The Most Famous

PILOTS from Ukraine

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This page contains a list of the greatest Ukrainian Pilots. The pantheon dataset contains 71 Pilots, 5 of which were born in Ukraine. This makes Ukraine the birth place of the 5th most number of Pilots behind France, and Germany.

Top 5

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Ukrainian Pilots of all time. This list of famous Ukrainian Pilots is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

Photo of Ivan Kozhedub

1. Ivan Kozhedub (1920 - 1991)

With an HPI of 66.25, Ivan Kozhedub is the most famous Ukrainian Pilot.  His biography has been translated into 39 different languages on wikipedia.

Marshal of Aviation Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub (Russian: Иван Hикитович Кожедуб; Ukrainian: Іван Микитович Кожедуб, romanized: Ivan Mykytovych Kozhedub; 8 June 1920 – 8 August 1991) was a career aviator with the Soviet Air Forces who first came to prominence as a World War II fighter ace. Universally credited with over 60 solo victories, he is considered to be the highest scoring Soviet and Allied fighter pilot of World War II. Kozhedub is one of the few pilots confirmed to have shot down a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet, and the first Soviet pilot to have done so. He was made a Hero of the Soviet Union on three occasions (4 February 1944, 19 August 1944, and 18 August 1945). After World War II, he remained in the military and went on to command the 324th Fighter Aviation Division during Soviet operations in the Korean War. During the remainder of his military career, Kozhedub accumulated additional titles as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1946-1962) and as Chairman of the Federation of Aviation Sports (1967-1987). He was promoted to Marshal of Aviation in 1985 and retired later that year, concluding 45 years of service in the Soviet Air Forces. Kozhedub lived in Moscow until he died in 1991, and was buried in Novodevichy cemetery.

Photo of Igor Volk

2. Igor Volk (1937 - 2017)

With an HPI of 62.19, Igor Volk is the 2nd most famous Ukrainian Pilot.  His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Igor Petrovich Volk (Russian: Игорь Петрович Волк, Ukrainian: Ігор Петрович Волк; 12 April 1937 – 3 January 2017) was a Russian test pilot and former Soviet cosmonaut in the Buran programme.

Photo of Janina Lewandowska

3. Janina Lewandowska (1908 - 1940)

With an HPI of 60.17, Janina Lewandowska is the 3rd most famous Ukrainian Pilot.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Janina Antonina Lewandowska (22 April 1908 – 22 April 1940) was a Polish World War II pilot murdered in the Katyn massacre by Soviet forces. She was among the first women prisoners of war in World War II and the only female victim of Katyn.: 370–71 

Photo of Polina Osipenko

4. Polina Osipenko (1907 - 1939)

With an HPI of 57.25, Polina Osipenko is the 4th most famous Ukrainian Pilot.  Her biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Polina Denisovna Osipenko (Russian: Полина Денисовна Осипенко, Ukrainian: Поліна Денисівна Осипенко, romanized: Polina Denysivna Osypenko; 8 October 1907 – 11 May 1939) was a Soviet military pilot who, with Valentina Grizodubova and Marina Raskova on 24–25 September 1938, performed a nonstop flight between Moscow and the Sea of Okhotsk, setting a new women's nonstop flight distance record. For this, they were the first three women made Heroes of the Soviet Union on 2 November 1938.

Photo of Natalya Meklin

5. Natalya Meklin (1922 - 2005)

With an HPI of 56.64, Natalya Meklin is the 5th most famous Ukrainian Pilot.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Natalya Fyodorovna Kravtsova née Meklin (Russian: Наталья Фёдоровна Меклин; 8 September 1922 – 5 June 2005) was a flight commander in the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, one of the three women's aviation regiments founded by Marina Raskova after the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The regiment later came to be known as the "Night Witches" by German targets. She was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union in February 1945 for completing 840 sorties and gained significant publicity.

People

Pantheon has 5 people classified as Ukrainian pilots born between 1907 and 1937. Of these 5, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased Ukrainian pilots include Ivan Kozhedub, Igor Volk, and Janina Lewandowska. As of April 2024, 5 new Ukrainian pilots have been added to Pantheon including Ivan Kozhedub, Igor Volk, and Janina Lewandowska.

Deceased Ukrainian Pilots

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Newly Added Ukrainian Pilots (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Pilots were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 5 most globally memorable Pilots since 1700.