I’m Yákovlev fighter, the sky is my field,
My engine is ringing, excited.
And he who is sitting behind the wheel
Still thinks of himself as a fighter.

One Junkers is down - quite a fiery ordeal -
I did what I wanted with it.
And he who is sitting behind the wheel
Is wearing me down a bit.

In my latest fight I was hit a great deal,
The workers performed overhauling,
And he who is sitting behind the wheel
Is forcing again into stalling.

An enemy bomber is planning to bring
Death on its spinning propellers.
The tail stabilizers are ready to sing:
"Peace be with you forever!"

A Messerschmitt plane quickly gets on my heels.
I’m leaving - I’m worn to the bone.
But he who is sitting behind the wheel,
I see, has decided: head-on!

Now, what is he doing? Here comes the impact!
But I cannot burn, I’ll survive!
Velocity limits are all out of whack,
I’m leaving my vertical dive.

I’m leading, behind me... I better lose wings!
The wingman is gone altogether!
The smoke trails behind him, he nosedives and sings:
"Peace be with you forever!"

The one who now sits in the back of my skull
Is stranded without a group.
He led me astray and then forced me to stall
Right after a treacherous loop.

He’s going full throttle, he’s upping the G’s.
Well, hardly an ace in his prime!
Again, I’ll comply, but I promise you this:
It will be the very last time.

I swear that I won’t be submissive for once,
It’s better to lie on the ground!
What now? Is he deaf? Can’t he hear my quick pulse?
My fuel - my blood - it ran out!

My patience with him is exhausted, I feel:
The time of my pilot has passed.
The one who was sitting behind the wheel,
Has buried his face in the glass.

At last! He is killed, I’m the one who survived,
My fuel is gone, I feel light.
But what is this, what? For I’m still in a dive,
And I cannot level my flight!

I’m rather upset - I didn’t do everything,
Let others be lucky, however.
It seems that today I was able to sing:
"Peace be with you forever!"