Commemorative sign to the pilots. Heroic championship of the great patriotic

On June 28, 1941, two pilots of the Northern Front rammed, becoming the first Heroes Soviet Union during the war

Pilots of the northern front Stepan Zdorovtsev and Pyotr Kharitonov, Mikhail Zhukov

The Great Patriotic War gave the largest number of those awarded with the highest award of those years: 11,739 people - men and women, military and civilians, who fought at the front and behind its line, were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. And the first to receive this title during the war years were the pilots of the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 39th Fighter Aviation Division, who committed air rams on the Northern Front on June 28, 1941 - Stepan Zdorovtsev and Pyotr Kharitonov. 10 days later, on July 8, they and another of their colleagues, Mikhail Zhukov, who rammed on June 29, were awarded the highest rank.

It is noteworthy that in the assignment of the highest award of the Soviet Union, it was the pilots who secured their chronological priority. Recall that it was the pilots who participated in the operation to rescue the participants of the Arctic expedition of the Chelyuskin icebreaker from the ice, who were the first to receive this title. On April 20, 1934, by a decree of the Supreme Council, the country's new highest award, established four days earlier, was awarded to seven pilots who participated in the Chelyuskin epic. The first Heroes of the Soviet Union in history were Mikhail Vodopyanov, Ivan Doronin, Nikolai Kamanin, Anatoly Lyapidevsky, Sigismund Levanevsky, Vasily Molokov and Mavriky Slepnev. Until June 1941, 647 more people were awarded the highest rank - mainly for battles in Far East(on Khalkhin Gol and Lake Khasan) and Winter War 1939-40 years. And then it struck on June 22, and after half a month the pilots were again the first among equals! - became the first heroes of the Great Patriotic War.

Judging by the scanty data on the time of the feat, scattered across many studies and articles, Kharitonov's ram was chronologically the first. Although Zdorovtsev was the first to go on a combat mission that day: at about five o'clock in the morning on July 28, he flew to intercept the enemy as part of the duty link of the 3rd Squadron of the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Kharitonov took off later (his link just replaced the link with which Zdorovtsev flew), but he met the target for his ram first.

... Stepan Zdorovtsev's path to aviation was very winding. A native of the Rostov region, the son of a peasant, he was a classic Komsomol volunteer of the pre-war period. A graduate of a tractor-mechanical school in his native village, when the family moved to Astrakhan, he found himself a job in ship repair shops, then received a certificate of a boat minder, worked in fishery, and from where he moved to OSVOD - Society for the Promotion of the Development of Water Transport and the Protection of Human Life on waterways. Responsible and calm, always ready to risk himself for the sake of others, he quickly became the head of the Astrakhan city rescue station OSVOD, and already in this position received an additional specialty of a diver. And then I changed salty ocean by air - in 1937, twenty-year-old Stepan Zdorovtsev, on a Komsomol ticket (the campaign was in full swing under the slogan "Komsomolets - on the plane!") went to study at the Astrakhan flying club. A year later he was drafted into the army, and in 1940, a freshly baked graduate of the Stalingrad Military Aviation School arrives at his first duty station - in Pskov, where the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment was then based at the Kresty airfield, flying mainly on I-16 fighters by designer Nikolai Polikarpov. Very quickly, he attracted the attention of the regiment command with his passion for mastering new methods of air combat, and a promising pilot was sent to the courses of flight commanders in the city of Pushkino. After graduating from them and taking part in among the best cadets in air parade over the Palace Square, Junior Lieutenant Zdorovtsev returns to his regiment, with which he met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War on June 22.

Stepan Zdorovtsev won his first air victory on the fifth day of the war. On June 27, just before leaving on patrol, he received data from the regiment's command post about a German bomber approaching the airfield. Taking off, the pilot almost immediately found the enemy, already preparing for a bomb attack. But the German did not have time to bomb: the I-16 fighter overtook him, entered from above and shot down in a long burst. And the next day, early in the morning, the duty unit, which included Stepan Zdorovtsev, flew out to intercept the bombers, which were clearly aiming at the regimental airfield. Our pilots intercepted the Junkers-88 on the approach and forced them to turn back, but they could not shoot down a single one. And as soon as he returned, Zdorovtsev received an order to fly again to intercept an enemy aircraft, which was clearly returning from the bombing. But the first attacks ended in vain: the German bomber maneuvered perfectly, all the while exposing the Soviet plane to the fire of its onboard machine guns. From the third approach, the fighter managed to shoot the enemy gunner, and the German remained unarmed - but then it turned out that the last round had exhausted all the ammunition. And then the pilot decided to ram. “My plane hit the tail of the Junkers with its propeller and cut off its rudders,” Stepan Zdorovtsev said afterwards. - With the second technique, I cut off the rudders of the depths of the enemy. The bomber lost control and fell like a stone. Two German pilots jumped out with parachutes. They were captured by our ground forces. After knocking down the enemy, I felt my fighter jerk violently. “The screw is damaged,” I thought, and stopped the revs. Taking advantage of the high altitude reserve, I began to glide towards the airfield. So I flew over 80 kilometers and arrived safely at my base. "

Peter Kharitonov - the same age as his brother-soldier Stepan Zdorovtsev (they were born not just in the same year - 1916 - but also in one month, only Peter was eight days older) - also came to aviation by a difficult road. A native of the Tambov region, after school he managed to work as a carpenter, then completed pedagogical courses and became a teacher primary grades in Ulan-Ude. In 1934, an aeroclub was opened in the city, and (remember, the campaign "Komsomolets - on the plane!" At the end of 1937, Kharitonov received a certificate of completion of training in the flying club, and in 1938 he was drafted into the army and sent to study military science at the Batay Military Aviation Pilot School, which a year later received the name of the Hero of the Soviet Union Anatoly Serov - one of the most famous pilots of the Spanish Civil War. In 1940, the young fighter pilot received the rank of junior lieutenant and was assigned to the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment in Pskov.

Since June 22, Pyotr Kharitonov, like all the other pilots of the regiment, begins combat missions - but he only had a chance to meet the enemy in battle on June 28. And in his very first combat mission, he becomes a hero! Moreover, as the pilot himself admitted, it was involuntary. “I am patrolling in Ishachka (I-16 fighter - Ed.), I see a single Ju-88. I attack and aim at the gas tank. But my machine guns don't fire. And suddenly - what the hell! - the enemy, smoking, goes down. I reload the machine guns and attack again. Again the machine guns are silent, and the fascist keeps dropping, leaving a line of smoke behind his tail. I guessed that they turned on the afterburner of the engines, they wanted to deceive me, they imitate that the plane was shot down and was about to collapse. Well, I guess that's not the one attacked. I go on the attack again and see that the bomber has leveled out 50-70 meters away from me and is leaving where it came from. I got angry and decided to ram. I got to the tail of the Junkers. The distance is shrinking with every second. I slowed down, figured out where to hit better, and chopped off the rudders with a screw. At this point, the bomber really went to the ground. Three of the crew were burned, the fourth jumped out with a parachute, he was taken prisoner. It was he who showed: the crew consisted of experienced aces, for the bombing of the cities of England and France, everyone had Iron Crosses. Well, as they say, I landed on my native land without loss. "

A day later, on June 29, the ram was carried out by another pilot of the same 158th regiment - junior lieutenant Mikhail Zhukov. As Air Chief Marshal Alexander Novikov, who commanded the Air Force of the Northern Front at that time, wrote later in his memoirs, “a day or two after the ramming strikes of Zdorovtsev and Zhukov, I reported ... about three heroes-fellow soldiers and offered to submit them to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union ". The submission was supported, and on July 8, 1941, a decree of the Supreme Council was published on awarding three pilots of the 158th regiment with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. They learned about the award on the same day from the newspaper Pravda, where their portraits were placed, next to them was the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and below - Vasily Lebedev-Kumach's poem “The First Three”:

“Zdorovtsev, Kharitonov, Zhukov!
The whole country embraces you!
And everything from grandfathers to grandchildren
Family names are being confirmed.
Let the ranks of heroes multiply
May in our stormy days
Everyone is fighting like these three,

And they win like they do! "

The further military fate of the three heroes developed in different ways. Stepan Zdorovtsev died the day after the award, July 9: his plane returning from reconnaissance was intercepted by several enemy fighters. Mikhail Zhukov died on January 12, 1943 in an unequal battle with nine Germans: a shell hit the gas tank. Pyotr Kharitonov made his second ram on August 25, 1941, for which he was awarded the Order of Lenin, and a couple of weeks later in another battle he was badly wounded, returned to service in 1944, fought until Victory and resigned ten years after her in the rank colonel of aviation.

Z Dorovtsev Stepan Ivanovich - commander of the aviation link of the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment (39th Fighter Aviation Division, Northern Front), junior lieutenant.

Born on December 24, 1916 on the Zolotarevka farm in the Semikarakorsk district of the Rostov region in a peasant family. Russian. Member of the Komsomol. Graduated from the tractor-mechanical school. After the family moved to the city of Astrakhan, he got a job in ship repair shops. Soon Zdorovtsev passed the exams for a longboat minder and went to work first at the Chapaevsky fishing industry, and then as a longboat mechanic at OSVOD - the Society for the Promotion of the Development of Water Transport and the Protection of Life of People on Waterways.

Soon Zdorovtsev was promoted to the post of chief of the city rescue station OSVOD. The station needed divers, and Zdorovtsev enrolled in diving courses. In February 1937, he was sent to study at the Astrakhan flying club, from which he graduated at the end of the same year, and received the official title of a diver.

In the Red Army since 1938. Graduated from the Stalingrad Military Aviation School in October 1940. Together with his classmate M.P. Zhukov Zdorovtsev was sent to serve in the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Leningrad Military District, based at the Kresty airfield in the city of Pskov. There, he especially carefully set about practicing aerial fire techniques. Noticing the abilities of junior lieutenant Zdorovtsev, the command sent him to the city of Pushkin to take flight commanders courses. The training ended for Zdorovtsev by participating in an air parade over Palace Square in Leningrad.

In the early morning of June 22, 1941, the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment was alerted. Several days passed in the incessant flights of the duty units. Our troops withdrew across the Western Dvina River. The fighters covered the city of Pskov, Ostrov and communications from the attacks of the fascist aviation of the approach of our troops to the front line. Zdorovtsev proved himself to be a courageous and talented fighter pilot in the first battles.

On June 27, 1941, junior lieutenant Zdorovtsev flew to intercept an enemy aircraft flying in the direction of our airfield. Finding a fascist bomber, Zdorovtsev attacked it, came close from above and gave a long burst. The enemy plane, engulfed in flames, flew like a stone to the ground. This was the first victory for Zdorovtsev.

On June 28, 1941, a group of our fighters patrolled over the city of Ostrov. Soon 10 German Ju-88 bombers appeared in the sky, accompanied by ME-109 fighters. Our fighters entered the battle and did not allow the fascist bombers to reach the city. In this air battle, Zdorovtsev completely used up his ammunition. On the way back to his airfield, he met an enemy bomber. Not wanting to miss the fascist plane with impunity, the pilot decided to ram it. Forcing the engine, Zdorovtsev approached the bottom under the tail of the bomber and cut down the tail of the Junkers with a screw. He managed to keep his damaged I-16 in flight, while the Junkers fell from wing to wing. The fascist pilots who had escaped with a parachute were taken prisoner by our infantry. Zdorovtsev landed safely and 2 hours later took off on the same plane for a new mission.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 8, 1941, for a completed air ram to a junior lieutenant Stepan Ivanovich Zdorovtsev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Together with pilots P.T. Kharitonov, who rammed on June 27, and M.P. Zhukov, who rammed on June 29, 1941, he became the first Hero of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War.

On July 9, 1941, fellow soldiers congratulated the Hero with this high rank. After the ceremonial formation, Junior Lieutenant Zdorovtsev flew out for reconnaissance. On the way back in the Pskov region, he met a group of enemy fighters and entered into battle with them. The forces were too unequal, and in this battle Zdorovtsev died.

On the Volga, a passenger ship is named after the Hero, in Astrakhan, and in Volgograd - streets. In 1975, a street in the city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) was named after the Hero. A monument to the Hero is erected in the city of Astrakhan. It is also worn by schools in many localities of the country.

By order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR, S.I. Zdorovtsev, he was forever enlisted in the lists of a military unit.

He was awarded the Order of Lenin.

Severe trials fell to the lot of the ancient Russian city, which inscribed new bright pages in its centuries-old history during the Great Patriotic War.

In plans of conquest fascist Germany a special place was occupied by Leningrad, for the mastery of which the Army Group "North" was intended. Her task was to strike from East Prussia in the direction of Daugavpils, Ostrov, Pskov and after a short time capture Leningrad. In total, 42 enemy divisions with a total number of 725 thousand soldiers and officers, armed with tanks, aircraft, and weapons, operated on the Leningrad direction - more than 30% of the forces and means intended for the invasion of the Soviet Union.

Hitlerite Germany, treacherously attacking the USSR, sought to inflict the heaviest possible damage on it, seize the initiative and end the war in its favor as soon as possible. But the plan for "lightning war" began to collapse from the very first days of Hitler's invasion. Despite unequal conditions and a difficult situation, Soviet soldiers bravely and decisively entered into battle with superior enemy forces and stubbornly defended every inch of land in fierce battles. The enemy faced stubborn resistance on the Siauliai-Liepaja and Vilnius directions, where Soviet soldiers in the first days of the war tried to detain him. However, the enemy's advantage in manpower and equipment was so great that they could not stop his advance deep into Soviet territory by bravery and self-sacrifice alone.

After leaving the Baltic States, Pskov became the first large Russian city, who took the blow of the enemy. The Hitlerite command assigned a special place to it, calling it "the key to the front doors of Leningrad": after Pskov, on the way to Leningrad, there was no longer such a large settlement and an important railway junction, which was the ancient city.

Following the events unfolding in the North-Western theater of military operations, the People's Commissariat of Defense on June 26, 1941 demanded that the Pskov-Ostrovsky fortified line along the old state border... Its defensive structures were mothballed or dismantled after the annexation of the Baltic states in 1940. Construction work began here on June 28th. They daily employed 9,500 military builders and 25,000 mobilized residents of Pskov and the surrounding areas. The construction of defensive lines was a huge school of courage for the people of Pskov, a test of their resilience. The participants in the work were subjected to almost continuous bombardment and machine-gun fire from Hitler's aviation.

The construction of defensive facilities, as well as the flow of echelons with military cargo, the locations of the troops were covered by Soviet pilots based at the Pskov airfield of the 39th Fighter Aviation Division. In those days, in the Pskov sky, its pilots were among the first to carry out air rams. On June 28, such a feat was accomplished by junior lieutenants P.T. Kharitonov and S.I. Zdorovtsev, on June 29 - junior lieutenant M.P. Zhukov. The uniqueness of these rams was that all the pilots managed to keep their combat vehicles and returned to the airfield. On July 8, 1941, the first decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was signed during the war on conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on these three pilots.

M.P. Zhukov died in 1943 at Nevskaya Dubrovka, defending Leningrad, and P.T. Kharitonov managed to see the Victory over Nazi Germany. With the assistance of the State Duma Defense Committee and funds raised in Moscow and Pskov, a monument to these Heroes and the first decree was erected and opened on July 22, 2005 in Kresty - in front of the Pskov military airfield. The exploits of P.T. Kharitonov, S.I. Zdorovtsev and M.P. Zhukov became an example for many other pilots. Soon after them, N. Ya. Totmin, also awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, carried out an air ram in the sky near Pskov.

The aviators were the first to take on the enemy's attack at Pskov. From June 30, 1941, at the line of defense in the Pskov-Ostrovsky fortified area, ground front-line reserves began to concentrate, which had entered into battle with the enemy since the beginning of July. Particularly fierce battles, full of examples of courage and heroism, unfolded on July 3-6. The enemy lost up to 140 tanks in them, a lot of other equipment and manpower. During the fighting, Soviet pilots made 74 sorties, dropping hundreds of bombs on the enemy. On July 4, pilot L.V. Mikhailov shot down two enemy aircraft in one of the battles, and sent his wrecked car into an enemy tank column. This was one of the first feats of this kind during the war years. For him L.V. Mikhailov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on July 22, 1941. Among the commanders who led the troops in these battles were the commander of the 27th Army N.E. Berzarin, the future first military commandant of Berlin, and the commander of the 28th Tank Division I.D. Chernyakhovsky, the future General of the Army, the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front ... The fighters of the 9th Pskov border detachment of the NKVD, headed by senior political instructor D.T. Dyadishchev, who died on July 3, 1941, also took part in the battles.

The battles on the Pskov-Ostrovsky line temporarily delayed the enemy's advance, but the incompleteness of the construction of fortifications and the superiority of the enemy in forces forced the soldiers of the North-Western Front to retreat again. However, by stubborn defense they again sought to stop the enemy's advance directly to Pskov. Not far from the city on July 7, 1941, one of the first large tank battles in the history of the war took place, in which about 100 tanks participated from the Soviet side, and not less than 250 from the enemy side. The enemy suffered significant damage: he lost several dozen tanks and armored vehicles. ... Several more vehicles were destroyed in the immediate vicinity of Pskov, near the Cheryokha River.

In 1974, during the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the liberation of Pskov, the remains of an unknown soldier who fell on the battlefield on July 9, 1941, near the village of Batkovichi, not far from Pskov, on the Velikaya River, were reburied on the city's Victory Square. Probably, the soldier was left to cover the departing comrades with fire (therefore, he did not have any documents). And when this courageous warrior, having fulfilled his duty to the end, was preparing to cross the river, enemy bullets overtook him. He died of severe wounds in the hands of the villagers, who buried the soldier here, on the banks of the Great. Now on his grave in Pskov there is a monument with the inscription "Your feat is immortal" and the Eternal flame is burning, lit by Eternal flame on the Field of Mars in Leningrad.

One cannot fail to note the role of the first volunteer formations of the Pskovites in the defense of the city - fighter battalions, local air defense detachments, guarding the most important objects, extinguishing fires that broke out in the city after the raids of enemy aircraft, fought against saboteurs and enemy landings. The collective of the Pskov railway junction worked hard to ensure the evacuation of property and valuable cargo. Only in the period from 3 to 8 July 1941 from the city to eastern regions countries (the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia), 1457 wagons of cargo were exported (values ​​of the State Bank, equipment of industrial enterprises, cultural values, etc.). The convoys were often formed under the bombing strikes of enemy aircraft, on the destroyed tracks.

As the threat of the seizure of Pskov grew, the Soviet command, trying to once again detain the enemy, decided to blow up all the bridges across the Velikaya and its tributaries. By July 8, all road bridges covering the approaches to the city were blown up. Only the railway bridge has survived, at which a group of seven sappers from the 50th road battalion of the 1st mechanized corps under the leadership of junior lieutenant S.G. Baikov was guarded.

In these alarming moments, when the enemy was striving to break into the city on the shoulders of the retreating Soviet soldiers, the sappers-demolitions performed a heroic feat. The bridge was already mined, but the retreating fighters of the 41st Rifle Corps were crossing it. In the event of an immediate explosion of the bridge, a significant part of them would have remained on the left bank of the Velikaya and would inevitably have been taken prisoner, therefore, with the explosion, they were dragged to the last. Finally, at about 4 pm, the order to detonate was received. But at this time the sappers saw that the Soviet artillery battalion was making its way to the bridge. Baikov decided to let him pass and then blow up the bridge. The artillerymen crossed over (all this took place under enemy artillery fire), but after them German tanks and motorcycles rushed to the bridge. The matter was settled in seconds. An attempt to blow up the bridge with a blasting machine failed (the electric wires were broken). Then the sappers, together with the commander, rushed to the bridge and used grenades as detonators. The bridge, together with the enemy vehicles that had rushed into it, collapsed into the water. For this feat S.G. Baykov was the first among the soldiers of engineering units to be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 16, 1942), all other soldiers were awarded the Orders of Lenin. One of the streets of the city is named after Baikov. For a long time, all the soldiers of his group were considered dead in the explosion, as was the commander. However, the fate of four of them turned out to be happy: they survived on that memorable day, continued to fight the enemy, and after the end of the war they returned to the Pskov region and received well-deserved awards that had long awaited them.

The sappers repeated the feat, which was accomplished not far from this place by the commander of the 2nd company of the 4th mine-blasting division A.A. Chetsulin in civil war, when the interventionists and White Guards in the spring of 1919 rushed to Petrograd. To detain them, the miners destroyed the railway bridge, while the enemy armored cars entered the Olginsky bridge. The miners assigned to blow up the bridge did not manage to do this in time. Then the company commander rushed to the bridge and blew it up. The hero died, but the bridge he destroyed for three days stopped the offensive of the interventionists and allowed the units of the Red Army to organize defense on the rear lines.

The explosion of bridges in 1941 also did not allow the enemy to rush into Pskov outright. The stubborn defense of the city delayed its advance for another day, which allowed the command to gain some time, so expensive at that difficult time. Then the enemy bypassed Pskov from the east and his tank formations rushed to Luga. On July 9, 1941, the Soviet troops were forced to leave the city under the threat of encirclement.

The defense of the Pskov-Ostrovsky fortified line and Pskov itself was an important link in the battle for Leningrad on the distant approaches to it and contributed to the disruption of the Nazis' plans to quickly capture it. Ensuring the withdrawal of the main forces of the 27th Army after the abandonment of Pskov, the soldiers of the 111th fought bravely north of it. rifle division... The division commander, Colonel I.M. Ivanov, at the head of one of the divisions, organized a defense in the village of Maramorka near Pskov on the Leningradskoe highway. Soon German machine gunners on motorcycles appeared, and Soviet soldiers opened fire on them. The motorcyclists began to retreat, but the motorized infantry came to their aid. A fierce battle ensued. Enemy attacks followed one after another, from the air they were supported by aviation, then German tanks approached the battlefield. They opened fire on the soldiers who were fighting an unequal battle with the enemy to the last opportunity. The surviving small group of fighters led by the division commander, firing back, tried to retreat to the forest. But enemy fire destroyed one soldier after another, Colonel I.M. Ivanov was one of the last to be killed. Now near the village there is a monument with the inscription: "The commander of the 111th rifle division, Colonel Ivanov Ivan Mikhailovich, and 40 soldiers, sergeants and officers who died in battles with the Nazi invaders in July 1941 are buried here."

The border guards continued to fight the enemy. In total, up to 180 people perished on the outskirts of Pskov and north of it; in the village of Ludoni a monument was erected to them.

Despite the retreat from Pskov and the losses suffered by Soviet troops, they did not allow Army Group North to defeat them in the northwestern theater of operations. Moreover, by stubborn defense, they stopped the Nazis on the distant approaches to Leningrad. On July 19, 1941, the Hitlerite command had to give an order to Army Group North to stop the offensive on Leningrad, go on the defensive, put their troops in order, regroup them, and only after that resume the offensive. This time was used by the Soviet troops to organize a better defense at the Luga, and then at the Pulkovo line. Ultimately, the plan to seize Leningrad was thwarted. In its defense on the distant approaches, the battles near Pskov were also of great importance.

But ancient Pskov for three whole years was occupied by the German fascist invaders, fully experiencing all the hardships of the "new order", the main means of which was massive, unlimited terror. Pskov has become a truly long-suffering city. He was one of the first to be occupied from Russian cities, and was among the last to be liberated, having survived the longest Nazi occupation in comparison with others. In addition, the occupation regime was the most difficult here, since during all these years the city was the closest front-line rear, a permanent base for the deployment of Nazi troops.

With bloody terror, violence, robbery, and indoctrination of the population, the Nazis hoped to break the will of the Pskovites to resist. However, in the summer of 1941, various forms of popular resistance began to unfold in the city and its environs, becoming more and more massive and active. In this respect, the Pskovites were in many ways the first in the Leningrad Region (Pskov at that time was part of the Leningrad Region), developing and testing in practice the most expedient types of resistance and methods of organizing them. So, already at the end of July 1941, three partisan detachments with a total of 120 people began to operate near Pskov. They were commanded by the head of the military department of the Pskov city committee of the CPSU (b) I.A.Tarabanov, the head of the city police department V.N.Shubnikov and the commander-border guard A.G. Kazantsev. They were among the first partisan detachments in the Leningrad Region and in the occupied territory of the RSFSR as a whole. Subsequently, the partisan movement expanded so much that to the east of Pskov in September 1941, the first in the history of the Great Patriotic War, the Partisan Territory was formed - a territory liberated from the Nazi invaders, on which it was restored Soviet authority- a kind of "partisan republic" in a ring of enemy encirclement. The area of ​​the region was equal to 9600 sq. km; in peacetime there were about 400 villages on its territory. Having existed for a year, the region showed the power of the partisan movement, the strength of the people who rose to defend the Motherland. Directly in Pskov, already in August 1941, the activities of underground organizations and groups began, which were led by the Pskov underground city committee and the district committee of the CPSU (b). They were the first in the Leningrad region, as well as in the occupied territory in general, to come to the conclusion that it was necessary to concentrate and combine the efforts of relatively small forces of the underground in order to solve the main tasks. In November 1941, the Pskov interdistrict underground party center was formed, leading the struggle of the population in Pskov and in three adjacent areas.

It was led by the secretary of the Pskov city committee of the CPSU (b) A.V. Gushchin. It was the very first in the occupied territory of the RSFSR inter-district center of underground struggle, with which the underground organizations and groups of Pskov, led by patriots AM Yakovleva, A.I. Rubtsova, S.G. Nikiforov, M.G. Semenov, L.S. Akulov, I.A. Ekimov and others. They operated in a locomotive depot, power plant, hospital and other places. Young people from Pskov who were not united in groups, for example, the students of school number 1, the brothers Anatoly and Valery Molotkov, were also included in the intense and full of mortal danger.

The interdistrict underground party center operated for a year and ceased to exist after the death of its main leaders. His experience was taken into account later in other areas. In October 1942, in order to strengthen underground work behind enemy lines, the Leningrad Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, following the example of the Pskovites and finding their experience in organizing an underground struggle most expedient, decided to create 11 inter-district underground centers in the occupied territory of the region, including the Pskov, went down in history as the center of the "second formation". It was headed by VF Mikhailov, secretary of the Pskov City Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks; the center directed the underground struggle in Pskov and in four neighboring districts. The center carried out work to recreate underground organizations and groups, disrupt the activities of the occupiers, sabotage and intelligence activities. The most important was

obtaining information about the construction of the Panther defensive line, which rendered an invaluable service to the Soviet troops in the 1944 offensive on Pskov. The Hitlerite command also intended to launch on Leningrad the FAU-2 missiles already delivered to the Pskov region. But the information provided by the Pskov underground members in a timely manner to the Leningrad headquarters of the partisan movement allowed the Soviet aviation to deliver a preemptive strike and destroy the structures of the Nazi troops. This was another "contribution" of the Pskovites to the heroic defense of Leningrad. The heroic struggle of the Pskovites did not stop until the liberation of the city. Their determination to fight the enemy to the end was well expressed in his song by the partisan poet Pskovich IV Vinogradov: "We will sooner die than we will kneel, but we will win sooner than we will die!"

As a result of the rapid offensive Soviet troops in January-February 1944, to the south of Leningrad and to the west of Novgorod, a significant part of the regions of the Pskov Territory was liberated from the invaders. By the end of February, Soviet units reached the approaches to Pskov. Just as in 1941 the Nazis called it "the key to the front doors of Leningrad", so now it was of great strategic importance for them, representing the "gateway to the Baltic states." Therefore, in October 1942, the occupiers began construction of the Panther line, which continued until 1944. "Panther" was part of the "Eastern Wall", which ran from the Baltic to the Black Sea. After the southern part of this "rampart", code-named "Wotan", passing along the Dnieper, in the fall of 1943 collapsed under the blows of the Red Army, the Hitlerite command placed great hopes on it. northern part called "Panther". Deeply echeloned, equipped with dugouts, pillboxes, tanks and cannons buried in the ground, barbed wire, anti-tank "hedgehogs" and gouges, "Panther" was supposed to thwart the advance of Soviet troops and tightly close the road to the Baltic. Pskov was surrounded by powerful defensive lines, the last of which ran along the outskirts of the city. The key to the defense of the Nazis was the Vauliny Gory, where a whole system of points was created to ensure the observation of the actions of Soviet troops to a depth of 15 kilometers. The command of Army Group North considered this line of fortifications impregnable.

At the end of February 1944, Soviet troops tried to break through it outright, but the attempts were unsuccessful. The Nazis put up especially strong resistance north of Pskov - near the Vaulin mountains, and south of the city- at the stations Stremutka and Cherskaya. These battles were marked by numerous examples of the heroism of Soviet soldiers.

For example, on March 17, 1944, in one of the battles north of Pskov, private I.S. Korovin closed the embrasure of the enemy bunker with his body and at the cost of his life made it possible for the unit to complete a combat mission. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Affected, however, was the strong fatigue of the soldiers after a continuous two-month offensive from the walls of Leningrad, fierce enemy resistance, the coming spring, which made it difficult for aviation. After several unsuccessful assault attempts, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command decided to suspend the offensive and go on the defensive. On April 18, 1944, the 3rd Baltic Front was formed under the command of General of the Army II Maslennikov, whose soldiers spent three months preparing for the upcoming assault on the Panther's fortifications. Combat planning was going on in the headquarters, special trainings were conducted with the fighters, armored and mechanized troops were engaged in the restoration of the material part, the pilots were transferring cargo. The Military Council of the 42nd Army issued a special leaflet "Free Pskov from the fascist yoke" with an appeal to soldiers and officers. “Glorious warriors of our army! - said it. - ... You are on the outskirts of a large administrative center of the Leningrad Region, an important hub railways- the city of Pskov. Before you is an old Russian city, which has glorified itself with a centuries-old heroic struggle against the German invaders. Our ancestors, the Pskovites and Novgorodians, led by Alexander Nevsky, in 1242 broke into Lake Peipsi German knight dogs. This "Battle on the Ice" forever glorified the power of Russian weapons. Our fathers and older brothers in 1918 near Narva and Pskov utterly defeated the elite German troops and thus entered the first greatest page in the history of the military glory of the young Red Army ... ".

The offensive resumed on July 17, 1944 and began with a breakthrough of the Panther line south of Pskov. The significance of this event was so great that a salute was given in Moscow in honor of the soldiers of the 3rd Baltic Front who made a breakthrough. This breakthrough "Panther" meant the beginning of the Pskov-Ostrovsk offensive operation, during which Pskov was also liberated. The main blow to the city was inflicted by the 128th and 376th rifle divisions (commanded by Generals D.A. Lukyanov and N.A. Polyakov), which were part of the 42nd Army (commanded by General V.P. Sviridov) of the 3rd Baltic front. Together with them, the formations and units attached to them acted - engineering, artillery, sapper and others. The offensive was supported by the pilots of the 14th Air Army of General I.P. Zhuravlev. Regiments of the 128th Infantry Division attacked directly on Pskov, and then fought on its streets: the 741st (commander Lieutenant Colonel G.I. Churganov), 374th (commander Major K.A. Shestak), 533th ( commander lieutenant colonel N.M. Panin), and from the 376th rifle division - 1250th regiment (commander lieutenant colonel A.I. Glushkov). “Pskov was turned by the enemy into a powerful center of resistance,” the commander of the 128th rifle division, D.A. Lukyanov, reported to the front command. - Machine-gun points have been installed in the buildings, bunkers and bunkers have been installed in the foundations of houses. The streets and most of the houses are mined, landmines are installed at the crossroads ... ". During the offensive, the Red Army men and unit officers displayed massive heroism, accomplishing many feats. Thus, scouts V. Zhukov and R. Shaloboda, throwing grenades at the so-called "Klishov pillbox", silenced him and ensured the advance of the battalion; the company commander of the 122nd tank brigade, Lieutenant N. Lugovtsev, destroying enemy personnel and equipment with fire and tracks, paved the way for the infantry; blocking enemy firing points, the company of Lieutenant I. Yadryshnikov broke through the enemy's defenses, battalions N. Korotaev and V. N. Miroshnichenko captured strong points; Private of the 42nd separate assault engineer-sapper battalion N.V. Nikitchenko, under enemy fire, mined a direction in front of the enemy's front line, and during a counterattack of tanks with two anti-tank mines rushed under the tank and blew it up. For this feat, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

On the afternoon of July 22, 1944, the regiments of the 128th Infantry Division with the units attached to it liberated the central part of Pskov in battle and reached the Velikaya River along its entire length within the city limits. At the same time, the 376th Infantry Division struck from the north. Having destroyed bridges and crossing means, the enemy expected to stay for some time on a wide and deep water line, but on the same day the crossing of the Velikaya River began. At dawn on July 23, 1944, Pskov was completely cleared of the German fascist invaders.

By the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, units and formations that distinguished themselves during the liberation of the city were given the honorary name "Pskov": the 128th and 376th rifle divisions, the 52nd Guards separate heavy cannon artillery division, the 122nd mortar and 631th anti-aircraft -artillery regiments, 38th separate motorized pontoon-bridge battalion, 85th separate communications regiment. The names of these units and formations were carved on a special stele installed on 23 July Street (so named in memory of the day of the liberation of Pskov). A number of units and their commanders were awarded orders, gratitude was announced to all the soldiers of the 42nd Army for the capture of Pskov, and a salute was given in Moscow on July 23. In total, 4244 soldiers and commanders were awarded orders and medals for the liberation of Pskov. The order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief also emphasized the importance of the victory at Pskov for the further course of hostilities: “The troops of the 3rd Baltic Front today, on July 23, seized the city and a large railway junction Pskov by storm - a powerful stronghold of the German defense, covering the paths to the southern regions of Estonia ... ". After the breakdown of the German defense near Pskov, Soviet troops were given the opportunity to attack the Baltic.

So the Soviet soldiers in the battles for Pskov increased the glory of the city, won in hundreds of battles and sieges of previous eras.

“Soviet troops seized the city of Pskov by storm,” wrote the newspaper Pravda in an editorial on July 24, 1944, emphasizing the continuity of the feat of the Great Patriotic War fighters and the military achievements of their ancestors. - Honor and glory to the valiant troops of the Third Baltic Front! It was their lot to liberate one of the oldest cities in Russia, whose name revives in the memory of the Russian people the most glorious pages of its history.

Since ancient times, Pskov has stood as an unshakable outpost of Russia on its western border. Pskov is remembered by the enemies. Against its stone walls, robber bands of German knight-dogs, chained in armor, have been crushed more than once. In the fierce battles on the Pskov land, the power of the Livonian Order was decimated to the root. The Pskov regiments, tested in the art of war, took part in historical battles in which the united forces of the Slavic peoples dealt the final blow to the Teutonic conquerors - the predecessors of German imperialism.

The old glory of Pskov echoes the new one. In the historical battles near Pskov, the Red Army was born in 1918.

And again, as of old, as 26 years ago, near Pskov, the invaders learned the power of Russian weapons, they learned the anger of the Russian people. But they have never been beaten, as now ... A wonderful city, the keeper of Russian culture again in the family of their native cities! ".

During its long history, Pskov had to participate in 120 wars and withstand 30 sieges, but still the most heroic and tragic moments of its history will forever remain associated with the Great Patriotic War.

Speaking of them, one cannot but recall the participation of the Pskovites themselves in achieving Victory in this bloody war. Only in the first days of the war, preceding the abandonment of the city, over 15 thousand Pskovites joined the ranks of the defenders of the Fatherland, hundreds of them joined the active army after the liberation of the city, many of them took part in various forms of anti-fascist resistance. Over 4 thousand natives of Pskov fell on the battlefields, disappeared without a trace, became victims of fascist terror. Five residents of Pskov became Heroes of the Soviet Union. Two of them - A.V. Timofeev and G.G. Skvortsov - received this title for their participation in the war with Finland, M.T. Petrov and V.N. Peshkov - for their heroism during the crossing of the Vistula in July 1944, The pilot V.M. Kharitonov, who made 175 combat missions, also became a hero. Pskovich V.I. Korshunov for heroism shown on the territory of Latvia and in street battles in Berlin, became a full knight of the Order of Glory, A.I. Volkov in a battle near Pulkovo in January 1944 closed the embrasure of an enemy bunker with his body, for which on October 5 In 1944 he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Sergeant M.P. Minin, who was one of the soldiers of the banner group of Captain V.N. Makov, on April 30, 1945, hoisted the Red Banner on the roof of the Hitlerite Reichstag. Separate pages are connected with Pskov military service some outstanding commanders of the Great Patriotic War. In 1925-1930, F.I. Tolbukhin, the future Marshal of the Soviet Union, commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, served as chief of staff of the 56th Moscow Rifle Division in Pskov. Another famous Marshal, twice Hero of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky in 1936-1937 commanded the 5th cavalry corps stationed in Pskov and its environs, and was the head of the Pskov garrison.

After liberation, Pskov presented a terrible picture of destruction (total damage to the city in prices post-war years was calculated in the amount of 1.5 billion rubles). Its inhabitants were to accomplish a new heroic deed, this time a labor feat - a feat of revival, which was in no way inferior in importance to the military one. The leadership of the country understood well the role of Pskov in the history of the country and Russian culture, which provided the people of Pskov with tremendous help and support in the restoration of the city. In accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 23, 1944, Pskov became the center of the newly formed region; On January 5, 1945, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR adopted a Resolution "On measures to restore the economy of the city of Pskov and the Pskov region", and on November 1, 1945, by the Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, Pskov was included in the list of the 15 oldest cities in the country subject to priority restoration. All these measures contributed to the growth of Pskov as a political, administrative, economic and cultural center and contributed to its early revival.

During the Great Patriotic War

In the first days of the war, the Pskovites performed several heroic deeds. Pilots Stepan Zdorovtsev, Pyotr Kharitonov and Mikhail Zhukov, based at the Pskov airfield, on June 28-30, 1941, spent their ammunition in air battles in order not to miss the Nazi planes to Leningrad, skillfully rammed them, keeping their combat vehicles. The first in the history of the Great Patriotic War, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 8, 1941, they were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. With the assistance of the State Duma Defense Committee and funds collected in Moscow and Pskov, a monument to these Heroes and the first decree was erected on the highway in front of the Pskov military airfield. It was opened in the year of the 60th anniversary of the Victory, on the days of the city on July 22, 2005.

The first Hero of the Soviet Union in the sapper troops was junior lieutenant Semyon Baikov who served in Pskov. On July 8, 1941, when the wire for the electric undermining of the railway bridge across Velikaya in Pskov was torn, he rushed to the pillars of the bridge and, at the cost of his life, blew it up in full view of the approaching fascists. One of the streets of the city was named after him in 1986.

Fierce battles with the advancing German troops took place in early July 1941, 50 km south of the city. Near Pskov immediately appeared partisan detachments, and already in August 1941, the Partisan Territory was created, which the Nazis could not destroy until the end of hostilities. Underground anti-fascist groups operated in the city and there were safe houses for partisans operating near Pskov. An outstanding page in the history of the war was the food train delivered in March 1942 across the front line from the Partisan Territory to besieged Leningrad.

Taking into account the strategic position of Pskov on the approaches to the Baltic states, the Nazis built a multi-kilometer Panther defensive line around the city and its environs. It was not possible to break through it outright, and fierce fighting continued from February to July 1944. Pskov turned out to be the last city Russian Federation liberated from German occupation. Day of the liberation of the city, July 23, became the main holiday of the Pskovites.

The destruction in the city was so great that even during the war, on January 5, 1945, a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR "On measures to restore the economy of the city of Pskov and the Pskov region" was adopted. Then, on November 1, 1945, the USSR government included Pskov among the 15 ancient Russian cities subject to priority restoration, and on November 20 of the same year, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR adopted a decree on the preservation of ancient monuments.

Despite all the difficulties, Pskov quickly recovered. At the same time, monuments of the military glory of ancient Pskov were revived.

I will never forget this fight -

The air is saturated with death

And from the sky in a silent rain

The stars are falling ...

V.Vysotsky

70 years have passed since the last volleys of the Great Patriotic War died down. There is not a single family in our country in which the memory of her is not kept. And all those who fought with weapons in their hands, who stood at the machines, sowed bread, raised children and waited for news from the closest and dearest people, have long become heroes of the most terrible war in the history of mankind for subsequent generations. There were millions of them, those who at the front and in the rear were bringing Victory Day closer.

And yet the main hero of this war is rightfully Soviet soldier... During the Great Patriotic War, more than 11 thousand soldiers, officers and generals of the Soviet Army and partisans were awarded the highest and honorable award of the country - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Six of them performed their feat in the battles for the Island. Two more fought on the island land. This article will focus on them. And about their Feat.

If circumstances require it

It was on June 28, 1941, on the outskirts of Leningrad. At 13 o'clock, 6 I-16 aircraft of the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment took off to intercept the German bombers. In the area of ​​the city of Ostrov, Soviet fighters attacked the enemy. They scattered a group of Junkers and began to pursue them.

P.T. Kharitonov

Ensign Petr Timofeevich Kharitonov worried - this was his first air battle. In addition, during the battle, Kharitonov's car was damaged, machine guns refused. The enemy's plane went further and further with a decrease ... Kharitonov increased the engine speed and decided to destroy the enemy at any cost. He pointed his car at the enemy's plane - forward and downward. With every second the distance between them decreased, 50 meters remained to the ground. Pyotr Kharitonov came close to the bomber and hit its tail with a screw. Having lost control, the fascist bomber crashed into the ground. Three of the enemy's crew were burned, the fourth jumped out with a parachute and was taken prisoner. He later testified that the crew of the plane consisted of experienced aces; for the bombing of the cities of England and France, they all had Iron Crosses.

The plane of Peter Kharitonov was shaking violently due to the damaged propeller. However, he found a landing site and landed safely.

Not knowing about the feat of P.T. Kharitonova, his brother-soldier junior lieutenant Stepan Ivanovich Zdorovtsev at 14 hours 10 minutes of the same day took off to repel the raid of fascist bombers. In the area of ​​the Island, Soviet fighters with swift attacks upset the battle formation of the enemy group. German pilots, randomly dropping bombs, began to leave with a sharp climb. Stepan Zdorovtsev caught up with the Junkers when the altimeter showed 7000 meters.

S.I. Zdorovtsev

The Nazis fiercely fired back. With several bursts, the Soviet fighter silenced both shooters forever. And now the head of the fascist pilot is in sight, but ... the cartridges have run out. Zdorovtsev did not hesitate for a second. At maximum speed, he began to approach the enemy and cut off the elevator for him. The bomber, having lost control, began to fall randomly. The pilot and navigator jumped out with parachutes, but were captured on the ground.

In his wounded car, with partially broken off propeller blades, Zdorovtsev barely made it to his airfield.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 8, 1941, pilots Pyotr Timofeevich Kharitonov and Stepan Ivanovich Zdorovtsev were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Together with them, this high rank was awarded to Mikhail Zhukov, who also shot down an enemy plane with a ram in the sky over Lake Pskov. These were the first Heroes of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War.

The news of the first rams in the skies of the Pskov region spread throughout all the aviation units. Soon their feat was repeated by many Soviet pilots. If circumstances demanded this, if cannons, machine guns refused in an air battle, shells ran out, they were ready to destroy fascist aircraft with their own car and went to ram.

July 4, 1941 pilot of the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment Sergeant Major Nikolay Yakovlevich Totmin was examining his plane at the Rozhkopolye airfield near Ostrov, when he heard the howling roar of engines characteristic of Junkers. The pilot quickly took a seat in the I-16 cockpit and one took off.

Six Ju-88s, under the cover of the Messerschmitts, were already approaching the airfield. The fascist pilots were already preparing to drop their bombs, when suddenly fiery routes from a Soviet fighter stretched towards them. The Junkers, which closed the group, caught fire. The attack was so unexpected that the enemy was at a loss. The line of bombers scattered, they began to hastily free themselves from the load, dropping bombs wherever they fell.

Nikolay Totmin continued to fire at the enemy. But then the Messerschmitts pounced on the Soviet pilot. Totmin found himself between two enemy fighters. He turned his I-16 at one fascist, preparing to shoot him or ram him, but he turned away, not accepting the battle. At this time, the second Me-109 opened fire on our aircraft. However, the pilot managed to get out of the attack and go into the tail of the fascist aircraft himself. But two other Messerschmitts were already hanging over Totmin. The German fighter, the one in front of the Soviet plane, climbed steeply upward and, turning around, began to dive towards Totmin. Nikolai Yakovlevich maneuvered and went upward in a frontal attack. The distance between the fighters was rapidly decreasing. At the last moment, the fascist's nerves could not stand it, and he turned away. Totmin, tilting the plane abruptly, cut off the plane of the Messerschmitt with his wing, which tumbled downward.

The Soviet plane, which received a lot of damage during the ram, went into a tailspin. The foreman made every effort to save the car, but it was all in vain. Not far from the ground, he left the plane using a parachute.

On July 22, 1941, by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Nikolai Yakovlevich Totmin was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

But the war was just beginning. And the front-line destinies of our Heroes developed in different ways. On August 25, 1941, Pyotr Timofeevich Kharitonov destroyed another enemy aircraft with a ramming strike. For this feat, he was awarded the second Order of Lenin. And in September 1941, Pyotr Kharitonov was seriously wounded in an air battle. He was able to return to service only in 1944 and continued his combat path. In total, during the war, he personally shot down 14 enemy aircraft.

Junior Lieutenant Stepan Ivanovich Zdorovtsev flew on July 9, 1941 to reconnoitre the recently abandoned airfield. His task included only reconnaissance, but, finding himself over a familiar airfield, the pilot could not restrain himself and struck an assault strike on the Nazi aircraft parked in the parking lot. The enemy fighters that took off caught up with him and imposed a battle. The forces were too unequal. Comrades who flew out in search of Zdorovtsev noticed the smoke of fires at an enemy airfield, but they did not manage to find the pilot himself ...

Nikolay Yakovlevich Totmin made 93 sorties, in 26 air battles he shot down 7 enemy aircraft. He died in an air battle on October 23, 1942 near Leningrad in the vicinity of Tosno.

Repeated the feat of Gastello

In late June - early July 1941, the combat situation for the troops of the North-Western Front was extremely unfavorable. It was not possible to keep the line on the Western Dvina River. Tank and motorized formations of the 4th Panzer Group of the Wehrmacht, crossing the river, moved to Ostrov and Pskov. Attacks on enemy tank and motorized columns were carried out by Soviet bomber aviation.

On July 4, a squadron of the 10th high-speed bomber aviation regiment of the 41st mixed aviation division headed by Leonid Vasilievich Mikhailov.

Captain Mikhailov was an experienced pilot. For courage and skill shown in battles with the White Finns in the winter of 1939-1940, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The navigator of the leading aircraft, captain Gavriil Vasilyevich Levenets, also had combat experience, whose chest was decorated with 2 such orders. The order bearer was also the gunner-radio operator Senior Sergeant Ivan Dmitrievich Sheremetyev.

Nine SB bombers had already passed Pskov, fascist tanks appeared below. And then the squadron was attacked by Me-109 fighters. Captain Mikhailov ordered the crews to keep the formation tighter and turn around on a combat course. And the sky was ripped apart by explosions of anti-aircraft shells and machine-gun bursts of Messerschmitts. Our crews with difficulty repulsed their attacks.

After dropping the first series of bombs, the squadron set off on a new run. At that moment, an anti-aircraft shell hit Mikhailov's plane. Despite the growing fire, the captain once again brought the squadron to the target. It was also possible to jump out on parachutes, land a burning plane on the forest, but L.V. Mikhailov, G.V. Levenets and I.D. Sheremetyev made a different decision. Captain Mikhailov transferred command of the group to his deputy, senior lieutenant M.A. Zhivolupu, and he himself directed the burning plane into a cluster of enemy tanks ... So in the sky of the Island in the area of ​​the village Rubenyaty LV. Mikhailov and his comrades repeated the feat of Nikolai Gastello.

On July 22, 1941, Captain Leonid Vasilyevich Mikhailov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

With a fight across the front line

June 22, 1941 caught a bomber pilot Pavel Andreevich Markutsu in Moscow, where he arrived to take exams at the Air Force Academy. From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, he fought against the Nazis in the air, bombed enemy positions.

P.A. Markutsa

On July 2, 1941, the flight commander of the 44th high-speed bomber aviation regiment, Senior Lieutenant Pavel Markutsa, made reconnaissance of enemy troops in the area of ​​the Western Dvina River and bombed the crossing. At this time, his plane was attacked by 8 enemy fighters. The forces were clearly unequal. The crew commander, senior lieutenant Markutsa, without hesitation, swiftly went to approach the enemy's lead vehicle. The Nazis did not expect a daring attack from a Soviet pilot. A short burst of machine-gun fire - and one enemy plane crashed to the ground. The Nazis, waking up from surprise, again attacked the bomber. The navigator and radio operator were killed in the air battle, Pavel Markutsa was also wounded. And then one of the machine-gun bursts overtook his car. Flames broke out, the plane began to fall. The car, breaking the treetops, crashed into the forest and exploded.

P.A. Markutsa managed to get out of the cockpit and crawl to the side before the plane's explosion was heard. He unfastened the parachute straps, cocked the pistol and took refuge in the woods. With the onset of darkness, Pavel Andreevich began to go out deaf paths to the east, to the front line. On the third day of his journey, he met a group of soldiers from the 749th Infantry Regiment, who were surrounded. The Red Army men were armed. Some of them were on horses and carts along with wounded soldiers. There were no commanders among them, and Senior Lieutenant Markuts, the squadron's party organizer, led the infantrymen. On the way, they were joined by many more Soviet soldiers, who went out to their own through the front line. Pavel Andreevich created a combat-ready detachment from scattered groups. Moving along the roads, the soldiers of the combined detachment smashed enemy patrols and posts along the way, tore communication lines, destroyed small garrisons, blew up bridges, sowed panic in the rear German units... On the seventh day of the difficult and dangerous path, the detachment under the command of Senior Lieutenant P.A. Markutsi fought his way through the front line. 312 Red Army men and members of the families of Red Army officers, 122 horses, a train of 60 carts with wounded soldiers and staff documents came to the location of Soviet troops in the area of ​​the city of Ostrov. Pavel Andreevich personally took out 2 regimental banners from the encirclement.

The command highly appreciated the actions of the brave pilot in combat missions and operations behind enemy lines. On Pavel Andreevich's tunic, next to the Order of the Red Banner, which marked his military valor and courage before the start of the Great Patriotic War, the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal shone. July 27, 1941 M.I. Kalinin personally presented the Hero with a high award.

In October 1941, the 44th high-speed bomber aviation regiment arrived at Leningrad front... P.A. Markuts, defending the Leningrad sky from fascist vultures. On November 22, 1941, Senior Lieutenant Markutsa died in an air battle near Leningrad. Air Marshal A.A. Novikov wrote in his book "The Winged Bogatyrs": “He was an excellent pilot and a man of wonderful soul. The whole life of Pavel Andreevich Markutsa was devoted to serving the Motherland. "

They fought in the sky of the Island

In 1941, an assault aviation pilot Andrey Nikiforovich Vitruk already possessed considerable combat experience. After all, he took part in the battles on Khalkhin Gol, in the so-called "liberation campaign" of the Red Army in Western Belarus, in the war with Finland ...

From the very first days of the Great Patriotic War A.N. Vitruk in the army. He fights in the skies of the Pskov region, takes part in the storming of the German attacking units in the vicinity of Ostrov. At the end of July 1941, Major Vitruk led the 65th Assault Aviation Regiment. From October 8, together with the 41st, 120th and 172nd fighter regiments, as well as the U-2 squadron, the regiment became part of the hastily formed reserve air group of Colonel N.A. Sales.

This air group was thrown onto the Mozhaisk line of defense of the Western Front, to help the 77th SAD of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District. Until October 19, the aircraft of the air group made 508 sorties. They disabled several tanks, hundreds of vehicles, blew up three ammunition depots, destroyed five bridges and crossings, scattered and destroyed up to two battalions of infantry. At the same time, the pilots performed flights in difficult weather conditions, often at an altitude of only 100–150 m and with horizontal visibility of 600–800 m.

The effectiveness of the actions of the 65th ShAP was highly appreciated by the command. A few days later, Major General Sbytov, commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District, signed a submission to award the commander of the 65th ShAP Major Vitruk the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. It indicated that the pilot had shown exceptional courage in performing combat missions and had completed 21 combat missions by that time.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 24, 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Vitruk Andrey Nikiforovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the skillful command of the regiment, exemplary fulfillment of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism shown at the same time.

Like all the boys of the pre-war time, Ivan Timofeevich Zhurba admired the skill and courage of the Soviet pilots. And therefore, by the beginning of the war, Ivan managed to finish 8 classes high school and Artyomovskiy flying club. In June 1941, he secured a referral to the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation Pilot School.

I. T. Zhurba

Since September 1943, senior lieutenant I.T. Zhurba took part in the battles. The attack pilot smashed the enemy in the sky over Pavlograd, Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk. On March 12, 1944, near Nikolaev, breaking through the strong anti-aircraft fire of the enemy, he dived into a convoy and with a direct hit destroyed 4 cars, a gas tanker and three military carts. As part of the 3rd, then the 2nd Baltic fronts, commanding a link of the 305th assault aviation division, the senior lieutenant by September 1944 made 108 combat missions for reconnaissance and ground attack, destroyed 7 tanks, 6 bunkers, 5 ammunition depots and fuel, 2 aircraft at the airport. Ivan Zhurba took part in breaking through the defensive line on the Velikaya River, near Pskov, in the battles for Ostrov and Tartu. In September 1944, in the area of ​​the city of Tartu, the Ilov group, led by Lieutenant Ivan Zhurba, attacked and destroyed an enemy airfield.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 23, 1945, for the exemplary fulfillment of the combat missions of the command on the front of the struggle against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism shown at the same time, Senior Lieutenant Ivan Timofeevich Zhurba was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The enemy attack was repulsed

Nikita Vasilievich Nikitchenko was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army in March 1942. First he served in Primorye, and since May 1944 - in the active army in the 42nd separate assault engineer-sapper battalion (9th assault engineer-sapper brigade, 3rd Baltic Front).

His immortal feat N.V. Nikitchenko performed in the battles for the liberation of the Pskov land. On June 26, 1944, near the village of Pogostishche, Pskov (now Ostrovsky) district of the Pskov region, Nikita Nikitchenko was on a mission to mine tank-hazardous directions in front of the front edge of our units. The Germans launched a counterattack in this area, firing 6 tanks and 2 Ferdinand self-propelled guns. When the tanks attacked Nikitchenko, who was accompanying the shell-shocked Senior Lieutenant Denisov to the first-aid post, noticed that the tanks were breaking through to the location of the infantry units, and one "tiger" was heading for the artillery firing position. The Red Army soldier rushed, without hesitation, with two anti-tank mines under his tracks and died. His feat inspired the soldiers, and the enemy's attack was repulsed. N.V. Nikitchenko was buried in the village of Murashino, Pskov district, Pskov region.

For heroic deed and self-sacrifice on March 24, 1945, Nikita Vasilyevich Nikitchenko was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The war ended long ago…. The trenches were numb and leveled to the ground, the front roads were overgrown with grass. Fewer and fewer are left of those who survived these terrible years. More than 70 years have separated us from the events discussed in this article. Gone into eternity and its Heroes. But we have the right to forget about them. Remembering those who, at the cost of their lives, won the Victory is our duty, a tribute to eternal respect and eternal gratitude.

Irina Nikiforova, Senior Researcher, State Budgetary Institution of Culture of the Military Historical Museum-Reserve

The first heroes of the Great Patriotic War

Four decades have passed since that fateful hour before dawn, when a gigantic blow struck Soviet land from the Black to the Barents Seas. against the Land of the Soviets manian Hitler The peaceful towns and villages were on fire, the blood of children, women and the elderly was poured out. Fascist barbarians destroyed everything and everyone.

The Soviet people, their Armed Forces, at the call of the Communist Party, rose to the sacred Great World War II against the norichnoy armored plague. Fierce battles unfolded on land, sea and air. Soviet people at the front and in the rear displayed massive heroism and courage.

Pilots selflessly fought against fascist air pirates. In battles with "Junkers" such a means of struggle as a ram was also used. In the very first days of the fighting, the Motherland learned the names of the fighter pilots who, having used up the shells in battle, struck the enemy with the wings and propellers of their combat vehicles.

On July 8, 1941, on the eighteenth day of the war, three of them - young fighter pilots Communist Stepan Zdorovtsev, Komsomol members Mikhail Zhukov and Petr Kharitonov were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

All three graduated from Osoaviakhim flying clubs at one time.

At the request of the readers of the magazine, we tell about the military exploits and the fate of the first heroes of the great battle for the freedom and independence of the Motherland, its glorious winged patriots. On the morning of June 27, on the sixth day of the Great Patriotic War, as always, the commander of the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment gathered personnel

Our ground forces are fighting fierce battles against the superior forces of the enemy. We must cover them from fascist aviation

Junior Lieutenant Zdorovtsev, according to the planned table, was supposed to fly out on patrol last. However, a message came from the command post: an enemy plane was approaching the airfield.

A green rocket soared Zdorovtsev started the engine and taxied to the start. For a minute, the short-winged blunt-nosed I-16 rushed forward. After dialing one hundredth, Stepan began the search, shifting the fighter from wing to wing. A point appeared under the lower edge of the cloud. It grew rapidly in size. All the outlines of the aircraft are already visible. It was a bomber. Noticing the I-16, the Junkers' page tried to hide in a thick veil of Zdorovtsev, overtook the enemy and opened fire. Enemy arrows did not return fire. The Soviet pilot continued to hit the Junkers with all the machine guns Flames appeared on the left plane of the Yu 88 Stepan managed to come close to the scout and give a new long line from above. into the forest by a small lake.

Stepan hurried to the airfield, smoothly landed his "donkey" on three points, taxied, dropped the parachute straps from his shoulders, jumped out of the cockpit and reported his first victory.

On June 28, the first patrol mission went relatively smoothly. At noon, the weather worsened. Raindrops began to fall from the sky Stepan Zdorovtsev and his followers sat in the cabins in readiness number one. Lunch was brought up in thermoses. It was not possible to touch him. Received a command to take off.

A group of fascist bombers was approaching the airfield. P unyavshis into the air Zdorovtsev and his comrades immediately saw link Ju-88 Ono immediately began to drop bombs on the airfield. Soviet fighters entered the battle. Later Stepan Zdorovtsev talked about this himself in a letter that was published in those days by the regional newspaper Stalingradskaya Pravda.

“Three fascist bombers,” wrote Zdorovtsev, “began to bombard our airfield. We went on the attack. One of the Yu-88s was immediately shot down. I followed in the tail of another enemy bomber. Having approached the set distance, I pressed the trigger of the machine guns. The fascist plane wavered, but continued to fly. The arrows of the enemy plane opened fire on me, but the bullets went by. I was at the enemy in a dead cone, and no matter how the enemy plane maneuvered, I repeated all his maneuvers. Then the moment came when I ran out of ammunition. The enemy was running away. I was filled with rage. Hatred of the enemy and loyalty to the social homeland made me take a dangerous risk - crashing into an enemy plane and hacking it with the blast of my fighter. And so I did.

Signs of a fascist plane have already flashed in my eyes. There are five, three, one meter left. Suddenly, from a strong blow, I was thrown from the seat, but the straps held me back. I gave the handle away from me, made a coup and quickly went down. Then, having leveled the car, I turned on the gas, but immediately felt the destructive shaking of the engine.However, due to the fact that the propeller blades of the fighter broke off symmetrically and I was at a sufficiently high altitude, I managed to safely land the plane at my airfield.

Taking such a risk, I expected much worse consequences. Well, with Junkers-88 things turned out to be much more boring. With its tail severed, it crashed into the ground and burned up. The Nazi pilots who jumped out with parachutes were taken by our Red Army men ... "

Several more difficult combat days passed. Stepan Zdorovtsev destroyed two more fascist aircraft in battles.

On July 8, he wrote to his wife at home: “The history of my frontline life in a short period of war is great, there is not a single minute for letters. I even sleep on the move ... There are fierce battles in which we, Avia Tsiya, play an important role. I managed to send three enemy planes into the black abyss of warriors. I myself am alive and well, while unharmed, but I have lost some comrades dear to me. "

Stepan did not know when he wrote the letter that this day, July 8, 1941, would be completely unusual for him. A young lieutenant on duty at the headquarters suddenly ran up to the parking lot of his plane, waving his arms.

Zdorovtseva, Zhukova, Kharitonova - urgently to the commander!

Without delay, the pilot appeared at the headquarters, stretched out to the string at the door, reported-

By your order, Comrade Commander, Junior Lieutenant Zdorovtsev has appeared.

The commander stepped forward to meet:

What is it, he said loudly. - Not an order, but a decree! They just broadcast it on the radio. You, Mikhail Zhukov and Pyotr Kharitonov, have been awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union!

Seeing the commander's smiling face, Zdorovtsev asked:

Is it really just the three of us? After all, there are so many excellent pilots - both in the regiment, in the formation, and in other sectors of the front! ..

You are the first, the very first! - answered the commander and hugged the hero, as the father of his own son presses to his heart.

In the evening, on a liaison plane, do you deliver the latest newspaper issues?

Three portraits were placed in Pravda and the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. His words sounded in a special solemn way: “For the exemplary performance of combat missions by the command on the front against German fascism and the heroism and heroism shown at the same time to confer the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal ... Under Unaz - poem by V I. L e bedev-Kumach "The first three". It was read out at the rally by one of the pilots.

Zdorovtsev, Zhukov, Kharitonov! The whole country embraces you! And everyone, from grandfathers to grandchildren, Confirm their own names ... Let the ranks of heroes multiply, Let everyone fight in our stormy days, maybe these three, And win as they do!

Speaking at the rally, Zdorovtsev said excitedly:

In these minutes of my life, I swear to you, beloved people, dear party, I will mercilessly fight the enemy, sparing neither strength nor life! ..

And he kept his oath. In the last air battle in his life, defending his beloved socialist Motherland, the land that raised and educated him, the communist Zdorovtsev fought until his heart was beating - the fiery heart of a patriot.

Stepan Zdorovtsev is still with us. One of the middle shnol bears his name in Astrakhan. A passenger motor ship of the Volga Shipping Company and a collective farm are named after Zdorovtsev.

The feat of one of the first Heroes of the Great Patriotic War serves as an example for the cadets of the flying club, in which he gained wings.