The past New Year holidays brought not only joy, but also the loss of three wonderful people, outstanding air fighters, Heroes of the Soviet Union - Fedor Fedorovich Archipenko (1921-2012), Alexei Alekseevich Postnov (1915-2013) and Evgeny Georgievich Pepelyaev (1918-2013).
Fyodor Fedorovich died on December 28, and exactly a week later, on January 4, 2013, Alexei Alekseevich and Evgeny Georgievich …
They were not "modern people." Only the deeds that they did were fully spoken for them. The concept of "promotion" for their names was absolutely foreign. By the way, it was with the help of the notorious "promotion", the promotion of people with the help of money, that not only hundreds of mediocre artists and politicians were promoted, but also German aces, whose victories had no real basis.
Fedor Fedorovich Archipenko is a fighter pilot, one of a small group of "thirties" (who won more than 30 personal victories in the air), who, in accordance with the "Regulations on awards and prizes for the personnel of the Air Force of the Red Army …", signed by the Commander-in-Chief Air Force A. A. Novikov on September 30, 1943 was entitled to the title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Fedor Fedorovich personally shot down 30 and in a group of 16 enemy aircraft, among the cars he personally shot down 12 bombers and three scouts, which makes his winning score even more significant.
Archipenko's authority among the Soviet aces was exceptionally high. Friendly relations connected him with Kozhedub and Gulaev, with Rechkalov and Koldunov, with dozens of other pilots - Heroes and non-heroes - the winners of the German Luftwaffe.
The list of his victories includes planes shot down during all the years of the war - from 1941 to 1945 (and there are only about 30 such pilots among all 7 thousand Soviet aces): and in the first years, when a “nameplate from the engine of a downed plane , And at Stalingrad, and on the Kursk Bulge, and in the Ukraine, and in Belarus, and in Poland, and in Germany.
Fyodor Fyodorovich had an iron character: it was impossible to convince him through pressure and a large number of dubious arguments.
While still a cadet of the Odessa Flight School, he flatly refused to jump with a parachute.
- It will be necessary - I will jump! And I will not risk in vain!
The commanders looked at the exam results (and Fedor Fedorovich, a native of the small Belarusian village of Avsimovichi, had excellent mathematical abilities) and decided not to fight the strange boy. So he went all his flight path, flew three thousand hours and never jumped with a parachute.
Alas, not all commanders were as wise. During the August 1941 battles, he was "forgotten" for three days on the plane, where he sat in readiness number 1, and when he got out of the car to take a few steps, they remembered, arrested and taken to execution. Thank God, the shooting did not take place.
On the Kursk Bulge, the flightless commanders decided to record ten personal victories for the stubborn man as group victories, and in October they completely removed him from the unit, exchanging him with the command of a neighboring regiment for another strong pilot - P. I. Chepinogu, later also a Hero of the Soviet Union.
On the first day of the war, Archipenko flew along the border, which was all on fire, from Brest to Rava-Russkaya, for the first time entered into an unsuccessful air battle.
He shot down his first official "Messers" (of which only one was counted), and two days later, and "Junkers" in August 1941, when he was not even twenty years old.
… In 1942, pursuing the Romanian cavalry in the Stalingrad direction, Archipenko descended to the height of a truly "shave" flight. One of the technicians, who had heard enough stories "in hot pursuit" and was wiping the propeller fainted, noticing hair among the brown spots on the propeller blades …
Reading Archipenko's memoirs, it can be assumed that in a critical situation of air combat, he had a heightened perception of time: he saw a projectile breaking out of the barrel of an enemy fighter, felt it pass under the elbow and hit the edge of the armored back. Isn't this the reason for the pilot's many victories?
Archipenko himself said that "a fisherman sees a fisherman from afar" and when meeting in the air, experienced fighter pilots saw the enemy's worth by their manner of staying in the air.
Apparently, it was Archipenko who was responsible for the victory over the number two ace of Nazi Germany, the "three hundred" Barkhorn.
The date coincides - May 31, 1944, the place and time indicated by both pilots. In the flight book of Archipenko, the victory over the Me-109F is recorded; Barkhorn, who flew in such a "Messer", writes that he was shot down by an Aircobra strike.
When I told Fedor Fedorovich about the ace he had probably shot down (and Barkhorn was hospitalized for 4 months), he remarked:
- You know, I didn’t sleep all night, I tried to remember that fight, but I didn’t really remember anything. It was a hard time: as an experienced pilot made up to five flights a day, he got very tired …
By the way, Gerhard Barkhorn described his feelings of that time in about the same words …
Among the associates of F. F. Archipenko - twice Hero of N. D. Gulaev, Heroes of the Soviet Union M. D. Bekashonok, V. A. Karlov, P. P. Nikiforov.
But the war ended and other qualities quickly turned out to be in demand: courtesy, bordering on servility, neat toadying …
Life, meanwhile, went on as usual. In 1951, Archipenko graduated from the Air Force Academy in Monino. Here he got married and later raised two daughters.
In 1959, during the years of Khrushchev's noisy "obstruction", when the number of strategic missiles of the USSR was 10 or more times inferior to the United States, and Soviet aviation was ruthlessly destroyed, Colonel F. F. Archipenko retired to the reserve. In 1968 he received a second higher education, graduating from the Moscow Engineering and Economic Institute. Until 2002, he worked as deputy manager of the Mosoblorgtekhstroy trust.
In recent years, Fedor Fedorovich was seriously ill. The Hero's granddaughter, Svetlana, took care of him and took care of him.
By the will of God, literally a month before the death of the ace, he was visited by a priest, Father Alexander, unleashed and communed the Hero and his wife, Lydia Stefanovna.
Buried F. F. Archipenko was at the Troekurovsky cemetery on December 30, 2012.
Alexei Alekseevich Postnov joined the Red Army in 1938 from the Moscow Aero Club. Previously, he studied at FZU, worked at the Hammer and Sickle plant. In 1938 he graduated from the Borisoglebsk Military Aviation Pilot School. He took part in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, made ninety-six sorties in I-15 bis.
He participated in the battles of the Great Patriotic War from the first day. On August 23, 1942, in a battle near Mozdok, he shot down two Messers at once. The squadron commander of the 88th Fighter Aviation Regiment (229th Fighter Aviation Division, 4th Air Army, North Caucasian Front), Senior Lieutenant Alexei Postnov, by July 1943 made 457 successful combat missions, personally shot down seven in 136 air battles and a group of three enemy aircraft.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 24, 1943, Senior Lieutenant A. A. Postnov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. In 1943, his words were printed in an army newspaper:
“Sparing no effort, no sparing of life, we fought and won. We vow to continue to increase the glory of Russian weapons. Russia cannot be defeated."
In the subsequent years of the war, the brave fighter pilot of the 88th Fighter Aviation Regiment, transformed into the 159th Guards Regiment, liberated Belarus, Poland, beat the enemy on the territory of East Prussia. A. A. himself Postnov was shot down three times in air battles. The last time he was shot down and wounded in Poland, near Lomza, where in 1915 his father, Aleksey Ivanovich, died in the battles of the First World War. After recovering, having thrown away the conclusion "fit only for staff work", he returned to his unit.
“During the war, he flew 700 flights on fighter planes I-16, I-153, LaGG-3, La-5 with a total combat flight time of 650 hours and 45 minutes. Shot down 12 enemy planes, destroyed 1 tank, 98 vehicles, 2 artillery guns, 11 anti-aircraft guns,”Postnov wrote, summing up the results of frontline life.
June 24, 1945 Hero of the Soviet Union A. A. Postnov took part in the Victory Parade.
After the war, he continued to serve in the USSR Air Force, commanded a regiment in Yaroslavl, a division in Klin. In 1957 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff, after which he commanded an aviation corps in Ryazan, and then near Rzhev. Since 1959, Major General of Aviation Postnov A. A. - in reserve, and since 1970 - in retirement. He lived in Moscow, in the Krylatskoe region.
Evgeny Georgievich Pepelyaev was born in "London", as one of the two large barracks in the Siberian village of Bodaibo was called. The second barrack, naturally, was called "Paris". The father of the future pilot was a unique specialist who knew how to repair both a dredge and a locomobile, and on occasion, sew a sheepskin coat or boots … He was a good fisherman and hunter, who knew how to get a capercaillie, an elk, and a bear …
Hunting skills were also adopted by little Yegorka, who went on his first hunt at the age of eleven. The exceptional accuracy of shooting, which distinguished the hunter Pepelyaev, became the key to Pepelyaev's success as a fighter pilot.
In March 1940, a training air battle took place, which influenced the fate of Yevgeny Georgievich like no other. Deputy regiment commander, later twice Hero and Air Marshal, and then Captain E. Ya. Savitsky, distinguished by great self-confidence regarding his flying skill, ordered ml. Lieutenant Pepelyaev to conduct an air battle: “Take off in pairs, at an altitude of 1500 we diverge by turning 90, in a minute, turning 180 - we converge. Departure in 10 minutes. " Fight Savitsky confidently lost and "lick his wounds" went to a nearby airfield. “Since then, he stopped noticing me. It seems to me that I infringed on his pride then,”writes Evgeny Georgievich.
Throughout his life, following the example of his older brother Konstantin, Yevgeny Pepeliaev was exceptionally athletic. He played well volleyball, football, small towns, until the age of 65 he "twisted the sun" on the bar!
During the Great Patriotic War, Yevgeny Georgievich, despite numerous requests, was not allowed to go to the front: the country's eastern border required cover. Only for two months, in November-December 1943, during a period of calm, he was sent to a front-line internship. At that time he did not manage to take part in air battles.
In 1945, in August-October, Pepeliaev took part in battles against Japan as deputy commander of the 300th IAP.
From October 1946 to November 1947 he studied at the Lipetsk higher tactical flight courses. Here he met the beautiful Maya, whom he knew as a girl back in Odessa. In the spring of 1947, he proposed to Maya and she became his wife.
Among the first military pilots, he mastered jet technology. Successively flew Yak-15, La-15, MiG-15. He was recognized by the command as one of the best aerobatic pilots of the division. He took part in air parades many times.
In October 1950, as part of the 324th IAD, as the commander of the 196th IAP, he left for China, "to retrain Korean pilots for jet technology." In April 1951, a decision was made to relocate the division to the Andun border airfield to conduct hostilities against American aircraft. The flight training of the Chinese and Koreans lagged behind the demands of the war.
Pepeliaev made his first sortie on April 7, 1951, and on May 20, Evgeny Georgievich shot down his first Saber. The ace has four types of American aircraft: F-80 Shooting Star, F-84 Thunderjet, F-86 Saber, F-94 Starfire.
He recorded 15 victories in 1951 and four downed Sabers in 1952.
On October 6, 1951, Colonel Pepeliaev shot down a Saber with tactical number FU-318. It is likely that the pilot of this Saber was James Jabara, the famous American ace, the second most effective American ace in Korea. This plane was not credited to Pepeliaev, it was recorded by K. Sheberstov, who fired at a falling fighter from a long distance. Subsequently, the plane was sent to Moscow and subjected to a detailed examination.
On April 22, 1952, after returning to the USSR, E. G. Pepeliaev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1958 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff, where he studied with the future Commander-in-Chief A. N. Efimov. Since 1973, Colonel E. G. Pepelyaev is in reserve. In total, during his flying life, he has flown 2,020 hours and mastered 22 types of aircraft, among them fighters: I-16, LaGG-3, Yak-1, Yak-7B, Yak-9, Yak-15, Yak-17, Yak-25, La-15, MiG-15, MiG-15bis, MiG-17, MiG-19, Su-9. He flew until 1962.
Division commander I. N. Kozhedub has repeatedly petitioned for the assignment of E. G. Pepeliaev was awarded the title of twice Hero, but Soviet aviation took part in the battles illegally and refused to be awarded the second Star.
Yevgeny Georgievich himself, answering the question - "For what?", Usually answered - "For trials."
For almost twenty years personally knowing Evgeny Georgievich, I would like to note his exceptional personal modesty. This man never asked for anything.
He left an interesting and honestly written memoir “Migi versus Sabers”. This book, even in the conditions of the domination of the Internet, has withstood several editions.
Our last conversations usually began with the fact that I was surprised at the youthfulness of his voice. It was the voice of a forty-year-old man! To this remark of mine, he habitually objected:
- Yes, only the voice remained …
The great ace was buried at the Nikolo-Arkhangelsk cemetery on January 6, 2013. About twenty people followed his coffin: a widow, a daughter, a son-in-law, a granddaughter, Hero of Russia P. S. Deinekin, Hero of the Soviet Union S. M. Kramarenko, family and friends …
Evgeny Georgievich Pepeliaev gave the country as much as few could.
