Nearly 75 years ago, a unique incident occurred on the site of the settlement: the fire of a Soviet 82-mm mortar from the 41st Infantry Regiment of the 84th Infantry Division shot down a German Focke-Wulf aircraft.
I would like to clarify right away that the mortar, as a weapon, is not at all intended to fight aviation. Its main application is to conduct fire to suppress or destroy enemy manpower and fire weapons located mainly in ravines, shelters, trenches and trenches. Also, mortars are used to destroy light field structures, trenches, wire barriers.
In order not to look like "dreamers", let's turn to the documents. From the award list for the squad leader of the 1st mortar company Sergeant Petr Petrovich Kalinin:
“In the battles near the village of ERZOVKA, Stalingrad district of the same region, from September 27 to September 29 of this year. Comrade KALININ with his mortar fire destroyed two heavy machine guns, three company mortars and twenty-three enemy soldiers. By this he ensured the advancement of the arrows. October 2 of this year. Comrade KALININ with his mortar conducted methodical fire on the front edge of the German defense. At that time, a German FOKKE-WOLF aircraft appeared over the firing sector of Comrade KALININ. Comrade Kalinin quickly made a calculation and began to fire from his 82-mm mortar at the enemy plane. The third mine hit right on target, the enemy's FOKKE-WULF aircraft caught fire and crashed to the ground in the enemy's position."
Sergeant P. P. Kalinin was awarded by the order of the Commander of the Don Front, Lieutenant General K. K. Rokossovsky with the Order of the Red Banner.
Little is known about Peter Kalinin himself. Born in 1917, candidate for membership in the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks since 1942. He is one of those whose entire youth was spent in military service - in 1939 the Taganrog GVK was drafted into the Red Army. I would very much like to hope that Sergeant Pyotr Kalinin fought until victory. At least, he is not on the lists of the dead or missing. In 1985, three Pyotr Petrovich Kalinin, born in 1917, were awarded the Orders of the Patriotic War. But whether our sergeant was among them who shot down a German plane with a mortar is hard to say.
