Pilot Melnikov: born in a shirt
Probably many of those who are interested history domestic aviation famous feat of a fighter pilot Aristotle Kavtaradze, who in mid-July 1941, during a counterattack near Soltsy, made a ram and at the cost of his life shot down a German plane. Other remarkable, brave comrades served with him. One of them was Lieutenant Fyodor Antonovich Melnikov, an experienced pilot who had already distinguished himself in the recent Soviet-Finnish war, and was awarded the medal "For Courage". About people like him, they say: "was born in a shirt."
Luck
The first documented case of incredible luck happened to him on the same day that Kavtaradze died, July 13, 1941. Melnikov, paired with another pilot, was instructed to conduct aerial reconnaissance. It is better to quote his own report further:
“Performing a combat mission for reconnaissance along the roads of Soltsy - Utorosh (railway), Utorgosh - Nikolaevo, Nikolaevo - Podborovye on an I-153 aircraft as part of a pair at an altitude of 200-100 meters, I found:
- railway Soltsy - Utorgosh is free, the movement of railway trains was not detected;
- on the road Utorgosh - Gorodishche, the movement of our artillery on horse-drawn traction, separate vehicles with fighters, two cavalry units of up to 50 people each and separate carts with the civilian population (indistinct.) while in the forest;
In the area between Korshuno - Nikolaevo, my plane caught fire on the right bottom of the center section (the central part of the wing - ed.) and, having strongly tilted its nose down, went down from the right angle. I managed to level it already at the height of the trees by turning off the motor.
The plane crashed into the forest, where it burned down. I was thrown out of the cockpit, and when I came to after losing consciousness, the plane was completely engulfed in flames. I have an assumption that the plane was shot down, because before the plane caught fire, there was a strong push and a roll to the right.
- railway Soltsy - Utorgosh is free, the movement of railway trains was not detected;
- on the road Utorgosh - Gorodishche, the movement of our artillery on horse-drawn traction, separate vehicles with fighters, two cavalry units of up to 50 people each and separate carts with the civilian population (indistinct.) while in the forest;
In the area between Korshuno - Nikolaevo, my plane caught fire on the right bottom of the center section (the central part of the wing - ed.) and, having strongly tilted its nose down, went down from the right angle. I managed to level it already at the height of the trees by turning off the motor.
The plane crashed into the forest, where it burned down. I was thrown out of the cockpit, and when I came to after losing consciousness, the plane was completely engulfed in flames. I have an assumption that the plane was shot down, because before the plane caught fire, there was a strong push and a roll to the right.
The I-153 fighter flew at a speed of at least 200 km/h. Having crashed into the forest at such a speed, Melnikov not only survived, but also escaped with only a slight “knockout” and scratches! So on the same day I was able to dictate or even write the report quoted above. Incredible luck!
For example, in a similar situation, the famous pilot Alexei Maresyev suffered much more severely. Although he, in general, was also lucky. But he received such a strong concussion of the whole body that for many days in a deranged state, with hallucinations, he wandered around the crash site of his plane. Because of this, he did not notice how wet snow had accumulated in the high boots, and frostbite of the legs began. Moreover, it fell on our territory and not very far from the nearest village. Just because of his condition, he could not immediately go out to people.
In the book “The Tale of a Real Man”, these circumstances, in order to enhance the drama of the story, are stated differently: he allegedly fell behind the front line, his feet were injured during the fall, and it took him a long time to get to the partisans. In reality, everything was both simpler and worse.
But back to our hero, Fedor Melnikov. Almost immediately returning to combat work, he flew until October 14, 1941, when he was shot down by German anti-aircraft gunners and received a severe concussion. Apparently, there was a "hard landing" again! This time less successful, but still - very lucky again!
The medical commission decided that he was no longer fit for flight work. But the great combat experience was not forgotten and was appointed as a teacher at the Air Force Higher Air Combat Officer School at the Lyubertsy airfield in the Moscow region.
Century
More details are in the Chernihiv newspaper "Gart" dated February 20, 2014. And this is another evidence of Fyodor Antonovich's luck, because the article in the newspaper is dedicated to his 100th birthday! Not everyone is lucky enough to live to such a venerable age! Based on this short article and information from the service card and award sheets, you can make a short biography:
Fedor Melnikov was born on February 15.02.1914, XNUMX on the Sheikino farm in the Valkovsky district of the Kharkov region. “At the end of the seven-year plan, I studied at an agricultural technical school as an agronomist. He never dreamed of being a pilot, but chance decided his fate.
In the direction of the technical school, Fedor ended up in the Stalingrad region. Once I was working in the field and saw how a plane landed on a collective farm field. Then he first saw a real fighter plane and wanted to fly on it. He says that he still remembers how he sparkled with bright green wings.
He was drafted into the army on 10.08.1936/XNUMX/XNUMX. He graduated from the Stalingrad Military Aviation Pilot School. As already mentioned, he distinguished himself in the Soviet-Finnish war.
During the first 4 months of World War II, he made 165 successful sorties on the North-Western Front, including 27 air battles, 31 ground attack, 38 bomber escorts, 60 patrols, 36 reconnaissance behind enemy lines.
I personally shot down 4 German aircraft, it was a good result in that first year of the war, which was especially unsuccessful for our aviation.
During his subsequent service at the Higher Air Combat Officer School, he helped to improve the tactical skills of many young pilots, thus making a great contribution to achieving the superiority of our fighter aviation over the German one.
After the war, Fyodor Antonovich served in various places of the Soviet Union, in 1957 he settled in Chernigov with his wife and son, served as a teacher at the local Higher Aviation Pilot School. He retired with the rank of colonel in late 1960. He was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner, Orders of the Red Star, Orders of the Patriotic War of the XNUMXst degree, Orders of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, as well as medals.
Here is such an extraordinary fate, in which luck and own talent, courage, perseverance in achieving goals coexist. In general, the fate of a real officer!
Information