Galchenko’s “Black Cat”
Lavochkin, La-5F (Type 39)
1) 324-th IAD, 7-th Air Army, Karelian Front, Russia’s polar region close to the city of Murmansk, circa autumn 1944.
2)‘Svirskaya Pobeda’ exhibition in Lodeyka , late 1944,
3) Moscow, circa June 24-th 1945.
Flown by the deputy commander of 324-th IAD, a Hero of the Soviet Union, lieutenant colonel Leonid Akimovich Galchenko. (An Ace with 12 victories (7 personal +5 shared))
Leonid Galchenko was a pilot who was very well known and respected in the polar sky of Western Russia. By the time WW2 began Galchenko was already a decorated fighter pilot, a veteran of the 1939 Winter War with Finland and was a commander of a squadron in the 145-th IAP, 1-st SAD, 14-th Army, Karelian Front. His skill and reputation kept growing as WW2 spilled over the Soviet borders into Karelia and the region around strategically important town of Murmansk. Galchenko fought the German invaders with skill and courage, and tales of his piloting abilities and heroism were publicised in newspapers and recited as poems. After the war, in a village called Molochniy, a streeet was named after him. In a town of Kandalaksha a children’s orphanage bore his name and one of the fishing vessels in the port of Murmansk was branded with the name ‘‘Leonid Galchenko’. In other words, despite the fact that Galchenko was originally a native of the sunny republic of Dagestan in the far south, he became somewhat of a local legend in Russia’s far north.
Like many Soviet pilots, Galchenko met WW2 behind the controls of Polikarpov’s I-16, but after his regiment received the new LaGG-3 planes in 1941, Galchenko stuck to Lavochkins for the rest of the war. Most of his victories were scored while flying LaGG-3 in 1941 and 1942 (Massimo Tessitory did an amazing job researching Galchenko’s LaGG-3 paint schemes, you can find them HERE). In 1942, the war took its toll and after one particularly intense air battle, as Galchenko landed his plane, his legs failed him and his heart was gripped by pain - he was having a stroke. He had to be pulled out of the plane by his comrades. As a result of the stroke Galchenko’s eye sight fell sharply and he had to be hospitalised for a lengthy period of time. Having recovered enough to be able to get back to the Front, Major Galchenko, In November 1942, was made a deputy commander of the newly formed 259-th IAD (Which included 195-th and 760-th IAP), then occupied the same position in the 258-th and 261-st SAD, and in May 1944 he became the deputy commander of 324-th IAD. While occupying these posts Galchenko’s combat activities involved fewer sorties and more directing of air units and formations of the fore-mentioned, and various other regiments later on. However, he still managed to fly out on an occasional sortie and engage the enemy. Thus, on the 22-nd October 1944, during the Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive, Galchenko along with five La-5s from the 191-th IAP intercepted 3 Me-109 and in a quick air battle they shot down all three ‘Messerschmitts’. The Black Cat claimed one of them.
22.10.1944 1 x Me-109 аэродром Сальмиярви (Sal’miyarvi airdrome).
This was Galchenko’s last victory in WW2 and the only one scored in his La-5F.
Noteworthy visual characteristics
The plane as it appeared in 1944 when Galchekno flew it in combat. Photo reference for it can be found on http://soviet-aces-1936-53.ru/abc/g/galchenko.htm
1 ) The logo is a cyrillic letter ‘F’ inclosed in a circle. The logo represents the ‘F’ modification of the La-5 variant, letting us know that this is a La-5F plane. The letter ‘F’ is derived from the word ‘Forsirovanniy’ which translates to ‘Forced/boosted’ and essentially refers to the improved ‘Supercharger’ of La-5F’s M-82F engine. (This engine also had an improved oil system to that of M-82A engine of the earlier La-5 planes). The logo usually appeared on the engine cowling (1a) and on the tip of the tail (1b), though the one that appeared on the tip of the tail was usually smaller and was painted in white directly over the camouflage colour. In contrast, the logo on the engine cowling was usually painted in red over the top of a white circle background. These logos didn’t always appear on La-5F planes and there is a good chance that ‘White-19’ didn’t have these logos present either. I did however include them in my artwork.
2) Note the absence of an antena mast. Below are two possible options of what the antena wires arrangement might have looked like on Galchenko’s La-5F. Based on the photo reference it looks to me that the second arrangement (Option2) seems more likely. Unfortunately, I have not seen photos to confirm if such arrangement actually existed, but I have seen it in drawings of Kuznetsov’s La-5F [1] by two highly reputable researchers, Miloš Veštšik and Mihail Bykov. On the other hand, the antena arrangement in Option 1 is something that I have seen in photo reference before. HERE is a photo that shows this arrangement of antena wires on a La-5FN and HERE is another showing a similar one on a La-7 (?).
3) The tactical number and the tail star were most likely painted over, rather than the plane being received from the factory without the number and the tail star. It seems like in the photo reference , (apart from the horizontal printer lines of the printout?), one can see some varying shades of “colour” and shapes which might have been brush marks.
4) A Black Cat is a personal emblem of Leonid Galchenko. It appeared on his planes throughout the war from 1941 onwards. In Russia as well as in Germany, there is a superstition that seeing a ‘black cat crossing your path’ is an omen of bad luck to come. Here is what Galchenko himself said about this:
The fuselage of my plane, throughout the whole war, flaunted a silhouette of a black cat [a]. It was customary for pilots to have peculiar, distinctive signs. The Germans had lynxes, bears, tigers ... In general, they were very superstitious people. They carried talismans , icon-lamps, all sorts of nonsense ... Knowing about this I, rather out of mischief, drew a black cat - let them be afraid, as though I am crossing their path. And then I got used to my cat and did not part with her until the end of the war. I did not become superstitious, but I’ve acquired a belief that black cats bring happiness. I have never been shot down[b]. [2]
[a]It is worth noting that the ‘Cat’ on Galchenko’s planes wasn’t always ‘black’, it also appeared in ‘White’.
[b]It is also worth noting that his plane was actually shot down once, but technically Galchenko is correct because he wasn’t the one flying the plane at that time. It happened while Galchekno was recovering in a hospital in 1942 - his wingman V.P. Mironov, asked if he can fly the ‘Cat’. Galchenko allowed it but the plane was shot down causing Mironov to bail out with a parachute. After Galchenko learned that his wingman survived he was overcome with relief and joy, and joked that they must paint cats on all of the regiment’s planes!
A plane that was exhibited in the ‘Svirskaya Pobeda’ (Svirsk’s Victory) exhibition in late 1944. Photo reference for it can be found on http://soviet-aces-1936-53.ru/abc/g/galchenko.htm . At first glance it appears to be Galchenko’s La-5F, but a more in-depth examination of this photo casts doubt on that presumption. There is a chance that this was actually a different plane (possibly even a La-5FN?) which was painted to represent Galchenko’s ‘Black Cat’ La-5F. The main clues that point to this hypothesis are:
5) It appears that the propeller has yellow tips (though admittedly it could have simply been repainted)
6) It doesn’t have the ‘F’ logos present, on the engine cowling or the tail. It doesn’t make sense that the logos would be painted over in 1944 and then would be painted back in again in 1945.
7) It appears that the metal cowl bands are painted. As with the logos, It doesn’t make sense that they would be painted over for the exhibition and that they would once again be stripped of paint in 1945.
8) It appears that the camouflage is different to the original plane. Noteworthy areas are indicated by number 8, especially the part indicated by 8a. (though admittedly it could have simply been repainted)
9) It has the cowl flap of a La-5FN. It doesn’t make sense to fit an FN flap on the F model. The M-82F engine has a different exhaust arrangement, which wouldn’t suit the FN flap. Unless this plane was retrofitted with an M-82FN engine it seems strange to have an FN flap installed. Of course there is a chance that a different (a wrong) flap was just installed for the exhibition and then replaced for the original one later, because the plane in 1945 once again appears with the correct (La-5F) flap on it.
10) (This point is not one of the clues) Note a paper plaque which was probably very similar to the one on this Yak-9, which seems to have appeared in the same exhibition. Based on this photograph, (and if I got the amount of victory stars correctly) the plaque most probably read:
Airplane ‘La-5’
of the Hero of the Soviet Union
Guards Lieutenant colonel
GALCHENKO
Leonid Akimovich
Personally downed 12 airplanes
of the enemy and in a group battle
13 airplanes
11) The canopy appears to be the ‘convex’ type on this airplane. Which seems to be different to the flatter one that appears on Galchenko’s La-5F (Though admittedly, it is difficult to tell what the canopy was like exactly since the photo reference was touched up with paint)
12) The victory markings might have been yellow painted over a red background (The photo of a Yak in point #10 is good reference for this).The photo quality of Galchenko’s La-5F is very poor but from what I could make out it seems to me that 25 stars appear on the ‘scoreboard’ , possibly 12 personal and 13 group victories judging by the ‘shading’ of the stars. There is a chance that the victories could have been rounded off to 25 for the exhibition, for propaganda purposes, because this number of stars doesn’t match Galchenko’s victories which appear in the later photo from 1945. Curiously, it looks like there are two solidly coloured stars at the bottom front corner of the panel. Usually all the solid stars (personal victories) and partially painted stars (group victories) should be grouped together rather than being separated like they are in the photo and in my artwork, but this could have simply been a reflection or a defect in the photo.
13) Though the quality of the photo is poor it appears that the technical markings are absent in this paint scheme. The earlier photo from 1944 of Galchenko’s La-5F is even poorer in quality, but even in that photo the technical markings are visible. The technical markings are also visible again in the photo from 1945. It wouldn’t make sense to remove the technical markings for the exhibition and paint them back in 1945, in the exact same places as they were before. Given this and the other clues mentioned above, I think that it’s reasonable to presume that this was probably a different plane.
Other noteworthy visual characteristics for this paint scheme include:
14) Two diagonal stripes on the tail. Note that these appeared on the plane in 1944. Whether this is actually Galchenko’s plane or whether it was painted to look like Galchenko’s plane, in both cases it’s likely that Galchenko’s actual La-5F had these markings on it as early as 1944 also.
I have been unable to find what they represent. It is possible that these were the markings identifying the ‘commander’, or the unit in the Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive - which seems less likely since none of the photos of the planes of any of the regiments that Galchenko was involved with in 1944 seem to show the same markings on their tails. It might also be possible that these were simply an embellishment painted for the exhibition.
If anyone reading this has information about the markings on the tail (and the spinner) then please leave a comment in the comments section below (or on Facebook), it will be much appreciated.
15) We can’t see the spinner in the ‘exhibition’ photo, so I am not sure if the stripes on the spinner also appeared on the plane from the exhibition in 1944. If the stripes on the tail appeared in both the 1945 and the 1944 photos then it would make sense to presume that they also appeared on the spinner in 1944 as they did in 1945. but this is just a presumption.
Galchenko’s La-5F , as it appeared around the time of the ‘Victory Day Parade’ parade on the 24-th of June, 1945. Galchenko flew it leading a formation of fighter planes passing over Red Square during the parade. The parade itself was the largest military parade held on Red Square. Photo reference for this paint scheme can be found on http://soviet-aces-1936-53.ru/abc/g/galchenko.htm
16) The cowl flap is that of a La-5F, as opposed to the one that appeared at the ‘Svirskaya Pobeda’. Note the dents in it.
17) The Gold Star medal is a medal that was given with the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. It was sometimes painted on the airplanes of those who received the HSU title. Very often it was painted over the top of a small branch with leaves. If we look close enough at the photo reference it looks like there seems to be some sort of a drawing behind the medal in the 1945 photo, as well as in the ‘Sverskaya Svoboda’ exhibition photo. It’s possible that it’s some sort of a leafed branch, possibly oak leaves, and it’s possible that the image on the plane from the parade in 1945 was similar to the image that appeared on the plane at the exhibition in 1944. Please look at the close-up images below for a better view.
18) 23 victory stars represent Galchekno’s victories. Note that the stars are all the same, meaning that they do not seem to be separated into ‘personal’ and ‘shared’ victories. Perhaps they are all meant to represent personal victories only? It is difficult to know how many victories Galchenko actually had exactly since various sources seem to disagree on this point. Below are some of the conflicting sources I came across when researching this plane:
A) As already discussed before, the photo from the ‘Svirskaya Pobeda’ exhibition seems to show 25 victories, 12 personal and 13 shared.
B) Various articles published online such as AirAces.narod.ru which is based on the info from the collection called ‘ Brave sons of the mountains’ (Mahachkala, 1968), and Peoples.ru , as well as the Russian Wikipedia entry about Galchenko, mention that some literature claims that Galchenko performed 410 sorties and engaged in 90 air battles, during which he scored 24 personal and 12 shared victories (36 in total).
C) According to other sources, as at 1 November 1944 (After this date no more victories were recorded until the end of the war) Galchenko had performed 310 sorties and had 13 personal and 10 shared (total of 23) victories [3]. This is consistent with the number of victory stars on Galchenko’s La-5F in 1945 if we presume that the stars on his plane represent both personal and shared victories combined.
D) Other sources claim that Galchenko had 21 (9 personal and 12 shared) victories by August 1943 [4] and we know that he had one more victory in 1944, which means that he must have ended the war with 22 victories.
E) According to Mikhail Bykov’s research, Galchenko scored 6 personal and 5 shared victories, plus 1 victory which isn’t confirmed as to whether it was shared or personal, for a total of 12 victories in 310 sorties and 40 air battles [5].
19) The camouflage looks like it might have been touched up with some paint. Probably ‘freshened up’ for the ‘Victory Day Parade’ ?
20) Looks like the cat and the outline around the cat might have also been touched up with paint in 1945.
21) The propeller in the photo from 1945 appears to be very light in colour. Unfortunately this photo has been heavily retouched with paint so it’s hard to know if the propeller was actually quite light or not in real life. It is possible that the black paint came off mostly by 24-th June 1945. In my artwork I drew it as though most of the paint came off it, to try and stay true to the photo reference, regardless of whether the photo was touched up with paint or not.
Here are a few close-up images to help illustrate the points above. More close-up images are On Patreon
FOOTNOTES
[1] Kuznetsov’s La-5F is somewhat similar to Galchenko’s. It belonged to the 760-th IAP which was one of the regiments under L.Galchenko’s command.
[2] I took this information from page 36 out of a story called ‘Служили два товарища’ ‘(Two comrades in service) which can be found on the fore-mentioned website page http://soviet-aces-1936-53.ru/abc/g/galchenko.htm
[3] ЦАМО, Ф.342, оп. 5440, д.5, л.23. in a book by N. Bondrihin called ‘Soviet Aces’. I took this information from page 41 out of a story called ‘Служили два товарища’ ‘(Two comrades in service) which can be found on the fore-mentioned website page http://soviet-aces-1936-53.ru/abc/g/galchenko.htm
[4] This is according to an excerpt from the newspaper called “To Battle for the Motherland” Number 198, 15.08.1943. This excerpt is taken from this site http://soviet-aces-1936-53.ru/abc/g/galchenko.htm
[5] Taken from Mikhail Bykov’s book called ‘Все Асы Сталина’ (All of Stalin’s Aces), page 239. Youza-press, 2014.
The information in the ‘A Bit Of History’ section is gathered from various sources, but mainly from http://soviet-aces-1936-53.ru/abc/g/galchenko.htm and from a story called ‘Служили два товарища’ ‘(Two comrades in service).
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