Kozhedub article on Wikipedia

[bbrought]

I was doing some surfing the other day on the internet, and discovered this article about Kozhedub on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Nikitovich_Kozhedub

Now, I have seen some wonderful articles about different personalities on wikipedia, but I really think this is not one of them. I know anyone can also edit an article and fix it if he/she doesn't like the existing article, but I have never tried to do so, and to be honest, I don't think I would like to get involved in the back-and-forth editing I have seen some wiki articles go through. Besides the fact that nothing on that article seems to be cited, and that the P-51 encounter seems to dominate the article and the discussion around the article, rather than Kozhedubs achievements as a fighter pilot in the GPW and his leadership achievements in Korea, there were a few points that were completely new to me:

1) The author claims "He has also been notoriously known among Soviet Air Force pilots as an ace who has lost a record number of his wingmen during his combat missions". I was wondering if any of the Russian members of this forum have any further information on that. I have quite a collection of English text books that talk about Kozhedub, but somehow none of them mention this claim. The closest I have seen was somewhere that Kozhedub said he would sometimes let wingmen take full personal claim for shared victories, rather than him claiming them as "shared ". I know that is a completely different issue, but it just seems a bit strange that someone who allowed his wingmen to claim shared victories as their own could be the same someone who had a disregard for the safety of his wingmen. I haven't found much other mention of his relationship with his wingmen, so I am quite curious to know if the claim in the Wikipedia article is accurate and if so (or the opposite) if anyone has more info about it. Of course, the part about what he did about shared victories could this time be a myth that I fell for, but I am pretty sure I have read it in a book rather than just on the internet.

2) The article also claims (again without cite): "He is also reputed to have the unusual ability to shoot targets at very oblique angles." any comments about this?

3) The P-51 claim: The article seems to suggest that this may never have happened (and in the discussion section of the article there is someone that uses some very iffy "evidence" to try and prove it didn't happen). Kozhedub himself mentioned this event and I see no reason why someone like him would have anything to gain from making up a claim like that. My question is this: I have heard this claim may have been confirmed by the US - does anyone have more info about this?

I wish someone would use the opportunity and take the time to re-write that article with proper citations and without invalidated claims and myths. I feel the top-scoring allied pilot in WWII at the very least deserves a proper wiki entry.

Regards,
Bennie

[Psy06]

This is rich data about Kozedub VS Mustang, on russian of course, and some ugly translation:

N.Bodrikhin about I.Kozheduba's fight with "Mustangs" in the foreword to the book ? Fidelity to fatherland ?:
As Ivan Nikitovich, on April, 17th 1945 told to me, having met in air ? Flying fortresses ? allies, he protecting turn has driven away from them pair ?Bf-109?, but in a second itself has been attacked by the American fighters of covering.
? To whom of fire? To me?! — with indignation recollected Kozedub half a century later. — the turn was long, with big, in kilometer, distances, with bright, unlike our and German, tracer shells. Because of the big distance it was visible, as the end of turn is bent downwards. I have turned over and, quickly having approached, attacked the extreme American (by quantity of fighters in escort I have already understood who it) — in a fuselage at it something has blown up, it is strong steaming and has gone with decrease aside our armies. With halfloop, having executed a fighting turn, from the overturned position, I am attacked the following. My shells have laid down very successfully — Mustang has blown up in air...
When the pressure of fight slept, the mood at me was completely not victorious — I in fact already have had time to make out white stars on wings and fuselages. ? Will arrange to me... On the first ?, — I thought, landing the plane. But all has managed. In a cabin of the "Mustang" who has landed in our territory, the huge Negro sat. On a question of the guys who have appeared in time to them who has shoot down him (more truly when this question have managed to translate), he answered: ?Fokke-Wulf? with a red nose... I do not think, that he then accompanied; have not learned still then allies to watch closely...
When have shown guncam film, the main moments of fight have appeared are fixed on them very precisely (you can see this unique staff on the first insertion on the book). A film looked both command a shelf, and divisions, and cases. The commander of a division Savitsky, to which we then entered into operative submission, after viewing has told: ? These victories — on account of the future war ?. And Paul Fedorovich Chupikov, ours commander, has soon given me these film with words: ? Take away them to itself, Ivan, and show nobody ?.

http://www.army.lv/index.php?s=563&id=264&v=9
http://wunderwaffe.narod.ru/Magazine/AirWar/70/06.htm
http://forum.sudden-strike.ru/archiv...hp/t-1663.html
http://forums.avtograd.ru/viewtopic.php?p=8357604

Some sources told about a fight 6 may 1945, between Kozedub group and Flying Fortresses intruded the Soviet zone and refused to change course, as a result of which Kozedub has personally shoot down three Fortresses.

[John Thompson]

Very interesting! Savitsky's words about victories for "the future war" give us something to think of, regarding relations among the so-called "Allies" in 1945!

John

[FPSOlkor]

According to Kozhedub's memo's he had flown mainly with 3 wingman, at least one of which had became a HSU.
From VVS veterans i had heard that K. was a very gifted in terms of firemastery, and was capable to shoot targets at any angle. True, though, that he had shown this in a interwar period.
No proof excist both, to confirm K.'s words, or to disspell them. On the other hands there were not so many black pilots flying P-51's, so it can be checked (it is also rather unlikely that P-51s would have a mixed black-white flight) by trying to find at least two black pilots losses at one day.