Russian aeronautical term, meaning air victory obtained by a “ voluntary boarding ” in full sky.

During the Second world war, several hundreds of Soviet fighter pilots cut down, in flight, of the enemy planes, by precipitating above their own apparatus, deliberately sacrificed. This at the very least suicidal and impressive method was, contrary to a largely widespread opinion, which saw there only the mark of a despaired heroism, a generally reflected and premeditated tactic; proof the example of several air As which employed it on several occasions and survived it.

Origin and tactical employment

As of the June 22nd 1941, first day of the Operation Barbarossa, it are not less than fourteen German planes which were asserted as destroyed by voluntary boarding in vol. One hour only after the beginning of the offensive hitlérienne, the lieutenant I.I. Ivanov, of the 46 IAP (or 46e Regiment of hunting), having exhausted all its ammunition éperonna voluntarily its apparatus I-16 by precipitating it against a bomber Heinkel He 111, above the village of Doubno, in Ukraine; it was to receive, on a purely posthumous basis the star of Héros of the Soviet Union, the August 2nd 1941.

Principal pilots having employed it

On the whole, according to a Soviet study published during the years 1980, one can quantify the number of air victories gained by taran with a little more than 500.

Among the most famous pilots having employed this orthodoxe not very manner of fighting, one can note the following pilots:

• lieutenant Boris Kobzan of the 184.IAP : it is the single pilot one in the world to have cut down four enemy planes per voluntary boarding and, to have each time survived;

• Captain Alexei Stepanovich Khlobystov of the 147.IAP : it obtained three air victories by taran;
• eighteen others pilot Soviet achieved at least two tarans, of which Boris Pirojkov

Bibliographical sources

• Geust, Keskinen and Stenman, Red star-Soviet Air Force in WW2 . Ar-Kustannus OY, 1993.

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