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Hero of the Soviet Union from Zaikovo. Rechkalov grigory andreevich, twice hero of the soviet union

Born on February 9, 1920 in the village of Khudyakova (now part of the village of Zaykovo), Irbit district, in the family of a poor peasant. After completing six classes, he entered the factory school of the Verkh-Isetsky metallurgical plant. He first took to the skies during the period of initial flight training within the walls of the Sverdlovsk Aero Club.
In 1937, on a Komsomol ticket, he was sent to the Perm Military Pilot School and in 1939 with the rank of sergeant he was enrolled in the 55th Aviation Fighter Regiment in Kirovograd.
He participated in the Great Patriotic War from the first to the last day. He rose from an ordinary pilot to the commander of a fighter aviation regiment.
He met the war in Bessarabia, and ended in Berlin. He was seriously wounded. He flew over 450 sorties, participated in 122 air battles, personally shot down 61 enemy aircraft and four in groups.
For courage and courage G.A. Rechkalov was twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union - May 24, 1943 and July 1, 1944.
He was awarded the orders of Lenin, the Red Banner (four times), Alexander Nevsky, the 1st degree of the Patriotic War, the Red Star (twice) and nine medals.
After the war G.A. Rechkalov graduated from the Air Force Academy. He completed his military career in 1959 with the rank of Major General of Aviation. The author of the military-patriotic books "Visiting Youth", "The Smoky Sky of War", "In the Skies of Moldova". He died on December 22, 1990. Buried in the village of Bobrovsky, Sverdlovsk region.
At home, G.A. Rechkalov in the village. A memorial complex was created in Zaykovo, including a bust of the Hero, a Cultural Center named after him, steles at the entrances to the village.

G.A. Rechkalov "The first day of the war"
An excerpt from the story

The day before the war, the district military medical commission recognized Grigory Rechkalov as unfit for flight work due to color blindness. It seemed that life was over. On his return from Odessa to the regiment based near the town of Balti, Moldavian SSR, Rechkalov learned that a war had begun with Nazi Germany.
In the published fragment of his memoirs, Grigory Andreevich describes how he spent the first day of the war.

On that first morning of the war, I reached the airfield at eleven o'clock. The faces of my comrades who met on the way to headquarters struck me with an unusual gloom.
Two men were walking towards the command post. In front, in a blue overalls, with a helmet in his belt, Kryukov was dancing, as if dancing. Large drops of sweat streamed down his round, crimson face. Kolya Yakovlev followed him with an open tablet in his hands.
- The devil knows what, they went crazy there, or what? - Pal Palych grumbled angrily.
That was how they warmly called Senior Lieutenant Kryukov into the regiment, and this name surprisingly corresponded to the whole appearance of a plump little man.
- Personal order of the general, Comrade Senior Lieutenant, - Yakovlev remarked with bitter irony in his voice, - nothing can be done.
- Yes, you understand, - Kryukov interrupted him, - I still can't fly this MiG properly, but then go to hell! It's ... - and waving his hand angrily, he trotted on.
- Kolya! I called out to Yakovlev.
- Oh, great! Where? he wondered.
- From Odessa, buddy.
I looked at our Yakovlev and did not recognize him. Nikolai's face, always so carefree, even frivolous, was now unusually serious, somehow internally detached. Unshaven, eyes are swollen. A dirty collar, a torn button on a tunic ...
Nikolai, in turn, looked me over with a tenacious glance and, with the same expression with which he spoke with Kryukov, said:
- From Odessa? So how is it?
- What how? - I asked again, amazed at his appearance. - Where are you going?
- So, from Odessa? - he repeated, thinking about something of his own. - Why are you franking yourself?
“Listen,” I said, “it's not the business of answering a question with a question. Better tell me plainly: what is happening to you?
- With me? Nothing. - He looked at me absently, smiled sourly. - Here, with Pal Palych we are flying for reconnaissance.
Yakovlev tried to put on the same carelessness, but even the cap, tucked up on the back of his head, could not hide his concern and anxiety. Stretching out his hand in parting, Nikolai walked unsteadily after Kryukov, then suddenly turned around and shouted:
- Are you going to fly?
His question stung me painfully. Why did he ask about this? However, while I was walking to the regiment's command post, such questions were already asked to me. I briefly threw to everyone: "Decommissioned." But the answers did not quite suit the questioners; moreover, they even caused irony. The technicians were even suspicious of my words. I could not understand what, in fact, was the matter. Why such distrust? Maybe my appearance that morning was not in harmony with the situation? Only Kharhalup, having learned about my misfortune, friendly pushed me towards the headquarters, reassured:
- Eh, there would be my power ... And you are bolder, bolder! Honestly, the commander will understand everything and allow him to fight.
I looked at Yakovlev. He stood in his favorite position: with his hands at his sides, with his left foot forward and slightly to the side, tapping the toe of his boot on the ground.
Some kind of evil confidence suddenly took possession of me, and in the tone of his question, I suddenly blurted out:
- No, I am not going!..
- Look what! - he whistled slightly. - All clear!
- ... They are going, Kolya, only on the road, and even to marry. And I will fly and fight!
Turning abruptly, I walked to the checkpoint.
“We’ll see if we happen to meet,” was heard after.
Where did I get this confidence?
I knew my position was almost hopeless. The medical commission categorically forbade flying. Who could now take the liberty of overturning this decision?
They say that in order to gain courage and decide on something, you should think less about your situation. I came to the command post. Major Matveyev, after listening to the hasty "Arrived ... Wretched ... Please ...", took the ill-fated medical report and immediately tore it up.
- Do you see the thirteenth "seagull"? - he pointed to the fighter thrown with branches. - Quickly get ready for departure, you will take the package to Balti.
Half an hour later I was sitting in the cockpit, listening to the usual roar of the engine, inhaling the painfully familiar smells of exhaust gases and airfield grasses.
Two MiGs rustled nearby - it was Pal Palych and Yakovlev who went on reconnaissance. Technician Vanya Putkalyuk pulled out the blocks from under the wheels. Satisfied, smiling, he saluted me and extended his hand towards takeoff: "The way is clear!"
I'm in the air! Even if my mission is not a combat one, I am flying, and this is the main thing!
The fighter obediently climbed. Below, under the wing, ripening bread flashed, a thin thread stretched a road, a tiny bridge was guessed through a mirror stream. Light turn to the left. There is an unmown low, two unfinished heaps, and next to them are my fellow travelers. Waving its wings in greeting, the "seagull" sweeps low over their heads. I see how they wave their kerchiefs for a long time in response.
“They probably don't know about anything yet. It's even better. The war is unlikely to come here. "
The muddy Dniester with overgrown banks remained behind. The Bessarabian town of Orhei, immersed in greenery, flashed on a hill; the swampy Reut, a shallow rivulet that served as a reliable reference point to the airfield itself, ran away from it to the northwest.
Fields and fields stretched all around. Golden, bright green, they seemed almost blue, only on the other side of the Dniester they no longer lay in huge squares, but, like a motley patchwork quilt, were cut into small sections by the fringes.
As if there was no war; it blazed at the border, somewhere beyond the blue of the horizon, beyond the blackening forest in the distance, where swift wings carried Kolya Yakovlev and Pal Palych.
Ahead, a kite circled in black shadow. The second was looking for someone in the bread free space. But what is it? Black shadows began to change their outlines, turn into silhouettes of enemy fighters! And here is their victim - a lonely "seagull". Helpless, wounded, she no longer snarls at the fire of her machine guns, but pulls towards the village, weakly dodging the advancing enemy.
One of the German pilots calmly, like a target, aims at his victim. Now I can see him well; my "hawk" is rapidly approaching him.
“There you are, German! - Wide-eyed looking at a live enemy plane. - What a skinny and long! Well, I'll pour it in you now! "
From a low-level flight, the "seagull" soars up towards the fascist. The sight shows silhouettes of chopped off wings, a fragile fuselage, a yellow nose. It's time!
Machine guns rumbled dully; A nimble flock of fireflies broke away from the "seagull" and rushed towards the enemy. The thin-tailed Messerschmitt paused for a moment, as if to think, then vigorously soared up, to the side.
“Aha, not to my liking! - Following the enemy with a glance, I grinned. "But where is the second one?" I quickly glanced to where he was supposed to appear, then back - there was no plane. The first Messerschmitt, meanwhile, tried to get around me from behind. I turned around abruptly and at that moment I found a second at the bottom; ignoring my presence, the fascist impudently attached himself to the exhausted "seagull" - he was going to finish it off. With a half-turn, I directed the nose of the fighter at the insolent man. He is already next to my half-dead ally. I try to scare him away with long bursts. What's happened? Is the enemy not afraid or does he not see my tracks? Another second or two and it will be too late. My plane is already shaking from high speed in a shallow chill, the engine roars at maximum power, the control stick is in a fever. Somewhere to the right, a whitish haze appears in a short line that must be meant for me. “Yeah, yellow-nosed, scare you off? Will not work!"
I press the triggers again, again ... "Messerschmitt" can't stand it, goes up.
With a combat turn I bring my "seagull" out of the dive towards the enemy. Weird! The enemy does not accept attacks, eludes me. Smoke by the motor, the second is pulled up to it.
Where is the familiar "carousel" of combat, which we so diligently and beautifully wrote out in the training zones? Or maybe the Nazis were scared? Not; stretched out in a chain, the Messerschmitts are approaching me. Well, let's take the fight.
The first one just "pecked" from above and immediately escaped from a frontal attack. The second tried to attack from behind, but for some reason did not accept the attack head-on. O! first opened fire! How did he manage to be in my tail?
Now the roles are changing. I no longer shoot, but turn around with a snake, watching, as if they did not pinch my tail. It's like I'm between two bandits trying to stick a knife in my back.
Fire trails are becoming more frequent. We come so close that I can clearly see the tense faces of the enemies. One of them, a puny squishy with a small head barely protruding from the cockpit, aims especially diligently at me.
No fear. Only slightly dizzy. In my soul - anger and excitement.
I had read before that how some pilots describe their first combat "carousel"; I was not a little surprised by one circumstance: the pilots assured that in this battle you couldn't really see anything, you were acting almost blindly. Perhaps they did. It was also my first fight, but here everything turned out to be different. For some reason I perfectly saw both this squishy that "twisted" on me from behind, and that "yellow-nosed" that was smoking on the left.
Did I finally piss him off? The first fascist, without turning, rushed straight at me. I pressed the trigger. What the hell?! A single thread of green fireflies stretched to the fascist! Only later did I realize that the other machine guns were silent. The enemy plane was rapidly approaching me. Her breath caught. Do not collapse! From a small airplane, it has grown to an eerie size. Another moment - and ... I feverishly thrust myself behind the visor, to the instruments. Still not believing that the frontal attack was over, I flew for some time in a tense expectation of a collision, just like that. Then a hand reached out for the reload mechanism. But then something hit the plane, the controls snatched out of the hands, and the "seagull" spun the "barrel". And on the right, at top speed, a squish flew past, which I managed to forget for a while. The impudent man, he was still waving his hand to me: until the next meeting, they say. Apparently he was running out of fuel. He calmly walked away in front of me after his partner. "You won't leave, you scoundrel!" I quickly turned around - but now all the machine guns were silent. It's a shame! .. With annoyance I watched the slowly melting smoke trail left by the Messerschmitts.

Golden stars of Irbit residents: Collection of essays and memoirs about Irbit residents - Heroes of the Soviet Union.
Compiled by A.S. Eremin, A.V. Kamyanchuk. - Irbit: Publishing House "Printing shaft", 2015. ISBN 978-5-91342-009-1

In the textbook poem "The Red Falcon" about G. Rechkalov it is said:

One hundred twenty-eight he made attacks,
Hit sixty-one cars with the enemy
Invincible Red Star Yak
He finished the journey near Berlin itself.

There is as much truth in it as in the official Soviet version of the Great Patriotic War. One hundred and twenty-eight Grigory Andreevich conducted air battles, not attacks, which is far from the same thing. Speaking about the number of aircraft shot down, it is customary to name how many the pilot shot down personally, or indicate the number of downed planes personally and in groups. Personally, Rechkalov shot down 56 aircraft and 5 in the group. Well, the biggest lie is that our illustrious compatriot did not fight on the Yak fighter.
***
G. Rechkalov started the war on I-16.
As you know, the Soviet Union entered the Second World War as an ally of Germany. Britain and France were considered the enemy of the USSR, allegedly preparing an attack on the Land of the Soviets. The short-sighted policy of the Soviet leadership resulted in colossal losses in manpower, equipment and territory at the beginning of the war. On June 22 alone, the Luftwaffe destroyed 1,200 of our aircraft. The industry, urgently evacuated to the east, could not supply the front with military equipment.
In a critical situation, yesterday's "enemies" came to the rescue: Great Britain and the United States. Britain and the United States began to supply the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease with military equipment, cars and food. N.S. Khrushchev wrote in his memoirs that without the help of the allies, the USSR could not have won the war.
The American stew, Dodge, Studebaker and Jeep cars, Spitfire and Airacobra fighters were especially famous among the Lend-Lease products.
It was on the "aircobra" that our famous aces A. Pokryshkin, N. Gulaev, G. Rechkalov, D. Glinka fought. This in no way diminishes the aerial feats they accomplished. Those who tried to hide Russian-American military cooperation, which, incidentally, go back to the 19th century, should be ashamed. Before the rifle of S.I. Mosin, the Russian army was armed with Berdan rifles, until 1895 (the adoption of a revolver) with Smith and Wesson revolvers. The Russian police remained loyal to the large-caliber American revolver after 1895. The Maxim machine gun faithfully served the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. Russia and America are doomed to military cooperation in the 21st century as well, no matter how much other politicians want it on either side.
If Rechkalov lost to Pokryshkin and Gulaev in terms of the number of enemy aircraft shot down, then he set a record among the aces of the anti-Hitler coalition in terms of the number of aircraft shot down in the Aircobra. Out of 56 aircraft shot down, he shot down 50 in an Aircobra. Pokryshkin and Glinka, respectively: 48 out of 59 and 41 out of 50. Moreover, none of the American or British pilots, even those who flew more advanced Mustang or Spitfire machines, shot down Rechkalov more. Thus, he holds the absolute record for the number of enemy aircraft shot down among the pilots of the anti-Hitler coalition who fought in American fighters.
***
Sooner or later, every lie becomes known. The revealed truth only elevated G. Rechkalov, giving a new reason to be proud of the famous countryman.


2007 year

Unrecognized hero

On the eve of May 9, Irbitskaya Zhizn published our material, The Military Secret of Grigory Rechkalov. However, it omitted the story about the number of enemy aircraft shot down by Rechkalov. On the eve of the Victory Day, I did not want to touch upon topics related to the "slander" and "debunking" of the Heroes of the War.
***
In the mass consciousness, two famous Soviet pilots of the Great Patriotic War - Alexander Pokryshkin and Ivan Kozhedub - were deposited. Both became Heroes three times. (The third Hero three times was the renowned commander Georgy Zhukov.)
It would seem that nothing can shake their authority. So it would have been, had it not been for people who were ready to sit in the archives for years, looking for grains of the true history of the Great Patriotic War.
A group of enthusiastic researchers in the history of aviation, headed by Mikhail Yuryevich Bykov, spent several years in the Central Archives of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The result of their work was the appearance of the reference book “Asy of the Great Patriotic War. The most productive pilots 1941-1945. "
According to confirmed data, Grigory Rechkalov personally shot down 61 enemy aircraft and 4 in a group (and not 56 + 6, as previously thought). Only I. Kozhedub shot him down more - 63 aircraft.
But if additional stars appeared on Rechkalov's combat account, it means that someone had fewer of them.
Alexander Rodionov, in his article “The Muddy Sky of 1941,” writes: “For those who were interested in the history of the 55th I [fierce] A [airborne] P [olk], later the 16th G [Varday] IAP, as well as the combat work of 9 -th GIAD [Ivizii] (from 02.07.1944 commander A.I. Some time ago, the aviation community even debated on the pages of online forums, trying to understand the nature of the relationship between the two pilots, believing that the reasons lie in their rivalry in the air. At the same time, various aspects of their combat interaction were considered.
One way or another, it began to seem that the strained relations of the aces, which then turned into a serious conflict, were caused by their personal battle scores. Recently, this has been confirmed by the words of G.A.'s relatives. Rechkalov, in particular, his wife Anfisa Yakovlevna Rechkalova and their daughter, Lyubov.
According to the latter, in reality, the conflict between Rechkalov and Pokryshkin was that after the war, Rechkalov, working with TsAMO documents, discovered three of his planes shot down in 1941 on account of ... Pokryshkin. Upon learning of this, Rechkalov called Pokryshkin and told him about his find and, in all likelihood, about what he thought of his comrade and boss. Pokryshkin's reaction was such that after this conversation they forgot about Rechkalov, and he himself was denied admission to TsAMO ... "
According to M. Bykov's calculations, in reality, Pokryshkin shot down 46 enemy aircraft personally and 6 in a group (according to other estimates, 43 + 3).
All this allows us to take a fresh look at the dramatic fate of Grigory Rechkalov and the accusations against him by Pokryshkin.
Unsuitable for health reasons for service in the Air Force (suffered from a weak degree of color blindness), only thanks to the outbreak of the war, Rechkalov was not written off to the reserve. Within a month, he was seriously wounded in the right leg. He returned back to the regiment only in April 1942, after escaping from the hospital. The injury made itself felt - sometimes after returning from the flight, the right boot was full of blood. And nevertheless, Rechkalov, in spite of everything, became the best pilot of the most famous air regiment of the Second World War.
Rechkalova, who terrified the German Airacobra pilots, had no tail number. It was replaced by the pilot's initials - RGA - on the aft fuselage. They were also his callsign.
The bitter the post-war oblivion became. It is no coincidence that there is no monument in Irbit, not even Rechkalov Street. (Although there is a monument to G.K. Zhukov and a street named after him.) Those signs of attention that are in the memory of Grigory Andreevich do not in any way correlate with his greatness.
However, it may be time to pay tribute to the greatest pilot of World War II. It is necessary to award Rechkalov posthumously with the third Star of the Hero, although not from the Soviet Union, but from Russia. (There are already such precedents.) There is a monument to Grigory Bakhchivandzhi in the Sverdlovsk region, all the more so it should have a monument to Grigory Rechkalov. He deserves both the memorial museum and other signs of respect for his memory.
As for the "denigration" of the past, A. Rodionov, answering the "patriots" who, alas, "are numerous and inexhaustible in our country at any time," World War II, we in no way tried to cast a shadow or question the real military merits of the famous air fighter and talented aviation commander A.I. Pokryshkin. It's just that "hurray-patriots" and other "guardians of the bright past" are long overdue to understand that events and especially people of Russian history, including aviation history, are not necessarily unambiguously divided into "black" and "white", and from this ambiguity they do not lose their greatness, but only become more interesting and attractive for careful study, research and analysis by descendants. "

PS. Among the most successful pilots (aces) of the Great Patriotic War was another native of the Irbit land - Captain Pavel Babailov. He personally shot down 24 enemy aircraft and 7 as part of a group.

A. Eremin, candidate of historical sciences
2007 year

Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov at Wikimedia Commons

Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov(February 9 or - December 20) - twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1943, 1944). Pilot-ace of the Great Patriotic War, Major General of Aviation.

Biography

Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov was born in the village of Khudyakovo, Irbitsky district, Perm province (now the village of Zaikovo, Irbitsky district, Sverdlovsk region) into a peasant family. When Grigory Rechkalov was in school, his family moved to the village of Bobrovka near Sverdlovsk, and he finished 6th grade there at the school in the village of Bolshoy Istok. At the age of 14, he began working as an electrician at a local mill. Later he moved to Sverdlovsk and entered the factory apprenticeship school of the Verkh-Isetsky plant. At the same time, Rechkalov began to study in a circle of glider pilots.

The day before the start of the war, Rechkalov underwent a medical flight commission and was rejected due to the detected color blindness. However, on June 22, when he returned to the unit, the chief of staff of the regiment gave him an urgent task to deliver documents and did not even look at the medical report. At the beginning of the war he flew on the I-153 "Chaika" fighter. He won his first aerial victory on June 27, shooting down with a Me-109 rocket. Already in the first month of the war, Grigory Rechkalov shot down 3 enemy planes, was wounded himself, but brought the plane to the airfield. He was sent to a hospital, and then to a reserve aviation regiment, to master Yak-1 aircraft, but in April 1942 he fled to his regiment, which by that time had received the rank of Guards and became known as the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (16 GvIAP) ...

In the regiment, he mastered the American Airacobra fighter. In the spring of 1943, the regiment entered into battles with the enemy in the Kuban. In the first two weeks of the fighting, Grigory Rechkalov shot down 19 enemy aircraft, and in three sorties he shot down 2 aircraft, and in one - 3.

By June 1944, the deputy regiment commander Rechkalov flew 415 sorties, participated in 112 air battles and personally shot down 48 enemy aircraft and 6 in the group.

During the war, Rechkalov made 450 sorties and 122 air battles. Data on downed aircraft vary. According to some sources, 56 aircraft and 6 aircraft in the group were shot down. According to M. Bykov, Rechkalov shot down 61 + 4 enemy aircraft.

After the war, Grigory Rechkalov continued to serve in the Air Force, in 1951 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. In 1959 he was transferred to the reserve. He lived in Moscow, since 1980 - in the city of Zhukovsky, Moscow region. He died on December 20, 1990 in Moscow. He was buried next to his mother at the cemetery of the Bobrovsky village of the Sysertsky urban district of the Sverdlovsk region.

List of aerial victories

Rechkalov's 3 aerial victories, won by him in 1941 (due to the loss of the documents of the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment for that period), are not included in the award lists. Nevertheless, these victories are reflected in the documents of the 20th mixed air division, which gives full reason to include them in the pilot's combat score.

Total aerial victories: 61 + 4
sorties - more than 420
air battles - 122

** - group victories

Awards

  • Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (05/24/1943, 07/01/1944);
  • four Orders of the Red Banner;
  • Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree;
  • medal "For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945." ;
  • Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945." ;
  • Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945." ;
  • Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945." ;
  • other medals of the USSR;
  • honorary citizen of the city of Balti and other cities.

Memory

Essays

  • Grigory Rechkalov.... - Chisinau: Carta moldoveniaske, 1967, 1979 .-- 247 p. - 15,000 copies
  • Visiting youth. M., 1968.
  • Smoky skies of war. Sverdlovsk, 1968.
  • Grigory Rechkalov. The flaming sky of 1941. - Yauza, Eksmo, 2008 .-- 496 p. - (In air battles). - 5100 copies. - ISBN 978-5-699-25675-4.
  • Grigory Rechkalov. 1941. The Burning Sky of War. - Yauza, Eksmo, 2009 .-- 496 p. - (The greatest Soviet aces). - 3000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-699-35350-7.

see also

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Notes (edit)

Literature

  • Bykov M. Yu. Asy of the Great Patriotic War. - M .: Yauza; Eksmo, 2007. - ISBN 978-5-699-20526-4.

Links

... Heroes of the Country website.

  • .

An excerpt characterizing Rechkalov, Grigory Andreevich

- Here's how! - said Rostov.
“Well, yes, it's all nonsense,” Natasha continued to chatter. - And what is Denisov good? She asked.
- Good.
- Well, goodbye, get dressed. Is he scary, Denisov?
- Why scary? - asked Nicolas. - Not. Vaska is glorious.
- You call him Vaska - it's strange. Is he very good?
- Very good.
- Well, come and drink tea as soon as possible. Together.
And Natasha stood up on tiptoe and walked out of the room the way dancers do, but smiling the way happy 15 year old girls smile. Having met Sonya in the drawing-room, Rostov blushed. He didn't know how to deal with her. Yesterday they kissed in the first minute of the joy of meeting, but today they felt that it was impossible to do this; he felt that everyone, both his mother and sisters, looked at him inquiringly and was expected of him how he would behave with her. He kissed her hand and called her you - Sonya. But their eyes, meeting, said "you" to each other and kissed tenderly. With her glance, she asked for forgiveness from him for the fact that at Natasha's embassy she dared to remind him of his promise and thanked him for his love. With his glance, he thanked her for the offer of freedom and said that either way or another, he would never stop loving her, because one cannot but love her.
“How strange, however,” Vera said, choosing a general moment of silence, “that Sonya and Nikolenka now met on you and as strangers. - Vera's remark was correct, like all her remarks; but, as with most of her remarks, everyone felt awkward, and not only Sonya, Nikolai and Natasha, but also the old countess, who was afraid of this son's love for Sonya, which could deprive him of his brilliant part, also blushed like a girl. Denisov, to Rostov's surprise, in a new uniform, pomaded and perfumed, appeared in the drawing-room as dandy as he was in battles, and so amiable to ladies and gentlemen that Rostov had never expected to see him.

Returning to Moscow from the army, Nikolai Rostov was accepted by his family as the best son, hero and beloved Nikolushka; family - like a sweet, pleasant and respectful young man; acquaintances - as a handsome hussar lieutenant, a dexterous dancer and one of the best suitors in Moscow.
The Rostovs met all of Moscow; this year the old count had enough money, because all the estates were re-mortgaged, and therefore Nikolushka, having started his own trotter and the most fashionable leggings, special, which no one else in Moscow had, and boots, the most fashionable, with the most sharp socks and little silver spurs, had a lot of fun. Rostov, returning home, experienced a pleasant feeling after a certain period of time trying on himself to the old conditions of life. It seemed to him that he had matured and grown very much. Despair for an examination that was not kept from the law of God, borrowing money from Gavrila for a cab driver, secret kisses with Sonya, he recalled all this as childishness, from which he was immeasurably far away now. Now he is a hussar lieutenant in a silver mentic, with the soldier George, preparing his trotter for a run, together with famous hunters, elderly, respectable ones. He has a lady friend on the boulevard, to whom he goes in the evening. He conducted a mazurka at the Arkharovs' ball, talked about the war with Field Marshal Kamensky, visited an English club, and was in touch with a forty-year-old colonel whom Denisov introduced him to.
His passion for the sovereign somewhat weakened in Moscow, since during this time he did not see him. But he often talked about the sovereign, about his love for him, making it felt that he was not yet telling everything, that there was something else in his feelings for the sovereign, which could not be understood by everyone; and with all his heart he shared the feeling of adoration that was common in Moscow at that time for the emperor Alexander Pavlovich, who was given the name of an angel in the flesh in Moscow at that time.
During this short stay of Rostov in Moscow, before leaving for the army, he did not become close, but on the contrary parted with Sonya. She was very pretty, sweet, and obviously passionately in love with him; but he was at that time of his youth, when it seems so much to do that there is no time to do it, and the young man is afraid to get involved - he values ​​his freedom, which he needs for many other things. When he thought about Sonya during this new stay in Moscow, he said to himself: Eh! there are many more, many of them will be and are there, somewhere, unknown to me. I’ll still have time, when I want, to make love, but now there’s no time. In addition, it seemed to him that something humiliating for his courage in female society. He went to balls and to the sorority, pretending to do so against his will. Bega, an English club, a binge with Denisov, a trip there - that was another matter: it was decent for a young hussar.
In early March, the old Count Ilya Andreevich Rostov was preoccupied with arranging a dinner at the English club for the reception of Prince Bagration.
The count in his dressing gown walked around the hall, giving orders to the club economy and the famous Feoktist, the head chef of the English club, about asparagus, fresh cucumbers, strawberries, calf and fish for Prince Bagration's dinner. The count, from the day the club was founded, was its member and foreman. He was entrusted from the club with arranging a celebration for Bagration, because rarely did anyone know how to host a feast so hospitably, especially because rarely did anyone know how and wanted to put their money if they were needed for organizing a feast. The chef and the housekeeper of the club with cheerful faces listened to the Count's orders, because they knew that under no one, as with him, it was impossible to profit better at a dinner that cost several thousand.
- So look, put the scallops, the scallops in the cake, you know! - So there are three cold? ... - asked the cook. The count pondered. - At least three ... mayonnaise times, - he said, bending his finger ...
- So you will order to take large sterlets? - asked the housekeeper. - What to do, take it, if they do not yield. Yes, you are my father, I had forgotten. After all, we still need another entree on the table. Ah, my fathers! He clutched his head. - Who will bring me flowers?
- Mitinka! And Mitinka! Ride you, Mitinka, to the Moscow region, - he turned to the manager who came to his call, - you jump to the Moscow region and now you will have to dress Maximka to the gardener corvee. Tell them to drag all the greenhouses here and wrap them up with felt. Yes, so that I have two hundred pots here by Friday.
Having given more and more orders, he went out to rest with the countess, but he remembered what was still needed, returned himself, returned the cook and the housekeeper, and again began to order. A light, manly gait was heard in the doorway, the clanking of spurs, and a handsome, ruddy, with a blackening mustache, apparently rested and groomed in a quiet life in Moscow, entered a young count.
- Oh, my brother! My head is spinning, ”said the old man, as if ashamed, smiling in front of his son. - If only you would help! We need more songwriters. I have music, but why should I call the gypsies? Your brothers in the military love it.
“Really, papa, I think Prince Bagration, when he was preparing for the Battle of Shengraben, was less bothering than you do now,” said the son, smiling.
The old count pretended to be angry. - Yes, you interpret, you try!
And the count turned to the cook, who with an intelligent and respectable face, observantly and affectionately looked at the father and son.
- What is the youth then, eh, Theoktist? - he said, - laughs at our brother old men.
- Well, your Excellency, they only need to eat well, but how to collect and serve everything is none of their business.
- So, so, - the count shouted, and cheerfully grabbing his son by both hands, shouted: - So that's what, I got you! Take a pair of sledges now and go to Bezukhov, and tell him that the count, they say, Ilya Andreevich was sent to ask you for fresh strawberries and pineapples. You can't get it from anyone else. You don't, so you go in, tell the princesses, and from there, that's what, go to Razgulyai - Ipatka the coachman knows - find Ilyushka the gypsy there, that's what Count Orlov danced at that time, remember, in a white Cossackin, and bring him here to me.
- And bring him here with the gypsies? - asked Nikolay laughing. - Oh well!…
At this time, with inaudible steps, with a businesslike, anxious and at the same time Christianly meek air that never left her, Anna Mikhailovna entered the room. Despite the fact that every day Anna Mikhailovna found the count in a dressing gown, every time he was embarrassed in front of her and asked for an apology for his suit.
“Nothing, count, darling,” she said, meekly closing her eyes. “And I’ll go to the Bezukhoy,” she said. - Pierre has arrived, and now we will get everything, Count, from his greenhouses. I needed to see him. He sent me a letter from Boris. Thank God, Borya is now at the headquarters.
The count was delighted that Anna Mikhailovna was taking one part of his orders, and ordered her to lay the little carriage.
- You tell Bezukhov to come. I'll write it down. What is he with his wife? - he asked.
Anna Mikhailovna turned her eyes, and her face expressed deep sorrow ...
“Ah, my friend, he is very unhappy,” she said. “If it’s true what we heard, it’s awful. And did we think when we were so happy about his happiness! And such a tall, heavenly soul, this young Bezukhov! Yes, I feel sorry for him from the bottom of my heart and will try to give him the consolation that will depend on me.
- What is it? - asked both Rostov, senior and junior.
Anna Mikhailovna took a deep breath: “Dolokhov, Marya Ivanovna’s son,” she said in a mysterious whisper, “they say he completely compromised her. He took him out, invited him to his house in St. Petersburg, and now ... She came here, and this one rip her head off after her, ”Anna Mikhailovna said, wanting to express her sympathy to Pierre, but in involuntary intonations and a half smile showing sympathy, rip her head off, like she named Dolokhova. - They say that Pierre himself is completely heartbroken.
- Well, all the same tell him to come to the club - everything will dissipate. The feast will be a mountain.
The next day, March 3, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, 250 members of the English Club and 50 guests were waiting for dinner, the dear guest and hero of the Austrian campaign, Prince Bagration. At first, upon receiving news of the Battle of Austerlitz, Moscow was perplexed. At that time, the Russians were so accustomed to victories that, having received the news of the defeat, some simply did not believe, others were looking for explanations for such a strange event in some unusual reason. In the English club, where everything that was noble, had correct information and weight, in December, when news began to arrive, they did not say anything about the war and about the last battle, as if everyone had agreed to keep silent about it. People who gave direction to conversations, such as: Count Rostopchin, Prince Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky, Valuev, gr. Markov, book. Vyazemsky, they did not show up in the club, but gathered at home, in their intimate circles, and Muscovites who spoke from other people's voices (to which Ilya Andreevich Rostov belonged) remained for a short time without a definite judgment about the war and without leaders. Muscovites felt that something was wrong and that it was difficult to discuss these bad news, and therefore it was better to remain silent. But after some time, as the jury left the deliberation room, the aces who gave their opinion in the club appeared, and everything began to speak clearly and definitely. The reasons were found for the incredible, unheard-of and impossible event that the Russians were beaten, and everything became clear, and in all corners of Moscow they spoke the same thing. These reasons were: the betrayal of the Austrians, the bad food of the troops, the betrayal of the Pole Pshebyshevsky and the Frenchman Lanzheron, the inability of Kutuzov, and (they said quietly) the youth and inexperience of the sovereign, who had entrusted himself to bad and insignificant people. But the troops, the Russian troops, everyone said, were extraordinary and performed miracles of courage. Soldiers, officers, generals - they were heroes. But the hero of the heroes was Prince Bagration, who became famous for his Shengraben affair and the retreat from Austerlitz, where he alone led his column undisturbed and fought off twice the strongest enemy all day. The fact that Bagration was chosen as a hero in Moscow was facilitated by the fact that he had no connections in Moscow and was a stranger. In his person, due honor was given to the military, simple, without connections and intrigues, Russian soldier, still associated with the memories of the Italian campaign with the name of Suvorov. In addition, in paying such honors to him, the dislike and disapproval of Kutuzov was best shown.

Rechkalov Grigory Andreevich

This brilliant air fighter was distinguished by a very contradictory and uneven character. Showing an example of courage, determination and discipline in one sortie, in the next he could distract himself from the main task and just as decisively start pursuing an accidental enemy. His combat fate was intertwined with the fate of A. Pokryshkin; he flew with him in a group, replaced him as a squadron commander, then as a regiment commander. Alexander Ivanovich himself considered the best qualities of Rechkalov to be frankness and frankness.

The beginning of the war saved Rechkalov from being written off from flight work: the doctors found him to have a weak degree of color blindness, but the regiment commander ignored their conclusion, which was fatal for the pilot.

Rechkalov made his first sorties to attack enemy troops on an I-153 - a biplane with a blue tail number 13. On it he won his first victory, shooting down one of the Me-109s that attacked him with a salvo of eRes. Like Pokryshkin, he said that his 13th issue was "unlucky for them." On it, however, he suffered an accident due to engine failure: the connecting rod broke off, and, having scrambled, Rechkalov almost died. After the accident, he began to fly the I-16, and soon shot down the Romanian PZL-24 on it, and then the Ju-88. In one of the sorties, he was wounded in the head and leg, brought the car to his airfield and ended up in the hospital for a week, underwent 3 operations there - the wound in the leg was severe. After a relative recovery, the pilot received a referral to a reserve regiment, but upon learning that the regiment was staffed only with U-2 aircraft, he resolutely turned and drove back to the district air force headquarters. There he achieved a meeting with the commander and managed to demand a direction for retraining in a fighter regiment. Only in the summer of 1942, having mastered the Yak-1 and once again visiting the hospital - it was difficult for the splinter to come out, Rechkalov, by hook or by crook, returned to his regiment - the 55th IAP, which by that time had received the guards name 16th Guards. Here, on the Southern Front, he makes about a hundred combat missions, bringing the number of victories to 6 - 4 personal and 2 in a group.

In December 1942, the 16th GIAP was withdrawn from the front, and the personnel of the regiment were sent to the 25th West to retrain the Aircobra.

... Only in the first 2 weeks of the battle in the Kuban "combat work from the Popovicheskaya airfield" the deputy commander of the 1st air squadron of the 16th GIAP Art. Lieutenant Rechkalov personally shot down 8 enemy aircraft in air battles (7 Me-109 and Yu-88) and was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In total, in the Kuban, he won 19 victories, three times destroying 2 aircraft in one battle and once - 3. Usually he flew as the leading pair in Pokryshkin's group.

“There was not a single sortie so that we would not fight. At first, the fascist acted impudently. A group will jump out, collapse, you look, then one, then another of our plane, catching fire, rushes to the ground. But we quickly figured out the tactics of the fascist pilots and began to apply new techniques: to walk in pairs, not in units, it is better to use radio for communication and guidance, to echelon groups of planes with a so-called "whatnot". It was during these days that the "falcon strike" developed by Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin was born in our regiment. " In the Kuban, G. Rechkalov fought in the Airacobrahs P-39D-1, P-39D-2, hull number 40.

Infinitely brave personally, daring, full of contempt for enemies, he fought in a painted "Airacobra", in addition to the standard coloring and elements of quick recognition, which carried stars according to the number of enemies shot down and the formidable letters RGA (pilot's initials) on the tail of the fuselage.

In the summer of 1943, at the head of eight fighters, he attacked a large group of Ju-87s and personally shot down 3 of them at top speed, from above - head-on. His group then shot down 5 Ju-87 and Me-109.

In the fall of 1943, during the famous "hunt over the sea" discovered by Pokryshkin, Rechkalov managed to shoot down 3 aircraft - 2 Yu-52 - a fuel tanker in one sortie and the flying boat "Savoy".

He flew with pleasure to "hunt", he loved to climb a large, about 6 thousand meters, height and, using his exceptionally sharp eyesight, swiftly attack the chosen victim. The ace flew on assignments with different pilots. Among them were A. Trud, G. Golubev, V. Zherdev.

On July 1, 1944, Guard Captain Rechkalov was awarded the second Gold Star for 415 combat missions, 112 air battles, 48 ​​personal and 6 group victories. He made his last take at Yassy, ​​shooting down 2 Ju-87s in a short and decisive attack.

After Pokryshkin was appointed deputy commander of the regiment, Rechkalov became the commander of the first air squadron, and when Pokryshkin became the commander of the division, he was appointed commander of the 16th GIAP. However, this position was fatally unlucky. After the death of I. Olefirenko, due to the negligence of the mechanic, Rechkalov was removed from the post of regiment commander and B. Glinka was appointed there. However, a few days later he was seriously wounded in an air battle, and Rechkalov again became the acting regiment commander. And again he was replaced in this position by another - I. Babak.

By that time, Rechkalov had been appointed inspector for piloting techniques of the 9th Guards. In this position, Major Rechkalov ended the war.

Grigory Rechkalov was born on February 9, 1920 in the village of Khudyakovo, Irbit district, Perm province. He graduated from the 6th grade and in 1938 was admitted to the Perm Military Aviation School. The same one that his future commander Pokryshkin graduated from 5 years before Rechkalov's arrival there. True, then the school graduated only aircraft technicians. Becoming a military pilot in 1939, Rechkalov served in units of the Red Army Air Force of the Odessa Military District.

He participated in the battles of the Great Patriotic War from the first day. He fought on the South, North Caucasian, 1st, 2nd and 4th Ukrainian fronts. He conducted more than 450 sorties, 122 air battles, in which he shot down 56 enemy aircraft personally and 6 in a group. Probably no other Soviet ace on his personal account has such a variety of types of officially shot down aircraft as Rechkalov. Here are the He-111 and Yu-88 bombers, and the Yu-87 and Khsh-129 assault aircraft, the Khsh-126 and FV-189 reconnaissance aircraft, and the Me-110, Me-109, FV-190 fighters, and the Yu -52, and relatively rare trophies - "Savoy" and PZL-24.

After the war, in 1951, he graduated from the BBA. In 1959, 39-year-old Major General of Aviation Rechkalov was transferred to the reserve. Lived and worked in Moscow. He wrote books: "Visiting Youth" (M., 1968), "Smoky Sky of War" (Sverdlovsk, 1968), "In the Sky of Moldova" (Kishinev, 1979). He died on December 22, 1990.

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (24.5.43, 1.7.44). Awarded the Order of Lenin, 4 Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Alexander Nevsky, 2 Orders of the Red Star, medals.

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Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Guards Major Rechkalov G.A. GROUP AIRBORNE It was October 1943. The Germans did not want to admit that the power of their aviation in the air had already been undermined. The German command strove with all forces and means to give revenge for Stalingrad

This brilliant air fighter was distinguished by a very contradictory and uneven character. Showing an example of courage, determination and discipline in one sortie, in the next he could distract himself from the main task and just as decisively start pursuing an accidental enemy. His combat fate was intertwined with the fate of A. I. Pokryshkin; he flew with him in a group, replaced him as a squadron commander, then as a regiment commander. Alexander Ivanovich himself considered the best qualities of Rechkalov to be frankness and frankness.

Grigory Rechkalov was born on February 9, 1920 in the village of Khudyakovo, Irbit district, Perm province. He learned to fly at the local flying club. After being drafted into the ranks of the Red Army, in 1938 he was admitted to the Perm Military Aviation School. The one that Rechkalov's future commander, A.I. Pokryshkin, graduated from 5 years before Rechkalov's arrival. True, then the school graduated only aviation technicians. Becoming a military pilot in 1939, Rechkalov served in units of the Red Army Air Force in the Odessa Military District.

Despite the fact that the medical board determined that he was color blind, he won the right to continue serving and in 1941 was sent to the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment with the rank of sergeant. The regiment was stationed in Moldova and was re-equipping with new types of fighters during the summer. Nevertheless, Rechkalov's squadron was still armed with the outdated I-153.

The beginning of the war saved Rechkalov from being written off from flight work: the regiment commander ignored the next, fatal for the pilot, medical conclusion.

Rechkalov made his first sorties to attack enemy troops on an I-153, a biplane with a blue tail number "13". During the first week of the war, he flew about 30 combat sorties to attack aircraft and conducted 10 air battles.


On the same machine, he won his first victory - on June 27, 1941, with a salvo of rockets, shooting down one of the Me-109s that attacked him. Like Pokryshkin, he later said that his 13th number was "unlucky for the enemy." On it, however, he suffered an accident due to engine failure: the connecting rod broke off, and, having scoped, Rechkalov almost died. After the accident, he began to fly already on the I-16.

Soon Rechkalov first shot down a Polish PZL P-24 fighter (Romanian pilots flew on them), and then a German Ju-88 bomber. On July 26, in the Dubossary area, during an attack on an enemy column, he was wounded in the head and leg by fire from the ground, brought the car to his airfield and ended up in a hospital, underwent 3 operations there - the wound in the leg turned out to be quite serious.


After a relative recovery, the pilot received a referral to a reserve regiment, but, having learned that it was equipped only with U-2 aircraft, he decisively turned and went back to the district air force headquarters. There he achieved a meeting with the commander and managed to demand a direction for retraining in a fighter regiment. Only on March 30, 1942, having mastered the Yak-1 and once again visiting the hospital - it was difficult for the splinter to come out, Rechkalov, by hook or by crook, returned to his regiment - the 55th IAP, which by that time had received the Guards name (16th Guards IAP). Here, on the Southern Front, he makes about a hundred combat missions, participating in 20 battles, bringing the number of his victories to 6, shooting down 4 aircraft personally and 2 as part of a group.

In December 1942, the regiment was recalled from the front for rearmament with American P-39 Airacobra fighters. By the spring of 1943, having received new vehicles in the North Caucasus, the regiment went to the Kuban. In the first sortie, Rechkalov and Pokryshkin shot down one Me-109F in an air battle over the village of Krymskaya. On April 15, Rechkalov shot down a Ju-88 in a battle with a large group of bombers. The next day - Me-109 near the village of Kholmskaya and 2 more Me-109 until the 21st.



A. Klubov, G. Rechkalov, A. Trud and B. Glinka (from left to right).

8 days later, 6 "Aerocobras" of Captain A. Pokryshkin engaged in battle with a group of Ju-87s accompanied by 4 Me-109 fighters over the front line. Pokryshkin attacked bombers, and Rechkalov took up fighters. As a result, both shot down 2 enemy aircraft and thwarted their attack.

Only in the first 2 weeks of the battle in the Kuban, the deputy commander of the 1st squadron of the 16th Guards Guards, Senior Lieutenant G.R.Rechkalov personally shot down 8 enemy aircraft in air battles (7 Me-109 and 1 Ju-88) and was promoted to the rank Hero of the Soviet Union. Recalling those days, Grigory Andreevich later wrote:

“There was not a single sortie so that we would not fight. At first, the enemy acted impudently. A group will jump out, collapse, you look, then one, then another of our aircraft, lit up, rushes to the ground. But we quickly figured out the tactics of the German pilots and began to use new techniques: to walk in pairs, not in units, it is better to use radio for communication and guidance, to echelon groups of aircraft with the so-called "whatnot". It was during these days that the "falcon strike" developed by Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin was born in our regiment. "

In the Kuban region, Rechkalov fought in P-39D-1, P-39D-2 Airacobras with hull number 40, won 19 victories, destroying 2 aircraft three times in one battle and once - 3. He usually flew as the leader of the pair. in the Pokryshkin group. May 24, 1943 became a Hero of the Soviet Union. Rechkalov made his last take at Yassy, ​​shooting down 2 Ju-87 dive bombers in a short and decisive attack.

Infinitely brave personally, daring, full of contempt for enemies, Rechkalov fought in a decorated "Airacobra", in addition to the standard paintwork and elements of quick recognition, which carried stars according to the number of enemies shot down and the formidable letters RGA (pilot's initials) on the rear fuselage.

In the summer of 1943, at the head of eight fighters, he attacked a large group of Ju-87 dive bombers and personally shot down 3 of them. His group then shot down 5 Junkers and one Messer.

In the fall of 1943, during the famous "hunt over the sea" discovered by Pokryshkin, Rechkalov managed to shoot down 3 aircraft - 2 three-engined Ju-52 - a fuel tanker in one sortie and the Italian flying boat "Savoy".



Twice Hero of the Soviet Union G. A. Rechkalov in the cockpit of his "Airacobra".

He flew with pleasure to "hunt", loved to climb a large, about 6000 meters, altitude and, using his extremely sharp eyesight, swiftly attack the chosen victim. The ace flew on assignments with different pilots. Among them were A. Trud, G. Golubev, V. Zherdev. He fought over the Sea of ​​Azov, when in the spring of 1944 the regiment operated as part of the 4th Ukrainian Front over the Crimea, participated in the Chisinau campaign, which sent him back to the places where he made his first sorties in this war.

He became a captain, deputy regiment commander with rich combat experience. In July 1944, Boris Glinka was seriously wounded and Rechkalov began to temporarily perform his duties. On July 1, 1944, he was awarded the second Gold Star medal, for 48 individual and 6 group victories in 415 sorties and 112 air battles (as of June 1944).

A distinctive feature of Rechkalov was that he quickly grasped the idea of ​​each battle and, no matter how the situation in the air developed, he almost always brought the battle started to the end, achieving victory. His ability to interact with other groups made it possible to confidently conduct battles against numerically superior enemy forces.



Twice Hero of the Soviet Union G. A. Rechkalov on the wing of his "Airacobra".

The air battle conducted by our aces on July 16, 1944 can be called truly classic. In all its brilliance, the fighting qualities of Soviet commanders and ordinary pilots were manifested in him. 12 aircraft of the 16th Guards Regiment under the command of G.A.Rechkalov in the Sushno area covered the ground forces, which were in the initial position for the attack, from air raids. The strike group's fighters patrolled at an altitude of 2000 meters. Above them, with an excess of 400 - 500 meters, a cover group headed by the leader, the Guard, Lieutenant Colonel A.I. Pokryshkin, walked. And the uppermost tier was occupied by a support group under the command of the Hero of the Soviet Union Guards Senior Lieutenant A. Trud.

Ural pilot Hero Rechkalov Grigory Andreevich This brilliant air fighter was distinguished by a very contradictory and uneven character. Showing an example of courage, determination and discipline in one sortie, in the next he could distract himself from the main task ... This brilliant air fighter was distinguished by a very contradictory and uneven character. Showing an example of courage, determination and discipline in one sortie, in the next he could distract himself from the main task and just as decisively start pursuing an accidental enemy. His combat fate was intertwined with the fate of A. I. Pokryshkin; he flew with him in a group, replaced him as a squadron commander, then as a regiment commander. Alexander Ivanovich himself considered the best qualities of Rechkalov to be frankness and frankness. Grigory Rechkalov was born on February 9, 1920 in the village of Khudyakovo, Irbit district, Perm province. He learned to fly at the local flying club. After being drafted into the ranks of the Red Army, in 1938 he was admitted to the Perm Military Aviation School. The one that Rechkalov's future commander, A.I. Pokryshkin, graduated from 5 years before Rechkalov's arrival. True, then the school graduated only aviation technicians. Becoming a military pilot in 1939, Rechkalov served in units of the Red Army Air Force in the Odessa Military District.

Despite the fact that the medical board determined that he was color blind, he won the right to continue serving and in 1941 was sent to the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment with the rank of sergeant. The regiment was stationed in Moldova and was re-equipping with new types of fighters during the summer. Nevertheless, Rechkalov's squadron was still armed with the outdated I-153. The beginning of the war saved Rechkalov from being written off from flight work: the regiment commander ignored the next, fatal for the pilot, medical conclusion. Rechkalov made his first sorties to attack enemy troops on an I-153, a biplane with a blue tail number "13". During the first week of the war, he flew about 30 combat sorties to attack aircraft and conducted 10 air battles. On the same machine, he won his first victory - on June 27, 1941, with a salvo of rockets, shooting down one of the Me-109s that attacked him. Like Pokryshkin, he later said that his 13th number was "unlucky for the enemy." On it, however, he suffered an accident due to engine failure: the connecting rod broke off, and, having scoped, Rechkalov almost died. After the accident, he began to fly already on the I-16. Soon Rechkalov first shot down a Polish PZL P-24 fighter (Romanian pilots flew on them), and then a German Ju-88 bomber. On July 26, in the Dubossary area, during an attack on an enemy column, he was wounded in the head and leg by fire from the ground, brought the car to his airfield and ended up in a hospital, underwent 3 operations there - the wound in the leg turned out to be quite serious. After a relative recovery, the pilot received a referral to a reserve regiment, but, having learned that it was equipped only with U-2 aircraft, he decisively turned and went back to the district air force headquarters. There he achieved a meeting with the commander and managed to demand a direction for retraining in a fighter regiment. Only on March 30, 1942, having mastered the Yak-1 and once again visiting the hospital - it was difficult for the splinter to come out, Rechkalov, by hook or by crook, returned to his regiment - the 55th IAP, which by that time had received the Guards name (16th Guards IAP). Here, on the Southern Front, he makes about a hundred combat missions, participating in 20 battles, bringing the number of his victories to 6, shooting down 4 aircraft personally and 2 as part of a group. In December 1942, the regiment was recalled from the front for rearmament with American P-39 Airacobra fighters. By the spring of 1943, having received new vehicles in the North Caucasus, the regiment went to the Kuban. In the first sortie, Rechkalov and Pokryshkin shot down one Me-109F in an air battle over the village of Krymskaya. On April 15, Rechkalov shot down a Ju-88 in a battle with a large group of bombers. The next day - Me-109 near the village of Kholmskaya and 2 more Me-109 until the 21st.

A. Klubov, G. Rechkalov, A. Trud and B. Glinka (from left to right). 8 days later, 6 "Aerocobras" of Captain A. Pokryshkin engaged in battle with a group of Ju-87s accompanied by 4 Me-109 fighters over the front line. Pokryshkin attacked bombers, and Rechkalov took up fighters. As a result, both shot down 2 enemy aircraft and thwarted their attack. Only in the first 2 weeks of the battle in the Kuban, the deputy commander of the 1st squadron of the 16th Guards Guards, Senior Lieutenant G.R.Rechkalov personally shot down 8 enemy aircraft in air battles (7 Me-109 and 1 Ju-88) and was promoted to the rank Hero of the Soviet Union. Recalling those days, Grigory Andreevich later wrote: “There was not a single sortie so that we would not fight. At first, the enemy acted impudently. A group will jump out, collapse, you look, then one, then another of our aircraft, lit up, rushes to the ground. But we quickly figured out the tactics of the German pilots and began to use new techniques: to walk in pairs, not in units, it is better to use radio for communication and guidance, to echelon groups of aircraft with the so-called "whatnot". It was during these days that the "falcon strike" developed by Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin was born in our regiment. "

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