Representatives of the Soviet air force made a huge contribution to the defeat of the Nazi invaders. Many pilots gave their lives for the freedom and independence of our Motherland, many became Heroes of the Soviet Union. Some of them forever entered the elite of the Russian Air Force, the famous cohort of Soviet aces - the thunderstorm of the Luftwaffe. Today we will recall the 10 most successful Soviet fighter pilots, who chalked up the most of the enemy aircraft shot down in air battles.
On February 4, 1944, the outstanding Soviet fighter pilot Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub was awarded the first star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. By the end of the Great Patriotic War, he was already three times a Hero of the Soviet Union. During the war years, only one more Soviet pilot was able to repeat this achievement - it was Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin. But these two most famous aces of the Soviet fighter aviation did not end with the war. During the war, another 25 pilots were twice nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, not to mention those who were once awarded this highest military award of the country in those years.
Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub
During the war, Ivan Kozhedub flew 330 sorties, conducted 120 air battles and personally shot down 64 enemy aircraft. He flew on planes La-5, La-5FN and La-7.
Official Soviet historiography included 62 downed enemy aircraft, but archival research showed that Kozhedub shot down 64 aircraft (for some reason, there were no two air victories - April 11, 1944 - PZL P.24 and June 8, 1944 - Me 109) ... Among the trophies of the Soviet ace pilot were 39 fighters (21 Fw-190, 17 Me-109 and 1 PZL P.24), 17 dive bombers (Ju-87), 4 bombers (2 Ju-88 and 2 Non-111), 3 attack aircraft (Hs-129) and one Me-262 jet fighter. In addition, in his autobiography, he indicated that in 1945 he shot down two American P-51 Mustang fighters, which attacked him from a long distance, mistaking it for a German plane.
In all likelihood, had Ivan Kozhedub (1920-1991) started the war in 1941, his number of downed planes could have been even higher. However, his debut came only in 1943, and the future ace shot down his first plane in the battle at the Kursk Bulge. On July 6, during a combat mission, he shot down a German Ju-87 dive bomber. Thus, the pilot's performance is really amazing, in just two military years he managed to bring the score of his victories to a record in the Soviet Air Force.
At the same time, Kozhedub was never shot down during the entire war, although he several times returned to the airfield on a badly damaged fighter. But the last could have been his first air battle, which took place on March 26, 1943. His La-5 was damaged by a burst of a German fighter, the armored backrest saved the pilot from an incendiary projectile. And upon returning home, his plane was fired upon by its own air defense, the car received two hits. Despite this, Kozhedub managed to land the plane, which could no longer be fully restored.
The future best Soviet ace made his first steps in aviation while studying at the Shotkinsky flying club. In early 1940, he was drafted into the Red Army and in the fall of the same year he graduated from the Chuguev Military Aviation Pilot School, after which he continued to serve at this school as an instructor. With the outbreak of the war, the school was evacuated to Kazakhstan. The war itself began for him in November 1942, when Kozhedub was seconded to the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 302nd Fighter Aviation Division. The formation of the division was completed only in March 1943, after which it flew to the front. As mentioned above, he won his first victory only on July 6, 1943, but a start was made.
Already on February 4, 1944, Senior Lieutenant Ivan Kozhedub was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, at that time he managed to make 146 sorties and shoot down 20 enemy aircraft in air battles. He received his second star in the same year. He was presented for the award on August 19, 1944 for 256 completed combat missions and 48 downed enemy aircraft. At that time, as a captain, he served as deputy commander of the 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.
In air battles, Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub was distinguished by fearlessness, composure and automatic piloting, which he brought to perfection. Perhaps the fact that he spent several years as an instructor before being sent to the front played a very large role in his future success in the sky. Kozhedub could easily conduct aimed fire at the enemy at any position of the aircraft in the air, and also easily performed complex aerobatics. Being an excellent sniper, he preferred to conduct aerial combat at a distance of 200-300 meters.
Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub won his last victory in the Great Patriotic War on April 17, 1945 in the skies over Berlin, in this battle he shot down two German FW-190 fighters. Three times Hero of the Soviet Union, the future Marshal of Aviation (rank awarded on May 6, 1985), Major Kozhedub became on August 18, 1945. After the war, he continued to serve in the country's Air Force and went through a very serious career path, bringing still a lot of benefits to the country. The legendary pilot died on August 8, 1991, and was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.
Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin
Alexander Ivanovich Tires fought from the very first day of the war to the last. During this time, he flew 650 sorties, in which he conducted 156 air battles and officially personally shot down 59 enemy aircraft and 6 aircraft in the group. He is the second most effective ace of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition after Ivan Kozhedub. During the war years he flew on the MiG-3, Yak-1 and the American P-39 Airacobra.
The number of downed planes is rather arbitrary. Quite often, Alexander Pokryshkin made deep raids behind enemy lines, where he also managed to win victories. However, only those of them were counted that could be confirmed by ground services, that is, if possible, over their territory. He could have had 8 such unaccounted victories only in 1941. At the same time, they accumulated throughout the war. Also, Alexander Pokryshkin often gave the planes shot down by him at the expense of his subordinates (mainly wingmen), thus stimulating them. This was quite common in those years.
Already during the first weeks of the war, Pokryshkin was able to understand that the tactics of the Soviet Air Force were outdated. Then he began to enter his notes on this account in a notebook. He kept an accurate record of air battles in which he and his friends took part, after which he made a detailed analysis of what was written. At the same time, at that time he had to fight in very difficult conditions of constant retreat of Soviet troops. Later he said: "Those who did not fight in 1941-1942 do not know a real war."
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and massive criticism of everything related to that period, some authors began to "cut" the number of Pokryshkin's victories. This was also due to the fact that at the end of 1944, the official Soviet propaganda finally made the pilot "a bright image of a hero, the main fighter of the war." In order not to lose the hero in a random battle, it was ordered to limit the flights of Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin, who by that time was already in command of the regiment. On August 19, 1944, after 550 sorties and 53 officially won victories, he became three times Hero of the Soviet Union, the first in history.
The wave of “revelations” that swept over him after the 1990s also swept over him because after the war he was able to take the post of Commander-in-Chief of the country's air defense forces, that is, he became a “major Soviet official”. If we talk about the low ratio of victories to completed sorties, then it can be noted that for a long time at the beginning of the war, Pokryshkin in his MiG-3, and then Yak-1 flew to attack enemy ground forces or perform reconnaissance flights. For example, by mid-November 1941, the pilot had already completed 190 combat missions, but the overwhelming majority of them - 144 were aimed at attacking enemy ground forces.
Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin was not only a cold-blooded, brave and virtuoso Soviet pilot, but also a thinking pilot. He was not afraid to criticize the existing tactics of using fighter aircraft and advocated its replacement. Discussions on this matter with the regiment commander in 1942 led to the fact that the ace pilot was even expelled from the party and the case was sent to the tribunal. The pilot was saved by the intercession of the regiment commissar and higher command. The case against him was dropped and reinstated in the party. After the war, Pokryshkin clashed with Vasily Stalin for a long time, which had a detrimental effect on his career. Everything changed only in 1953 after the death of Joseph Stalin. Subsequently, he managed to rise to the rank of Air Marshal, which was awarded to him in 1972. The famous pilot-ace died on November 13, 1985 at the age of 72 in Moscow.
Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov
Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov fought from the very first day of the Great Patriotic War. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. During the war, he flew more than 450 sorties, shooting down 56 enemy aircraft personally and 6 in a group in 122 air battles. According to other sources, the number of his personal aerial victories could exceed 60. During the war years he flew on the I-153 "Chaika", I-16, Yak-1, P-39 "Airacobra" aircraft.
Probably no other Soviet fighter pilot had such a variety of downed enemy vehicles as that of Grigory Rechkalov. Among his trophies were Me-110, Me-109, Fw-190 fighters, Ju-88, He-111 bombers, Ju-87 dive bomber, Hs-129 attack aircraft, Fw-189 and Hs-126 reconnaissance aircraft, and such a rare machine as the Italian Savoy and the Polish PZL-24 fighter, which was used by the Romanian Air Force.
Surprisingly, the day before the start of World War II, Rechkalov was suspended from flights by decision of the medical flight commission, he was diagnosed with color blindness. But upon returning to his unit with this diagnosis, he was still allowed to fly. The outbreak of the war forced the authorities to simply close their eyes to this diagnosis, simply ignoring it. At the same time, he served in the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment since 1939, together with Pokryshkin.
This brilliant military pilot was distinguished by a very contradictory and uneven character. Showing an example of determination, courage and discipline in one sortie, in another he could distract himself from the main task and just as decisively start pursuing a random opponent, trying to increase the score of his victories. His combat fate in the war was closely intertwined with the fate of Alexander Pokryshkin. He flew with him in the same group, replaced him as squadron commander and regiment commander. Pokryshkin himself considered frankness and directness to be the best qualities of Grigory Rechkalov.
Rechkalov, like Pokryshkin, fought on June 22, 1941, but with a forced break for almost two years. In the very first month of the fighting, he managed to shoot down three enemy aircraft on his outdated I-153 biplane fighter. He also managed to fly on an I-16 fighter. On July 26, 1941, during a combat mission near Dubossary, he was wounded in the head and in the leg by ground fire, but managed to bring his plane to the airfield. After this injury, he spent 9 months in the hospital, during which time the pilot underwent three operations. And once again the medical commission tried to put an insurmountable obstacle in the way of the future famous ace. Grigory Rechkalov was sent to serve in a reserve regiment, which was equipped with U-2 aircraft. The future twice Hero of the Soviet Union took this direction as a personal insult. At the district air force headquarters, he managed to ensure that he was returned to his regiment, which at that time was called the 17th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. But very soon the regiment was recalled from the front for rearmament with the new American Airacobra fighters, which went to the USSR as part of the Lend-Lease program. For these reasons, Rechkalov began to beat the enemy again only in April 1943.
Grigory Rechkalov, being one of the domestic stars of fighter aviation, could perfectly interact with other pilots, guessing their intentions and working together as a group. Even during the war years, a conflict arose between him and Pokryshkin, but he never tried to throw out any negative on this matter or accuse his opponent. On the contrary, in his memoirs, he spoke well of Pokryshkin, noting that they managed to unravel the tactics of the German pilots, after which they began to use new techniques: they began to fly in pairs, not in units, it is better to use radio for guidance and communication, to echelon their so-called “ whatnot ".
Grigory Rechkalov scored 44 victories on the Aircobra, more than other Soviet pilots. After the end of the war, someone asked the renowned pilot what he most appreciated in the Airacobra fighter, on which so many victories were won: the power of a volley, speed, visibility, engine reliability? To this question, the ace pilot replied that all of the above, of course, mattered, these were the obvious advantages of the aircraft. But the main thing, he said, was in the radio. The Aerocobra had excellent radio communication, which was rare in those years. Thanks to this connection, the pilots in battle could communicate with each other, as if by telephone. Someone saw something - all the members of the group are aware of it at once. Therefore, in combat missions, we did not have any surprises.
After the end of the war, Grigory Rechkalov continued his service in the Air Force. True, not as long as other Soviet aces. Already in 1959, he went into the reserve with the rank of major general. Then he lived and worked in Moscow. He died in Moscow on December 20, 1990 at the age of 70.
Nikolay Dmitrievich Gulaev
Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev ended up on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War in August 1942. In total, during the war years, he made 250 sorties, conducted 49 air battles, in which he personally destroyed 55 enemy aircraft and 5 more aircraft in the group. These statistics make Gulaev the most effective Soviet ace. For every 4 sorties, he had a downed plane or, on average, more than one plane for every air battle. During the war he flew on the I-16, Yak-1, P-39 "Airacobra" fighters, most of his victories, like Pokryshkin and Rechkalov, he won on the "Aerocobra".
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev shot down not much fewer planes than Alexander Pokryshkin. But in terms of the effectiveness of the battles, he far surpassed both him and Kozhedub. At the same time, he fought for less than two years. At first, in the deep Soviet rear, as part of the air defense forces, he was engaged in the protection of important industrial facilities, protecting them from enemy air raids. And in September 1944, he was practically forcibly sent to study at the Air Force Academy.
The Soviet pilot made his most effective battle on May 30, 1944. In one air battle over Sculeni, he managed to shoot down 5 enemy aircraft at once: two Me-109, Hs-129, Ju-87 and Ju-88. During the battle, he himself was seriously wounded in his right arm, but having concentrated all his strength and will, he was able to bring his fighter to the airfield, bleeding to death, landed and, having taxied into the parking lot, lost consciousness. The pilot came to his senses only in the hospital after the operation, and here he learned about the conferment of the second title of Hero of the Soviet Union on him.
All the time Gulaev was at the front, he fought desperately. During this time, he managed to make two successful rams, after which he managed to land his damaged plane. Several times during this time he was wounded, but after being wounded he invariably returned back to duty. In early September 1944, the ace pilot was forcibly sent to study. At that moment, the outcome of the war was already clear to everyone, and they tried to protect the famous Soviet aces, sending them to the Air Force Academy by order. Thus, the war ended unexpectedly for our hero as well.
Nikolai Gulaev was called the brightest representative of the "romantic school" of air combat. Often, the pilot dared to commit "irrational actions" that shocked the German pilots, but helped him gain victories. Even among other far from ordinary Soviet fighter pilots, the figure of Nikolai Gulaev stood out for his colorfulness. Only such a person, possessing unparalleled courage, would be able to conduct 10 super-effective air battles, recording two of his victories in a successful ramming of enemy aircraft. Gulaev's modesty in public and in his self-esteem was discordant with his extremely aggressive and persistent manner of conducting aerial combat, and he managed to carry openness and honesty with boyish spontaneity throughout his life, preserving some youthful prejudices until the end of his life, which did not prevent him from reaching the rank of Colonel-General of Aviation. The illustrious pilot died on September 27, 1985 in Moscow.
Kirill Alekseevich Evstigneev
Kirill Alekseevich Evstigneev is twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Like Kozhedub, he began his combat path relatively late, only in 1943. During the war years, he flew 296 combat missions, conducted 120 air battles, personally shooting down 53 enemy aircraft and 3 in the group. He flew the La-5 and La-5FN fighters.
The almost two-year "delay" in appearing at the front was due to the fact that the fighter pilot suffered from stomach ulcer, and with this disease he was not allowed to the front. From the beginning of World War II, he worked as an instructor at a flight school, and after that he overtook Lend-Lease "Airacobras". His work as an instructor gave him a lot, like another Soviet ace Kozhedub. At the same time, Evstigneev did not stop writing reports to the command with a request to send him to the front, as a result, they were still satisfied. Kirill Evstigneev received his baptism of fire in March 1943. Like Kozhedub, he fought as part of the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment, flew on a La-5 fighter. In his first combat sortie on March 28, 1943, he won two victories.
For the entire time of the war, the enemy did not manage to shoot down Kirill Evstigneev. But from his own he got it twice. For the first time, the Yak-1 pilot, who was carried away by air combat, crashed into his plane from above. The Yak-1 pilot immediately jumped out of the plane, which had lost one wing, with a parachute. But Evstigneev's La-5 suffered less, and he managed to hold the plane to the positions of his troops, landing the fighter next to the trenches. The second case, more mysterious and dramatic, occurred over its territory in the absence of enemy aircraft in the air. The fuselage of his plane was pierced by a line, damaging Evstigneev's legs, the car caught fire and went into a dive, and the pilot had to jump out of the plane with a parachute. In the hospital, doctors tended to amputate the pilot's foot, but he overtook them with such fear that they abandoned their venture. And after 9 days, the pilot escaped from the hospital and with crutches reached the location of his home unit 35 kilometers away.
Kirill Evstigneev constantly increased the number of his aerial victories. Until 1945, the pilot was ahead of Kozhedub. At the same time, the unit's doctor periodically sent him to the hospital to heal an ulcer and a wounded leg, which the ace pilot terribly opposed. Kirill Alekseevich was seriously ill since the pre-war times, in his life he underwent 13 surgical operations. Very often the famous Soviet pilot flew overcoming physical pain. Evstigneev, as they say, was obsessed with flying. In his spare time, he tried to train young fighter pilots. He was the initiator of training air battles. For the most part, Kozhedub was his opponent. At the same time, Evstigneev was completely devoid of a sense of fear, even at the very end of the war he cold-bloodedly went into a frontal attack on the six-gun Fokkers, winning victories over them. Kozhedub spoke about his comrade in arms like this: "Flint Pilot".
Captain Kirill Evstigneev finished the war of the guards as navigator of the 178th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. The pilot spent his last battle in the skies of Hungary on March 26, 1945, in his fifth La-5 fighter during the war. After the war, he continued to serve in the USSR Air Force, in 1972 he retired with the rank of Major General, lived in Moscow. He died on August 29, 1996 at the age of 79, and was buried at the Kuntsevo cemetery in the capital.
Sources of information:
http://svpressa.ru
http://airaces.narod.ru
http://www.warheroes.ru
Vladimir Terletsky became a Hero of the Soviet Union at the age of 25. The title was awarded posthumously Legendary name - Vladimir Nikolaevich Terletsky. In memory of the heroic deed of the young soldier during the breakthrough of the "Blue Line", the square of the city of Temryuk was named after him. Today there is a business and shopping center here. The Hero's name has become a household name. Unfortunately, the market was easily called Terletsky. A wave of indignation among the residents of the city was caused by the name of the outlet "Terlik" on the Terletskiy square, which forced the businessman to change the sign. It's good that the plaque is on the school building. This is a reminder to children of the war, of its Heroes. Let us remember how a 25-year-old guy from the Vinnitsa region of Ukraine became a Hero during the Great Patriotic War. The young driver of the Katyusha Vladimir Terletsky did not know that May 28, 1943 would be his last battle. The young soldier, guard senior sergeant of the 273rd Guards Mortar Division, that day was ordered to take the car to a firing position and strike at the infantry and tanks of the Nazis. The fighting took place in the area of the village of Krymskaya. Today this place is called the Hill of Heroes. According to the recollections of the battery commander of the 50th Guards Mortar Regiment of Temryuk, Guard Reserve Captain N. Ya. Korneichuk, the operation took place early in the morning. The signal for an artillery attack was to be a Katyusha shot. But suddenly the shelling of our firing positions began. At that moment Volodya Terletsky was seriously wounded in the stomach. Captain Korneichuk gave the command: "Drive!" But no one dared to cross the open area between the forest and the Katyushas. And only Volodya Terletsky, overcoming the pain and bleeding, with his last strength covered the wound with his hand and ran to the car to the firing position. “He fired a volley and went with a howl of shells from his Katyusha. The Germans immediately ceased fire. The commanders of the remaining guns immediately took advantage of this. The volley was fired on time. At this time, about a hundred German planes turned in our direction. The command followed: "Cars for cover!" Volodya turned the car around and took her to the shelter, "- from the memoirs of N. Ya. Korneichuk. The wounded soldier was pulled out of the car unconscious. When he woke up, he asked: "Is the car safe?" Volodya was immediately sent to the hospital, but it was too late. He was buried at the hospital parking lot. On October 25, 1943, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. “At the cost of his life, Terletsky helped to complete an important combat mission. Later it turned out that if the volley had been fired a few minutes later, they would have been covered by their own tanks that were going out to attack. Volodya did not live to see a peaceful life. But he gave the most precious thing for the world - his young life. He was only 25 years old. And, of course, he wanted to live. Fellow soldiers often came to Temryuk. Vladimir's sister visited the grave. The pioneer squad of school # 2 bore the name of Terletsky. The area where Vladimir was buried was named after him, "wrote N. Ya. Korneichuk in his memoirs. After the liberation of Temryuk in the fall of 1943, the 50th Guards Mortar Regiment was awarded the title" Temryuk ". Therefore, it was decided to reburial Vladimir Terletsky on the square in Temryuk. A monument was erected. During the construction of the new building of school number 2, the soldier's grave was moved to the city's war memorial on the street. Bouvina. The name of Vladimir Terletskiy bears a street in his native village Pogrebishche in the Vinnitsa region. The square in Temryuk is named after him. A memorial plaque is installed on the facade of the school building No. 2 in Temryuk.
Pilot Amet-Khan-Sultan. How he fought, what he did after the war, how he died.
The name of Amet-Khan-Sultan is known to few today. And this is twice Hero of the Soviet Union. The fighter pilot is from the Crimean Tatars on his mother and from the Laks of Dagestan on his father. He fought bravely. Once a German Ju-88D-1 rammed over Yaroslavl, escaped by parachute. He flew then on the Hurricane. He fought in the skies of Stalingrad. Was shot down, but survived. He fought on many types of aircraft from I-15 to "Airacobra". On free hunting missions I looked for fascist aces in the sky together with fellow pilots. In 1944, he captured the Fieseler-Storch, forcing it to land on a Soviet airfield. Amet-Khan-Sultan flew over Berlin in the La-7, then the newest fighter. There he shot down his last plane, Focke-Wulf-190. This happened on April 29, 1945. The next day, the chief Fuhrer of Germany committed suicide. At the age of 25 he became twice Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1947 he began to work as a test pilot, and soon he received the 3rd grade. Four years later, a first-class test pilot began to master supersonic flights. They launched test cruise missiles from the Tu-95K strategic bomber. Amet-Khan-Sultan also took part in the test of ejection seats. Once there was an explosion in the air of a squib, pierced the fuel tank, kerosene poured into the cockpits of the aircraft, flew to the UTI MiG-15. Amet-Khan managed to land at the airfield. He saved the parachutist Golovin and his life. Bailout was impossible due to damage to the seat rail. Composure helped the former military fighter to act skillfully and prudently in the most difficult moment.
It is a great pity that Amet-Khan died as a fifty-year-old pilot, testing a new jet engine, which probably exploded when it was released from the fuselage and launched. His Tu-16 fell into a swamp together with the crew.
Today in Alupka there is a La-5 plane with a monument to the famous ace. On board it is painted with white paint 25 stars. This is according to the number of opponents destroyed by Amet-Khan. In fact, he only personally shot down 30 planes, not counting group victories. Fought 150 air battles.
As a child, the future pilot watched the flight of eagles soaring over the mountains. He graduated from the "craft", began to work as a mechanic, and then as an assistant of a boiler house in a depot, at the same time he was engaged in the flying club of the city of Simferopol. He entered the Kachin school of pilots in 1939, immediately defining himself in fighter aviation. Good reaction and excellent vision contributed to this. And the disastrous nature of the fighter pilot is not a hindrance, but help. I met the beginning of the war in the Odessa military district. The I-153 biplane was piloted then (the plane's nickname was "Swallow"). He smashed a column of fascist troops on it near Chisinau during an attack. In the fall of 1941 he retrained for an English Hurricane model aircraft. After ramming over Yaroslavl, the Junkers jumped out with a parachute and landed near the village of Dymokurtsy. He smashed his head in a ram. The Germans also jumped out of their bomber with parachutes, landed in the Volga, but were caught by Soviet soldiers. For the aerial ram, Amet-Khan-Sultan was awarded a personalized watch and an order. Fighting on the Yak-7A near Stalingrad, the pilot shot down several enemy aircraft, among them was the Me-109. In his spare time, between battles, Amet-Khan played chess with enthusiasm. In the sky, this man beat the German aces in aerobatics, the background of the barons, since he was the Sultan himself. He made a tangible contribution to the victory over Germany.
On February 1, 1971, during a test flight of the Tu-16 LL flying laboratory, test pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel Amet-Khan Sultan, died.
In the life of any person, there are enough secrets, oddities and coincidences, both happy and unhappy. But if for a “simple” person all these “oddities” remain with him, by no means always turning into stories to friends and relatives, then for people “famous”, whose life becomes the property of the “general public,” such facts turn into whole legends, are often used for "political" and sometimes for completely speculative purposes. There are enough such facts and "oddities" in the life of the hero of this article. It is even stranger when, with a huge amount of papers accompanying a person throughout his life, from its first minute to its last, various legends appear, which then begin to lead their "life", wandering from one literary source to another. It is sometimes very difficult to get to the true documents. This is how various interpretations of events and their "variants" appear, which are also lacking in the life of Amet-Khan. I cannot say that all the facts presented in the article are true. But the main thing is the person himself and what he really did in life ...
Amet-Khan Sultan (Sultan Amet-khan) (20 (25) .10.1920 - 01.02.1971).
The famous fighter pilot of the Great Patriotic War, at the age of 25, twice Hero of the Soviet Union (08.24.1943, 07.29.1945). He performed 603 sorties, participated in 150 air battles, shot down 30 aircraft personally and 19 as part of a group.
Honored Test Pilot of the USSR, laureate of the Stalin Prize for testing a manned cruise missile model (1953).
He was awarded three Orders of Lenin, five Orders of the Red Banner.
Awarded with ordersAlexander Nevsky, World War I of the 1st degree, the Red Star and the "Badge of Honor", many medals. During the flight test work, he mastered about 100 types of aircraft (according to some reports, more than 170), and the total flight time for them was 4237 hours. Honorary Citizen of the city of Yaroslavl, Lieutenant Colonel. Honorary Crimean, Honorary Pilot of France, Honorary Citizen of Melitopol.
Born in Crimea (Alupka), father is Lak by nationality, mother is a Crimean Tatar. The house where he spent his childhood was located on the slope of Mount Ai-Petri.
And immediately, the first oddity. A number of sources mention the date of birth - October 20. In others, with the same confidence, on October 25th.
He received his primary education at a seven-year school. After graduating from the Simferopol Railway School, he worked in a depot. It was difficult, but at the same time he was engaged in the city flying club (founded in 1931). Entered the Kachin Red Banner Aviation School named after A.F. Myasnikov (Sevastopol), and having successfully completed a training course (1939-1940), he was sent to serve in Moldova, where he flew on the I-15 and I-153 fighters.
Kacha. The year is 1939. There is a cadet Amet-Khan Sultan somewhere here.
Amet-Khan's fighter regiment, equipped with I-15 and I-153 aircraft, met the war in Moldova. The young pilot entered the battles with the Nazis from the first day of the war. In the fall of 1941, his regiment fought the Germans near Rostov-on-Don. After heavy losses, the regiment was transferred to reorganization and retraining. Now Amet-Khan had to fight on the British "harrikein".
In March 1942, the regiment of Amet-Khan Sultan became part of the air defense of Yaroslavl. The Nazi troops did not reach the city, but enemy aircraft bombed it.
The pilot fought actively. He took part in battles, bombed enemy troops on the ground, vehicles and tanks, military bases. But the guy felt awkward in front of his comrades, and at every opportunity they made fun of him. Since the beginning of the war, he took to the air 170 times on a combat mission, but never shot down a single enemy aircraft. But the experience came with time. Success also came.
On May 31, 1942, a pair of fighters, controlled by Amet-Khan and his wingman Strukov, were raised to intercept the Yu-88 bomber, apparently performing a reconnaissance flight. Strukov, immediately after takeoff, had an engine malfunction and Amet-Khan went into battle alone. At an altitude of 7300 m "Junkers" was attacked by them, but in the heat of battle, the fighter fired all the ammunition by. Not wanting to miss the enemy, Amet-Khan rammed the enemy Junkers-88 bomber, hitting it with the left plane from below.Amet-Khan jumped out of an unguided plane by parachute. In the distance, he noticed two people who had jumped out of a German plane.
There is also a frequent description of the Hurricane being stuck in the wing plane of a bomber.
The wreckage of the enemy aircraft was placed on the central square of the city of Yaroslavl. Amet-Khan, for his courage shown in the sky over Yaroslavl, was awarded the Order of Lenin and was elected an honorary citizen of the city. The engraved watch, presented to the pilot by the city defense committee, read the following words: “To the Lieutenant of the Red Army, Comrade Ametkhan Sultan, who heroically shot down a German fascist plane, on behalf of the Defense Committee of the city of Yaroslavl. 1942, May 31 ".
From that moment on, the pilot's account began to grow.
The military publicist N. Kostin wrote the following about Amet-Khan (the spelling of the surname is as stated in the source): “Once Ametkhan Sultan was summoned by the regiment commander Shestakov and instructed to cover the defense of the crossing, which is of great strategic importance. On the second day of the guard, Captain Ametkhan Sultan takes off with a group of aircraft. The weather was clear and the visibility was excellent. They reach a height of four thousand five hundred meters. At eleven o'clock, three groups of enemy aircraft were seen flying from the Sea of Azov to the crossing. Ahead were twenty Heinkels 111, followed by twenty Ju 88s and another twenty Heinkels 111. As soon as the fascist bombers began to approach the crossing, Ametkhan's team launched an attack. Four Heinkels were destroyed immediately. When the enemy began to evade the attack, the commander of the third pair, pilot Safonov, reported a malfunction of his plane. "Back to the airfield!" - commanded Ametkhan. At that moment, another group of enemy aircraft appeared. Ametkhan and Pavel Golovachev, attacking from above and below, shot down two more Junkers. Another "cadet" was fired upon by senior lieutenant Borisov. Thus, Ametkhan and five of his glorious falcons - Borisov, Golovachev, Malkov, Safonov, Legky destroyed part of the enemy aircraft, which outnumber ours by ten times. None of the sixty German bombers hit the target - the crossing, and the surviving German planes were forced to flee. In this battle, only one Soviet fighter was injured, but he also returned to the airfield.
In the evening, the commander of the air force, General Khryukin, in the guards regiment, personally thanked Ametkhan:
- You deserve the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. I am sure the government will honor you with this high honor. Thank you hero!
A month later, on August 24, 1943, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree awarding Ametkhan Sultan the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. "
On April 23, 1943, the commander of the 8th Air Army, Aviation Lieutenant General T. T. Khryukin, presented him to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The view says:
"Comrade Amet-Khan Sultan made 359 sorties, conducted 79 air battles, personally shot down 11 enemy aircraft and 19 aircraft in group battles.
Has one ramming of an enemy aircraft. In total, he flew 110 sorties on the Stalingrad front, personally shot down 6 enemy aircraft and 7 enemy aircraft in the group. "
For exemplary performance of combat missions of the command, courage, courage and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 24, 1943, Amet-Khan Sultan was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal ".
In August 1943, based in Kotelnikovo, which had been recaptured from the enemy, the regiment received new R-39 Airacobra fighters. But during the very first flights, the insidiousness of an overseas gift was revealed: the plane easily fell into a tailspin, from which Lieutenant Klimov and Senior Lieutenant Ershov could not get out ... his place was assigned to ace Anatoly Morozov, to him, an old comrade in military work in the summer of 1941, Amet-Khan approached with a request: "Allow me to try the" Airacobra "in a spin, I will conquer - I will teach others" ...
The entire regiment froze and watched the dangerous rotation of the aircraft falling from a height of 7000 meters. Only hundreds of meters from the ground, the car went into a steep dive and soon rolled down the runway. And then the happy Amet-Khan explained to everyone how to get the capricious car out of the deadly rotation.
In January 1944, Amet-Khan and his comrade in arms, Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Borisov , managed to capture the enemy aircraft Fi-156 "Shtorkh" with a pilot and a business officer with documents, forcing the Nazi pilot to land on a Soviet airfield. It is interesting that Amet-Khan mastered the captured German communications plane almost immediately, having made an independent flight on it. Here, too, there are discrepancies in the memoirs, according to another version, Amet-Khan commanded a squadron "working" from the jump airfield and did not fly to intercept, but sent two fighters. But he had already brought the trophy to the main airfield in person, accompanied by two fighters. He figured out the control of an unfamiliar plane in an hour.
One of the sources describes another "non-trivial" event in the life of a pilot.
In March 1944, a German Me-109 fighter flew over their airfield and dropped a pennant with a note. The enemy pilot challenged our best ace to a duel, promising not to engage in battle until the Soviet pilot reached an altitude of 3000 meters. Such impudence was not expected from the enemy in the 9th Guards IAP. By this time, the pilots of the regiment had already proved to the Germans that they were not bastard either. They reported to the commander of the 8th Air Army Timofey Khryukin. He, without hesitation, ordered Amet-Khan's Amet-Khan's Airacobra to be prepared for departure.
We must pay tribute to the German - he fulfilled the conditions of the duel. Everyone at the airfield remembered this battle forever, although it lasted no more than 15 minutes. "Messerschmitt" and "Airacobra" arranged a frantic merry-go-round in the sky. Writing unthinkable pirouettes, the planes chased each other without firing a single shot. And then a short burst sounded. "Messer" started to smoke and collapsed in a dive. Later it became known that Amet-Khan knocked down the German ace who shot down 50 of our planes.
Legend or reality? In the list of victories of Amet-Khan, 10.03.44 there is a "messer". The place of victory is indicated "northeast of Ochakov" ...
Amet-Khan Sultan ended the war by flying a La-7 fighter. "The American" Airacobras "are good, but still our horse" Lavochkin "is better!" - summed up Amet-Khan, having mastered the new aircraft. On this machine, he fought in the skies of Latvia and East Prussia, where he shot down 6 more enemy aircraft.
La-7 Amet-Khan, spring 1945
From the end of April, the pilots of the 9th Guards IAP, looking for the enemy, flew over Berlin. German planes, seeing our La-7s from a distance, turned back, and one of their groups behaved completely strange: they gave signals, it seemed, that they wanted to surrender. Lavrinenkov with Amet-Khan were surprised, but also glad, led the group to the airfield. The German pilots made a good landing. Apparently, they had to be based here. As they got off the runway, they turned off the engines and raised their hands. Explained: they do not want to continue a senseless war ...
The last victory he won on April 25, 1945 over Tempelhof airfield. Amet-Khan led six La-7s to intercept enemy aircraft. Waiting for the enemy to appear, Amet-Khan patrolled for a long time over the area of the city indicated to him. His flight time was already running out, the fuel was at the limit, when the Fokkers jumped out from behind the clouds. Amet-Khan set fire to the leader of the group with the first cannon burst. The pilot (group commander, knight of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves) jumped out with a parachute, and the wingmen left the battlefield.
The regiment commander, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Guards Major V.D. Lavrinenkov in April 1945, presenting Amet-Khan to the highest award - the title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union, wrote the following report: “Comrade Ametkhan Sultan showed an example of courage and heroism at the front. This high-class fighter pilot, who has fully mastered the art of air combat, has earned the title of one of the best aces of the regiment by his deeds. Ametkhan Sultan, masterfully piloting the aircraft, using its tactical superiority, knowing well the weaknesses of Hitler's pilots and all the advantages of enemy equipment, won 30 air battles. Comrade Ametkhan Sultan, who showed courage and heroism in the fight against the German invaders, successfully conducted 603 sorties and won them, personally shot down 30 enemy aircraft and 19 in group air battles, is worthy of being awarded the title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union. "
So, taking into account all these merits, on June 29, 1945, Amet-Khan Sultan was awarded the title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union.
The statistics of the victories of Amet-Khan, who flew on different types of aircraft, is interesting.
- Hurricane, victories were won in the period from 05/31/42 to 07/23/42. Bombers - 2 (Ju-88 ramming, first victory, Ju-87 in a group), fighters (Me-109) - 1 personally and 10 in a group, Xe-113 - 1 (in a group).
- Yak-7, victories were won from 08/23/42 to 09/15/42. Bombers - 3 (Ju-88, in a group), scout - 1 (FV-189, in pair), fighters (Me-109) - 5 in person and 3 in a group.
- Yak-1, victories were won from 12/13/42 to 07/24/43. Bombers - 4 (3 He-111, 1 Yu-87), fighters - 2 Me-109.
4. Airacobra, victories were won from 08/20/1943 to 04/24/44. Bombers - 7 (3 Yu-87, 3 Yu-88, 1 Xe-111), transport - 1 Yu-52, fighters - 3 (2 Me-109, 1 FV-190).
5. La-7, victories were won from 01/14/45 to 04/29/45. Fighters - 6 (1 Me-109, 5 FV-190).
Many copies were broken and many opposing opinions were expressed in connection with the nationality of Amet Khan. The problem of the Crimean Tatars itself is not the subject of this material, but this issue cannot be ignored either.
The family of Amet-Khan was directly affected by the tragedy that happened to the Crimean Tatars during the war. The pilot's parents remained in the occupation, and in 1943 the command ordered the partisans to take them to the mainland. However, the parents refused, and the partisans themselves were surrounded by policemen. The group had to break through with a fight. I think it’s not worth reminding that it was not Ethiopians who “went” as policemen in Crimea ...
According to one of the versions, set forth in the memoirs of one of the participants in the partisan movement in Crimea, Amet-Khan's mother categorically refused to evacuate, calling her son "giaur" when she was shown a photo of her son in uniform. At the same time, there are memoirs of Amet-Khan's pilot-fellow soldier, Anatoly Plotnikov, who describes the meeting of Amet-Khan and his friends with his parents in 1944 and mentions their cordiality and hospitality. The truth is somewhere near?
Nevertheless, the hero's parents were not touched after the war, but Amet-Khan's brother, Imran, was arrested by the NKVD as a person who collaborated with the invaders. Imran Sultan served in the so-called auxiliary police ...
“I had a famous friend, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Akhmet Khan Sultan. His father is Dagestani, and his mother is Tatar ... The Dagestanis consider him their hero, and the Tatars theirs.
- Whose are you? I asked him once.
- I am not a Tatar or Lak hero, - answered Akhmet Khan. - I am a Hero of the Soviet Union. And whose son? Father and mother. Is it possible to separate them from each other? "- recalled the Avar poet and public figure Rasul Gamzatov."
In 1956, together with a number of former party and Soviet workers of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Amet-Khan Sultan signed a letter with a request for the rehabilitation of the Crimean Tatars, sent to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
It is often mentioned that Amet Khan's nationality seriously complicated his life after the war. And there are grounds for such statements.
After the end of the war, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, all the aces pilots were sent to study at the academy. Since August 1945, Amet-Khan has been a student at the Air Force Academy in Monino. The study was very difficult, the lack of education made itself felt. And at the beginning of 1946, the pilot submits a report in which he writes: “Soberly weighing the level of my knowledge, I do not see the possibility of further study. Therefore, I ask you to expel me, because I am not sure that I will survive five years of study at the academy. " His report was approved, and in April 1946 Lieutenant Colonel Amet-Khan Sultan was transferred to the reserve.
After several months of training at the academy, Lieutenant Colonel Amet-Khan Sultan filed a report on expulsion and dismissal from service.
It was not about politics and not about the "fifth point" - the combat pilot bitterly admitted that he simply did not have enough education to study at the academy.
In a large number of sources, his expulsion from the academy, his dismissal from the army and for a long time "without heaven" are explained precisely by his nationality. It is more logical to assume that the dismissal is related to expulsion from the academy. Well, not to appoint twice a Hero, a lieutenant colonel as an ordinary pilot, or even a squadron commander? But the post of regiment commander after the war had already begun to demand an academic education. If you can't grow, go "retire". According to some reports, Amet-Khan did not want to work as a "line pilot" in the Civil Air Fleet. Get a job in a managerial job "on the ground"? No experience, and the "fifth point" could actually play here. Quite a "usual" reaction of a personnel officer of that time when reading a personal file and getting acquainted with the nationality of a "defendant" was a slowly sweating seat of a chair. The author does not insist on this point of view, but he PERSONALLY saw similar phenomena in more "prosperous" years ...
But it is not for nothing that they say that a friend is known in trouble. Thanks to the help of military comrades-in-arms - twice Hero of the Soviet Union Vladimir Dmitrievich Lavrinenkov, Alexei Alelyukhin, former commander Timofei Timofeevich Khryukin, Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin, aircraft mechanic of the regiment where Ametkhan served, Inna Passportnikova with great difficulty, Ametkhan Sultan is a test pilot at the institute. A new life begins.
Except for the probationary period, on May 17, 1948, Ametkhan was officially hired for a new job.
Four-month visits to high authorities with a request to allow work as a tester ended positively.
In a short time he became one of the best testers. In 1949 he was awarded the third class of a test pilot, in January 1950 - the second class, and already in September 1952 Amet-Khan Sultan became a test pilot of the first class. He successfully performs a variety of tests.
Initially, he works on gliders, then tests new ejection systems on jet and fighter aircraft Yak-15, Yak-25, MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, MiG-21, ISM-1, La-15, soon switches to heavy aircraft Tu-4, Tu-16, Il-28, Yak-28, An-10a. Ametkhan was the first to lift these and dozens of other planes into the sky, test them and give a start in life.
The most modern aircraft of the third and fourth generation MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-29, MiG-31. Su-24, Su-27, Su-29 were also tested by Ametkhan Sultan. They entered mass production after the tragic death of Ametkhan. Even the aces pilots were amazed at how skillfully he tested rockets.
With the work of Amet-Khan as a tester, there is another "story" with an indefinite degree of reliability.The Air Force command decided that the test pilots were getting too high salaries compared to other testers. And so that the pilots did not grumble, "asked" them to write about their agreement on a significant reduction in rates. Amet-Khan wrote, like his comrades, about his consent, but made a postscript: "But my wife is totally against it."
JV Stalin showed constant interest in how the creation of the latest types of fighters is going. When he saw the receipt of the famous test pilot, he imposed his resolution: "I completely agree with the wife of Amet-Khan."
... The salaries for test pilots were left unchanged.
In June 1949, together with I. Shelest, on a Tu-2 plane, he carried out the country's first fully automatic refueling in the air.
In the early 1950s, he was entrusted with testing ... an air-to-ship cruise missile. The product (LL-1, LL-2, flying laboratories of the P.V. Tsybin Design Bureau) was suspended under a Tu-4 bomber and dropped from a height of about 3000 meters. In free fall mode, the automatics started the engine, and the pilot, taking control, planted the rocket. “... The planning angle is like a brick; landing speed, like a meteorite; fuel supply at landing - for one refueling of a pocket lighter ", - one of the test pilots described the flight on such a cruise missile. Even professionals called these people "death row".
During one of the tests, the plane-projectile was dropped earlier than the prescribed time, and the engine was not started. The new car was in free fall, and the command ordered Amet-Khan Sultan to jump immediately. However, the pilot fought to the end, started the engine close to the ground and managed to land the car.
In the late 1950s, Amet Khan Sultan completed dozens, if not hundreds, of test flights under the program to develop ejection seats for pilots and astronauts. His constant partner was the tester Valery Golovin, who performed the bailout.
On November 12, 1958, on the MiG-15UTI aircraft, in which Sultan and Golovin were, an unauthorized operation of the powder cartridge of the catapult occurred. As a result, the plane was punctured by the tank, and Golovin was caught in an ejection seat. The unpressurized cockpit was flooded with aviation kerosene, whipping so that the dashboard was not visible. A fire could break out at any second, and the flight director gave the command to Amet-Khan to leave the plane.
However, the pilot could not leave his comrade. In completely unthinkable conditions, with the every second threat of fire and explosion, Amet-Khan Sultan landed the plane, managing to save both Valery Golovin and the car.
On September 23, 1961, Amet-Khan Sultan was awarded the title "Honored Test Pilot of the USSR" (badge number 38).
When the idea of space flight was finally concretized, about twenty pilots were selected. After that, their composition was constantly changing. Finally, 5-6 people were approved, and intensive preparations began. Along with training on the most complex simulators, centrifuges, pressure chambers, special attention was paid to flights close to zero gravity conditions. It was at this time that Amet-Khan began to conduct training in preparation for the flight of cosmonauts. He raised the plane to great heights and created zero-gravity conditions for the astronauts. Thus, Amet-Khan conducted classes with Yuri Gagarin, Andriyan Nikolaev, Pavel Popovich, German Titov, Anatoly Kartashov, paving the way into space.
In recent years, Amet-Khan often heard from his friends: “Ametka! You will soon be fifty, hasn't it become difficult to fly, maybe you can rest? " Such thoughts sometimes visited Amet Khan himself. But for a man, whose entire conscious life was spent in the sky, it was excruciatingly difficult to give up flying.
October 23. In 1970, the 50th anniversary of Amet Khan was solemnly celebrated. Prominent aircraft designers of the country took part in the anniversary celebrations. Congratulatory speeches in honor of the legendary ace were made by: on behalf of the team of the Tupolev design bureau - Honored Test Pilot of the USSR Ivan Moiseevich Sukhomlin and Test Pilot First Class Eduard Vaganovich Elyan, from the team of the Ilyushin Design Bureau - Honored Test Pilot of the USSR Yakov Ilyich Bernikov, from named after the team of the Yakovlev design bureau - Deputy Chief Designer Yakovlev Kerim Bekirovich Bekirbayev, from the team of the Mikoyan Design Bureau - Honored Test Pilot of the USSR Major General of Aviation Grigory Aleksandrovich Sedov, from the Sukhoi Design Bureau - Honored Test Pilot of the USSR Hero Ilyu of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Soviet Union, from the firm of Academician S. P. Korolev - Honored Test Pilot of the USSR Hero of the Soviet Union Sergei Nikolaevich Anokhin, comrades of Amet-Khan Alexey Ryazanov, Pavel Golovachev, comrades in joint test flights V. Vasin, A. Bogorodsky, V. Podkhalyuzin and other.
The solemn anniversary has become one of the most exciting days in the life of Amet Khan Sultan.Embarrassed by such honors, the pilot thanked everyone for the kind words. And when one of his friends noticed that, they say, it was time to pass on the experience to the young, Amet-Khan replied with a mountain parable: “When the old eagle foresees the approach of death, he rushes upward with his last strength, rises as high as possible. And then he folds his wings and flies like a stone to the ground. Therefore, mountain eagles die in the sky - they fall to the ground already dead ... "
None of the friends paid much attention to these words that joyful evening. And Amet-Khan Sultan himself could hardly imagine that this parable would turn out to be a prophecy.
After the holidays, working days come again. 1 February 1971 Amet-Khan embarks on another test flight.
The bus brought the crew to the plane with a nacelle sagging under its "belly", in which an experimental engine was hidden. Special care was required to test it at extreme conditions.
Yevgeny Besschetnov, who several years ago wrote a wonderful story about Amet-Khan Sultan and directly studied the causes of the tragedy, described that terrible picture on the basis of documents:
“According to the recollections of Sergei Anokhin's son, Sergei, who worked there, in the parking lot they met with Ametkhan and, while the preparation of the car for departure was being completed, they stood aside and talked.
- I have never had such a lousy mood, - complained Ametkhan. “I don’t understand why.”
- And you cancel the flight, - Anokhin Jr. advised him. - It's in your rights. Or trade with someone.
- I do not want to start a fuss. I'll fly off, then I'll go home and lie down. It helps me.
Having accepted the plane, Ametkhan Sultan, Evgeny Venediktov, navigator, radio operator and lead engineer took their jobs and took off. Everything was as usual ...
The tragic death of Ametkhan horrified everyone. Nobody wanted to believe it, because Ametkhan was a pilot who could use the slightest opportunity to save the plane and land it safely on the ground. Hence, there was not a single chance. The flying laboratory was smashed to small pieces - they were so lined in the snow in a wide strip several hundred meters long. Only the tail unit and the rear cockpit, although badly crumpled, retained their shape.
Leading engineer Radiy Lensky, who was in the rear cockpit, was dead. They found him soon. But the front cockpit with the rest of the crew, in general, the nose compartment of the aircraft could not be found anywhere.
Towards evening, as dusk approached, thick snow poured down, and the search had to be stopped.
On the fourth day, the snow stopped. One of the oldest employees of the institute, the engineer of the detachment Nikolai Ilyich Filizon, who headed the technical staff group, decided to look into a young spruce forest two or three hundred meters away from the crash site of the Tu-16. Filizon overcame another ten meters and noticed in the distance, behind the tree trunks, the white frosty metal of the casing and the dark glazing. The pilot's cabin! Almost half buried in the snow! The engineer got out into the open, called the rest of the search engines. And now the people cleared the snow near the cabin, got inside.
A grave picture presented themselves to them. Ametkhan remained in the command chair, apparently without making a single movement to save himself. The blow tore off the headset from his head and pushed it forward, the "horns" of the steering wheel lifted the pilot under his stomach, the new jacket he put on on that fateful day snapped on his back in several places, as if someone had cut it with a razor blade. Benediktov, who was on the right seat, was slightly crushed by a pine trunk. Mikhailovsky was cut in half at the bottom of the spine. And Lech Sparrow, who had asked for this flight inappropriately, was intact, only burned ... "
On February 8, 1971, Amet-Khan Sultan was buried with honors at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow. A bust is carved above the grave in granite, next to the stele is the inscription: "Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, State Prize Laureate, Honored Test Pilot of the USSR Ametkhan Sultan."
Along with Akhmet Khan died: Lensky Radiy Georgievich - leading engineer for testing aircraft engines; Mikhailovsky William Alexandrovich - test navigator; Venediktov Evgeny Nikolaevich - test pilot; Vorobyov Alexey Vasilievich - flight radio operator-test. The crew was supposed to also have the assistant to the lead engineer Vyacheslav Mokrousov, but he was delayed, and the commander decided to fly without him. "
The mystery of the plane crash remained unsolved. According to one version, an experimental engine exploded, according to another, the flaps of the aircraft turned out to be faulty and uncontrollable diverging vibrations began, which led to the destruction of the aircraft in the air.
Streets in Alupka, Volgograd, Zhukovsky, Makhachkala, a square and aero club in Simferopol, a mountain peak in Dagestan are named after Amet-Khan Sultan.
Bust in Alupka on Amet-Khan boulevard
Monument on the Alley of Heroes in Kiev
Also in the city of Zhukovsky, on the street named after him, a monument is erected - a pilot standing on the wing.
A bronze bust of the famous pilot was installed in his hometown of Alupka, as well as in Makhachkala.
Museum in Alupka
Makhachkala Airport named after Amet Khan Sultan
On the 34th kilometer of the Ostryakovo - Evpatoria line, the Amet-Khan Sultan platform is located
Lyceum-school No. 8 of the city of Kaspiysk of the Republic of Dagestan bears his name.
In 2010, a monument to Amet-Khan Sultan was erected in the city of Yaroslavl with the support of local entrepreneurs and businessmen of Dagestan. The monument was erected not far from the place over which in 1942 a courageous pilot rammed the fascist "Junkers", saving the city from the enemy.
Monument in Yaroslavl
AMET-KHAN SULTAN IN THE MEMORIES OF CONTEMPORS
A.E. GOLOVANOV— Air Marshal:
— Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Ametkhan Sultan tested the engine suspended under the Tu-116. The engine exploded in flight. The legendary fighter pilot of the war, the Crimean Tatar, was killed. At home, in Alupka, him during his lifetime there was a monument.
The first Hero was hardly given to him, the second too ... For the tests that he conducted, for each separately, such as Gallay, they received a Hero.
And he was not given ... I think that there was no second such pilot in our country. Of course, neither Pokryshkin, with all due respect to him, nor anyone else can compare with him.
FRANCOIS de JOFFRE — French pilot of the volunteer air regiment "Normandy— Neman ":
— I met my old friend Ametkhan— twice Hero of the Soviet Union, the famous "battering ram king". Do you know what a ram is? This is the highest form of Russian self-sacrifice. pilot, who, having completely used up his ammunition, rushes to the enemy plane and hits it with his car. In ninety cases out of a hundred, this is inevitable death. Ametkhan was lucky and he survived ...
E.V. YELYAN— Hero of the Soviet Union, Honored Test Pilot of the USSR, commander of the first supersonic passenger aircraft Tu-144:
- Ametkhan The Sultan was a pilot who succeeded in everything, no matter what he undertook. Neither I nor anyone else knows the second such test.
S.N. ANOKHIN— Heroes of the Soviet Union, Honored Test Pilot of the USSR:
— In all my flying life, I have not met a person so generously endowed with talent. Ametkhan was not afraid of any new cars. The work carried out by the Sultan was of exceptionally great scientific value.
A.V. Vorozheikin— twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General of Aviation:
— When the Germans heard the warning: “Akhtung! Ahtung! Ametkhan Sultan is in the sky! "— got lost and, whenever possible, tried to avoid meeting him.
Much has been written about Ametkhan Sultan and much more will be written about him, since his bright life, boundless heroism made his name a legend.
V.D. LAVRINENKOV — twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel General of Aviation, Commander of the 9th Guards Aviation Regiment, where Ametkhan Sultan served:
— Ametkhan was never shy in front of the enemy, even if he outnumbered the detachment of his planes several times. He defeated the enemy with ingenuity, cunning, fearlessness ...
Ametkhan knew how to make every flight with the maximum benefit for the cause. And it was no coincidence that the pilots loved to go on a mission with him, they knew that he would definitely find an enemy.
P. GOLOVACHEV— twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General of Aviation, comrade Ametkhan:
— Ametkhan was fearless in battle, infinitely brave and courageous. At the same time, this calculating fighter possessed a sober mind and could instantly find the most correct solution for the successful completion of the battle.
Yu.A. GARNAEV—
— Ametkhan was instructed to be one of the first in the country to test an ejection seat to rescue a pilot in an emergency in the air. At a certain altitude, a strong explosion was suddenly heard, the body of the aircraft shuddered. The next moment, jets of kerosene whipped from the punctured tank into the cockpit— the powder cartridge of the firing mechanism of the ejection device exploded prematurely. The slightest spark was enough for the car to flare up with a burning torch. But Ametkhan managed to safely land the plane and save his comrade from death.
V.P. Vasin— Hero of the Soviet Union, Honored Test Pilot of the USSR:
— Ametkhan- pilot by the grace of God. His biography is unique. They say that everything is learned by comparison. He is not suitable for comparison with anyone. Everything about him was different: his style of work and his flying acumen.
G.M. Shiyanov— Hero of the Soviet Union, Honored Test Pilot of the USSR:
— This is a pilot of the rarest, enormous talent. For 23 years I was with him. What Ametkhan did would be enough for a few people. Told me that after fifty he would retire. I didn’t leave, I couldn’t. Love for work— the only thing that turned out to be stronger than his own will.
May 9 let us remember those who brought Victory closer and gave their lives for it. The legendary name is Vladimir Nikolaevich Terletsky. In memory of the heroic deed of the young soldier during the breakthrough of the "Blue Line", the square of the city of Temryuk was named after him. Today there is a business and shopping center here. The name of the Hero has become a household name. Unfortunately, the market was easily called Terletsky. A wave of indignation among the residents of the city was caused by the name of the outlet "Terlik" on the Terletskiy square, which forced the businessman to change the sign. It's good that the plaque is on the school building. This is a reminder to children of the war, of its Heroes. Let's remember how a 25-year-old guy from the Vinnytsia region of Ukraine became a Hero during the Great Patriotic War.
The young driver of the Katyusha, Vladimir Terletsky, did not know that May 28, 1943 would be his last battle. The young soldier, guard senior sergeant of the 273rd Guards Mortar Division, that day was ordered to take the car to a firing position and strike at the infantry and tanks of the Nazis. The fighting took place in the area of the village of Krymskaya. Today this place is called the Hill of Heroes. According to the recollections of the battery commander of the 50th Guards Mortar Regiment of the Temryuk Regiment, the Guard of the Reserve Captain N. Y. Korneichuk, the operation took place early in the morning.
The artillery attack was supposed to be a Katyusha shot. But all of a sudden, the shelling of the firing positions began. At that moment Volodya Terletsky was seriously wounded in the stomach. Captain Korneichuk gave the command: "Drive!" But no one dared to cross the open area between the forest and the Katyushas. And only Volodya Terletsky, overcoming the pain and bleeding, with his last strength covered the wound with his hand and ran to the vehicle to the firing position. “He fired a volley and went with a howl of shells from his Katyusha. The Germans immediately ceased fire. The commanders of the remaining guns immediately took advantage of this. The volley was fired on time. At this time, about a hundred German planes turned in our direction. The command followed: "Cars for cover!" Volodya turned the car around and took her to the shelter, ”- from the memoirs of N. Ya. Korneichuk.
The wounded soldier was dragged out of the car unconscious. When he woke up, he asked: "Is the car safe?"
Volodya was immediately sent to the hospital, but it was too late. He was buried at the hospital parking lot. On October 25, 1943, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
“At the cost of his life, Terletsky helped to complete an important combat mission. Later it turned out that if the volley had been fired a few minutes later, they would have been covered by their own tanks that were going out to attack. Volodya did not live to see a peaceful life. But he gave the most precious thing for the world - his young life. He was only 25 years old. And, of course, he wanted to live. Fellow soldiers often came to Temryuk. Vladimir's sister visited the grave. The pioneer squad of school # 2 bore the name of Terletsky. The square where Vladimir was buried was named after him, ”wrote N. Ya. Korneichuk in his memoirs.
After the liberation of Temryuk in the autumn of 1943, the 50th Guards Mortar Regiment was awarded the title "Temryuk". Therefore, it was decided to reburial Vladimir Terletskogon square in Temryuk. A monument was erected. During the construction of the new building of school number 2, the soldier's grave was moved to the city's war memorial on the street. Bouvina. The street in his native village Pogrebishche in Vinnytsia region bears the name of Vladimir Terletskiy, and the square in Temryuk is named after him. A memorial plaque is installed on the facade of the school building No. 2 in Temryuk. Not a single photograph of the Hero has survived, but the memory of his feat is still alive.
At school number 2 the day before
On May 9, a meeting with veterans took place. We remembered those who fought for the Victory. We honored a minute of silence in memory of the victims, Hero of the Soviet Union Vladimir Nikolaevich Terletsky.
The destinies of fraternal peoples are intertwined. The son of Vinnitsa, Hero of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Terletsky, was buried in Temryuk. And Temryuchanin Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Bevz was buried in Vinnitsa, where during the war he led the Soviet underground, was captured and shot by the Nazis. Our newspaper told about his fate.
They fought for their homeland.
We are grateful to the staff of the Temryuk Historical and Archaeological Museum for the materials provided about V.N. Terletsky.
Pupils of the 9 "a" class of the school №2 at the memorial plaque. Photo by Nelly Tyutyunik, "TAMAN"
Monument to V.N. Terletsky (right) on the square in Temryuk. Photo from the archive of the Temryuk Historical and Archaeological Museum.
Monument to the Hero at the Memorial of Military Glory in Temryuk. Photo "TAMAN"