Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin claims

[GMichalski]

hello,

i checked his claims years and its incredible the versions i found about it...

why so many different?


Final tally
Pokryshkin's score is heavily disputed among historians. Overclaiming was not uncommon in World War II, and Pokryshkin's claims in his memoir are much higher than recent estimates by historians and official records, and recent estimates are generally lower than older estimates. In 1986 Oleg Levchenko claimed that Pokryshkin in fact shot down 94 enemy aircraft, damaged 19 and destroyed three more on the ground, and said that no less than 15 victories scored in 1941 were not taken into account, because the documents confirming them were destroyed during the hurried withdrawal from encirclement during the Battle of Uman.[17] However, Levchenko's claims are generally disputed in 21st century estimates, which tend to place Pokryshkin's tally in the mid 40s. Thomas Polak and Christopher Shores credited him with 53 solo and 6 shared victories in their 1999 book, however the bibliography of the book cites Pokryshkin's memoirs instead of any official documents, and the tallies of several other aviators are heavily inflated to match the official Soviet claims.[18] Russian historian Mikhail Bykov credited him with 43 individual and 3 shared victories in a 2014 book;[9] a decade earlier, in an article titled Мутное Небо 1941 года ("The Murky Sky of 1941") with Aleksandr Rodionov he claimed that Pokryshkin tried to steal Rechkalov's kills during 1941.[19] Andrey Simonov and Nikolai Bodrikhin credited him with 45 solo and 4 shared shootdowns in a 2017 book

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pokryshkin

regards

[GMichalski]

The most reliable source is this?:

In М. Ю. Быков. «Асы Великой Отечественной» book:

26.06.41 – 1 – Ме-109 – Яссы – Стефанешты
03.07.41 – 1 – ПЗЛ-24 – Страшены
05.07.41 – ½ – Хш-126 – юж. Бельцы
09.07.42 – 1 – Ме-109 – Берестовая
02.08.42 – 2/5 – Ме-110 – Ново-Михайловская
09.04.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – Крымская – Абинская
12.04.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – вост. Троицкая
12.04.43 – 2 – Ме-109 – вост. Абинская
15.04.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – Гостогаевский – Семенцовский
16.04.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – юж. Холмская
20.04.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – юго-зап. Цемесская бухта
21.04.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – Цемесская бухта
24.04.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – юж. свх. Мысхако
30.04.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – вост. Ахтырская
04.05.43 – 2 – Ю-87 – Нижнебаканская
04.05.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – юж. Семенцовский
05.05.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – юж. Нижнебаканская
06.05.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – юж. Нижнебаканская
08.05.43 – 1 – Ю-87 – зап. Нижнебаканская
08.05.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – Молдаванское
14.05.43 – 1 – Ю-87 – зап. Нижнебаканская
29.05.43 – 1 – Ю-88 – Варениковская
31.05.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – Крымская
14.06.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – сев. Колобатка
14.06.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – сев. – зап. Славянская
22.07.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – юго-зап. Киевское
23.07.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – Калиновский-1
17.08.43 – 1 – Ю-88 – Краматорская – Балбасовка
22.08.43 – 1 – Ме-109 – Успенская
23.08.43 – 1 – Ю-87 – сев. – зап. Артемовка
19.09.43 – 1 – Ю-88 – вост. Терпение
21.09.43 – 2 – Ю-87 – сев. – вост. Большой Токмак
21.09.43 – 1 – Ю-88 – сев. Большой Токмак
21.09.43 – 1 – Ю-88 – юго-зап. Мелочанск
07.10.43 – 1 – Ю-88 – зап. окр. Тамбовка
05.11.43 – 1 – Ю-52 – упал в Черное море
06.11.43 – 1 – Ю-52 – упал в Черное море
19.11.43 – 1 – Ю-52 – юж. Тендеровская коса
28.11.43 – 1 – Ю-87 – вост. о. Русский
16.12.43 – 1 – “Шторх” – юго-зап. Калиновка
16.07.44 – 1 – Ю-87 – зап. Тобулев
16.07.44 – 1 – Ю-87 – зап. Сушно

Всего сбитых самолетов – 46 + 6 [43 + 3];

thanks,
regards

[Dénes Bernád]

Very interesting topic! Would like to read more about the achievements of Pokryshkin.

[GMichalski]

in the web http://www.rkka.es/Otros_articulos/3...kryshkin_2.htm

there are a different version of his early claims,
just check,

are based on his book?...

regards

[knusel]

Hello GMichalski,

I'm very interested in Pokryshkin's definite score, too.
Yes, Bykov used to attribute 46+6sh kills to him.
But have a look at this website which was updated in 2020:
http://soviet-aces-1936-53.ru/abc/p/pokryshkin.htm
It is based on Bykov's work and it looks as if 43+3sh is the score now deemed to be accurate.

Have a nice weekend,

Michael

[Dénes Bernád]

That's a great site, Michael! Thanks for sharing the link.
Note: too bad one cannot search by date.

[Monaco]

Another article: https://proza.ru/2017/09/21/238
Cheers
Michael

[knusel]

Hello there Gentlemen,

a score of 43,9 would narrowly include Pokryshkin in the top ten list of the highest-scoring WW2 aces unless I have forgotten a guy with a score between 43,9 and 45 kills.

Cheers,

Michael

TOP 10 ALLIED WW2 ACES
1. Ivan Kozhedub (Кожедуб Иван Никитович) = 64 – La-5
2. Grigorii Rechkalov (Речкалов Григорий Андреевич) = 62,42 [61+4] – P-39
3. Nikolai Gulayev (Гулаев Николай Дмитриевич) = 57 [55+5] – P-39
4. Kirill Yevstigneyev (Евстигнеев Кирилл Алексеевич) = 52,83 [52+3] – La-5
5. Marmaduke Pattle = 50,67 [50+2] - Hurricane
6. Dimitrii Glinka (Глинка Дмитрий Борисович) = 50 – P-39
7. Aleksandr Koldunov (Колдунов Александр Иванович) = 46,5 [46+1] – Yak-3
8. Arsenii Vorosheikin (Ворожейкин Арсений Васильевич) = 45,5 [45+1] – Yak-7
9. Nikolai Skomorokhov (Скоморохов Николай Михайлович) = 45 [44+2] – La-5
10. Aleksandr Pokryshkin (Покрышкин Александр Иванович) = 43,9 [43+3] – P-39

[Dénes Bernád]

Such "top XX'" lists always generate controversy.
For example, do Axis pilots, whose countries made an about-face and ended the war on the allied side fighting the Germans, count?

[knusel]

Well, I would count their Axis kills in Axis lists and their Allied kills in Allied lists, repectively.

Cheers,

Michael