Sergei Kramarenko - The Korean War (1950-53) - Hero of The Soviet Union

Hero of The Soviet Union

The 324th IAD had been fighting without a respite since April. During August it was allowed to rest for a month. When the unit came back into the fight, Kramarenko soon claimed new victories:

• 12 September 1951: he got credit for an F-80 kill, in fact the F-84E BuNo 49-2399 of Captain Chapman (136th FBW), who managed to reach the Gulf of Korea and ejected there.

• 22 September 1951: he claimed a Sabre. In actuality he had seriously damaged the F-86A BuNo 49-1158 (4th FIW), but this jet survived and could be salvaged.

• 30 October 1951: one more jet was claimed - the F-84E BuNo 51-615 of the 49th FBW (the unnamed flier was rescued).

Kramarenko was postulated to be awarded the Zolotaya Svezda, which is given the title of Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza (Hero of the Soviet Union).He was finally decorated with this award on 10 November 1951 by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Nikolay Shvernik. On his return to the skies over Korea, Kramarenkokept on scoring victories:

• 1 December 1951: he claimed two Gloster Meteors of No.77 Squadron, the seriously damaged Meteor F.8 S/N A77-559 of Flight Sergeant Bill Middlemiss, and the shot-down Meteor F.8 S/N A77-251 of Pilot Officer Vance Drummond RAAF, who bailed out and was captured. He could also have shot down one more fighter that day. He pulled behind and within firing range of a third Meteor, the pilot of which was completely unaware of his presence. But at that point Kramarenko showed his humanity: he felt that the air battle was already over, he and his team had won, and he felt that there was no need to draw more blood that day. Consequently, he ordered his wingman Ikar Gulyy to disengage and to leave the unknown Australian flier alone.

• 12 January 1952: he was credited with two F-86 kills in two separate engagements. The first claim matches with an US aircraft lost - F-86E BuNo 50-615 of Paul G. Ridgeway (334th FIS), though the USAF records credit it to an "engine failure".

• 16 January 1952: Kramarenko scored his last confirmed victory over Teiju, a F-86 which then crashed near the village of Un-Denri. Kramarenko recalled this victory:

"After takeoff and climb to altitude we saw the entire sky was filled with moving dots. We dropped our tanks and hit the throttles, and our MiGs went into combat. Immediately the regiment broke up into several groups and pairs. I and my six were following the group commander’s flight, which were attacking a group of Sabres flying an intersecting course from below the Sabres. At that moment his group found itself under attack from a flight of Sabres. I gave the command to my wingman to repulse the attack, and we proceeded to cut through their flight. A long burst in front of the Sabres forced them to break off the attack and climb away. I gave the command to Lazutin to go after them, while I and my wingman turned to follow the group commander, who had opened fire as he closed on the Sabres, but they made a sharp maneuver to avoid his fire and split up. One flight went into steep left bank, and the other did the same to the right. Vishnyakov’s flight split up as well and began to go after both groups as pairs. At that moment his pair was jumped from above by a pair of Sabres, who literally popped up about 300-400 meters from me. I immediately went over to get on their tails. The Sabres rolled over and went into a dive. I ordered Gogolev, my third pair leader, “Cover the commander,” and tried to go after the Sabres. I could see that the Sabres were holding a dive at an angle of about 60 degrees – I aimed at them and immediately gave one of them a burst. I saw the shells detonate in the area of the cockpit, and there was clearly black smoke now visible inside the cockpit; the Sabre’s dive angle increased and he kept ongoing down. At that moment, Gulyy called me: -I’m spinning! I looked behind me and saw his aircraft nearly inverted. I gave the command: -Hit your air brakes! Pull out! I saw Gulyy pull out of the inverted position and we then went into a dive, climbed back up to altitude, and returned home. Fifty years later a special group carrying out a search for American pilots who were missing in action asked me if the pilot of the Sabre I shot down had bailed out. I could only repeat what I wrote above.”

The USAF reported no Sabre loss on that date, but the fact that the US-Russia Joint Commission for POW-MIA interviewed him in 2002 looking for details on this kill indicates that this victory is unofficially admitted by the Americans. {KORWALD shows a F-80C loss with the Pilot MIA}