but given that Rudel was never shot down by enemy aircraft in his career , Shestakov could not have done any serious damage to Rudel ' s aircraft had he in fact ever attacked it . Rudel himself speculates in his autobiography : Was he shot down by Gadermann [ Rudel ' s rear gunner ] , or did he go down because of the backwash from my engine during these tight turns ? It doesn ' t matter . My headphones suddenly exploded in confused screams from the Russian radio ; the Russians have observed what happened and something special seems to have happened . . . From the Russian radio - messages , we discover that this was a very famous Soviet fighter pilot , more than once appointed as Hero of the Soviet Union . I should give him credit : he was a good pilot . His 26 victories in World War II raised his career total to 65 , including shared . During his service he flew over 200 combat missions , took part in 32 air combats , killing 15 enemy pilots . Achievements . His decorations included Hero of the Soviet Union , Order of Lenin , Order of the Red Banner , and Order of the Patriotic War . According to research by Tomas Polak and Christopher Shores , Shestakov rates as Russia ' s all - time second - ranking fighter pilot , ahead of Ivan Kozhedub ( 62 ) and behind Vasiliy Naydenko ( 99 ) . Most other lists rank Naydenko much lower , with Kozhedub first .