Many boys after the GreatThe Patriotic War dreamed of becoming pilots. Nobody really thought how difficult it is to fly in the sky. The guys thought that the pilots - Heroes of the Soviet Union - are romantics who enjoyed the flight.
For the first time the title of Hero of the Soviet Union waswas awarded in 1934, although from the time of the founding of the Soviet state until 1939 there were no wars, that is, the pilots did not carry out combat missions. Let us note that it was the pilots who became the first Heroes of the Soviet Union. These names are not so well known as the names of some aviators of the WWII period. Let's remember with you who these first pilots are - Heroes of the Soviet Union.
As you know, in 1934, an operation was conducted onsaving the Chelyuskinites. Without the participation of aircraft, it was not possible to save people. At the same time, the technology at that time was still poorly developed, and the rescue mission could receive a positive result only thanks to the high professionalism and heroism of the pilots.
Nikolai Kamanin Gold Star of Hero No. 1 receivedat the age of 25 years. He made 9 sorties over the Arctic, and saved 34 people at that time (on the sunken icebreaker "Chelyuskin" crew consisted of 104 people). In the photo, placed further, Kamanin is depicted on the left.
The complexity of the mission of rescuing sailors wasThe fact that the area was at that time not sufficiently studied. Also, the pilots did not have full confidence in the reliability of the engines, because at such long distances at that time still practically did not fly.
Mikhail Vodopyanov made three difficult flights, intime which could save more than 10 people. The uniqueness of this pilot's participation in the rescue operation is that a few months before he had sustained severe injuries and had been treated for a long time. The authorities did not want to admit him to the operation, but he insisted.
Also in this operation took part suchpilots - Heroes of the Soviet Union, like Ivan Doronin, Sigismund Levanevsky, Vasily Molokov, Mauritius Slepnev. Each pilot made a huge contribution to the rescue of people in the Arctic Ocean.
Analyzing the orders for conferring the title of HeroesSoviet Union of the Second World War, we find an interesting trend: more than 50% of the noted legendary soldiers who defended our homeland from the invaders are pilots. Of course, it's also not easy to fight on the ground, but air battles are much more complicated than land battles. The level of courage, endurance of Soviet pilots is amazing. The pilots of the Second World War - Heroes of the Soviet Union made a huge contribution to the victory of the USSR over fascist Germany.
In this section it is worth mentioning about Alexei Maresiev and Petr Shemendyuk. These heroes, even in spite of heavy physical injuries, continued to serve aviation.
For example, Maresiev is the famous hero of B. Polevoy's work "A Tale of a Real Man".
His plane was shot down over the territory, whichcontrolled at the time the Germans. The pilot could not disable the catapult. Fell to the ground with the car. It so happened that during the impact on the ground he was thrown out of the cab. For 18 days the hero crawled to the front line. Discovered by Soviet children in the Novgorod region. After that, he was treated for some time in a Novgorod village. After a long treatment and amputation of both legs I was able to return to the system and made far more than one sortie.
Fighter pilots - Heroes of the Soviet Unionoften after wounds returned to the front. According to proven, but little-known information, about 20 Soviet pilots fought against fascists with amputated legs, hands or other severe limb injuries.
It should be noted that for many airmen of the Second World War,was the first combat experience. Everyone knows that many Soviet soldiers took part in the fighting in Spain (civil war). For example, one of the pilot-aces of the 1930s is Sergei Gritsevets. Belarusian by nationality, he was born in 1909 in the Grodno province. In aviation came on the Komsomol ticket in 1931. Pilot's official list of official information is 40 shot down aircraft.
Pilots - Heroes of the Soviet Union is beautifulshowed themselves during the Second World War. Although initially the technical level of German aircraft exceeded the equipment and quality of Soviet aircraft, but the level of skill of the "red" pilots, after some time after the outbreak of war, more than offset all the shortcomings of technology.
Improvement of Soviet combat aviationactually occurred during the war. The fact is that in the first days of the fighting, most Soviet aircraft were destroyed at the airfields during the Nazi bombings. According to many experts, this is even better. If the wooden planes entered the battle with the Junkers or other fighters, they would not have a chance to win the air battle. This decisiveness of the fascists saved the lives of many Soviet pilots.
During the years of the war, according to approximate calculations, the Aes of the Air ForceThe USSR shot down more than 4000 of the best German aircraft. The rating of Soviet aces is determined primarily by the number of downed "Junkers". Let's talk about each of the best separately.
The legendary Ivan Kozhedub was born in 1920 onterritory Shostkinsky area of modern Sumy region of Ukraine. After graduation in 1934, the school entered the chemical-technical college. Occupation of aviation for him for a long time was nothing more than a hobby. The path of Kozhedub in aviation began with military service in 1940. At the front, I got in the end of 1942 after working as an instructor in an aviation school. By the way, the first fight in the air for the legendary pilot could be the last, because at first his plane was beaten up by the Germans, and then by their own. This test Kozhedub withstood and was able to land his car. In the photo below, he is shown on the right.
Such pilots - thrice Heroes of the Soviet Union,as Ivan Kozhedub, become professionals of their business quickly. They do not need a lot of time to prepare. So, some time after this accident Kozhedub did not fly. The star time of the pilot came during the Battle of the Kursk Bulge. During several sorties in July 1943, he managed to shoot down 4 Junkers. Before the beginning of 1944, the hero's track record had already seen dozens of victories. Until the end of the war, he was able to shoot down 18 aircraft of this brand.
This result has not surpassed anybody, but to repeatcould only Vorozheykin Arseny. This pilot was twice honored Hero of the Stars. The overall combat result of Vorozheikin is 46 enemy planes shot down. Besides him, the pilots - twice Heroes of the Soviet Union - are:
For successful use of aviation equipmentit must undergo flight tests. For this purpose test pilots also work. Very often they risk their lives, because on the tested model of the aircraft, no one has yet flown by. Many were awarded Stars of the Hero of the USSR. Valeriy Chkalov is considered the most outstanding test aircraft of the Soviet period.
Crews under the direction of Chkalov made two record flights for their time (Moscow-Vancouver via the North Pole and Moscow-Far East). The length of the route to Vancouver was 8504 km.
Among other Soviet test pilots isto note Stepan Mikoyan, Vladimir Averyanov, Mikhail Gromov, Ivan Dziub, Nikolai Zamyatin and Mikhail Ivanov. Most of these pilots did not have the first education technical, but the entire aviation elite is united by one feature: they passed theoretical training in the then-developed system of aviation clubs. Such peculiar schools gave students the opportunity to get theoretical and practical training at a fairly high level.
Pilots, ground-attack aircraft, Heroes of the Soviet Unionmilitary years, occupy a place of honor in the lists of people marked by state awards for feats during the air battles of 1941-1945. According to historical data, more than 2,200 pilots received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. And it is the storm troopers in the list that can be found most (860 names).
Also representatives of this type of aviation are many inlists of Heroes of the Union twice. As is known, two heroic Golden Stars had 65 pilots in their assets. In this list, stormtroopers also occupy the first place (27 people).
Alexander Pokryshkin and Ivan Kozhedub - these pilots, thrice Heroes of the Soviet Union, in gold letters inscribed their names in the chronicle of the Second World War.
The fact is that three times the state notedsuch a high rank only three people. In addition to two pilots, this is the military Semyon Mikhailovich Budenniy, known since the time of the revolution. Pokryshkin received his awards on orders from May 24 and August 24, 1943, and also on August 19, 1944. Ivan Kozhedub was noted by the orders of the Commander-in-Chief from February 4 and August 19, 1944, and also after the end of hostilities in August 1945.
The contribution of Soviet pilots to victory over the enemy is simply invaluable!
