Pilots fought to death

The Great Patriotic War rushed into peaceful life of people, having mixed life and death, fear and courage. On June 22 - day of the beginning of war, today not just tragic date is the day of remembrance of the heroes who for ages remained in memory of descendants the valorous soldiers who gave life for freedom and independence of the Homeland.

Among them and pilots of the 123rd destructive regiment defending the sky of Kobrin district in the first days of war. The festive event which took place on the last Sunday in the military and historical museum of A. V. Suvorov was devoted to a feat of pilots of the 123rd destructive aviation regiment.

Leaders are the staff of the museum dressed in a military uniform, told about formation of a heroic regiment. It was created in March, 1940 on the basis of flight and technical structure three destructive, one assault regiments, and also the young flight and technical structure which arrived from aviation schools; had four squadrons in structure and was structural division of the 58th destructive aviation crew of East special military district.

On September 22, 1940 on the basis of the order of the commander of the Air Force of the Western special military district the regiment transferred the base on operational airfields of Strigovo, the Name-day that in Kobrin district, and was a part of the 10th mixed aviation division.

By the beginning of war in structure of a regiment 87 pilots consisted, 58 I-153 planes and 20 - "YAK-1", being in assembly were armed. The planes "YAK-1" differed in big maneuverability and speed good for those times - 572 km/h, but they came to a regiment literally a month before invasion - pilots lacked this time to adapt to unusual technology of piloting.

The red line passed through the narration of reminiscence from lips of the direct participants and eyewitnesses of those events waging wars about the first hours: the electrician of the 123rd IAP Vikenti Stakanov, the chief of a staff of the 4th army Leonid Sandalov, the inhabitant Kobrin of Alexey Martynov, and also an extract from magazines of military operations for June 22, 1941.

"At 4:00 it became known that Brest is fired by art fire of the German tools and is exposed to bombing from air. In the same time the regiment was given a fighting task: to cover from air troops of Red Army, the city of Brest, suitable to state border, and Kobrin. Hard fighting work of a regiment also began with 4 o'clock in the morning. Groups of planes (from 9 and to a link) which leaders generally were Surin. Kikes, Alekseev, Savchenko, almost continuously were airborne. came back to the airfield only for filling with fuel and behind units of fire.

About 60 Fascist planes and 20-30 "seagulls" were groundless. Numerical advantage of Fascist planes was constant. First lit up 41 "Yunkersa" damped an ardor in other Fascist Egyptian vultures. Having given up the mean business, bombers began to come back home. But here attack planes of "Me-110" and the fighters "Me-109" appeared. And again "seagulls" as equals conducted a battle with Fascists. Our pilots used advantage of "seagulls" over "Messerschmitts" in maneuverability. It was very difficult for fascist to catch "seagull" in a sight, and the slightest miss was right there compensated by long turn from four machine guns of "seagull" …

Air fight did not cease. Groups of fascist planes ran on our airfield near Kobrin one by one. One of them contained 20 planes, others as it was at 11 o'clock, − to 60. But our pilots fought to death. When ammunition or gasoline, "seagull" came to an end, nestling on tops of trees, came in the land. Once the plane taxied up to the parking, right there the technical structure examined it, eliminated damages and malfunctions, fuelled also ammunition. And again take-off. A peculiar conveyor was installed: take-off - air fight - landing. But at the same time it is necessary to consider that over parking of planes continuously there was an air fight, and separate "Me-109" and "Me-110" stormed and bombed parking. And so without stopping from 4 o'clock in the morning till 13 o'clock.

At midday the link of pilots under command of the lieutenant Zhidov took off on cover of Brest. For one departure pilots of this link carried out several air fights with bombers of the opponent and the fighters covering them. The link brought down two Yu-88 bombers and two fighters "Me-109", without having lost any plane. To only 13:00 pilots of a regiment in air fights 30 planes of the opponent were destroyed. The losses made 9 cars brought down and 18 - damaged. The last were exposed to immediate recovery repair which was often carried out under fire of the planes of the enemy storming airfield.

By the outcome on June 22 the regiment received the order on a conclusion from under blow of staff and an equipment to the new place of basing - Pinsk - there in the shortest possible time command of a regiment, all staff and serviceable planes were transferred. In 7 months of war for the courage and heroism shown in fight against the German fascists 15 pilots were awarded.

The guest from St. Petersburg Fedor Usoltcev, the CEO of Volkhv news agency, the researcher, the author of monographs continued the story about services in battle of pilots. It was added by the graduate student of department of archeology and an entologiya of the Grodno state university Dmitry Kiyenko and the senior teacher of the Minsk State highest aviation college, the GNU graduate student "Institute of history" of NAN of Belarus Dmitry Dyakov. Speech of the veteran of the 123rd IAP Nikolay Dmitriyevich Sergeyev, chairman of the board of veterans of the 2nd Guards Leningrad destructive case became the most high point.

Anna Grom

Thunder, And. Pilots fought to death / A. Gr//Kobrynsk_ vesn_k. – 2011. – 22 chervenya. – Page 1,2. About a feat of pilots of the 123rd aviation regiment defending the sky of Kobrin district in the first days of war. 

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