Soviet Officers of the Taman Division with a Downed Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-34, East Prussia, 1945

November 12, 2025 - Reading time: 4 minutes

Soviet officers of the Taman Division beside a downed Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-34 in East Prussia, July 1945.

This photograph shows Soviet officers from the Red Army’s Taman Division posing beside the wreck of a downed German Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-34 aircraft in East Prussia shortly after the end of World War II in Europe. The Ju-34 was a single-engine communications and liaison aircraft used by the German air force for staff transport, courier duties, and front-line coordination.

The officers standing next to the aircraft are identified (from left to right) as:
– Bezuhly, Head of the Administrative and Supply Department,
– Kossovsky, Assistant Head of the Political Department for Komsomol Affairs,
– Yatsuba, Staff Officer of the Taman Division.

The photograph was taken on July 26, 1945, when the Taman Division was stationed in East Prussia as part of postwar occupation and demobilization activities. By that time, the division had already fought its way across the Caucasus, Crimea, and into the heart of Germany, earning a reputation as one of the elite formations of the Red Army.

The downed Junkers Ju-34 seen here was a light liaison aircraft, often serving as a mobile command or communications post for Luftwaffe officers. Many such aircraft were destroyed or captured in the final weeks of the war as the German front collapsed. The juxtaposition of the Soviet officers with the wrecked plane symbolizes the complete defeat of the once-dominant Luftwaffe and the end of Nazi Germany’s military power.

This image also captures the quiet aftermath of total war — a rare moment of calm and documentation after years of unrelenting combat. The officers’ relaxed posture contrasts with the burned and broken remnants of German aviation behind them, marking both victory and exhaustion after a brutal campaign.

Technical Photo Data:
📍 Location: East Prussia, Germany
📅 Date: July 26, 1945
📝 Subject: Soviet officers of the Taman Division posing with a downed German Junkers Ju-34 communications aircraft
📷 Photographer: Unknown

• Luftwaffe liaison aircraft WWII
  
• Soviet occupation forces in Germany
• Red Army victory photographs
• Postwar scenes in East Prussia
• Captured Luftwaffe equipment 1945