Even Ivan Semenovich Polbin was born in a very unusual place. This happened in February 1905, in a prison in the city of Simbirsk, where his mother was detained for campaigning against the existing system. Yes, under the tsarist regime, this was not at all rare, no matter what they say today. Rebel speeches outweighed both pregnancy and the corresponding state of health; nobody cared. And there was not a single human rights activist who would be outraged by the fact of the birth of a baby in prison. Surely everyone decided that Ivan Semyonovich Polbin would grow up as an illiterate rebellious slave as his parents. But it turned out quite wrong. Although the future hero managed to sip sorrow and poverty.
Soviet country
In 1914, Ivan Semenovich Polbin did not celebrate his ninth birthday. His father died, tortured by peasant servitude, and the little boy had to follow in his footsteps to feed himself. Only after 1918 he was able to go to school. He studied well and quickly. Already in the twenties he joined the Society of Aeronauts and organized a fundraiser in order to build a whole squadron in response to Chamberlain's machinations. The new, blood-conquered country gave youth so many opportunities that former laborers and laborers did not even dream of.
That is why it is not surprising that all the people stood up for her when the Great Patriotic War began. Ivan Semenovich Polbin became her hero. But he proved himself to be the defender of his native country much earlier. In 1929 he was accepted into the military school of pilots, and already at the end of 1930 Ivan Semenovich Polbin was a cadet of the military school in Orenburg. How could he conceive, being a little farm laborer, that he would not only study at one of the best educational institutions, but also become a famous pilot? This school is the famous Orenburg Higher Military Aviation Red Banner School for Pilots. He graduated excellently in 1931 and began to serve in the Far East. And now the young and stubborn pilot is constantly improving his talent, he flies very, very much, and so willingly that this difficult profession is given to him easily.
His military service advanced very quickly - Ivan Polbin was already the squadron commander. And then 1939 came, and Soviet aviation proved to be in business. The Khalkhin-Gol River, bloody battles with the Japanese ... Here, Polbin already had to command the entire aviation bomber regiment. The regiment never flew without its commander, who taught pilots to really fight, and Khalkhin-Gol became the best school for them. And the commander quickly and accurately analyzed each sortie, and based on this experience, he developed a new technique for protecting the formation of bomber aircraft. Now they not only bombed. They learned to defend themselves from the attacks of enemy fighters and even inflict irreparable losses on them. Attacks on the enemy were very effective, but the biography of Ivan Semenovich Polbin did not include a single period of stagnation or complacency. He continues to search for new methods, other methods of warfare for his aircraft. And finds! Targets for a bomber are rarely large, and if the plane does not dive, the bombs will be wasted for the most part.
The dive bomber is just the pilot, Polbin. It was he who made all the necessary calculations, tested, implemented. For courage, for courage, for the highest flying skill, Ivan Semyonovich Polbin began to receive high awards even then. For battles with Japanese troops, he was awarded the Order of Lenin.
The Great Patriotic War
During the great war, Ivan Semyonovich Polbin was far from the only feat: every day, six to eight times a day, he flew out with his Forty-second bomber regiment to beat the Nazis on the Western Front, and each combat mission was a feat. At the very beginning of the invasion, when the Nazis rushed to our capital, in the middle of July 1941, Polbin personally led his squadrons against the enemy. And he constantly explored the capabilities of the Pe-2 aircraft, improved tactics, and tried all the options on his own. And already in the fall, the regiment began to dive at the designated target in a dense formation. And almost immediately, night departures that were not previously practiced begin. And - in full force! During the first year of the war, the regiment made over three thousand sorties, of which almost nine hundred at night. In the summer of 1942, the pilots of the regiment conducted military operations near Stalingrad and Voronezh, inflicting devastating and numerous attacks on tank columns, on trains, on enemy airfields.
So, in August 1942, a group of diving bombers under the command of Polbin attacked the Nazi airfield in Millerov, where they did not have time to fly more than two hundred aircraft into the air. After the attack, only a few were able to take off - the dive bombers' attack was unexpected and very accurate, many dozens of planes were burning brightly on the take-off field, and the black crosses on their wings would no longer threaten either our troops or civilians. Very close to Millerov is the Morozovskaya railway station. There, aerial reconnaissance saw a large fuel depot guarded by a dense ring of anti-aircraft batteries. Polbin coped with the task of destroying this warehouse perfectly! First, he thoroughly studied all the features of this goal and realized that the regiment should not fly there. He boarded a plane, took the unit commander L. Zheludev, led, so they flew with two Pe-2 planes. The bombing was truly sniper. The warehouse caught fire, all the tanks exploded. There were hundreds and hundreds of tons of fuel so necessary for the Nazis near Stalingrad, without which many fascist planes, tanks, and cars could not atrocity.
Germans are running
In the summer of 1943, the Polbin regiment participated in the Battle of Kursk. The manpower and tanks of the enemy were bombed. Once upon approaching the intended target, Soviet bombers were attacked by Nazi fighters. This air battle was very hot. Six Messerschmitts were shot down, and two of them were personally destroyed by Ivan Polbin. In September, the Nazis retreated, clinging to every patch of our land with a death grip, in addition, they wanted to seize huge reserves of looted wealth. When crossing the Dnieper in a continuous stream, troops, equipment, and trucks with valuables marched along two bridges. Of course, the crossings were guarded very powerfully. Fighters constantly patrolled there, and a huge number of anti-aircraft batteries stood on the approaches. Colonel Ivan Semenovich Polbin was scheduled for another feat.
The operation plan was developed by him in the most thorough manner. Two squadrons of nine Pe-2s each were preparing for the flight. All navigators and pilots thoroughly studied this area of operations, several options for bombing targets were outlined. Even a flashy flight was carried out. Early in the morning, two squadrons under cover of the La-5 fighters took off. They went down from the sun and suddenly fell from a height of three thousand meters in the steepest dive right on the bridges. So suddenly it turned out that the Nazis began to shoot after it, when it was all over: one bridge collapsed completely, the other partially. Aerial photography captured frames of multiple direct hits. It was near Dnepropetrovsk, and a few days later the same operation was carried out near Kremenchug, destroying both the highway bridge and the railway. The Nazis were able to cross only with manpower, almost everything that they plundered had to be abandoned. A huge number of echelons and equipment remained on the left bank.
This is a feat!
In October 1943, Polbin faced an even more difficult task, for which he needed seventeen Pe-2 bombers. Leading, as always, went Polbin himself. At a small railway station, a large number of trains accumulated, there were even more anti-aircraft guns there, the whole sky was littered with continuous bursts of shells. But, despite the frantic fire, the group of Polbin, in perfectly seasoned order, dived over the railroad tracks. A series of dropped bombs fell on the target - huge black clouds shot up above the railway, two trains were burning at the station itself, and the ammunition depot, exploding, set off a dazzling firework. Many cars were completely mixed with the ground, office buildings at the station were destroyed. But this did not seem enough.
Nearby was another small station, where troops, equipment, fuel tanks, and trains with ammunition also accumulated. Polbin noticed all this even before he began to carry out the order. And now he has deployed a system of bombers on the second target. The remaining cargo was dumped, fires broke out on the tracks in many places, and the shooting captured another firework with exploding wagons with shells. An exceptionally beautiful sight: burning enemy trains in the midst of numerous fires, and on top of it are white tracks of flying artillery supplies. The task was double, Pe-2 flew to the airfield. However, ten minutes later they were facing a battle that had no precedent in world military history.
Continuation of this feat
They saw eighteen Junkers 87 dive bombers in the air, loaded with bombs, as they say, to their ears. Below was an airfield, where another such group was preparing for departure. It was impossible to miss the opportunity to strike, although the forces were somewhat unequal. At the command of Polbin, our Pe-2s are deployed and at great speed rush towards rapprochement with the enemy. They did not immediately notice the persecution, and then were confused, trying to leave in small groups, scattered, but it was already too late. From the closest distance, the planes were shot, one, which was shot down by Polbin, instantly caught fire and went to the ground with a stone. Another part of the Pe-2 group meanwhile attacked the airfield. Enemy planes caught fire there too. And in the air they fell one after another - six of them were shot down, the rest in a hurry dropped a bomb load almost at their airfield and shamefully fled, completely losing all control.
So the flight was disrupted and the bombing planned by the Nazis did not take place. How many of our soldiers and equipment as a result of this feat were saved! In any situation, even the most difficult, Polbin was brave and decisive, but always acted calmly and calmly. It was a huge military talent, and the battle was an element of this man. He piloted beyond praise. He loved his Pe-2 very much, knew how to squeeze out of it everything that it was capable of, despite the calculations. Many pilots believed that this machine was not maneuverable enough. Polbin was able to prove the opposite directly in battle, especially since with regard to bombing, the Pe-2 performed exemplary. In short breaks between fights, Polbin was constantly engaged in further development and performed calculations in which bombing took place with the help of not so easy aerobatic figures.
Curiosity
One day in the summer of 1944, a curiosity happened in General Polbin’s aviation corps. The young pilot Panin, to the delight of having returned from a combat mission, having more than completed it, scrolled several aerobatics over his native airfield. And to do this at Pe-2 was strictly forbidden. The commander of the regiment immediately Panin punished by putting him on guardhouse. Almost immediately, it became known to General Polbin. He became interested. Panin called from the guardhouse and inquired about everything in detail, especially about the technique for performing highly aerobatic figures on the seemingly clumsy Pe-2. Thanking the pilot for his curiosity, courage and skill, he regretfully sent him back to sit out the punishment for self-righteousness at the guardhouse, and meanwhile, together with the engineers, he examined the Panin plane.
He was in order, absolutely serviceable, the virtuosity of the young pilot brought no changes to the car. No damage, no deformation. The whole structure is perfectly normal. Then the pleased Major General of Aviation, Ivan Semyonovich Polbin, personally lifted the Pe-2 into the air and circled over its native airfield. Made a few "barrels", and then a whole cascade of various aerobatics. All the spectators on earth were not just thrilled. They previously had utmost respect and selflessly loved their general. Now he has become for them almost a god.
Pinwheel
General Polbin showed himself not only as an outstanding combat pilot. He was an innovative commander, he remarkably brought up his subordinates, was not only strict, but also caring, attentive to every little thing. Each sortie was a springboard for him to improve the tactics already mastered and to test and develop new, just invented methods of combat operations. In the dive bombing strikes he had no equal, no one could surpass him. It was Polbin who invented the very famous "turntable", which became a universally recognized battle technique among pilots. Moreover, this method is still considered the most effective in combat use.
The essence of the technique is that bombers diving over the target create a vicious circle and dive at the target in turn. Coming out of the dive, each plane again gains altitude and again dives in the attack. Thus, the use of such a “turntable” can significantly increase the time of exposure to the selected target, and increase the accuracy of the bombing much. In addition, in the "turntable" bombers are protected from all sorts of attacks from enemy fighters.
Books and articles
All researchers in the life of a wonderful pilot are constantly returning to the question: how did General Polbin keep up with everything? Departures were constantly, every day. Every day is in danger when death flies nearby. Nevertheless, in his free time, it was during the war years that the general was much engaged in generalizing combat experience, scientifically substantiating numerous new tactical methods. He wrote and published articles on diving bombers in such numbers that they made up a whole book, which was published by the Military Publishing House.
Some articles were devoted specifically to the work of the commander - painstaking and difficult, when you need to quickly, efficiently build, train, train, educate entire crews that will become bombing snipers. A book written by him in the midst of the horror of war is still being read today. Every commander who begins his professional career knows her. Even to a person far from aviation, it is very interesting. Not one flying talent was given to General Polbin. He and the writer became excellent. And the teacher from him - it does not get better.
February 1945
The victory was already very close, February began. The Nazis fiercely resisted, anticipating their inglorious end. Not far from Breslau (Wroclaw, Poland) on February 7, our troops broke through the enemy’s tough defenses, the Oder was immediately crossed, the city itself and a large stronghold of the Nazis were bypassed. This situation turned out to be extremely dangerous for the First Ukrainian Front, because the garrison could leave the fortress in the rear of our troops. To prevent such a move on the part of the Nazis, the Polbin Guard Aviation Corps was to strike as powerful a blow as possible at this garrison, over the entire surrounded group of forces.
On his birthday on February 11, Hero of the Soviet Union General Polbin led a column of dive-bombers to Breslau. It was his last departure, and the last day of his life. The rear workers gave the illustrious pilot a Pe-2 plane. It was on it that the last and brightest of the exploits of the general was accomplished. As always, Polbin was the first to fly the plane at the peak, the rest lined up behind him. An anti-aircraft shell exploded near the leading aircraft, the Pe-2 caught fire, but, all in flames and with a train of smoke, it nevertheless emerged from the peak, leading the others behind. Directly on the course in front of our planes was this anti-aircraft battery. And the flaming plane of Ivan Polbin suddenly gained speed, sharply lowered his nose and flew to the ground with a bright and swift fire arrow. A moment later, a powerful explosion swept away the enemy guns.
Memory
In April 1945, Ivan Polbin became twice Hero of the Soviet Union . He was awarded the second Gold Star posthumously. The memory of his exploits is still alive today in the hearts of the country's true patriots. In December 1945, on the central square of Rtishchevo-Kamenka (now Polbino), a bronze bust of a remarkable pilot was installed. His name is the very famous Orenburg Aviation School, from where Ivan Polbin flew to his future exploits. One hundred and fifty generals came out of these walls! Yuri Gagarin graduated from this school, and he is not the only astronaut who studied here. But another gross mistake of the post-perestroika time was made - in 1993, the glorious educational institution was closed and disbanded.
And in 1958, Major General Ivan Polbin was forever enrolled in the list of the first squadron of his native Guards Bomber Regiment. His pets to this day bear the glory of a wonderful pilot throughout the country. In the south of Moscow you can see the inscriptions on the buildings - "Polbin St.". And practically no one asks whose name it is. The same inscriptions - "St. Polbin" - are in Ulyanovsk. In Wroclaw, the same is written on buildings in Polish. The deeds of Ivan Polbin will never be forgotten, despite the fact that the higher military school of his name in Orenburg was closed. To fly like Polbin, to bomb like Polbin - all future pilots still consider their motto today. And let them write poems and songs about him, let them reconsider the Chronicle of a Dive Bomber, because the memory of the country's best defenders is its future.