Many boys after the end of World War II dreamed of becoming pilots. No one really thought how difficult it is to fly in the sky. It seemed to the guys that the pilots — Heroes of the Soviet Union — were romantics who enjoyed the flight very much.
How did the first Hero pilots get their titles?
For the first time, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded in 1934, although from the moment the Soviet state was founded until 1939 there were no wars, that is, the pilots did not perform combat missions. Note that it was the pilots who became the first Heroes of the Soviet Union. These names are not as famous as the names of some aviators of the Second World War. Let us recall with you who these first pilots are Heroes of the Soviet Union.
As you know, in 1934 there was an operation to rescue the Chelyuskinites. It was not possible to save people without the participation of airplanes. At the same time, the equipment at that time was still poorly developed, and the rescue mission could get a positive result only thanks to the high professionalism and heroism of the pilots.
First Heroes by Name
Nikolai Kamanin received the Gold Star of Hero No. 1 at the age of 25. He made 9 sorties over the Arctic, saving 34 people (the crew consisted of 104 people on the sunken icebreaker Chelyuskin). In the photo below, Kamanin is shown on the left.
The complexity of the mission to save the sailors was that the area was not well understood at that time. Also, the pilots did not have full confidence in the reliability of the engines, because at that time they didn’t practically fly at such long distances.
Mikhail Vodopyanov made three difficult flights, during which he was able to save more than 10 people. The uniqueness of this pilot's participation in the rescue operation is that a few months before that he received severe injuries and was treated for a long time. The authorities did not want to allow him to operate, but he insisted.
Also in this operation took part such pilots - Heroes of the Soviet Union, such as Ivan Doronin, Sigismund Levanevsky, Vasily Molokov, Mauritius Slepnev. Each pilot made a huge contribution to saving people in the Arctic Ocean.
War and the great pilots
Analyzing the orders on conferring the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union during the Second World War, we find an interesting trend: more than 50% of the noted legendary warriors who defended our Motherland from invaders are pilots. Of course, fighting on earth is also not easy, but aerial combat is much more difficult than ground fighting. The level of courage and endurance of Soviet pilots is simply amazing. WWII pilots - Heroes of the Soviet Union made a huge contribution to the victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany.
In this section, it is worth mentioning about Alexei Maresyev and Peter Shemendyuk. These heroes, even despite severe physical injuries, continued to serve aviation.
For example, Maresyev is a famous hero of the work of B. Polevoy "The Tale of a Real Man."
His plane was shot down over territory that was controlled at that time by the Germans. The pilot could not eject. Fell to the ground with the car. It so happened that during an impact on the ground he was thrown out of the cab. For 18 days, the hero crawled to the front line. Discovered by Soviet children in the Novgorod region. After that, he was treated for some time in a Novgorod village. After a long treatment and amputation of both legs, he was able to return to duty and made more than one combat mission.
Fighter pilots - Heroes of the Soviet Union often returned to the front after injuries. According to verified, but little-known information, about 20 Soviet pilots fought against the Nazis with amputated legs, arms or other serious limb injuries.
It is worth noting that for many pilots the Second World War was not the first combat experience. Everyone knows that many Soviet soldiers took part in the hostilities in Spain (civil war). For example, Sergey Gritsevets is considered one of the aces pilot of the 1930s. Belorussian by nationality, he was born in 1909 in the Grodno province. He came to aviation on a Komsomol ticket in 1931. According to official information, the pilot's track record is 40 downed aircraft.
The development of military aviation of the USSR
Pilots - Heroes of the Soviet Union showed themselves perfectly during the Second World War. Although initially the technical level of German aircraft exceeded the equipment and quality of Soviet aircraft, the level of skill of the “red” pilots more than some time after the outbreak of the war more than compensated for all the flaws of the equipment.
Improvement of Soviet combat aircraft was actually already during the war. The fact is that in the early days of hostilities most of the Soviet aircraft were destroyed at airfields during fascist bombings. According to many experts, this is even better. If wooden planes entered the battle with the Junkers or other fighters, they would not have a single chance of winning an aerial battle. Such decisiveness of the Nazis saved the lives of many Soviet pilots.
During the war years, according to approximate estimates, the aces of the USSR Air Force shot down more than 4,000 of the best German aircraft. The rating of Soviet aces is determined primarily by the number of downed "Junkers". Let's talk about each of the best separately.
Ivan Kozhedub - the legend of Soviet aviation
The legendary Ivan Kozhedub was born in 1920 in the Shostka district of modern Sumy region of Ukraine. After graduating in 1934, the school entered the Chemical Engineering College. Aviation for him for a long time was no more than a hobby. Kozhedub's path in aviation began with military service in 1940. He got to the front at the end of 1942 after working as an instructor at an aviation school. By the way, the first battle in the air for the legendary pilot could be both the last, because at first his plane was hit by the Germans, and then “his”. Kozhedub passed the test and was able to land his car. In the photo below, it is shown on the right.
Such pilots - three times Heroes of the Soviet Union, like Ivan Kozhedub, become professionals in their field quickly. They do not need a lot of time to prepare. So, some time after this accident Kozhedub did not fly. The stellar time of the pilot came during the Battle of Kursk. For several sorties in July 1943, he managed to shoot down 4 Junkers. Until the beginning of 1944, the hero’s track record had several dozen victories. Until the end of the war, he was able to shoot down 18 aircraft of this brand.
Semen Vorozheykin and others twice Heroes of the USSR
This result was not surpassed by anyone, and only Vorozheykin Arseniy Aleksandrovich could repeat. This pilot was twice awarded the Hero Star. The general combat result of Vorozheykin is 46 enemy aircraft shot down. Besides him, the pilots - twice Heroes of the Soviet Union - are:
- Alekseenko Vladimir Avramovich;
- Alelyukhin Alexey Vasilievich;
- Amet Khan Sultan;
- Andrianov Vasily;
- Begeldinov Talgat Yakubekovich;
- The trouble is Leonid Ignatievich;
- Beregovoi George Timofeevich;
- Gulaev Nikolay Dmitrievich;
- Sergey Prokofievich Denisov.
Heroes of the Soviet Union - test pilots
For the successful use of aircraft, it must pass flight tests. For this, test pilots work. Very often they risk their lives, because no one has flown before them on the tested airplane model. Many were awarded the Stars of the Hero of the USSR. The most prominent tester of aviation equipment of the Soviet period is Valery Chkalov.
The crews under the leadership of Chkalov made 2 record flights for their time (Moscow-Vancouver via the North Pole and Moscow-Far East). The length of the route to Vancouver was 8504 km.
Among other Soviet test pilots, it is worth noting Stepan Mikoyan, Vladimir Averyanov, Mikhail Gromov, Ivan Dziuba, Nikolai Zamyatin and Mikhail Ivanov. Most of these pilots had their first education not technical, but the whole aviation elite has one feature in common: they underwent theoretical training in the then developed system of air clubs. Such peculiar schools made it possible for students to receive theoretical and practical training at a fairly high level.
Assault aircraft of the USSR since WWII
Attack pilots, Heroes of the Soviet Union of the war years, take pride of place in the lists of people marked with state awards for exploits during the air battles of 1941-1945. According to historical data, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union received more than 2,200 pilots. Moreover, it is the attack aircraft in the list that can be found the most (860 names).
Also, representatives of this type of aviation are many in the lists of twice Heroes of the Union. As you know, two heroic Golden Stars had 65 pilots in their assets. In this list, attack aircraft also take first place (27 people).
Who could get the title of Hero three times?
Alexander Pokryshkin and Ivan Kozhedub - these pilots, three times Heroes of the Soviet Union, inscribed in gold letters their names in the annals of the Second World War.
The fact is that three times the state marked only three people with such a high rank. In addition to two pilots, this is the military man Semen Mikhailovich Budyonny known from the time of the revolution. Pokryshkin received his awards by orders of May 24 and August 24, 1943, as well as August 19, 1944. Ivan Kozhedub was marked by orders of the Commander-in-Chief of February 4 and August 19, 1944, as well as after the end of hostilities in August 1945.
The contribution of Soviet pilots to the victory over the enemy is simply invaluable!