By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 19, 1944 "for exemplary performance of combat missions of command and heroic deeds on the front of the fight against Nazi invaders" of the guard, Colonel Alexander Pokryshkin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union three times for the first time in the history of the country. By that time on his account was already 550 sorties and 53 confirmed air victories.
Childhood
Pokryshkin was born on March 6, 1913 in the city of Novonikolaevsk (Novosibirsk) of the Tomsk province. At the age of twelve, he first saw an airplane of the Society of Friends of the Air Fleet. From that day, Alexander decided to prepare in every way to become a pilot - in particular, he was actively involved in sports. At the age of 13, he got a job as an apprentice to his uncle Peter, who was considered the best roofer in the city.
In 1928, Alexander graduated from seven classes of the school, after which he entered the Sibkombeinstroy school of factory apprenticeship (FZU). His future scholarship was significantly lower than the roofer's earnings. The father became angry because of the choice of his son and called him a parasite, after which Alexander packed his things and left the house - as it turned out, forever. However, Pokryshkin continued to support the family, even living separately - at first he helped his father, and after his death sent money to his mother.
Way to heaven
In 1931, Alexander joined the Komsomol, and a year later he joined the Red Army and went to study at the Perm Military Aviation and Technical School. In 1933, Pokryshkin successfully graduated from it and received a referral to courses for improving the technical composition of the Air Force of the Red Army named after Voroshilov at the 1st Military School of Aviation Engineering in Leningrad. He underwent training with excellent certification, after which he was sent to Krasnodar to serve as senior aviation technician of the air link communications department of the 74th Infantry Division of the North Caucasian Military District. In parallel with his studies, Pokryshkin was engaged in a glider club.
In the Kuban, Alexander served for four years. Here he earned a reputation as a "walking encyclopedia" - he read fiction and technical literature, made suggestions for improving weapons systems, and participated in sports competitions.
In 1938, in Krasnodar, Pokryshkin completed several weeks of training on the annual program of a civil aviation pilot. This allowed him to get a referral to the Kachinsky Red Banner Military Aviation School named after Myasnikov near Sevastopol.
A year later, Pokryshkin graduated with honors, but his military career almost ended there. When checking the biographical data, the fact of deprivation of his father's voting rights as a merchant surfaced. Pokryshkin was saved by comrades in the Komsomol organization, who gave him a positive characterization at the meeting. Alexander received admission to the flight service and the post of junior pilot of the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Odessa Military District with a place of deployment in Kirovograd. During the Bessarabian operation of 1940, the regiment was transferred to Balti.
- Alexander Pokryshkin
- © Mark Redkin / RIA Novosti
Pokryshkin became one of the best sniper pilots in the division. During the flights, he used bold maneuvers that were not provided for by the training programs, for which he heard complaints from part of the commanders.
"Attention! Pokryshkin is in the air! ”
The pilot took part in the hostilities from the first to the last day of World War II. He quickly opened the account for his air victories over the Nazis, but at the beginning of the war, by misunderstanding, he knocked out the Soviet Su-2 bomber, mistaking it for an enemy machine.
Pokryshkin was on the verge of death more than once. In one of the battles, a bullet hit the cockpit of his plane, after a rebound only scratched the pilot. Several times next to him, the bombs dropped on the airfield did not explode.
Alexei Kuzmin, a methodologist at the Victory Museum science and methodology department, told RT how in early July 1941 Pokryshkin was shot down in the sky over Moldova.
“He planted a disheveled car, injuring his leg and spine. But he circumvented the Romanian position and returned to his regiment in four days, ”the expert noted.
During the battles in the south of the Ukrainian SSR and on Don, Pokryshkin performed tasks in the interests of intelligence. Information provided by the pilot on the movement of the enemy in the Sinelnikovo area and near Rostov-on-Don helped the leadership to take measures to deter the enemy. In the Kakhovka area, Pokryshkin and his comrades covered the crossing from which enemy civilians crossed the right bank of the Dnieper from attacks by enemy aircraft.
The writer Alexei Timofeev in his book “Pokryshkin” describes the pilot in one of the photographs of 1941: “Pokryshkin’s face is fresh and fresh, as if there were no fighting and suffering for six months. No wrinkles and bags under the eyes. Health excess. The pilot is ready for new battles. There seems to be some contempt in the person of the pilot ... Yes, this is contempt for death. "
In March 1942, the Pokryshkin regiment was renamed the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation. He acted on the South and North Caucasus fronts. In August, Alexander was appointed squadron commander.
The finest hour of Pokryshkin was the air battles over the Kuban in 1943. Alexander started a special notebook in which he analyzed various tactical methods of air combat, searched for optimal solutions to a particular combat situation.
In 1943, Pokryshkin received recognition as an ace and gained all-Union fame.
- Officers of the 366th separate reconnaissance aviation regiment are developing a plan of operation on the airfield in the village of Pashkovskaya in the Kuban. 1943
- © waralbum.ru
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 24, 1943, for 354 sorties, 54 air battles, 13 personally and 6 in the group of downed enemy aircraft, Pokryshkin was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
On August 24, 1943, Pokryshkin received the second star of the Hero for 455 sorties and 30 personally shot down enemy planes. In the future, he took part in the battles for the Donbass and Crimea. When the Germans heard that Alexander was entering the battle, the alarm immediately rang out on the air: Achtnng! Achtung! Pokryschkin ist in der Luft! ("Attention! Attention! Pokryshkin in the air").
In early 1944, the pilot was summoned to Moscow and offered to take the post of head of the combat training department of fighter aircraft. But Alexander categorically refused to leave the front. In March he was appointed commander of the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, and in June - the 9th Guards Air Division.
The magazine "Change" called him the best pilot in the country. Pokryshkin participated in the battles for Moldova, Western Ukraine, Poland, Czechoslovakia and in the capture of Berlin. The American comic book True Comics in 1945 published a story about a Soviet pilot, calling it Sky Hawk ("Hawk of Heaven").
According to Alexei Kuzmin, for 1418 days of World War II, Pokryshkin made 650 sorties, conducted 156 air battles, shot down 59 enemy planes in person and six in the group.
New stage
Soon after the end of World War II, Pokryshkin was offered to enter the Air Force Academy. But he refused and went to study at the main faculty of the Frunze Military Academy in order to master previously combined military disciplines. The pilot mastered the art of controlling infantry and artillery perfectly.
Soon, Alexander was transferred from the Air Force to the post of deputy commander of the air defense fighter corps. Although she was general, the title of Major General Pokryshkin was awarded only in August 1953.
In 1951, he became commander of the 88th Air Defense Fighter Corps, and four years later - the commander of fighter aircraft of the North Caucasian Air Defense Army. After graduating from the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy, Pokryshkin led the 52nd Air Fighter Army. In 1959, he took the post of deputy commander of the Kiev military district, and in 1968 - deputy commander of the USSR Air Defense Forces.
“Pokryshkin was a very responsible and straightforward person, he never compromised with conscience for personal comfort,” military historian Yuri Knutov told RT.
Therefore, when moving to the “political level” of leadership, Pokryshkin was uncomfortable for many. In 1972, he was transferred to a very honorable, but "non-combat" post of chairman of the central committee of DOSAAF. On December 16, he was awarded the title of Air Marshal. In 1981, Pokryshkin joined the group of inspectors general of the USSR Ministry of Defense.
- Aviation Marshal Alexander Pokryshkin (left), Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov (center) and Aviation Colonel General Ivan Kozhedub
- © Sergey Loskutov / RIA News
According to Alexei Timofeev, the marshal turned DOSAAF into a profitable structure, increased the budget for educational and sports work, and established practical training for specialists for the needs of the defense sector.
Pokryshkin died on November 13, 1985 from an oncological disease, presumably caused by his participation in nuclear tests.
According to Knutov, "in addition to his merits in the war, Pokryshkin made a significant contribution to the development of Soviet air defense, helped domestic pilots overcome the fear of jet aircraft."
“The question of whether he won first or second place in terms of performance as a fighter pilot during the Second World War, I think, will remain open. He recorded many personal victories on his followers, how many exactly - we are unlikely to ever be able to know for sure, ”Knutov summed up.