MiG-3 Ace: Alexandr Pokryshkin

Pokryshkin received the Hero of the Soviet Union award three times during the war - for his exceptional aerial combat record of 53 solo kills and 6 shared kills (although these numbers are disputed these days).

He was airborne on the first day of Operation Barbarossa, shooting down a Bf109 after hopping on a reconnaissance mission, and continued to fly for the duration of the war, inventing new air combat tactics and fueling the USSR's propaganda mill.