On July 3, 1941, the pilot was shot down over the Prut by anti-aircraft artillery fire, having by that time won at least 5 air victories on the MiG-3, having carried out a dozen attack missions on the I-16 and having earned... the disfavor of the division commander, who saw obstinacy in his actions. While in the medical unit after the wrecked car landed on the edge of the forest, he started a notebook, entitled “Fighter Tactics in Combat.” These notes, clippings, diagrams became the beginning of Pokryshkin’s science of winning; unfortunately, all this property has not been published in any detail, but in its influence on the fate of thousands of people, on the very course of the air war, it is not comparable with any other theoretical constructs or practical instructions. (This notebook was saved by M.K. Pokryshkina and transferred by her to the Central Museum of the Armed Forces.)

Soon Alexander Ivanovich again takes part in the battles, again flies out on an attack and conducts reconnaissance and is again knocked out. On October 5, the Pokryshkin pair, while performing a reconnaissance flight, were suddenly attacked by four Me-109s. Having lost his wingman, the Soviet pilot single-handedly managed to shoot down one enemy fighter and tried to leave the battle on a downed plane. The three remaining Me-109s rushed in pursuit, one after another shooting at the defenseless MiG.

“Just before the ground,” recalled A.I. Pokryshkin, “the engine stalled, I leveled the plane and went to land “on my stomach.” In the field of view there was the earth, a railway booth, a girl driving a cow with a rod. Such a peaceful picture. And suddenly a shot on the armored back ". But it is no longer possible to dive under the highway - the ground does not allow it. Explosions are heard in the plane, and it, with the control broken, goes to the ground. Rumble... Hitting my head on the dashboard - and I lose consciousness..."

Having landed in a field, he tried to take out his fighter on a truck, but, finding himself surrounded, was forced to burn it. During the fighting, at the head of a group of Red Army soldiers, the pilot went out to his own.

Pokryshkin's front-line fame preceded his official recognition. Upon returning to the unit, he is entrusted with retraining young people from I-16 to MiG-3 and, on the personal orders of the regiment commander V. Ivanov, he introduces the reinforcements to tactical discoveries, the author of which he himself was: with an open battle formation, with a targeted attack from above at high speed - the so-called “falcon strike”, with separation in height. And then the hardest battles began over Rostov...

General von Kleist's tank divisions broke into Rostov on November 21, 1941, but the Germans were not destined to stay in this city for long. Thanks to the important intelligence that Alexander Pokryshkin was able to obtain in a very difficult flight in conditions of limited visibility, when the lower edge of the clouds dropped to 30 meters, the Soviet command promptly learned about the location of the German units and the direction of their main attack. The skill and vigilance of one of its pilots saved the Red Army from what losses! The significance of what he had accomplished was all too obvious.

On the eve of the new year, 1942, in Rovenki, at the division headquarters, A.I. Pokryshkin was awarded the Order of Lenin - the highest order of the Soviet Union according to the statute. The award sheet, signed on December 19, stated:

“He enjoys exceptional authority and respect among his subordinates and the entire flight crew of the regiment. He courageously carries out combat missions to destroy the German invaders. In the fight against these monsters, Comrade Pokryshkin was shot down twice in unequal air battles... Has 190 combat missions... One of the best scouts in the regiment and division."

The command highly appreciated the pilot's reports, and he was increasingly sent on reconnaissance missions. Despite strict instructions, Pokryshkin constantly got involved in battle, considering it shameful to return with full ammunition. One day he flew back with a broken canopy canopy - a Ju-88 tail gunner's bullet hit the sight directly and the pilot miraculously escaped death.

Once again involved in hostilities, flying to attack enemy positions and escort bombers, Pokryshkin increasingly began to think about the methods of air battles, recording his thoughts in a diary entitled “Fighter Tactics in Combat.” In the autumn of 1941 he wrote:

“The main reason for failures when escorting SBs was the low speed of fighters. And as a consequence of this, combat was conducted on horizontal maneuvers. There was only one conclusion: escorting bombers, especially outdated designs, must be carried out only at high speed. To obtain it, the accompanying flights and pairs need to fly carried out in a snake pattern, above and behind the bombers, echeloned in height. At the same time, pairs and flights of fighters, in my opinion, should form a snake towards each other, for mutual cover. This is a method of escort using the “scissors” method.

It is difficult to judge the planes shot down by A.I. Pokryshkin in 1941. Some of the regiment's documents have not survived. There was a strict rule according to which “enemy aircraft that fell on enemy territory are not included in the results of combat work.”

In the division's documents, in any case, Pokryshkin is listed on the list of 7 pilots who shot down 5 or more enemy aircraft on December 22, 1941 and had more than 150 combat missions. After the death of her husband, M.K. Pokryshkina found records in the pilot’s personal archive in which, in the last year of his life, he wrote down from memory successful air battles of the first year. Result: 11 aircraft shot down in the air (7 Me-109, 2 Hs-126, 2 Ju-88); 8 aircraft were shot down in the air (4 Me-109, 2 Ju-88, 2 Hs-126); destroyed at the airfield - 1 Ju-87; 2 Ju-87s were shot down at the airfield. In total, 21 aircraft were shot down and damaged.

After the difficult battles of 1941, the 55th IAP was withdrawn to the rear for reorganization and, by Order of the People's Commissar of Defense of March 7, 1942, No. 70 was transformed into the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.

On March 14, 1942, regiment commander V.P. Ivanov and military commissar M.A. Pogrebnoy signed the award sheet:

“Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin... is nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union... During the hostilities he had 288 combat missions, of which: to attack enemy troops - 63; to reconnaissance of enemy troops - 133; to escort his bombers - 19; covering friendly troops - 29; intercepting enemy aircraft - 36; reconnaissance with attack - 8.

He took part in 26 air battles, personally shot down 4 enemy aircraft and 3 aircraft as part of a flight, destroyed and disabled 45 enemy vehicles.

For the excellent performance of combat missions he received gratitude from the commander of the 9th Army Air Force. During the Rostov operation, he made 13 single sorties for reconnaissance and attack of enemy troops, as a result, he destroyed 12 vehicles with cargo, disabled 4 anti-tank guns...

Master of flying in clouds and difficult weather conditions. He is the best reconnaissance officer of the regiment. He deservedly enjoys military authority among all the personnel of the regiment."

In the summer of 1944, Pokryshkin's division came under the command of the commander of the 2nd Air Army, General S.A. Krasovsky. In the Lvov-Sandomierz operation (July 13 - August 29), Pokryshkin's division was always at the forefront of the attack. The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front in this strategic operation defeated the Army Group "Northern Ukraine", liberated Western Ukraine together with the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front and, together with the 1st Belorussian Front, the south-eastern regions of Poland. On the western banks of the Vistula, a large Sandomierz bridgehead was captured.

On July 14, when Boris Glinka was shot down and seriously wounded, Pokryshkin urgently arrived at the 16th Guards Regiment. At such moments, the division commander considered it his duty to use a personal combat mission to “smooth out the psychological impact” caused by the injury of such an ace and Hero as B.B. Glinka. Pokryshkin, after analyzing the mistakes made, leads the shock eight, and Andrei Trud’s four ensures his actions.

To attack a group of 40 Ju-87 and Hs-129 aircraft, accompanied by an FW-190, the leader uses a frontal attack. In this battle, the radio receiver on Pokryshkin’s Airacobra failed. However, the division commander decides to continue the flight, since “my return will cause disorganization.” Having slipped into the circle of German planes, maneuvering, Pokryshkin shoots down 2 Junkers and a Henschel, another Ju-87 is shot down. Just above the wing of his Airacobra there passes the cannon fire of a Focke-Wulf.

For the battles on the Sandomierz bridgehead, the 9th Guards Mariupol Fighter Air Division was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky. The 16th Guards Regiment was given the honorary name "Sandomierz".

In August 1944, the regiments of the 9th Guards Air Division were already based at airfields near the Vistula. From here it was not far to Berlin. The division's pilots were preparing for a decisive assault on the German capital.

On August 19, 1944, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command, courage, bravery and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Guard, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin was awarded the third Gold Star medal. He became the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union in the country.

This news found him at the field airfield. This is what Pravda correspondent Nathan Rybak wrote in the issue dated August 20, 1944:

“Every day Pokryshkin’s military glory expands, the number of planes he shot down increases. But he does not calm down. He painstakingly and carefully studies the enemy’s behavior, analyzes each battle in detail, draws diagrams, delving into the details of his own work and the actions of each wingman... This is how he sharpens mastery, this is how an unshakable belief in one’s strength is born.Now Alexander Pokryshkin has 59 destroyed fascist aircraft on his combat account!

When victory enters every home, we will remember that it was gained in fierce battles with an insidious and powerful enemy. And we will remember that Alexander Pokryshkin, our wonderful falcon, fought gloriously for victory.”

Until the end of the war, Alexander Ivanovich remained the only three times Hero of the Soviet Union. Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov was awarded the third Gold Star medal on June 1, 1945, and Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub on August 18 of the same victorious year.

At dawn on January 12, the strategic Vistula-Oder operation began. After a colossal force of artillery bombardment, the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts went forward. Under the mighty blows, the supports of the “Third Reich”, designed by Hitler for a thousand years, collapsed. The headquarters of the Supreme High Command planned this offensive for January 20, but the dates were changed at the request of the allies, whom the Germans shocked with their last onslaught in the Ardennes in December 1944 - January 1945...

The European damp, uncomfortable winter gave way to spring fogs and mud. For some time, bad weather did not allow the full power of Soviet aviation to be deployed. Only “old men,” experienced pilots, were sent on combat missions. On the first day of the offensive, one of Pokryshkin’s favorite students, the commander of the 1st squadron of the 16th Guards Aviation Regiment, Captain Viktor Ivanovich Zherdev, was shot down by anti-aircraft guns. Heavily wounded, he fell a little short of reaching his own... The retreating German infantrymen tore off the pilot's tunic with orders, stabbed him with knives... The "old man", one of the best aces of the division, was 25 years old... Saying goodbye to Zherdev, Alexander Ivanovich for the second time during the entire war, as at the funeral of Alexander Klubov, I could not hold back my tears.

The 9th Guards Division covered the 3rd Guards Tank Army of P. S. Rybalko, the 5th Guards Army of A. S. Zhadov, the 52nd Army of K. A. Koroteev, the 4th Guards Army in the Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations. tank army of D. D. Lelyushenko.

Pokryshkin continues to participate in combat missions. On January 16, on the move, while climbing, he attacked and shot down a Ju-87 dive bomber.

In one of the attack aircraft the weapon fails, but it is no longer possible to turn away from the anti-aircraft battery - they will immediately shoot you down at point-blank range. The pilot suppresses the anti-aircraft gunners psychologically, diving towards the battery almost to the ground. Engineer Kopylov asks how pine needles could end up in the cutouts of the propeller spinner?

In February 1945, not having normal airfields for basing the division, Pokryshkin decided to use part of the Breslau-Berlin highway. With his wingman G. Golubev, he was the first to land on a highway strip, the width of which was 3 meters narrower than the wingspan of the Airacobra. This was the only case in the history of world aviation when an entire fighter air division successfully operated from a section of an ordinary highway for a month and a half, without having a single accident.

Ilya Davidovich Gurvits, in 1944 - 1945 a mechanic for electrical and radio equipment of A. I. Pokryshkin’s aircraft, recalled after the war:

“Our division commander was forbidden to fly, but I can confirm as a control mechanic, he flew regularly until the last days of the war. He ignored this ban!.. When there were few air battles, Pokryshkin ordered holders for a 100-kilogram bomb to be mounted on the Cobras. I stormed and bombed myself..."

Continuing to fly at the head of groups of pilots of his division, Pokryshkin made his last combat missions over Berlin. By the end of the war, he had flown more than 650 combat missions and, participating in 156 air battles, officially shot down 53 enemy aircraft personally and 6 as part of a group. [ M. Yu. Bykov in his research points to 46 personal and 6 group victories of the pilot. ] In military historical and memoir literature there are assumptions about a much larger number of victories he actually won - 72, 90, more than 100.

Thus, Novosibirsk researchers very scrupulously studied all the military activities of their great fellow countryman: they analyzed his diaries, the regiment’s combat documents, the memoirs of his comrades, and other sources. And they came to the conclusion that A.I. Pokryshkin shot down 94 enemy aircraft during the war (36 Me-109, 23 Ju-87, 18 Ju-88, 4 Me-110, 4 Hs-126, 4 Ju-52, 3 FW-190, 1 Hs-129, 1 Fi-156), knocked out 19 and burned 3 more on the ground.

Be that as it may, probably like no one else, the official results of his combat work were underestimated, for which there are a number of both objective and subjective reasons.

When in the summer of 1945 Pokryshkin was offered to enter the Air Force Academy, he refused with his characteristic determination and asked to be sent to the M.V. Frunze Military Academy, where he could gain broader knowledge. Many people remember the episode when, in practical gun firing with three shells, A. Pokryshkin and V. Lavrinenkov achieved an absolute result. None of those who took the test at that time, and among the examinees there were also experienced artillerymen, could repeat their success. The ace graduated from the Academy in 1948 with a gold medal.

After graduating from the academy, Pokryshkin was appointed deputy corps commander in Rzhev... Only a year later, three times, the Hero with his wife and two small children finally received an apartment in one of the 100 Finnish houses brought here...

When, at the end of 1950, a warehouse of old ammunition was found under one of the houses, and it was dangerous to wait for sappers, he, forming a chain, was the first to jump into the pit and began to dismantle the stack of rusty shells. The combat pilot remained a fearless knight all his life.

Only in 1953 Pokryshkin received the rank of General and a year later was appointed in Rostov-on-Don as deputy commander of the Air Army. After graduating with honors from the General Staff Academy, he became commander of the 8th Separate Air Defense Army and remained in this position for 10 years. And while studying at the academy and later, until 1963, Alexander Ivanovich flew almost all types of Soviet fighters. There were some incidents. One of the most dangerous things happened during his service in Rostov, when during a night flight, at a great distance from the airfield, the attitude indicator failed... Only enormous flying experience and a specific “memory of space” helped him return to the airfield and land the car.

In the early 1960s, he defended his dissertation on the application of network planning in air defense forces. Probably, this intense analytical work helped him endure the severity of parting with heaven. The command in a unique way “appreciated” the innovations summarized in the dissertation, rewarding for them... colleague Pokryshkin, who had a very general idea of ​​​​the work.

In August 1968, he was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the country's air defense. Relations with the commander, Marshal Batitsky, did not work out, and his service in this position was especially difficult. When the opportunity presented itself, he decisively went to work for DOSAAF, to the position of chairman of the society, and enthusiastically took up military patriotic work.

In his life, Alexander Ivanovich passed the test of “copper pipes” with honor and fully drank the bitterness of their other side - the envy of officials for the glory of the People's Hero. Here there is air defense instead of the Air Force, and General Stars detained for 10 years, and a continuous series of business trips “with Batitsky.” He was the “Honored Military Pilot of France”, but he never became, just as Kozhedub did not become, the “Honored Military Pilot of the USSR”... France is the birthplace of chivalry.

In December 1972, Pokryshkin was awarded the rank of Air Marshal. One day he called the Central Committee and asked for his resignation. They objected, persuaded, offered options, but he left his last position on his own. He died on November 13, 1985 in the arms of his inconsolable Maria after several days of unconsciousness, when in delirium he called his friends to attack, warned them of danger, and again overtook the hated enemy...

In 1986, Maria Kuzminichna Pokryshkina received a letter written on the morning of June 22, on the 45th anniversary of the start of the war. The author of the letter was Boris Ivanovich Kolesnikov, a combat comrade of Alexander Ivanovich in 1941 - 1942, a fighter pilot in the fraternal 4th and then 170th regiments. In this and subsequent letters in the last year of his life, the veteran recalled the first year of war. Kolesnikov did not have to meet Pokryshkin after 1943; he fought on other fronts and was awarded several military orders. After the war, he was seriously injured in an accident at the airfield, became disabled, and did not remind his comrade, who became a Hero three times, about himself. I wrote it to my wife, whom I saw after the death of Alexander Ivanovich in one of the TV shows. The letters of the retired major, which were kept by M.K. Pokryshkina, formed into an inspired poem about the pilots of the first year of the war. I would like to complete the article about A.I. Pokryshkin with the lines of a letter from a friend - an eyewitness to the military feat of Alexander Ivanovich, without changing anything in his style.

“For us, those who fought in the skies of war, the question of “who is worth what” was resolved simply: the war was cruel, bloody, and it clearly, incomparably clearer than in ordinary life, highlighted the inner content of a person and directly answered this question. For us, the pilots, it was clear what Sasha Pokryshkin was worth, when he was not yet glorified, famous, but was an equal among equals, attentive and caring about the younger ones. We saw his reliability in any combat mission, dedication, perseverance and We were always confident that in battle Sasha would never leave anyone, would not let anyone down, no matter how difficult and difficult it was. This is the main thing for pilots, and this is what Pokryshkin is all about!

War has a different scale, a different dimension of time. The first difficult years of the war brought us so close to the pilots of the fraternal 55th regiment, gave us such an opportunity to get to know each other, that in peacetime this would take years...

In 1941 - 1942, he and I were equal in position, in rank, this meant - a parachute on the back, a cockpit, a throttle sector and rushed into the unknown, often according to a thoughtless, without taking into account our capabilities, order from above, and who was this “from above” “Sasha probably told you.

We put all our soul, all our diligence, all our skill into the combat flight; we worked, figuratively speaking, “sweat” under the fire of anti-aircraft guns, “Messov”, and the division commander mercilessly “driven” us, considering himself impeccable in the orders and instructions given to them, and the orders and instructions were wrong and did not correspond to the prevailing front-line situation. We also got it because Alexander Pokryshkin, Anatoly Morozov, Boris Kolesnikov too zealously defended justice and their opinions in direct debates with the division commander.

The division commander had only his own “principles”, unlimited power and a high military rank, and we only had three “heads up” of senior lieutenants on our buttonholes, but we had already acquired and tested, roughly speaking, the hard way, experience and knowledge of combat work. Tolya Morozov, who was often the leader, during such debates with the division commander directly told him: “Comrade division commander, for you everything is wrong, everything is wrong, fly with us at least once and show us how it should be - we guarantee you, We'll cover you securely." Here the division commander fell silent thoughtfully - he had not flown a MiG, and, apparently, was not eager to take to the skies of war, although he was quite young.

Journalist Yuri Aleksandrovich Marchuk, who apparently became closely acquainted and met with our former division commander, about whom, I think, you have heard quite a lot from Sasha, asked me a question in one of his letters: “Why is A. I. Pokryshkin so disrespectful and not from the lieutenants does he speak about the division commander in his book “Sky of War?” Although Sasha, I think, due to his tact, did not even mention the division commander’s last name in the book...

I remembered everything, and my soul was indignant, I wrote to Marchuk directly, without rounding off the sharp corners: no, Yuri Aleksandrovich, A.I. Pokryshkin did not write the book “Sky of War” from the position of a lieutenant, but from the position of a mature, experienced pilot and commander, who had experienced everything in battles. As for respect, Yuri Aleksandrovich, it must be earned, but we pilots could not and did not want to respect only for ranks and ranks. During the war years we met too many non-flying commanders who controlled the destinies of pilots, and this was not in our favor and not for the benefit of the cause.

We achieved Victory at great cost, and books about the war should contain only the truth!

We knew the true value of our profession as a military pilot and forever remained irreconcilable to the injustice and arbitrariness that was allowed to us by people who did not know what a real flight, a combat mission, flight life, or combat work was.

Our “Carmen” (Hero of the Soviet Union Afanasy Karmanov, June 22 - 23, 1941, who shot down 5 planes) was strong in the air, and I’ll tell you straight away - Karmanov and Pokryshkin had a lot in common - they flew somehow especially freely, relaxed and surprisingly purposeful, bold, bold, but deliberate. So absurdly, so offensively, “Carmen” died, so eager was he to take to the skies of war, but he was only able to fight for one day. He could have done a lot, but he died, and Sasha was “born in a shirt”... You, Maria Kuzminichna, understand - from everyone at whom we directed a sheaf of machine-gun and then cannon fire, we also received, and in the majority cases, even more, delivery of lead.

It was as if I had re-traveled in my memory that thorny and incomparable path from the Prut to the foothills of the Caucasus... We even ended up in Transcaucasia. I remember in those places Sasha and Komosa, it seems, were leading a little dog on a leash. We met, smiled at me through sadness and resentment: “Well, are you done with the war?” And then our path began from Kuban, also long and also thorny, to Victory.

The last memorable meeting for me was in Kuban, in May 1943. We met only 3 veterans of those who took off into the skies of Moldova in June 1941. Sasha Pokryshkin, Pal Palych Kryukov and me.

In the book "Sky of War" Sasha devoted more than half of the pages to the combat work of 1941 - 1942 and the combat friends of his regiment of those years. In every line you can feel how memorable and dear it was for him. This is memorable and dear to me too.

Pilots, with rare exceptions, like Isaev and similar types, are a special people, a special tribe. And our friendship is special, long, strong and reliable. And time passes according to our flight clock. For some, a year or three is not enough, but for pilots this is already a long time to create something unusual, inaccessible to others. Risk, solidarity, mutual assistance give rise to special friendship.

I forgot many of the colleagues with whom I worked and communicated in the post-war years, but I remember all the pilots of all the regiments with whom I flew, most of them by name, and there are more than 200 of them. I remember more than 100 cadets with whom I studied at flight school.

Envy is a property of small people. And I, and all his reliable military friends, will forever remain proud of him. I was glad that our pilot, our Sashka Pokryshkin, don’t be offended by this name, we called him that in a comradely way, came out of our midst, became famous himself and glorified fighter aviation with unsurpassed feats in the skies of war.

We, although now former pilots - psychologists, took a closer look and determined what the commander who commands us is worth. Alexander Ivanovich gave a very accurate and fair assessment of those who flew with him and those who commanded him. They began to rise through the ranks - they were already obliged to know what our subordinate pilot was breathing, what his worth was, and here they simply had no right to make mistakes - lives were at stake.

Years passed, and for young people and journalists, somehow everything was concentrated in one thing - Pokryshkin and the 59 planes he shot down... It is difficult to deeply appreciate what Pokryshkin did during the war years, for this you need to feel it yourself, experience everything, survive everything. I experienced this to some extent and have the right to appreciate the greatness and significance of the feat of Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin. Personally, I believed and still believe that Sasha Pokryshkin was and remains an incomparable pilot in the skies of war... Kozhedub and other aces came to the front at a different time, with different equipment, with unspent forces... I still can’t get my head around in my thoughts how we could survive - sortie after sortie, in small groups and even one at a time, attacking airfields, countless columns, crossings, tightly covered by anti-aircraft fire and enemy fighters...

From Kuban, Pokryshkin made such a leap that I’m surprised how much strength and fighting enthusiasm he has left. And one more thing I really appreciate him for is that when he became the commander of a regiment or division, he continued to fly, fight, setting a personal example for his pilots in battle, and in this he is incomparable to anyone.

Sasha was an artist of a special flight pattern of air combat and accurate lightning fire. And I have the right to call him fighter pilot No. 1.

I cannot, I do not want to underestimate the merits of other pilots and even my own in flights and Victory, but I value Sasha’s contribution especially highly, he did more than any of us...

If our youth were to return to us, and I have no doubt, all of us - Sasha Pokryshkin, Tolya Morozov and all the guys dear to me, would not change the profession of a fighter pilot for any other, although flight work was cruel to many. But there was youth, enthusiasm, a desire for the unusual, a desire for the sky and its vastness.

I finished writing and remembered - tomorrow is June 22. On the 45th anniversary of this black date, I wrote you my first letter. I sincerely wish that what we and our generation experienced will not be repeated for your grandchildren.”

List of famous victories of the Guard of Colonel A. I. Pokryshkin:
(From the book by M. Yu. Bykov - “Victories of Stalin’s Falcons”. Publishing house “YAUZA - EKSMO”, 2008.)

March 6 marked the 102nd anniversary of the birth of the legendary Soviet pilot ace Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin, whom all pilots of the Third Reich feared. This post will tell you about the difficult fate of the great pilot who went through the entire war and became an air marshal.

“Achtung! Pokryshkin ist in der Luft!”
“Achtung! Achtung! Pokryshkin is in the air! - since the spring of 1943, German warning posts warned their pilots that there was a Russian ace in the air. His name terrified both young people and Luftwaffe aces. In only three cases did the Germans switch over the air from encrypted messages to clear text: “Achtung! Khir is a partisan!” (“Attention! There are partisans here!”); “Achtung! Hir panzer! (tanks) and “Akhtung! Pokryshkin!
March 19 (March 6, O.S.) marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin, the legendary ace pilot, the second most successful (after Ivan Kozhedub) fighter pilot among the pilots of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition in World War II.
It is interesting that Alexander Ivanovich was born on the day when the celebration of the “Blessed Heaven” icon takes place - this is the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, according to legend, brought to Moscow from Lithuania by the wife of Grand Duke Vasily I, Sofia Vitovtovna, as a parental blessing. The title goes back to the text of the Mother of God of the 1st hour (written on the icon inside the edge of the radiance): “What shall we call Thee, O Blessed One? Heaven, as if you have risen as the Sun of Truth.”
There is something significant about this coincidence. The sky really was fertile for Pokryshkin.

August 19, 1944 A.I. Pokryshkin becomes three times Hero of the Soviet Union. The first and only one during the war years (G.K. Zhukov and I.N. Kozhedub were awarded the third Gold Stars after May 9, 1945). Alexander Ivanovich was also awarded one of the highest awards in the United States - the Medal for Distinguished Service.

Pokryshkin went through the war from the first to the last day. He did not leave the battles from June 22, 1941 to August 1942. He later said: “Those who did not fight in 1941-1942 do not know the real war.”
He was shot down twice and escaped from encirclement. At least ten times only a miracle saved the pilot from death: bullets hit the sight, the headset earpiece, and scratched his chin. “I will never hide from the enemy and I will remain alive. I have always followed this,” said Pokryshkin. In 1944, he refused his general position at the Air Force headquarters and returned to the front.
Pokryshkin is the creator of new tactics for Soviet fighter aviation, as well as a system for commissioning young pilots. There were only two analysts of this level among our and German aces - Alexander Pokryshkin and Werner Mölders (died in a plane crash in 1941). Surprisingly, they were not just the same age, but were born almost on the same day: Pokryshkin - 6 (19 according to the new century), Mölders - March 18, 1913.
During the Great Patriotic War, Pokryshkin became the author of the famous air combat formula: “altitude - speed - maneuver - fire.”
Among the names of military pilots, the name of Pokryshkin stands apart. Having one of the highest official results in the number of aerial victories, he was the author, guide and bearer of new tactical formations and air combat techniques, an unbending fighter against routine, an example of a fighter - skillful, fierce and noble.
Natural wisdom, honesty, strength of character and, as a consequence, high civic courage distinguished the actions of this man and determined the greatness and adversity of his inspired destiny.
A fighter, purposeful and active, looking for his own path, not in a hurry to carry out ill-conceived orders, an excellent organizer of group air combat and, as time has shown, air warfare, Pokryshkin was very inconvenient to many superiors. Initiative and independence do not always find recognition, and during the hard times of war they cost the ace a lot of strength. At the same time, Pokryshkin was not ambitious, as evidenced by his refusal in February 1944 from a high position at the Air Force headquarters and from the immediate rank of general's shoulder straps.
Despite his outward sternness, as a true pilot, he was characterized by balanced and precise humor; he himself loved jokes, was not offended by witticisms directed at himself, and appreciated comedians. By nature, Pokryshkin was very reserved and delicate. Companions and relatives testified that swearing in his mouth was impossible under any circumstances: not in the excitement of an air battle, not when other people made mistakes, not during domestic troubles.

The author of the popular formula: altitude - speed - maneuver - fire - Pokryshkin on the ground was very restrained and taciturn, able to express his thoughts clearly and concisely. No one ever heard abuse from his lips, and the pilot’s honesty and integrity often caused conflicts with his superiors.
In the late winter of 1942, his regiment was recalled from the front to master a new type of American fighter, the P-39N Airacobra. During training, Pokryshkin often disagreed with the new regiment commander, Isaev, who did not accept Pokryshkin's criticism of Soviet military aviation doctrine.
Uncompromising defense of his tactical innovations and sharp objections to the regiment commander in 1942 led to Pokryshkin’s exclusion from the lists of the regiment and from the party. Only the intervention of higher command saved him from the tribunal.
In January 1943, the 16th Guards Aviation Regiment was sent abroad to Iran to receive new equipment. The regiment returned to the front on April 8, 1943. During his first flight on the new Airacobra aircraft, Pokryshkin shot down a Bf-109. The next day, April 9, he was able to confirm 2 more of the 7 aircraft he shot down. In total, during this period, Pokryshkin chalked up ten Bf-109s shot down. Pokryshkin received his first title of Hero of the Soviet Union on April 24, 1943, and was awarded the rank of major in June.

5Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin - the thunderstorm of the pilots of the Third Reich (11 photos)
In 1943, Pokryshkin fought in the Kuban against the famous German fighter aircraft. His new tactics for air policing, such as the “high-speed swing”, “Kuban whatnot” and the use of ground-based radars, as well as an advanced ground control system, brought the Soviet Air Force its first big victory over the Luftwaffe.
In most sorties, Pokryshkin took on the most difficult task - to shoot down the leader. As he understood from the experience of 1941-1942, knocking out a leader meant demoralizing the enemy and often thereby forcing him to return to his airfield. Pokryshkin received the second star of the Hero of the Soviet Union on August 24, 1943.

He became the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union in the country. And the only one - during the war years.
In total, during the war years, Pokryshkin made 650 sorties, conducted 156 air battles, shot down 59 enemy aircraft personally and 6 in a group. Of his 65 official victories, only 6 were won in the last two years of the war.
So why were the Germans so afraid of Pokryshkin, since he seemed to have shot down less than some Luftwaffe aces? The point is that the German aces were not always, to put it mildly, modest, and that not all of Pokryshkin’s victories were taken into account.
During 1941, Pokryshkin won 15 more official victories, which were not included in his total score. The reason for this was the destruction of documents from the headquarters of the fighter aviation regiment during the retreat. Alexander Ivanovich himself said on this occasion that these uncounted planes would still go to the general account of the Victory.
In addition, the unofficial list of his victories (like that of all Red Army pilots) may in fact be much larger, since in the Order of the USSR NKO No. 0299 ​​“On the procedure for awarding the flight personnel of the Red Army Air Force for good combat work and measures to combat hidden desertion among individual pilots” dated August 19, 1941, the following was said:
The number of downed aircraft is established in each individual case by the testimony of a fighter pilot at the site where the downed enemy aircraft fell and confirmation by the commanders of ground units or by the establishment on the ground of the crash site of the downed enemy aircraft by the regiment command.
At a meeting at the Air Army Headquarters, which took place after intense fighting in the Kuban, Pokryshkin criticized this order:
“In his speech, he spoke about the advisability of intercepting enemy bombers on their flight route to the target in order to prevent attacks on our ground forces. He gave examples of my eight intercepting large groups of enemy bombers deep behind enemy lines. Unfortunately, destroyed equipment is not counted towards us. An order issued at the beginning of the war established that downed enemy aircraft must be confirmed by our ground forces or recorded by a film machine gun. Can advanced units see an air battle if we are fighting twenty to thirty kilometers behind enemy lines? Our industry still produces aircraft without film machine guns. For example, in the Myskhako area we had to conduct the main battles over the sea, fifty kilometers west of Novorossiysk. The downed enemy vehicles were clearly visible to the shooters of the bombers we were escorting. But their data does not confirm victory in an air battle. I asked on behalf of the fighter pilots to change this order.”
Subsequently, in NKO order No. 0489 of June 17, 1942, these comments were taken into account:
“Payment for downed enemy aircraft should be made in cases where this is confirmed by ground troops, photographs or a report from several crews.”
Pokryshkin also often gave the planes he shot down to the accounts of his subordinates (mostly wingmen), thus stimulating them. This was quite common. He tried to support his subordinates and emphasize that in battle, victory depends on the coherence of the actions of all participants.

The stars no longer fit on the fuselage

The legendary battle of April 29, 1943 is widely known. Then the eight “airacobras” led by Pokryshkin scattered and turned back three echelons of Yu-87 (81 aircraft). In addition, they were covered by ten Me - 109. One pair pinned down enemy fighters, the other six with a “falcon strike” through a powerful fire barrier (the gunners of 27 bombers sent more than 400 bullets per second towards them), twice repeating a mathematically calculated maneuver with a variable dive profile and a sharp going up, she shot 12 Junkers (four of them were Pokryshkin).
Four against 50, three against 23, alone against 8 Pokryshkin entered the battle. And I never knew defeat. Moreover, in every battle he took upon himself the most dangerous thing - the attack of the leader of the German groups. This happened back in 1941-1942, when, with sometimes a tenfold numerical superiority of the Germans in the air, the only way to turn the tide of the battle was to defeat the ace commander. This immediately deprived the enemy of control and confidence. The Siberian hero, who endured overloads unimaginable for most pilots, and was omnipresent in the sky (“How many of them are there, Pokryshkins?!” - the desperate cry of a German pilot once reached the regimental radio) in addition to brilliant personal victories, became the author of the main tactical techniques and formations of his regiment. This tactic, noticed and appreciated after the impressive successes of the regiment, became the basis of the actions of Soviet fighter aircraft from 1943, ensuring its superiority over the enemy.
Pokryshkin created his own system for training aces. He attached particular importance to combat friendship and teamwork in squadrons. More than once Pokryshkin left a German plane already caught in his sights to save his pilot who was in danger. Until the end of his days, he was most proud of the fact that not one of those whom he led into battle died through his fault...

8Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin - the thunderstorm of the pilots of the Third Reich (11 photos)
Pokryshkin and Levitan

Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin (1913 - 1985) - legendary ace pilot, three times Hero of the Soviet Union), air marshal. His flights were accompanied by panic messages from the fascists: “Akhtung, akhtung, Pokryshkin is in the air.” Few people know that the recognized hero ascended to the pinnacle of well-deserved fame along incredibly difficult paths. His family was subjected to repression in the 30s, his father committed suicide, and envious people wrote reports on him, trying to eliminate him from their path. Unknown facts of the biography were revealed years later, after the declassification of some archival documents.

Alexander Pokryshkin is a Siberian. He was born in a small village near Novonikolaevsk (now Novosibirsk) into a simple family of a former peasant. It is noteworthy that the boy was born in the year of the rapid rise of Russian aviation: in August in Kyiv, Lieutenant Pyotr Nesterov tightens the world’s first “dead noose.” But then no one could imagine what future awaited the simple peasant son.

Alexander's father and mother - Ivan Pokryshkin and Ksenia Mosunova were born in 1885 in the Vyatka province. At the end of the 19th century, famine broke out due to crop failure. The Pokryshkins and Mosunovs left their homes and went to seek their fortune in Siberia. At first they tried to settle in the Tomsk district, but the cold climate and marshy terrain did not allow them to engage in farming. In 1902, the Pokryshkin family moved to the rapidly growing Novonikolaevsk. Young Ivan masters the professions necessary for the city under construction - mason, roofer, stove maker.

Then came the revolution and the difficult years of war communism. In the mid-20s, the NEP came to the country. Ksenia Stepanovna received a patent for the right to engage in haberdashery activities, but small-scale trade did not provide a serious means of livelihood.

By the end of the 20s, the “private owner” was declared an alien element and, despite dubious successes in entrepreneurial activity, the Pokryshkin family fell “under the rink.” Misfortunes rained down. The eldest son died, and the remaining children were in danger, since deprivation of voting rights was a serious punishment in those days.

From the documents of the State Archive of the Novosibirsk Region it is clear that “I. P. Pokryshkin, 44 years old, deprived of voting rights for trading in 1924–26. haberdashery under a 1st category patent with a turnover of 3,300 rubles.”

Ivan repeatedly wrote statements to the regional commission with a request to restore justice: “I have to trade due to lack of health... I do handicrafts at home without any hired force or assistants, for which I have a certificate from the financial inspector... I am not involved in either trade or exploitation, social My situation is that I am a disabled person of the 3rd group, I have a house only for my family, I don’t rent out apartments... I have 6 children. My wife is my dependent and takes care of the housework...”

He was refused over and over again. The death of his eldest son and constant need crippled Ivan, and on December 15, 1934, he committed suicide. A letter from the City Council to the District Council reads: “I.P. Pokryshkin died (hanged himself) on December 15, 1934. We are returning the case with a view to excluding I.P. Pokryshkin from the list of persons deprived of voting rights...”

Subsequently, Alexander Pokryshkin carefully hid the fate of his parents so that he would not be deprived of the hope of becoming a pilot as the son of “disenfranchised”.

Pokryshkin grew up in a disadvantaged area, living through the horrors of his boyhood life in the post-revolutionary years. He read a lot and was interested in technology. His peers nicknamed him “Sashka the Engineer” for his aspirations, which were unusual for their environment. In his book “Know Yourself in Battle,” Pokryshkin writes: “... as a twelve-year-old boy, I first saw a propaganda plane fly in. I touched his wings and mentally said to myself: “I will do everything, but I will only become a pilot.”

Meanwhile, in the skies above Novosibirsk, planes were constantly making test flights and Alexander, watching them, kept dreaming about aviation. He began to attend the gliding circle, and soon became its leader. In 1932, he was sent as the best Komsomol member to study at the military aviation school in Perm. Disappointment awaited him there - the flight department at the school was closed, and he was enrolled in a detachment of aircraft technicians.

Pokryshkin served as a technician for four years, but constantly dreamed of being at the controls of an airplane. He wrote 44 reports to the commander with a request to let him go to flight school, but was refused each time. Alexander did not give up and, preparing himself for the profession of a pilot, studied persistently, studying the history of flight and military history, physiology and descriptive geometry.

In 1938, secretly from his boss, during his next vacation, in seventeen days he mastered the two-year program of the Krasnodar flying club and passed the exam as an external student with excellent marks. Soon he became a student at the Kachin Military Aviation School.

Pilots in those years were the country's elite, and there was a strict selection process at the school. In 1939, almost before graduation, the leadership learned that Pokryshkin was from a family of “disenfranchised”. An excellent student, Alexander, then got off with a severe reprimand from the Komsomol for concealing his “parents’ social past.” A year later he graduated from school with honors. His dream came true.

Lieutenant A.I. Pokryshkin was assigned to the position of pilot in the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which was part of the Air Force of the Odessa Military District.

Already during training flights, young Pokryshkin behaved unusually. He piloted the plane very energetically and said: “Let the weaklings shoot at two hundred meters, and I will shoot at a hundred or less!” Of course, this led to conflicts, but Siberians are stubborn people, and Pokryshkin stuck to his line.

The war has begun. On June 23, in the skies of Moldova, Pokryshkin shot down his first plane, but... it was a Su-2 light bomber, that is, ours. Pokryshkin mistook him for an enemy. Its pilot survived, but the navigator was killed.

Many years later, when pilot I. I. Pstygo studied at the Academy of the General Staff, he told his classmates about this incident. The group included the “hero of the occasion” - three times Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Pokryshkin. He asked Pstygo to repeat the story. He repeated it again.

“It was me,” Pokryshkin said, embarrassed and upset.

“Are you kidding, Sasha?”

“Why are you kidding me!” At the beginning of the war, I actually shot down a Su-2. I had such a terrible incident, I didn’t know Sukhoi’s planes, because they appeared in units just before the war, and they looked completely unusual - I thought they were a fascist...”

On June 26, 1941, Pokryshkin won his first real victory, shooting down a Messerschmitt Bf.109 fighter during reconnaissance. On July 3, already having several victories, he comes under anti-aircraft fire over the Prut River. The fighter fell flat into the forest. When Alexander woke up, he realized that his leg was badly damaged. With difficulty I got out of the plane, and then for four days, leaning on a stick, I made my way to my people. By that time he was already considered dead.

In the medical unit, Alexander begins to keep a notebook “Fighter Tactics in Combat.” Already in the fall, the regiment commander V.P. Ivanov instructs him to commission young pilots.

Pokryshkin took part in the “dance of death” more than once and was close to death. One day, a machine gun bullet passed through his seat on the right side, damaged the shoulder strap, ricocheted off the left side and grazed his chin.

Despite his heroic track record and many aerial victories, in 1942 Pokryshkin had a scandal with the new regiment commander N.V. Isaev. He categorically did not accept the fighter aviation tactics developed by Pokryshkin. Isaev was supported by some officers of a neighboring regiment, and one day there was a conflict with them in the canteen. They fabricated a case against the hero, and he was removed from office and expelled from the party. The case was considered by a military tribunal in Baku. The regiment commissar stood up for Pokryshkin, and this saved the combat pilot. The case was dropped, the ace pilot was reinstated in the party and in his position.

1943 became Pokryshkin’s “finest hour” - this year he personally shot down 38 enemy aircraft. By the end of 1943, Pokryshkin was credited with 53 enemy aircraft.

Soon Pokryshkin became the commander of the Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. The new position did not allow him to fly on combat missions as often as before. In June 1944, Pokryshkin was promoted to colonel and took command of the 9th Guards Air Division.

According to official statistics, during the war years Pokryshkin made 650 sorties, conducted 156 air battles, shot down 59 enemy aircraft personally and 6 in a group.

Some historians believe that there were fewer victories. Others criticize these historians for being biased. A.I. Pokryshkin himself once said in a private conversation with V.M. Molotov that he shot down about 90 enemy aircraft, but it was pointless to look for confirmation of these victories. Alexander Ivanovich said that these uncounted planes would still go to the general account of the Victory. In addition, Pokryshkin often donated the planes he shot down to the accounts of his subordinates (mostly wingmen), thus stimulating the pilots to new exploits.

In November 1949, a bronze bust of fellow countryman - three times Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Pokryshkin was unveiled on the central square of Novosibirsk. Half of Novosibirsk came to the opening. The entire huge square in front of the opera house was filled. First, all the local leaders spoke, then the hero of the occasion took the floor. Many people remember his words: “For everything that I have achieved in heaven and on earth, I am deeply grateful to my fellow countrymen. My native Novosibirsk gave me a ticket to heaven.”

They say that at the moment when the veil was pulled off the monument, the sky suddenly cleared, the sun came out, and dozens of doves soared into the air. So the pigeon keepers, knowing that Pokryshkin was not indifferent to this bird, greeted their hero. Somewhat discouraged, Alexander Ivanovich did not lose his head and whistled recklessly...

The countrymen did not forget their hero, and in 2000 a new station of the Novosibirsk metro was named after Marshal Pokryshkin, there is Marshal Pokryshkin Street and Pokryshkin Square, Pokryshkin Alley. The plane of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations bears the name of Alexander Pokryshkin, and minor planet No. 3348 is named after him.

The name of Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin brought fear to German pilots. "Attention attention! Pokryshkin is in the sky! - this is how the fascist pilots warned each other over the radio. And they were afraid for good reason - the pilot hero Pokryshkin personally shot down 59 enemy planes. For Soviet people, he personifies selfless love for the Motherland, courage and fearlessness. We will tell you about his exploits, difficult relationships with his superiors and his personal life in this article.

Brief biography of Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin

Pre-war years

The city of Nikolaevsk, now Novosibirsk. On March 19, 1913, a second boy, Sasha, was born into a working-class family. In total, there were seven children in the Pokryshkin family: six boys and one girl. Since childhood, Sasha was a smart guy. Sasha Pokryshkin’s dream of the sky was sparked by the propaganda plane of the Society of Friends of the Air Fleet. It was a Junkers aircraft purchased with donations from Siberians, which landed in a vacant lot near a military camp. As a ten-year-old boy, the future ace first saw a plane so close.

“I will do everything, but I will only become a pilot!”

After graduating from seven-year school, Alexander begins to work in construction, and then enters a college. His parents did not support him, and the boy left his father's home forever. A year later, the coveted ticket to aviation was received - he goes to Perm. But, having arrived to study, Pokryshkin finds out that he is enrolled in an aircraft mechanics course, since the aviation school was repurposed from a flight school to an aviation technical school.

Alexander Pokryshkin in 1940

In 1932 he enlisted in the Red Army as a volunteer. And here his journey as a pilot begins. Alexander writes a total of 44 reports to his superiors asking him to be sent to train as a pilot, but there has been no response. Then he asks permission to be an observer pilot on Vsevolod Sevastyanov’s plane “R-1” (reconnaissance officer-1) and he is allowed. In fact, Sevastyanov becomes Alexander Pokryshkin’s teacher. Pokryshkin made his first solo flight at the Krasnodar flying club during his vacation. There, in 17 days, he masters the two-year flying club program and passes the exam as an external student with excellent marks. The head of the club said:

Pokryshkin is the first person to receive a flight license in just three weeks

Then he enters the Kachin Military Aviation Pilot School. In less than one year he graduated from the famous Kacha and was assigned to the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment, located on the western border, near Balti (Moldova). There he found A.I. Pokryshkina, the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.

The Great Patriotic War

The first flight took place on the first day of the war, June 22, 1941. Then Alexander Ivanovich was in the position of deputy squadron commander on the Southern Front. At the beginning of the war, he is recruited to carry out reconnaissance flights with the instruction “not to engage in battle.” But Pokryshkin constantly gets involved in them, considering it shameful to return to the airfield with full ammunition. On June 26, 1941, Alexander won his first victory, shooting down a Messerschmitt Bf.109 fighter during reconnaissance.

After some time, our hero realizes that the battle tactics are very outdated and begins to take notes on this matter. He started a notebook, entitled “Fighter Tactics in Combat.” These notes, clippings, diagrams became the beginning of his science of winning. (The notebook was saved by Pokryshkin’s future wife, Maria Kuzminichnaya, and she transferred it to the Central Museum of the Armed Forces). As a result of his painstaking creative work, the basic formula for air combat was gradually developed, which became known to all of our fighter aviation. Four elements were included in this formula: HEIGHT - SPEED - MANEUVER - FIRE. The merit of the outstanding pilot is that he was one of the first to combine all the necessary components of offensive air combat into a single whole. Later he said that by carefully studying Pokryshkin’s theory, he applied it to life and improved it.

“To think well in the air, you need to prepare for it on the ground” - one of the rules of A.I. Pokryshkina

Pokryshkin was close to death several times. A machine gun bullet went through his seat on the right side, damaged the shoulder strap, ricocheted off the left side and grazed his chin, covering the dashboard with blood. Remembering the war, Alexander Ivanovich said:

“Those who did not fight in 1941-1942 do not know the real war”

Pokryshkin's exploits

He became the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union in the country. And the only one - during the war years. In total, during the war years, Pokryshkin made 650 sorties, conducted 156 air battles, shot down 59 enemy aircraft personally and 6 in a group. Of his 65 official victories, only 6 were won in the last two years of the war.

In April 1943, A.I. Pokryshkin shot down 10 German planes. It was then that he received his first title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In most sorties, Pokryshkin took on the most difficult task - to shoot down the leader. As he understood from the experience of 1941-1942, knocking out the leader meant demoralizing the enemy and often thereby forcing him to return to his airfield.

German pilots, losing their planes when meeting with our ace, soon began to warn each other about his appearance: “Attention! Pokryshkin is in the air!

In May 1943, he shot down 12 aircraft and 2 in June. Pokryshkin received the second star of the Hero of the Soviet Union on August 24, 1943. In the air battle in the Kuban, he personally shot down 22 enemy aircraft, many of his students became aces, and Pokryshkin gained all-Union fame. By the end of 1943, he had completed 550 combat missions, conducted 137 air battles, and shot down 53 enemy aircraft.

On August 19, 1944, after 550 combat missions and 53 official victories, Pokryshkin was awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union for the third time. He became the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union in the country.

Pokryshkin created his own system for training aces. He attached particular importance to combat friendship and teamwork in squadrons. More than once he left a German plane already caught in his sights to save his pilot who was in danger. Until the end of his days, he was most proud of the fact that not one of those whom he led into battle died through his fault...

Post-war time

After the war, Alexander Ivanovich became a student at the main faculty of the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze. And in 1948 he graduated with a gold medal. Pokryshkin also studied at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR, which he graduated from in 1957, defended his thesis for the degree of candidate of military sciences, and became the author of many works and books. Pokryshkin gave almost a quarter of a century after the victory to the air defense forces. From 1948 to 1969, Alexander Ivanovich served in the air defense forces. He went from colonel to colonel general, held the positions of commander of the air defense corps and army, and deputy commander of the air defense forces. In 1972 he was awarded the rank of air marshal.

Personal life of the hero

He met his wife, Maria Kuzminichna Korzhuk, during the war, when he was visiting a wounded friend in the medical unit. As Pokryshkin later recalled, it was love at first sight. He carried this love for Maria Kuzminichna throughout his entire life. The Pokryshkin family had two children: a son and a daughter.

After the war, Maria Kuzminichna became very ill and, according to the recollections of her son Alexander, said: “It is more difficult for a man to be alone than for a woman. And I will have no peace in the next world if you are unkempt. Just don't marry someone very young. She won’t need you, but your position...” “Well, how can I live without you? - Father hugged mom. - And our children? Yes, we will do anything to make sure you get well... Even if some wizard returned my youth and lined up a hundred of the most beautiful beauties in front of me, and at the very end put you in a tunic and tarpaulin boots, as you were when we met, I would choose you...” Until the end of her days, Maria Pokryshkina believed that love had healed her.

In his life, Alexander Ivanovich passed the test of “copper pipes” with honor and fully drank the bitterness of their reverse side - the envy of officials for the glory of the People's Hero.

Interesting facts from the life of Pokryshkin

• In secret from his superiors, during his vacation, he masters the two-year flying club program in 17 days and passes the exam as an external student with excellent marks.
• Polkryshkin's first air battle ended in disaster: due to a misunderstanding, he shot down a Soviet aircraft of the 211th Bomber Regiment - a Su-2 light bomber, mistaking it for an enemy. The chaos of that first day largely saved the future ace, and he escaped with only a very serious scolding from his superiors.
• Since 1942, Pokryshkin had a very difficult relationship with the new regiment commander, Isaev, who did not accept Pokryshkin’s criticism of the outdated tactics of Soviet fighter aviation. A series of their conflicts led to Pokryshkin being removed from his post and expelled from the party, and from a skirmish in the flight canteen with officers of a neighboring regiment, a case was fabricated against Pokryshkin, which was sent for consideration to a military tribunal in Baku. Only the intercession of the regiment commissar and superior officers saved the combat pilot. The case was dropped, and he himself was reinstated in the party and in his position.
• In February 1944, he received a promotion and an offer to continue serving at the General Staff of the Red Army Air Force - to manage the training of new pilots. But the combat pilot rejected this offer and remained in his regiment.
• US President Franklin Roosevelt said admiringly about him: “Pokryshkin is undoubtedly the most outstanding pilot of the Second World War.”
• The famous pilot Konstantin Sukhov, who once served with Pokryshkin, once told how, during the Arab-Israeli war, as a Soviet military adviser on aviation in Syria, he suggested that Syrian pilots conduct a raid on enemy positions using certain tactics, and they told him: no, we won’t do that, Pokryshkin writes differently! And they showed him a beautifully designed book in Arabic. It turns out that the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Air Force used his own money to translate and publish five thousand copies of Alexander Ivanovich’s book “The Sky of War”