The Super Ace Who Refused to Count Their Kills

[@Administrator_O-5]

Great video about a rarely covered part of WW2.

[@brettnipps7205]

Great coverage of a lesser known part of the war!

[@frankmcgowan9457]

Where did the thumbnail of the Phantom-II and Bear come from? I was curious, so I clicked on it. This is a very good video about an interesting pilot but it was not what I was led to expect.

[@tequilastraightup595]

The F-4 was from the USS Midway, VF-151. The pilot was Dan Steal "Deno." That was my squadron back in 1983 when that happened in the north Pacific.

[@frankmcgowan9457]

@tequilastraightup595 Will a video about that pilot feature a thumbnail of a Lagg-7 and a Mustang? BTW, I would like video about that photo... the F-4 pilot, the ship, the cruise...

[@tequilastraightup595]

@frankmcgowan9457 That photo was 1 of 6, the F-4's video was classified secret. You can see the photos online, Google VF-151, with Russian bear.

[@sticksbass]

wow! i wonder how he felt about becoming enemies against his former allies?

[@65sneaky]

Common goals father than real allies I'd suggest.

[@pkz420]

Well, it wasn't the first time...

[@RandomDeforge]

@65sneaky nailed it. USSR was literally one of the original Axis powers through the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, that allows them both to start WW2 by invading Poland from both fronts.

[@sticksbass]

@@RandomDeforge they weerent supposed to attack eachother but they were supposed to attack poland together?

[@rtyrsson]

I just mentioned that in my comment. I suspect that he was a truly committed communist and swallowed the commie rhetoric hook, line, and sinker and did not think for himself on geopolitical issues.

[@rtyrsson]

On first blush the Lavochkin La-7 can appear very much like a Focke-Wulf FW-190, especially for American pilots meeting Soviet aircraft incidentally and perhaps being unfamiliar with Soviet aircraft. That said, I wonder if it bothered the man that he (anecdotally) downed two American P-51s. I suspect not, since he so skillfully led Soviet pilots against the US in the Korean War. Very likely he was a committed Communist and saw America as an ally of convenience. However, it takes nothing away from his skill and tenacity. But I'll credit "Dark" for not glossing over the fact that the US Air Force fought the Soviet Air Force over Korea, despite the narrative of the Norks and Russians to this day.

[@MakerBoyOldBoy]

According to Soviet pilot memoirs they adapted to a radically different post WWII political world by adopting the new patriotic attitude of "Our Enemies; Whoever!".

[@joeylawn36111]

1:07 "Kozhedub was not allowed to fight for his country" IMO I consider being a instructor of pilots during wartime as indeed 'fighting for your country'!

[@rtyrsson]

I agree! It's just too bloody bad that the man was a committed communist.

[@MilitarySummaryChannel2024]

*We got to have a big amount of respect to pilots back then and now. we were never meant to be air born but they still go for it even though chances are they'll be a fireball*

[@petecorbin9606]

so by going into the dive, Ivan used the wind to help crank the engine until it restarted?!? Brilliant if that is indeed what happened.

[@rtyrsson]

That is a big "if." There's too much of that which doesn't add up. The narration says his engine was shot up, which doesn't track with a forced air restart.

[@petecorbin9606]

@@rtyrsson "Once, in an air battle over enemy territory, Kozhedub’s La-7 was hit. When the engine stalled Kozhedub didn’t surrender, but chose a target on the ground and began to dive. When he was close to the ground the engine suddenly began to function again and Kozhedub brought the plane out of the dive and returned safely to his base." and "Once, in an air combat over enemy territory, Kozhedub’s La-7 was hit. When the engine stalled Kozhedub didn’t give up, but chose a target on the ground and began to dive. When he was close to the ground the engine suddenly began to function again and Kozhedub brought the plane out of the dive and returned safely to his base." from two other sources. my curiosity still not satisfied though.

[@lewissparrow7417]

Ivan Kozhedub is with 62 victories the top scoring Allied fighter ace of World War 2 but even with that impressive total (let's forget about the top German experten Erich Hartmann who bagged 352 victories!) he still isn't the top scoring Allied fighter ace of aces because that title goes to Rene Fonck who was a French fighter ace from World War 1 who scored 75 victories and 52 probables - his most impressive haul was 9 victories in 24 hours.

[@LeonAust]

I would have liked to seen a P-51D Mustang with a Griffon 85 engine in it.

[@Ron-d2s]

muzak was a bit much

[@auro1986]

how are you always terrorized when it's you who terrorize all?

[@evw-ri8yt]

I thought Helmut Wick died upon being shot down in 1940. Helmut Wick Wick in October 1940 Born 5 August 1915 Mannheim, Duchy of Baden, German Empire Died 28 November 1940 (aged 25) English Channel, off the Isle of Wight, England

[@jamesmcdow945]

Uh, Beavis. Why is the picture of a Soviet 60s in bomber and a crazy F-4 in the picture too. Butt munchies.

[@patm111]

I'm not sure what Luftwaffe squadron and fighter group you are referring to at 9:22, but it was not led by Major Helmut Wick of JG2 (shown in the photo in the video), as he was killed over the English Channel during the Battle of Britain on November 28, 1940. This sounds like Soviet propaganda to me.

[@generalhorse493]

Fun fact about Ivan Kozhedub: he was Ukranian. And so we’re millions of other partisans and Red Army troops opposing Hitler

[@U.S._Army_Retired]

So the clickbait thumbnail once again has NOTHING to do with the actual video. The dark series have sunk low.

[@Iskelderon]

Friendly fire, an American tradition as old as their own country...

[@bobkalember2635]

If u think it's an American thing then you have never been in combat

[@Iskelderon]

@@bobkalember2635 Not sure why you decided to weigh in without having any clue whatsoever. In Dubya's desert adventures, friendly fire from Murricans got so bad, that their "allies" essentially considered them as just another threat factor alongside the different enemy factions.

[@paulpowell4871]

My Family fought against Nazis and Communists and i find them both repugnant.

[@guidor.4161]

The US pilots were notoriously bad at identifying aircraft: shoot first, check later...

[@skipperclinton1087]

@guidor.4161: Yea, I read about a P47 squadron that was transferred from PNG to the Philippines, and a bunch of P38s jumped one and shot him down. The P47 squadron sent a message to the P38 squadron and told them not to let it happen again. The next time they ran across the P38s lining up in battle formation, they turned their 10+ "Bolts" into the P38s, forming a battle formation. The P38s got the message and turned away. End of problems! I don't remember the books title, but I read it not too long ago.

[@richardshort3914]

*Comment on title:* You don't have to be woke. Years ago I saw a newspaper ad for _Carrier Persons._ They didn't have to say "Carrier Persons," they just had to say "Carriers." They added the word Persons just to show how egalitarian they were. You don't have to say _Refused to Count Their Kills,_ you just have to say, "Refused to Count Kills." You're adding a word that raises the question how many Super Aces there were. If you still want to be woke, go ahead but do it without obfuscation.

[@mingfanzhang8927]

😅😅😅

[@mingfanzhang4600]

😊

[@RandomDeforge]

I don't fault you for using an intriguing story like this as a basis to churn out your video content, but I do fault you for not including the follow up disclaimer that this propaganda anecdote is almost entirely made up. not only would there be no shame in such a mistake, but an incident like this would have resulted in a rapid SOP propagation to help pilots identify allied planes to avoid something like this in the future. there is zero evidence from any sides of this incident taking place which is telling because losses are thoroughly documented on the US side and there is nothing corresponding to these date, location, or details. the lone video of a gun camera shooting down the mustangs provided by the soviets as "evidence" was determined to be produced with a Luftwaffe Zeiss equipment not usable with La7. Soviets created this pompous anecdote because at the time they didn't comprehend how thorough records of these nature were kept by its western allies. you could have included this evidence and made your video longer and more accurate, but you brushed it off with one liner to make your clickbait claim stand.

[@spartan-s013]

A super ace? Not even close xD You could do better than spread soviet propaganda

[@russgarthwaite4566]

Alot more then any American ace Infact more kills then any allied pilot of ww2. So yea super ace

[@jessboswell2581]

What did general patton say before he “died in an accident”