Poster "Ram-the weapon of heroes!", 1941

A very rare poster in excellent collectible condition. Size 575*895 mm. Circulation 10000 pcs. Dedicated to the feat of I.I. Ivanov, a senior lieutenant of the Red Army Air Force, who made the first air ram during the Second World War. Here is how eyewitnesses describe the feat: "At dawn (at 04:25) on June 22, 1941, his first and last battle in the sky over The deputy squadron commander of the 46th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Senior Lieutenant I.I. Ivanov, took over the Rivne region. Alerted, he flew out at the head of a flight of I-16 fighters to intercept an enemy air group (from 6 to 9 Ne-111 bombers) approaching the Mlynov airfield. During the rapid attack, our pilots knocked out one of the German bomb carriers. The others, dropping bombs randomly, turned back. When returning to his airfield, Ivanov noticed another German bomber right on the course. Without hesitation, the Soviet pilot went for a rapprochement with him. By this time he had run out of ammunition and was running out of fuel. Despite the dense machine-gun fire of the enemy, the Soviet pilot managed to overtake the enemy aircraft and knock it down with a ramming blow. Eyewitnesses who observed the ram from the ground noted that the German pilot saw a Soviet fighter coming into his tail and, trying to avoid an attack, began to fall on the wing to go into a dive, but Ivanov, having made a slide, chopped wine on the tail of the bomber. After ramming the I-16, Senior Lieutenant Ivanov was led to the side with a strong roll. Something fell off from the car, but it was clear that the pilot was trying to control a badly damaged fighter and land it in a field. However, a few meters from the ground, the plane began to sway violently, and then almost vertically crashed down. The brave pilot died from his injuries and wounds in the hospital in Dubno. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 2, 1941, Senior Lieutenant I.I. Ivanov was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. He turned out to be the only one of the Soviet pilots who committed an air ram on June 22 and were awarded a high award of the Motherland for this feat. The meeting with our fighter also ended tragically for the German bomber. From the impact of the Ne-111, piloted by non-commissioned Officer X. Wolfailem (H. Wohlfeilem), lost control, crashed into the ground and exploded on his bombs (5 km from Dubno). The entire crew was killed at the same time (according to other sources – enemy pilots, except for the deceased air gunner, were missing)." Guarantee of authenticity. A rarity.

Senior Lieutenant Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich (8.10.1909 – 06/22/1941), Soviet military pilot, senior lieutenant, Hero of the Soviet Union (1941, posthumously). In military service since 1931 . He graduated from the 8th Odessa Military Aviation School of Pilots (1934), fighter pilot courses (1940). He served as a Red Army soldier (1931-1932), pilot, flight commander of the light bombardment aviation regiment of the Kiev Military District (since 1934). He participated in the campaigns of the Red Army (1939), the Soviet-Finnish War (1939 – 1940). Deputy Squadron commander of the 46th Fighter Aviation Regiment (1940). At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in the former position. He committed an air ram of an enemy aircraft on the first day of the war, died from wounds received in air combat.