"Fire ram" by Nikolai Gastello

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110 years ago, 6 May 1907, was born the Soviet military pilot, hero of World War II Nikolai Gastello. His "fire ram" 26 June 1941 of the year, when the pilot, sitting at the helm of a German-shot down plane, sent him directly to a column of enemy technology, became a symbol of courage and readiness to die for his homeland.

Feat N. F. Gastello became one of the most famous in stories The Great Patriotic War, and the surname Gastello is a household name. The pilots who committed the “fire ram” were called “Gastellovtsy”. In total, during the Great Patriotic War, 595 "classic" air rams (by aircraft aircraft), 506 rams by aircraft of a ground target, 16 sea rams (this number may include ramming by sea pilots of surface and coastal enemy targets) and 160 tank battering rams. There are also other numbers.



Origin

Nikolai Frantsevich Gastello was born on April 23 (May 6) 1907 of the year in Moscow, in the working-class area Presnya. His father, Franz Pavlovich Gastello, a Belarusian by origin (according to another version is a Russian German), came from a poor peasant family, arrived in Moscow in 1900 from the village of Pluzhina, Novogrudok district, Minsk province in search of earnings and a better share. He cooked metal in special furnaces (cupola workers) in foundries on the railway. This work was physically extremely hard, but it was well paid. Mother - Anastasia Semenovna Kutuzova, Russian by birth, was a seamstress. The first child in a working family was Nikolay, his sister Nina was born in 1912, and brother Victor - in 1913 (died in September 1942).

In 1915-1918 Nikolai Gastello studied at the Alexander Pushkin Sokolniki City Male School in 3. In 1918, because of the famine, he was evacuated to Bashkiria as part of a group of schoolchildren, but returned to Moscow and to his school the following year, where Nikolai Gastello began his career before 1921, becoming a carpenter in 1923. In 1924, the Gastello family moved to Murom, where Nicholas entered the factory at the Steam Locomotive Plant. F.E. Dzerzhinsky, where he worked and his father. In 1928, he joined the VKP (b). In 1930, the Gastello family returned to Moscow, and Nikolai went to work at the First State Mechanical Works of Construction Machines named for 1 May.

Service

In May 1932 he was drafted into the Red Army. Sent to study in aviation school of pilots in the city of Lugansk. He studied at the 11th military aviation school of pilots named after the Proletariat of Donbass. First flew into the sky on a U-2 aircraft. Then he flew on combat aircraft - R-1 and I-5. In December 1933, the graduation of the Military Pilot School took place. Nikolai masterfully piloted an I-5 fighter, but to the surprise of command, the graduate asked to be sent to serve in bomber aircraft. “My dream is heavy aircraft, big ships,” he said. And his request was granted. In 1933-1938 He served in the 82nd Heavy Bomber Squadron of the 21st Heavy Bomber Aviation Brigade, based in Rostov-on-Don. Starting to fly as a co-pilot on a TB-3 bomber, Nikolay Gastello from November 1934 already piloted an airplane on his own.

In 1938, as a result of the reorganization of the part, N. Gastello ended up in the 1 heavy bombing regiment (TBAP). In May, 1939, he became a flight commander, and a year later with a small - deputy squadron commander. In 1939, he participated in the battles at Khalkhin-Gol as part of the 150-th high-speed bomber aviation regiment, which was given a squadron of the 1-th TBAP. It was necessary to transport more troops to Khalkhin-Gol, equipment, weapons, ammunition, food, to transport the wounded to Chita. It was hard work, the work lasted a day for 12-16. During the breaks, the pilots slept right in the cockpit of their planes or on the grass under the wing. In addition to transport, there were combat missions.

Nikolai Gastello participated in the Soviet-Finnish war and the operation to join Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the USSR. The main task before the pilots on the Karelian Isthmus was to directly support the offensive of our troops by bombing from the air, to help break through the Mannerheim Line. Aviation played a major role in breaking through the fortifications. The TB-3 bombers walked at a low altitude above the front edge of the enemy and, with jeweler's accuracy, only target X-NUMX-500 meters from our troops, delivered targeted bomb attacks on the fortifications of the Finns, breaking and blowing up enemy pillboxes and bunkers. Immediately after the air strike, our infantry went forward and occupied the destroyed fortifications of the enemy, while the enemy had not yet had time to come to his senses. It was a very dangerous operation: it was more suitable not for heavy, but for front-line high-speed attack aircraft, but the fact is that it was necessary to drop heavy bombs in order to break through and blow up the strong defenses of the enemy.

In the autumn of 1940, the aviation unit relocated to the western borders, to the city of Velikiye Luki, and then to the airborne town of Borovskoye near Smolensk. In 1940, N. F. Gastello was promoted to captain. In the spring of 1941, Nikolai Gastello, having passed the appropriate retraining, mastered the DB-3ф aircraft.

He met the beginning of World War II as commander of the 4 squadron of the 207 DBAT 3 of the long-range bomber air corps, then commanded the 2 squadron of the same unit. Early in the morning of 24 June 1941, when engineers, technicians and junior aviation specialists were tensely preparing their bombers to perform a combat mission at Borovsk airfield, a shrill siren was heard. A single Yu-88 bomber flew near the airfield, which reconnoitered in the direction of Smolensk. A few minutes later the enemy bomber appeared from the opposite direction and, flying near the airfield, opened from a low altitude machine-gun fire from all its fire installations on our aircraft. The commander of the 4 Squadron, Captain Nikolai Frantsevich Gastello, bravely rushed to the bomber, jumped on the upper turret unit and hit the enemy that had stormed the airfield in a long machine-gun fire. Wounded "Junkers" was forced to go on the decline and landed on the collective farm field.

German pilots caught. The captured German pilot then stated that he was very surprised by such an unexpected turn of events: “I flew a lot over France, Belgium, Holland, and Norway. As soon as a German plane appeared there, everyone ran in different directions. And your pilots even fire at us from the ground. You have not only soldiers, but local peasants and peasant women rushed at us with dubiem. An incomprehensible country, an incomprehensible war ... ”.

Feat

For the combat initiative shown in repelling the German air raid on our airfield, and the downed enemy bomber, the command of the air division presented Captain Nikolai Frantsevich Gastello to a government award. But they had not yet had time to arrange the documents, as the pilot made a new, truly immortal feat, forever glorifying his name.

On the third day of the war, the 207 th regiment flew to the next combat mission in full force. He bombed the advancing enemy troops in the area of ​​Pruzhany-Kobrin. The regiment accurately bombed, but lost ten aircraft. Captain Gastello's plane was also shot down, the navigator badly wounded. Gastello reached the airfield and put the wrecked car. On the fourth day of the war, the plane was repaired, but Captain Gastello flew on another plane, bombed the enemy's Vilna airfield. On the fifth day of the war, 26 of June, Captain Gastello received an order for a combat mission as a link - to launch a bombing attack against enemy troops moving from Vilna to Minsk.

Departure made in the afternoon. The crew of Senior Lieutenant Fyodor Vorobiev flew in tandem with captain Gastello. He described everything that happened. We walked at an altitude of 1000 meters. An hour later, with a small link, a large enemy motorized convoy was found south of Radoshkovichi. Gastello chose the largest cluster of refueling German tanks and cars and attacked the enemy. Navigator Anatoly Burdenyuk accurately put the bombs on target. The squadron commander makes the second, third approach, the air gunner-radio operator, senior sergeant Alexei Kalinin and the hatch arrow who took the place of the squadron adjutant (chief of staff), Lieutenant Gregory Skorobogaty, fire at the Germans running away.

Leaving from the target, with a turn in the sun, Vorobiev noticed the smoke coming from the plane Gastello. The plane, enveloped in flames, lurched to the right, but Gastello managed to level the car and gave the signal to Vorobyov to return to the base. The deputy commander of the squadron, Senior Lieutenant Fedor Vorobyov and navigator Lieutenant Anatoly Rybas, witnessed the feat of the crew of Gastello. In their eyes, the plane, enveloped in flames, turned on a cluster of German tanks and cars, went into a dive and crashed into the thick of enemy equipment. Until the last moment, from the flaming plane, the enemy was fired by Lieutenants A. A. Burdenyuk, G. N. Skorobogaty and Senior Sergeant A. A. Kalinin. They fought to the end.

As N.S. Skripko, commander of the air corps, recalled (“By targets near and far”): “When the commander of the 42 long-range bomber aviation division, Colonel M. X. Borisenko reported on the heroic deeds of Captain Nikolai Gastello who committed the fire ram, I ordered to send a plane photographic installation and photograph from a low altitude the place of death of the crew. Literally the next day, Brigadier Commissioner A. K. We simultaneously held a picture in which we could clearly see a crater formed at the site of the plane’s impact on the ground, part of the ship thrown off by the explosion and many of the tanks and cars burned down. Expensive price paid by the enemy for the death of the legendary crew of Gastello!

I was holding a picture in my hands and thought, what a huge moral force a person needs to go to such a sacrificial feat! All the pilots of the compound were shocked by the heroic death of the crew, experiencing at the same time deep sadness and pride. The sadness is because they lost such a good, sincere and responsive pilot, like Nikolai Gastello, the members of his crew. And pride - because by their feat Gastello and his crew demonstrated unsurpassed morale, valor and fighting qualities of the Soviet soldier. Nothing, not even the threat of death, can force him to submit to the enemy. Until the last minute of his life, he remembers the high duty to the Motherland and even his death confirms victory! ”

6 July 1941, the message of the Soviet Information Bureau, broadcast by radio, the whole country learned about the pilot's fire ram. Exactly one month after the accomplishment of the feat, on July 26, Captain Gastello was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. The orders of the Patriotic War of I degree Homeland noted the members of the heroic crew - navigator A. A. Burdenyuk, air gunner-radio operator A. A. Kalinin, hatch arrow G. N. Skorobogaty.

"Fire ram" by Nikolai Gastello


The myth of the first "fire ram"

It is worth noting that several myths are associated with the feat of the crew of Gastello. Without questioning or minimizing the significance of the feat of the crew of a Soviet bomber, it is necessary to remember a number of historical facts. So, for a long time it was believed that it was Nikolai Gastello who was the first in the history of aviation to accomplish such a feat. Therefore, the pilots who attacked the enemy vehicles during the war years were called Gustella players, which is why most Soviet citizens knew who Captain Nikolai Gastello was. But, as it turned out, Gastello was not the first, or even the second and not the third pilot, who committed the “fire ram.”

The first in the history of the Soviet case of "fire ram" occurred 5 August 1939 year in the Far East in the valley of the Khalkhin-Gol during the military clash of the USSR and the Mongolian People's Republic on the one hand and Japan and Manzhou-Go - on the other. On this day, Mikhail Anisimovich Yuyukin, battalion commissar of the 150 th bomber regiment, lifted his car into the air to carry out a combat mission. At the time of the bombing of enemy positions in the plane hit a shell, which set fire to the right engine. The pilots failed to bring down the flames, and then the commander made his last decision. He ordered the crew to leave the plane and sent a flaming car full of bombs on the Japanese bunker. As the only member of the crew who managed to leave the cab, navigator Alexander Morkovkin recalls: “I was sure that even losing consciousness in suffocation of the flame, the battalion commissar Yuyukin would direct his dying machine into the center of enemy firing points. And so it happened. ” In August, 1939 was awarded the Order of Lenin for heroism and exemplary performance of a combat mission, and his crew members, Senior Lieutenant Alexander Morkovkin and Senior Officer Peter Rogue, were awarded Orders of the Red Banner.

A similar feat was accomplished in 1940 year already during the Soviet-Finnish war. Then, Captain Konstantin Orlov’s aircraft, which had ignited from being hit by a shell, was sent to the very midst of enemy infantry and equipment. It happened this 11 March 1940 of the year. And the first in the history of the Great Patriotic War, the ram of the ground target was made by the commander of the 62 th link of the assault air regiment P. S. Chirkin 22 June 1941 of the year. He lifted the car into the air from the airfield near the village of Lisyatichi for aerial reconnaissance and came under fire from the Nazis. When P. Chirkin's car was hit, he directed it to the enemy’s tank column. June 24 crew of the commander of the link 33 th high-speed bomber regiment of Senior Lieutenant Gregory Khrapar made another ram. This time the burning plane destroyed the crossing near the town of Brody. And on June 25 a German tank captain Avdeev rammed a burning car. It is obvious that there could be more such cases, since in the conditions of war not all the feats of pilots who completed their lives in fire could be fixed and confirmed.

Thus, the feat Gastello was not the first. However, it was the feat of the crew of Gastello that was taken as a model, and it was used by state propaganda. There is nothing wrong with that, it is a common practice in wartime. Examples of heroism and self-sacrifice, similar to the feat of Gastello, among the Soviet pilots were not isolated cases. According to military researchers, only in the first year of the war was 152 a feat registered, when the last weapons pilots became a dying plane. In total, during the years of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet pilots committed “fire rams” about 500 times. They were attended by 505 crews, among which the first place belongs to the crews of bombers, their number is 288. More than 800 people during World War II became heroes of "fire rams". Therefore, remembering the feat of the crew of Gastello, we should not forget that hundreds more pilots deserve our memory, respect and gratitude.

Another myth, created in works of art, is the opinion that Gastello made a ram, driving a fighter. This misconception arose from the fact that in the post-war fiction the main heroes of aviation were fighter pilots. A number of works were created, for example, the play “Gastello” by I. V. Shtok, (1947 year), in which N. F. Gastello accomplished his feat on a fighter.

Blackening

For a long time the citizens of the USSR air ram was strongly associated with the name of captain Nikolai Gastello. However, when the “era of change” began - the destruction of the USSR, the Soviet civilization, its historical symbols, heroes, Gastello attempted to blacken and exploit.

In 1990-e publications appeared, in which it was stated that the feat was accomplished by the crew of A. S. Maslov. Captain Maslov from the same part as Gastello is the commander of the 1 th squadron of the 207 th long-range bomber aviation regiment 42-th long-range bomber aviation division of the 3 th long-range bomber aviation corps. And his crew also died on 26 June 1941, while striking an enemy convoy on the Molodechno-Radoshkovichi highway. According to one version, Maslov also sent a burning car to the accumulation of enemy equipment on the highway. Through the efforts of supporters of the Maslov ram version, in 1992, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, I degree, and in 1996, he was awarded the title “Hero of Russia”.

On According to the grandson of the Hero of the Soviet Union, named after his grandfather - Nikolai Viktorovich Gastello, all this is "the result of ignorance and painful ambitions." On this day, 14 crews of bombers were killed in this area, which attacked the enemy without fighter cover, and all of them were heroes who did their duty to the end. The feat of Gastello had two witnesses - the commander of the leading crew, senior lieutenant Vorobiev and navigator, lieutenant Rybas. In addition, it is noted that the very fact of the discovery of the wreckage of Maslov's bomber and the remains of his crew indicates that the plane did not crash into a convoy of vehicles with fuel and ammunition, but fell on soft ground. Maslov's plane did not ram a mechanized convoy, as it fell 180 meters from the road: the car crashed into the ground on a “low level” flight, or Maslov tried to ram an enemy convoy, but failed.
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40 comments
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  1. +8
    6 May 2017 05: 13
    Unfortunately, I am convinced of the correctness of what has been said:
    Some win cups, others engrave the names of winners on them!
    Eternal memory to the Heroes!
    1. +3
      6 May 2017 11: 40
      Why on the eve of May 9 to write similar articles and comments about the “goblets”? Maslov’s crew died, someone left the Gastello’s crew, parachuting and fate was unknown, and the rest died. Local saw it all. In the alleged grave of the crew of Gastello in the 50s, the remains of Maslov's crew were found, but they did not advertise it. These are the facts .. without journalistic fiction. Why now, on the eve of Victory Day, to find out who the greatest hero is? Will there be no other time?
      1. +3
        6 May 2017 13: 35
        DB-3F - long-range bomber

  2. +10
    6 May 2017 05: 29
    for the period ... the war was committed 595 "Classic" air rams 506 rams by plane ground target, 16 sea rams и 160 tank rams

    Nikolai Gastello is only one of a galaxy of immortal heroes, such as he actually was a thousand warriors who committed similar acts, and his concrete feat represents the exploits of them all. We’ll try not to forget them all, it’s desirable to remember the names, only the number is so great that it really is not even possible to remember, but we must always remember that they all did exactly the same as Nikolai Gastello.
  3. +8
    6 May 2017 07: 31
    Eternal Glory to the Heroes !!!
    Material about well-known exploits always requires careful preparation and study ...
    Exactly one month after the feat, on 26 of July, Captain Gastello was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. The orders of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, the Motherland noted the members of the heroic crew - navigator A. A. Burdenyuk, air gunner-radio operator A. A. Kalinin, hatch gunner G. N. Skorobogaty.

    The crew could not have been submitted to the orders of the Patriotic War. The Order was established on 20 on May 1942. Apparently the rewarding of the crew occurred later. And here is what I found about this ....
    "... The first oddity regarding the exploit of Nikolai Gastello is related to his crew. Four people were on the bomber’s crew. Together with Gastello, navigator Anatoly Burdenyuk, observer pilot Grigory Skorobogaty and radio operator gunner Alexey Kalinin participated in his last combat mission.

    Their names were mentioned in the presentation for the Gastello award, but the crew were not presented for the award. This created confusion - in some post-war works about Gastello and his exploits, he turned out to be a fighter pilot.

    Only in the 1958 year were Burdenyuk, Skorbogaty and Kalinin posthumously awarded the orders of the Patriotic War of the first degree ... "
  4. +11
    6 May 2017 07: 35
    Gastello, Maslov, the other dead ... they all fought for their homeland and their feat is immortal ... And in our country lately heroes are killed after death, oblivion, slander ... traitors are made heroes ...
  5. +13
    6 May 2017 07: 51
    This is the rewriting of history - in the pursuit of sensations, the feat is not a feat, and not Gastello but Maslov, and not 28 Panfilov’s but 42, and the Victory over fascism contrary to Stalin. To such scribblers, the criminal article must be applied with all severity. Thanks to the author, the heroes should not be forgotten. Or defamed.
    1. +8
      6 May 2017 14: 34
      Gastello, Sailors, Kosmodemyanskaya, Karbyshev, these are no longer even people, but Symbols of the state. For an attempt to do something bad, somehow to belittle their feat, it is necessary to bring to criminal liability, equate them to other symbols of the state, coat of arms, flag. Impose an absolute ban on discussing their feat.
      1. 0
        12 December 2017 08: 37
        This is how the USSR collapsed, which was forbidden to think.
        1. +2
          12 December 2017 09: 30
          Some, not only thinking should be prohibited, but generally desirable to isolate from society. Madness is a contagious thing, as it turns out.
  6. +6
    6 May 2017 07: 52
    According to one version, Maslov also sent a burning car to a cluster of enemy vehicles on the highway. By the efforts of supporters of Maslov’s version of the ram, in 1992 he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1996st degree, and in XNUMX - the title “Hero of Russia”.
    According to the grandson of the Hero of the Soviet Union, named after his grandfather - Nikolai Viktorovich Gastello, all this is “the result of ignorance and painful ambitions.”

    I do not understand my grandson: HOW can FEAT Maslov’s crew called "ignorance and painful ambitions" ?!
    Inexplicable ambitions just with him.

    Maslov’s crew died while performing a combat mission, and this is a feat. Official award documents confirmed and ram.

    And Gastello, and Maslov and many others are heroes and to measure is to denigrate their memory.

    And how many fire rams remain unknown? And their authors are heroes, albeit obscure.

    The deepest respect and memory to them all .....

    .
    1. +8
      6 May 2017 10: 48
      Quote: Olgovich
      I don’t understand my grandson: HOW can the ACTION of Maslov’s crew be called “ignorance and painful ambitions” ?!

      Apparently, the ignorance and ambitions of those who tried to denigrate Gastello, attributing his feat to Maslov, were meant. Just a piece of quotation inserted crookedly.
      1. +3
        6 May 2017 14: 42
        In addition, he says that all those who died that day were heroes.
        1. +2
          6 May 2017 22: 32
          everyone realized, before the flight, that without cover they were suicide bombers, and went their way to the intended point - the end.
          !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    2. +6
      6 May 2017 15: 03
      "Gastello, and Maslov and many others are heroes and being measured is to denigrate their memory.
      And how many fire rams remain unknown? And their authors are heroes, albeit obscure. "
      I absolutely agree with you. It is unlikely that at such moments people thought about how and with what they will be awarded, and whose feat will be cooler.
    3. +6
      6 May 2017 16: 43
      Quote: Olgovich
      I don’t understand my grandson: HOW can the ACTION of Maslov’s crew be called “ignorance and painful ambitions” ?!

      And whom did he characterize, the Maslov’s crew, or the journalists, that in the 90 they wrote: “This is not Gastello, this is Maslov”?
  7. +9
    6 May 2017 08: 45
    Their name is not known, their feat is immortal. Everlasting memory.
  8. +5
    6 May 2017 13: 20
    A blessed memory to all the heroes of that war.
    Gastello has long been a household name.
  9. 0
    6 May 2017 16: 25
    Quote from the article:
    "Aviation played a large role in breaking through enemy fortifications. TB-3 bombers went at low altitude above the enemy’s front edge and, with jewelry accuracy only 500-700 meters from our troops, delivered targeted bombing strikes on Finnish fortifications, breaking and exploding enemy bunkers and bunkers. "


    Unfortunately, during the Finnish war of 1939–40, the Red Army aviation did not destroy, did not break, and did not blow up any Finnish pillbox.
    This is not the fault of Gastello NF. For the Soviet-Finnish war, the generals of the Red Army Air Force very poorly prepared and worked very poorly, and hence the low effectiveness of the Red Army aviation.
    1. +3
      6 May 2017 17: 00
      I would not be so categorical. Perhaps this is not about millionaire pillboxes (such was its value in Finnish stamps and there were few of them), but about light field fortifications - wood-earthen firing points (DOTs). There were a lot of them.
      1. +1
        6 May 2017 19: 08
        Quote: Aviator_
        I would not be so categorical.


        And here, that you would not be so categorical.
        There is a transcript of the Conference of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of the Bolsheviks (Bolsheviks) on April 14-17, 1940, which was convened to summarize and take into account the experience of the war with Finland. According to this transcript, with an overwhelming technical and quantitative advantage over the Finnish Air Force, the Red Army Air Force worked very poorly. They didn’t bomb a single bunker, could not paralyze the movement of troops in the rear, not only along the forest roads, but even along the railways, the Finns traveled the whole war, and in Finland at that time there were one or two lines of railways and five stations. Yes, and directly on the Finnish field troops did a poor job. And all this with the complete dominance of Soviet aviation in the air.
        But this is not the fault of ordinary performing pilots, such as Gastello NF, this is the fault of the Red Army Air Force generals, such as Ptukhin, Kopets.
        1. +3
          6 May 2017 21: 06
          About the first massive combat use of the Air Force in a wooded area. Surely, expectations from aviation actions were very large, but the result was much more modest, and this was discussed at the April 14-17 meeting, that's all. Everyone was guilty; no one had experience.
          1. 0
            7 May 2017 06: 27
            Quote: Aviator_
            Everyone was guilty; no one had experience.


            When they write or say, “Guilt is all here ..”, they try to blame the guilt of specific individuals, as a rule of high-ranking officials, in this case generals, divide them into all. However, what is the fault of Senior Lieutenant Gastello NF?
            Blame for the low performance of Soviet aircraft in the Finnish war only generalsand not lieutenants.
      2. +1
        6 May 2017 19: 47
        Quote: Aviator_
        Perhaps it’s not about millionaire pillboxes

        The article clearly and unequivocally says: "... targeted bombing attacks on the Finnish fortifications, breaking and exploding enemy bunkers and bunkers. "
        Why conjecture for the author. The author of millionaire pillboxes did not mention. Samsonov probably knew about the existence of millionaire pillboxes.
        1. +4
          6 May 2017 20: 37
          Do not shoot the pianist (journalist) they play (writes) as they can !!!
          I think that such an action of aviation can be explained by the fact that it is not clear to anyone in the forest. and where to bomb !!! Yes, and the road in the forest from the air, you must try to find it!
          1. 0
            7 May 2017 07: 34
            Quote: Kostya Andreev
            Do not shoot the pianist (journalist)

            Well, what a pianist (journalist) it is.
            An article from Alexander Samsonov, and this is a military historian, doctor of sciences, academician, participant of the Second World War, a gentleman of six orders, a member of the CPSU since 1943.
            Quote: Kostya Andreev
            Yes, and the road in the forest from the air, you must try to find it!


            But what about without effort. In war, you need to try, everyone needs to try, even the generals.
            Although the road in the forest is not a needle in a haystack. The road is a multi-kilometer structure, and even along which columns of troops with equipment or trains are moving. But why should the generals try? It is better for generals to send soldiers and if they are killed, then there is an adversary there than to try and organize intelligence properly. After all, there is only one general, but there are many ordinary soldiers, the country is big, they will send more replenishment. According to the memoirs of Meretskov, where he writes: “By the beginning of February we finally had cards with the enemy defense scheme. ” Since November 30, 1939, i.e. For more than two months, the generals fought on old, unraised cards. What efforts on the part of the generals can be said here.
            1. 0
              2 March 2018 14: 23
              Alexander Samsonov died in 1992. And he was hardly engaged in active activities until his death. This is what I mean, in this article attributed to Samsonov’s authorship there is the phrase “In the 1990s publications appeared ...” As a rule, the expression - ..0th years covers the period from ..1 to ..9 years.
        2. +2
          6 May 2017 21: 01
          Well, about what the author knew and what he did not know, it is best to ask him.
  10. +3
    6 May 2017 19: 32
    Quote from the article:
    “The commander of the 4th squadron, Captain Nikolai Frantsevich Gastello, bravely rushed to the bomber, jumped onto the upper turret and hit the enemy stormed the airfield with a long machine gun burst."

    This could be done by a very brave and skilled, trained fighter. Real warrior.
    In his last battle, NF Gastello used every opportunity to inflict maximum damage to the enemy. He saw no other solution than a fire ram, probably for him there simply was no other solution, he lived in battle to the end.
  11. +4
    6 May 2017 20: 27
    Nikolay Gastello Hero of our country. The author cited figures of the heroic deeds of pilots who, at the cost of their lives, defended the independence of our country and our lives. I had to work with outstanding pilots a lot. They believed battering ram was the lot of the brave. Under this title, several years ago, I published an essay in VO. In it I cited information as captain G.N. Eliseev on the MiG-21SM was knocked down by an American intelligence officer by ramming. On his plane was my equipment RSBN-5C, which accurately brought him to the point of attack. The captain complied with the order. In addition to aircraft rams, this type of combat methods was also used by tankers. Dear readers, did you notice that in the troops of our enemy of those countries with which we fought, defending our independence, the enemy was not able to go to ram. They are cowards. I have the honor.
    1. 0
      6 May 2017 22: 36
      , the enemy was not able to go to ram. They are cowards. I have honor .--- time will show once in a hundred years everything returns to square one
    2. 0
      7 May 2017 04: 50
      With the exception of the Japanese, the Zarub was there until it was completely destroyed.
  12. +1
    7 May 2017 17: 29
    Nobody is forgotten .....
    On June 26, 1941, after the bombing of a German convoy near Radoshkovichi (Belarus), the planes of the 207th aviation regiment, piloted by captains Nikolai Gastello and Aleksandr Maslov, did not return to base.

    None of the crews of the aircraft participating in the flights with them and returning to the base saw where and how the planes of their comrades fell.

    On June 27, 1941, the squadron of the 128th air regiment under the command of Captain Beletsky, which included the link of the deputy commander of the squadron of Art. Lieutenant Presaisen, flew with the same mission in the same area.

    The fire of the German anti-aircraft guns in the car of Presaisen broke the gas tank, and the plane caught fire. It was not possible to bring down the flame. Presesen decided to dive on the highway in the thick of enemy vehicles.

    A plane with bombs and fuel crashed into a cluster of enemy tanks, vehicles with infantry, and fuel tanks. The captain Beletsky, the squadron commander, reported back to the regiment commander about the heroic death of the Presaisen crew upon returning to the base.

    The next day, the deputy flew to the site of the death of Presaisen. regiment commander V. Sandalov. Based on his testimony, aerial photography, as well as testimonies of the participants in this battle, it was decided to draw up a submission on granting Presaisen the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

    And the award sheet signed by regiment commander Major Chuchev, regiment chief of staff captain Drobyshev, 12th air division commander Colonel N. Aladinsky and Western Front Air Force commander Lieutenant General Aviation Lieutenant S. Pirogov was sent to Moscow.

    But Presaisen, according to personal data, did not quite fit the role of a nationwide Hero who made the first ram. The GlavPUR of the Red Army decided to find another candidate.
    We stopped at the candidacy of Captain Gastello, who did not return from a mission from the same area.

    After the liberation of the occupied territories, groups of search engines for the crews of downed Soviet aircraft worked there ..... the places of the deaths of the crews of Gastello, Maclow and Presaisen were established precisely: Presaisen — on the day of the death; Gastello and Maslova - in 1944.
    Two aircraft were dug up near the village of Matsky, according to the documents sent to Moscow they were determined - these were the Gastello and Maslov planes ...

    Alas, the investigations showed that the feat was not committed by Gastello and Maslov, but by Presayhen ... in the reference book, ed. A.E. Melnikova: N. Gastello. “June 26, 1941 ... I tried to direct the burning DB-3F to the location of the German unit in the village of Matsky, but did not hold out. The plane crashed into the forest.

    A. Maclov. “June 26, 1941 ... tried to direct his plane at a column of tanks, but missed.

    A monument to Presazen and his comrades was erected at the site of the feat. The result of his ram was recorded by aerial photography and described by eyewitnesses. The street in his hometown is named after him. In the museums of Radoshkovichi and Minsk there are stands dedicated to his feat.

    The idea of ​​conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union is stored in his personal file in the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense, but has not yet been implemented.

    In accordance with the slogan “Nobody is forgotten, nothing is forgotten, justice can and must prevail, ...
  13. 0
    9 August 2017 05: 21
    I do not understand what plane Gastello fought on?

    Technical characteristics of DB-3

    Crew: 3 people (pilot, navigator, gunner) In article 4 in the crew
    Maybe it was TB-3?
    1. +1
      3 January 2018 11: 00
      Quote: avaks111
      Crew: 3 people (pilot, navigator, gunner) In article 4 in the crew

      According to the memoirs of twice Gegoy of the Soviet Union of the Young and other ADD pilots, the radio operator did not have time to service two firing systems: the upper tower and lower hatch, therefore they took the 4th crew member Usually these were military equipment and mechanics. This is where the 4th crew member came from
      1. -1
        2 March 2018 14: 33
        Crew: 4 people (pilot-crew commander, navigator (front-mounted shooter), middle-range shooter (tower shooter), hatch gunner). The hatch gunner was a NUMBER crew member. So do not write nonsense.
        1. 0
          2 March 2018 15: 06
          Quote: Seeker
          Crew: 4 people (pilot-crew commander, navigator (front-mounted shooter), middle-range shooter (tower shooter), hatch gunner). The hatch gunner was a NUMBER crew member. So do not write nonsense.
          This is you do not carry nonsense:
          The performance characteristics of the aircraft DB-3M
          Wingspan 21.44m
          Length - 14,22 m
          Height - 4.35 m
          Empty weight - 5030 kg
          Maximum weight 7 kg
          Powerplant - 2 x M-87B with a capacity of 950 liters. with.
          Armament - 1 x ShKAS with an ammunition load of 1100 rounds on a bow turret, 1 x ShKAS with an ammunition load of 1100 rounds on an upper turret, 1 x ShKAS with an ammunition load of 500 rounds on a lower hatch.
          Maximum bomb load 2900 kg
          Top speed - 345 km / h
          Practical ceiling - 9600 m
          Maximum flight range 3821 km
          Crew - 3 person
  14. +1
    9 August 2017 05: 51
    I recommend reading the GREAT book Tikhomolov B. E. Romance of the sky
    The author fought on DB-3
  15. kig
    0
    16 February 2018 11: 32
    The author subtitled Blackening, but did not tell us where it came from or what. So that he should add something like this:

    In 1951, for the subsequent solemn burial, the remains were exhumed from the alleged tomb of Maslov’s fellow soldier Nikolai Gastello, who was believed to have performed the celebrated “fire ram” on the same day that Maslov died. However, the personal belongings of captain Alexander Maslov and radio-shooter Grigory Reutov were found at the burial site. Led by Colonel Kotelnikov, who led the reburial, with the sanction of party authorities, he conducted a secret investigation, which revealed that the plane of Alexander Maslov crashed on the site of the alleged ram Gastello. The family of A. Maslov was notified of the place of his death, and secured the receipt of pensions and benefits due to the relatives of the deceased servicemen. Since the information that another crew actually died at the site of Gastello’s alleged feat contradicted the official version of the “fire ram”, information about the place of death of Maslov’s crew members was not made public, the circumstances of their death were not investigated. Maslov’s crew was buried without publicity in a mass grave at the Radoshkovichy cemetery, fragments of Maslov’s bomber were sent to the country's museums as the remains of a Gastello plane, a monument dedicated to the heroic deed of the crew of N.F. Gastello was erected at the site of the death of Maslov’s crew.

    Where did the author find blackening here? This is a natural attempt to establish the truth, since such evidence has come to light.
  16. 0
    25 March 2023 09: 28
    The author of that famous "fiery ram" was most likely Isaac Preseizen.
    And because of the confusion in the testimony. And it is possible that because of the ideology that was then in the USSR, Gastello became a Hero.

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