Naval pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Minakov lives in the Vyborg region. Terkin at sea

Minakov Vasily Ivanovich

Hero of the Soviet Union (1944), Candidate of Naval Sciences (1974), Major General of Aviation (1958).

Born on February 7, 1921 in the city of Mineralnye Vody, now Stavropol Territory, in a peasant family. Russian.

Graduated from 9th grade. He studied at the flying club in Pyatigorsk.

In the Navy since 1938. In 1940 he graduated from the Yeisk Naval Aviation School.

In the battles of the Great Patriotic War since 1942. Member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) since 1943. During the war he was a flight commander of the 5th Guards Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment of the 2nd Guards Mine-Torpedo Aviation Division of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force.

IN AND. Minakov made 206 combat missions, during which 13 transports were sunk (7 personally and 6 in the group), 5 dry cargo and 7 landing barges, a tugboat, a minesweeper, 4 patrol boats, and 4 enemy aircraft were shot down.

After the war he continued to serve in the Navy. In 1952 he graduated from the command department of the K.E. Naval Academy. Voroshilov, in 1961 – Military Academy of the General Staff. He headed the naval aviation research center.

Since 1985 - in reserve.

Awarded the Order of Lenin, the October Revolution, three Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, two Orders of the Red Star, Order of Alexander Nevsky, "For Service to the Motherland in the USSR Armed Forces" 3rd degree.

Deputy Chairman of the Council of Heroes of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region.

Aviation of the Russian Fleet. Book 1. St. Petersburg, 1996, p. 148 (portrait), 154.
Varganov Yu.V. and others. Naval Academy in the service of the Fatherland. Mozhaisk, 2001, p. 109.
Naval Academy. 2nd ed., rev. and additional L., 1991, p. 314.
Heroes of the battles for Crimea. Simferopol, 1972, p. 168–169.
Heroes of the Soviet Union. T. 2. M., 1988, p. 81.
Heroes of the Soviet Union Navy. 1937–1945. M., 1977, p. 323.
Dotsenko V.D. Fleet. War. Victory. 1941–1945. SPb., 1995, p. 177.
Their names will never be forgotten. Book 1. Stavropol, 1968, p. 187–188.
Biographical marine dictionary. St. Petersburg, 2000, p. 260.

Hero of the Soviet Union naval pilot Vasily Ivanovich Minakov has passed away. On October 8, 2016, at the 96th year of his life, Hero of the Soviet Union, participant in the Great Patriotic War, patriot and defender of the Fatherland, who devoted himself entirely to serving the Motherland, Major General of Aviation Vasily Ivanovich Minakov, died. Vasily Ivanovich Minakov was born on February 7, 1921 in the village of Illarionovsky (now the city of Mineralnye Vody, Stavropol Territory) into a peasant family. In 1938, Vasily Minakov was drafted into the ranks of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet. Two years later, in December 1940, he graduated from the Yeisk Naval School. I.V. Stalin. For further service, he was sent to the Pacific Fleet Air Force, where from March 1941 he held the position of pilot, from May - junior pilot, and from January 1942 - pilot of the 4th mine-torpedo air regiment. Since July 1, 1942, he took part in hostilities as a flight commander of the 36th mine-torpedo air regiment in the Black Sea Fleet. In October 1942, he was assigned to the 5th Guards Mine and Torpedo Aviation Regiment. From June 1943 he was a flight commander, and from May 1944 he was a deputy squadron commander. Piloted the Il-4 bomber. He took part in the defense of the Caucasus, the liberation of Crimea, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria. In 1943 he joined the CPSU(b). By October 1944, Senior Lieutenant V.I. Minakov had completed 182 combat missions, 71 of them at night. With bomb and torpedo attacks, he sank 13 German naval transports (including 7 personally) with a total displacement of 36,500 tons, 5 dry cargo ships, 7 high-speed landing barges, 4 patrol boats, 1 minesweeper, 1 tugboat. One of the greatest achievements of the combat pilot during the liberation of Crimea was the sinking on May 10, 1944, as part of the German transport group “Thea” with a displacement of 2773 tons; there were 3,500 enemy soldiers and officers on board. In addition, they destroyed 4 ammunition depots, 4 railway stations and a crossing over the Don. Shot down 4 Luftwaffe aircraft in air battles.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 5, 1944, for the courage and heroism shown during the liberation of Crimea from the Nazi invaders of the Guard, senior lieutenant Vasily Ivanovich Minakov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. In total, during the war, V. I. Minakov made 206 combat sorties, of which 108 were bombing strikes on various sea and land targets, 31 torpedo attacks, 28 aerial reconnaissance, 28 mine laying, 7 dropping cargo for partisans, 3 for landing scouts, 1 for covering ships.

Post-war years Back in January 1945, a young but experienced pilot was sent to study at the Higher Aviation Courses of the Navy Air Force in Mozdok, which he graduated after the Victory, in July 1945. Returning to his 5th Guards Mine and Torpedo Aviation Regiment, V.I. Minakov became deputy squadron commander, and in May 1946, commander. In December 1947, he was transferred to the Baltic Fleet as assistant commander of the 68th mine-torpedo air regiment of the 19th mine-torpedo air division. From July to December 1949 he was deputy regiment commander. In 1950-1952, V. I. Minakov studied at the K. E. Voroshilov Naval Academy, after which he was appointed commander of the 52nd Guards Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment of the 89th Mine-Torpedo Air Division of the Air Force of the 5th Fleet on the Pacific Ocean. In December 1955, he returned to the Baltic as commander of the 128th Guards Mine-Torpedo Air Division of the Baltic Fleet Air Force. Here in 1958, V.I. Minakov was awarded the rank of Major General of Aviation. After graduating from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces in 1961, he became chief of staff - first deputy commander of the Northern Fleet Air Force. In the 1960s, he spent several years in the United Arab Republic, where he helped organize Egyptian naval aviation. In February 1971, V.I. Minakov was appointed head of the branch of the 30th Central Research Institute of Aviation and Cosmonautics in Leningrad, where he supervised the development of aviation equipment, in particular 5 types of aircraft and 7 types of helicopters. In 1974 he was awarded the academic degree of Candidate of Naval Sciences; has the academic title of associate professor. A man of an active life position, Vasily Ivanovich Minakov was one of the organizers of the veterans movement in Russia. Until his last days, he was deputy chairman of the Interregional public organization “Council of Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation and Full Knights of the Order of Glory of the City of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.” His suggestions and advice were important for supporting veterans in preparation for celebrating anniversaries of the military history of our country. He made a huge contribution to the patriotic education of youth, cadets of military schools and cadet corps. The memory of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General of Aviation Vasily Ivanovich Minakov will forever remain in our hearts,” says the obituary, which was signed by V.I. Matvienko, G.S. Poltavchenko, A.Yu. Drozdenko, V.S. Makarov, Kartapolov A.V., Govorunov A.N., Albin I.N., Bondarenko N. L., Kazanskaya O.A., Kirillov V.V., Markov O.A., Movchan S.N., Mokretsov M.P., Brodsky M.N., Rublevsky V.V., Golovin A.N. , Serov K.N., Rzhanenkov A.N., Abdulina R.Yu., Bogdanov L.P., Vorobyova Zh.V., Kolabutin V.M., Maksimov A.S., Fomenko G.D., Heroes Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation and full holders of the Order of Glory of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.

His biggest victory was the sinking of the TE transport during the liberation of Sevastopol in 1944; 3,500 German soldiers and officers were evacuated on board, along with weapons and equipment. For this, Vasily Minakov was awarded the title of Knight of the Order of Alexander Nevsky.

- Vasily Ivanovich, what was your first combat mission?

We were raised at night and told that our last ships had left Sevastopol and there were children on these ships. And we need to cover them. So we took off. The eldest, Osipov, tells me: “I will be at the top, at 4 thousand meters. And you go downstairs.” The Germans arrived and we started bombing each other.

- How were the battles on the Black Sea?

- The war on the Black Sea is a difficult time. Especially in 1942. The offensive began from Voronezh at the end of July. German troops were rushing to both the Caucasus and Stalingrad. I was a torpedo bomber pilot, and we worked in these two directions. At that time, our troops were sent to bomb the crossing near Stalingrad and carry out tasks at sea - to go to bases and ports.

We bombed concentrations of German barges, ships and other vehicles. We flew a lot: both day and night. I was a first class pilot. I was sent at night to search for the enemy. When a convoy was discovered, it was necessary to fight. And at night, if you make a torpedo strike, you need to descend 30 meters and go on the attack. And here is water.

Well, I had a lot of experience, so we managed. When the situation at Stalingrad and in the Caucasus stabilized, we were sent on other missions. One day a reconnaissance plane was discovered. This meant that a convoy was coming. A convoy is one or two transports that cover about 7-8 warships. And so they send two of our planes 700-800 kilometers away to destroy the enemy. When we were attacked, a lot of my guys died.

On every third mission, as a rule, we were shot down, because there was no cover. It became easier in 1944, when we began to attack and liberate Crimea.

- Was it scary to fight?

- As a rule, we sat in readiness. For example, in Gelendzhik you always had to be 15 minutes ready. Until we were called, some played dominoes, some played chess. Moreover, we were sitting 15 kilometers from the front, the Germans were firing at us all the time, and we were covered by a concrete slab about 10 meters away.

And when suddenly there is a call and they give us a task, they tell us where the convoy was found, how many vehicles are in this train, what the course is, their location, and so on. After this, the heart beats calmly, everyone boards the plane and starts the engines. And when the engine starts, you forget about all the dangers and fly.

Of course, great anxiety arises when you go on the attack. The attack was carried out with torpedoes from 600 meters away. And the Nazis started shooting at us from about a kilometer away - from cannons, from anti-aircraft guns, from fighters. A difficult situation was being created. I got hit several times. But apparently I was born wearing a shirt.

-What was the war like for you?

- War has become a great science for all our people. That's why I wrote 19 books. All of them are dedicated to our beloved Leningrad. These books are mainly for young people, so that they can read and learn how everything was during the Great Patriotic War and what courage, what heroism we showed. I have a big score - 206 combat missions. During the war, our crew destroyed more than 30 enemy ships.

Today our younger generation greets veterans with great attention and respect; they want to learn more about the past, about the war, about our great victories. I am confident that our descendants, if necessary, will defend Russia just as valiantly.

Vasily Ivanovich, I know that you have already said everything you wanted in your books. Numerous essays and articles have been written about you. And therefore I would like to ask questions that are not often asked. Here I have your biography in my hands. It will be like a cheat sheet for me.

Let's. I have prepared a lot for you.

Thank you!

This is the autobiography that I will give you, a photograph, and there are other various interesting documents there. I will give you this book, it is a rare book. There are 53 heroes here. They all served in our city, and fought everywhere, in the Black Sea and Baltic Fleet... and in the Air Force. /“The Tale of a Feat”, comp. A.F. Pinchuk. – St. Petersburg: Creative Association “Palmira”, 2005.-576 p. – note/

Here is Mazurenko... Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Here is a photo of Mazurenko. This is my friend. He and I were in the same squadron at the Yeisk Naval Aviation School, studied in the same group, and our bunks were next to each other. We flew in one group, and then he ended up in the Baltic, I ended up in the Pacific Fleet. We kept in touch during the war. Here, in the Baltic Fleet, he took part in battles from the first days of the war. Nobody remembers the first flight that I wanted to tell you about. The fate of Leningrad was decided in the first days of the war. He would have been captured if not for naval aviation. Can you imagine?!

Yes. I can imagine this very well.

When I became acquainted with the history of the first days of the war in the Baltic, it was a long time ago, I was simply delighted! When everything... The Germans had already broken through to the Western Dvina. Daugavpils, there is such a city three hundred kilometers away /from the then border - note/, they already captured Daugavpils on the fifth day... Can you imagine?! There are 500 kilometers left to Leningrad! There are almost no troops. Few. Front-line aviation cannot operate. There are no defensive structures. Catastrophe! They would have arrived in Leningrad in a week or a week and a half.

And then they raised naval aviation, strike aviation, three regiments, each with 60 aircraft, to strike. But more on that later...

What do you want from me?

What’s interesting to me is this: you were in all four fleets. A completely unique thing!

Yes. And twice! Nobody has such experience. I will give you a newspaper that says: “Salute from four fleets!” This is how I was congratulated on my Anniversary.

I want to know if there are any fundamental differences in the fighting spirit, attitude, and education of our pilots and naval aviation navigators in different fleets? After all, the service conditions, terrain, and climate are different. But all fleets are dear to you. Can you compare this?

It's clear.

One more question. You found yourself in the defense of Crimea and the Caucasus during the most terrible days and months. I'm interested in your opinion today...

Yes. Those who did not fight in 1942 do not know war.

So I would like to know your opinion from the height of your past years about the defense of Sevastopol, about its surrender. The opinion of a man who later became a major military leader and leader.

And there will be a number of questions about the war and post-war service.

Come on, I’ll now give you everything that I have prepared so that you have clarity, and then we’ll start.

Here is my autobiography. Everything is written here. I have 31 sorties for torpedo attacks, a lot of ships were sunk, and about 100 sorties by land...

From the biography of the Hero.

Born 02/07/1921 in the city of Mineralnye Vody, Stavropol Territory. Graduated from 9th grade of high school. He studied at the Pyatigorsk flying club. In December 1940 graduated from the Yeisk Naval Aviation School named after I.V. Stalin. He served as a pilot in the 4th mine and torpedo aviation regiment of the Pacific Fleet Air Force.

Participated in battles in the Second World War from June 1942. as part of the 36th, and from October 1942 as part of the 5th Guards Mine and Torpedo Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force. Participated in the defense of the Caucasus, in the liberation of Crimea, Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria.

In total, V.I.’s combat account includes: Minakov 206 combat missions (including 71 at night). Of these, 108 were for bombing strikes on sea and land targets, 31 for torpedo attacks, 28 for aerial reconnaissance, 28 for mine laying. Through combat and torpedo strikes, he destroyed 13 enemy transports (including 7 personally and 6 in a group) with a total displacement of 36,500 tons, 5 dry cargo and 7 high-speed landing barges, 4 patrol boats, 1 minesweeper, 1 tugboat. Destroyed 4 ammunition depots, 4 railway stations, and a crossing over the Don River. In air battles he shot down 4 enemy aircraft. The most enormous success was the sinking on May 10, 1944, off the Crimean coast as part of the Teya transport group with a displacement of 2,773 tons with 3,500 enemy soldiers on board. Wounded twice.

By Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated November 5, 1944. For the courage and heroism shown during the liberation of Crimea from the Nazi invaders, Guard Senior Lieutenant Vasily Ivanovich Minakov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 3818).

In 1945 graduated from the Higher Aviation Courses of the Navy Air Force in Mozdok and returned to his 5th MTA in the Black Sea Fleet. Since December 1947 - in the 68th mtap 19th mtad in the Baltic. In 1952 graduated from the Military Medical Academy named after. Voroshilov and appointed commander of the 52nd Guards. mtap 89th mtad air force 5th fleet (Pacific Ocean). Since December 1955 - commander of the 128th Guards. mtad air force of the Baltic fleet. In 1961 graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff and was appointed chief of staff - first deputy commander of the Northern Fleet Air Force.

In February 1971, he was appointed head of the 30th Research Institute of Aviation and Cosmonautics in Leningrad. Managed the development of aviation technology. During this time, the institute’s employees participated in the creation of five types of aircraft and 7 types of helicopters, most of which are still in service with domestic aviation today; dozens of samples of aviation technical complexes were also created. Since October 1985 - in reserve.

Major General of Aviation (02/18/1958), Candidate of Naval Sciences (1974), Associate Professor. Awarded the Orders of Lenin (1944), the October Revolution (1981), three Orders of the Red Banner (1942, 1945, 1965), the Order of Alexander Nevsky (1944), two Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (1944, 1985), two Orders of the Red Star , Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd degree (1980), medals, as well as a foreign award - the Order of the Red Banner (People's Republic of Bulgaria). In the city of Mineralnye Vody, in the Alley of Heroes, a stele with a bas-relief was installed.

Five Il-4s drop high-altitude torpedoes on a convoy

It was my 90th birthday. V.I. Matvienko /governor of St. Petersburg - note/ was eager to come to me for the Anniversary. I sent her such a postcard - an invitation, I sent it to everyone invited. And this has to happen, she got the flu. Vice-Governor L.A. arrived in her place. Kostkin and A.N. Rzhanenkov (on social issues). There was an hour left, Valentina Ivanovna called:

Vasily Ivanovich, I’m in Smolny, I’m not receiving anyone and I won’t be able to come. But I sincerely congratulate you!

Many guests arrived from Moscow, Commander of Naval Aviation 1994-2000. - note / Colonel General Deineka Vladimir Grigorievich, other comrades. Many scientists arrived. 65 people in the restaurant. And what’s surprising to me is that probably 30 or more people performed, but when the celebration ended, almost everything was left intact on the tables. Everyone listened to stories and memories about me...

For many Heroes, their service in the war ended. Let’s not hide the fact that some people got drunk, some became “barrier guards.” Some people fell down after the war... even Heroes. But you continued to serve, studied hard, studied, wrote, you did so much to perpetuate the memory of the War Heroes. That's what's important! And somehow you were asked less about your subsequent life after the war.

The Navy Aviation Museum has all my books. Here on the table there are 8 or 9, and there are 18 in total. You can see everything, there are very good photographs there, they give some memory of the past war. This is my torpedo bomber.

Yes. I flew on it, but I started on a different plane. This is a unique photo! These are dropped by high-altitude combat torpedoes.

Does this group reset at the same time?

Group. High-altitude torpedoes are dropped: the lower echelon is from 300 meters, it is impossible to go lower, you need the parachute to open, from the lower echelon to the “ceiling”. Moreover, when the torpedo is dropped, the parachute opens, it flies on it for about 50 seconds, and splashes down. The torpedo is disconnected and begins to circulate. Here is a convoy 400-500 meters ahead, while a torpedo is descending... Look how many torpedoes there are. And I had such cases, even transport was sunk. This is a very interesting torpedo! But the efficiency is much lower than that of a low-altitude torpedo. If that one is considered 100%, then this one is only 20-30%. Because there you drop it with precision. The transport is coming, I took aim...

This plane is unique! About 20 bombs could be hung on it. These were kilogram fragmentation bombs, which produced 250-300 fragments, 2.5-kilogram fragments, 10, 50, 100, 250, 500-kilogram fragments, a ton, and other types of bombs, anti-submarine, incendiary bombs - everything was hung on this plane. There is a hatch in the center section; 10 high-explosive bombs were hung here. And 3 more bombs could be hung on locks under the center section. It was a bomber, a torpedo bomber, and we laid mines for about 50 minutes.

- Where did you place the minefields?

There is such a port on the Black Sea, near Constanta, Odessa, when it was occupied, mines were dropped in Sevastopol itself, and there were a lot of explosions in the Kerch Strait. They laid mines on the Danube river. The mines were Gayraud /AMG-1/ impact mines, and already at the end of 1942, English electromagnetic mines began to arrive. Geyrov's mine had horns, the ship had to collide with the mine, then it would explode. And here there is a mine at the bottom where we placed it, and it is installed for a while. You can put it so that it explodes immediately. It is possible with a delay of 5 days, especially on the Danube. Possible for 10, 20 days. Those. The ships sail for 20 days and then are blown up. It was a very good mine, and we also placed them. Mainly on rivers, on the Danube and so on.

Let me show you some more pictures. These are my friends. This is Alexey Mazurenko and I, we were friends with him. This is Sasha Razgonin, who recently died...

By the way, he is my flying club member. Together with him in the city of Mineralnye Vody we studied at the flying club, then we ended up at the Yeisk School.

Specifically in Mineralnye Vody? Not in Pyatigorsk?

No no. Okay, since you started about the flying club. In 1938, in the month of January, at the beginning of January, two instructors, Buryanov and Kashuba, came to our school in Mineralnye Vody. Kashuba later became a Hero of the Soviet Union. He saved Eremenko, who was surrounded by the Germans, and he took him out to Po-2. For this he was awarded the title of Hero. And Buryanov was later a test pilot. /GSS Kashuba Pavel Tarasovich, pilot of the 2nd air group. called General Staff of the Red Army, died in 1944. in Transcarpathia. Buryanov Georgy Ivanovich, Honored Test Pilot of the USSR OKB G.M. Beriev - note/

And so they gathered the 9th and 10th grades and said that a branch of the Pyatigorsk flying club was being created in the city of Mineralnye Vody. There will be 3 planes, 3 instructors, and we need to recruit 30 people, each group of 10 cadets. They recruit guys from production, from colleges, from schools. If there are 7 classes, they accepted. They said that whoever is accepted into this flying club will study theory in February, March and April, study documents, equipment, the aircraft, and from the beginning of May to October, fly a Po-2 aircraft for a month, study on the job. Well, six of us raised our hands. Then all these events began to take place, applications were written... But the main thing was health. Of the 6 people in our school, I was the only one who passed. I had already finished 9th grade, I was in 10th grade, I was 16 years old. I would have been 17 years old on February 7th, but here is a 16-year-old boy - I came.

And in fact, at the age of 17, I started studying at this flying club. Also from the schools (we have 3 large schools there, the Lenin school, the Stalin school...), probably 3 people - Sasha Razgonin, Sasha Chernyakhovsky, and I, Vasily Minakov - were mineral experts. We started to fly. So many interesting things! What a first flight it was! And so on, so on, so on...

Where in relation to the city was the club located in Mineralnye Vody?

This is the Kuma River, on its bank is a brick factory, and further away is a glass factory. Now everything has already been built up. And there is a small area, probably 400 meters in width and length. The field was simple. Three planes arrived from Pyatigorsk. There were boxes there, all sorts of tools and stuff were stored in them.

Have you ever thought about going into aviation before?

In general, this is how I became acquainted with aviation. It was, I think, '28. I was 8 years old. The Kuma River flows there on the outskirts of the city. In the summer it was, in my opinion, the month of June. We, 5 or 6 kids from the same street, swam and sunbathed. And suddenly such small planes fly. We had a big airport there, and at the brick factory on the outskirts there was a site, a field point. And they come in to land and sit down. We rushed there, our whole group. The planes, the first fighters, taxied and stood in a row. They didn't fill up with gasoline. One plane was gutted. The engine was acting up all the time. A pilot came out wearing a raglan and a headset - just a miracle for us! - I was tinkering with something, it turns out I was changing a spark plug.

And when he finished all this, he said:

Guys! Would someone bring some cold water?

And it was probably hot, 25 degrees. And they are still dressed. I quickly ran, asked my aunt for a bucket (there were houses nearby), and brought cold water. He got drunk. And when he flew away, he took this candle and handed it to me. Fuse! Speaks:

You must become a pilot! Here's a hint for the future!

Can you imagine? For me, boys?! And even at a time when all pilots seemed like heroes!

Yes. Years have passed. I joined the flying club. I started flying at the flying club, like everyone else. I probably did 20 training flights. And if I told you how we were prepared, you would laugh! The first thing they taught us was how to determine landing altitude. You enter the alignment, and from 10 meters you begin alignment, and begin to sit down.

When a plane is landing, it flies at a certain angle, from about 10 meters it begins to level out, smaller, smaller angle... And the pilot all the time looks 30 degrees to the left of the cockpit and 15 - 20 meters ahead, determines the distance to the ground. And as the ground approaches, the pilot gradually lifts the handle.

How about now? Exercise equipment! Please come, all stages of the flight - takeoff, flight, landing, and errors on the computer will be shown. But then this was not the case. Where the boxes from the airplanes stood on the border of the clearing, they buried a pillar 10 meters high, and a square beam was attached to this pillar. It's long. And they made such a booth on it, covered it with plywood, nailed a board, and a handle was inserted there. The rope was tied at the other end on that side. And this beam was there all the time. A group approached, there were 10 people in it, with an instructor:

Minakov, let's sit down.

I sit down. The instructor commands:

Let's fly!

They pull this rope, and I rise 10-11 meters. Then he says:

We begin to descend to level off.

And these guys are slowly letting go of the rope. This beam goes, goes, goes down. And I, as we were taught, look 30-35 degrees to the side and at a distance. Here I command:

Nine! - the instructor is silent, - Eight... Six. Five…

And when I got there, I command:

This means that they are letting go of this rope. And if I only make a mistake by half a meter, then this thing falls so decently, and my spine feels it, and there are sparks in my head. Sometimes some of them drank a meter deep.

That's how they taught it. This device was called “U-2”. We got some more training. “U-2” was installed on a small rotating device. They sat in the cockpit, the cadets turned, raised their noses, and let go. That's all the preparation.

Was this such a device instead of a simulator?

Instead of a trainer. Primitive, but so intelligible that you can’t even imagine! If you feel it once or twice, that’s all!

Can we go back a little? When you went to the flying club, how did your parents react to it? At that time, being an aviator was such a dangerous profession.

In one book everything is written about how they reacted. My grandmother, a very energetic woman, says:

Where are you going? You'll crash! - this is the first thing. Mother:

Oh, oh, oh, what are you doing, joining the aviators?! This aircraft, it flies, takes off from the ground...

And we have had an airport there since 1923. I started flying in 1938 of the last century. I saw these planes, there were problems with them. Brother too. The only father said:

Don't bother him! Let him try.

Like, if this is all nonsense, it will disappear on its own. He said this, my father was a wise man:

Let him try. The guy is young, he needs to choose.

That's all. And what’s interesting is that I remember what I remember at the flying club - it was in the month of August. Already in May, June, July we flew, went to the zone...

-Have you done aerobatics? Or weren't you allowed?

I did it for a while, but then somehow the interest faded away; I was more interested in flying routes.

So! I'm finishing up at the flying club. It was probably August - the month, I was already flying on my own. Well, the first flights were familiarization flights in a circle, then they started flying into the zone, then they started aerobatics, all sorts of rolls, flips, corkscrews, loops and so on. Everyone did it. And they worked it out completely. What's available. We didn’t turn the Immelman, we didn’t have enough power. The plane has 100 horsepower in total.

And this happened! There were flights... Well, how did you study at the flying club? If they are workers, then they work until lunchtime and go on weekends. Schoolchildren, there were three of us, we were on vacation at that time. And on the outskirts of the city there is a large clearing, 600 meters away, a brick factory, and the Kuma River. This means that a combat pilot, a lieutenant, has come, so short in stature. On his chest he has the Order of the Red Banner. We were all amazed there! And he says:

I am a mineral explorer, I came to rest. I am a participant in the battles at Khalkin Gol, a fighter pilot, I shot down Japanese planes, for which I was awarded this order. And I would like to look at the city a little from the air and breathe my native air. Can't I fly with a cadet?!

They answer him:

We don't trust you because you are not ours. We'll assign you a cadet.

And instructor Georgy Buryanov says:

Minakov, show me your aerobatics! Here's cadet Minakov.

I'm 17 years old! Can you imagine, a 17-year-old boy?! Such high trust, such respect. Well, I, of course, took this instruction, even an order, one might say, with such trepidation. I'm in the front cabin. The instructor told him:

You sit in the back seat and do not interfere with the controls. If anything happens, you fall there, then intervene.

There was a connection there - a tube from him to me, and he spoke through this tube. There was such a technique.

We took off, I gained an altitude of about 800-900 meters and began doing aerobatics. Loops, corkscrews - whatever we did there! I only had one figure, which I did not perform very well. A rollover is when you lift up the plane, once it lands on its shoulder blades and rushes down. But the cabin there was not particularly cleaned up. It turned over and made a slight delay in aerobatics. Well, everything that was not needed fell out there. Although in general I did everything /correctly/. We arrived and got off the plane. I approached the lieutenant:

May I receive some comments on the flight?!

He says:

You will become a real pilot, keep studying. Goodbye.

I shook hands, talked to the instructor, praised me and left.

And in fact, I turned out to be a pilot!

Yes, everything turned out “like in the movies”!

Not all. Then there was one delay. I am 17 years old. They only admit us to school at 18. In October, a commission came and checked us. I got caught up in the hype again. Usually they tumbled there and that's it. And the inspector tells me:

Let us fly along the route to Nevinnomyssk.

This is about 90 kilometers. Then we “went” there, to the railway. And the rain is heavy. We had tablets, but not leather, but metal, and there were maps. I'm flying, I decided to look at the map and started picking up the tablet. And the cabin is open, and only the visor in front of the face is transparent. I moved the edge of the tablet a little behind him, and he gave me points! And all my eyes were filled with glass. I shook my head, it’s good that I didn’t receive any defeats. Well, it arrived. He still gave me a “5”. I completed the entire course. Six of us, including me, graduated with honors. We were even sent to the Makopse holiday home near Tuapse.

Six people were selected for the School. And the commission that came from Yeisk says:

He doesn't fit. He is under 18 years old.

Can you imagine?! Only 3 months left...

I came upset. And my father is a locomotive driver, he came home from a trip and asks questions.

Why are you so sour?!

They didn't take it...

Come on! We'll arrange everything tomorrow!

How will we arrange it?

I will go with you to Pyatigorsk, I will say that you are worthy!

I calmed down a little, but I didn’t sleep that night. In the morning from Min. We went by train, it took 30 minutes. We arrived, we came to this flying club. He left me in a separate room:

Sit here.

He went himself, and after three minutes he came out.

You are a cadet!

What are you talking about?! Tell. I don't believe! I'll go to them now! - And he plucked up courage and went to where the commission was working.

What are you doing?! We've decided everything.

Am I a cadet or not?!

Your father proved that you are a cadet! Go! - and they escorted me from there.

I'm going to my father!

Well, tell me?!

I came to them and said: “Here is my son.”

He's missing 3 months until he turns 18 - November, December and January.

And I am a driver. When I drive a locomotive,” he tells them, “the locomotive runs well when it has steam. My son is like a locomotive. He had steam, and he walked like a locomotive. He graduated from the flying club with honors. What are you doing?! Three months will fly by until he arrives, he will prepare, build there, and so on.

You persuaded us, Ivan Ivanovich. Your son is a cadet. Go calmly.

That's how I got into school!

Dad - well done! Well done!

Can you imagine? At that time, 1000 people came to enroll in the Yeisk School! Have you ever been to Yeysk?

Of course there was.

When you get there, you need to climb a hill. And the school is on the outskirts. And so they brought us there in formation, 1000 people gathered. The check has begun. And the main thing is health.

Can I interrupt? Did you know right away that you were joining the bombers?

Why am I going to the bombers? Firstly, maybe you’ll write a book later to remember that several people from us, from Mineralnye Vody, went to the Yeisk School. Our piloting technique was checked again and we underwent a medical examination. And out of six people, four were accepted: me, Chernyakhovsky, Razgonin - schoolchildren, Alefirenko - from the working class. A total of 1,000 people came to Yeisk that year, but it was necessary to recruit 600. And so 400 people dropped out. And moreover, they weeded out the good guys, some for health reasons, some for other reasons.

And I, as a doctor, will also tell you, you will understand. I, too, was almost eliminated due to health reasons. When I was a boy, I was probably 10 years old. The house was next to our railroad, everything was loaded there, and so on. And there were some tractors driving around there, and there were two trailers. And then a tractor was pulling a chaise, and I ran in there and wanted to take a ride. Maybe a meter and a half - that’s how thick the bundle is, he pulled it, and I fell and got under the wheel with my foot. Can you imagine, a boy getting kicked under the wheel?

Fracture?

No. The leg is small. There were not paving stones there, but such stones. And my foot fell between these stones, and everything was ripped off for me. I walked around with my skin torn off for two months. The doctors in the commission looked at:

One of your legs is “two millimeters” shorter.

Yes, I will dance whatever you want! Now I'll dance salsa for you!

Short-legged, get out of here!

This is such a quibble. We selected them very carefully. And I still have a small scar on this leg. The commission noticed a scar. I told it out of stupidity and honesty. They again:

No, you don't fit.

I went to the chief doctor on the commission. He:

What is it?! Nonsense. You will be a cadet!

Well, I’ll tell you a little more about the Yeisk School. And we will continue according to your plan.

I know the history of the school itself well. Please tell us about yourself. What do you remember about your cadet years?

In 1938, I was accepted into the Yeisk Naval Aviation School and assigned to the 6th squadron. The first month we were engaged in drill training. At first we snorted. And this is so necessary for a military man! We went to the parade ground two or three times a day, and marched two or three times for a whole month. At the beginning of January we started studying.

There were 6 squadrons in total. And at that time, in 1938, each squadron had 100 people, 10 groups of 10 people. Ours was the 6th squadron. What kind of squadrons were there: 1st naval squadron, flew MBR-2 aircraft; 2nd squadron - on SB; 3rd, 4th, 5th - on I-15 and I-16 fighters; 6th - on SB planes (but that happened later).

And in 1938 we were just starting to study. They cooked very well. All winter and spring, we studied theory and went deep. Engines... We completed the course until May and began to fly. We started flying on R-5 planes for a whole period. R-5 is a single-engine aircraft with a water-cooled engine. Once upon a time they set records on it, they flew to Turkey. Can you imagine?

I present this plane. He was already old then.

Such agony! You take off, and the radiator is down - it’s a whole shovel like this... And when you land, you need to remove it. If it's a hard landing, it may come off. There were all sorts of tricks with this plane. It was such agony.

I took the first course and graduated. We were in Kukharivka not far from Yeisk. I’ve forgotten the instructor’s last name now, but the instructor was very good. And the second year - we were on SB. This is a high-speed bomber: 21 meters, 2 engines, metal body. And the R-5 was all wooden, two-seater - there was an instructor and a pilot...

We started flying on the SB, and I had such trouble that I almost lost my aviation and my life. There was such a pilot Sidorov from the Pyatigorsk flying club, and I am from the Min.Vod. We were first taken out on SB planes, and then released on our own. On this plane, the emergency landing gear release handle was in the cockpit of the gunner-radio operator... If, for example, the “leg” didn’t lock there. But there were no gunners-radio operators at the School, and the cadets were imprisoned. Sidorov is flying, and I am in the rear cockpit, just in case. If it’s just that, then I’ll turn this handle and pull the rack out with the cable. They put me with this Sidorov on his first flight.

I remember that morning. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the larks. And we took off. His first flight is on his own. He made a circle, came in, lowered the landing gear, and is landing gradually - everything is going well. I’m sitting in the rear cockpit, and as the flight progresses I look under the wing. Already 4th spread. He landed smoothly - 200, 100 meters, levels well, 10 meters by eye, goes, goes... And just about to touch, and suddenly his wheels hit the ground, and it turned out to be a “goat”. The car took off from the ground, rose, maybe a meter, maybe less... It would seem that he should hold the handle and pick it up again, so as not to gain further height. And it gives full thrust to the engines, 2 engines. The flaps are down, the trimmer is unscrewed, the steering wheel can’t be held... He tried to do something instead of removing everything, and at least flop down...

The plane went up, stood on its tail like that, probably 15-20 meters, maybe gained a little more and fell onto the wing and hit. The wing saved us. The wing (10 meters) - in an accordion, damped - that's it. The other wing is sticking out. Then the plane turns around - the nose, the impact, the cockpit torn off - that's two. This wing was also torn off by the second blow, and all the softening is going on. And the third blow - the tail where I was sitting came off the fuselage. And only a piece of this metal remained...

Clearly, the weakest point of the fuselage.

When he began to fall, I instantly turned 180 degrees, grabbed the machine gun turret and pressed myself against the seat with all my might, thinking that the blow would somehow stop. When the impact was so terrible, the engines immediately stalled.

Silence. Everything stopped. I sit and grab the turret. Such a stranglehold! Probably, if they tried to tear it off, their hands would be pulled out. First, I thought, am I really alive, am I injured?! I tried it, nothing seemed to happen, everything was quiet. Then - with my hands, I look - everything seems to be fine.

There are already ambulances rushing by. I started to get out, the nurse and the doctor also shouted to me:

Don't come out! Don't come out! We'll get you out ourselves now.

And I already stood up in the cabin, and they helped me get out. So I’m walking around, and this is my state... They quickly gave me ammonia, and I left. They are already shouting:

Pilot! Get the pilot out! He's bleeding!

Sidorov was still sitting in the cockpit. He only wore a belt and did not use shoulder straps. And he hit the dashboard, knocked out his teeth, but remained intact.

There was a trial. Pilot Sidorov was sentenced to two years in prison. And I was a witness. I was asked tricky questions:

What would you do?!

And so I told you what I would do.

And after that I told the instructor:

I'm afraid to fly in the rear cockpit.

And how both the flight commander and the squadron commander began to find fault with me. Everything is checked for deductions. And I'm flying, everything is fine. I told the instructor:

I won't fly in the rear cockpit, I'm afraid.

I told him directly. That's it.

I wanted to ask, were there often flight accidents at the school?

It wasn't, it wasn't. There were no more in our squadron. There was one incident on the I-16, a fighter. He's so nimble. It was a disaster. And there was another incident. We definitely needed to jump with a parachute. Already when we flew to SB, it was daylight, it was summer. We came there in the morning, the parachutes the day before and watched for ourselves how they were stowed. We climbed 700-800 meters in airplanes and jumped. And again I have an incident. First of all, I overslept. Everyone has already left. And the school was located about two hundred meters from the airfield. I woke up, quickly got dressed, and ran. Instructor, mat-remat:

What are you doing?

Okay, I allowed it. I sat in the front cabin, and the instructor was in the second cabin. We gained altitude. I got out of the cab...

Was it the R-5?

No, U-2. There he maintains a speed of 80 - 90 kilometers. I got out, turned my back to the engine, got ready to jump and held on...

Over the edge of the cabin or over the brace?

No, there is not a brace there, but just part of this cabin. I grab the side part and put it on... There must be a ring here with an elastic band and so on. Well, while I was putting it on and putting it on, something didn’t work out a little. Do you know what a parachute is? I pulled out this cable from the grommet, there are three holes, I only have to pull it out of one. And the instructor, I see, his eyes are square and his face is wild.

Crazy?

Jump! Jump! - speaks.

It turns out that the parachute began to stretch - a pilot parachute. Well, I jumped and counted - ...21, 22, 23, 24 - I pulled. The parachute does not open, something is holding it. He pulled it a second time. I think that’s it, now I’m going to make an emergency landing. I just wanted to pull the ring on my stomach, and then the main parachute pulled out and hit me in the face with a rag. The parachute opened about 300 meters. There everyone was already clutching their heads. For the badge I was given 25 rubles /parachutist badge - approx./. That was a lot of money at the time.

We had a graduation in December. Before that, they released us as lieutenants, but they wanted us as sergeants.

The famous Timoshenkovsky order.

There was such a Tymoshenko - People's Commissar of Defense... In the summer we tried on the Yeisk uniform, we had our own tailoring, here it was wide, here it was narrow, here this very wing was very beautiful - everything was as it should be. It’s good that our head of the school, Major General of Aviation Andreev, came to Moscow three times and knocked on the door of this People’s Commissar:

How so?! Release our guys as lieutenants!

Okay,” Timoshenko agreed, “for the last time, as junior lieutenants.” They cut off half of our stripes (lieutenants had two stripes - approx.) and we came out as junior lieutenants.

Imagine, 500 people built us, but only 600 of us graduated. But in August, one squadron was taken away ahead of schedule, because well-known events were unfolding in Western Ukraine and Moldova, and the fighters were sent to the fleets. So 500 of us pilots were lined up in the gym and were seen off like that. We left as junior lieutenants.

- By the way, were the flight schools of the Navy still subordinate to the People's Commissar of Defense?

Everyone was subordinate to the People's Commissar of Defense. Both sea and land. When graduation is already underway, after graduation - in the navy, for example - everyone is subordinate to Kuznetsov. By type of armed forces.

What about schools? Who awarded the first title?

Minister, People's Commissar of Defense. /Until 1937, the Yeisk Aviation School produced pilots only for the Navy, but was subordinate to the command of the North Caucasus Military District. In 1937 it was transferred to the command of the Navy. In the summer of 1956, it was again transferred to the North Caucasian Military District Air Force and ceased to be “sea” - approx./.

May I ask, did you graduate from SB?

Yes, on SB. A! That's how I ended up in the bomber room, it's good that you reminded me. When we finished the first year on the R-5, an officer came to us, there were commanders then, and said:

Am I authorized to know what kind of aircraft you want to fly after graduation, a seaplane or a bomber?

There were ICBMs there.

Yes, or on bombers, on SB - you choose.

I want bombers.

Of course, the instructors wrote to me in their evaluations and characteristics... He asked:

I said:

And why?

I thought that it would be such a solid plane, on which there was some kind of crew, there were three or four people. And we already knew that there were 8 people on the TB, a heavy four-engine one. Some kind of solidity. That's just what drew me in. The desire to fly on a reputable plane. Well, this I-16 is spinning, such a “circus performer”. Circus man! And we also had a disaster there - a cadet fell. In general, there were many accidents on fighter planes. It was especially difficult to land. The plane's wings were broken.

OK it's all over Now. I came to Mineralnye Vody to visit my beloved Tamarochka, spent a vacation, and she studied at the Pyatigorsk Pedagogical Institute, and said:

You will graduate next year. Or I’ll send you money, you’ll come. Or I’ll follow you, I’ll take a vacation, I’ll come back in ’41.

After graduating from the Yeisk School, 18 people from the squadron, where there were 100 of us, were sent to the Pacific Ocean. And the remaining 82 people are assigned to the Black, Baltic and Northern fleets. That's how I ended up in the Pacific Fleet.

And then it turned out to be unsuccessful. Four people traveled to the Far East together. Three people from the Pyatigorsk flying club - Agafonov, Savelyev, Minakov, and our parents saw us off. And then there’s Tkachuk. And we were tall guys, we were 180 cm tall. And Savelyev was smaller, 170 cm. We arrived in Vladivostok, and there, you can’t imagine, of course...

Was not.

There is water, a port, and a square on the right side. You leave the station, and across the square there was the Air Force headquarters. We crossed this square and got into the control room. Four people. We came to the personnel officers so that they could arrange where to go. They:

In! Guys, okay! Here you three, Minakov, Agafonov and Tkachuk, will go to Romanovka, there is a DB-3 plane. And you, Savelyev, will go to the regiment where the SB planes are.

And so I just miraculously ended up in this regiment in Romanovka, 35-40 kilometers from Vladivostok. This is the 4th mine and torpedo. The 1st was in the Baltic. I'll tell you later. Have you read my book?

And not just one. The 1st was in the Baltic, the 2nd was in the Black Sea, and the 3rd where?

But the 3rd was not there, because there was no mine-torpedo regiment in the north at that time, although it was planned. Mine and torpedoes were only in three fleets - the Pacific, Baltic and Black Sea. We ended up in the 4th mine-torpedo five-squadron. Each squadron has 12 aircraft. There were not enough flight personnel. They sent experienced pilots, senior lieutenants. If we were 20 years old, then they were already 30 years old. 18 people gathered, including us in this group, and we retrained for half a month.

Please tell me, were there people in this regiment who took part in battles with the Japanese and the Chinese?

Were. I'll come back to this now. Very few, but there were. There were also those from Finnish. Very few, two or three people.

What was your attitude towards all these small conflicts that happened around before the war? What information was conveyed to you, what did you discuss among yourself? Or didn't they tell you anything?

About what? About conflicts?

Well, here’s Khalkhin Gol, Khasan, Finnish...

We knew about this from the newspapers. Nobody brought anything to us. We were only engaged in combat training. Moreover, in our regiment, it’s also interesting, there were five squadrons. One squadron was engaged in low torpedo launching. Our squadron was engaged in high-altitude torpedo throwing. One squadron - dive bombers, dived on the DB-3 - some modifications were carried out on the aircraft. And two squadrons were regular bomber squadrons. And they were based at three airfields, three squadrons in Romanovka, one in Novonezhino, and another squadron in Moscow. There was a large village in the ravine, called Moscow. There was a small airfield in this valley /Sukhodol - approx./).

Well, they started flying. There were frequent flights. We have already gone to the Sea of ​​Japan. DB-3 /DB-3T - note/ - the plane was complex, especially in the cockpit. You can imagine. If you release the chassis with one handle, then you need to open paired taps. And how many misunderstandings there were!

Everything is fine. June 22 has arrived. It's a day off. They announced to us that large maneuvers would take place in the Pacific Ocean on the 23rd. Garrison. There was a river on the outskirts. There were huge hills there, and the airfield itself was among the hills. There are hills all around. The place where we took off was called the “Maiden’s Breast” hill. About two hundred meters, like this. And there was only one free direction - to Sukhodol (a river like that), to the bay, where we took off more often with the wind. The airfield was a bit complicated... But 10 tons is still a machine.

Well, yes, such a device for those times!

On the 22nd, the youth went to the river. Volleyball. Girls. There was a gramophone. Everything was. And at 19 o'clock, the difference was 7 o'clock, an alarm sounded. And since it was nearby, you could even hear it on the river. But the most important thing is that some wise person, I think we should give a Lenin award or more, came up with the following: the SB plane was painted red.

Was it painted or was that the material?

No, it's just painted. When there was an alarm (and people were not only on the river, they were also walking through the taiga), you need to gather everyone at the airfield. Anxiety! And this plane flew. We were just putting on our pants and running. The buzz always attracted attention.

The pilot will definitely raise his head.

Yes, and a civilian will raise it. It is at a low altitude, 600 meters. We look - a red plane. And the alarm sounds. They came running. They were ordered to urgently disperse. By evening we were given targets. In no other fleet, I later inquired, did this happen. In case of war, we had to strike at Kobe. Kobe is a naval base /in Japan, on the island of Honshu – note/. Aircraft carriers were built there, aircraft carriers were parked there. They hung two 500 kg bombs. These goals were given. And wait means when there is a signal for departure. It was already late. They told everyone to disperse. The tents have already been set up. All these conflicts kept the command at a certain pace and tension. We were told:

Tents have already been prepared for you. And today you are moving out of the hostel.

There was also an instruction from the People's Commissar that whoever has not served for two years must live in the barracks for a year. There were about 30 people. And from this hostel we moved to tents. We wake up in the morning, I don’t know where I am. I went out, there was no airfield. The entire airfield is lined with haystacks...

Airfield?

Yes. Disguise. There are no planes in sight either. That's what it is. And two days later we flew to field airfields. One airfield, the second. Everything went and went. The war is on.

Please tell me, before the war itself, I had a chance to read, questions were repeatedly raised by Stalin, Timoshenko, Rychagov, the same thing, that aviation does not camouflage. Especially in the West. This was especially true for all-metal SB aircraft, which were simply not painted.

This is another matter. That's right, that's a good question. On the second day, all the aircraft of our regiment were painted.

And before that they were just silver?

Our aluminum is white. The whites stood. And then they painted it. Or rather, the top is white, and the bottom was painted blue at the factory. Light blue color, very light. White on top and blue underneath. And the next day they painted everything greenish, one tone. Summer, maybe, I don’t know. Every day sad news came. They began to write reports on the war. And there /in the Far East - note/ - the Kwantung million-strong army, which was stationed in Korea. Her task is to reach the Urals. They didn't let us go. We flew and learned to shoot. They dropped mannequins by parachute and shot at them from the ground. At first they didn’t hit at all. Then we learned to hit. At field airfields there are dugouts and caponiers.

And suddenly the news: on December 7, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, five aircraft carriers, two battleships, cruisers, and destroyers. Suddenly! We made 350 sorties. They sank the entire US Pacific fleet and disfigured it. It’s good that the aircraft carriers, two or three, simply went out for combat training and were not sunk. In short, it was clear to the junior lieutenants that the Japanese were stuck there. We also imagined what America was. Two years later, America gained so much momentum... And they went east to Indochina.

Tell me, please, this attack on the Americans did not bring such internal relief to ours?

Well, I think she brought relief to Stalin and the government. For us it’s just moral. We heard, of course, war, war... We, the young, did not truly understand what a cruel war was. Then, when I got to the front, I already understood. Sometimes there was no particular desire to go into battle, but they were forced, it was necessary. We already approached Moscow in December, and our squadron was the first to be sent to the front...

Can I ask a political question? If the Japanese had gone not to the south, but to the north, to the USSR. Would you be able to keep them?

Ground forces... There was a powerful fist from the Far East. From Vladivostok to Khabarovsk and further to Chita. During the war, only when there was hopelessness, at the end of November, when the Germans approached Moscow, only then did they begin to remove units from the Far East and transfer them to the West. And before that there was a powerful army there. It hasn't been filmed before. Only when Moscow needed to be defended. And Zhukov told Stalin - we need troops - and they drove. And before that they kept me there. And aviation. We had one mine and torpedo regiment, a second bomber regiment, that's 120 aircraft. This is power! In addition, there were many MBR-2s.

It can carry 400 kg of bombs.

They even carried 600. There was fighter aircraft. There was something to resist. Moreover, the Japanese only had fighter planes in Manchuria. So they were all basically there.

If the Japanese had thrown all their aviation, aircraft carriers, and ground forces at the Soviet Union?

I think they would have held on. There were the same in Mongolia and Khasan. It would be hard, but they would hold on. What kind of people are we?! We would fight.

And this needs to happen: it was on the 22nd of June, 1941, that my future wife was in Pyatigorsk, received a diploma and managed to give a telegram before lunch:

I am a teacher. Congratulations! Come! Yours Tamara.

And at 5 o’clock in the evening we found out... Then at 12 o’clock everyone found out, and there is a 7-hour difference with the Far East... they told us only at 19 o’clock...

We've come a long way, let's get down to business.

Yes, that's all to the point. Living story. I know that you loved your wife very much. This is a touching story.

And I got married, by the way, interestingly. I was the only person in the regiment during the war who went on vacation only 3 times. I fought a lot. He was also wounded in the head. I have my helmet over there. This helmet saved me. Did you read?

Yes, I read it. I remember.

I came to Min.Vody twice. Once, right in 1942, I was sent to a sanatorium. We were in the south, near Sochi. We met and I told her:

Tamara, if I stay alive, I will come and get married.

All! And I arrived in 1945, Hero of the Soviet Union, 5 orders, Gold Star, I say:

And they went and had a wedding. Oh, if you tell me, there are so many interesting things!

But I had other thoughts about our conversation. I wanted to talk about the actions of the naval aviation of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet at the beginning of the war. How she saved Leningrad. Do you know how many crews died near Dvinsk on one of the first days of the war?

I know that only 11 crews from the 1st mine and torpedo did not return that day...

Do you know how many crews went on missions in the first days of the war? 42 planes died near Dvinsk... did not return... My classmate, Petya Igashov, made a double ram. And Kramarenko... /Hero of Russia Pyotr Stepanovich Igashov, pilot of the 1st Guards MTAP, on a DB-3T aircraft, made the first ramming of an air and ground target in the history of aviation in one battle on June 30, 1941. above Dvinsk - note/

In our Museum we have material about Igashov, fragments of the plane from the place of his death. And Vladimir Tarasovich Melnikov wrote about him.

I deeply respect Melnikov, very deeply. Only he sometimes took materials “out of the blue.” But he did a lot, he needs to bow, bow and bow... 42 planes were lost that day...

Yes, there were also 72nd and...

There was the 57th and the 72nd... regiments...

I read about the tragedy over Dvinsk...

I am interested in the topic of pre-war airfield construction. I visited many old airfields of the Naval Aviation of the Leningrad Region, drew up a diagram of their location on the map and studied this issue. Before the war, even large airfields were without anti-aircraft cover and were not protected by anything except the forces of their own aviation. The Finnish company has already passed, but how is it that even after it they didn’t install at least some air defense batteries?! But tell me your opinion, why?!

This is a huge drawback! But an even greater drawback is that our neighbors, the Special Western District, lost 737 aircraft on the first day of the war - that’s 47% of the total number. I wrote about this in the book. Kopets, commander, Major General of Aviation, Hero of the Soviet Union, shot himself in his office the next day. Why?! Because the Germans conducted reconnaissance even before the start of the war, they knew where the planes were. But the planes were not dispersed to field airfields.

Naval aviation in three fleets in May dispersed all regiments to field airfields in squadrons. They brought in fuel and controls, and on the first day of the war not a single aircraft was lost. So that you know. Even in the North, where I served and was first deputy commander for 10 years. I know this story, how field airfields were made. What kind of airfields are there? This is the rock, and near the rock there is a small strip of land, about 600 meters, for I-15, I-16 fighters.

And in the West we had a whole Army!..

I'm sorry...

You said it mildly. This is such a disgrace.

There is another such question regarding the Baltic. Maybe you heard? If memory serves, the 18th squadron was stationed at Khabolovo. They say that the Germans were already advancing, and the engines on all the planes were removed, supposedly to be replaced with more powerful ones. The Germans fired at the airfield with long-range guns, the planes caught fire and all burned out, not a single one was able to take off. And the personnel were then transferred without equipment to the Black Sea Fleet.

I don't know. But it could have been. What planes were there?

ICBM?! It gave a maximum speed of 130 km/h. More than 1,200 aircraft were produced, and there were many of them in all fleets. I wrote in the book: there were 717 aircraft in the Baltic, of which more than 150 ICBMs, more than 300 fighters, the rest were bombers, I have it written down there.

But I'm still interested in your opinion...

Well, it’s not okay that there was no protection. Not in order!

What do you think could have caused this disorder? The command did not allow the thought that someone could enter our territory so deeply?!

You know, I will say this frankly. All the events that took place on the border from Murmansk to the Black Sea, they were deeply familiar only to, well, Stalin there... The High Command... Well, you understand. The Great Patriotic War began, an army of millions was invading, but even these units and formations, the armies that were at the front, were not ready. A few days later, 7 or 8 days, in my opinion, the Germans approached Minsk and captured it.

- In your opinion, was this the incompetence of our senior military commanders?!

No. This is not incompetence. It was the Kremlin political leadership that was confident that there would be no war for a couple of years. That's what they thought. It seems that the Germans “bowed down” here, gave up Estonia, and there, and here, and so on. And that’s why this situation happened.

Those. complacency?

Self-soothing, such a very confident self-soothing. It led to such a disaster.

Those. it was an error in the forecast.

This was actually a grave mistake! To put it mildly. Well, of course, new planes were produced, there were 1,800 planes, and T-34 tanks - all this was getting better. In another year, a year and a half, two years, we would have undergone rearmament.

It's clear. I was interested in your opinion as a front-line soldier. Can I ask about the North? One quick question. There was a front-line airfield in Roslyakovo. What happened there after the war? Do you remember this airfield? It is to the left of the road from Murmansk to Severomorsk.

Ahhhh. I know Roslyakovo, yes. Our warehouses were large there. And then they started building an airport there.

Until when was this an active airfield, can you tell me?

Roslyakovo was such an airfield. And, by the way, fighter planes were based there, and then attack aircraft were stationed there. And we had it as a reserve airfield. And then they built huge warehouses there. There were also cars there. This is interesting. Yes.

At first, I also asked to compare naval aviators in different fleets. You served on all four. Is there a difference in attitude and spirit in different fleets? Does the place of service leave any imprint?

You know, there was only one difference, in the Northern Fleet. These are completely different conditions, both natural and weather. But there was no difference.

The spirit of the pilots was very high! The morale was very high. Can you imagine what the pre-war preparation was like?! There were even songs. I’ll tell you just one detail, it’s very memorable, Pyotr Khokhlov told me about it. Pyotr Ilyich, who was the first to drop bombs on Berlin. /GSS Pyotr Ilyich Khokhlov – note/

I know that he was a navigator in Preobrazhensky’s crew.

And in 1943 he was transferred to the Black Sea. There were transfers - both squadrons and regiments. He came to us as a navigator of the division to Tokarev /GSS Tokarev Nikolai Aleksandrovich - note/. And Tokarev, back in the Finnish War, here in the Baltic, was awarded the title of Hero. And so he spoke about Daugavpils. When on the 30th they set the combat mission to bomb on land, many pilots openly came and said:

Where are you sending us? This is dry land. And we must fight at sea. There is no cover! Fighters cannot accompany us in range. There will be opposition. Let's go to our deaths!

And the commissioner answered them:

You understand one thing - this is about the fate of Leningrad. Will they capture him or not? And should we bow our heads to the Germans?!

It was just this that he reassured the pilots.

And the moral state was generally, I think, decent. This is the beginning of the war. But in 1942, when I went to the front, I already saw something else. This is a whole story about how I ended up in the Black Sea Fleet, but I was supposed to fly to the North. You will read this in the book “Front to the Sky”, everything is there. I was practically stolen. I was stolen! Do you want to tell me?!

Certainly!

When we were ferrying planes at the beginning of 1942, we flew to Moscow. The planes were received in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. At that time, three aircraft were produced per day. We arrived, there was a line. We waited 15 days. We received nine planes... And on these planes, already DB-3F - a different plane, a completely different plane /compares DB-3T and DB-3F - note/, we flew. We flew for 28 hours and 9000 km. There were landings in Chita, in Krasnoyarsk, before that we landed at the famous airfield, where the crossing with China takes place, between Khabarovsk and Chita... /Blagoveshchensk - approx./. They landed in Sverdlovsk. And they flew to Moscow. In Moscow, so you can imagine what the situation was like! We landed near Moscow at an airfield where the air force academy...

Chkalovsk.

Yes. Our squadron commander is Popovich Grigory Danilovich, he was also awarded the title of Hero. Zhavoronkov called him and said:

You lead 6 crews on planes and go to Safonov in the North. And 3 crews are going to Saransk, where two regiments are being formed, the 36th and 35th, which will fly to the North after formation.

Can you imagine? The Commander himself distributed each crew.

The squadron commander arrived and said:

Who's with me?!

We are all with you, Comrade Commander!

They rolled up 8 “tickets” and pulled. And 3 “tickets” - Minakov, Peregudov and Kosyachenko, we flew to Saransk. In Saransk I was immediately appointed flight commander. And 6 crews, commanders Popovich, Balashov, Agafonov, Tkachev, Sidorov, Zubkov, flew to the North.

After some time, a team of 6 people is created in Saransk and sent by train again to Komsomolsk-on-Amur. We received the planes there and are returning. And they flew for 6 - 7 hours, landing at airfields in Krasnoyarsk, Chita, Sverdlovsk, Omsk. We took off from Sverdlovsk, flew over the ridge, and my engine caught fire. The engine caught fire! I'm going to the navigator.

Volodya, is there an airfield or site somewhere?

There is a small platform here, it takes one and a half to two minutes to fly.

After two or three minutes, it was already visible. Krasnoufimsk And there was a flying club, they flew the U-2. And I came in with the plane on fire, barely landing on one engine. It’s good that we flew there in the mountains. He kept sliding right along the mountain and immediately, as soon as they approached, he lowered the landing gear. I go in, okay, I learned to fly in the mountains. And I slid these 400 meters, landing about three meters before the ditch. Otherwise the plane would have broken down.

And perhaps he would have died.

We sat down, I turned off the engine, and then the firefighters appeared. They threw on the cover. They paid it off. And there, it turns out, half the valve where the cylinders work was torn off. Well, such efficiency. I immediately reported to Moscow, to Sverdlovsk. Spare parts were already sent from Moscow on the second day. In general, after 4 days we fixed the defect ourselves. We repaired it and flew to Chamzinka, which is near Saransk. We arrive, and there is not a single plane there. Turned off the engine. The technician met us.

Where are the planes here, 35th Regiment?!

And today he flew to the North.

Well, it became clear to me. I tell my crew:

It's OK. We'll spend the night tonight. There were 27 of them flying, and we will catch up with them tomorrow.

And in the evening we are sitting in the dining room at the same table, Major, Hero of the Soviet Union Andrei Yakovlevich Efremov comes up.

Who is Minakov here?!

And I, a junior lieutenant, graduated from the School.

I am the commander of the 36th mine and torpedo regiment, which has already flown to the Black Sea.

And he was from the 1st Mine and Torpedo Regiment (and also took part in the bombing of Berlin and Daugavpils), and he was assigned to the Black Sea.

Tomorrow you will fly with me!

I'm not going anywhere. I'm from the 35th Regiment. But I don't know you.

Moscow knows that you and I will fly.

Well, it seems somehow inconvenient... And he also says, this has already alarmed me:

Tomorrow morning, at about 4, it’s still just dawn, come. Let's test the engines and we'll fly.

Well, on the other hand, coordinating with Moscow the flight of some junior lieutenant is strange.

No, not a junior lieutenant. It was he who allegedly agreed that he would fly on the plane.

This level is still not Moscow’s.

Well, in general, yes. I realized there was some kind of adventure here. Well, he’s a major, and we won’t fly to America or Germany. In the morning we arrived while it was still dark and the plane was prepared. As soon as dawn began, he arrived. Either he arrived or he came.

Minakov! We flew south. I sit in the front cockpit, you sit in the navigator's cockpit.

Launched. He hasn't flown for a long time. Promotion on takeoff...

Taking a big step?

No, he is at a small step. If on DB-3A, B and T there were two modes - large and small step, then here you can set it to any step. That is, depending on the damper, so many revolutions. We always took off at a certain speed. And he stuck it in completely. And promotion is on the rise. Good thing I was included with it:

Promotion! Promotion! Take it away!

And immediately “U-U-U-U-U”. And he took off the promotion. Otherwise we would have destroyed the engine. Then we flew normally. They sat down in Stalinabad. Then we arrived at Belorechenskaya and sat down. No, not in Belorechenskaya, they boarded in Maykop. There was the 2nd /later 5th Guards – approx./ regiment. The commander was Tokarev, Hero of the Soviet Union... Even with Efremov, here / in the Baltic in the 1st Guards. MTAP – approx./ I was a squadron commander, then a regiment commander. They tested an aircraft with the first locator in 1940. There was a disaster. But as a Hero, he was not condemned. He was the deputy commander of the 2nd MTAP in the Black Sea Fleet, then Tokarev was reinstated as the regiment commander of the 2nd MTAP in the Black Sea Fleet... We sat down, then I realized that he would talk to this commander.

“And you,” he says, “fly /to your 36th regiment – ​​note/, and don’t say that I arrived. And I’ll come tomorrow or the day after tomorrow by car.

This is Efremov, right?

Efremov. It so happened that I was immediately a flight commander. Barinov - squadron commander /36th MTAP - note/. We started to fight. In October, our regiment lost a lot. There are 10 vehicles left in the regiment. Including my plane. The regiment was sent at the end of October for reorganization. And (the equipment and part of the personnel) of our regiment were transferred to the 5th Guards.

Remaining planes.

The remaining planes flew there. The regiment flew away. Then Efremov, four months later, in April of the following year, 43 years old, was already flying on Bostons /36th MTAP - approx./. And we fought on the Il-4 / 5th Guards. MTAP – note/. In October, the DB-3F was renamed Il-4, named after the designer.

Thus, I ended up on the Black Sea, in the 36th mine and torpedo regiment, which was stationed in Belorechensk near Maykop, and began to fight there. And so I didn’t get to the North!

I was in a fighting mood! How did the Black Sea people greet you?

I didn’t tell you the most important thing! You are asking about the mood. I was very surprised! Comparing what happened in the first days and what Mazurenko and many people told me. It was twofold: people were eager, then they began to understand that the war was dealing with them very cruelly. The loss of friends and comrades is such a strong moral blow...

I flew there, and no one said anything. I think, well, at least the pilots have already told us something. A year has passed since the beginning of the war, I arrived in June. There were also my classmates with whom I graduated, at least they took it and told me about it. I began to walk and ask:

Tell me how it is here?!

Well, one says

- It’s necessary.

I saw fighters, there were fighters there, they told me how to maneuver, how to dodge anti-aircraft guns. But I literally pulled it out myself. When would it be easier for the commander to gather and say:

Guys, there is a war. There is experience of war, - just a few days later we started flying there, - This and that, that and that... There are participants in the war. Tell us the features. Ask questions...

But everyone kept everything to themselves...

It was hard when you sit in readiness. We even went to the airfield and sang songs. A lorry, about 10-15 people are sitting in the back, singing:

Oh, you, Galya, young Galya.

They speed-manufactured Galya and took her with them...

We arrive at the airfield, it’s completely different. Let's start getting ready. And the hardest thing happened when a combat mission was assigned. When they set a combat mission, they usually sit and prepare. There's a phone in there somewhere. The chief, the commander, came up and began: this, this, that, there is a convoy going on there, or there is an attack there, the task is being stated. This is the hardest time! I feel it in myself, in the faces of the guys, I feel it, all my comrades. Everyone felt such a strong, difficult moral state that there would be a battle, there would be deaths, we would burn, we would explode, we would fall - the whole nightmare that was happening there.

And only the task was set, and the command:

By plane!

All! I forgot all about it. You run to the plane, get on the plane, take off, fly to the goal. And we flew on land for 42 years. When you approach your goal, there is also some tension in the first minutes. Then this tension subsides. Haven't completed the task yet. Then you leave. You left the battle, well, you remember a little... That’s about the whole outline of a person’s condition in war. A pilot, of course.

That's how many twists and turns you have, but how lucky you are! God kissed you on the forehead! There have been such situations...

I'll tell you now. Sometimes I myself didn’t believe why everything saved me. On August 25, 1942, I was already fired upon, I had about 50 combat missions. And he brought holes, and sat down in an emergency - everything was done! But on August 25th something happened that I had never even thought about. I thought the fragments might get here, in my legs. But the following happened. The crew of a reconnaissance aircraft near Novorossiysk discovered tanks. German tanks walked and entered the collective farm garden and stood under the treetops. The scout first passed through, there was nothing. And when I looked from the side, there were about 70-80 tanks standing in this very garden, 50-60 kilometers from Novorossiysk. We were preparing for a breakthrough.

And out of alarm, our regiment, our squadron, was ordered to urgently strike these tanks. They hung 10 bombs in the fuselage, 3 bombs under the fuselage, that would be 90 and 27, and a total of 117 bombs, and sent it off. They said that there would be 6 more fighters. And we flew, 9 planes.

Those. 9 bombers and 6 escort fighters. What regiment were the fighters from?

There, near Novorossiysk, there was either the 32nd regiment, or... I have it somewhere... There was an airfield on Malaya Zemlya. It was from this airfield that they provided cover. You read my book, it’s detailed there.

And so we flew...

And here, this was announced even earlier, before me: on July 11, 1941, from our 2nd mine-torpedo regiment, which later became the 5th Guards Regiment in 1942, 12 planes bombed transport in the port in Sulina. The squadron commander and 2 other pilots were ordered to suppress the anti-aircraft guns. And so the squadron commander was attacked by fighters, Messerschmitts took off, and a 20 mm shell blew his head off. The navigator was not at a loss, Sasha Tolmachev. He later became a regiment navigator, a brigade navigator, a navigator in the Black Sea Fleet Air Force, and then we were brought together at the Academy of Fate. He inserted the handle in the front cockpit, there were throttle sectors, and he pulled it across the Danube and landed the plane. There were no Romanians there yet. Our people picked up the crew, three of them were wounded, and the pilot was buried there.

And after that, the flight crew, or rather, only the pilots, were ordered to put on helmets when there is an air battle, and when there is heavy shelling, when there is a sea of ​​​​fire flying from all sides. Black, high-explosive fragmentation shells are exploding. This helmet was always in the cockpit. We pulled out all the shock absorbers from the inside, and she was on the right side. If necessary, you lower your hand, pick it up and put it on. But I never wore it. I didn’t put it on until August 25th.

...But on the day they opened fire, you can’t imagine, it was hell! White, black, fragmentation shells are exploding, Oerlikons are hitting, piercing everything with “jets” - it’s a sea of ​​fire! And already when we went in to drop bombs, the hatches were open, some kind of self-preservation instinct kicked in for me. I took this helmet and pulled it on. Well, a few more seconds passed, the bombs started falling, I could already smell the smell of pyroxylin, which is what they put into the squibs to make the locks open. Literally 10 meters away from me, even 5 meters away from the wing, 3 shells exploded right next to the wing. Such blacks! That's what I remember, I don't remember anything else. It exploded and I lost consciousness in the air. All!

The height was 3200 meters. The plane went into a dive and began to dive vertically. It’s good that I always held the plane at the controls; it didn’t get too high. And I fell from 3200 meters to about 500 meters unconscious. The navigator was thrown forward, the gunners were there... The cockpit was torn off, the radio station was knocked over, etc.... The navigator could not close the bomb bays with the helm. And this also saved me. The plane was picking up speed, shaking all over, the hatches were open... This is the shaking... When I came to my senses and saw on the board 500 to 600 kilometers /hour/, I thought, well, that’s it, I’m dead! If you jump out... But where is it, already 500 meters?! In a second I would be in the ground. And I started to pull the steering wheel. The plane doesn't leave. It's all seconds! I've been telling this for a long time. I pull and it doesn’t work. Then I grab the trimmer, and the trimmer grabs the handle, and crank it three times. The plane gave way with a creak, y-y-o-o-oo, that’s it, I think, now...

And just like that, about 300 meters already. The overload is so big. It's obviously already reached 6. But I was conscious. I see the plane coming, I’m holding on to the controls, and I’ve already started to think about something like that. I took it with a suede glove and swiped it - everything was covered in blood. The face is all covered in blood. A fragment like this hit the plexiglass and hit me in this place, in my helmet. I lost consciousness because of him. A fragment fell in the cabin. These are my squeaks there:

Commander, what is it?!

But I don’t understand it myself. Then I see a hole whistling in the plexiglass.

Yes, this hit me like a piece of shrapnel.

Well, how? Will you bring the plane?!

Yes, I will. Everything is fine.

And he flew to his airfield. Planted. The squadron commander says:

Minakov, we thought you were dead!

Because I fell. Everyone reported that Minakov had been shot down.

Well, tell me!

While I was talking, the technician was climbing around in the cabin, came up and said:

Commander! As in that song, “and there are four steps to death,” and you were 3 centimeters from death. If only it were a little lower...

I had this fragment. I kept it in such a nice vase. And then they took me to the museum. And somewhere in the naval museum it is located. Here's a fragment.

And then I did so many sorties, more than 150 sorties, and in total I have 206 combat sorties, but I never put on a helmet. I was in hell, burning! I had 10 navigators, although only one was seriously crippled, and the rest were wounded.

Another time I almost threw up on my side. A fragment arrived, perhaps it also exploded, pierced the engine, one, two, three skins and pierced the side of the plane. And here is just a steel Bowden cable for dropping missiles. There were 4 missiles on the plane. And when they attack from below, the pilot drops them on command, and they parachute down and explode. The fighter goes to attack and is hit by shrapnel. And this Bowden cable saved me. A fragment fell where my helmet was. And he was flying here, he would have unfolded everything for me here.

Well, there were a lot of things.

Please tell me, how would you characterize Efremov?

As a pilot, of course, he almost never flew anymore. But the regiment commander is supposed to fly. Here Tokarev flew. And he died. And even served as a division commander. He was promoted to general. The first was a torpedo attack. During the entire war, only three regiment commanders participated in all fleets, and all three regiment commanders died in a torpedo attack. The division commander died in a torpedo attack. Every third person died in a torpedo attack. I have 32 torpedo attacks. If I tell you... read it here.

...We transferred to the 5th regiment.

Please tell me, I just have two questions left about Efremov.

Efremov was not at all sane, our crew saved him. He should have been shot down. Well, what about the regiment commander? He chose a mission where there was less opposition, no anti-aircraft guns, no fighters, and so on. And once we flew to the passes... Our regiment was based near Dranda, where the Airport is now. No, not in Dranda, but in Pitsunda. Then we flew to Dranda. We were ordered to bomb, it was August 1942, on the passes, the Germans had already entered the passes. And he got ready too. We are three planes.

Minakov, you will serve as my left wingman.

And he flew three planes with bombs. We took off, gained altitude, it was already 1500-2000 meters. We pass over Sukhumi. And suddenly the shooter shouts to me:

Commander, we are being attacked by a fighter!

Our territory, I-16 has entered. I looked and saw that the route was from him. And they attacked Efremov - a straight line of bullets flies.

Commander, can I hit him?

And he slashed, maybe even shot him down... Two I-16s attacked at once and turned over. It turned out that they had sent a regiment to guard Gudauta, and this regiment flew out to intercept, they thought it was the enemy. That's all. Then I told him, he kissed me and kissed me. And one more flight. Only two sorties, I flew with Zyryanov... We had been fighting for four or five months already. He is such a brave man, I will say. I'll tell you straight. He understood and understood aviation well.

There was another incident that almost killed me. Tokarev.

Efremov?

No, Tokarev. In the month of October. You can imagine? We formed a regiment, he came and read out the order that our regiment was leaving for reorganization. 11 or 10 aircraft.

You can rest. Tomorrow I will fill out the documents and everything else, and that’s it, I dismissed it.

I left my crew /to the 5th Guards MTAP/, the navigator with whom I flew, the gunner-radio operator (there was a gunner-radio operator and a gunner there). Shooter - for reorganization. There was a technician, then there was a mechanic, there was a mechanic - all of these went to reorganization. We've done everything. At about 20 o'clock we went, Drande was nearby, we went, sat down and started drinking cognac. And we drank until 11 at night.

So you drank that much?

Well, we had already drunk so much that I, of course, was in such a “good” state. Suddenly a semi-truck with a messenger arrives at night.

The commander calls you to take off.

What kind of departure, do you see my condition? I can barely stand on my feet. I won't go.

As you wish. Do you want to carry out the order or not?

Even though I was drunk, I saw that he wasn’t joking. I and the crew sat in the back of the lorry. He flew at speed. Apparently, he ordered us to be brought quickly. How did we not jump into the pits?! We arrived at the airfield, I went into the office, it was a dark night. He told me:

GSS Prilutsky Nikolay Aleksandrovich, navigator

Minakov! The order came: Belikov was ordered to fly, and his stomach hurt. But you need to fly, I decided to send you.

There are such cases. Who's going to check his belly? But you need to fly.

You see what condition I'm in, right?

There is an order - follow it! Now they will take you by car to the plane.

I don’t need any car,” I waved and went out, and squadron commander Osipov was waiting there (later the squadron commander died).

And I decided: on purpose, I think, I’ll walk through the airfield, and little by little the anger and fumes will settle. And fly not on your own plane, but on Belikov’s plane. On a completely different plane. Little by little it passed, the hops dropped a little. He climbed into the plane and began to launch it. And this squadron commander, Osipov (I once did my first combat flight with him when he was deputy) climbed onto the plane:

Minakov, how are you feeling?

Yes, you went to such and such a mother...

Prilutsky, there was such a navigator, he launched /GSS Prilutsky Nikolai Aleksandrovich - note/.

Nikolai, who is a war hero?

He's such a healthy guy, physically. Then he became a Hero. I’m taxiing out, it’s dark, and at the end of the airfield they’ve set up small bat-type lights. Three days ago a pilot crashed. He took off, dodged, and there was a forest. Everyone died.

Well, how are you feeling? - navigator - to me.

Kolya, the car is like someone else’s wife. This is my first time flying /on Belikov’s plane – note/. I’m already used to what’s mine, but here everything is foreign.

He got up and took off successfully. It took about three hours to fly to Sevastopol. And there the transport arrived in Yuzhnaya Bay. We were bombed with 3,250 kilogram bombs. I don’t know what happened to this transport, it looks like it was hit by one bomb. And the next day they said:

Fly for reconnaissance, and then fly to Gudauta with the 5th Regiment.

Did you fly IL-4 throughout the war?

Throughout the war on IL-4.

How many planes were changed?!

My plane has never been changed. Just being renovated. They made patches.

What are you talking about?!

Honestly! He was covered in patches. And my plane died on August 18, 1944. I was sent on vacation for 15 days. And then the operation to take Romania and Bulgaria began. The squadron commander flew on my plane; his own was faulty. He was shot down over Constanta. The squadron commander turned out to be not a smart one. When you fly, you need to maneuver and get away... It was not anti-aircraft guns that shot him down, but fighters. Fighters from our regiment shot down 4 planes over Constanta. This squadron commander, Daryin, is also a squadron commander, and also a flight commander and deputy. squadron commander.

And this needs to happen! I met the pilot who shot down our planes! Can you imagine?! You can’t even imagine! The one who shot down our planes, and shot down my plane, the bastard!

- When where?!

And that was it. I returned from vacation at the beginning of September. They gave me 15 days. Our regiment has already flown to Bulgaria and landed in Burgas. But 2 crews, one squadron commander and mine, remained. The regiment commander said:

Young pilots arrived from the school. Minakov will come, we need to teach them a little.

There was a Saki airfield near Yevpatoria. I flew with these guys for two weeks.

Suddenly the division commander urgently calls me. He flew from Burgas, and we were then based in Sarabuz.

Minakov, tomorrow morning you are flying to Burgas. Here's a letter for you.

This letter had to be handed over to the chief of staff of the division, then fly to Romania, there was an airfield near Constanta, and Romania had already been liberated. A car met us there, and we had to go to Mamaia. And there, standing nearby, was the 6th Guards Aviation Regiment flying Yak-3 fighters.

You will be loaded there and you must return immediately.

I flew to this airfield, got out, and looked - there were about 4 Messerschmitt-110 planes. I said to the driver:

Stop! - but I’m interested.

We left with a translator. Suddenly a small man comes up and shows me 4 outstretched fingers and shows me the plane on which I arrived. I ask the translator:

What he says?

It shows that he shot down 4 such planes.

I rushed at him and would have strangled this bastard! But the translator grabbed me by the hand:

No need, comrade captain! This is history already. No need.

But I still caught up with him once and hit him not with my hand, but with my foot.

I gave him a pendal.

Yes, he gave me a pendal. This is what the meeting was like. What a bastard!

And how they shot it down. The locator from the ground “saw” the approaching planes. Air defense fighters take off. They also have locators and 4 antennas, and there is a 5th in front. These fighters also direct at night from the ground: altitude, range - their locator works, and it flies to the target. And as soon as he visually noticed (and on the plane the fire is visible from the nozzles), he approaches and destroys our plane from 8 firing points. This is how my plane died...

He boasted to himself. Are you sure that he really shot down your plane?! Maybe he just said it out of spite?

It's him! If it weren’t for him, I would never have pointed at my plane and would not have shown the “four” ones that were shot down.

It was a Romanian air defense fighter pilot, right?

There were other fighters there too. But what a coincidence. Exactly!

Interesting! Happens.

I brought the cargo to Sarabuz. And these are tons of 2 products, there is caviar, champagne, different cognacs. About 20 sailors unload it all and arrange the boxes. Division commander:

Hurry! Hurry!

They pulled him out and he said:

Minakov, now you must fly to Malaya Zemlya and bring 500 bottles of champagne.

“Malaya Zemlya” is the one where heavy fighting took place.

I won't fly!

Why?! – he frowned.

It will be dark already. The airfield there is only 20 meters wide, there are no searchlights, no lighting, I will probably crash the plane. And who will be responsible for this?!

He thought about it. After:

No! Fly! There will be no demand from you! You can do it, I'm confident in you!

Can you imagine?! And I flew already at dusk, it was dark.

Is this the same day you returned from Burgas?

On the same day. I arrived from Burgas at about 18 o'clock. While the cargo was scattered. Yes, it takes me an hour to fly from Crimea to the North Caucasus. I was just in shock and knew that I would break the plane! I fly up, made one circle, made two. Then I see something flickering, some kind of light. Either they were told something, or they guessed - since the plane was circling, it was for a reason. They put these lanterns at the end of the airfield. I see a stripe and go in on the first try. I turned on the headlight for illumination, I never sat down with a headlight, but then I came in: so, I see this stripe, I walk, I walk, and already about 50 meters away I see that I should sit down normally. And I sat down safely. I just sighed when I sat down! I flew so much, such a pilot, and here... I couldn’t brake right away, because the plane might throw to the left, to the right, because you’re not pressing on the pedals in sync to stop. It will continue to pull, and there will be forests, ravines, and stones everywhere. Well, I slowly slowed down and taxied.

The command is already there:

We know what you need. Now we will download.

The car arrived. And how did they, poor people, load this champagne?! The gunner-radio operator has a hatch in the tail. Through this hatch where the bombs were hung, they placed boards there and stacked bottles of champagne. Then they somehow covered them with tarpaulin covers that were on the plane and secured them a little so that they wouldn’t fall apart during the flight.

But, of course, you won’t take off anymore. I waited until morning. I flew in the morning and brought these 500 bottles, or maybe a little more, of champagne. And the division commander arrives again:

Minakov and Prilutsky, you are now flying to your airfield, dress in full dress, we will meet Churchill. Sleep for two hours. Arrive there at 15:00 on a Po-2 plane.

We arrived, cleaned the trousers a little, ironed them, waxed the boots, shaved them, etc., and returned back.

And then Churchill arrived at Sarabuz airfield. It was October 9, 1944. He was met only by the Air Force Commander, Lieutenant General Ermachenkov Vasily Vasilyevich. And there are several other people there.

There were 3 barracks there. One barracks where the Germans used to live. They prepared everything there, covered them with carpets, tables, etc. There were three steps leading up to the entrance to the barracks. And the commander said, already at the entrance to the door:

And you are on the honor guard!

I stood and my navigator stood. Of course, we had orders and so on. Three cars drove up, Churchill got out, followed by several generals and his daughter...

Churchill's daughter?!

Yes, daughter, and maybe 10 more people. This Churchill is short, he shook his head and came up to us, first to the navigator, he was standing on the left side. I look - what is it?! He is small in stature, rises up to his little fingers, drops down, then turns to me and extends his hand. What I remember: his eyes are like fried fish, you know...

No. So cloudy, semi-blue in color. Well, I shook his hand too. And he entered. After a while he came out with a glass of cognac. We stood there for another 5 or 10 minutes, and they waved at us, saying, “Leave.” It turns out they drank until 12 o'clock at night, then went to Massandra on the shore.

That's why he had fish eyes.

Yes. But, by the way, his daughter stayed and danced with our guys. There were guys there, young people, and they danced with her almost until the morning. It is amazing! She and several other young women. I don’t know what was there, but there was champagne and they danced.

In Massandra they drank until the morning, and in the morning the British flew away.

Wow!

So many things have happened to me! And everything I tell you, I put in 18 books. I have 206 combat missions. I sank many ships, totaling 46,000 tons of displacement. No one in our Union has 46,000 tons. Even the one who sank from a submarine has 27,000 tons. In the Baltic.

Marinesko?

Marinesko. In 1944 I was awarded the title of GSS. I became deputy squadron commander, then squadron commander, I was 23 years old. Then he went to serve, graduated from higher officer courses, and graduated from the Naval Academy. He was deputy regiment commander in the Baltic. Then he was assigned to the Pacific Ocean. Then he commanded a guards division. Graduated from the General Staff Academy. Then he was first deputy commander in the north. Then 15 years as the head of a research institute, working for Pestel. On the Fontanka, you cross a block - this is our institute, a two-story building. Resigned from the Army in '85.

90th Birthday Invitation Card

Let me also ask you about your service in the 30th Research Institute, where you commanded. The topic of naval aviation is interesting to me. And you have had a hand in many samples of our technology.

This is a whole topic! Very briefly. I must tell you that I was not subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov, but to the Chief Marshal of Aviation, Pavel Stepanovich Kutakhov. What a miracle! And he worked for the fleet, for Gorshkov! You can imagine my condition. When they told me this, I was very unpleasant. Then I often visited Gorshkov, meeting him almost every month twice. Over the course of 15 years, I probably met with Kutakhov 8 times officially, or went to give reports, or he came to us. I even have pictures. But he was involved in the Air Force. First I was warned:

You are all doing research work, abbreviated as R&D, and about 150-180 of them were received at the institute every month, then they took some six months, some years, - the result of development, justification, writing technical specifications, design - report everything to us!

I sent the first report and am waiting for a response. A month passes, two... six months I waited for an answer. Then he spat and never reported again. And he immediately reported everything to Gorshkov. And if any issue was resolved, I got into the car, drove across the Neva... there were 7 research institutes working here, 1st, 4th, 31st, 16th and so on... I arrived and sat for half an hour. This is how I worked for 15 years.

I believed that we need to constantly create honor for our 30th Institute. What we did:

High-quality development of research work is the main thing;

Active work in Moscow - when the work is finished, go there (there were military customers), prove to them that the result of the work does not lie here as a dead weight;

Designing - the designers have already looked at everything, it suits them - we need to participate in the designing;

Stage 3 - participate in the tests, when they are transferred to the Volga.

That's how it worked for us. And as a result, they created 5 aircraft: the strategic Tu-142 (now still remaining at 2 airfields, in the Pacific Ocean and in the North), an anti-submarine aircraft that flew to both the Indian and Atlantic oceans, and flew everywhere; Su-27 aircraft, this was for an aircraft carrier, then it became Su-33; The MiG-29K is a whole story; then an anti-submarine aircraft, it was called “Albatross”, then the 202nd machine, now the Ministry of Emergency Situations flies on it, the planes extinguish fires...

Yes, Be-200; then an anti-submarine, practically multi-purpose aircraft, they did it in Taganrog. And helicopters: Ka-27, Ka-29, Ka-31 with radar and others. I reported to America about the Ka-27 and scared the Americans. I flew to America for a conference and scared them to death.

In general terms it is clear. If possible, tell me more specifically what you did to develop and introduce these planes and helicopters?

First of all, when I arrived, I was instructed by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Colonel General Mishuk, he was on construction:

Tell us what is required of you?!

I haven’t been there yet, and he asks what is required of me. What is required of me is to have a very good knowledge of foreign technology, fighters, bombers, what systems they have, and a good knowledge of our aircraft designers and industrial capabilities. We will justify it: first, we will work it all out mathematically and justify it, then we will write technical specifications, then we will coordinate all this with the designers, they accept it and start designing based on this data. After design, we participate in everything, then construction begins - we look at the layout.

Right! - He smiled and said: “I didn’t expect this from you.”

That is, your task included developing the concept of a new weapon, assigning its tactical and technical characteristics based on objective necessity.

Absolutely right, performance characteristics - tactical and technical characteristics. The performance characteristics go to the designer. And when it comes back from the designers with their amendments, we are already writing the TTZ, tactical and technical specifications. There it is already specific, what engines, what speeds, what thrusts, what masses - we write all this. It's crazy to tell.

It’s clear that you studied the state of aviation abroad, compared it with ours and tried to create promising technology that could...

Yes, it would be superior to a potential enemy in terms of combat capabilities and flight capabilities.

To fend off threats. I would also like to ask about Egypt.

Well, if that interests you. I'm talking about Egypt, okay!

In 1968, the Northern Fleet received an order: to send a squadron of our aircraft to Egypt. After 2 days, deputy commander Lieutenant General Naumov, a political commissar and others arrived from Moscow and began selecting crews. Each crew was considered who they were, what they were doing, in what conditions, who did the training, and so on. When everything was finished, they left for Moscow and after some time they set a date to send these crews to Egypt. It was in the spring, in April, I think. You could find this in my book “Autographs over the seas of three oceans”, but now I’ll just tell you the outline.

And we sent them. The commander was Yuri Andreevich Kuznetsov, I was his first deputy. He and I, dressed warmly, publicly saw them off at the airfield. They took off, and we stood near the runway and showed (whether they saw it or not, it’s unlikely they looked) how to take off from the runway. These planes were sent.

This was the 90th Special Purpose Long-Range Reconnaissance Squadron from the 967th Squadron of the Northern Fleet, correct? What kind of planes and how many?

Tu-16. The Tu-16s were mainly in the reconnaissance version. They could also be used as bombers. But these planes were supposed to be reconnaissance aircraft. They flew away.

There we boarded West Cairo. It is 17 kilometers from Cairo. The largest airfield, central. We started flying daily over the Mediterranean from this airfield. It's hot there up to 50 degrees! The first thing they encountered was a pond near the airfield, they went for a swim, and an Egyptian came:

Who gave you permission? You have to pay for this.

This was the first time they learned what it was to pay. And then they actually gave them money for this, and they paid. This is the first thing they learned, in Egypt you have to pay for everything!

It's hot to fly. And there at the airfield there was a headquarters where the entire command was, and in this headquarters there was a cantina. The Egyptians called this an eatery /bar in Spanish/. And our pilots, fools, after 6 - 7 hours of flying in the heat over the Mediterranean Sea, before going to the canteen (and the canteen is 40 - 50 meters away), they drank cognac and walked. And they got so drunk that they began to not understand what was what. No, not in flight. They simply already considered that they were their own people there and “grabbed luck by the tail.”

Several months passed, maybe about a year. Naumov comes to them and orders the squadron commander to immediately relocate to another airfield. The Cairo West airfield had to be repaired. He said:

Naumov arrives the next day, all the planes at the airfield are covered, standing in caponiers, and not a single person is there. Can you imagine? The general ordered... There is a restaurant at the entrance to Cairo, where these hills and pyramids stand. And the day was a day off. Naumov started asking someone there.

Comrade General, on days like these they are probably celebrating something.

He arrives there, they get drunk. He's on his hind legs! He spat and rushed off and wrote a telegram to Moscow. And in Moscow, this telegram must reach 8 representatives: the government, the Commanders-in-Chief, the minister, the KGB, the minister of foreign affairs - well, everyone! Everyone found out that they were drinking there and not serving the Fatherland.

We were called to Moscow in alarm. We arrived by plane, Kuznetsov, I, a member of the military council Boris Novikov, and the pilot, the regiment commander, had already ordered in advance to remove that regiment commander and install a new one. And we are heard at the military council. The Commander-in-Chief was so upset!

How could this happen?! What kind of disgrace is this?! You didn't prepare it!

We haven't seen them for a year. We don't know.

They asked for about 30 minutes. And suddenly a captain of the 1st rank comes running and reports to the Commander-in-Chief: the minister is calling you to the phone.

He left. And instead of him there remained the Deputy Commander-in-Chief. And suddenly it is heard loudly: - Minakooooov!

I jumped up.

The day after tomorrow you have 10 people at your disposal, you fly by plane to Egypt and restore order there.

We won't make it in time! You need to get visas, at least fly to the North and change clothes.

You'll have time!

And that was the end of the war council. 10 people were from the Naval Aviation Headquarters, from the Commander. At that time, Colonel General Ivan Ivanovich Borzov commanded Naval Aviation.

And we flew to the North and stayed there. General Operations Engineer Mirov and the new squadron commander /Colonel V. Miroshnichenko/ were also with me, and we flew to Moscow at night. Three of us and 10 people from the Headquarters were supposed to fly from the central airfield of Izmailovo. And on this day they began to send troops into Czechoslovakia. They accepted people into this airfield, but they didn’t let them out. Only with special permission. What is it?! I was already a general, I went to investigate, and there were all the sailors:

Vasily Ivanovich, how, what?!

Yes, you need to fly.

We'll let you through now. Get on the plane. When you get there, the command will be on the radio - we’ll give permission.

I got back on the plane. And indeed, after 15 minutes they allowed it. And we flew to Budapest and sat down. There was also turmoil there, troops were brought in. I barely made it, Moscow allows me to fly further. I called Moscow from Budapest, Moscow had to give permission and inform Egypt. This is such a mess. For three hours we saw how it was, they were suffering... and the fighters took off... such a chaos. Departure is at 7 o'clock. It's already dark in Egypt. And the commander of the An-12 aircraft was the squadron commander. I give him a task.

I haven't flown at night for a long time.

I've flown a lot! If you find it difficult, I will sit down with you and make you sit down.

Well, I'm just trying not to break the instructions.

And so we took off, flying over Yugoslavia before dark. Such beauty! Where are we going?! Then the Mediterranean Sea. And so darkness fell over the Mediterranean Sea. And we arrived there only at 12 o'clock at night. We took off at 8 o'clock and arrived only at 12. It took 4 hours to fly. We arrived in Cairo at the airfield. We were met there and a handful of coins were immediately poured into each of our pockets.

And then you will understand. They will pester you everywhere: “Baksheesh?!” - and you must give. If you don't give it, you're a bad person.

At about one o'clock in the morning we set off and approached Cairo. And suddenly in front of us is a sea of ​​fire! A huge city, all glowing! I thought: how did these poor Egyptians fight with Israel here?! Complete carelessness! Everything is burning. The restaurants are crowded. They dance. We drove around the city to the central avenue, we just stopped, we had not yet gotten out of the car, they had already opened the door for me and the trunk was opening. One pulled out a suitcase, the other took my hand:

I go to the door, they open the door:

We filled out the documents, went up to the 8th floor, where we were supposed to live, and there was this “snot-nosed” Egyptian standing there:

And everywhere there’s this kind of “baksheesh!” was!

The next day we went to the chief military adviser.

To our military advisor?

To ours. The Colonel General was the chief military adviser there.

So where were they looking that an entire squadron was drinking right under their noses? Who had the right to inspect them?

They taught the Egyptian troops intelligence. That is, Egyptian generals, officers, how to fight, how to get through the Suez Canal. They have already reached the Suez Canal.

So no one looked after our slobs there?

No, there was a master and a commander above them - this is the commander of this unit. There was an adviser from the Air Force. But he didn't touch them. There were Egyptian fighters there, and they were taught how to fly and how to fight. The road was built to Alexandria. Towns were built nearby. In these towns, fighter jets were stationed right in the houses. And, once, they taxied and took off straight from the runway. This is their task: to teach the Egyptians to fight.

...In the morning we got up at the hotel, there was dirt and sewage all around. What is their order? He wanted to go to the toilet in a big way, lifted his robe, sat and walked further - on the main street, like Nevsky Prospekt or Gorky Street in Moscow. I didn't like this.

We are standing in the yard, there is a Russian coming, we feel it.

What, guys, are you depressed?

Yes, here we are. It's a mess here. I don't like the hotel.

Do you have loaves of bread?

Yes, we were told to take 5 loaves.

Well, go to them, offer one loaf, they will give you the best hotel.

I sent one colonel there, he went, ran out after 4 minutes:

The best hotel on the Nile, at the dacha of King Farouk. Each one was given a separate room. They gave us the bread and we moved on.

I speak:

You wait here. I'll go to the chief military adviser.

I was warned in advance not to roll up my sleeves (55 degrees), otherwise everything would be lost! I buttoned it up, but came only in a shirt. I went to him and reported: General so-and-so, what is our goal.

Yes, you have a tavern here, there is no order. General, restore order!

I'm asking:

Can you at least tell me the situation?

He began to talk:

Imagine, I conduct exercises on maps. Yesterday we told how to cross the Suez Canal with troops. A week later there were more exercises, we are starting a new situation, and they are doing the same as a week ago.

The Egyptian guys were stupid... He said that there are many location stations here.

How long will you work here?

They told me that only when I put things in order would I be able to leave.

Remember! Don’t send a single telegram to Moscow without my signature!

And Naumov gave the telegram only through his signature.

All clear. I'm back. I set the task for myself. First of all, we went to get settled. We arrived, great rooms, concerts there in the evening, the elite go there. They don't drink vodka, only water. There are blue swimming pools and cottages nearby. Belly dancing in the evening every day. I didn't even know what belly dancing was. This is a beautiful woman of about 25, half naked, on such a small stand. There are tables around, eating and drinking. And she goes out to dance. She is wearing a veil, say, blue, she comes out and starts dancing to the music, and twitches, and jumps. He runs behind the curtain - and there is already another yellow veil on it, then a red one - and so he dances the entire session. As soon as it’s over, she jumps onto the laps of the sitting Egyptians, they are photographed and immediately given photo cards, and they pay her money.

There were amenities and conditions for work and leisure. To these “give me baksheesh” - we began to park the car further, they lagged behind us. But sometimes they came there too. It’s hot, there are flies... And every day we went to the airfield in the morning at 8 o’clock, and returned at 12 o’clock at night, worked, worked, worked.

The first thing I did. I’m passing by... Everyone knows me, this regiment was subordinate to me, two reconnaissance regiments and one transport were subordinate to me... I’m walking in civilian clothes - they didn’t even get up. A general is walking, a sergeant is sitting and hasn’t even gotten up. I got it. Literally on the second day, he ordered everyone to dress in the Egyptian summer uniform that pilots wear. This uniform is like our summer overalls, it’s a little flesh-colored...

Pesochny.

Yes. Everyone put it on! Build every morning! Check if everything is in place! He established a strict order. I look - they are already greeting me from 5 meters away. Well, we started to restore order there. Everything was fine.

Once I come to the adviser. So that he would not be offended, I began to come to him sometimes. Let us know what we have done and what has improved. One day I came to him for a report.

Comrade Minakov, I can’t figure out what’s going on with the Jews?! Where are their stations?! Could you do some reconnaissance?!

I will do it. I'll prepare it tomorrow.

And I checked this option in the North in Norway. So simple and easy to understand. I came to him the next day, gave him a card, like this. And there, if you take off from this airfield, you gain 300 meters, everyone in Israel can see it. 6 planes take off. And at an altitude of 50 meters they go 500 km inland towards Libya. And near Libya they turn around at low altitude, and again go at this altitude towards the Suez Canal. And on the bank of the Suez Canal, on the other side, the Israelis installed a radar station. The Israelis do not see that 6 planes took off, that 6 planes are flying at 50 meters. They approach 150 kilometers before the canal. They walked there in formation for visibility, but here they stretched out for 500 - 800 meters to a kilometer. And suddenly all 6 planes went up sharply from a height of 50 meters!

The Israelis don't understand. 6 cars go up to an altitude of 4000 meters instantly.

Vertical.

Well, the angle is large, 30-35 degrees, or even more. Now, on command, one plane remains in the center, and all the rest dive down with such “incomprehensible” turns. My God! The Israelis turned on all their stations! Can you imagine? Smart people... but all the stations were turned on. And the plane, which remained at altitude, found all these stations and made an electronic recording.

That is, you showed them a performance, and they were like that crow that croaked at the top of its lungs!

If not more. Can you imagine?! And everything is written down, which stations, where they are, coordinates, what band they operate on! He wrote everything down. I also arrived at the airport. They prepared the whole plan for me, deciphered it, wrote down which stations were where. So that when the Egyptians cross the Suez Canal, they will be killed.

And he, the chief military adviser, became so emotional that he ordered me to send telegrams without his signature. Telegrams! Can you imagine?! These are encryption by codes. That's 8 signatures. And he gave me permission:

I believe you. You are a decent person, a real general that I see. It's a pity that you are not here with me.

And I think, when you drive through this desert to the airfield, midges bite you...

Well as a result...

Well, as a result of this, I started sending telegrams. Otherwise they tormented us, write, go, sign. We finished everything and flew away from there. In total, we were there for 18 days, I don’t remember exactly now. Everything is written there in the book. With passion!

And what’s interesting is that in the evening, first a Russian drove me, and then an Egyptian drove me. He knows Russian, but he pretended all the time that he didn’t know Russian. The evening before our flight, and we had some money left, some pounds, I decided to buy my daughter some kind of gift. She was already my young lady. And a translator and security guards traveled with me all the time. We arrive, there is an Armenian merchant there. He speaks excellent Russian and sells jewelry. And there we also need to tell you how we went to the gold bazaar, to the pyramids too, and chose the time. But you can read all this in the book... And so I walk, walk, and look at inexpensive rings.

How many?!

So much.

I like this ring - more expensive than 18 coins, not enough money. I'm tired of it. I'm leaving.

Okay, I'll give it to you.

And I took this small gold ring with me to bring to my daughter.

The next day the leaders came to see me. The general was at the embassy:

Vasily Ivanovich, my wife is here, she can’t fly away, Turkey doesn’t let me through, Czechoslovakia doesn’t let me through. And the wife and child.

And this was the daughter of designer Polikarpov. We took it to Moscow, took off and flew away. We flew to Moscow at night, reported to Borzov, and received great gratitude. And I said:

Comrade commander! In Egypt, everyone has advisors. And our aviation...

What are you offering?!

Advisor!

Today we will appoint an adviser there.

More aviation needs to be relocated there, this and that needs to be deployed...

They did it all.

I introduced the new commander there, and work began. And then ours began to actively fly there. Mironenko (Commander-in-Chief of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force) also flew there, because crews had already begun to change from the Black Sea. We also flew to Aswan, where the power plant is.

You mentioned Borzov. What is your personal opinion about Ivan Ivanovich?

Borzov is a smart man. The gift was given to him. He did not have a high education, although he graduated from the Naval Academy /with honors - note/. But he abused it. And then he got into such a state that he made a lot of mistakes. He filmed people and so on, but soon went away and restored them again. He was a man of mood, figuratively speaking. I wrote in the book what he was like.

Was he a good pilot?!

The pilot was good! It flew fine. I taught him to fly in 1948. He graduated from the Academy and came for an internship, studied for 3 years in order to recover a little. Borzov then came to me in Klopitsy, because... The regiment was stationed nearby, 60 km from Leningrad. And the regiment commander says to me:

You will transport him.

I gave him 3 transport tickets, I described all this in the book. Then he was here /at the Military Medical Academy/ as a teacher. Like many pilots who returned from the war, he turned out to be of no use to anyone. And such experience is lost! Then he went to Moscow and turned to Stalin’s son Vasily. He called Preobrazhensky:

So this is a find!

And immediately became his division commander in the Pacific Ocean. There he was promoted to general. I came to command the regiment, and he was already the chief of staff. I met him and we talked. Then he was appointed deputy. Commander of Naval Aviation /Air Force of the 5th Navy in the Pacific Ocean/. Then trouble happened with these Americans... Okay, read that all. Then he was assigned to the Northern Fleet. Then to Riga, then to the Commander of Aviation of the Baltic Fleet, and I commanded a division there. We escorted him from the Baltic to Deputy Preobrazhensky...

Still progressed quickly! I found myself in the right place. And Air Chief Marshal Kutakhov?

Kutakhov is the same. Wherever I went, I photographed everyone. He'll definitely find a reason for it.

And in portraits he looks so soft.

In one of my books, “Flight to the Unknown,” I described several meetings, how I reported to him, and how he solved all these problems. One time I’m in Moscow, Friday, 19 o’clock. They catch me there, I go to one, then to the second, then to the third, then to the fourth... they found me and said:

Tomorrow, Saturday, at 9 o’clock at the General Headquarters, the Commander-in-Chief will listen to your report, the reports of the deputy commanders-in-chief, and the heads of the institute. Bring all this management from Leningrad, show them sets of documents, ships...

Can you imagine?! It’s 19 o’clock, it’s hot, everyone is leaving for the dacha.

And so I began to solve this problem. I called Borzov immediately and explained everything to him.

What is he there?! - swearing, he was a great swearer, - Why is he crazy?! He needs a doctor!

Give me a plane so that it arrives at about 3 in the morning, picks up at about 5 o’clock (everyone will gather there), the boss must fly to Moscow, then to get there, at least half an hour before 9 o’clock they could.

Borzov gave the order. Everything worked. At 9 o'clock everyone gathered. Everyone was surprised how they came, everything was built in the military council hall, and I was standing.

Kutakhov comes in. With him are his deputy, twice Hero Air Marshal, his deputy. according to Mishuk's weapons, they pass me by. He looked at me like this:

Have you lost some weight?

We work both Saturday and Sunday.

This is right.

He went and sat down at the table. The meeting has begun. One is reporting there, the second, the heads of the institutes are there..., finishing. And suddenly he comes and stands behind me. I was sitting at the table, and he stood behind me and didn’t say anything. I am sitting. Maybe he was waiting for me to turn around and jump up? I'm sitting - there are no commands. And everyone is sitting.

Minakov! Why didn’t you meet me in Leningrad on such and such a date in February?!

Comrade Commander-in-Chief, I found it impossible - I jumped up.

How is that impossible?!

There was the Minister of Defense, 5 ministers, commanders-in-chief of the armed forces, land forces, aviation, navy (Gorshkov), and I considered it inconvenient to report to you.

What does the Communist Party teach us?! You would have found time, come to my hotel at 12 o’clock, we would have had tea and talked - that’s the kind of player he is!

Next time, Comrade Commander-in-Chief, I’ll take it into account!

Naval pilot Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Minakov made 206 combat missions and sank 32 enemy ships. He was wounded, burned, fell, exploded, but survived.

Chose fate

On June 22, 1941, I met near Vladivostok in the Pacific Fleet,” the veteran recalls. - It was a day off, and we, young pilots, went to the river: swam, played volleyball, met girls. And suddenly - anxiety. After an hour and a half, our airfield was unrecognizable. The crews were given bombs, and we began to wait for further orders. We waited a day, a week, a month, six months...

It turned out that big politics interfered with the fate of the lieutenants. The Air Force base in the Pacific Ocean was needed by Headquarters for protection from the Japanese - Moscow was afraid that Germany's ally would attack from the east. And only when, on December 7, 1941, Japan struck Pearl Harbor, starting a war with the United States, Stalin boldly transferred troops to the west, strengthening the front. This decision became one of the main ones in the fate of Vasily Minakov. The squadron commander gathered the pilots and read the order: 6 planes were sent to the north, 3 to the south. But who goes where? To make everything fair, they decided to cast lots by putting several rolled up pieces of paper in the cap. Minakov got the southern front. So he ended up on the Black Sea in the 5th Guards Mine and Torpedo Aviation Regiment.

Vasily Ivanovich still remembers the date of his first combat flight well. July 1, 1942. Night. An order came from Moscow to evacuate the residents of Sevastopol. Under the cover of darkness, minesweepers with women, children, and the wounded had to go to sea. They were covered from the air by Minakov's regiment.
- The Germans appeared. Our task is to prevent them from accurately dropping bombs. What we didn’t do: wedged in, drove them away, went head-on. They made holes for us, and we for them, but the main thing is that all three of our ships arrived safely at their destination port.

Saved by the helmet

He also forever remembered the battle of August 18, 1942. Then it was necessary to strike at the tanks concentrated near Novorossiysk.

We were told: be sure to take helmets,” the military general was transported into the past. - And I always flew with just a helmet, the helmet was uncomfortable, so it usually dangled near the chair. But here for some reason I put it on. And I just pulled it when all hell broke loose. Three shells exploded near my plane, and a large fragment hit the metal. My whole face was covered in blood. If it weren't for her, it would be the end.

The helmet saved, but the crew was on the verge of death. From the terrible blow, Minakov, who was holding the helm, lost consciousness and hung on his belts. The plane began to fall from a height of 4 thousand meters. It seemed that death was inevitable. And suddenly, when there were 500 m left to the ground, Vasily came to his senses. Moreover, Il leveled off, gained altitude and flew towards his own. He was greeted with double joy: they saw the car go into a dive, and they thought that he was dead. He left the fragment as a souvenir and many years later donated it to the museum, and his fellow soldiers gave him a talismanic helmet as a reminder of that time.

Throughout the war, he made 206 combat missions, including 70 at night, which was considered certain death. He sank enemy ships and attacked an enemy convoy. But the most dangerous thing was working with torpedoes.

After all, what is a torpedo bomber? This means that the plane descends 20-30 meters above the water level, overcoming crazy barrage fire, and drops shells,” says the veteran. - One against 150-200 anti-aircraft guns and heavy machine guns. Rarely did anyone survive. You can't go wrong either. If you press the holder button early, the projectile can “jump” the ship. It's too late - it will go under the bottom. Therefore, everything must be calculated accurately.

Minakov's crew acted brilliantly, destroying 32 enemy ships of various classes. It was he who, in May 1944, in a group of bombers, sent to the bottom the German transport “Thea,” which carried 3,500 enemy soldiers and officers. For this operation, our fellow countryman was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky.

Vasily Minakov also turned out to be involved in historical events. In October 1944, Winston Churchill once again flew to the Soviet Union for negotiations with Stalin and the allies. Among those who met the British Prime Minister at Sarabuz airport near Simferopol was Vasily Minakov. Having set foot on Crimean soil, the English leader approached the Soviet officers and shook their hands, including Vasily.

However, few people know that Churchill came with his daughter at that time,” Vasily Ivanovich reveals the details. - For distinguished guests, near the airfield they prepared, as they say now, a VIP zone: the floors of the barracks were covered with carpets, tables were set with good food and champagne. Churchill’s daughter liked everything so much that when her high-ranking father left for Massandra, she and her entourage stayed and danced with pleasure with our military.

For his daring he was called “Torkin at sea”, and for his survivability he was called a charmed one. How could it be otherwise, when one day in another battle a fragment pierced the engine of his plane, several rows of skin, but... got entangled in the cable for dropping missiles. The partners who flew with Vasily were also lucky. During four years of battles, 10 navigators were replaced in his crew and only one was seriously wounded. And he never changed his faithful IL-4 during the war.
“I look - it’s all full of holes, there’s no living space, but we’ve repaired it and are flying on,” Vasily Minakov speaks of a fighting friend as if he’s alive.

Mystic, but the bomber was shot down when Vasily Ivanovich was sent on leave, and another officer took his car...

Prayer on a piece of paper

Was it scary?

Of course, it’s scary,” the veteran does not deny, “but only when they give you a task do you prepare for the flight. And when I got into the car and took to the sky, there was no longer any time for fear. We have to maneuver and get away from the enemy. Why should he hit me? No, I him!

However, Vasily Ivanovich had reliable protection. His fiancée Tamara, with whom he had been friends since childhood, wrote him a prayer by hand in a student notebook. Vasily always wore this piece of paper, like the photo of his beloved, on his chest. In 1942, they met by chance, and he promised: “If I stay alive, I will come and get married.” He kept his word. In 1945 he arrived - Hero of the Soviet Union, 5 orders, Gold Star. And he simply said: “Let’s go.” He was 24 years old. They lived together for more than 60 years and celebrated a diamond wedding. We raised a son, a daughter, and now we are enjoying our grandchildren.

After the war, Vasily Minakov returned to the Baltic, led the Air Force of the Northern Fleet, and received the rank of major general. And then for 15 years he headed the Central Research Institute of Aviation and Cosmonautics in Leningrad, developing aviation equipment and new types of aircraft. And I didn’t forget for a minute what I had to endure. He wrote 18 books about the everyday life and exploits of war, dedicated to naval pilots. Now Vasily Ivanovich is 94, he lives in the Vyborg district of St. Petersburg.

When I talk about my life, many people don’t believe me,” says the hero. - But all this happened to me and my comrades. Today they are trying to rewrite history, humiliating the feat of our soldiers is despicable. We did everything for Victory and will not give it up to anyone.