Petr Stefanovskiy Career: Aviator
Birth: Russia, 2.1.1903
0 year Deputy Head of the Aircraft Testing Department General - Major of Aviation P. M. Stefanovsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the development of new military equipment and the courage and bravery shown. Over more than 30 years of service in aviation, he mastered 317 types of winged aircraft and made 13,500 flights.

Born on January 2, 1903 in the village of Chirkovichi, currently Svetlogorsk district of the Gomel region, in a peasant family. He graduated from a rural school. He worked in agriculture. Since 1925 in the Red Army. In 1927 he graduated from the Leningrad Military Theoretical School, in 1928 - the 1st Military Aviation Pilot School named after Myasnikov. In 1931 he moved to Moscow. He worked as an instructor pilot, and then as a test pilot at the Air Force Research Institute.

He took part in the May Day air parades on Red Square, where he flew on an I-16 type 5 aircraft painted yellow.

Participant of the Great Patriotic War. For some time he commanded the 402nd Special Purpose Fighter Aviation Regiment. He made 150 successful combat missions and personally shot down 4 enemy aircraft in air battles. Then he commanded the western sector of Moscow's air defense. Since May 1942, again at flight test work. He was deputy head of the department and deputy head of the Air Force Research Institute Directorate. Since 1944, General - Major of Aviation.

After the end of the war he continued to serve in the Air Force. Conducted 238 tests, made 16 first flights on new types of aircraft. He was the first in the world to perform aerobatics on a jet aircraft.

On March 5, 1948, the deputy head of the aircraft testing department, General - Major of Aviation P. M. Stefanovsky, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the development of new military equipment and the courage and bravery shown. Over more than 30 years of service in aviation, he mastered 317 types of winged aircraft and made 13,500 flights.

Since 1954 - in reserve. Lived and worked in Moscow. Awarded the Order of Lenin (three times), the Red Banner (three times), the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (twice), the Red Star (three times), and madals. Died February 23, 1976. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery. Author of the book "Three Hundred Unknowns".

A telegram from the front headquarters to the commander of the 402nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Pyotr Mikhailovich Stefanovsky, was transmitted at the airfield at the end of the day, at the hour when he met the pilots returning from battle. I read it and looked away, as if it had burned them. He was called to Moscow. They called us hastily, in the midst of fighting. For what? What could have happened?

He told the regiment commissar Sergei Fedotovich Ponomarev about his disappointment.

“We have to go, boss,” Ponomarev advised. - They don’t call people to the Kremlin senselessly.

Stefanovsky ordered that the plane be prepared for him by morning. There was plenty of time left, it was permissible to think well about everything.

Quite recently, less than a month ago, the go-ahead was received to create a fighter aviation regiment of test pilots. During these days, we managed to basically raise pilots, engineers, technicians, engine mechanics, begin to organize crews and groups, and conduct some heated battles with the enemy. And suddenly a command came urgently to the Kremlin.

Early in the morning, having handed over the regiment to Major K. A. Gruzdev, Stefanovsky flew to Moscow. At the appointed hour he arrived at the Kremlin and was soon already in Stalin’s office.

It’s very appropriate to say, friend Stefanovsky,” the Supreme Commander spoke right away. - Notification has been received that the Nazis are going to bomb Moscow. You already have some combat skill, and we want you to use it in the defense of Moscow...

He asked Stefanovsky about the mood of the regiment’s personnel and ordered the distinguished pilots to be presented with orders. In conclusion he said:

We have very little time. Much needs to be done. We have already created a few defense sectors for the capital. You are appointed chief of the western sector and deputy commander of the air corps. A directive will be signed today...

The western sector, as Stefanovsky soon learned, consisted of 11 fighter regiments located within a radius of 120 kilometers with the borders: Moscow - Istra - Staritsa and further: Moscow - Naro-Fominsk - Mosalsk. This is a critical area of ​​defense.

And on the same day, Stefanovsky began hasty and meticulous work to establish connections with units, increase combat readiness, and prepare crews to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft.

War does not divide the day into darkness and day, and does not allow time for rest. The head of the sector wanted to visit everywhere and personally verify the readiness of the units. He carried out shuttle flights to the Moscow region - Kubinka, Chertanovo, Tushino. The questions are always the same: manning, skill, uniqueness of tactics, training of personnel. And the meeting, short, expansive, at which the decision was made:

We will die, but we will defend the capital!

In those days when real danger loomed over Moscow, the trembling heart of the patriot absorbed admiration for the historical monuments of the capital, pride for its renewed industry, and responsibility to the generation for the preservation of world masterpieces.

In the dark of July 21, the State Defense Committee checked the combat readiness of the headquarters and command posts of the Moscow air defense zone. All those responsible for the defense of Moscow were invited to the Kremlin.

The command and staff exercise was led by the Chief of the General Staff, Army General G.K. Zhukov. The Supreme Commander, who was present at the training, continuously complicated the introductory ones. It was hard to believe that this staff amusement would turn out to be a deadly reality tomorrow...

In the dark of July 22, Nazi Germany carried out its insidious project. 250 aircraft in 4 echelons, with a time interval of 30 minutes, flew towards Moscow from the western direction. Stefanovsky met the raid in Kubinka, in Kogrushev’s regiment. Having received a warning about the approach of enemy aircraft, he declared the alarm and raised the regiments of his sector into the air. Having a reserve at each airfield, he spent a few tedious minutes on the ground, receiving information from VNOS posts, and transmitting the necessary orders. The operational plan provided for a summit with enemy aircraft at the Rzhev-Vyazma-Solnechnogorsk line. Based on the estimated time, Stefanovsky knew that the fight had already begun. Having reported to the corps commander about the start of the air battle, Stefanovsky led a new group of fighters.

Under the wing of the plane, the native soil lay invisibly. It was quiet in the anxious Moscow sky. It was so hard to understand the reality of today’s war night, the meeting with the fascists over the forests, where until recently they had rested on Sundays! Ahead along the course, thin blades of searchlights darted in a persistent search for enemy aircraft. Lightning flashes of explosions and fiery tracks of machine gun fire could be seen.

Enemy planes suddenly floated out, heavily carrying a deadly load towards the capital. Soviet fighters crashed into the enemy's battle formations, opened fire, and entered into an aerial battle.

The enemy apparently did not expect to meet the second echelon of our planes. The formation of bombers, not protected by fighters, began to thin out, the bombers turned around, freed themselves from their cargo, snarling with turret fire, and tried to take cover in the dark sky.

Having left the battle, Stefanovsky’s group headed to the air terminal. Having understood the situation and received new data on the movement of enemy aircraft, the boss of the western sector took into the air a new group of fighters and brought it to the Golitsyn area, into the strip of light searchlight fields. He ordered the group of bombers that had broken through to be destroyed. Captain K. Titenkov knocked down the leader, decapitated the formation and thereby allowed the pilots V. Bokach, P. Eremeev, A. Lukyanov, A. Mazenin, S. Goshko to shoot down a few more planes and send the rest to flee.

Therefore, at that dark time of day, our fighters, the air defenders of the Moscow sky, carried out 178 combat sorties, participated in 25 air battles, and shot down 12 enemy aircraft.

However, despite the heavy losses of the enemy, much had to be reconsidered in our sector. Stefanovsky knew well that the Nazis were trying to raze Moscow to the ground. The interrogation of downed enemy pilots confirmed: the Germans will rush to our capital. The maps of Moscow taken from the captured pilots had specific bombing targets: train stations, bridges, factories, the Kremlin.

Every dark time of day, the pilots of the 6th Fighter Aviation Corps made several combat missions, flying with holes in the fuselage and planes. When the Nazis failed to get past the western sector, they decided to approach the capital from the north and south.

On July 24, 1941, the German leadership again sent 180 planes to Moscow. They flew in 10 echelons. Their path was blocked by pilots of the Moscow air defense zone, and among them K. Titenkov, G. Grigoriev, B. Vasiliev, I. Kalabushkin, who showed remarkable examples of courage and bravery. The enemies did not manage to break through to the capital that time either.

Stefanovsky scrupulously analyzed everything new that was born from the creativity of pilots, technicians and mechanics. He immediately spread it to other parts using all available means.

Stefanovsky paid a lot of attention to improving the communication system, operational information from the main VNOS post, and establishing interaction with searchlight units.

The enemy continued to rush towards Moscow. Only until August 15 did he carry out 18 night raids on the capital, in which 1,700 aircraft took part. During the same time, fighter aircraft and other auxiliary means destroyed a number of 200 enemy aircraft.

In August, the Germans intensified daytime raids on Moscow. The western sector again became the direction of their main attack. But the fighter pilots of the Moscow air defense zone stood unshakably in the enemy’s path. The combat prowess of Soviet aviators has increased significantly, air combat tactics have become flexible and varied, and the organization of ground training has become more complex. Pilots used the ram as a means of achieving victory over the enemy, as a tactical combat technique. On August 7, 1941, a German bomber, Viktor Talalikhin, was hit by a ram. On August 10, Klimov did the same. And soon it became known about the brave and decisive actions of the pilots Alexei Katrich and Boris Kovzan, who also used ramming attacks on the enemy. Already by that time, few pilots had been awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their heroic deeds, many were awarded orders and medals. Pyotr Stefanovsky was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

In October, due to a sharp aggravation of the situation at the front, the Headquarters instructed Stefanovsky to lead a special vanguard air group, which included more than 100 aircraft with powerful cannon armament.

The special group was ordered to inflict the first shock on the advancing enemy troops in the area of ​​​​the city of Bely. Having assembled a group that took off from 4 airfields and formed it in battle formation, Stefanovsky inflicted a crushing shock on the enemy infantry. A second flight took place on the same day. During a raid on enemy troops, there was an accident in which Stefanovsky shot down 2 enemy aircraft.

On November 14, German aviation again sent 120 bombers to Moscow. 200 Soviet fighters took off to meet them. Parts of the Stefanovsky sector, reinforced by new fighters and experienced pilots, fearlessly stood in the way of the enemy. 43 enemy bombers were shot down that day.

Also, from July to December 1941, enemy aircraft carried out 122 raids on Moscow, in which 8912 aircraft took part. During these raids, Soviet pilots shot down 1029 enemy aircraft, including a few aircraft destroyed by Stefanskvsky.

In May 1942, Stefanovsky, just as suddenly as he had been appointed, was relieved of his post as head of the western sector of Moscow and ordered to return to test work. 11 months of incredible effort were behind us. The war was still going on, with explosions of artillery shells and aerial bombs thundering everywhere, and there were still days when the pilots of the western sector did not return from flights. Is it possible to do other things besides front-line work? With his characteristic persistence, Stefanovsky tried to challenge his superiors. But soon, after being present at the discussion in the CPSU Central Committee of the issue of providing the front with new types of aircraft, he became convinced of the regularity and expediency of his recall from the front.

And the everyday life of a new job related to the military-technical direction began, work to which Stefanovsky devoted a considerable share of his life.

Years have passed. On a frosty February day in 1976, the newspaperman met with Pyotr Mikhailovich. Then, talking with the outstanding pilot, he did not know that in a few days his life would suddenly end, and this memorable summit would be his last. Pyotr Mikhailovich was full of creative plans and talked about completing work on a new book. Answering the interrogative motive of what he thinks about heroic professions, he answered:

Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin said recently that any specialty can make a person a hero. I agree with it. Indeed, occupation is not in the nature of work, but in a person’s attitude to his occupation. There are so many aviators with passion, but only those who selflessly love their work, who see creativity in it, become Chkalovs, Gromovs, Pokryshkins.

There is a view that the heroic glory of aviation is a thing of the past. But people who have little knowledge of aviation can read it this way. Aviation has always enjoyed truly national love. Following the Komsomol conscription in the 1930s, thousands of young men came to it, from whom they later grew into world-famous aces and outstanding military leaders. At that time, aviation was just taking off, as they say. Each conquest in the air caused rejoicing among the Soviet people, due to the fact that it was a victory not only of scientific and technical thought, but also of the socialist system. During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet military pilots made a huge contribution to our common victory. The homeland appreciated their military exploits. The Soviet people will never forget these exploits!

Our population will never forget the military heroic act of Pyotr Mikhailovich Stefanovsky, committed by him in the stormy sky of Moscow in 1941.

Petr Shishackiy

A participant in the Great Patriotic War since 1941, Pyotr Shishatsky fought as part of the 13th (4th Guards) Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Force.

WITH Tefanovsky Pyotr Mikhailovich – Deputy Head of the Aircraft Testing Department of the Scientific Testing Institute of the Air Force (VVS Research Institute) named after V.P. Chkalova, Major General of Aviation.

Born on January 2, 1903 in the Pokrovka farm of the Parichsky volost of the Bobruisk district of the Minsk province, now the territory of the Svetlogorsk district of the Gomel region of Belarus, into a peasant family. Belarusian. Member of the CPSU(b)/CPSU since 1944. He graduated from a rural school. He worked in agriculture.

In the Red Army since 1925. In 1927 he graduated from the Leningrad Military Theoretical School, and in 1928 from the Kachin Military Aviation Pilot School. He worked as an instructor pilot, then as a test pilot at the Air Force Research Institute.

Participant of the Great Patriotic War. Lieutenant Colonel Stefanovsky P.M. was appointed commander of the 402nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, which included test pilots from the Air Force Research Institute. During the first three days of participation in hostilities, Pyotr Stefanovsky's regiment shot down twelve enemy aircraft without losing a single one of its own aircraft. In total, during the war years, fighter pilots of this regiment made more than thirteen thousand combat missions and shot down eight hundred and ten fascist aircraft.

When at the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin, the issue of protecting the sky of Moscow was resolved, P.M. Stefanovsky was invited to the Kremlin, where the Supreme Commander-in-Chief personally appointed him one of the deputy commanders of the 6th Air Defense Fighter Aviation Corps, whose task was to defend the airspace of the western sector of the capital. The pilots of this air corps prevented massive raids by Nazi bombers on Moscow.

In the late autumn - early winter of 1941, when tank groups of Nazi troops were rushing to Moscow, air defense aviation covered Soviet troops from the air in order to stop the attack on the capital of the tank group of German General G. Guderian.

In May 1942 P.M. Stefanovsky was recalled from the front to the Air Force Research Institute, where he continued flight testing of the latest fighters and bombers.

During flight test work at this illustrious institute, test pilot P.M. Stefanovsky had to test more than fifty types of aircraft. He put on the wing the best fighters of that time, including the YAK-1, YAK-7b, YAK-9, YAK-3, LA-5. He mastered a large number of other aircraft, including the Pe-2 dive bomber and a number of jet winged aircraft. The outstanding test pilot devoted over thirty years of his life to serving in aviation.

U by the Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on March 5, 1948, for the development of new military equipment and the courage and bravery shown, the deputy head of the aircraft testing department of the Air Force Research Institute, Major General of Aviation Pyotr Mikhailovich Stefanovsky, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal "(No. 5811).

Since 1954, test pilot 1st class, Major General of Aviation Stefanovsky P.M. - in reserve, and then retired. Lived and worked in the hero city of Moscow. Died on February 23, 1976. He was buried in Moscow in the columbarium of the Novodevichy Cemetery (section 131).

He was awarded three Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, three Orders of the Red Star, and medals.

Stefanovsky Pyotr Mikhailovich (1903-1976) - military test pilot 1st class, deputy head of the Aircraft Testing Directorate of the Scientific Testing Institute of the Air Force, major general of aviation, Hero of the Soviet Union.

Biography:

Pyotr Mikhailovich Stefanovsky was born on January 2, 1903 in the village of Chirkovichi, Svetlogorsk district, Gomel region, into a peasant family. In 1925 he was drafted into the Red Army. In 1926, at his own request, he was sent to the Military Theoretical School of the Air Force in Leningrad, from which he graduated in 1927. In 1931, he was sent to Moscow, to the Air Force Research Institute, to serve as a test pilot.

From the end of 1931, he was one of the main test pilots of the Zveno project, as a pilot of an aircraft bomber, under the general leadership of designer V. S. Vakhmistrov. He flew flights at all stages of the project from “Link-1” to “Link-7”. He was the first pilot to take the TB-3 into the air as part of Zven-7 on November 20, 1935.

In 1936, on the BOK-1 aircraft designed by V. A. Chizhevsky, he successively broke several altitude records, recording a new record at 10,360 meters.

Stefanovsky took part in May Day parades on Red Square several times, flying over it in a bright yellow I-16 plane.

He met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Made 150 combat flights. In 1942, he was recalled from the front and transferred to the post of commander of the Western Sector of Moscow's air defense. In May 1942, at his own request, from the post of deputy commander of the air corps, he was again sent to the Air Force Research Institute for flight test work, first as a test pilot, then to the position of deputy head of the Air Force Research Institute department. After the end of the war he continued to serve in the Air Force.

Conducted 238 tests, made 16 first flights on new types of aircraft. He was the first in the world to perform aerobatics on a jet aircraft. Over more than 30 years of service in aviation, he mastered 317 types of winged aircraft and made 13,500 flights.

On March 5, 1948, Major General of Aviation P. M. Stefanovsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the development of new military equipment and the courage and bravery shown.

Since 1954 - in reserve. Lived and worked in Moscow. Died February 23, 1976. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

He was awarded three Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, three Orders of the Red Star, and medals.

Streets in Minsk, the city of Shchelkovo, Moscow Region, and in his homeland, in the village of Chirkovichi, Svetlogorsk district, are named after P. Stefanovsky.

Bibliography:

1. Papok, V. Byasstrashny sokal / V. Papok // Gomelskaya Praўda. – 1980. – 7 cherven.
2. Popok V. Hero of the Soviet Union from Cirkovic: [P. M. Stefanovsky] // Svetlagorsk traditions. – 2003. – 15 students.
3. Rodinsky, D. “Those who know the sky are faithful to it to the end” / David Rodinsky // Fair. – 2005. – No. 4-8. – P.3,13.
4. Kokhno, V. Aerobatics: [a memorial plaque to P.M. was installed on the building of the Chirkovichi school in the Svetlogorsk district. Stefanovsky] / V. Kokhno // Gomelskaya Prauda. – 2006. – 8 cherven. – C, 2.
5. Urvachev, V. Stormy Moscow sky of the forty-first: [mentioned by Hero of the Soviet Union P.M. Stefanovsky] / V. Urvachev // Literary newspaper. – 2010. – June 23-29. – P. 9.
6. Zykun, M. He lived in the skies: / Maria Zykun // Svetlagorsk naviny. – 2012. – 27 snowfall. – P. 8.
7. Lavrenyuk, V. His dream lived in flight / Vladimir Lavrenyuk // Army. – 2013. – No. 4. – P. 50 – 57.
8. People's flying: Pyotr Mikhailavich Stefanoski // Svetlagorsk naviny. - 2017. - 12 snowfall. - P. 6.

Three hundred unknown

Literary record of G. I. Grigoriev

Publisher's abstract: The author of the book Hero of the Soviet Union, Aviation Major General P. M. Stefanovsky, is a 1st class military test pilot. He devoted over thirty years of his life to serving in aviation. More than three hundred winged aircraft of various types - from the first domestic ones with piston engines to jet fighters and bombers - were tested in the air by Pyotr Mikhailovich Stefanovsky. He also piloted and tested many foreign military aircraft. During the Great Patriotic War, P. M. Stefanovsky, on instructions from the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, formed several fighter aviation regiments from test pilots and headed one of the Moscow air defense sectors. In air battles on the outskirts of the capital, he personally shot down several enemy aircraft. The book “Three Hundred Unknowns” tells about the difficult and dangerous work of test pilots, about the exploits of winged heroes during the years of severe military trials. It is intended for a wide range of readers.

Chapter first. Heavenly Columbuses

Chapter two. Flight aircraft

Chapter three. For speed, altitude, range

Chapter Four. Does an airplane need a tail?

Chapter five. Fast bombers

Chapter six. Out of sight of the ground

Chapter seven. Corkscrew

Chapter eight. General inspection

Chapter Nine. Creators of formidable machines

Chapter ten. The day before

Chapter Eleven. The war has broken out

Chapter twelve. Regiment of Stepan Suprun

Chapter thirteen. Flying tanks

Chapter fourteen. Trial by Fire

Chapter fifteen. Winged Shield of Moscow

Chapter sixteen. Jet era

Chapter seventeen. In service

Notes

Chapter first. Heavenly Columbus

The early winter of 1931 densely covered the vast Khodynka field with a sparkling blanket of snow. Here, at the Central Airfield of Moscow, the aviation brigade of the Scientific Testing Institute of the Air Force of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army is located.

The hard work of the country's largest aircraft test center is proceeding as usual. Planes take off, circle over the airfield, and land. Returning to the ground, the pilots heatedly discuss their flights and argue about the merits and demerits of the machines being tested.

To us, young people who have recently joined the ranks of testers, everything here seems unusual, almost fantastic.

The use profile for newcomers has not yet been determined. They were carefully studied: each person’s experience, piloting technique, character and strong-willed qualities, physical data.

We eagerly awaited the decision of the institute command. I wanted to fly.

Assign to the TB-1 heavy bomber..." I re-read the short line of the order again and again and am more and more perplexed: I am a fighter, by vocation and experience. The flight time is sufficient. Control flights on the R-1 and R-5 here at the institute , completed it with an "excellent" rating. And suddenly... onto a bomber! For what?

We need to go to the authorities. I will object and argue. We must still take into account the pilot’s training profile and inclinations, and, finally, take into account his desire. While still working as an instructor at school, I dreamed of high speeds and altitudes, of dashing combat maneuvers. Or maybe the school flights were a let down. I’ll tell you straight: it was a thing, it was too much. I was tired of doing the same thing every day - flying with the cadets in circles and into the zone. I wanted space, I was drawn to the combat unit. But they didn’t let them go there. So... And was I the only one who was reckless... No, I won’t make a bomber. A falcon will not become a duck even in captivity...

I thought of making such a speech, but the head of the research institute that day, as luck would have it, was not there. The Air Force Department was called. I decided to go into the flight room. I had barely crossed the threshold when one of the pilots said ironically:

Attention, comrades! Introducing the new bomb carrier pilot.

Out of surprise, I think I even took a step back. How does he know, since the order was signed just a few hours ago? The tester (I forgot his last name), as if guessing my thoughts, burst out laughing:

Yes, Stefanovsky, now you have not a face, but a copy of the order for the Scientific Testing Institute! - But then he asked seriously: - To the bombers, then?

To the bombers...

That is great! Finally, you will become a real test pilot.

The comrades who were in the room surrounded me. Someone patted me on the shoulder, someone shook my hand. From all sides it was heard:

Congratulations, Petro!

Our regiment has arrived!

You should be happy, but he hung his nose.

I couldn't sleep that night. Various thoughts plagued me. I didn’t know about heavy airships, or rather, I didn’t fly on them. I got used to it, my heart got along with the small, nimble, obedient fighters in the air. In Kutch I mastered Martinside, I-2bis, R-1, R-5. I didn’t even think about flying bombers. I don’t know who started it, but many fighter pilots had a prejudiced attitude towards heavy, seemingly clumsy aircraft. Then, at the time of mass enthusiasm for the conquest of the fifth ocean, almost all of us were delirious at breakneck speeds, Nesterov’s loops, and “cavalry” attacks in the skies. I also dreamed about this. And suddenly... onto a bomber.

I remembered our Kachin Avrushka (Avro-504K). What kind of tricks were performed on it! They wanted to take from him more than he could give. Of course, we were not pardoned for this. And lines that were unpleasant for me appeared on my card for recording penalties and rewards.

The death of the young pilot-instructor Yurkevich, who did not take into account the capabilities of the "Avrushka", somewhat sobered us up, taught us to respect aviation technology, not to encourage it where it can no longer give more. But our desire to conquer the new and unknown has not diminished. A fighter, we reasoned, is a fighter, and without risk and courage in battle it is impossible to achieve victory.

... "Bomber" is "bomber". I had to sit down with books, talk with the engineer, and get acquainted with the equipment of the TB-1 cockpit. The order at the Air Force Research Institute only outwardly looked “homey”, without any special drill strictures. In fact, they were probably clearer here than at flight school. For each day we received a specific and rather labor-intensive task.

Gradually I became interested in learning new techniques. But I was still drawn to fighters.

And yet fate took pity on me. I was allowed to fly first on the I-3, and then on the all-metal A. N. Tupolev I-4 fighter with an M-22 engine. The plane found itself without a lower wing. This innovation by engineer V.S. Vakhmistrov initially discouraged me: after all, the piloting technique was becoming more complicated. However, I decided to fly. I barely had time to look around after takeoff when I found myself already at an altitude of three thousand meters. Wonderful plane! And how easy it is to perform figures on it! How obedient he is in management!

After landing, I was perplexed: why was I, a bomber, allowed to fly fighters? The answer to this question came much later.

Our country was building a large Air Fleet and creating multi-purpose military aviation. Multi-engine aircraft construction developed especially rapidly. The troops quickly formed special bomber units. Soviet aircraft designers were developing new, more advanced models of heavy-duty combat aircraft. Each of them, before entering mass production or being scrapped, was comprehensively and mercilessly examined at the Red Army Air Force Research Institute. Therefore, all pilots of the institute had to be able to pilot both light and heavy aircraft.

Subsequently, I had to lift several aircraft of various classes and purposes into the air during the day. That is why then, in January 1932, before my first flight on a heavy bomber, I was allowed to fly in a fighter: so that I could immediately feel the difference in the technique of piloting these machines and understand that the test pilot must be a fully trained pilot.

Born on January 2, 1903 in the village of Chirkovichi, now Svetlogorsk district of Gomel region, in a peasant family. He graduated from a rural school. He worked in agriculture. Since 1925 in the Red Army. In 1927 he graduated from the Leningrad Military Theoretical School, in 1928 - the 1st Military Aviation Pilot School named after Myasnikov. In 1931 he moved to Moscow. He worked as an instructor pilot, then as a test pilot at the Air Force Research Institute.

He took part in the May Day air parades on Red Square, where he flew on an I-16 type 5 aircraft painted yellow.

Participant of the Great Patriotic War. For some time he commanded the 402nd Special Purpose Fighter Aviation Regiment. He made 150 successful combat missions and personally shot down 4 enemy aircraft in air battles. Then he commanded the western sector of Moscow's air defense.

Since May 1942, again at flight test work. He was deputy head of the department and deputy head of the Air Force Research Institute Directorate. Since 1944, Major General of Aviation.

After the end of the war he continued to serve in the Air Force.

Conducted 238 tests, made 16 first flights on new types of aircraft. He was the first in the world to perform aerobatics on a jet aircraft. Over more than 30 years of service in aviation, he mastered 317 types of winged aircraft and made 13,500 flights.

On March 5, 1948, the Deputy Head of the Aircraft Testing Department, Aviation Major General P. M. Stefanovsky, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the development of new military equipment and the courage and bravery shown.

Since 1954 - in reserve. Lived and worked in Moscow. Died February 23, 1976. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery. Author of the book "Three Hundred Unknowns".

Awarded the orders: Lenin (three times), Red Banner (three times), Patriotic War 1st degree (twice), Red Star (three times); madalami.

* * *

A telegram from the front headquarters to the commander of the 402nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Pyotr Mikhailovich Stefanovsky, was transmitted at the airfield in the evening, at the hour when he met the pilots returning from battle. I read it and looked away as if it had burned them. He was called to Moscow. They called urgently, in the midst of fighting. For what? What could have happened?

He told the regiment commissar Sergei Fedotovich Ponomarev about his disappointment.

I-16 type 5 P. M. Stefanovsky.

“We have to go, commander,” Ponomarev advised. - They don’t call people to the Kremlin in vain.

Stefanovsky ordered that the plane be prepared for him by morning. There was a lot of time left, you can think about everything well.

Just recently, less than a month ago, the go-ahead was received to form a fighter aviation regiment of test pilots. During these days, we managed to mainly select pilots, engineers, technicians, mechanics, begin gathering crews and groups, and conduct several heated battles with the enemy. And suddenly a command to urgently arrive at the Kremlin.

Early in the morning, having handed over the regiment to Major K. A. Gruzdev, Stefanovsky flew to Moscow. At the appointed hour he arrived at the Kremlin and was soon already in Stalin’s office.

“You are very welcome, Comrade Stefanovsky,” the Supreme Commander immediately spoke. - A message has been received that the Nazis are going to bomb Moscow. You already have some combat experience, and we want you to use it in the defense of Moscow...

He asked Stefanovsky about the mood of the regiment’s personnel and ordered the distinguished pilots to be presented with orders. In conclusion he said:

We have very little time. Much needs to be done. We have already created several sectors of the capital's defense. You are appointed chief of the western sector and deputy commander of the air corps. The order will be signed today...

The western sector, as Stefanovsky soon learned, consisted of 11 fighter regiments located within a radius of 120 kilometers with the borders: Moscow - Istra - Staritsa and further: Moscow - Naro-Fominsk - Mosalsk. This is the most critical area of ​​defense.

And on the same day, Stefanovsky began hasty and meticulous work to establish connections with units, increase combat readiness, and prepare crews to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft.

War does not divide the day into night and day, and does not allow time for rest. The head of the sector wanted to go everywhere and personally verify the readiness of the units. He carried out shuttle flights to the Moscow region - Kubinka, Chertanovo, Tushino. The questions are the same everywhere: manning, skill, uniqueness of tactics, training of personnel. And the meeting, short, emotional, at which the decision was made:

We will die, but we will defend the capital!

In those days when a real threat loomed over Moscow, the trembling heart of the patriot absorbed admiration for the historical monuments of the capital, pride in its renewed industry, and responsibility to the generation for the preservation of world masterpieces.

On the night of July 21, the State Defense Committee checked the combat readiness of the headquarters and command posts of the Moscow air defense zone. All those responsible for the defense of Moscow were invited to the Kremlin.

The command and staff exercise was led by the Chief of the General Staff, Army General G.K. Zhukov. The Supreme Commander, who was present at the training, continuously complicated the introductory ones. It was hard to believe that this staff game would turn out to be a deadly reality tomorrow...

On the night of July 22, Nazi Germany carried out its insidious plan. 250 aircraft in 4 echelons, with a time interval of 30 minutes, flew towards Moscow from the western direction. Stefanovsky met the raid in Kubinka, in Kogrushev’s regiment. Having received a warning about the approach of enemy aircraft, he declared the alarm and raised the regiments of his sector into the air. Having a reserve at each airfield, he spent several agonizing minutes on the ground, receiving information from VNOS posts, and transmitting the necessary orders. The operational plan provided for a meeting with enemy aircraft at the Rzhev-Vyazma-Solnechnogorsk line. Based on the estimated time, Stefanovsky knew that the battle had already begun. Having reported to the corps commander about the start of the air battle, Stefanovsky led a new group of fighters.

Under the wing of the plane, the native land lay invisibly. It was quiet in the anxious Moscow sky. It was so difficult to understand the reality of today’s military night, the meeting with the fascists over the forests, where just recently they rested on Sundays! Ahead along the course, thin blades of searchlights darted in a persistent search for enemy aircraft. Lightning flashes of explosions and fiery tracks of machine gun fire could be seen.

Enemy planes emerged unexpectedly, heavily carrying a deadly load towards the capital. Soviet fighters crashed into enemy battle formations, opened fire, and entered into an air battle.

The enemy apparently did not expect to meet with the second echelon of our planes. The formation of bombers, not protected by fighters, began to thin out, the bombers turned around, freed themselves from their cargo, snarling with turret fire, and tried to take cover in the dark sky.

Having left the battle, Stefanovsky's group headed to the airfield. Having understood the situation and received new data on the movement of enemy aircraft, the head of the western sector took into the air a new group of fighters and brought it to the Golitsyn area, into the strip of light searchlight fields. He ordered the group of bombers that had broken through to be destroyed. Captain K. Titenkov shot down the leader, decapitated the formation and thereby allowed the pilots V. Bokach, P. Eremeev, A. Lukyanov, A. Mazenin, S. Goshko to shoot down several more planes and put the rest to flight.

In total, that night our fighters, the air defenders of the Moscow sky, carried out 178 sorties, took part in 25 air battles, and shot down 12 enemy aircraft.

However, despite the heavy losses of the enemy, much had to be reconsidered in our sector. Stefanovsky knew well that the Nazis were trying to raze Moscow to the ground. The interrogation of downed enemy pilots confirmed: the Germans will rush to our capital. The maps of Moscow taken from the captured pilots had specific bombing targets: train stations, bridges, factories, the Kremlin.

Every night, the pilots of the 6th Fighter Aviation Corps made several combat sorties, flying with holes in the fuselage and planes. When the Nazis failed to pass the western sector, they decided to approach the capital from the north and south.

On July 24, 1941, the German command again sent 180 aircraft to Moscow. They flew in 10 echelons. Their path was blocked by pilots of the Moscow air defense zone, and among them K. Titenkov, G. Grigoriev, B. Vasiliev, I. Kalabushkin, who showed remarkable examples of courage and bravery. This time the enemies failed to break through to the capital.

Stefanovsky carefully analyzed everything new that was born from the creativity of pilots, technicians and mechanics. He immediately spread it to other parts using all available means.

Stefanovsky paid a lot of attention to improving the communication system, operational information from the main VNOS post, and establishing interaction with searchlight units.

The enemy continued to rush towards Moscow. Only until August 15 did he carry out 18 night raids on the capital, in which 1,700 aircraft took part. During the same time, fighter aircraft and other auxiliary forces destroyed about 200 enemy aircraft.

In August, the Germans intensified daytime raids on Moscow. The western sector again became the direction of their main attack. But the fighter pilots of the Moscow air defense zone stood unshakably in the enemy’s path. The combat skills of Soviet aviators increased significantly, air combat tactics became flexible and varied, and the ground training system became more complex. Pilots adopted the ram as a means of achieving victory over the enemy, as a tactical combat technique. On August 7, 1941, a German bomber, Viktor Talalikhin, was shot down by a ram attack. On August 10, Klimov did the same. And soon it became known about the brave and decisive actions of the pilots Alexei Katrich and Boris Kovzan, who also used ramming attacks on the enemy. Already by that time, several pilots had been awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their heroic deeds, many were awarded orders and medals. Pyotr Stefanovsky was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

In October, due to a sharp aggravation of the situation at the front, the Headquarters instructed Stefanovsky to lead a special vanguard air group, which included more than 100 aircraft with powerful cannon armament.

The special group was ordered to deliver the first blow to the advancing enemy troops in the area of ​​​​the city of Bely. Having assembled a group that took off from 4 airfields and formed it in battle formation, Stefanovsky dealt a crushing blow to the enemy infantry. A second flight took place on the same day. During the raid on enemy troops, a battle took place in which Stefanovsky shot down 2 enemy aircraft.

On November 14, German aviation again sent 120 bombers to Moscow. 200 Soviet fighters took off to meet them. Parts of the Stefanovsky sector, reinforced by new fighters and experienced pilots, fearlessly stood in the way of the enemy. 43 enemy bombers were shot down that day.

In total, from July to December 1941, enemy aircraft carried out 122 raids on Moscow, in which 8912 aircraft took part. During these raids, Soviet pilots shot down 1029 enemy aircraft, including several aircraft destroyed by Stefanskvsky.

In May 1942, Stefanovsky, just as unexpectedly as he had been appointed, was relieved of his post as head of the western sector of Moscow and ordered to return to test work. 11 months of incredible effort were behind us. The war was still going on, explosions of artillery shells and aircraft bombs were heard all around, there were still days when the pilots of the western sector did not return from flights. Is it possible to do other things besides front-line activities?

With his characteristic persistence, Stefanovsky tried to object to his superiors. But soon, after being present at a discussion in the CPSU Central Committee of the issue of providing the front with new types of aircraft, he became convinced of the regularity and expediency of his recall from the front.

And the everyday life of a new job related to the military-technical direction began, work to which Stefanovsky devoted a considerable part of his life.

Years have passed. On a frosty February day in 1976, the journalist met with Pyotr Mikhailovich. Then, talking with the outstanding pilot, he did not know that in a few days his life would suddenly end, and this memorable meeting would be his last. Pyotr Mikhailovich was full of creative plans and talked about completing work on a new book. When asked what he thinks about heroic professions, he replied:

Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin once said that any profession can make a person a hero. I agree with it. Indeed, the point is not in the nature of the work, but in the person’s attitude to his occupation. There are many aviators, but only those who selflessly love their work and who see creativity in it become Chkalovs, Gromovs, and Pokryshkins.

There is an opinion that the heroic glory of aviation is a thing of the past. But people who don’t know aviation well may think so. Aviation has always enjoyed truly national love. Following the Komsomol conscription in the 1930s, thousands of young men came to it, from whom they later grew into world-famous aces and outstanding military leaders. At that time, aviation was just taking off, as they say. Each conquest in the air caused rejoicing among the Soviet people, because it was a victory not only of scientific and technical thought, but also of the socialist system. During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet military pilots made a significant contribution to our common victory. The homeland appreciated their military exploits. The Soviet people will never forget these exploits!

Our people will never forget the feat of arms of Pyotr Mikhailovich Stefanovsky, performed by him in the stormy sky of Moscow in 1941.

We recommend reading

• Glass, stones and diamonds - what awaits a space traveler on the most amazing exoplanets There is a diamond planet
• What does the name Leonid mean: characteristics, compatibility, character and fate What does the name Leonid mean from Greek
• Dough for delicious pizza with milk
• The most delicious chicken kebab recipes - we cook at home and on the street