In 2018, the celebrated fighter pilot, who was the first in the history of our country three times became the Hero of the Soviet Union , will celebrate one hundred and five years . It's time to look carefully at past events, check the facts with new, recently appeared information and try to find the answer to the question: "In reality, how many planes did Pokryshkin bring down?" The Air Marshal was exceptionally famous during his lifetime, and today, interest in the famous pilot has not diminished. Historians are looking for old documents in the archives to find out how many planes Pokryshkin actually shot down. The data in many references diverge quite strongly.
Biography
The country will never forget Pokryshkin Alexander Ivanovich, since it is precisely such great personalities that drive the wheel of its history. He was born in a working family, Novosibirsk (then Novonikolaevsk) became his hometown. After graduating from seven classes of the school, he decided to follow in his father's footsteps and got a job at the Sibkombaynstroy factory (still the leading enterprise, although it is called differently) as a simple toolmaker. There he studied for two years in this specialty at the factory-apprenticeship school. Since Pokryshkin’s biography began in February 1913, he didn’t remember the tsarist time, he was a completely new person — stubborn and talented in work and study, like almost all young people of the first decades of the Soviet country. In 1932, Alexander Pokryshkin “fell ill with the sky”, whose biography from that moment became completely and completely connected with aviation. He entered the Third Military School of Aviation. Almost all the young men and very many girls of those years dreamed of becoming pilots, and many did it, because the state then did everything to develop aviation.
Pokryshkin Alexander Ivanovich graduated from this school perfectly and was sent to Leningrad to take advanced training courses, and at the end of 1934 he already received a referral to the glorious Taman Rifle Division - senior flight engineer. She was stationed in Krasnodar, and a young technician served there for four years, constantly dreaming of the profession of a pilot. Pokryshkin Alexander Ivanovich did not just dream, he acted as he could. He wrote to his superiors about forty reports asking them to send him to a flight school, but he was an excellent specialist, and the authorities did not want to lose such a technique. Pokryshkin Alexander Ivanovich received a refusal after a refusal, but stubbornly continued to independently study the history of flights, mathematics, physics, military history, descriptive geometry, even physiology. And then I found another way.
Pilot!
In September 1938, Alexander Pokryshkin took another vacation, but did not go on vacation. He came to the Krasnodar flying club and passed the entire two-year program perfectly for seventeen days. And then he wrote the fortieth report, to which he attached a certificate of completion. The authorities had to surrender, and already in November of the following year, he graduated with honors from the Kachin Military Aviation School. Now he has become a pilot, and soon it will be possible to calculate how many enemy aircraft Pokryshkin shot down. At the beginning of the winter of 1939 he was already a pilot of the Fifty-fifth Fighter Aviation Regiment in Odessa. Two months before the start of the war, as part of the rearmament, Pokryshkin was one of the first to master the MiG-3, transferring it to it from the I-15 biplane. In 1941, he was already a senior lieutenant and deputy squadron commander. Of course, I got to the front from the first hours of the war. Until the fall of 1942, he flew on the Yak-1, I-16, and MiG-3 planes, and in 1943 he tried to fly on the American "Aerocobra" (R-39) and was very distinguished in the battles in the Kuban.
By this time, it was already possible to say how many planes Pokryshkin shot down. By May 1943 he had 354 sorties, 54 air battles, 19 downed enemy vehicles, for which he was awarded the title of Hero, the Order of Lenin and the Golden Star were awarded. And in August of that year, he deserved the second Golden Star. How many planes did Pokryshkin bring down in such a short time? Thirty! Personally! And that's not all. This difficult 1943 military year brought him the same third award. Five hundred and fifty sorties, one hundred and thirty-seven air battles, fifty downed enemies! Many glorious heroes were born on our long-suffering land, but Alexander Pokryshkin is a hero three times! And the very first! From May 1944, he commanded the Ninth Guards Fighter Aviation Division until the very end of the war, which he graduated with the rank of colonel. At the Victory Parade in June 1945, the pilot Pokryshkin carried the front banner.
What happened next
Immediately after the war, he studied at the Frunze Military Academy, which he graduated in 1948, and continued his studies at the General Staff Military Academy. Then, for a little less than twenty-five years, he was in the most responsible posts in the country's air defense forces. In 1953 he became a general, and in 1972 he became an air marshal, then he headed the DOSAAF of the Soviet Union. In the Novosibirsk Region, he was elected as a deputy eight convocations in a row, was a member of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council. And he wrote fascinating books that read Soviet youth. Particular love enjoyed "Wings of the Fighter," Know yourself in battle, "" Sky of War. "
The homeland of the merits of an exceptionally talented pilot was appreciated. In addition to the three Golden Stars of the Hero, Pokryshkin has seventeen orders and many medals received during the war. Of these, nineteen awards came to the hero from other countries - Asia, Africa, Europe. Even the United States awarded such a successful pilot with his Gold Medal of Merit, which he was awarded on behalf of President Roosevelt. In 1993, one of the minor planets became known as Pokryshkin, and in 1995, the Pokryshkin Museum was opened in Novosibirsk. In 2000, the Novosibirsk metro received the Pokryshkinskaya station, and in 2005, a monument to the famous pilot was erected on Karl Marx Square. There is a monument to Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin in Krasnodar. In Russia and Ukraine, many streets are named after the hero. In honor of the air marshal and fellow countryman, the Novosibirsk Region instituted a Pokryshkin medal, which encourages particularly distinguished people who made a special contribution to military-patriotic education, to maintaining the combat readiness of our country, to perpetuating the memory of Siberians who died in the Great Patriotic War and subsequent wars.
Personal qualities
During the war, no one else became a hero three times, and only seven of our pilots managed to bring down almost as many as Pokryshkin shot down planes. Both Kozhedub and Zhukov became three times heroes after the Victory. In 1944, the US president named Alexander Pokryshkin the best air ace. But not only because of the effectiveness. The results did not appear on their own. Pokryshkin came up with and developed a completely different tactic for conducting air combat. Moreover, he tested and implemented it, risking not only his own life, but even his good name. Alexander Pokryshkin, how Alexander Pokryshkin introduced his theory into combat practice, how many planes he shot down demonstratively - for the sake of believing him, they understood the importance of the new theory, there will be a separate story.
Pokryshkin was not just a determined person, always striving for a goal. He was very flexible, he was able to prove his case, approaching not only one side of the problem, but the other and the third. In addition, the sense of justice in him was so keen that he easily put everything else at stake for her sake. There was a case described in the memoirs of Vasily Sevastyanov, a colleague of Pokryshkin. An alarming thirty-seventh year, the waves are the arrests of enemies of the people. Past the air town where Pokryshkin worked as an aircraft technician, repressions did not pass either. Seeing how the wife of the arrested pilot was evicted with the kids directly into the street under heavy rain, Pokryshkin stopped, while the rest, dropping their eyes, ran past. Having learned what was the matter, he asked Vasily to shelter him, and he gave his room to this family. Even after warning about the consequences of helping relatives of the enemy of the people, he didn’t change his decision, he said that he was not afraid of anything except crying children from grief. It was a life principle, and Pokryshkin always followed him, until the end of his life. He had his own children. They met his wife Maria in 1942 - at the front. Son Alexander and daughter Svetlana had someone to look up to.
Tactics
In the very first days of the war, after several battles, Alexander Pokryshkin realized that our aviation was lagging behind not only technically, but also tactically. This pilot was brilliant, and therefore came to the conclusion that we need new methods of warfare that will help overcome this imbalance. And immediately began to come up with new flight techniques, started a notebook in which he developed new tactics of a fighter in battle. She quickly filled with charts, diagrams, notes. Moreover, Pokryshkin Alexander always checked his ideas before outlining, briefly describing the search for solutions, highlighting mistakes, and emphasizing good luck. All this very often diverged from the instructions that were developed for the use of the air force.
The bosses could not convince the effectiveness of the battle. Therefore, for the first couple of dozens of defeated enemies, Pokryshkin did not receive praise, but a flyie for conducting a battle not according to the charter. But the pilot could not retreat from his research. A strange thing: the more stars appeared on the fuselage for downed enemy cars, the more intense relations with the command became. And finally, in 1942, the best air ace was expelled from the party, put on guardhouse and gathered to be brought to the tribunal for violating the instructions for the battle. Lucky - a much higher standing boss arrived and asked to show new tactics in battle. Pokryshkin was released to show his own flying handwriting. And Pokryshkin’s plane showed everything that he can. The authorities were delighted. However, they asked for instructions not to violate. How is this possible for a true genius? A true genius never backs down.
Kuban
Fierce battles were fought in the Kuban, the pilots did not have time to get enough sleep. The commander - the legendary Konstantin Andreevich Vershinin - saw the pilot Pokryshkin in action: right before his eyes, the air ace shot down four planes one after another. Vershinin immediately presented the Order of the Red Banner to Alexander Pokryshkin and ordered him to be presented to the title of Hero. In May 1943, a meeting of aviation commanders of the Southern Front took place, where the commander also summoned Pokryshkin. Alexander Ivanovich was not going to be silent and shy there. He himself asked for words and sharply said that all the old instructions to the pilots and all the instructions are no longer useful, but harmful, they require replacement, if only because our pilots die too often because of them.
But he immediately said that there is a new technique, and briefly outlined his own tactics worked out and repeatedly tested. The generals and colonels sitting in the hall were amazed: either Pokryshkin had gathered somewhere unprecedented self-confidence, or exceptional courage. Probably, if the bomb exploded in this room, it would not be so surprising. Following the word, Vershinin himself took and summed up the results. At first he admitted that there were really many failures and shortcomings in our battle organization, and Pokryshkin was a hundred times right. Then he received an order from all those present: Tires' experience should be immediately adopted, and the army headquarters should immediately prepare a directive to all troops, including to the general staff that the current instructions should be changed. That was Pokryshkin’s finest hour! The new battle tactics really proved their effectiveness in military operations in the Kuban. And the practice was developed quite quickly.
How Pokryshkin fought
He always took upon himself the most dangerous, the most difficult: to bring down the group commander, to identify the most skilled and aggressive pilots. All leading Pokryshkin took over. The German aces had the same system: the most experienced, and always the commander, leads the squadron. And what is a lead attack? The attacker concentrates all the fire, as it is, all the cannons and all the machine guns of the flying bombers are trying to protect their leader, and all escort fighters are swarming around. It is estimated: at the time of the attack, the attacking fighter must avoid every second up to one and a half thousand shells and bullets. The fighter group commander is even more difficult to attack. Still, in the sky, the Germans knew how to fight better than anyone, until ours learned.
And Pokryshkin taught - skillfully and persistently. All his subordinates comprehended innovations and mastered them in battle with gratitude. Firstly, because they remained alive, and secondly, because they became the same aces. The Guards Air Regiment where Pokryshkin served was famous for his students: thirty Heroes of the Soviet Union made this glory. Pokryshkin did not increase his personal account of downed planes not at the expense of his own subordinates, he needed them alive. He said that together they are much more bruising. Many times, at the last moment, he threw the target, which was already on the sight, which he had already taken out and prepared, and all in order to rush to the rescue of the pilot of his squadron. Pokryshkin’s much greater merit is that not one of his followers died in any of the battles. Even the enemies brought down by him are not worth so much. Without his students, without friends, he could not imagine life.
Modesty
After the presentation of the third Golden Star, the whole country found out about Pokryshkin. In all the largest newspapers in the world were his portraits. Then he received a division under his command and trained 1108 order bearers, including almost sixty Heroes of the Soviet Union. In total, all pilots of the division shot down more than a thousand enemy aircraft. From all fronts we went to Pokryshkin for experience.
And yet, Pokryshkin, Alexander Ivanovich, how many planes were shot down? Officially, fifty-nine. The editor of his memoirs, “Know Yourself in Battle,” Eugene Podolsky, tried to find out more precisely this figure, since many knowledgeable people said that it was greatly understated. Pokryshkin spread his arms and said that it was not so important, more important that the entire division had shot down 1,147 German aces.
Pilot Notebooks
And five years later, when the ingenious pilot was no longer alive, his widow, Maria Kuzminichna, opened the personal archive of Alexander Pokryshkin. These are his diaries, letters, and most importantly - notebooks preserved from wartime, where everything about the downed planes was scrupulously recorded with registered accuracy — the type, location and all the circumstances in which this happened. Moreover, only what was officially confirmed by ground troops was recorded. But Pokryshkin fought not only as a fighter, but also served as a scout. He often met the enemy alone over the Black Sea, therefore, no one could document the death of the enemy. In addition, Alexander Pokryshkin understood the excitement of young pilots for the outcome of combat sorties, their worries about the lack of experience, because of which they do not get into enemy vehicles, so he often convinced the guys that the downed Nazi plane was on their account.
The whole of 1941 and almost the whole of 1942, when our army was retreating, and at first in an absolute mess, what could be the evidence? Not up to them. There was even a case when a part, leaving the encirclement with battles, could not save staff documents, their full car burned down - and flight books, including where Pokryshkin had recorded fifteen planes he shot down personally.
And so they are listed only in the notebook that we saw after the death of the air marshal. Pokryshkin himself not only did not insist on "authorship", but did not even mention this case at all - what burned out burned out. And he never talked about himself personally and about his own merits. However, after the death of Alexander Ivanovich, the researchers proved: there were at least 116 of them.
Alexander is a defender
But he spoke of the merits of others loudly and persistently. Mikhail Devyatayev, the one who stole from the Heinkel-111 concentration camp and took out our prisoners on it, only thanks to Pokryshkin received the Star of the Hero, and then after much trouble. After the war, from his prisoner of war camp (it was an American zone!), He was rescued by his beloved student Ivan Babak, who shot down more than forty enemy aces and who, before the most tragic departure, Pokryshkin presented to the title of Hero.
The pilot Grigory Dolnikov was shot down, captured, fled, and got to his own, who began to judge him. Pokryshkin intervened and defended: "Dolnikov's entire biography is written on his skin!" - he said. Indeed, he was beaten and tortured in captivity. The name Alexander is translated from Greek as "protector". Pokryshkin fully justified him.