Yak-9D Fighters Over Sevastopol, May 1944

June 17, 2025 - Reading time: 4 minutes

Four Yak-9D fighters of the 6th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment patrol over Sevastopol. Pilots include Grib, Belozyorov, Voronov, and Akulov.

Sevastopol, May 1944.
The sky above the Crimean fortress roars with power as Yak-9D fighters of the 3rd Squadron, 6th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force sweep across the battlefield. These are no rookies — these are Soviet aces, hardened by dogfights, and backed by steel resolve.

Flying low and tight over liberated soil, the pilots shown here are legends in the making:

• ✯ №22 — Hero of the Soviet Union Mikhail Ivanovich Grib, credited with 17 individual air victories

• ✯ №31 — Vladimir Ivanovich Voronov

• ✯ №26 — Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Pavlovich Belozyorov, with 8 confirmed kills by April 1944

• ✯ №30 — V. Akulov, steady hand in the air

The aircraft — Yak-9D — was a long-range variant of the famed Yakovlev fighter line, capable of escort missions deep behind enemy lines. Fast, maneuverable, and well-armed, these machines were designed for one thing: destroy the Luftwaffe and rule the sky.

This photo, taken by legendary war photographer Yevgeny Khaldei, immortalizes a rare clean sweep of Soviet aviation confidence. Below them, the ruins of Sevastopol smolder as the Wehrmacht and Axis forces flee Crimea. Above, Stalin’s falcons fly in tight formation — a victory parade with guns loaded.

📷 Technical photo data:
📸 Photographer: Yevgeny Khaldei
📅 Date: May 1944
📍 Location: Sevastopol, Crimea, USSR (now Russia)