Every year in Russia there are less and less veterans of the worst war in the history of mankind, real heroes of their time, people who fought for the freedom of our country, not sparing themselves and their lives. So, in 2014, one of the outstanding stormtrooper pilots, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, a unique person, was Talgat Begeldinov, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. They did not want to take him to a flight school for a long time, referring to his small stature and young age, and he was able to prove that there were no restrictions for real courage.
Biography
In his homeland in Kazakhstan, he managed to become a legendary person a long time ago, even in his old age he did not cease to actively participate in the public and political life of his people, became one of the organizers and was the president of a charity fund that helps veterans and their families.
In Kazakhstan, any student knows where Talgat Begeldinov was born, they honor and try to pass on the memory of the hero to the next generation. He was born on August 5, 1922 in the small village of Mai-Balyk, Akmola region, but later the family moved to Frunze, which is now renamed Bishkek and is the capital of Kyrgyzstan. The family did not live well, father and mother left their native village due to lack of land, and were interrupted by small earnings. The boy lived with his parents up to 6 years, then for some time he was brought up in the family of his childless uncle, it was a tribute to an ancient tradition.
Some sources dispute the birthplace of Begeldinov, calling Kyrgyzstan his birthplace, but, by and large, this is not so important, Talgat Yakubekovich is one of the few people who can be called a person in the world.
Love to heaven
By the age of 16, a brisk young man, impressed by the exploits of the book heroes of the novel “Two Captains”, dreamed only of airplanes, combat flights and the sky. There was an flying club in the city of Frunze, but they didn’t want to take Talgat right away, for his age he was rather short and was only a little visible from the cockpit. But he was accepted, and for the young man difficult days begin, he had to combine school and study at the flying club, and besides, it was necessary to help the family. They lived very poorly, their clothes were plain, there wasn’t enough money for food, so Talgat Begeldinov was forced to get a job.
The young man hid his hobby from his father for a long time, because he dreamed of seeing his son as a doctor. However, Talgat was soon able to prove to both parents and instructors that he was capable of being not just a pilot, but a courageous and stubborn person. The path to obtaining a diploma in an aero club for a peasant boy was not easy, for a long time he was not taken seriously, humiliated, and even survived, but Begeldinov withstood the blow, passed all the exams with honors and even learned to become a social activist.
Start of war
Talgat realizes that he will no longer be able to live without sky and airplanes, and soon he had a unique opportunity to continue his flight education. A commission arrived at the flying club to select cadets at the Saratov Flight School, Begeldinov was chosen immediately, and in 1940 he went to Saratov, not even suspecting that he would not be able to return home for many more years.
Talgat Yakubekovich Begeldinov at the school had to face more than once a scornful attitude towards his growth and nationality, but here he will receive the first serious school of life and extensive experience in flying on different devices. Young cadets from the first days of the war were already eager for battle, but the commanders insisted on the professional training of the pilots, they did not want to send fragile youths to the front for certain death.
Acquaintance with IL-2
A few months later, Begeldinov was seeking transfer to a bombing aviation school near Orenburg, where the young man quickly mastered heavy vehicles and soon received the rank of corporal.
But even here the young pilot was not immediately allowed to go to the front, along with other cadets he helped at the school on the economic side. They planted potatoes, raised cows and pigs, sent all the food to the soldiers on the front line. Soon he was transferred to a fighter school, where Talgat met his future “iron horse”, the famous IL-2. Already then legends were made of him, and all the pilots wanted to plow the sky only on him.
At the front
Finally, the school received orders to send part of the fighters to the front, among them was Talgat Begeldinov. Acquaintance with the war took place near Tver, here young people learned that those with whom they spoke a few hours ago rarely return to base. The battles were serious, even the aces of the sky, wise by experience, perished, but here they are, nineteen-year-old youths with a minimum number of flight hours. No one was afraid, and Talgat and his comrades were eager for the front, in the midst of battle.
But here, the command for several weeks forced to carry out training flights and shell an imaginary enemy. Finally, military days began, several sorties per day, first in a group with other planes, then individually Talgat Yakubekovich destroyed trains, trains, tanks, anti-aircraft guns and other strategic important basing centers of the Nazis.
The hero of the USSR
On one of these combat missions, Begeldinov was able to attack the German Messerschmitt on a bomber and shoot him down. The Soviet press immediately wrote about the exploit of the young sergeant, the downed German turned out to be an important figure, he had more than a hundred aircraft destroyed, the German officer could not believe for a long time that he was shot down by a young sergeant. For this departure, Talgat get the Order of the Second World War.
In his military life there will be hundreds more stories related to military intelligence, the leadership of a column of bombers, an attack by German attack aircraft, etc. In early 1943, Talgat Begeldinov entered into an unequal battle with nineteen Messerschmitts and was forced to land behind enemy lines, Together with their shooter, they went out to their own for two weeks.
Talgat Yakubekovich earned his first Golden Star medal and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1944, the aircraft under his leadership bravely defended the cities of Kirovograd and Znamenka. The pilot himself then shot down four enemy attack aircraft. The second time he received the same title a year later, when, thanks to his skillful and thoughtful strategy, his squadron was able to destroy large concentrations of enemy equipment and infantry.
Post-war years
Talgat Begeldinov, Hero of the Soviet Union, fought only two years, but during this time he had 305 sorties, many shot down planes and hundreds of completed command missions. He participated in the battles for Berlin, marched among thousands of soldiers on Red Square, and returned to Bishkek as a true hero.
In the difficult post-war period, he decided to continue his studies and entered the Red Banner Air Force Academy in Moscow. Even at the front, Talgat Begeldinov joined the Communist Party and became an active participant in party congresses and events. In 1945, residents of the Makinsk region, his small homeland, elected him as a deputy, Begeldinov gladly went to his native land and met with his voters. Residents of the area from which his father had once had to leave due to lack of land now greeted Talgat with shouts of joy and recognition.
Participation in public and political life
Political activity had to be combined with command service in the Air Force of the Soviet Union. Despite the fact that Talgat Yakubekovich was suspended from flight for health reasons, he worked for many years in civil aviation. After being transferred to the reserve, he continued to work in Kazakhstan, was engaged in the creation of a runway in major cities of the country, and was elected several times as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
Begeldinov Talgat - a pilot, twice a GSS, had a restless nature, she prompted him to graduate additionally from the Moscow Civil Engineering College and several years to head various departments in the Department of State Construction of the Kazakh SSR.
Literary activity
Talgat Yakubekovich lived a long bright life, never gave in to difficulties, he always went all the way in everything. His path can be called an example for the younger generation, he himself met with young people more than once, talked about the military exploits and fortitude of the Soviet people.
He recounted his memories of the difficult path to the profession of a pilot, combat everyday life, and post-war time in the book “Il Attacks,” published in 1966. The book became very popular not only in Kazakhstan, but also throughout the USSR. The feat of Talgat Begeldinov formed the basis of many television programs, documentaries and feature films.
Memory
According to the recollections of friends and colleagues, twice Hero of the Soviet Union was easy to use, friendly, always helping everyone who came to him for help. In peacetime he became interested in breeding bees, his apiaries were famous throughout the district.
Talgat Yakbekovich Begeldinov felt public recognition and popular love during his lifetime. Journalists during the war years often interviewed the famous Soviet attack aircraft. In memory of his exploits and common victory on May 9, 2000 in the city of Kokshetau, a bronze bust was placed on the famous hero of the Great Patriotic War.
Today, he is named after the Aktobe Military Institute of the Air Force of the Russian Federation, as well as the Republican Military Boarding School in Karaganda, which he often helped in charity events.