It’s hard to find another pilot whose logbook reflects the Great Patriotic War more fully. Vladimir Bobrov fought on six fronts and commanded two glorious Guards regiments. After shooting down an enemy fighter over the Baltic on the morning of June 22, 1941, he achieved his last victory over Prague on May 9, 1945, at 12:40 PM.
Despite having mentored 31 Heroes of the Soviet Union, this celebrated ace never received the repeatedly deserved title during his lifetime. Vladimir Bobrov was born on July 11, 1915, in Lugansk, into a working-class family. He completed seven grades and, in November 1936, graduated from the Lugansk Military Aviation School for Pilots.
An Unparalleled Ace and Inspiring Leader
From March to August 1938, Bobrov fought in Spain, conducting over 100 combat sorties and personally shooting down 13 rebel aircraft, with 4 more destroyed in groups. Even in those battles, his individual military skill, extraordinary tactical talent, and great organizational abilities were fully demonstrated.
The Great Patriotic War caught him on the Western border. At 4:30 AM, he took his “ishak” (a nickname for the Polikarpov I-16) into the air and, ten minutes later, achieved a victory, shooting down, according to other data, a Heinkel He 111. However, soon after, in one of his sorties, his fighter was hit, and Vladimir Bobrov, wounded and burned, awoke in a hospital bed.
Distinguished Combat and Command Career
After recovering, he completed short-term advanced courses for squadron commanders in Lipetsk. He fought on the Northwestern, Baltic, and Kalinin fronts, and on April 4, 1943, was appointed commander of the 27th IAP (later the 129th GIAP), where outstanding aces like N. Gulaev and F. Arkhipenko “came of age.”
Arkhipenko remembered him as “energetic and a bit restless, but a good pilot and kind person.” M. Petrov recalled that Bobrov and Pokryshkin understood each other perfectly in the air, via radio, though their specific rapid speech was little understood by outsiders. However, personal animosity from some high-ranking military officials pursued Bobrov.
In early 1944, he was unfairly removed from his regiment without sufficient grounds. Only the unyielding knight Pokryshkin took the courage to invite Bobrov “to the regiment” in his division. Thus, he became commander of the 104th GIAP. Masterfully flying the “Aerocobra” (P-39 Airacobra), he demonstrated his skill in September 1944 when, paired with P. Kryukov, they literally tore apart a group of Heinkel He 111s, destroying three formidable machines.
The Legacy of an Unrecognized Hero
During the Great Patriotic War, Guards Lieutenant Colonel Bobrov completed 451 combat sorties, engaged in 112 air battles, personally shooting down 30 enemy aircraft and 20 in groups. In total, his combat career included 577 combat sorties, 159 air battles, with 43 personal and 24 group victories.
After the war, he continued to serve in the Air Force, being discharged to the reserve with the rank of colonel in 1954. During his lifetime, he was repeatedly nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union; however, the chief marshals of aviation, Novikov and then Vershinin, “abstained from the nomination.”
This injustice had neither political nor domestic roots: he came from a working-class family, was a member of the VKP(b) since 1941, was not captured, and did not abuse alcohol (as a high-class combat pilot, especially a fighter pilot, could not abuse alcohol). He lived and worked in Moscow and died in 1970.