The story of Alexey Maresyev. Alexey Petrovich Maresyev - biography

On May 20, 1916, Soviet military leader, pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union Alexey Petrovich Maresyev. Due to severe wounds during the Great Patriotic War, both legs were amputated. However, despite his disability, the pilot returned to the skies and flew with prosthetics.

Alexey Petrovich Maresyev
Alexey Petrovich was born on May 20, 1916 in the city of Kamyshin (now Volgograd region) into a working-class family. At the age of three he was left without a father, who died shortly after returning from the First World War.

Pilot Alexey Petrovich Maresyev
After graduating from the 8th grade of high school, Alexey entered the federal educational institution, where he received a specialty as a mechanic. Then he applied to the Moscow Aviation Institute, but instead of the institute, he went on a Komsomol voucher to build Komsomolsk-on-Amur. There he sawed wood in the taiga, built barracks, and then the first residential areas. At the same time he studied at the workers' faculty and at the flying club.

Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot Alexey Maresyev on Mamayev Kurgan on February 2, 1958
He was called up for compulsory military service in 1937 and sent to the Border Troops of the NKVD of the USSR. He served as an aircraft technician on Sakhalin Island in the air detachment of the Sakhalin Maritime Border Detachment, then in the 12th Aviation Border Detachment.

Military pilot Alexey Maresyev, deputy chairman of the Council of Veterans and Disabled Persons of Russia. Moscow. 1993
In 1939 he was sent to study at the Bataysk Military Aviation School of Pilots, from which he graduated in 1940. He served as a pilot instructor there.

Hero of the Soviet Union Alexey Meresyev with a cadet before a training flight, 1945
He made his first combat mission on August 23, 1941 in the Krivoy Rog area on the Southern Front.

With a torch - Hero of the Soviet Union A.P. Maresyev 1967
The pilot of the 580th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the North-Western Front, Lieutenant A. P. Maresyev, opened his combat account at the beginning of 1942 - he shot down a Ju-52. By the end of March 1942, he brought the number of shot down fascist planes to four.

Since 1943, already flying with prosthetics, to the four previously won victories over the enemy, Alexey Maresyev (left) added seven more downed enemy aircraft
On April 4, 1942, in an air battle over the Demyansk bridgehead (Novgorod region), A.P. Maresyev’s plane was shot down. He attempted to land on the ice of a frozen lake, but released his landing gear early. The plane began to quickly lose altitude and fell into the forest.

For 18 days, Maresyev crawled to reach his own people. His feet were frostbitten and they had to be amputated. However, the pilot decided not to give up. When he received prosthetics, he trained long and hard and got permission to return to duty. I learned to fly again in the 11th reserve aviation brigade in the city of Ivanovo.

I.I. Rodionov, N. E. Aksenenko, A.P. Maresyev at a meeting in the CDKZh. 1998
In June 1943, A.P. Maresyev returned to duty. He fought on the Kursk Bulge as part of the 63rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment and was deputy squadron commander. In August 1943, during one battle, Alexey Maresyev shot down three enemy FW-190 fighters at once.

Hero of the Soviet Union Alexey Maresyev
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 24, 1943, Guard Senior Lieutenant Alexei Petrovich Maresyev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

The famous Alexey Maresyev is first on the left
Later he fought in the Baltic states and became a regiment navigator. In total, he made 86 combat missions, shot down 11 enemy aircraft: 4 before being wounded and seven with amputated legs. In June 1944, Guard Major Maresyev was appointed inspector-pilot of the Directorate of Higher Educational Institutions of the Air Force. Member of the CPSU (b)/CPSU in 1944-1991.

Alexey Maresyev before departure
Boris Polevoy’s book “The Tale of a Real Man” is dedicated to the legendary fate of Alexei Petrovich Maresyev. In 1948, a feature film of the same name was made based on it. The name of the Hero became known throughout the world.

In July 1946, Major A.P. Maresyev was dismissed. Until 1953 he worked at the 1st Moscow Special Air Force School. In 1952, he graduated from the Higher Party School under the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), in 1956 - graduate school at the Academy of Social Sciences under the Central Committee of the CPSU, candidate of historical sciences.

Maresyev in the town sky
In the same 1956, he became the executive secretary of the Soviet War Veterans Committee, and in 1983 - first deputy chairman of the committee. He worked in this position until the last day of his life.

A.P. Maresyev speaks at the Plenum of the Komsomol Central Committee dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Lenin Komsomol. Moscow, Kremlin, 1968

Alexey Maresyev passes on his flight experience to young test pilots

Lived in Moscow. Died on May 18, 2001. He was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy Cemetery (section 11), where on February 23, 2005, a monument to the Hero’s grave was solemnly unveiled.

The grave of Hero of the Soviet Union Alexei Maresyev at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow
On May 20, 2006, on the day of the 90th anniversary of the birth of A.P. Maresyev, a bronze monument to the brave pilot of the Great Patriotic War was unveiled in his hometown of Kamyshin, Volgograd Region (author - Honored Artist of Russia, sculptor Sergei Shcherbakov), and in the historical and local history The museum has the Maresyev Hall with unique exhibits.

By decision of the veterans and the City Duma, the central street Kamyshin, where the monument to the Hero was erected, was renamed Maresyeva Boulevard. The name of the Hero was given to school No. 13 in the city of Orel.

Alexey Petrovich Maresyev, whose feat formed the basis of the school course of Soviet literature, was born on May 20, 1916 in the city of Kamyshin. The boy's father died when he was only three years old and his mother, a cleaner at a factory, was left alone with three children. After receiving secondary education, Alexey Maresyev became a metal turner at a timber mill, although all his dreams were about heaven. The young guy twice applied for admission to a flight school and was refused both times due to health problems. As a child, Alexey Petrovich suffered a severe form of malaria, which led to rheumatism.

In 1934, on the instructions of the Komsomol district committee, Alexey Maresyev went to the construction of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, while simultaneously attending classes at the local flying club. After serving in the army, to which Aleksey Petrovich Maresyev was drafted in 1937, he was finally sent to the A.K. Serov Aviation School in Bataysk, which he successfully graduated in 1940 with the rank of junior lieutenant. This is how his flying biography began - and then there was the Great Patriotic War... The first combat flight of Alexey Petrovich Maresyev took place on August 23, 1941 near the city of Krivoy Rog. At that time, the future hero of the USSR was already a member of the 296th Aviation Fighter Regiment. By 1942, when Alexei was transferred to the Northwestern Front, the lieutenant’s biography already included four exploits in the form of four sold enemy aircraft.

The legendary feat of Alexei Petrovich Maresyev

But Alexey Petrovich Maresyev performed his most famous feat, which formed the basis of Boris Polevoy’s work “The Tale of a Real Man” in April 1942. Maresyev’s fighter was shot down in one of the forest areas of the Novgorod region when it was covering Soviet bombers. The pilot was seriously wounded in both legs, but was able to land. The area around was occupied by the Germans and he, wounded, first on his feet and then crawling, had to carefully move towards the front line.

The crippled legs hurt, and they had to eat cones, berries and tree bark. After 18 days, the exhausted Alexei was met by a father and son from the village of Plav, mistook him for a German and hurried to leave. After this, the already barely alive man was discovered by boys from the same village. One of them called his father, who took the wounded man home. The villagers looked after him for more than a week, but professional help was urgently needed, and soon the seriously ill Maresyev was airlifted to a Moscow hospital. As Maresyev’s son, Viktor, later recalled these facts from his father’s biography, it was not possible to leave the wounded man in the hospital and Alexei Petrovich, almost half-dead, was already being prepared to be sent to the morgue - gangrene and blood poisoning had begun. By chance, Professor Terebinsky passed by the dying man, who saved his life by amputating both legs.

It would seem that this was the end of all the exploits and career of the pilot, but Alexey Petrovich Maresyev did not allow fate to get the better of him here either. While still in the hospital, and then in the sanatorium, this strong-willed man began to train little by little in order to fly with prosthetics instead of legs. And the miracle happened! In 1943, Maresyev passed a medical examination and was sent to the Ibresinsky flight school in Chuvashia, and in the same year he made his first test flight without legs. Everything ended well, so Alexey Petrovich Maresyev began to ask to be sent to the front. In response, permission was received to serve in the 63rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, although the disabled person was not allowed on combat missions for a long time. Squadron commander A. Chislov noticed Alexei’s experiences and took him with him on a combat mission. Then again and again, until, finally, the trust of the higher authorities increased and they began to let him into the sky along with others.

Already on July 20, 1943, Alexey Petrovich Maresyev accomplished a new feat - he saved the lives of two Soviet pilots during an air battle with the superiority of forces on the side of the Nazis. During this battle, two German FW 190 fighters were sold, which covered the bombers. For this feat, on August 24 of the same year, Maresyeva A.P. awarded the Gold Star medal and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. His fame spread throughout the entire front, and correspondents began to visit the hero’s regiment, among whom was the future writer B. Polevoy, who glorified Maresyev’s feat throughout the country.

In 1944, Maresyev agreed to become an inspector-pilot in the Air Force Universities Directorate. During the entire war, his combat biography of exploits totaled 86 combat missions and 11 downed enemy aircraft. After his retirement, Maresyev A.P. He constantly kept himself in good physical shape, went in for swimming, skating, skiing and cycling.

Thanks to the publication of the textbook “The Tale of a Real Man,” he became widely known throughout the country. The younger generation was brought up on the feat and example of courage of a “real man”. Alexey Petrovich Maresyev was invited many times to meetings with schoolchildren. The hero died on May 18, 2001, an hour before the start of the gala evening dedicated to his 85th birthday. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.

Based on the “Tale of a Real Man” by B. Polevoy, a film of the same name was shot at Mosfilm back in 1948. And already in our time in 2005 - the documentary film “The Fate of a Real Man”.

In those places where Maresyev’s life passed, the memory of the brave pilot is honored. There is a bust of him in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, which he once built. There is a memorial plaque in Bataysk, where he studied at the flight school in 1940. In Chuvash Ibresin, where he restored his flying skills after hospitalization in 1943 at a local flight school, there is also a memorial plaque and a street named after him. There is also a memorial plaque and street in Moscow, where he lived in the post-war years.

And in the small homeland of Alexei Maresyev, in the city of Kamyshin, Volgograd region, on the day of his 90th birthday, May 20, 2006, a monument dedicated to him was opened, the work of Volgograd sculptor Sergei Shcherbakov, Honored Artist of Russia. Maresyev is depicted as a pilot in a flight suit, who looks intensely into the distance. A three-meter bronze figure is installed on a granite pedestal, on which Maresyev’s words about his hometown are carved - “Never and nowhere have I seen such a clear sky and blue azure as in Kamyshin. How I wanted to fly then...” The monument is located at the intersection of two central streets near the house where the pilot once lived.

Almost everyone during their school years read one of the most famous books about the Great Patriotic War, “The Tale of a Real Man.” But not everyone knows that it was written based on real events and the prototype of the brave pilot is the hero of the Soviet Union Alexei Petrovich Maresyev. After being seriously wounded, he lost both legs, but refused to retire and continued combat flights. Moreover, while disabled, he shot down almost twice as many enemy aircraft as before.

Childhood and youth

Alexey Maresyev was born in the town of Kamyshin, located in the Saratov region. His father Pyotr Avdeevich died when the boy was only three years old. Mother Ekaterina Nikitichna alone raised three sons - Alyosha and his older brothers Peter and Nikolai. She worked as a simple cleaner at a woodworking factory.

After school, Maresyev became a turner and began working at a logging plant. But already in those years the young man dreamed of heaven. Twice he applied to the flight school, but both times he failed the medical commission, since he suffered from rheumatism since childhood. In 1934, Alexey ends up at the famous construction site in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. It was there that the future pilot made his first flight, as he signed up for the local flying club.

He served in military service on Sakhalin and managed to get sent to the Chita School of Military Pilots, and from there he transferred to the Bataysk Aviation School. Having become a junior lieutenant, Alexey Maresyev served as an instructor in Bataysk and taught the younger generation how to operate aviation equipment.

War and feat

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Alexey Maresyev was transferred to the active army. He made his first combat flight in the Krivoy Rog area. By the spring of 1942, the pilot had already shot down four enemy aircraft. But in April an event happened that changed his whole life.

On April 4, 1942, Alexey Maresyev covered bombers in a battle near Novgorod, but was shot down by a German pilot. Having been seriously wounded, the Soviet officer made an emergency landing, as it turned out, on enemy territory. For almost three weeks, the crippled pilot crawled his way to his people. For 18 days he ate only berries, tree bark and cones that he found on the ground.

The exhausted Maresyev was discovered by residents of a village near the town of Valdai. Moreover, at first he was mistaken for a German, which is why they did not immediately provide help. Having sorted it out, the villagers took the man to the house, but there was no one to perform real medical intervention. Only 10 days later, Alexey Petrovich was admitted to the hospital; by that time he had blood poisoning and terrible gangrene of both legs. As the pilot later recalled, in the hospital he was sent straight... to the morgue! But on the way there, Maresyev was intercepted by Professor Terebinsky, who decided to have an operation to amputate both legs.

When Alexey realized that he would live, he immediately began preparing to return to the front. He himself invented training that allowed him to fly with prosthetics. In the winter of 1943, Maresyev again carried out a combat mission as part of the Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. In July, the pilot accomplished a feat by shooting down two German fighters at once and saving the lives of two of his colleagues. For this he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the fame of the legless pilot spread throughout the country.

Maresyev ended the war as an inspector, supervising universities of the Air Force. Alexey Petrovich managed to make 86 sorties in combat conditions, in which he shot down 11 units of enemy equipment. Moreover, seven of them are already flying with prosthetics.

Personal life

Despite the fame that surrounded him, Alexey Maresyev always remained a modest person and tried not to take advantage of his official position or the title of hero. The exception is the only case related to his personal life. At the Air Force General Headquarters on the eve of the end of the war, he saw a beautiful girl whom he was embarrassed to approach, firstly, ashamed of her disability, and secondly, doubting whether she was free.

So the only time Alexey Petrovich took advantage of his official position was to contact the personnel department about the marital status of Olga Viktorovna, to whom he proposed marriage a month later.

They lived a long, happy life. The family had two sons - Victor and Alexey. None of the boys followed in their father's footsteps. The eldest son dreamed of cars and became an engineer, and the youngest was disabled as a child, so he also could not dream of heaven.

Maresyev always kept himself in excellent physical shape - he worked out in the pool, rode a bicycle, skated, and skied. Moreover, he even swam across the Volga, setting a time record.

Death

In the post-war period, the life and exploits of Alexei Maresyev were widely covered in the press. , who personally knew the pilot, the legendary “Tale of a Real Man” was written. But the hero himself was more than reserved about fame. His famous words are:

“Everyone fought. There are so many people in the world for whom Polevoy was not found.”

Two days before the 85th anniversary of the legendary hero, a concert dedicated to his anniversary was supposed to take place at the Russian Army Theater. But just one hour before the start of the celebration, Alexei Petrovich had a heart attack, which turned out to be fatal. As a result, the holiday transformed into an evening of remembrance, which began with a minute of silence.

Many monuments have been erected in memory of Alexei Maresyev; in many cities there are streets bearing his name. Cinema did not bypass him either. Even during the USSR, the film “The Tale of a Real Man” was released, in which he played the main role, although the director initially wanted to film the pilot himself. In 2005, the documentary film “The Fate of a Real Man” was created.

Alexey Petrovich Maresyev got a task cover on a sortie bombers. The flight was over the positions enemy. There's a group here Alexey Petrovich Maresyev came across German fighters. An air battle ensued. Two enemy fighters are taken Maresyev's plane V ticks, are trying start him to his territory and there plant! Alexey Petrovich Maresyev tried break out from ticks, but was hit. It happened April 4, 1942 year in the area "Demyansky Cauldron" (Novgorod region ). Airplane Maresyev fell into the forest, but the pilot remained alive! At that moment Alexey Petrovich Maresyev didn't know yet, through WHAT TESTS he'll have to pass the! For the lieutenant Alexey Petrovich Maresyev this flight will become a flight to immortality! There will be 18 days In the woods WITHOUT FOOD, FOOT FROSTBOST And AMPUTATION OF BOTH LEGS a little below the knees, hospital treatment and several months of HARD TRAINING, after RETURN into operation ! Then there will be a meeting with correspondent newspapers "Pravda" by Boris Polev who will write the book After Boris Polevoy will explain why he called the book So - because Alexey Petrovich Maresyev and there is real Human !

Myself Alexey Petrovich Maresyev no special never myself didn't count. Then the Soviet government needed alive person as example For imitation. Of course, let's say right away that THE FEAT of Alexey Petrovich Maresyev IS UNACCEPTABLE be considered solely as ideological tool the influence of the then government on the people. Just interest government explains That fact, What the feat of Alexei Petrovich Maresyev became known wide to the public and Not only V our country! Before this there were examples of heroes: Young Guards, Sailors, Gastello, Kosmodemyanskaya. All of them died. Maresyev stayed in ALIVE!

Book Boris Polevoy just captured three war years. About the feat Alexey Petrovich Maresyev V USSR knew EVERY SCHOOLBOY and not only Soviet ! What Maresyev was not much is known in itself. Alexey Petrovich Maresyev always been taciturn And closed. About what he was like before his feat, preserved at all meager intelligence. There is only private bussiness Guard major Alexey Petrovich Maresyev, written them personally ourselves in 1946 year.

Maresyev Alexey Petrovich was born May 20, 1916 year in Stalingrad areas in the city Kamyshin. IN three year old age remained without a father. Mother Ekaterina Nikitichna worked at a woodworking factory cleaning lady She had to one raise and educate three sons - Peter, Nikolai, Alexei. Mother since childhood taught sons to hard work, honesty And justice. After school in Kamyshine, Alexey Petrovich Maresyev received a specialty turner By metal at the school sawmill There too began work.

City Kamyshin located on the river Volga, and he's nothing no different from hundreds similar cities. Entertainment in Kamyshin Not so much. You can walk around central street and go to cinema. IN 1934 the movie came out this year "Chapaev." Attendance was for this film OVERWHELMING! Sitting in the cinema hall Alexey Petrovich Maresyev I couldn’t even think that one day it would come to fruition one row with the main character film "Chapaev"! IN USSR at the cinema before the movie always showed newsreel about the life of the country. Then most popular V USSR was AVIATION PROPAGANDA!!! At that moment Alexey Petrovich Maresyev and appeared dream to get in aviation.

However Alexey Petrovich Maresyev hand over voucher for construction in Komsomolsk on Amur. He refuses from this trip. For this then they could exclude from Komsomol, and this could already be "wolf ticket" for life ! Solution, after all go for construction in Komsomolsk on Amur, came on medical board before sending to the construction site. Experienced doctor medical commission said that there, in taiga your edge will pass All illnesses, A Alexey Petrovich Maresyev V childhood quite a bit of I was sick! there in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Alexey Petrovich Maresyev will work at a construction site, but ON WEEKENDS visit FLYING CLUB. Further Alexey Petrovich Maresyev V 1937 will be called up in army and will begin service in 12th aviation border detachment on Sakhalin. Then Maresyev will be sent to Batayskoe aviation school named after A. Serova, which will end in 1940 year in rank junior lieutenant and it will be there abandoned as instructor. IN Batayske, Alexey Petrovich Maresyev will meet war.

IN first two of the year Great Patriotic War losses in Soviet aviation were especially HUGE! Then the pilots were called "suicide bombers", What corresponded reality literally ! If you do not take into account the aircraft that arrived in USSR by program "Landlease" That main Soviet fighters at the beginning of the war were made from TREES "I-15" and "I-16". They Not could resist the Germans « Me-109" not only because material, from which they were made, but also according to TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS And SCRAPPED on the first hit ( see article "German fighters of the Second World War")!

IN August 1941 of the year Alexey PetrovichMaresyev was aimed at Southwestern front to area Krivoy Rog. Lieutenant Alexey Petrovich Maresyev started to fight on hopelessly outdated I-16. The only one chance survive then I-16 – This energetic maneuvering, but it worked NOT EVERYONE. Behind three first months Alexey Petrovich Maresyev committed several dozen combat departures and remained alive! IN March 1942 years old 25 years, rank lieutenant Maresyev receives an appointment to Northwestern front. There he gets more modern airplane. On a new plane Maresyev knocks down 4 fascist planes. Then far away not every the pilot could boast of this result! Soon that happens ill-fated flight.

In your personal file Alexey Petrovich Maresyev, about what happened after the fall plane into the forest, I just wrote THREE LINES: « Being on Northwestern front was shot down, 18 days was in the forest without food And communication with people, frostbitten both legs which were amputated." And what was hiding behind these stingy lines ? Subsequently Maresyev DID NOT LIKE talk about these 18 days.

We know what happened in the snowy forest only from artistic works – from books by Boris Polevoy “The Tale of a Real Man” and from the same name movie, where is the main one role played by film actor Pavel Petrovich Kadochnikov.

WITH frostbitten And broken kicks Alexey Petrovich Maresyev began to make his way to his people. First he OVERCOMING PAIN, slowly walked counting the steps, and after each 1000s steps fell on the stomach rest. Then I tried CRAWL, When no strength left even crawl, he started ROLL from side to side. Finally on 18th day stumbled upon him residents villages Melt. The found pilot was brought to the house Olga Mikhailovna Vikhrova. She said that Alexey Petrovich Maresyeva seen more earlier, But were afraid approach him ! ABOUT found the pilot was informed to the chairman of the collective farm, Mikhail Alekseevich Vikhrov. Behind wounded flew to the village as a pilot sanitary airplane "Po-2". Maresyeva on stretcher loaded onto this plane and taken to hospital.

In hospital Alexey Petrovich Maresyev amputated a little below the knees both legs because it has already started gangrene. This meant end of career pilot ! It's hard to say exactly result what Maresyev BELIEVE what can he do RETURN TO FLY and firmly decided at the expense TRAINING HARD get back on track. Boris Polevoy in its book says that in the same room next to Alexey Petrovich Maresyev there was a certain one lying Commissioner, who gave Maresyev read note from newspapers, which talked about one Russian pilot of the First World War wars , who after being wounded my foot was taken away but he continued to fly on a fighter ! The surname was mentioned in this article Valeryan Arkadievich Karpovich. In fact, such a pilot is most likely did NOT exist because historians tried to find there is information about such a pilot in the archives, but NOT found. More likely, Alexey Petrovich Maresyev thought it was a newspaper won't lie And believed this article, and desire to fly at Alexey Petrovich Maresyev it was too much GREAT!

However really existed and was famous Russian Ass of the First World War wars Alexander Prokofiev-Seversky, who really foot amputated but he continued to fly on a personal basis permission of Nicholas II. The point is that after Great October Socialist revolution 1917 of the year Prokofiev-Seversky immigrated to America, accordingly his name is in USSR became FORBIDDEN??? This is most likely why the name is in the newspaper article I read Alexey Petrovich Maresyev, was changed! IN America Prokofiev-Seversky continued FLY, then he became AIRCRAFT CONSTRUCTOR. On Prokofiev-Seversky factories were created fighters, in service USA. During World War II wars advised the White House on questions aviation strategy and received from the president Harry Truman prestigious reward! IN USSR pilot IMMIGRANT, Prokofiev-Seversky NOT could become example For Soviet of people !

So Alexey Petrovich Maresyev firmly decided return V fighter aviation. First dentures were made for him according to the type , developed yet Pirogov for soldiers royal army. Gradually thanks hard training Alexey Petrovich Maresyev Fine masters this leather construction of prostheses. But through what efforts at the same time he had to go through , knows only him MYSELF!

Also known in the world British pilot, lost his legs but after that flying by plane ! It was Douglas Bader. He crashed by plane to 1931 year, for 11 years before Alexey Petrovich Maresyev, during execution aerobatics on ultra-small height. Him too amputated legs, one below the knee, another above the knee. But Bader decided again return V sky! After persistent training he begins not only to walk, but also to drive a car! After the start World War II war in October 1939 of the year Bader serves report with the request return him in build. His enroll into operation, and in quality squadron commander he takes part in the battle for England. August 9, 1941 of the year Bader enters into battle with 6th Me-109, knocks down 2, but it turns out shot down. Jumps out from by parachute, and loses it one prosthesis. Fall into captivity, But Germans treat him Fine. Bader tried several times run, All unsuccessful! Returned to Motherland already after graduation war. Bader personally shot down 20 airplanes and 4 in Group – This 11th result in British Air Force.

IN early summer 1943 of the year Alexey Petrovich Maresyev arrived at Bryansk front. From this moment it begins new page in his biographies with new characters . At war fighters most often fly in pairs. Remembers Deserved military pilot USSR lieutenant colonel Sergey Fedorovich Petrov, slave Alexey Petrovich Maresyev. When should we they said that he came to us a pilot without legs - We They didn't believe it. That's why when Alexey Petrovich Maresyev began to undress in front of sleep, everyone was watching him and convinced what is this really So. Then your legs Alexey Petrovich Maresyeva more NOT fully HEALED, were visible bruises. It became clear to us that he was still very HURT walk in these prosthetics, but at the same time he NOT SUBMITTED NO VIDA!

Commander the regiment that I fell into Alexey Petrovich Maresyev was burning with desire take pilot disabled person! Remembers Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel Alexander Mikhailovich Chislov, squadron commander in which I flew Maresyev. At first Maresyeva sent to one division, there it is NOT accepted, then sent to another division . Nobody NOT wanted to take over a burden. I three times addressed the regiment commander with request take Alexey Petrovich Maresyev To to myself to the squadron. On third once regiment commander viciously said that if you want to mess with disabled, write that you answer behind his life! If anything happens to him, you will go to penal battalion! Subsequently Maresyev called Alexandra Chislova his "godfather".

Fighters mostly fly in pairs. Accordingly in the sky one covers another. Nobody wanted to risk, flying with a pilot WITHOUT LEGS. Alexey Petrovich Maresyev remembers. Commander built and asked the pilots : « Who wishes fly with legless pilot ». In response there was a long silence. It was the longest silence in my life. In the end, Maresyeva assigned to fly in tandem with a lieutenant S.F.Petrov. Remembers Sergey Fedorovich Petrov, slave Alexey Petrovich Maresyev: "Directly I'll say doubts were , can he protect me in sky." Doubts have disappeared during an air battle summer of 1943 year for "Kursk Bulge".

They flew out to cover the troops 12 fighters in the area Orla. Our fighters radio they reported that a big one was approaching group of attack aircraft "Yu-87" accompanied fighters "FV-190". A fierce air battle ensued, which slang fighters are called "DOG DUMP". At all air battle Very FAST. For example, it goes big a group of planes is heading strictly towards in a certain order here the air battle begins, the same one "dog dump" and already literally through 2-3 minutes no one around can not see! Tells slave Alexey Petrovich Maresyev, S.F. Petrov: “ I felt stupid strong pain. I immediately looked at situation in the cockpit. My legs from the pedals jumped out, dashboard flew out from their mounts. I understood right away – I hit. Immediately I looked mechanically back and saw that second FV-190 comes into my tail me finish off. At this moment before my eyes this FV-190 explodes in the air ! And I have in front of your nose a plane jumps out Alexey Petrovich Maresyev. After the couple's return Maresyeva to your airfield when approaching landing at S.F. Petrova's landing gear did not extend and he had to sit on "belly". Everything worked out fine safely!

U Vladimir Semenovich Vysotsky there is a song about fighter pilots, which is very exactly conveys SPIRIT OF AIR COMBAT!

Next begins rapid ascent modest guy from the city Kamyshina on pinnacle of glory about which he even I didn't dream. To the regiment in which he flew Alexey Petrovich Maresyev Air Chief Marshal arrives Alexander Aleksandrovich Novikov. Tells commander squadrons Maresyeva Alexander Mikhailovich Chislov. Novikov started asking questions , how many pilots are in the regiment, what kind of pilots, how many planes were shot down and etc. And etc. I told him all this, and also told him about pilot, who flies without legs. Novikov Very surprised - as I ordered to call Maresyeva to him. After clarification of all the circumstances of the case, Novikov stayed very much NOT satisfied regiment commander. He emotionally said that and Alexander Chislov And Alexey Petrovich Maresyev there should at least be already increased V rank. Novikov ordered to register both for the award ceremony Heroes of the Soviet Union! Through month stars Heroes were solemnly presented at Georgievsky hall in Kremlin!

Alexey Petrovich Maresyev proved What award he received Not for what was written about him book, as many believed, but BEHIND real FEATS! On the award list Guard senior lieutenant Alexey Petrovich Maresyev, said : « During an air battle with superior enemy forces saved lives two pilots, including commander of the neighboring fighter shelf. In that unequal they were destroyed in battle two German fighter ».

First once Boris Polevoy Meets with Alexey Petrovich Maresyev more on front, when I was working correspondent newspapers "Is it true". He was very impressed story about Alexey Petrovich Maresyev and then I wrote about him feature article. True, then he Not was printed. According to rumors , Field entered carefully - showed it I.V. Stalin, and he seemed to say that It's not time yet. Allegedly Germans they'll think that we have so much Badly, what we we force fight even disabled people.

There is meaning mention one more pilot without legs. No offense will be said Soviet veterans war, there was also German pilot without legs - it was famous Hans Ulrich Rudel. Only unlike Alexey Petrovich Maresyev at Rudel did not have one legs. He flew on attack aircraft Yu-87 and by official destroyed German data 519 Soviet TANKS. More likely, number tanks overpriced however it doesn't matter impressive! Hans Ulrich Rudel was 2 times hard injured. After 2nd injuries lost my leg But came back to fly, and just through a month and a half! Hans Ulrich Rudel the only one military man in German army , who received higher established especially for him award – Golden Oak Leaves With With swords And diamonds To Knight's Cross!

Boris Polevoy in his book "The Tale of a Real Man" changed one letter in the surname Alexey Petrovich Maresyev, first vowel letter "A" by letter "E"(M e resev). Later myself Alexey Petrovich Maresyev will explain this in an original way by saying that, thus, Field, decided insure. A all of a sudden would I started drinking and a book banned!

After wars Alexey Petrovich Maresyev moved to live to Moscow. IN Moscow he received apartment on the street Gorky, It has dacha and personal automobile, which drives himself - that's it, about everything I could dream Soviet Human ! Stalin also assigns to him personal automobile with a driver. At that time Maresyev got married and he got son Victor. After wars Alexey Petrovich Maresyev works instructor at flight school. Extreme once in a while helm training aircraft Po-2 he takes off in 1946 year.

Greatest glory comes to Alexey Petrovich Maresyev V 1948 year after its release in the country movie with title "The Tale of a Real Man." On first the show was turned off and himself Alexey Petrovich Maresyev And film actor Pavel Petrovich Kadochnikov, performed main role in film.

Pavel Kadochnikov will receive for this role Stalin Prize. For him this role will be possible the most significant.

Alexey Petrovich Maresyev took part in the ignition Eternal Flame at the memorial monument To the unknown soldier V Moscow. This happened So. At first Maresyev carried a burning torch to the edge of the memorial, then he passed on a torch in the hands of the then head of the government of the USSR, L.I. Brezhnev and already directly the very lighting of the Eternal Flame produced Brezhnev. Son Alexey Petrovich Maresyeva, Victor remembers about this such a story. One day, as he was riding in a taxi, we were driving right past Eternal Fire. Taxi driver, who saw this ceremony TV, said : « I saw how they lit Eternal flame? There was a pilot without legs! Why does he passed on torch for this Brezhnev? I would have pushed him away and I WOULD lit Fire!" This is one more time proves the present recognition of Alexey Petrovich Maresyev by the PEOPLE!

Also Alexey Petrovich Maresyev Very often had to give autographs, to sign thousands of books, come to meetings, receive delegations to Veterans Committee wars , where did he work before last day. And about the ignition Eternal Flame he once said : « I did my best NOT For Brezhnev, A FOR THAT UNKNOWN SOLDIER!”

Except Alexey Petrovich Maresyev were and more Soviet pilots, which came back after losing my legs on airplane and just like everyone else fought V sky! Unfortunately, not at all found Boris Polevoy.

LET'S REMEMBER THEM:

Captain GEORGE PAVLOVICH KUZMIN.

Hero of the Soviet Union major LEONID GEORGIEVICH BELOUSOV.

Guard lieutenant colonel ALEXANDER IVANOVICH GRISENKO.

Hero of the Soviet Union Guard captain ZAKHAR ARTEMOVICH SOROKIN.

Hero of the Soviet Union senior lieutenant IVAN MIKHAILOVICH KISELEV.

Hero of the Soviet Union Guard lieutenant colonel IVAN STEPANOVICH LYUBIMOV.

Hero of the Soviet Union senior lieutenant ILYA ANTONOVICH MALIKOV.

Alexey Petrovich Maresyev (May 7(20), 1916 - May 18, 2001) - legendary ace pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union. Maresyev is the prototype of the hero of Boris Polevoy’s story “The Tale of a Real Man.”

Early biography

Alexey Maresyev was born on May 20, 1916 in the city of Kamyshin, Saratov province. At the age of three he was left without a father. Mother, Ekaterina Nikitichna, worked as a cleaner at a woodworking factory and raised three sons - Peter, Nikolai, Alexei. From childhood, she taught them to work, honesty, and justice.

After graduating from school in the city of Kamyshin, Alexey Petrovich Maresyev received a specialty as a metal turner at a school at a timber mill and began his career there. In 1934, the Kamyshinsky district committee of the Komsomol sent him to the construction of Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Here, without interrupting his work, Alexey is engaged in a flying club.

In 1937 he was drafted into the army. At first he served in the 12th air border detachment on Sakhalin Island, then was sent to the Bataysk Aviation School. A. Serov, which he graduated in 1940, receiving the rank of junior lieutenant. After graduating from college, he remained there as an instructor. There, in Bataysk, I met the war.

War years

In August 1941 he was sent to the Southwestern Front. Maresyev's first combat flight took place on August 23, 1941 in the Krivoy Rog area.

In March 1942 he was transferred to the North-Western Front. By this time, the pilot had 4 downed German aircraft. On April 4, 1942, in the area of the so-called “Demyansk Cauldron” (Novgorod Region), during an operation to cover bombers in a battle with the Germans, his plane was shot down, and Alexey himself was seriously wounded. Made an emergency landing on territory occupied by the Germans. For eighteen days, the pilot wounded in the legs, first on crippled legs, and then crawled his way to the front line. The first to notice him were a father and son from the village of Plavni. Due to the fact that the pilot did not respond to questions (“Are you German?”), father and son returned to the village out of fear. Then the barely alive pilot was discovered by boys from the village of Plav, Kislovsky village council, Valdai district, Seryozha (Sergei Mikhailovich) Malin and Sasha (Alexander Petrovich) Vikhrov. Sasha's father took Alexei in a cart to his house.

For more than a week, collective farmers looked after Maresyev. Medical help was needed, but there was no doctor in the village. In early May, a plane piloted by A.N. Dekhtyarenko landed near the village, and Maresyev was sent to Moscow, to a hospital. Doctors were forced to amputate both of his legs in the lower leg due to gangrene.

The impetus for Maresyev’s return to duty could have been the story about the Russian pilot of the First World War, Prokofiev-Seversky, who lost his right leg, but despite this, returned to the sky. In the Soviet film, the surname of Prokofiev-Seversky is not mentioned (instead, the surname “Karpovich” is given) for ideological reasons (Prokofiev-Seversky emigrated to America and became an aircraft designer).

While still in the hospital, Alexey Maresyev began training, preparing to fly with prostheses. Training continued in the sanatorium, where he was sent in September 1942. At the beginning of 1943, he passed a medical examination and was sent to the Ibresinsky flight school (Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic).

In February 1943, he made his first test flight after being wounded. I managed to get sent to the front. In June 1943 he arrived in the 63rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. The regiment commander did not let Alexey go on combat missions, since the situation in the sky on the eve of the Battle of Kursk was extremely tense. Alexey was worried. Squadron commander A. M. Chislov sympathized with him and took him with him on a combat mission. After several successful flights together with Chislovy, confidence in Maresyev increased.

On July 20, 1943, during an air battle with superior enemy forces, Alexey Maresyev saved the lives of 2 Soviet pilots and shot down two enemy Fw.190 fighters covering Ju.87 bombers. The military glory of Maresyev spread throughout the 15th Air Army and along the entire front. Correspondents frequented the regiment, among them was the future author of the book “The Tale of a Real Man” Boris Polevoy.

On August 24, 1943, Maresyev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for saving the lives of two pilots and shooting down two German fighters.

In 1944, Maresyev agreed with the proposal to become an inspector-pilot and move from the combat regiment to the management of the Air Force Universities.

In total, during the war he made 86 combat missions and shot down 11 enemy aircraft: four before being wounded and seven after being wounded.

After the war

Retired since 1946. Alexey Petrovich made his last flights on an airplane (trainer U-2) in the early 50s as an instructor at a special Air Force school in Moscow.

In the post-war period, partly thanks to the textbook “The Tale of a Real Man” by Boris Polevoy (in it Maresyev is called Meresyev), he was very famous and was invited to many celebrations. Meetings with schoolchildren were often organized; the example of Maresyev’s feat was widely used to educate the younger generation.

In 1949, he was a participant in the First World Peace Congress, held in Paris.
In 1952 he graduated from the Higher Party School under the CPSU Central Committee.
In 1956, A.P. Maresyev defended his PhD thesis in history.
From September 1956 he was the executive secretary of the Soviet War Veterans Committee.
In 1960, A. P. Maresyev’s book “On the Kursk Bulge” was published.
On October 7, 1960, the opera “The Tale of a Real Man” premiered at the Bolshoi Theater.
On May 8, 1967, Maresyev participated in the ceremony of lighting the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
On September 3, 1968, he was named an Honorary Citizen of the city of Kamyshin, Volgograd Region.
July 11, 1973 - Honorary Citizen of the city of Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.
June 7, 1977 - Honorary citizen of the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
In 1989 he was elected people's deputy of the USSR.
On April 25, 1990 he was named an Honorary Citizen of the city of Orel.

Death of Alexey Petrovich Maresyev

On May 18, 2001, a gala evening was planned at the Russian Army Theater to mark Maresyev’s 85th birthday, but literally an hour before the concert, Alexei Petrovich had a heart attack, after which he died. The gala evening took place, but it began with a minute of silence.

Alexey Petrovich Maresyev is buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Memory of a hero

The minor planet 2173 Maresjev was named in honor of Maresjev.
The central street in the village of Ibresi in the Chuvash Republic is named in honor of Alexey Maresyev, and a memorial plaque was unveiled there in 2005. Also, streets in the cities of Aktyubinsk, Tashkent, Gorno-Altaisk and other cities bear the name of the hero.
On May 20, 2006, in honor of the 90th anniversary of the birth of the famous pilot, a monument was inaugurated in Kamyshin, located at the intersection of two central streets of the city, not far from the house where Alexey Maresyev lived.
Memorial plaque on the house in Moscow where Maresyev lived after the war.
The inscription on the memorial plaque “Heroes of the Soviet Union” in Bataysk
School-laboratory No. 760 in Moscow bears the name of the Hero.

Films about A.P. Maresyev

A story about a real person. - Director A. Stolper- drama - Mosfilm, 1948
Alexey Maresyev. The fate of a real person. - Director: A. Slavin.- Documentary - TV channel "Russia", 2005

Bibliography

Our Maresyev / compiled by Shantarin V.S. - Kamyshin: 1996. - 60 p. - 1000 copies.
A. P. Maresyev"On the Kursk Bulge"