Alexander Alexandrovich Kazakov (1889-1919) - Russia’s premier flying ace credited with 17 personal air victories and 15 group ones. Kazakov flew in WWI and was elevated to the title of lieutenant colonel. He was the second pilot to successfully attempt a ramming maneuver in battle and the first to survive it. (Legit BAMF.)
When the Revolution came remained loyal to his military oath and the tzar and was stripped of command. Nevertheless the provisional government counted him as a military adviser and threatened to recruit him into the Red Army. Kazakov escaped to Murmansk, and in Archangelskoye he joined the Slavo-British Allied Legion and fough in the Russian Civil War against the Red Army. In 1918 he was given the title of major in the Royal Air Force, but in 1919, when the British began to withdraw from Russia, abandoning the White Army and its cause, Kazakov died in a crash during an air show. The majority if witnesses agree that Kazakov committed suicide.
One of my favorite pilots (the mustache alone!), so I’m bringing this entry back.
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Snow White B-24 bomber
Taken in 1943, the Snow White, a B-24 bomber of the U.S. Army 9th Air Force, flew across the Atlantic and through thirty-six missions compiling 300 combat hours in the Middle East. [ Source Snow White B-24 Bomber ]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4pj3fIoS61r0i4y2o1_500.jpg)
