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5-07-2016, 10:49
For some reason, it has become customary to believe that at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army suffered only one defeat. This flawed, rotten stereotype turns into dust, if we recall the bombing of Berlin in August-September 1941. Even Hitler, looking at the burning capital then, could not believe his eyes.
Indeed, in the summer of 1941, Germany choked with delight before the victorious march of its soldiers on Russian soil. Here, it would seem, is the same “blitzkrieg”. Die, Moscow! You didn’t even have aviation left, we defeated it on the fly, while it was still based on the ground. “Not a single bomb will ever fall on the capital of the Reich,” declared to the German people Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe Hermann Göring. And the people unconditionally believed him because there was no reason not to believe. Adults and children slept in their beds for a healthy, full sleep.
Meanwhile, in the head of Admiral Kuznetsov, the idea lit up to pull the Germans so that the dream and reality of each of them would be filled with a nightmare, so that a piece of sausage would not go down the throat, so that the Germans would think: “Who are they, these Russians, and what are they capable of?” Well, soon Wehrmacht officers will indeed write in their diaries: “Russians are not people. They are made of iron."
So, on July 26, 1941, Kuznetsov's proposal to bombard Berlin falls on the table to Joseph Stalin. Madness? Undoubtedly! From the front line to the capital of the Reich - a thousand kilometers. Nevertheless, Stalin smiles contentedly and the very next day orders the 1st Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment of the 8th Air Force Brigade Baltic Fleet bombing Berlin.
On July 30, General Zhavoronkov arrives at the indicated air regiment and barely has time to talk about the order of the Headquarters, as the regiment commander Yevgeny Preobrazhensky discourages him by laying out ready-made calculations, a list of crews and a map of the proposed route on the table. Amazing! In those hellish days, the pilots, having anticipated the order, thought with one mind with Admiral Kuznetsov.
It remains only to start the task. But it's easy to say... All conditions were against the flight. First, the huge distance. A minute error in the route threatened to affect the fuel supply in the most fatal way. Secondly, takeoff was possible only from the territory of the Baltic States, from the Cahul airfield, on the island of Saarema, where there was a short land strip, quite suitable for fighters, but not for heavy bombers. And, thirdly, it was necessary to fly at an altitude of 7 thousand meters with a temperature overboard of minus 45-50 degrees Celsius. Killing cold for an eight-hour flight.
"...They are made of iron." Exactly. August 7 at 21:00 with an interval of 15 minutes, DB-3F aircraft took off. Three flights of five bombers each. The first link was headed by the commander of the regiment Preobrazhensky. In the sky, the planes lined up in a diamond formation and took the direction to Germany.
At first, the route involved flying over the sea past the island of Rügen (Slavic Ruyan or Buyan, sung by Pushkin). This was followed by a turn to the southern port city of Stettin, and after that a direct passage to Berlin opened.
Eight hours in an oxygen mask and in the cold, from which the windows of the cabins and goggles of headsets froze over. Behind a whole day of intensive training. Total: superhuman loads, never experienced by anyone before.
Over the territory of Germany, the group finds itself ... The Germans contact her by radio and offer to land at the nearest airport. They believe that it is the brave knights of the Luftwaffe who have gone astray. It doesn't even occur to them that it could be an enemy. Therefore, not having received an answer, they calm down. They do not answer, they say, and let them. It will be on their conscience.
Ten planes are forced to drop bombs on Stettin, on its port facilities. Fuel is running out, no more risk. However, the five remaining DB-3Fs make it to Berlin.
Trams and cars move below. Stations and military airfields are illuminated. The windows in the houses are on fire. No blackout! The Germans are convinced of their invulnerability.
Five planes are dropping 250-kilogram FAB-100 bombs on military-industrial facilities located in the very center of the city. Berlin plunges into pitch darkness, torn apart by flashes of fire. Panic sets in on the streets. But it's too late. Radio operator Vasily Krotenko is already transmitting: “My place is Berlin! The task was completed. We're going back to base."
Only after 35 minutes did the Germans realize that they had been bombarded from the air. Beams of searchlights rush into the sky, anti-aircraft guns open fire. However, the fire is carried out at random. Shells explode in vain at an altitude of 4500-5000 meters. Well, it can't be that the bombers flew higher! These are not gods!
The sun rose over the mutilated Berlin, and the Germans did not understand who bombed them. Newspapers came out with ridiculous headlines: “English aircraft bombarded Berlin. There are dead and wounded. 6 British planes shot down. Confused like children, the Nazis decided to lie in accordance with the precepts of Goebbels: "The more impudent the lie, the more they believe in it." However, the British were also confused, hastening to declare that there was no spirit over Germany.
It was then that the "blitzkrieg" singers admitted that they had carried out the raid Soviet aces. Shame fell on the head of the Ministry of Propaganda, and the heart of the entire German nation ached. What else to expect from Russian "subhumans"?
And there was something to look forward to. Soviet aviation continued sorties. Until September 4, 86 of them were committed. From 33 aircraft, 36 tons of high-explosive and incendiary bombs hit Berlin. This is not counting the shells stuffed with propaganda leaflets, and 37 aircraft that bombed other German cities.
Hitler howled like a wounded animal. On September 5, he sent innumerable forces of the North group to smash the Cahul airfield to smithereens. However, Berlin has already ceased to light fires at night, and every German has an animal fear of the darkness of his native Aryan sky.
The first group under the command of Colonel Preobrazhensky returned all, with the exception of the plane, which did not have enough fuel. Lieutenant Dashkovsky managed it. On August 13, 1941, five pilots who bombed Berlin received the title of Hero. Soviet Union and 2 thousand rubles each. The rest of the pilots were also awarded and rewarded. After that, the Preobrazhensky group bombed the capital of the Reich 9 more times.
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Bombing of Berlin in 1941- a series of air raids on the capital of Nazi Germany (Third Reich) Berlin, carried out from August 7 to September 5, 1941 by Soviet aircraft during the Great Patriotic War.
background [ | ]
Planning and preparation[ | ]
My dear Ernst! The war with Russia is already costing us many hundreds of thousands of dead. Dark thoughts don't leave me. Recent times bombers come to us at night. Everyone says that the British bombed, but we know for sure that the Russians bombed us that night. They avenge Moscow. Berlin is shaking from bomb explosions ... And in general, I’ll tell you: since the Russians appeared above our heads, you can’t imagine how bad it became for us. Willy Furstenberg's relatives served at an artillery factory. The factory no longer exists! Willy's family perished under the rubble. Ah, Ernst, when Russian bombs fell on the Simmens factories, everything seemed to me to fall through the ground. Why did you contact the Russians?
Subsequent sorties were less successful.
Departure August 10 [ | ]
The next flight was scheduled for August 10. It was decided to involve the Red Army Air Force under the command of Zhigarev P. F. The flight was planned to be carried out by the forces of the 81st bomber aviation division from the airfield of the city of Pushkin on more modern TB-7 aircraft (412th heavy bomber aviation regiment, renamed 432 th heavy bomber aviation regiment) and Yer-2 (420th heavy bomber aviation regiment, renamed to).
The Soviet army reached Berlin in the victorious 45th, but our pilots bombed the German capital already on initial stage war. In August-September 41st, in response to, and exactly a year later - in 42nd. "Defend Russia" remembers how it was.
The blow of "defeated aviation"
June-July 1941 Soviet forces with huge losses retreated inland.
In the euphoria of victories, Germany promised to end the "blitzkrieg" in the east in a matter of weeks, and Goebbels and Goering, against the backdrop of heavy losses in the Red Army's air force, declared that Soviet aviation had been defeated, and not a single bomb would ever fall on the capital of the Reich.
However, on the night of August 8, 1941, the living peaceful life Berlin was raided. The next morning, the German information bureau reported that 15 British aircraft managed to reach Berlin and drop a number of high-explosive bombs, buildings were damaged by bombardment, there were casualties, German night fighters and bombers shot down six enemy aircraft.
The English press, in response to "an interesting and mysterious report about the bombing of Berlin," wrote that British aviation did not raid the German capital on the night of August 7-8.
The Germans had to admit that on that night it was the planes of the “defeated Soviet aviation” that made the city of millions shudder.
Punch on punch
At the end of July 1941, in response to the bombing of Moscow by German aircraft, Soviet pilots were preparing to strike at Berlin. The choice fell on the pilots of the 1st mine-torpedo aviation regiment of the 8th air brigade of the Air Force of the Baltic Fleet. For the airstrike, at the suggestion of the People's Commissar of the Navy, Admiral Nikolai Kuznetsov, they decided to use the Cahul airfield on the island of Ezel (Saaremaa) - the westernmost point of land at that time, controlled by Soviet troops, but already in the rear of the rapidly advancing Nazi troops.
It was planned to use long-range bombers DB-3, Il-4, TB-7 and Yer-2 in the operation, which, taking into account the maximum range, could make an air drop to Berlin and back.
Soon the Military Council of the Baltic Fleet received an order to pick up 15 crews of the 1st Mine and Torpedo Regiment and relocate them to Ezel by 10.00 on August 2.
To reinforce the group of naval pilots, two squadrons of the 22nd air regiment from 20 Il-4 arrived on the island under the command of the deputy commander of the regiment, Major Vasily Shchelkunov and the squadron commander, Captain Vasily Tikhonov.
From August 3 to 6, preparations lasted: lengthening the runway on the island, test flights and reconnaissance, and on the evening of August 6, the crews of the first strike group received a combat mission.
Bombing of Berlin in 1941
The group included 15 naval aviation crews on DB-3 bombers. On August 7, at 21:00, the planes took off and headed for Berlin. The route 1756 km long, of which 1400 km - over the sea, passed in a straight line: the island of Ezel (Saaremaa) - Swinemünde - Stettin - Berlin. The flight was to be made over the territory occupied by the Germans - a task already difficult, moreover, in order to maintain the strictest secrecy, the fighters of the air group were not escorted.
The pilots reached the northern border of Germany in three hours. Flying over its territory, our planes were repeatedly detected from German observation posts, but the Nazi air defense did not open fire.
Courage and reasonable risk, based on accurate calculation, paid off. The Germans did not expect such audacity. During the approach of our aircraft to the target, they requested signals from the ground: what kind of cars, where are they flying? Considering that they had lost their way, the pilots were offered to land on one of the nearest airfields.
Hypnotized by Goebbels' propaganda, the watchmen on duty did not even allow the thought that Soviet planes might appear over their heads.
From the book of Nikolai Kuznetsov "On the way to victory"
That night, five out of 15 aircraft, led by Evgeny Preobrazhensky, flew over Berlin. The rest were bombed in the Berlin suburb and the port city of Stettin.
At dawn on August 8, the air group in in full force returned to base. In the future, the airfield of the city of Pushkin near Leningrad was used for sorties, and long-range aviation pilots also made sorties. However, the enemy air defense, which had given up during the first bombardment, was now ready for new strikes.
Now the enemy met our planes with fierce fire, as soon as they crossed the coastline, and around Berlin there was a complex system air defense. Each time I had to develop a special tactic. Rescued still high altitude. Above 7 thousand meters, our bombers were no longer so afraid of night fighters with special powerful headlights, and anti-aircraft fire was not so terrible.
From the book of Nikolai Kuznetsov "On the way to victory"
Despite the powerful protection, none of the pilots did not save in the face of mortal danger. Pilot Alexei Tsykin, in his book “A Brief History of Long-Range Aviation,” recalled the August sorties: “The anti-aircraft guns were silent, but searchlights probed the sky. The moon shone brightly. When heavy bombs rained down from the first planes, the air defense set in motion. The anti-aircraft guns were firing at a hurricane, shell explosions stained the sky at various heights, beams of hundreds of searchlights fumbled all around. But not a single Soviet crew turned off course. Bombs dropped on target.
The last in 1941 air raid on the capital of the Reich, Soviet pilots made on September 5th. After the Germans occupied Tallinn, it became impossible to use the airfield on the island. In ten raids on Berlin, 311 bombs were dropped and 32 fires were registered.
Almost a year later, Stalin again set the task of striking at Berlin, timing the operation to coincide with the anniversary of the German attack on the Soviet Union, June 22, 1942. The commander of long-range aviation (ADD) Alexander Golovanov managed to postpone the task to the end of August. The reasons were weighty: on the twentieth of June, the shortest and bright nights, that is, pilots have to overcome significant distances in daylight hours days - and this is an additional risk. Stalin agreed. The operation began at the end of August 1942 and continued until mid-September.
At that difficult time, almost all air forces were thrown into the Stalingrad defensive operation. (…) There seemed to be no task more important than this. But the commander of the ADD, remembering Stalin's demands and his "debt" to him, cut off a little more than two hundred selected crews from the Stalingrad tasks and sent them to Berlin, Budapest, Bucharest, Warsaw, Stettin, Koenigsberg, Danzig.
From the book "What was - it was"
Base airfields were used, and for the most distant targets, front-line jump airfields.
The ADD struck its first blow on the night of August 27, 1942. Acting in difficult weather conditions at military-industrial facilities in Berlin, our newspapers reported, 9 fires were caused there, and 9 in Danzig, and 10 in Koenigsberg, accompanied by explosions.
From the book by Vasily Reshetnikov "What was - it was"
The raids of the 41st and 42nd years, although they did not significantly affect the course of hostilities, had a strong morale and psychological effect. In addition, the Nazis were forced to organize a more powerful air defense system, removing from Eastern Front significant artillery and aviation forces.
Seventy-five years ago, in August 1941, when the battles for Leningrad and Odessa were in full swing, when fierce battles were going on for Kyiv and Smolensk, and german aviation made several massive raids on Moscow, the command of the Navy and the aviation of the Baltic Fleet planned and carried out one of the most resonant air operations for all four war years - systematic raids on the capital Nazi Germany.
Among those who opened the bomb bays of their aircraft over Berlin three times was the Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General of Aviation Alexander Ivanovich Shaposhnikov. However, he became a Hero and a general later. And at the end of the summer of the forty-first year, a long-range bomber from the island airfield raised a young pilot, who was not even thirty, into the night front sky ...
Once ill with the sky
Imperialist and Civil left Sasha Shaposhnikov a complete orphan. Therefore, as soon as circumstances allowed, the boy went from his native village of Lyskovo to the provincial center - Nizhny Novgorod. There he decided to become a turner's apprentice at one of the city's enterprises, where he graduated from the school of working youth. In 1932, on the fifteenth anniversary proletarian revolution, the guy was rewarded for shock work ... by flying on an airplane. It was then that, having risen into the air as a passenger in the rear cockpit of a training biplane and seeing the earth for the first time from a bird's eye view, he forever fell ill with the sky.
Two years later, Alexander was drafted into the army and sent to study at an aviation school. After its completion, Shaposhnikov found himself on Far East- the most restless place in those days. And although I didn’t have a chance to take part in battles with the Japanese at that time, service in a harsh region tempered my character and allowed me to gain rich practical experience.
All this came in handy in 1939, when Alexander, who had already become deputy commander of a bomber squadron, ended up on the Finnish front. After that short war, a new medal "For Courage" sparkled on his tunic.
On June 22, 1941, the crews of the long-range bomber regiment were alerted. At the formation, the commander briefly brought the situation: the war, about which they talked so much, for which they were preparing so intensely and in which they did not want to believe, had begun. However, it didn't start out as planned. The enemy is already on our land, attacking garrisons and fortified areas, bombing cities and ports. The regiment was given the task of delivering a bombing strike on the accumulation of manpower and equipment ... in the area of Koenigsberg! The first group of aircraft is led by Zamkomeska Shaposhnikov.
So, by the will of fate and the order, Alexander Ivanovich had to lead his pilots to bombard enemy territory on the first day of the war. At about 10 o'clock, the four DB-3 F (IL-4) took off from the ground and headed west. We went at the highest altitude, without fighter cover. Maybe that's why, and even because none of the Nazis could have imagined such impudence on the part of Soviet Air Force, this first raid on enemy territory went like clockwork: no shelling from the ground, no fighter attacks.
hell in heaven
Shaposhnikov's crew had to experience full-fledged hell in the air only on the next, second day of the war, when Alexander Ivanovich brought six bombers to attack fuel depots near Kenizit. From below - explosions of anti-aircraft shells, from above and from the sides - machine-gun bursts of "Messerschmitts".
Gunner-radio operator Konstantin Efimov managed to set fire to one, in the heat of battle, inadvertently substituting the sides and "belly". But after another attack fighters in Shaposhnikov's headphones sounded: "Wounded ... legs were broken ... that's it, commander ...". By this time, Il's right motor was already on fire, the left one worked intermittently. As soon as they pulled across the border, Alexander ordered the navigator and air gunner to leave the car in flames. He himself was the last to throw himself out, biting his lips to the point of blood in annoyance that he could no longer help a seriously wounded (God forbid) or dead (better so!) radio operator.
For twelve days he walked along the German rear, catching up with the front, rolling back to the east. They managed to get to their Shaposhnikov only near Polotsk. Explanations with the commandant of the city and the Chekists were short-lived: the captain kept the documents, the request sent to the regiment was answered quickly. And already on July 7, Alexander was hugged by colleagues who did not expect to see him alive ...
During the four years of the war, Shaposhnikov was shot down twice more. Then, in July 1941, two days after his return, he joined the combat work a shelf. Long-range Il-4 bombers, capable of hanging in the sky for six to seven hours, now had time to take off three or four times in a day: the front was close ...
Special mission
In early August, the regiment received an unexpected command: to stop combat sorties, fly to the island of Ezel (Saarema) - the largest among the Moozund Islands in the Baltic Sea - and wait for further orders.
There were many questions. Why stop air strikes on tank spearheads frantically rushing east German armies? Why fly to some island lost in the sea when the front was already 300-400 kilometers to the west? But orders are not discussed ...
Meanwhile, “at the very top” this is what happened. On July 22, 1941, German aviation carried out the first massive air raid on Moscow, which was repelled. On July 24, the Germans repeated the bombardment, this time they managed to drop 300 tons of high-explosive and incendiary bombs on the capital. July 26 People's Commissar Navy Admiral N.vЂ‰G.v‰Kuznetsov, at a meeting with Stalin, suggested that he carry out retaliatory bombardments of Berlin by naval aviation of the Baltic Fleet from the Cahul airfield on Ezel Island in the Moozun archipelago. Stalin approved the plan, and the next day the commander of the aviation regiment of the 8th Air Brigade of the Air Force of the Baltic Fleet, Colonel E.VЂ‰N.VЂ‰Preobrazhensky received an order: to bomb Berlin and its military-industrial facilities. The direct command of the operation was entrusted to the Commander of the Naval Aviation, Lieutenant-General S.vЂ‰F.v‰Zhavoronkov.
To strike, it was planned to use long-range bombers DB-3, DB-ZF (Il-4), as well as the new TB-7 and Er-2 of the Air Force and the Air Force of the Navy, which, given the maximum range, could reach Berlin and return back. Since the range to the target was about 900 km in one direction, 1765 km in both directions, of which 1400 km were over the sea, the success of the operation depended on the fulfillment of several conditions. Namely: the flight had to be performed on high altitude, have only 500 kilograms of bomb load on board and return back strictly in a straight line.
On July 28, General Zhavoronkov flew to the village of Bezzabotnoye near Leningrad, where he was based aviation regiment Preobrazhensky. The operation was prepared in a regime of heightened secrecy, only the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Vice Admiral V.VЂ‰F.VЂ‰Tributs, and the Commander of the Air Force of the Baltic Fleet, Major General Aviation M.VЂ‰I.VЂ‰Samokhin, were aware of the matter. 15 crews of the regiment were selected to strike at Berlin. Regimental commander Colonel Preobrazhensky was appointed commander of a special strike group, and Captain Khokhlov was appointed flag navigator.
On August 2, a sea caravan consisting of minesweepers and self-propelled barges. It housed a stockpile of bombs and aviation fuel, steel plates to lengthen the runway, two tractors, a bulldozer, a rammer roller, and all the logistics for the flight and technical personnel of the special strike group. Having passed through the mined Gulf of Finland and entering Tallinn, already besieged by the Germans, on the morning of August 3, the caravan approached the berths of Ezel Island and began unloading.
The previous night, a test flight was made from the Cahul airfield: several crews, having a supply of fuel to Berlin, flew to reconnaissance the weather and dropped bombs on Swinemünde.
On August 4, a special strike group flew to the island and began to prepare for a special task. The next day the crews received their flight cards. The landmarks (they are also alternate targets) of the upcoming flights were clearly marked on them: Koenigsberg, Danzig, Stettin. And the main goal is Berlin! Strike at the capital of the Reich when imperial minister propaganda, Dr. Goebbels trumpeted to the whole world that Soviet aviation no longer exists, and Reichsmarschall Goering swore to the Fuhrer that not a single house in the cities of Germany would shudder from bomb explosions ...
On the night of August 6, five crews went on a reconnaissance flight to Berlin. It was found that the anti-aircraft defense is located in a ring around the city within a radius of 100 km and has many searchlights capable of operating at a height of up to 6000 meters. On the evening of August 6, the crews of the first group of bombers received a combat mission ...
Retribution
The first Soviet air raid on Berlin took place on the night of August 7-8, 1941. At 21.00, a special strike group of 15 DB-3 bombers took off from the airfield, led by the regiment commander, Colonel Preobrazhensky, and flag-navigator Khokhlov. The units were commanded by captains Grechishnikov and Efremov. Keeping the formation, captain Alexander Shaposhnikov also drove his car.
The flight took place over the sea at an altitude of 7000 m along the route Esel Island (Saarema) - Swinemünde - Stettin - Berlin. The temperature outside reached minus 35-40 ° C, which caused the glass of the cabins and glasses of headsets to freeze. In addition, the pilots had to work all these hours in oxygen masks and in complete silence: going on the air was strictly prohibited throughout the route.
Three hours later, the planes left for northern border Germany. When flying over its territory, our bombers were repeatedly detected from German observation posts. But they were taken for their own, and the German air defense did not open fire. Over Stettin, the Germans with the help of searchlights, believing that these were the aces of the Luftwaffe returning from the bombing british isles, even offered the crews Soviet aircraft land at the nearest airfield...
The capital of the Third Reich, glowing with all the lights, the first five saw half an hour before the flight. Obviously, still not fully aware of the reality of what was happening, Preobrazhensky led a group over all of Berlin from north to south. Silence! We made a U-turn, got our bearings, found targets - military factories on the northeastern outskirts of the city. We got on a combat course. A minute later, the command sounded: "Reset!".
Far below flashes of explosions flashed, the flames of fires that had begun danced. Anti-aircraft guns opened indiscriminate fire, plunged into the darkness of the street and square. The war came to the capital of the state that unleashed it. Retribution is done!
The German air defense did not allow the pilots to fully control the results of the bombing strike: its activity increased so much in a matter of seconds that the radio operator of the command crew Vasily Krotenko, interrupting the radio silence mode with the permission of Preobrazhensky, announced on the air: “My place is Berlin! The task was completed. Let's go back to base!"
Less than a minute after the first explosions, dozens of fighter jets were flying in the sky over Berlin, hundreds of searchlights were rummaging through the beams. Therefore, the second and third links were bombed in the Berlin suburb - Stettin. And after the leading group, they went back.
At 4 am on August 8, after a seven-hour flight, all the cars of the special group returned to the airfield without loss. Exhausted from nervous and physical tension exhausted pilots sank to the ground directly under the planes of the bombers. They were raked into the arms of jubilant technicians, thrown up, poked a finger in the chest, showing where to “drill a hole” for awards. But the pilots and navigators had only one desire - to sleep!
... Despite the fact that the first bombing of Berlin did not cause significant damage, it had a huge psychological effect and resonance throughout the world.
On the morning of August 8, Berlin radio broadcast a message: “Last night large forces English aviation in the amount of 150 planes tried to bomb our capital. Of the 15 aircraft that broke through to the city, 9 were shot down.
Literally an hour later, the answer of the bewildered BBC followed: "The German message about the bombing of Berlin is interesting and mysterious, since neither on August 7 nor on August 8 British aircraft flew over Berlin."
Until noon, Moscow maintained a pause. And exactly at 12 o'clock the Soviet Information Bureau transmitted a message Soviet government that our aviation successfully bombed the capital of Nazi Germany, as a result of the bombing, explosions and fires were observed in the city, and all aircraft returned to their bases. On the same day, the text of this message was published by Izvestia.
They say that the Fuhrer was furious. Reichsmarschall Goering, who assured that "not a single bomb will fall on the capital of the Reich," and the Minister of Propaganda, Dr. Goebbels, who hastened to bury Soviet aviation in his statements, also got it. And the former military aviation attaché of Germany, who for several prewar years work in the Union could not obtain reliable information about the presence of "Soviet" bombers similar class, was shot.
The second pancake is lumpy
The success of the first raid on the enemy capital and the apparent ease with which it was carried out caused euphoria among Soviet leadership. The order was immediately given to make the bombing of Berlin regular and massive.
On August 8, the commander of the air division, Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General M. V. V. Vodopyanov (winner of the Gold Star No. 6 for rescuing the Chelyuskinites) received personally from Stalin an order with the following content: “T-shchu Vodopyanov. To oblige the 81st air division, headed by the division commander, Comrade Vodopyanov, from 9.08 to 10.08 or in one of next days, depending on weather conditions, to raid Berlin. During a raid, in addition to high-explosive bombs, it is imperative to drop incendiary bombs of small and large caliber on Berlin. In the event that the engines begin to fail on the way to Berlin, have the city of Konigsberg as a backup target for the bombing. I. V Stalin. 8.08.41"
Vodopyanov, together with the head of the Red Army Air Force, General P.vЂ‰F.vł‰Zhigarev, began to prepare the division for the task. The calculations showed that the TB-7 and Er-2 bombers with a bomb load of 4000 kg (of which 2000 kg were on an external sling) could fly from the Pushkino airfield to Berlin and return back. After a thorough check, the generals selected 16 Yer-2s and 10 TB-7s, one of which was to be personally led by Vodopyanov.
On the evening of August 10, bombers refueled and loaded to the eyeballs, one by one, began to take off from the ground and head for Berlin. And then Captain Molodchy's Ep-2 broke the landing gear before it left the runway and drove into a drainage ditch at the edge of the airfield. On Major Egorov's TB-7 taking off after him, immediately after taking off from the ground, two right engines failed, and the plane, crashing to the ground, turned into a huge fire. After that, General Zhigarev stopped the departure of the remaining bombers. As a result, only seven TB-7s and three Yer-2s went to Berlin. Only six vehicles were able to bomb the target. Only two returned to Pushkino ...
The fate of the crew of General Vodopyanov was as follows. Even while climbing, his TB-7 was attacked by fighters, received holes, but reached the target and bombed Berlin. After that, he came under anti-aircraft fire, was damaged and made an emergency landing on the territory of Estonia occupied by the Germans. Only two days later, the crew, considered missing, safely returned to their own.
After that, General Vodopyanov, despite all previous merits, was removed from the post of division commander, and Colonel A.VЂ‰E.VЂ‰Golovanov, the future chief marshal aviation and commander of the Soviet long-range aviation.
“We flew under God, near paradise itself…”
Yet raids on Berlin became regular. And the same special group of Colonel Preobrazhensky, reinforced by fourteen more DB-3F (IL-4) aircraft, managed to do this. The next time, his pilots attacked the capital of Germany on the night of August 11, then - on the night of August 13. And then - through the night until September 5, until the Germans began bombing the discovered Cahul airfield. September 17, the Nazis captured the bridgehead on south coast Ezel Islands and began to quickly build up forces for its complete capture. special group Preobrazhensky received an order to fly to one of the airfields near Moscow ...
After the war, meticulous historians calculated that for the whole of 1941, British pilots dropped 35.5 tons of bombs on the German capital. And only one special air group of E.VЂ‰N.VЂ‰Preobrazhensky “unloaded” almost 22 tons over Berlin in just a month!
In general, the statistics of Soviet raids on Berlin is as follows. 86 sorties were made. 33 vehicles broke through to the city, 37 failed to reach the capital of Germany and attacked other cities. AT total 311 high-explosive and incendiary bombs were used up with a total weight of 36050 kg. In addition to them, 34 propaganda bombs with leaflets were dropped. 16 aircraft various reasons aborted the flight and returned to the airfield. During the raids, 17 bombers and 7 crews were lost, with 2 aircraft and 1 crew killed at the airfield when they tried to take off with 1000-kilogram and two 500-kilogram bombs on external slings.
On August 13, 1941, the pilots who participated in the first raid on Berlin - Colonel Preobrazhensky, Captains Grechishnikov, Plotkin, Efremov and Khokhlov - were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In September, five more pilots of a special group became Heroes. At the end of summer - early autumn of the forty-first, 13 pilots were awarded the Order of Lenin, 55 people were awarded the Orders of the Red Banner and the Red Star.
In August 1941, Captain Shaposhnikov saw Berlin twice more under the wing of his bomber. During one of the sorties, the pilot was wounded and treated in the hospital. Maybe that's why he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union a little later than other fellow soldiers - on March 29, 1942.
During the war years, Alexander Ivanovich had a chance to lift his bomber into the air over Moscow and Stalingrad, over the Kursk Bulge and Belarusian forests, over the Carpathians and many cities of European countries.
In the spring of the forty-fifth, the planes of the Guards Long-Range Bomber Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Shaposhnikov, were again one of the first to strike at Berlin. On the last day of the war, Alexander Ivanovich made his 318th sortie.
But his heavenly service did not end there. Even after graduating in November 1955 from the Academy General Staff and having taken command of an aviation division, he continued to fly a lot and selflessly. In his flight book it is recorded that General Shaposhnikov mastered 15 types of combat aircraft, on which he made 5406 sorties, spending a total of 3958 hours in the air. To the already solid iconostasis of military awards of the famous pilot over the years peaceful service the Orders of the Red Star and the Red Banner of Labor were added.
In 1967, Alexander Ivanovich died. Today, the streets in the Prioksky district bear the name of the Hero Nizhny Novgorod and his hometown Lyskovo.
Annotation. The article reveals the events related to the preparation, organization and course of the first air raid of the Soviet long-range bomber aviation on the capital of Nazi Germany in August 1941.
Summary . The article describes the events associated with preparation, organization and running of the first air raid of Soviet long-range bombers on the capital of Nazi Germany in August 1941.
GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR 1941-1945
LASHKOV Alexey Yurievich- senior Researcher Research Institute ( military history) Military Academy of the General Staff armed forces Russian Federation, reserve colonel, candidate historical sciences, assistant professor
"OBLIGATE THE 81st AIR DIVISION... TO RAIL ON BERLIN"
The first long-range bomber air raid on Berlin on the night of August 10-11, 1941
After a successful air raid in early August 1941 by Soviet naval aviation on the capital of Nazi Germany - Berlin, the long-range bomber aviation (DBA) of the Red Army Air Force had its say. The stake was placed on the 81st long-range aviation division (addd)1. The unit was formed in accordance with the order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR No. 0052 dated July 15, 1941 (the basis is the decision of the USSR State Defense Committee dated July 14, 1941)2. Its commander was one of the first Heroes of the Soviet Union brigade commander M.V. Vodopyanov3. The division included in its composition: management, 432nd and 433rd aviation regiments. Each regiment was supposed to have 5 squadrons of TB-7 (Pe-8) heavy bombers three ships each, one squadron of security fighters of the Yak-1 or LaGG-3 type, consisting of 10 aircraft and an airfield maintenance battalion.
On the formation of the management of the 81st aviation division and the 432nd aviation regiment, personnel and material part the newly formed 412th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment (tbap) TB-74. One of the most experienced pilots was appointed commander of the regiment long-range aviation colonel V.I. Lebedev5. The formation of the 433rd air regiment (based on the 420th ap) was supposed to be completed as aircraft were received from industry. According to reports, the division also included the 413th (on TB-7) and 421st (on Er-2) aviation regiments special purpose(OSNAZ).
By August 1941, the 432nd AP was armed with 12 TB-7 bombers (8 aircraft with M-40 diesel engines, one with M-30 diesel engines and three aircraft with M-35 and M-35A gasoline engines), the production of which was carried out in Kazan (factory No. 124).
The aircraft fleet of the 420th (later - 433rd) air regiment consisted of long-range bombers Yer-2 (DB-240), created on the basis of a 12-seat high-speed passenger aircraft"Steel-7". The range of the Er-2 with a bomb load (up to 1000 kg) was up to 4100 km. Max Speed Er-2 with the AM-37 engine at an altitude of 4 km reached 437 km / h6. The regiment commander was Colonel N.I. Novodranov7.
The 81st long-range aviation division was directly subordinate to the commander of the Red Army Air Force (KA), Lieutenant General of Aviation P.F. Zhigarev8. Her questions combat use were also in charge Supreme Commander I.V. Stalin. By his order, as a response to the massive Luftwaffe raids on Moscow, long-range aviation (following the 1st mine-torpedo aviation regiment of the 8th air brigade of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet) was to bombard the military facilities of the capital of the Third Reich.
In the first decade of August 1941, the Air Force command reported to the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief (VGK) that the division was fully prepared for combat work in Berlin. On the personal instructions of I.V. Stalin, on the night of August 8-9, a special order of the State Defense Committee (GKO) was prepared, which prescribed: “T-shchu Vodopyanova. Oblige the 81st Air Division, headed by the division commander Comrade Vodopyanov, from August 9 to August 10 or one of the following days, depending on weather conditions, to raid Berlin. During a raid, in addition to high-explosive bombs, it is imperative to drop incendiary bombs of small and large caliber on Berlin. In the event that the engines begin to fail on the way to Berlin, have the city of Königsberg as a backup target for the bombing. I. Stalin 8.8.41”9.
On the basis of this document, the commander of the Air Force of the Spacecraft, Lieutenant General of Aviation P.F. Zhigarev issued an appropriate order10. At the same time, the Air Force Headquarters, together with the 5th Directorate of the Main Directorate of the Air Force (long-range bomber aviation), developed combat missions for the 81st Addd to ensure the passage and return of bombers across the front line. Attack on the capital Nazi Germany following the KBF Air Force, the crews of the 432nd (on TB-7) and 433rd (on Er-2) long-range bomber regiments (dbap) of the 81st air division were supposed to apply.
Initially, 12 TB-7s and 28 Yer-2s were involved in the combat mission. On August 10, the planes flew to the military airfield "jump" in Pushkin (28 km south of Leningrad). After another technical revision of the state of the machines, the number of selected bombers decreased to 10 TB-7 (the choice fell only on diesel vehicles) and 16 Yer-2, which formed the basis of the 1st and 2nd squadrons of the 432nd long-range bomber regiment (order of the commander of the Air Force KA No. 0010 of August 9, 1941). Approximately 8 "ers" were included in the "operational group" of the same air regiment under the command of the deputy commander of the regiment, captain A.G. Stepanova.
Many crews of the 432nd dbap did not have the necessary take-off skills on fully loaded machines. The calculations showed that the TB-7 with M-40F diesel engines with a bomb load of 4 tons, of which 2 tons on an external sling, could provide a long-range flight with a bomb drop in the middle of the route and safely return to base. Total length route (from the Pushkin airfield to Berlin) was 2700 km (against 3200 km when departing from Moscow airfields). Most of the way at the same time ran over the Baltic, bypassing areas with strong enemy air defense. The last 500 km passed over the territory of Germany. To the target (Berlin area), Soviet aircraft were supposed to follow dispersed, going on a combat course with set intervals in time to avoid collisions. Each crew had to find the target on their own. The crews following were counting on illuminating it with the fire of fires from the impacts of the lead vehicles (several TB-7s that took off first were equipped with the Night-1 blind piloting system, which made it possible to navigate by the signals of radio beacons). The bombardment itself was thus stretched out and deprived of surprise. But there was simply no other tactics for raiding at night at that time.
General leadership the organization of the first long-range bomber aviation raid on Berlin was entrusted to the commander of the Air Force of the Spacecraft, Lieutenant General of Aviation P.F. Zhigarev, direct command of the bomber air group - to the division commander, brigade commander M.V. Vodopyanov.
At 18.00 on August 10, the crews of the squadrons were assembled to set the task (Pushkin airfield). Aviation Lieutenant General P.F. Zhigarev read out the appeal of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief to the personnel of the division, it was ordered to have on each airship the maximum ammunition load and full fuel tanks.
The basis of the ammunition was high-explosive aerial bombs (FAB-100, -250, -500, -1000), incendiary aerial bomb(ZAB-50) and rotational dispersive bomb (RRAB-3).
The flight order was determined as follows (from the report of the squadron commander, Captain M.A. Brusnitsyn, to the chief of staff of the 81st Addd on August 11, 1941): him at 20.45 link TB-7 and at 21.00 - link Er-2 under the command of Captain Brusnitsyn, behind this link next link TB-7. Behind the TB-7 link, a pair of Yer-2s take off under the command junior lieutenant Youthful"11.
The lack of time for preparation and the strict secrecy of the planned event excluded the possibility of timely bringing to the leadership of the Northern Air Defense Zone12 and the air defense of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet information about the upcoming flight of our aircraft. This circumstance played with the participants in the raid on Berlin bad joke. In addition, the vast majority of the personnel of anti-aircraft artillery units and crews fighter aviation were not familiar with the silhouettes of the TB-7 and Yer-2, which made it possible to mistake them for enemy bombers.
Difficulties also arose with the technical condition of our airships. During takeoff, the Yer-2 bomber, junior lieutenant A.I. Molodchego13, due to the large overload of the car, having run the entire unpaved strip, failed to get off the ground and demolished the landing gear on the drainage at the edge of the airfield. It was only by a miracle that the plane did not explode on its own bombs.
On TB-7 (No. 42046), the commander of the ship, Major K. Yegorov, was denied two right M-40F diesel engines immediately after the aircraft took off from the ground. The plane crashed. The car is completely destroyed. From the crew, “6 people were killed, 6 people were seriously injured. Of these, 2 people died in the hospital.
The commander of the Air Force KA urgently demanded to stop the start of the operation. Er-2, which had taken off earlier, captain M.A. Brusnitsyna circled over the airfield for an hour, waiting for the winged aircraft. Having received the command to land, the bomber landed unsuccessfully in conditions of poor visibility (darkness), breaking the landing gear17.
As a result, only 9 bombers (6 TB-7 and 3 Yer-2) went to Berlin18. But failures continued to haunt the Soviet pilots already in the air. On the plane TB-7 (No. 42035) Lieutenant V.D. Prominent (in separate documents- V.D. Bidny), the left external engine caught fire over the occupied territory. The crew was able to extinguish the fire on their own, but the plane gradually began to lose altitude. Dropping bombs over St. Lauenburg (370 km northeast of Berlin), the ship went back on course. Heavy cloud cover saved us from the attack of enemy fighters. In the Leningrad region, at an altitude of 1-1.5 km, the ship was fired upon by our anti-aircraft artillery and landed by fighters at 7.45 at the Obukhovo site19.
The TB-7 bomber (No. 42045) of Captain A.N. became a victim of the Soviet air defense. Tyagunin. At northern tip eastern cape Luga Bay, the plane was attacked twice by our fighters, then came under fire from anti-aircraft artillery from our coast and ships of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet. The shells hit the left plane and the engine caused a fire, the ship began to collapse, the commander ordered the bombs to be dropped into the sea, turn around to the shore and all crew members leave the plane. Personnel escaping by parachute were fired upon by fighters and from the ground. Four people were killed, one was missing20.<…>
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NOTES
1 Kozhevnikov M.N. Command and headquarters of the Air Force of the Soviet Army in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. M.: Nauka, 1978. S. 57.
2 Russian State Military Archive (RGVA). F. 4. Op 11. D. 62. L. 226, 227.
3 Vodopyanov Mikhail Vasilievich- Soviet soldier polar pilot, one of the first Heroes of the Soviet Union (1934), Major General of Aviation (1943). In the Red Army since 1919. He graduated from the Military Aviation Pilot School (1929). In March-April 1934, he participated in the rescue of members of the expedition and the crew of the Chelyuskin steamer, for which he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Participated in the development of the polar regions of the country. Landed at the North Pole for the first time in the world. Member of the Soviet-Finnish War (1939-1940): commander of the TB-3 heavy bomber. During the Great Patriotic War, the commander of the 81st long-range bomber aviation division under Supreme High Command Headquarters(June-August 1941). For heavy losses, he was removed from the post of division commander, but continued to make sorties as an ordinary pilot. Later as part of long-range bomber aviation (from February 1942 - ADD, from December 1944 - 18th Air Army). Since 1946 - retired.
4 Order of the NCO of the USSR No. 0052 dated July 15, 1941 “On the formation of the 81st long-range aviation division” (p. 3).
5 Lebedev Viktorin Ivanovich (1903-1972) - Soviet military leader, Major General of Aviation (1943). Before the war, he served as a test pilot at the Research Institute of the Air Force KA. During the Great Patriotic War: commander of the 412th (from August 1941 - 432nd, then - 746th) long-range aviation regiment (June 1941 - May 1942), 45th long-range air division (May 1942-1945) .
6 Long-range bomber Er-2 // Aviamaster. 1999. No. 2. S. 52.
7 Novodranov Nikolay Ivanovich(1906 - August 30, 1942) - Soviet military leader, Major General of Aviation. During the Great Patriotic War: commander of the 420th (later - 433rd) long-range bomber aviation regiment (July-December 1941), the 748th long-range aviation regiment (December 1941 - March 1942), the 3rd long-range aviation division (March - August 1942). Tragically died in aviation accident(August 30, 1942).
8 Zhigarev Pavel Fedorovich(November 6 (19), 1900 - October 2, 1963) - Soviet military leader, chief air marshal (1955). In the Red Army since 1919. Graduated from the 4th Tver cavalry school(1922), Leningrad military school pilot-observers (1927), air force academy Red Army named after Professor N.E. Zhukovsky (1933). Member of the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). Since April 1941, the head of the Main Directorate of the Red Army Air Force. During the Great Patriotic War: Air Force Commander (June 1941 - March 1942), Air Force Commander of the Far Eastern Front (April 1942 - June 1945). AT post-war period: commander of the 10th air army(June 1945 - April 1946), 1st Deputy Commander (since September 1946 - Commander-in-Chief) of the Air Force (April 1946 -1948), Commander of Long-Range Aviation (1948 - September 1949), Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (September 1949 - December 1956), head of the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet (January 1957 - October 1959), head of the Air Defense Military Command Academy (November 1957 -1963).
10 Golovanov A. Long range bomber. M.: Delta NB, 2004. S. 71.
11 Long-range bomber Er-2 ... S. 18.
12 Northern zone Air Defense - operational association of air defense forces of the Red Army on the eve and at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, which carried out the defense of troops and important administrative, political and industrial centers located within the boundaries of one military district (at the beginning of the war - the Northern, later: the Leningrad and Karelian fronts). Created in February 1941, disbanded on November 20 of the same year. It included the 2nd Air Defense Corps and five air defense brigade areas.
13 Molodchiy Alexander Ignatievich(June 27, 1920 - June 9, 2002) - Soviet military leader, lieutenant general of aviation (1962), twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1941, 1942). In the Red Army since 1937. He graduated from the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation School of Pilots (1938), the Higher Officers' Flight and Tactical School for Commanders of Long-Range Aviation Units (1948), and the Military Academy of the General Staff (1959). During the Great Patriotic War: deputy squadron commander of the 420th (later - 748th) long-range aviation regiment, deputy commander and squadron commander of the 2nd Guards Aviation Regiment (1941-1944); inspector-pilot of the long-range air division (1944-1945). He made 311 sorties to bombard enemy targets, 287 of them at night. After the war on responsible command positions in Air force. Reserved since March 1965.
14 Long-range bomber Er-2 ... S. 18.
15 Stefanovsky P.M. Three hundred unknowns. M.: Military Publishing House, 1968. S. 201.
17 Long-range bomber Er-2 ... S. 18.
