Interview with World War II Russian Pilot Evgeny Stepanov

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AH: To what unit were you first assigned?

Stepanov: After qualifying as a military pilot, I was posted to a heavy-bomber unit, but the romantic dream of my youth was to become an air ace. That could only come true if I was a fighter pilot, and after numerous requests and applications I managed to be posted to a fighter unit.

AH: What was the typical makeup of a Soviet air regiment (aviatsy polk) and a squadron in the 1930s?

Stepanov: Until 1937-38, the air force was typically organized into air squadrons, each consisting of three separate platoons. Three or four air squadrons (including one reconnaissance squadron) would make up an air brigade. From 1938 on, air regiments were the main organizational unit. Each one consisted of three squadrons of 12 to 15 aircraft, each squadron being made up of platoons of three to four aircraft.

AH: What aircraft did you fly prior to the Polikarpov I-15?

Stepanov: Before taking to the I-15, I flew Polikarpov I-16 monoplane fighters and Polikarpov R-5 light bombers.

AH: When did you first fly the I-15, and what were your impressions of it?

Stepanov: I started flying the I-15 in Spain. Its performance was inferior to that of the I-16, but it was easy to fly and heavily armed, with four 7.62mm machine guns synchronized to fire through the propeller blades. Also, it could perform a 360-degree turn in eight to nine seconds. No other Soviet or foreign aircraft was so maneuverable. It was unbeatable in horizontal dogfighting. The I-15 was also able to use small airfields. It had other excellent features, such as a rapid rate of climb, an operating altitude of up to 9,000 meters (29,700 feet), ease of control and low-speed stability–even while taking off in crosswinds. However, it was inferior to the I-16 in vertical maneuverability.

AH: When did you go to Spain? Did you volunteer, or were you ordered to go?

Stepanov: I arrived in Spain in June 1937, together with some other Soviet pilots. We were all volunteers, wanting to help the Spanish Republic. Apart from our wages, we received no combat bonuses or other incentives.

AH: How did you make your way to Spain?

Stepanov: Posing as Soviet tourists going to an international cultural exhibition in Paris, we took a steamer from Leningrad to Le Havre and, with the assistance of a Spanish support group, flew from there to Valencia. Other Soviet volunteers sailed directly to Spanish ports aboard Soviet freighters.

AH: Were you and your comrades assigned to an existing Spanish Republican squadron, or did you form an all-Soviet unit?

Stepanov: We served in units with all-Soviet flight crews and Spanish ground crews. Republican units consisted of Spanish airmen trained in the USSR.

AH: It is reported that the early Soviet pilots in Spain were given Spanish names to hide their true nationality. Were you one of those ‘Spanish’ pilots?

Stepanov: Initially, Soviet military advisers assumed Spanish names. Among them were: ‘General Douglas’ (aviation adviser Yakov V. Smushkevich); ‘Colonel Julio’ (Colonel Pyotr Punpur); ‘Pavlito’ (Lieutenant Aleksandr Rodimtsev); ‘Pablo Palenkar’ (fighter group commander Pavel Rychagov); ‘Rodrigo’ (fighter squadron commander Anatoly V. Serov) and ‘Captain Antonio’ (fighter squadron commander Sergei Tarkhov). But I, and the Soviet pilots alongside whom I served, operated only under our own Christian names and surnames.

AH: Did you have contact with any of the Spanish airmen?

Stepanov: In all major air operations, an active part was played by Republican pilots in I-16 and I-15 fighters, R-5 light bombers, and Tupolev SB-2 high-speed bombers. Those pilots deserved the highest praise for their devotion to their homeland. On more than one occasion I flew alongside them in dogfights, and I knew that they could always be relied on.

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Tags: 20th - 21st Century, Aerial Combat, Aviation History, World War II

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