The history of "Dunkin" regiment

18
How many heroic deeds committed by our ancestors during the Great Patriotic War. Soviet women and even very young girls took part in the fight against the enemy on a par with men. A few years before the onset of the fascists in the expanses of the Soviet Union, mass training of young people in flying clubs was launched. The profession of a pilot was so romantic and attractive that not only enthusiastic boys, but also girls, strove into the sky. As a result, by June 1941, the state of young pilots in the country was, this circumstance once again refutes the allegations that the USSR was completely unprepared for the war, and the country's leadership did not expect an attack.



In October, the 1941 year in the most difficult military situation, the USSR People's Commissar of Defense issued an order to form the Women's Aviation Regiment No. 0099. Responsibility for the execution of the order was assigned to Maria Raskova. In their interviews, the survivors of front-line women speak of Raskova, as the most authoritative person in their midst. Her orders were not discussed, young girls who came from different parts of the country, just graduated from the pilots courses looked at Raskov as a pilot of an inaccessible level. By that time, Raskova was a little more than twenty-five years old, but already then Maria Mikhailovna was the Hero of the USSR. An amazing, courageous and very beautiful woman died in a plane crash in 1943 in the most difficult weather conditions near the village of Mikhaylovka in the Saratov region. Maria Raskova was cremated, and an urn with her ashes was placed in the Kremlin wall, so that grateful descendants could lay flowers and honor the memory of a female hero.

In accordance with the order of the People's Commissar of Defense, Maria Mikhailovna, three subdivisions were formed:
• fighter aviation regiment 586;
• aviation regiment BB 587;
• night aviation regiment 588 (legendary "night witches").

During the war, the first two units became mixed, not only girls but also Soviet men fought valiantly in them. The night aviation regiment consisted solely of women, even the hardest jobs here were performed by women of the weaker sex.

At the head of the "night witches" or 46-th Guards Nbap was an experienced pilot Evdokia Bershanskaya. Evdokia Davydovna was born in the Stavropol region in 1913 year. Her parents died during the Civil War, and the girl was raised by her uncle. The strong character of this woman allowed her to become a brilliant pilot and commander. By the beginning of the war, Evdokia Bershanskaya already had a decade of flying experience; she diligently passed on her knowledge to young subordinates. Evdokia Davydovna went through the whole war, and after a long time she worked in public organizations for the benefit of the Fatherland.

The history of "Dunkin" regiment
Regiment commander Evdokia Davydovna Bershanskaya and regiment navigator Hero of the Soviet Union Larisa Rozanova. 1945



Assigned to the Bershansky regiment sometimes called "Dunkin." This title shows the whole story brave pilots. Plywood, light aircraft Po-2 was not suitable for fierce battles with the German invaders. The Germans frankly laughed at the sight of this fragile design. Often the girls were not taken seriously, and during the whole war they had to prove their skills and demonstrate the capabilities of the "whatnot". The risk was extremely high, since Po-2 quickly caught fire and was completely devoid of any armor or other type of protection. P-2 is a civilian aircraft used for transport purposes, as well as in communications. The girls independently suspended the bomb load on special beams on the lower plane of the aircraft, which sometimes exceeded 300 kg. Each shift could transfer weight reaching tons. The girls worked in extreme tension, which allowed them to fight with the enemy on an equal footing with men. If earlier the Germans laughed at the mention of the "Kuban bookcase", then after the raids they began to call the regiment "night witches" and attribute magical properties to them. Probably, the fascists simply could not assume that Soviet girls were capable of such exploits.

Maria Runt, a native of Samara, the same age as Bershanskaya, was in charge of the party work in the regiment of girls trained in flight case in the city of Engels. It was an experienced and courageous bomber pilot, patiently sharing experience with the younger generation. Before and after the war, Runt was engaged in pedagogical work and even defended her thesis.

PO-2 combat aircraft on which the Nazi crews flew to bomb the Nazis


The baptism of 46 Guards Nbap took place in the middle of June 1942. Light Po-2 soared into the sky. The first flight went to the pilot Bershanskaya with the navigator Sofya Burzayeva, as well as Amosov and Rozanov. According to the stories of the pilots, the expected fire from the position of the enemy was not followed, and the crew of Amosov-Rozanov circled three times over the target, the mine, in order to throw off the deadly cargo. Today we can judge the events of that time only from documents and a few interviews of direct participants in combat missions. In 1994, they talked about the exploits of the women's air regiment Larisa Rozanova, navigator, 1918, born in the son of USSR hero Aronova, as well as Olga Yakovleva, navigator. They describe all the difficulties and horrors of war that fragile Soviet girls had to face, as well as heroically lost pilots and navigators.

It should be said separately about each of those who in the light of Po-2 terrified the invaders. Larisa Rozanova several times was refused her requests to send her to the front. After order No. 0099 was issued, Rozanova got into the flight school in the city of Engels, and then into the 46 Guards. During the war she flew over the Stavropol Territory and the Kuban, hovered on her light Po-2 over the North Caucasus and Novorossiysk. Rozanova contributed to the liberation of Poland and Belarus, celebrated victory in Germany. Larisa Nikolaevna died in 1997 year, living a long and interesting life.

Flight commander Tanya Makarova and navigator Vera Belik. 1942 d. Posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union


Olga Yakovleva has gone from arming to navigator, participated in battles with invaders over the Caucasus, as well as in the liberation of the Crimea, Kuban and Belarus. The brave woman struck a well-aimed bombing of enemy targets in East Prussia.

The combat path of the regiment is a series of glorious feats, to which each of the "night witches" contributed. Despite the formidable name that the fascists gave to the women's air regiment, for the Russian people they will forever remain noble queen of the sky. After the first combat sortie took place, young girls fought for a long time on light plywood "shelves". From August to December 1942, they defended Vladikavkaz. In January, the regiment was thrown 1943 to help break through the line of German troops on the Terek, as well as to support offensive operations in the Sevastopol and Kuban regions. From March to September of the same year, the girls undertook operations on the Blue Front Line, and from November to May 1944 covered the landing of Soviet forces on the Tamansky Peninsula. The regiment was involved in actions to break through the defense of the fascists near Kerch, in the village of Eltigen, and also in the liberation of Sevastopol and Crimea. From June to July, the 1944 Aviation Women's Regiment was thrown into battle on the Pronya River, and from August of the same year, flew across the territory of occupied Poland. From the beginning of 1945, the girls have been transferred to East Prussia, where the “night witches” at PO-2 successfully fight and support the forcing of the Narev River. March 1945 is noted in the history of the valiant regiment by participation in the liberation battles for Gdansk and Gdyn, and from April to May, the brave pilots supported the advance of the Soviet Army behind the retreating fascists. For the entire period, the regiment made over twenty three thousand combat missions, most of which took place in difficult conditions. October 15 1945, the regiment disbanded, and most of the girls were demobilized.

Mechanics at the airport. Summer xnumx


Twenty-three brave pilots of the 49 Women's Aviation Regiment were awarded the title Hero of the USSR. Evdokia Nosal, a native of the Zaporozhye region, was killed by a projectile exploded in the cockpit in the battles for Novorossiysk. Yevhen Rudneva, also from Zaporozhye, died in April 1944 of the year on a combat mission in the sky north of Kerch. Tatyana Makarova, 24's summer Muscovite burned in an airplane in 1944 in the battles for Poland. Vera Belik, a girl from the Zaporizhzhya region, died with Makarova in the sky over Poland. Olga Sanfirova, who was born in 1917 in the city of Kuybyshev, died in December 1944 on a combat mission. Maria Smirnova from the Tver region, smiling Karelka, retired with the rank of guard major, lived a long life and died in 2002 year. Evdokia Pasko - a girl from Kyrgyzstan, 1919, born, retired with the rank of senior lieutenant. Irina Sebrova from the Tula region, with 1948 senior lieutenant of the reserve. Natalia Meklin, a native of the Poltava region, also survived in bloody battles and retired with the rank of guard major, died in 2005 year. Zhigulenko Eugene, a resident of Krasnodar, with beautiful eyes and an open smile, also became a Hero of the USSR in 1945 year. Evdokia Nikulin, a native of the Kaluga Region, went into the reserve as a major guard and after the war lived until the 1993 year. Raisa Aronova, a girl from Saratov, retired as a major and died in 1982 year. Khudyakova Antonia, Nyana Ulianenko, Polina Gelman, Ekaterina Ryabova, Nadezhda Popova, Nina Raspolova, Rufina Gasheva, Maguba Rozanova, Tatyana Sumarokova, Zoya Parfenova, Khaevna Xa, and Zyrova Khova, Rovanova Larisa, Sumarokova Tatiana, Parfenova Zoya, Kapova Xa Nova, Rossova Larisa, Sumarokova Tatiana, Parfenova Zoya, Dypova Kha, were also the heroes of the USSR in the glorious 49 aviation regiment.

Verification of machine guns. Left Art. 2 Squadron Arms Technician Nina Buzina. Xnumx


You can write not only an article, but also a book about each of these great women, as well as about other girls who served in the 49 –shelf regiment, called by the fascists “night witches”. Each of them has passed a difficult path and is worthy of memory and respect. Soviet women fought not for the party and not for the Soviet power, they fought for our future, for the right of subsequent generations to live free.

In 2005, a literary “creation” called “Field-field wives” was published, sponsored by some Olga and Oleg Greig. Not to mention this scandalous fact, which is the result of attempts to interpret historical truth, would be criminal. The aforementioned “creators,” the proud word of the writer, have no desire to name them, tried to denigrate the bright memory of heroic women with allegations of their sexual promiscuity and other vices. In refutation of the shameful and near-guessing speculations, I would like to remind you that not a single fighter of the 49 Women's Aviation Regiment left the line because of gynecological diseases or pregnancy. We will not deny that, based on the real story of Nadya Popova and Semyon Kharlamov, a love story was highlighted in the movie “Only Old Men Go To Battle”, but people with stable moral values ​​perfectly understand the differences between sexual promiscuity and high feeling.

Heroes of the Soviet Union: Tanya Makarova, Vera Belik, Paul Gelman, Katya Ryabova, Dina Nikulina, Nadya Popova. Xnumx


[Center]
War is over. Girls in the parking lot of their 'swallows'. Ahead Seraphim Amosov - Deputy. commander of the regiment, followed by Hero of the Soviet Union Natasha Meklin. Xnumx[/ Center]

Heroes of the Soviet Union squadron commander Maria Smirnova and co-driver Tatyana Sumarokova. Xnumx


Heroes of the Soviet Union Nadezhda Popova and Larisa Rozanova. Xnumx
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18 comments
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  1. George IV
    +2
    April 18 2012 11: 19
    Voooot! Thanks for the good article. And then everything is monarchism-monarchism.
    And here are the heroines of the war!
  2. +2
    April 18 2012 11: 45
    Great article. People’s war - Popular heroism. People were one big family and fought for their great country.
  3. schta
    +2
    April 18 2012 13: 55
    Undoubtedly, the destiny of female aviation during the Great Patriotic War is transport aviation. But in bomber aviation, women have distinguished themselves quite well.
  4. +4
    April 18 2012 14: 24
    author "Kuban whatnot" is a type of tactical formation of aviation in terms of heights. And not the name of this construction called Po-2
    1. Num lock U.A.
      +2
      April 18 2012 14: 42
      Quote: leon-iv
      author "kuban whatnot" is a type of tactical formation of aviation in terms of heights

      first applied in the Kuban by Pokryshkin, hence the name, plus

      article is also a plus
  5. -2
    April 18 2012 14: 58
    By the way, this is for example a good example of propaganda.
    But in fact, women in the war did much more in the rear than in the war.
    For example, compare with the legendary 402 IAP
    During the war, in 13511 sorties, pilots of the regiment in air battles and on the ground destroyed 810 enemy aircraft at the cost of the death of 81 pilots, as well as 6 engineers and technicians.
    4419 sorties, conducted 125 air battles, shot down 38 enemy planes.
    that is, 405 spent 3 times more battles and shot down 25 times more planes.
    And about the nightly bombing, this is for storytellers since their effectiveness is close to 0, but the number of heroes is off the scale.
    Threat here is such an example of propaganda.
  6. AlexMH
    +2
    April 18 2012 17: 23
    Quote: leon-iv
    And about the nightly bombing, this is for storytellers since their effectiveness is close to 0, but the number of heroes is off the scale.

    Read any German memoirs - there are an order of magnitude more curses against Russian "sewing machines" than, say, on "big" bomber aircraft. The expressions "did not let the soldiers sleep", "kept them in constant tension", "with incomprehensible accuracy" are encountered repeatedly. The role of Po-2 in the war is very large, although it was not only women who fought on them. And the heroes were given to them for the cause - thousands of crews burned down, crashed, a plywood airplane, a small machine gun, one enemy burst - and that's it. And yet they flew. And the battle accounts were good. And propaganda is also good when for the good of the Motherland.
    1. -2
      April 18 2012 17: 26
      I'll cry right now. 1 Question how to direct and control the bombing?
      1. 0
        April 18 2012 18: 27
        German soldiers were afraid to smoke at night, not only because of snipers, but just about that (night witches) ... so they threw it manually from the cockpit at low speed .... the plane was planning ...
  7. AlexMH
    +1
    April 18 2012 18: 09
    Well cry .... but at the speed that Po-2 had, bombs can be thrown manually. In general, from a bomb thrower in a horizontal flight at an altitude of 100 meters with a speed of less than 100 km / h you can get into a patch of 50 * 50 meters, which is completely nothing for a warehouse, station or building ... There were cases, and fell into a specific pillbox or hut at night .
  8. 0
    April 18 2012 20: 42
    yes yes read the opinion of the pilots Il-2 on aimless bombing and what will happen to PO-2 at an altitude of 100m after the explosion, for example Fab-50
    1. 0
      April 19 2012 00: 46
      My uncle flew on the IL-2 ... the accuracy was absolute. Putting a boboch in the trench is a common thing ... diving ... about Po-2 my grandmother lived in the city ... she flew into the war ... they turned off the dvigun and on shaver ... since they threw the little beaver at the light of the cigarette ... but it did not explode ... and in the morning the offensive .. so then they came from the special department to congratulate the oberst on the head ...
      1. 0
        April 19 2012 01: 00
        http://iremember.ru/letchiki-shturmoviki/blog/stranitsa-2.html
        In my opinion, the reality is different again.
  9. Ratibor12
    +3
    April 18 2012 22: 17
    Leon-ive! As far as I understand, only B-29 pilots can be "heroes". They have more load and range and sights !!! Better yet, the B-52, and the Schaub with vigorous bombs! And here is some FAB-50! Some women! Laughter and nothing more !!! Well, every normal person understands:
    1. What are the pilots there! They would not even be able to get a plane!
    2. And if they could, then they did not take off!
    3. And if they took off ... So it's night in the yard! Wouldn't be guided! There is no navigator-"asshole" yet !!!
    4. And if they flew, they would not have hit !!! They have not a single thermal imager for the entire regiment !!!!
    That would not have been possible, this would not have been done! And they could and did!
    We are dwarfs standing on the shoulders of the titans. Here you are, like a dwarf, and reason. This generation of people was perhaps the best in the history of mankind. Respect someone else's feat.
    1. 0
      April 18 2012 23: 13
      That's right, Ratibor! It is necessary to respect someone else's feat! After all, if it were not for them, not for their contribution to the common cause in the war - it is not known how it would have ended and when. I don’t know why Leon’s bile is pouring, but the rank of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Regiment proves the opposite. Stalin simply did not assign a title for his beautiful eyes. So it was for what. For real deeds. And further. Several years ago, while reading a magazine on weapons, I came across such information. At the positions of the Germans, where there were firing positions of anti-aircraft gunners, strange ammunition with a wooden bullet was found. Osinova. Annenerbe tried. After all, a witch cannot be killed with a simple bullet! So the Germans have developed such special ammunition to fight our "night witches". And this already says something!
      1. -1
        April 19 2012 00: 25
        And you never thought that people needed heroes. Just heroes and they can be made, for example, out of a photogenic person?
        And Stalin understood this better than you.
        At the positions of the Germans, where the firing positions of the anti-aircraft gunners were, strange ammunition with a wooden bullet was found.
        Pearl of the Year and mahogany sights for the new bullet ballistics.
    2. 0
      April 19 2012 00: 31
      1. What are the pilots there! They would not even be able to get a plane!
      Where did I write this?
      2. And if they could, then they did not take off!
      Where i wrote it
      3. And if they took off ... So it's night in the yard! Wouldn't be guided! There is no navigator-"asshole" yet !!!
      You can fly by compass and flight map
      4. And if they flew, they would not have hit !!! They have not a single thermal imager for the entire regiment !!!!
      But this is more correct since bombing is a difficult fire contact, especially with PMV. And if you don’t get bogged down, what will happen to a light aircraft that bombs with 100 m FAB-50, if even for IL-2 the maximum bombing height was EMNIP 300 m so for an armored plane.
      We are dwarfs standing on the shoulders of the titans. Here you are, like a dwarf, and reason. This generation of people was perhaps the best in the history of mankind.
      No, this is not so simple at that time the level of passion was the maximum.
      1. sealord
        0
        April 19 2012 01: 37
        I would like to share my "feelings about the fight with Navotny's group on the Me 262" on the "IL 2 simulator" a few years ago. A very interesting experience.
        After several attempts (2-3) - I managed to flunk Me 262 a couple of times.
        These bitches fly like bullets (the difference in speed with piston ones), and this is in comfort, in warmth, without overload, with "restrictions", with knowledge of the enemy's route of movement! As a first approximation, I now imagine:
        WHAT LEVEL OF SKILL WAS THE GREAT AIR FIGHTERS - KOZHEDUBA AND TITORENKO, who actually did this!
        Glory to our airy ASAM! Bravo, bravissimo - our great fathers and grandfathers!
  10. Owl
    0
    April 20 2012 19: 57
    My grandmother, Maria Antipovna, fought in the 1942th Guards Regiment since 46, position: squadron technician. Because of her sight, she did not finish her studies as a pilot, according to her stories, sometimes after night flights, if there was a need to move to another airfield, she sat down at the helm and the crew slept out.

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