Nikolai Gulaev twice became the Hero of the Soviet Union. On the personal combat account of the famous fighter pilot - 55 German aircraft. According to this indicator, Gulaev became the third of the Soviet military pilots. At the end of the bloody war, Gulaev continued his military education and served in responsible command positions.
From the biography of Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev
The future famous fighter pilot was born on February 26, 1918. The place of his birth is the village of Aksayskaya. Now it is the city of Aksai, it is located in the Rostov region. Behind Gulaev's shoulders are seven classes of secondary school, as well as a factory school. At one time he worked as a mechanic at one of the enterprises in Rostov, and in the evenings he attended the flying club. Already in those years, Gulaev dreamed of the sky.
In 1938, Nikolai went to serve in the army. A year later, he became a candidate for membership in the Communist Party. Subsequently he graduated from the aviation school in Stalingrad. He served in the air defense aviation.
During the war
Nikolai Dmitrievich took part in hostilities since January 1942. He served on the Voronezh, Stalingrad and 2nd Ukrainian fronts. Senior Lieutenant Gulaev distinguished himself in the Battle of the Kursk Bulge.
By the fall of 1943, Gulaev made about a hundred sorties, personally shot down 13, and in the group - 5 enemy aircraft. On September 28, 1943, the pilot was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
A few months later, Gulaev becomes the head of the squadron. He took part in the operation to liberate the Right-Bank Ukraine. In one of the battles in the area of the Prut River, in a few minutes, six fighters under the command of Gulaev destroyed eleven German flying machines. Five of them are on the account of Nikolai Dmitrievich.
In July 1944, Gulaev received the second "Gold Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union. By that time, on his combat account there were already 42 enemy aircraft, shot down by him personally.
During one of the heavy battles Nikolai Gulaev was seriously wounded. But still he returned to combat formation. And in just the years of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet ace made two and a half hundred sorties. On his personal account - 55 enemy vehicles. And he shot down five more as part of the group. Nikolay Gulaev became the third most efficient ace of the war: I. N. Kozhedub - 64 downed aircraft, G. A. Rechkalov - 61 aircraft.
Nikolay Gulaev after the war
The fighting died down, the war ended. But Gulaev remained in the army and did not part with aviation. He did his further service in the Air Defense Forces, while continuing his education. In 1950, Nikolai Dmitrievich graduated from the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy, ten years later he became a graduate of the General Staff Academy. For several years he successfully commanded the 133rd Fighter Division, stationed in Yaroslavl.
The career of a fighter pilot did not end there. From 1966 to 1974, Colonel General Gulaev was the commander of the 10th Air Defense Army. The service took place in Arkhangelsk. In 1979, the Soviet ace retired, after which he settled in Moscow. Nikolai Dmitrievich passed away on September 27, 1985.
