In the central part of the city of Volsk, not far from the market, there is a modest wooden one-story house, of which there are many. People live in it, but a sign is attached to the fence informing passersby that Hero of the Soviet Union Viktor Vasalievich Talalikhin grew up in this house. The feat, briefly called the jerky word "ram", was repeatedly repeated by other pilots. After a decisive turning point in the war, this technique of air combat was even forbidden by Comrade Stalin himself. Indeed, ramming means exposing the pilot to mortal risk, and almost certainly losing a combat aircraft. But in the summer of 1941 there was such a situation that any means were suitable.
Hero's childhood
The feat of Victor Talalikhin, described in many textbooks and popular publications, cannot be called random: a person has been going to such an event all his life, albeit sometimes for a short time. This instant becomes stellar, even if no one can find out its details. But Victor was lucky: he, having destroyed the enemy bomb carrier by the blow of his fighter, survived and even became famous. Low (height 1 m 55 cm), charming (today his smile would probably be called Gagarin's) and to the impossibility a desperate guy simply could not do otherwise.
The future hero was born on the Volga, in Teplovka - the village of Volsky district, in 1918. Grew up like everyone else. The family was big, the father, who worked wherever he could earn money, tried to feed his three sons. By the way, they all became pilots, it just so happened. There were four of them, but the eldest died in the Civil. In 1924, Vasily Ivanovich Talalikhin got a job at a cement plant in Volsk and moved his family to the city.
Dream of heaven
Today it’s hard to imagine, but Viktor’s mother, Vera Ivanovna, didn’t want to move to Moscow at all, she liked it in the provincial Volsk. However, his father insisted: a meat processing plant was being built in the capital, and he was invited to this work. It was 1933, the family settled in a working hut, but this circumstance did not depress the young man, he was busy studying at a vocational school, and then he worked at an enterprise built with the participation of his father. The air festival in Tushino was a turning point in Victor's life, he realized that it was his. The guy shows a variety of talents: plays roles in the drama circle, participates in public life, but now dreams of becoming only a pilot. Moreover, both brothers went on this path - Alexander (he is studying to be a flight engineer) and Nikolai (undergoing training at the Yeisk Naval Aviation School).
Studying at the Borisoglebsky College
The guy entered the renowned Borisoglebsk school even then, having had flying experience gained in an aero club. From here came the famous heroes throughout the country: Kamanin, Chkalov, Kokkinaki and many others. In 1937, the I-16, nicknamed the "donkey", was a modern, high-speed and well-armed machine, and the cadet - pilot Viktor Talalikhin flew on it. By the way, he will make his feat in four years on this plane.
The training was conducted at a high level, there were many flights, the qualifications of the pilots made it possible to count on the success of their actions. Khalkhin-Gol already rumbled, everyone was waiting for new shocks, the smell of gunpowder literally hovered in the air. The pilots understood that they were being prepared seriously, and treated their duties accordingly. Soon their skill came in handy.
Finnish winter war
Winter of 1940, through the frozen Karelian Isthmus. Frost under 40. In such conditions it’s difficult to fight, especially considering that both the I-16 and the I-153 Chaika’s cabs are open and blown away by all the winds. Then the first feat of Victor Talalikhin took place. Finnish aviation sought to bomb the advancing columns of Soviet troops. The task of the third squadron was to prevent the enemy bombers from doing this. In the first battle, a young graduate of a flight school shot down a plane and opened his combat account.
By the end of the campaign, there were 47 sorties on the pilot’s account, it was difficult to name the number of aircraft shot down by him (then confirmation of air victories was not an easy task), but there were, apparently, several of them. It is therefore not surprising that the Order of the Red Star sparkled on his chest already in 1940.
What feat did Viktor Talalikhin make
The first months of the war were tragic. German bombers were eager for Moscow, trying to demoralize the people and leadership of the country; there were a lot of them - Henkels, Dornier, Junkers ... Soviet aviation sought to repel attacks, the pilots understood that every enemy plane that broke through would bring death to hundreds of civilians. The feat of Victor Talalikhin in its essence did not differ much from the combat work of other pilots. Only one difference: he was the first to ram in the Great Patriotic War, and this required special skill and courage bordering on recklessness. The pilot brought his fighter right up to the tail of the Xe-111 and slashed it with a screw, despite the fact that he himself was wounded in the arm (intense barrage was fired).
Then he left the almost completely wrecked car and landed safely with a parachute. The events took place at night, or rather, at midnight on August 7, and during the day the country recognized the name of the hero. The feat of Viktor Talalikhin was briefly presented in the central newspapers, and the articles were illustrated with a photograph of a pilot. The chronicles depict the meeting of the hero with his mother. She was very worried about her son and was happy that he remained alive.
Memory
The life of a pilot in a war was often short-lived. The severity of the air battles reached an unprecedented intensity in the history, but in fairness it should be noted that the achievement of Viktor Talalikhin was not the only one, moreover, it was not the first ram in history. The Russian aviator Nesterov hit his Austro-Hungarian Albatross with his airplane in 1914. In 1937, E. Stepanov did the same, ramming the Italian Savoy. And yet the glory of Viktor Vasilyevich from this does not become less deserved.
The pilot gave his last battle on October 27, 1941. Then he had to fight with superior forces, and the hero was mortally wounded. The next morning, the country found out that Talalikhin Viktor Vasilievich was killed, whose feat became a symbol of the unbending resistance of the entire Soviet people. They said goodbye to the Hero of the Soviet Union at the club of the Mikoyan meat processing plant, the enterprise where he worked before military service.
The memory of the famous compatriot is honored in Volsk, where street and school No. 1 are named after him. A pilot was buried in Moscow, and in 1960 a bronze monument was erected in Podolsk - a full-length Viktor Talalikhin. A feat and a monument to him are revered by the inhabitants of the city, his guests and all who cherish the glory of our heroes.