Biography
During the years of the Great Patriotic War, the legendary warlord of the USSR, Marshal Aviation, the fighter pilot Alexander Pokshkinkin entered the air combat with the fascists. According to official statistics, he was uniformly shot down 59 enemy aircraft, although many historians and speakers themselves have a different opinion: some victories of the Hawk of Heavens gave to the subject of subordinates. However, in common opinion, in performance, Alexander Pokshkinin is inferior only to Ivan Kozjadubu.Childhood and youth
Alexander Ivanovich Pokshshkin was born on March 6 (February 21 in the old style) of 1913 in Novonikolaevsk (now Novosibirsk) of the Tomsk province in a family with a modest income. They could not afford to live on a wide foot and neighbors whose children in their free time were embraced by robbery, beat the windows, arranged fights. The Russian Empire was barely recovered from the First World War - to educate the younger generation.
Alexander Pokshkinin brought up himself - he studied well, read a lot, and in 12 years began to show interest in aviation. After graduating from the 7th grades, the young man got on a construction site. At about the same years, Valery Chkalov, a pilot testing, has seen its "wings". His feats inspired Alexander Tashkin and thousands of his peers with confidence to declare: "Once I spark in the sky!"
The life of Asa in his youth was prosaic. He worked at the factories with a mechanic, participated in the WLKSM cases, served in the ranks of the Red Army, and dreamed of the steering wheel in the soul.
Personal life
Alexander Pokshkin's heart occupied two passions - aviation and Maria Kuzminichna, nurse. Acquaintance with the latter took place in 1942 on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Young people fell in love without a memory, they were gone from different lines of the front of each other letters, some of which remained unanswered: did not have time to find the addressee.Personal life Young people legalized on April 1, 1944 in Chernigov, now it is the village of Primorsky Krai. Then Maria Kuzmichnna had already been under the heart of the firstborn - Daughter Svetlana. She lived 52 years old, died from cancer. Heir to Tashkin, too, Alexander, was born in 1947.
The pilot and his wife managed to donate grandchildren - Alexander, Paul and Catherine.
Aviation
Objecting the call of the heart, Alexander Pokshkinin left Siberia in 1932 and entered the Perm Aviation School. Only the young man did not know that technicians are preparing here, not pilots. In his memoirs, the speakers leads the words of the school of that school:
"All you will definitely want to be chkalov, you want to fly. And who will engage in motors? "Alexander Pokshkinn began sullenly gnawing science granite. Later, from the height of experience, the pilot noted that the school helped him understand the aircraft device and acquire technical skills that had repeatedly saved life in the war.
The door of the flight school remained for Alexander Pokshkinin closed, but he was preparing once filled into the sky - jumped with parachutes, flew on paraglids, in September 1938 he sat down for the first time behind the steering wheel of U-2. The opportunity to feel the sky was infrequently, and the problems in knowledge Alexander Pokshkinin replenished the theory.
Labor did not go without attention. In November 1938, the future spell, finally, received a direction to the Kachino flight school, who graduated with honors from a year later in the rank of fighter pilot. He was offered to become an instructor, but received a refusal: Alexander Pokshkinn wanted not just to rise into the sky, but to conquer him. A lot of such cases was introduced during the years of the Great Patriotic War.
War
The bloody slaughter against the Third Reich, Alexander Pokshkinn passed completely - from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945. The debut victory is the fascist shot down, the fighter pilot won, barely the second day of the war replaced the first.Air battles showed Alexander Tashkin, as far as the sky of the USSR is vulnerable for fascists. The attack did not have tactics, the moves were made blindly, I didn't stand about technical equipment: each plane was on the weight of gold, because the aviation workshops collected tanks. Everything that air was kept - on the heroism of people. Alexander Pokshkinn later wrote:
"The one who has not fought in 1941-1942 does not know the real war."The first award, the Order of Lenin, the fighter pilot awarded the extraction of strategic data. In December 1941, Winter raged. The snow was noticed that the terrestrial intelligence of the USSR missed the goal - Paul's tanks von Claysta, the German commander. Despite the buran and minimal fuel reserve, Alexander Tsryshkin rose into the sky and determined the location of the enemy. Information helped the Red Army to win Rostov.
1943 became a triumphal not only for Alexander Tishkin, but also for all front aircraft. Analysis of previous battles allowed the pilot to introduce new maneuvers and air patrols into the tactics of the USSR. His goal of the AU put the destruction of the lead - the death of the chief aircraft demoralized the whole squadron.
Alexander Pokshkinin inexorably spoke the enemy. Only in April 1943 he destroyed 10 aircraft, for which he was presented to the first star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. In the next month, the Victory ASA has replenished another 12 fascists.
The turning point was the battle of Kuban in August 1943, in which Alexander Pokshkinin personally hit 22 aircraft. In the air they fought for their homeland and other aces - students of the Hero of the Soviet Union. For courage, manifested in the sky of Kuban, the fighter pilot received the second star and became famous for the whole country.
Alexander Tashkin is the first person, three times awarded the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. For the results achieved, the magazine "Change" called him the best pilot of the USSR. The release decorated portrait photography. And the American Journal of Comics True Comics gave ACS an extremely accurate nickname hawk.
Warring the path of Alexander Pokshkinina in the Great Patriotic War Parade Victory on June 24, 1945. The fighter pilot was entrusted to go to the head of the Colon of the 1st Ukrainian Front.
According to official statistics, in wartime, Alexander Pokshkinin rose 650 times in the air, 156 times he entered into battle with the enemy and hit 59 aircraft. The pilot himself attributes at least 90 victories to himself, and historians claim that the numbers are too high: supposedly hawk heaven destroyed a little more than 40 enemy machines.
Peaceful time
After the war, Alexander Coschin continued to serve. His enthusiasm was held back by Vasily Stalin, commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District. Due to the conflict with the son of the leader of the USSR, the AC, who held the general post, received a golden chase with a silver star - the rank of major general aviation - only after the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953.
In the 1950s, Alexander Pokshkinin changed the Air Force on air defense. He served to deputy commander-in-chief of the military air defense of the USSR.
Death
Like many people who survived the Great Patriotic War, Alexander Pokshkinkin was distinguished by strong health. Until recent days, he remained at the helm, worked in the Ministry of Defense of the USSR.
The biography of the flyer-ACA ended on November 13, 1985, on the 73rd year of life. The cause of death was heart failure.
Alexander Pokshkinina's grave is located at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. Bust, decorating it, walked the main awards of the pilot - the stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
Awards
- 1941, 1943, 1963, 1967, 1978, 1983 - Order of Lenin
- April 1943, August 1943, 1944 - Medal "Golden Star" Hero of the Soviet Union
- April 1943, July 1943, December 1943, 1953 - Order of the Red Banner
- 1943 - US Army Medal "For Outstanding Service"
- 1944 - Medal "For Combat Merit"
- April 1945, May 1945 - Order Suvorov (II degree)
- 1945 - Medal "For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945)
- 1947, 1975 - Red Star Order
- 1975 - Order "For the service of the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR"
- 1984 - The medal "Veteran of the USSR Armed Forces"
- 1985 - Order of the Patriotic War (I degree)