Erich Hartmann memoirs. , Constable Trevor J Erich Hartmann is a blond knight of the Reich. Toliver Raymond F., Constable Trevor J.

nBUYFBV ZETPS

NYT - LFP RPUFPSOOSCHK ЪБЗПЧПТ RTPФYЧ UNEMPZP. zEOETBM dKhZMBU nBL-bTFHT

yuete CHPUENSH MEF RPUME PLPOYUBOYS chFPTPC NYTPCHPK CHPKOSHCH YUFPEEOOSH OENEGLYE UPMDBFSCH CH MBZETE DEZFSTLB ABOUT HTBME RPYUFY OE UPITBOYMY OBDETSDSCH ABOUT TSYOSH. rPIPTPOEOOSCH ZMKHVYOBY TPUUY NUFYFEMSHOSHCHN TKHUULYN RTBCHYFEMSHUFCHPN, MYYEEOOSHCHUEI RTBCH UPMDBFB Y YUEMPCHELB, OBRPMPCHYOH ЪBVSCHFSHCHE DPNB, POY VSHCHMY UPCHUEN RTPRBEINY YOUNGER. yI PFOPEYOYE L TSYYOY TEDLP RPDOINBMPUSH CHCHYE UFPYUEULPK BRBFYY CH PVSHYUOPK FATENOPK DEKUFCHYFEMSHOPUFY. pDOBLP PLFSVTSHULIN KHFTPN 1953 RTPMEFEHM UMHI P RTYVSHCHFYY PDOPZP OENEGLPZP RMEOOPZP, LPFPTSCHK CHPTPDYM RTPVMEUUL OBDETSDSCH.

nBKPT yTYI iBTFNBOO YNEM PUPVSHCHE DKHYECHOSCH LBYUEFCHB, LPFPTSHCHE UOPCHB UNPZMY CHPURMBNEOYFSH UETDGB KHOYTSEOOSCHY OHTSDBAEYIUS RMEOOSCHI. fP YNS YERPFPN RPCHFPTSMY CH VBTBLBI DEZFSTLY, EZP RTYVSHCHFYE UFBMP OBYUYFEMSHOSHCHN UPVSHCHFYEN. UBNSCHK MHYUYK BU-YUFTEVYFEMSH CHUEI CHTENEO, yTYI iBTFNBOO RPMKHYUM vTYMMYBOFSCH L UCHPENKH TSCHGBTULPNH lTEUFKH TSEME'OPZP lTEUFB, CHCHUYKHA OBZTBDH ZETNBOYY. oP LFP YULMAYUYFEMSHOPE RTPSCHMEOYE ZETPYYNB NBMP OBYUYMP VHI RMEOOSCHI. DMS OYI iBTFNBOO VSHM ZETPEN DTKHZYI, VPMEE DPMZYI VYFCH, LPFPTCHE ON KhCE NOPZP MEF THAN UPCHEFULPK UELTEFOPK RPMYGYEK. BY VSHM UYNCHPMPN UPRTPFYCHMEOYS.

YUFYOOPE EZP OBYOOYE LBL YUEMPCHELB Y MYDETB TBULTSHMPUSH RPUME EZP RTYVSHCHFYS CH DEZFSTLH. CHUE ЪBLMAYUEOOSHE LFPZP LBFPTCOPZP MBZETS CHSHVETSBMY Y VBTBLLPCH Y RTYTSBMYUSH L RTPCHPMPLE, LPZDB FATENOSHCHK ZTHJPCHYL, RPDOSCH PVMBLP RSHCHMY, CHYAETsBM CHPTPFB . lPZDB LFP PVMBLP TBUUESMPUSH, CHOPCHSH RTYVSHCHYE OBYUBMY CHSHCHIPDYFSH OBTHTSKH RPD VDYFEMSHOSHCHN RTYUNPFTPN CHPPTHTSEOOPK PITBOSHCH. TsYMYUFSHCHK YUEMPCHEL UTEDOEZP TPUFB U LPROPK UPMPNEOOSCHI CHPMPU Y RTPOYFEMSHOSCHNY ZPMKHVSHCHNY ZMBBIBNY UFPSM CH ZTHRRE PVPTCBOOSHI RMEOOILPC, PDEFSHCHK CH FBLHA CE, LBL X CHUEI VEUZH PTNEOOHA TPVC.

“fFP PO! - LTYLOKHM PDYO YЪ RMEOOILPC, UFPSEYI KH LPMAYUEK RTPCHPMPLY. - bFP iBTFNBOO!”

zTSOBS FPMRB ЪB PZTBDPK TBTBYMBUSH RTYCHEFUFCHEOOSCHNY LTYLBNY. sing CHPRYMY Y NBBIBMY THLBNY, LBL VPMEMSHAILY ABOUT ZHHFVPMSHOPN NBFYUE. VEMPLHTSCHK NHTSYUOB KHMSHCHVOKHMUS Y FPTSE RPNBIBM YN THLPK, CHSHCHBCH OPCHSHCHK RTYRBDPL CHPUFPTZB. TBOOETCHOYUBCHYYEUS YUBUPCHSCH RPUREYMY ЪBZOBFSH iBTFNBOOB Y EZP FPCHBTYEEK ЪB VBTSHET YЪ LPMAYUEK RTPCHPMPLY. chPPTHTSEOOSCH THUULYE FPTSE UMSHCHYBMY P iBTFNBOOE. lBL Y MYYEOOOSCH CHUEZP OENEGLYE RMOOOSCH DEZFSTLE, SING OBMY, YFP RTYVSHCHM RPDMYOOSHCHK MYDET, PDYO YUBNSCHI DPTPZYI RMEOOILCH UPCHEFULPZP UPAB, CH FP CE CHTENS UPJDBCH YYK Y NBUUKH RTPVMEN.

ьТИИ иБТФНБО ВШМ ПВТББГПН О something oEULPMSHLP TB LFP RTYCHPDYMP EZP O ZTBOSH UNETFY, LPZDB ON KHFTBYCHBM ZPMPDPCHLY. y Ch RTPYMPN ZPDH EZP UPRTPFYCHMEOYE KHCHEOYUBMPUSH RTSSNSHCHN NSFETSPN H yBIFBI. VSHCHYYE ZETNBOULYE UPMDBFSH, OBCHBOOSCHYE CHPEOOOSCHNY RTEUFHROLBNY, VSHMY RTECHTBEEOSCH CH TBVPCH CH TKHUULYI KHZPMSHOSHI YBIFBI. yTYI iBTFNBOO PFLBBMUS TBVPFBFSH, Y LFP RTYCHAMP L NSFETSKH CH MBZETE, LPFPTSCHK RPFPN CHPPDHYECHMSM CHUEI OENGECH, OBIPDSEYIUS CH TPUUYY.

lFP VSHMB YUFPTYS PUPVPZP TPDB. fBLYE MAVSF ЪBLMAYUEOOSCH, LPFPTSCHE OE NPZHF VETSBFSH, YUSHS TsYOEOOBS BOETZYS YUFPEBEFUS ETSEDOECHOSCHN UPRTPPHYCHMEOYEN RTPGEUUH DEZKHNBOYBGYY. TKHUULYK LPNEODBOF Y PITBOB H yBIFBI VSHHMY UNSFSH ЪBLMAYUEOOSCHNY, Y iBTFNBOOB PUCHPVPDYMY YY PDYOPYUOPK LBNETSH EZP FPCHBTYEY. ON CHPZMBCHYM DCHYTSEOYE ЪB KHMHYUYEOYE OECHPNPTSOSHI KHUMPCHYK TSYYOY CH MBZETE. BY IMBDOPLTPCHOP TBHVEDIM NOPZYI OENEGLYI RMEOOSCHI PF RPRSCHFPL ECSBFSH. chNEUFP LFPPZP iBTFNBOO RPFTEVPCHBM RTYVSHCHFYS NETSDHOBTPDOPK LPNYUUYY DMS PVUMEDPCHBOYS TBVULPZP MBZETS CH yBIFBI.

CHVEYEOOOSCH THUULYE OE PUNEMYMYUSH HVYFSH iBTFNBOOB, PDOBLP SING VTPUYMY EZP CH PDYOPYULH CH DTHZPN MBZETE CH OPCHPYUETLBUULE. oELPFPTSCHE EZP FPCHBTYEY RP NSFETSKH yBIFBI VSHMY PFRTBCHMEOSCH CH DEZFSTLH Y RTYOEUMY FHDB YUFPTYA LFPPZP NSFETSB. MBZETSH UFTPZP TETSYNB CH DEZFSTLE TSIM RP UKHTPPCHSHCHN ЪBLPOBN, OP CHUE-FBLY ЪBLMAYUOOOSCH UKHNEMY LTYLBNY RTYCHEFUFCHPCHBFSH iBTFNBOOB.

TBURPMPTSEOOBS ABOUT HTBME CHVMYY UCHETDMPCHULB, DEZFSTLB YNEMB VMPL UREGYBMSHOPZP TETSINB, FATSHNH CHOKHFTY FATSHNSCH, ZDE UPDETSBMYUSH CHBTsosche OENEGLYE RMEOOSCH. fBN OBIPDIYMYUSH 12 OENEGLYI ZEOETBMPCH, RTEDUFBCHYFEMY OBNEOYFSHCHI OENEGLYI ZHBNYMYK Y "CHPEOOSH RTEUFKHROLY" CHTPDE ьTYIB iBTFNBOOB. h ZMBЪBI TKHUULYI LFPF VMPODYO, LPFPTPNH KHUFTPYMY FBLPK YKHNOSHCHK RTYEN PVYFBFEMY PUPVPZP VMPLB, OE VSHM UPMDBFPN, YURPMOSCHYYN UCHPK DPMZ UPZMBUOP ЪBLPOBN UCH PEC UFTBOSH Y PWAYN CHPEOOOSCHN FTBDYGYSN Y LPDELUBN. EZP OEKHFPNYNPE UPRTPPFYCHMEOYE UPCHEFULPK UELTEFOPK RPMYGYY RTYCHAMP L "PUKhTSDEOYA" CH LBUEUFCHE CHPEOOOPZP RTEUFKHROILB YHFPCHULIN UPCHEFULYN UKHDPN.

yTYI iBTFNBOO VSHM RETEDBO TKHUULINE CH 1945 BNETYLBOWLINE FBOLPCHSHCHN RPDTBDEMEOYEN, LPFTPPNH ON UDBMUS CHNEUFE UP UCHPEK ZTHRRRPK (Gruppe) YЪ UPUFBCHE 52 YUFTEVYFEMSHOPK b ULBDTSCH MAJFCHBZHZHE. BY RPUFPSOOP PFLBSCHCHBMUS TBVPFBFSH ABOUT TKHUULYI YMY UPFTKHDOYUBFSH U YI NBTYPOEFFLBNY YI CHPUFPYUOPK ZETNBOYY. EZP UPRTPFYCHMEOYE RTDDPMTsBMPUSH 6 MEF, OEUNPFTS ABOUT KHZTPYSHCH, PVNBO Y RPRSHCHFLY RPDLHRB. According to the DBCE PFLBMUS PF LTBKOKE UPVBOFEFMSHOPZP Redmpceis Odenedmeoop Chetokhfsh rnovan h Ktrbdokha Zetobboy L Ueneshe, Eum FPMSHLP according to the Uffer UFBFSHEFSHPSHEFLENN YRRYPOPN. yuete 6 MEF UPCHEFSH RPOSMY, YuFP iBTFNBOO OILPPZDB OE UPZMBUYFUS UPFTKhDOYUBFSH U OYNY. fPZDB EZP PFDBMY RPD UHD LBL CHPEOOOPZP RTEUFHROLB Y PUKHDYMY ABOUT 25 MEF LBFPTCOSHI TBVPF. h PFCHEF ON RPRTPUYM TBUUFTEMB.

uPCHEFULPE ЪBLMAYUEOYE - LFP DPMZPE Y KHTSBUBAEE YURSHCHFBOYE YuEMPCHYUEULPZP IBTBLFETB. vHLCHBMSHOP ABOUT LBTSDPN YBZKH OENGSH RPDCHETZBMYUSH TBYAEDBAEIN DKHYKH HOYTSEOYSN, Y NOPZIE UMPNBMYUSH. bNETYLB UEZPDOS RPMKHYUYMB UPVUFCHEOOSCHK PRSHCHF LPYNBTPCH RPDPVOPZP ЪBLMAYUEOYS, LPZDB NOPTSEUFChP EE USCHOPCH VSHMY BOBMPZYUOSCHN PVTBBPN RTECHTBEEOSCH CH "CHPEOOSHI RTEUFKhROY LPCH» LPNNHOYUFBNY-BIBFBNY. dBCE CHSHZMSDECHYK OUEPLTHYINSCHN YTYI IBTFNBOO YNEM UCHPK RTEDEM RTPYUOPUFY. FE, LFP RTPCHEM CH UPCHEFULYI FATSHNBI NOPZP MEF EDYOPDHYOP KHFCHETTSDBAF, YFP MAVPC YUEMPCHEL YNEEF UCHPK RTEDEM CHSHCHOPUMYCHPUFY CH RPDPVOSHHI HUMPCHYSI.

UFBTYE ZEOETBMSHCH TPUUYY PLBBMYUSH OE UMSHOEE TSDPCHCHI. b LPZDB SING MPNBMYUSH, LFP VSHMP EEE VPMEE TSBMLPE ЪTEMYEE. pZHYGETSH OE RPLBBBMY OILBLLPZP RTECHPUIPDUFCHB OBD TSDPCHSHNY CH VPTSHVE U olchd. chPTBUF, PRSHCHF, UENEKOSCHE FTBDYGYY YMY PVTBPCHBOYE - FTBDYGYPOOSHE ZBLFPTSCH, PRTEDEMSAEYE TBBLFETB Y YOFEMMELFB - OE DBCHBMY RPYUFY OILBLPK ЪBEY FSH PF OTBCHUFCHOOOPZP HOYUFPTSEOYS. fPF, LFP RETEOEU LFY UFTBDBOYS MHYUYE Y CH FEYOOYE VPMEE DPMZPZP RETIPDB, VSHCHMY MADSHNY, LPFPTSCHE YETRBMY UYMKH CH PDOPN YMY DCHHI YUFPYUOILBI.

TAMIZYS UFBOPCHYMBUSH DMS MADEK CH THUULPN RMEOKH LTERLINE MYUOSCHN VBUFYPOPN. TEMYZYPOSCHK YUEMPCHEL Refinery UPRTPFYCHMSFSHUS FATENEYILBN CHOE ЪBCHYUYNPUFY PF RTYTPDSCH EZP CHETCH - PUPOBOOOSHE KHVETSDEOOYS YMY UMERPC ZHBOBFYYN, LFP OE YNEMP OBYUEOYS. fBL CE NPZMY UPITBOIFSH CHOKHFTEOOAA GEMPUFOPUFSH FE, LFP OBUMBTSDBMUS BVUPMAFOPK UENEKOPK ZBTNPOYEK, RPFPNKH POY OERPLPMEVYNP CHETYMY CH FP, YuFP DPNB, CH UENSHE YI TsDHF. fY MADI PFLPCHBMY VTPOA YJ UCHPEK MAVCHY. ьTYI iBTFNBOO RTYOBDMETSBM LP CHFPTPK ZTHRRE.

EZP TSEOB xTUKHMB, YMYY HY, LBL BY ITS OBSCHCHBM, VSHMB YUFPYUOILPN DHIPCHOSHI Y NPTBMSHOSHI UYM, LPZDB BY OBIPDIYMUS CH LBODBMBI X UPCHEFPCH. pOB VSHMB UCHEFPN EZP DKHYY, LPZDB YuETOSCHK ЪBOBCHEU UPCHEFULPK FATSHNSCH ULTSHHM EZP PF CHUEZP PUFBMSHOPZP NYTB. POB OYLPZDB OE RPDCHPDYMB ityib, CHUEZDB VSHMB YUBUFSHHA OEZP UBNPZP. VE OEE PO OE CHSHCHDETTSBM VSHCH 10 MEF CH UPCHEFULYI FATSHNBI, VE OEEE PO OE CHPTPDYMUS VSC L OPCHPK TSYOY.

rP PVEENKH RTY'OBOYA UCHPYI FPCHBTYEEK RP RMEOKH YTYI iBTFNBOO VSCHM OE FPMSHLP UBNSHCHN UIMSHOSCHN YUEMPCHELPN, RPRBCHYYN CH MBRSCH UPCHEFPCH. BY RTYOBDMETSBM L MYFOPK ZTHRRE RPDMYOOSCHI MYDETPCH. lPZDB ZETNBOYS METSBMB CH THYOBY, B CHUE CHYOULYE LPDELUSH VSHMY PFVTPEOSCH CH UFPTPOH, OENEGLYE RMEOOSHE RTYOBCHBMY FPMSHLP FAIRIES MYDETPCH, LPFPTCHE UBNY CHSCCHYOHMYUSH Kommersant YI UTEDSH. pVSHYUOP bfp VSHMY MKHYUYE YЪ MKHYUYI.

ъЧBOYS Y OZTBDSCH ЪDEUSH OE YNEMY OBYUEOYS, FBL TSE LBL CHPTBUF Y PVTBPBCHBOYE. OE RTPPIPDYMY OILBLYE IYFTPUFY Y KHMPCHLY. h TKHUULYI FATSHNBI UYDEMY RTEDBFEMY-ZEOETBMSH Y CHEMILPMEROSCH UETSBOFSHCH, OEUZYVBENSCH TSDPCHSHCHE UFPSMY RMEYUP L RMEYUKH U RTDBDTSOSCHNY PZHYGETBNY. pDOBLP FE MYDETSCH, LPFPTSCHE RTPSCHYMYUEVS, PFOPUYMYUSH L MHYUYN RTEDUFBCHYFEMSN ZETNBOULPK OBGYY U FPYULY ЪTEOYS IBTBLFETB, UYMSCH CHPMY Y CHSHCHOPUMYCHPUFY.

ьTYIH iBTFNBOOKH EDCHB YURPMOYMPUSH 23 ZPDB, LPZDB ON RPRBM CH MBRSCH TKHUULYI. th BY PLBBBMUS ABOUT UBNPK CHETYYOE, OEUNPFTS ABOUT UCPA NPMPDPUFSH. ON UNPZ UBN CHSHCHDETTSBFSH CHUE YURSHCHFBOYS Y CH FEYOOYE 10 MEF ЪBLMAYUEOYS CH OECHSCHOPUYNSHI KHUMPCHYSI UMKHTSYM RTYNETPN UFPKLPUFY DMS UCHPYI UPPFEYUEFCHEOYLPCH. PYUEOSH TEDLP CH DTECHOEK YUFPTYY Y RTPUFP OILLPZDB CH UPCHTENOOOPK NPTsOP OBKFY UFPMSH DMYFEMSHOSH RPRSHCHFLY UMPNYFSH ZETPS. rPCHEDEOYE iBTFNBOOB CH OYUEMPCHYUEULYI HUMPCHYSI MHYUYE RPDFCHETTSDBEF EZP ZETPYN, YUEN CHUE EZP OZTBDSCH.

yUFPLY UYMSH YYIB iBTFNBOOB METSBMY CHOE DPUZBENPUFY olchd. eFYNY YUFPYUOILBNY UMKHTSYMY EZP UENSHS, CHPURYFBOIE CH DHIE UCHPVPDSH, EUFEUFCHOOPE NHTSEUFChP, KHYMEOOPE OEKHNYTBAEEK MAVPCHSHA RTELTBUOPK TsEOEYOSCH - EZP TSEOSCH. ch'TYIE UPYUEFBMYUSH MHYUYE YETFSH EZP TPDYFEMEC. EZP PFEG VSCHM URPLPKOSHCHK, VMBZPTPDODOSCHK NHTSYuYOB, DPUFPKOSHCHK RTYNET ECHTPREKULPZP DPLFPTB UFBTSCHI CHTENEO, LPFPTPZP PFMYUBMY YULTEOOSS ЪBVPFB P VMYTSOEN Y RTBLFYU EULBS NHDTPUFSH, RPYUFY UPCHETYEOOOP RTPRBCHYYE X UPCHTENEOOOSCHI MADEK. RISP NBFSh, LPFPTBs VShShMB ZICHB, LPZB Ryubmbush BFB Loizb, VShShmb h aopufy yuhflen bluftbtfn, Cheumpk, otetzyuopk, Redrtyyuychpk Yulbfmshoygek RTILMAYUEK.

dPLFPT iBTFNBOO MAVYM RPZHYMPUPZHUFChPChBFSH ЪB VPLBMPN RYCHB, PFDSCHIBS PF DOECHOSHHI ЪBVPF UCHPEK NOPZPFTHDOPK RTPZHEUUYY. b EZP OERPUEDMYCHBS VMPODYOLB-TSEOB MEFBMB ABOUT UBNPMEFBI ЪBDPMZP DP FPZP LBL PVEEUFCHOOPE NOOOYE ZETNBOYY TEYMP, YuFP LFP ЪBOSFYE FPTSE VMBZPRTYUFPKOP DMS TsEOEYOSCH. zPFPCHOPUFSH TYULOKHFSH Y FCHETDPE PUPBOBOE RTEDEMPCH DPRKHUFYNPZP - CHPF LMAYUECHSCHE BMENEOFSH FPZP, YuFP RPJCHPMYMP UTYIH iBTFNBOOKH UFBM MHYUYN RYMPFPN CHUEI CHTENEO. th PO RTSNP KHOBUMEDPCHBM LFY YUETFSCH PF UCHPYI TDYFEMEC. fBLPE YUBUFMYCHPE OBUMEDUFCHP OBMPTSYM PUSH ABOUT EZP UPVUFCHEOOSCH CHSHCHDBAEYEUS LBUEUFCHB Y DBMP CH TEKHMSHFBFE YULMAYUYUFEMSHOSHCHK FBMBOF.

EZP CHPMS CH RTEPDPMEOY RTERSFUFCHYK VSHMB RPYUFY STPUFOPK. EZP RTSNPFB NSHUMEK Y UMCH PYBTBYCHBMB UPVEUEDOILB, RTECHTBEBMB TPVLYI Y LPMEVMAEYIUS CH OELPMEVYNSCHI. BY VSHHM OEUZYVBENSCHN YODYCHYDHBMYUFPN CH LRPIKH NBUUPCHPZP RPDYOOEOYS Y LPOZHPTNNYNB. BY VSHM RYMPFPN-YUFTEVYFEMEN DP NPJZB LPUFEK OE FPMSHLP CH FPN UNSHUME, YUFP UFBM MKHYUYN BUPN, OP Y RP PFOPEYOYA L TSYOOOSCHN YURSHCHFBOYSN.

ChYMSFSH CHPLTHZ YuEZP-FP VShchMP DMS OEZP OENSHUMYNP, DBCE EUMY PF LFPZP ЪBCHYUEMB EZP TSYOSH. BY VSHM BVUPMAFOP OERTYZPDEO L DYRMPNBFYUEULPK UMKHTSVE U EZP RTYCHSHYULPK THVYFSH OBPFNBYSH, ЪBFP BY VSHHM PFMYUOSCHN URPTFUNEOPN Y RTYCHETTSEOGEN YuEUFOPK YZTSHCH. YuEUFOSHCHK YUEMPCHEL Refinery UPCHETYEOOOP OE VPSFSHUS EZP. h LRPIKH, LPZDB YUEUFOBS YZTB UYUIFBEFUS YuEN-FP OERPOSPOSCHN Y DBTSE BOBIPOYUEULN, yTYI VSHM ZPFPCH RTPFSOHFSH THLH RPCHETTSEOOPNH RTPFPYCHOILH, LBL LFP DEMBMY TSHG BTY RTETSOYI CHTENEO.

h ChP'DKHYOSCHI VPSI Ch LBYUEUFCHE UPMDBFB PO KHVYM NOPTSEUFChP CHTBTSEULYI RYMPFPCH, PDOBLP CH RPCHUEDOECHOPK TSYJOY ON VSHM RTPUFP OE URPUPVEO RTYYUYOYFSH LPNH-OYVKhDSH VPMSH. po OE VSHM TEMYZYPJEO CH ZHTNBMSHOPN UNSHUME UMPCHB, IPFS po ChPUIEBMUS Y KHCHBTsBM OENGECH, LPPTSHCHE RTEFETREMY FBLYE NHYUEOYS CH TPUUYY. EZP TEMYZYEK VSHMB UPCHEUFSH, SCHMSCHYBSUS RTDPDPMTSEOYEN EZP UETDGB VPKGB. lBL PDOBTSDSCH ЪBNEFYM dTsPTDTs VETOBTD yPH: "eUFSH PRTEDEMEOOSCHK FYR MADEK, LPFPTSHCHE UYYFBAF, YuFP OELPFPTSCHE CHEY RTPUFP OEMSHЪS DEMBFSH, OEЪBCHYUYNP PF FPZP, YuEZP VHDEF UFPYFSH. fBLYI MADEK NPTsOP OBCHBFSH TEMYZYPOSCHNY. YMY CHSH NPTSEFE OBCHBFSH YI DTSEOFMSHNEOBNY.” lPDELU RPCHEDEOYS ЪTYIB iBTFNBOOB - EZP TEMYZYS, NPTsOP ULBUBFSH, - ЪBLMAYUBMUS CH FPN, YuFP PO OE Refinery DEMBFSH FP, YuFP YULTEOOE UYFBM OERTBCHYMSHOSCHN. th PO OE TSEMBM DEMBFSH FP, YuFP UYFBM OERTBCHYMSHOSCHN.

ьФПФ PVTБ NSHCHYMEOYS VSHM UMEDUFCHYEN EZP YuETOP-VEMPZP CHPURTYSFYS NYTB, LPFPTPPE RPYUFY OE DPRKHULBMP RPMKHFPOPCH. BY CHETPCHBM CH NPTBMSHOSHE RTYOGYRSCH RTPYMPZP. chPNPTSOP, LFP RTYCHYM ENKH PFEG. BY PUPVEOOP PUFTP YUKHCHUFCHPCHBM YUFYOH, UFP RTYOEUMP ENKH CHPUIEEOOYE UCHTENEOOOSCHI NPMPDSCHI OENEGLYI RYMPFPCH. h TKHUULYI MBZETSI EZP DHIPCHOSHE UYMSCH UPUTEDPFPYUMYUSH ABOUT UPDBOY YDEBMSHOPZP PVTBB EZP CHPMAVMEOOOPK xY. EZP KHVETSDEOYE, YuFP DPNB CHUE VHDEF IPTPYP, NSCHUMEOOSCH LBTFYOSCH, LPFPTSHCHE YTYI CHIDEM, FPTSE UFBMY UCHPEZP TPDB TEMYZYEK. EZP CHETB CH HY OILPZDB OE RPLPMEVBMBUSH Y VSHMB FSCHUSUELTBFOP CHPOBZTBTSDEOB.

vshchm MY RPFPNKH YTYI iBTFNBOO ЪBNLOHFSHCHN зПГЭОФТУФПН, UPUTEDPPFPYUEOOPN FPMSHLP ABOUT UBNPN UEVE Y UCHPEK xY? lPOYUOP OEF. h DEKUFCHYFEMSHOPUFY X OEZP DBCE OE VSHMP OEPVIPDYNPUFY RPRBDBFSH CH TKHUULHA FATSHNH. RETED UBNSHCHN LPOGPN CHPKOSCH ZEOETBM yEKDENBOO RTYLBBM ENKH CHSHCHMEFEFSH YY UEIPUMPCCHBLY CH GEOFTBMSHOKHA ZETNBOYA. EHH VSHMY RTYLBUBBOP UDBFSHUS BOZMYUBOBN. ZEOETBM yEKDENBOO OBBM, YuFP TKHUULYE PFPNUFSF UCHPENKH UBNPNKH UFTBYOPNKH CHPDHYOPNKH RTPFPYCHOILKH. rTYLB MEFEFSH CH VE'PRBUOPE NEUFP VSHM RPUMEDOYN RTYLBBPN, RPMKHYUEOOOSCHN PE CHTENS CHPKOSH IBTFNBOOPN PF CHCHYEUFPSEEZP YFBVB.

NPMPDK UCHEFMPCHPMPUSHK NBKPT UPOBFEMSHOP PFLBBBMUS CHSHRPMOSFSH LFPF RTYLB. FSHCHUSYU OENEGLYI ZTBTSDBOULYI VETSEOGECH - TsEOEYO, DEFEC Y UFBTYLPCH - UPRTPCHPTsDBMY EZP ZTHRRH. vPMSHYBS YI YUBUFSH FBL YMY YOBYUE VSHMB UCHSBOB U EZP RPDYUYOOOSCHNY. DMS CHPEOOOPZP RTYLB - LFP CHUE, BY DPMTSEO VSHFSH CHSHPRMOEO. chNEUFP LFPZP ityi RPUFKHRIM FBL, LBL RP EZP NOEOYA DYLFPCHBM LPDELU YUEUFY PZHYGETB Y RPTSDPUOPZP YuEMPCHELB. BY PUFBMUS AT WEBBEIFOSCHNY VETSEOGBNY. bFP TEYEOYE UFPYMP ENKH DEUSFY MEF TSYYOY.

ULTPNOPUFSH VSHMB FBLPK CE OEPFYAENMENPK YuETFPK LFPPZP YUEMPCHELB, LBL EZP ZPMKHVSHCH ZMBBB Y TKHUSCHE CHPMPUSH. po OE UPPVEIM BCHFPTBN P RTYLBYE ZEOETBMB yEKDENBOOB EB CHUE 12 MEF OBLPNUFCHB, LPFPTSHCHE RTEDYUFChPCHBMY RPDZPFPCHLE LFK LOYZY. sing KHOBMY P RTYLBYE YY DTHZYI YUFPYUOILPC. lPZDB EZP RTSNP URTPUIMY PV LFPN, iBTFNBOO FPMSHLP KHUNEIOKHMUS.

VETsBMPUFOP TSEUFLYK L UBNPNKH UEVE, PO CHUEZDB Refinery OBKFY CH UCHPEN UETDGE PRTBCHDBOYE FPCHBTYEH, LPFPTSCHK OE CHSHCHDETTSBM DBCHMEOYS UPCHEFPCH. LBTSDSCHK YUEMPCHEL YNEEF UCHPK RTEDEM RTPYUOPUFY, LFP-FP MPNBEFUS TBOSHYE, LFP-FP RPTSE, FBL DKHNBM ityi iBTFNBOO. lPZDB RUYILB EZP FPCHBTYEEK UDBCHBMB, OE CHSHCHDETTSBCH FBLPZP YURSHCHFBOYS LBL TBJCHPD U TSEOBNY, PUFBCHYYNYUS CH ZETNBOY, BY UFBTBMUS CHETOHFSH YN DKHYECHOSHCHE UYMSCH. BY REFINERY NSZLP ZPCHPTYFSH U OYNY YMY TEILINE YMERLPN CHETOKHFSH L DEKUFCHYFEMSHOPUFY. EZP LTEUFOSHCHK RKhFSh VShchM EZP UPVUFCHEOOSCHN. dTHZIE MADI NPZMY UMEDPCHBFSH ЪB OIN, FPMSHLP EUMY POY UBNY DPVTPCHPMSHOP DEMBMY FBLPK CE CHSHVPT.

lPZDB CH 1955 LBOGMET bDEOBKHT DPVIYMUS EZP PUCHPVPTSDEOOYS YI TKHUULPZP RMEOB, CH TPUUYY EEE PUFBCHBMPUSH NOPTSEUFCHP OENEGLYI RMEOOSCHI. noPZYE RMEOOSCH VSHMY PUCHPVPTSDEOSCH TBOSHYE OEZP, Y LPZDB BY CHETOKHMUS CH ъBRBDOCHA

ZETNBOYA L UCHPYN TPDOSCHN, LFP UFBMP RTBDOYLPN DMS VSHCHYI RMEOOOSCHY YI UENEK. ABOUT CHPLЪBME CH IETMEIUZBKHYOEOE, HERE ON CHRETCHESCHE UFKHRIM ABOUT UCHPVPDOHA ЪENMA, EZP CHUFTEFYMY YKHN Y TBDPUFOPE CHPVHTSDEOYE. EHH UPPVEYMY, YuFP RMBOYTHEFUS EEE VPMEE RSCHYOBS CHUFTEYUB CH yFHFFZBTFE, CHPME EZP TPDOPZP ZPTPDLB CHEMSH-YN-yЈOVKHI. BUUPGYBGYS CHPEOOPRMEOOOSCHI PTZBOYPCHBMB FPTCEUFCHB, PTSYDBMPUSH RTYVSCHFYE CHBTSOSCHI RETUPO.

iHDPK Y YNPTSDEOOOSCHK iBTFNBOO VShchM SCHOP RPFTSUEO. ъBFEN ON PZPTTYYM CHUFTEYUBAYI OBUFPSFEMSHOPK RTPUSHVPK OE PTZBOYPCHCHCHBFSH FBLPZP RTYENB. PO OE Refinery RTOYNBFSH KHYUBUFYE CH RPDPVOSHHI RTBDOEOUFCHBI. zBEFYUYYYURTPUYMY EZP, RPYUENKH ON PFLBSCHCHBEFUS RTYOINBFSH UBNSHCHE UETDEYUOSCH RTYCHEFUFCHYS PF TSYFEMEK yFHFFZBTFB.

“rPFPNH YFP TKHUULBS FPYULB ЪTEOYS ABOUT TSYOSH PFMYUBEFUS PF OBYEK. sing CHRPMOE NPZHF TEYYFSH, RPTUMSHCHYBCH P RPDPVOPN RTBDOEOUFCHE, VPMSHYE OE PUCHPVPTsDBFSH OENEGLYI RMEOOSCHI. with ЪOBA TKHUULYI DPUFBFPYUOP IPTPYP, YUFPVSH PRBUBFSHUS RPDPVOPZP TEYEOYS PFOPUYFEMSHOP NPYI UPPFEYUEUFCHEOYLPCH, PUFBCHYIUS CH RMEOKH CH TPUUYY.

lPZDB chue SING CHETOHFUS DPNPK, FPZDB NSCH Y DPMTSOSCH VKhDEN RTBDOPCHBFSH. b UEKYBU NSHCH OE YNEEN RTBCHB KHURPLBYCHBFSHUS, RPLB RPUMEDOYK OENEGLYK RMEOOSCHK OE VHDEF TERBFTYYTPCHBO YЪ tPUUYY.”

EZP 10-MEFOSS UICHBFLB U TKHUULPK UELTEFOPK RPMYGYEK PVPUFTYMB CHTPTSDEOOKHA RTSNPFKH ityib. po OE FETREM KHCHETFPL Y EUMY UFBMLYCHBMUS L PYYVLBNY, ЪBSCHMSM PV LFPN ZTPNLP Y RTSNP. dBCE TEKIUNBTYBM ZETYOZ CH FP CHTENS, LPZDB OBGYUFSH VSHCHMY KH CHMBUFY CH ZETNBOYY, OE UNPZ RETECHVEDIFSH NPMPDPPZP BUB TBYIB iBTFNBOOB, LPPTSHCHK RTPFEUFPCHBM, TEYCH, YuFP z ETHIOZ DEKUFCHHEF OERTBCHYMSHOP.

h SOCHBTE 1944 ityi RPUEFYM UCHPA NBFSH, TSYCHYKHA OEDBMELP PF aFEVPTZB. h LFPF RETYPD rchp TEKIB UFTBDBM ULPTEE PF OEICHBFLY RYMPFPCH, YUEN OEICHBFLY UBNPMEFPCH. ON UEM ABOUT VBKH YUFTEVYFEMSHOPK BCHYBGYY CHP'ME AFEVPTZB, LPZDB RPZPDB KHIKHDIYMBUSH. ьTYIH VSHMP CHUEZP 22 ZPDB, OP EZP RPTBYMB NMPPDPUFSH RYMPFPCH, VBYTPCHBCHYIUS ABOUT LFPN BTPDTPNE. ENH OE OTBCHYMBUSH NMPPDPUFSH RYMPFPCH, RTYIPDYYI CH EZP ULBDTYMSHA ABOUT CHPUFPYUOPN ZHTPOFE, OP LFY RYMPFSCH CHPPVEE CHSHZMSDEMY UFBTYELMBUOYLBNY.

lPZDB BY CHETOHMUS RPUME CHYYFB L NBFETY, FP PVOBTHTSYM, YuFP EZP ULBDTYMSHS VSHMB PFRTBCHMEOB CH RPMEF CH ULCHETOKHA RPZPDH. CHEFET RPDOSMUS ЪB OUEULPMSHLP YUBUPCH DP FPZP, LBL ON UBN UEM ABOUT BTPDTPNE. ъBDBUEK MEFYUYLPCH VSHM RETEICHBF BNETYLBOULYI VPNVBTDYTPCHEYLPCH. pZTBOYUEOOBS FTEOYTPCHLB Y EEE VPMEE ULTPNOSHCHK PRSHCHF RTYCHEMY L FPNH, YuFP 10 NPMPDSCHI RYMPFPCH TBVIMYUSH, DBTSE OE CHUFTEFYCH BNETYLBOULYE UBNPMEFSHCH. CHVEYEOOOSCHK VEMPLHTSCHK TSHGBTSH UEM Y OBRYUBM MYYUOPE RPUMBOIE TEKIUNBTYBMKH ZETIOZH.

ZETT TEKIUNBTYBM:
UEZPDOS U LFPPZP BTPDTPNB RP CHBYENH RTYLBYH CH PFCHTBFYFEMSHOHA RPZPDH VSHMY RPDOSFSH YUFTEVYFEMY, YUFPVSH RPRSCHFBFSHUS OBKFY Y UVYFSH BNETYLBOULYE VPNVBTDYTPCHAILY . rPZPDB VShchMB OBUFPMSHLP RMPIPK, YuFP S UBN OE IPFEM VSCH MEFEFSH. YUFTEVYFEMY, LPFPTSHCHCH PFRTBCHYMY CH CHPDHI, OE OBIMY VPNVBTDYTPCHEYLPCH, Y 10 NPMPDSH RYMPFPCH Y UBNPMEFPCH VSHMY RPFETSOSH, OE UDEMBCH OH EDYOPZP CHSHCHUFTEMB RP H.
oELPFPTSCHE Y NPMPDSH RYMPFPCH, U LPFPTSCHNY S TBZPCHBTYCHBM CH LFPC ULBDTYMSHE, Y LPFPTSCHK UEKYBU RPZYVMY, YNEMY NEOEE 80 YUBUPCH OBMEFB. eUMY NSCHOE NPTSEN UVYCHBFSH VPNVBTDYTPCHAILY CH YUYUFPN OEVE, RPUSHMBFSH LFYI AOGPCH KHNYTBFSH CH RMPIHA RPZPDH ZTBOYUYF U RTEUFHRMEOYEN.
nsch DPMTSOSCH DPTsDBFSHUS, RPLB OEVP PYUYUFYFUS, Y UOPChB RPSCHSFUS VPNVBTDYTPCHAILY. th FPZDB OHTSOP RPUMBFSH CHUEI, YuFPVSH PDOPCHTENEOOOP BFBLPCHBFSH CHTBZB U PRTEDEMEOOSCHNYYYBOUBNY ABOUT KHUREY. rTPUFP RPЪPT FBL FTBFYFSH TsYYOY NPMPDSCHI UPMDBF, LBL LFP VSHMP UDEMBOP UEZPDOS.
YULTEOOOE CHBY
lBRYFBO b. iBTFNBOO
52 YUFTEVYFEMSHOBS YULBDTB

ьTYI iBTFNBOO PFRTBCHYM LFP RYUSHNP RTSNP zeTYOZKH, YURPMSHЪPCHBCH PVSHYUOKHA RPYUFKH, Y KHLBBM UCHPK BDTEU. FPO Y UPDETSBOIE LFZP RPUMBOYS VSHMY DPUFBFPYuOSCH, YUFPVSH LPNBODPCHBOIE OBLBBBMP DBTSE CHSHCHDBAEEZPUS BUB. OP UMEDHAEEE RPUMBOYE, LPFPTPPE PO RPMKHYUM PF ZETYOZB, VSHMP RPJDTBCHMEOYEN UBNPNKH KHDBUMYCHPNKH RYMPFKH-YUFTEVYFEMA. chPNPTSOP, UBN TEKIUNBTYBM OE CHYDEM RYUSHNB and BTFNBOOB. pDOBLP POP VSHMP OBRYUBOP Y PFRTBCHMEOP YNEOOP DMS FPZP, YUFPVSH ZETIOZ EZP RTPYUYFBM.

h TsYЪOY YTYIB iBTFNBOOB VSHMP VPMEE YuEN DPUFBFPYUOP UFTBDBOYK, FBL CE, LBL Y UMBCSHCH. pDOBLP ON VSHHM VPKGPN CH DOY NYTB Y CH DOY CHPKOSHCH, Y CHFPTPUFEREOOSCH YUETFSH EZP IBTBLFETB OE VSHMY PFTBTSEOSCH CH PZTBOYUEOOOPN YUYUME RHVMYLBGYK P OEN. BY VSHM PYUEOSH TSYOETBDPUFOSHN, KHOBUMEDPCHBM PF NBFETY CHUEMPUFSH YUKHCHUFCHP ANPTB. ABOUT CHUFTEYUBI U DTHYSHSNY, UFBTSHNY FPCHBTYEBNY Y NMPPDSHNY RYMPFBNY OPCHSHCHI ZETNBOULYI chchu UFBTSHCHK CHP'DKHYOSCHK FYZT RTECHTBBEBMUS CH LPFEOLB. ChOKHFTY LBTSDPZP NHTSYUYOSCH OE UMYYLPN ZMHVPLP UYDYF NBMSHYUYILB. b bTYI VSHM NBMSHYYYLPK, LPFPTSCHK MAVYM RPYZTBFSH.

EZP NBMSHYUYEULPE RPCHEDEOYE RTYOEUMP ENKH LMYULH "vHVY", LPZDB ON CH 1942 RPRBM ABOUT CHPUFPYUOSCHK ZhTPOF. rP-OENEGLY LFP POBYUBEF NBMSHUYL YMY RBTEOSH. FPZDB ON VSHHM RPMPO TBDPUFY, Y EZP FPCHBTYEY RP PTHTSYS, B FBLCE UFBCHYIK MYUOSCHN DTHZPN ABOUT DPMZYE ZPDSH chBMSHFET lTHRYOULY TBUULBSCHBMY, YUFP vHVY PFLBMSHCHBM Y FHYULY DBCE RPRBCH CH ЪBNPTPTSEOOSHCHK ChPЪDKHI UFBCHLY CH VETIFEUZBDEOE, LPZDB RPMKHYUBM OBZTBDH YЪ THL ZYFMETB.

YuEFSHTE MHYUYI BUB 52 YUFTEVYFEMSHOPK ULBDTSCH 3 NBTFB 1944 RTYVSHCHMY CH VETIFEUZBDEO, “pTMYOPE ZOEDP” ZYFMETB, YUFPVSH RPMKHYUYFSH OZTBDSCH. fYNYY BUBNY VSHMY ZETIBTD vBLZPTO, yPIBOOUYE CHYE - “lHVBOULYK SWORD”, chBMSHFET lTHRYOULY - “ZTBZ RHOULY”, Y vHVY iBTFNBOO. lBTSHETB FYI MADEK VSHMB UBNSHCHN FEUOSCHN PVTBBPN RETERMEFEOB U LBTSHETPK iBTFNBOOB. h FPF TBY vBLZPTO DPMTSEO VSHM RPMKHYUBFSH neyuy L UCHPENKH tshchGBTULPNH lTEUFKH, CHFPTHA RP OBYUINPUFY OBZTBDH CH ZETNBOYY. fTPE PUFBMSHOSHI DPMTSOSCH VSCHMY RPMKHYUYFSH DHVPCHSHE MYUFSHS, OERPUTEDUFCHEOOP RTEDYUFCHPBCHYE NEYUBN.

ьФБ YUEFCHETLB CHUFTEFYMBUSH CH RPEЪDE, Y RP RKhFY YЪ ъBMSHGVKHTZB SING LTERLP RPDTHTSYMYUSH U LPODHLFPTPN. fPZP RTYCHMELMY RYMPFSCH, FBL LBL CHUE YUEFCHETP YNEMY ABOUT YEE TSHGBTULYE LTEUFSHCH, CHUE VSHCHMY NMPDSCH, CHUEMSCHY DTHCEMAVOSH. lPODHLFPT PVEUREYUM YN VEULPOYUOSCHK RPFPL CHUSYUEULYI RTYRBUPCH YI UCHPEZP LHRE, CH PUOPCHOPN TSIDLYI - YOBRUB, RYCHB, CHIOB, LPOSHSLB. lBL FPMSHLP BY DPUFBCHMSM OPCHHA VHFSHMLH, CHUEEMBS YUEFCHETLB FHF TSE CHSHCHRICHBMB ITS UPDETTSYNPE.

lPZDB LPODHLFPT UUBDIM YI U RPEЪDB CHUE CH OEULPMSHLYI NYMSI PF pTMYOPZP ZOEDB, SING VSHMY UPCHUEN OE CH UPUFPSOY CHUFTEYUBFSHUS U ZHATETPN. lPZDB RYMPFSH CHCHBMYMYUSH CH ЪDBOIE CHPLBMB, YI CHUFTEFYM CHSHUPLYK, UCHEFMPCHPMPUSHK NBKPT ZhPO VEMPCH, BDYAAFBOF zYFMETB PF mAZhFChBZZHE, chPURYFBOOSCHK ABOUT UFBTSCHI RPTSDDLBI DCHPTSOYO ZHPO VEMPCH EDCHB OE HRBM, LPZDB KHCHYDEM YUEFCHETSHI OEVTETsOP PDEFSHHI RYMPFPCH CH FBLPN OEPRYUKHENPN UPUFPSOYY. sing DPMTSOSCH VSHMY CHUFTEFYFSHUS U ZHATETPN NEOEE YUEN YUETE 2 YUBUB.

ABOUT KHMYGE UFPSMB FYRYUOBS BMSHRYKULBS CHUOB. ABOUT JENME EEE METSBMY 3 DAKNB UOEZB, RTPOISHCHBAEIK CHEFET UTSHCHBM U VMYTSBKYI CHETYO UETSOKHA LTHRKH, LPFPTBBS ЪBOKHDOP USCHRBMB U OEBB, RPLTSCHFPZP RMPFOSHNY UETCHNY PV MBLBNNY. fENRETBFKhTB VShchMB 25 RP zBTEOSEKFH. ZhPO VEMPCH RTYLBYBBM YPZHETH PTSYDBCHYEZP "NETUEDEUB" PRHUFYFSH VTEJEOFPCHSHCHK CHETY Y RTPLBFIFSH U CHEFETLPN YUEFSHTEI RPUEFYFEMEK pTMYOPZP ZOEDB.

sing RTPLBFYMYUSH RP IMPPDLH, B RPFPN ZHPO VEMPCH ЪBUFBCHYM YI CHSHKFY YI NBIYOSCH Y OENOPZP RPZHMSFSH ABOUT UCHEN CHPDKHIYE. y FPMSHLP RPUME bFPZP, ЪB OUEULPMSHLP NYOHF DP GETENPOYY, SING VSHMY DPRHEEOSH CH PTMYOPE ZOEJDP. th CHUE-FBLY RYMPFSHCH VSHMY EEE PFOADSH OE FTECHSHCHNY.

lPZDB SING CHPYMY H ZHPKE RTELTBUOPZP ЪDBOYS, iBTFNBOO KHCHYDEM ABOUT CHEYBMLE ZHHTBTSLH. ъBNEFYCH ABOUT OEK LBLYE-FP ZBMKHOSHCH, BY ULBJBM: “bZB, ChPF Y NPS ZHHTBTsLB”. iBTFNBOO RPDPYEM L CHEYBMLE Y VSHUFTP CHPDTHYM ZHTBTSLH UEVE ABOUT ZPMPCHH. lPZDB ON RPCHETOHMUS, YUFPVSH RPLTBUPCHBFSHUS RETED FPCHBTYEBNY, FE CHPTCHBMYUSH PF UNEIB. zHTBTSLB UYAEIBMB ENKH O KHYY. TBNET 7 1/4 SCHOP OE L NEUFH ABOUT ZPMPCH 6 3/4.

pDOBLP ZHPO VEMPCH OE RTYUPEDYOMUS L CHUEMSHA. RETERKHZBOOSCHK BDYAAFBOF, LPFPTSCHK DPMTSEO VSHM RTPCHPDYFSH RPUEFYFEMEK zYFMETB YUETE RTPFPPLPMSHOSHE DEVTY, VTPUYMUS L iBTFNBOOKH Y UDETOHM ZHHTBTsLH X OEZP U ZPMPCHSHCH.

“pFDBC! bFP ZHHTBTsLB zatetb!”

PE CHTENS GETENPOY OBZTBTSDEOOYS CHUE YUEFCHETP RYMPFPCH UKHNEMY KHUFPSFSH ABOUT OPZBI, PDOBLP Y RP UEK DEOSH RPRSHFLB YTYIB IBTFNBOOB KHFBEIFSH ZHHTBTSLH ZHATETB PUFBEFUS RTEDNEFPN YHF PL, EUMY YUEFCHETP CHUFTEYUBAFUS. fBL LBL iBTFNBOO ЪBOINBMUS OE UBNSHCHN CHUEMSCHN DEMPN, B RPFPN RETETSYM RTPUFP REYUBMSHOSCHE YURSHCHFBOYS, EZP YUKHCHUFChP ANPTB PUFBMPUSH OEYCHEUFOSCHN YYTPLK RHVMYLE. FEN OE NEOEE, POP PUFBEFUS OEPFYAENMENPK YETFPK EZP IBTBLFETB, Y PO OYLPZDB OE UFBM VSHCH FBLYN, LBLPCH PO EUFSH, EUMY VSH OE EZP ANPT.

h BOOBMBBI CHPEOOOPK YUFPTYY OE FBL NOPZP ZETPECH, UTBCHOYNSHI U iBTFNBOOPN. b CH YUFPTYY BCHYBGYY YI EEE NEOSHIE. EZP 352 RPDFCHETTSDEOOSH CHP'DKHIOSCH RPVEDSCH PUFBAFUS OERTECHPKDEOOOSCHN DPUFYTSEOYEN. EZP VMYTSBKYK UPRETOIL, ZETD vBLZPTO, YNEEF ABOUT 51 RPVEDH NEOSHYE. VEMPLHTSCHK TSCHGBTSH ZETNBOY UVYM CH YuEFSHTE U MYYOIN TBBB VPMSHYE UBNPMEFPCH CHTBZB, YUEN VEUUNETFOSHCHK VBTPO nBOZhTED ZhPO TYIFZPZHEO, MKHYUYK BU RETCHPK NYTPCHPK CHPKOSHCH.

dBCE CH YURSHCHFSHCHBCHYI PZTPNOKHA OBZTHYOLH MAZHFCHBZHZHE NBMP OBKDEFUS RYMPFPCH, LPFPTSCHK RTPCHEMY VPMSHYE CHPDHYOSCHE PECH, YUEN UTYI iBTFNBOO. BY UPCHETYYM OE NEOEE 1400 VPECHSHI CHSHCHMEFPCH Y CHUFKHRBM CH VPK VPMEE 800 TB. EZP ZHJYYUEULBS Y DHIPCHOBS CHSHCHOPUMYCHPUFSH VSHMY FBLPCSHCH, YuFP ON CHSHCHDETTSBM, OE RPLBBBC RTYOBBLPCH KHUFBMPUFY, RPUFY OERTETSCHCHOHA YUETEDH PECH U LPOGB 1942 DP NBS 1 945.

po OE RPMKHYUM OPDPK Wastewater. th EZP URPUPVOPUFSH OBOPUYFSH RTPFYCHOILH FSTSEMEKYE RPFETY, OP RTY LFPN UBNPNKH PUFBCHBFSHUS OECHTEDYNSCHN, OE VSHMB UMEDUFCHYEN UMERPZP CHEWEOYS. ON VSHHM KHDBYUMYCH, LBL CHUE CHSHCHDBAEYEUS RYMPFSHCH-YUFTEVYFEMY, PDOBLP UPJDBM UCHPK PUPVEOOSCHK UFYMSH CHEDEOYS CHPDKHYOPZP VPS, LPFPTSCHK RTEDUFBCHMSM OPChPE UMPChP CH FBLFYLE. according to PFCHETZBM ChP'DKHYOKHA LBTKHUEMSH. rPUME CHPKOSH EZP VSHCHYYK BDYAAFBOF CHYMSH CHBO DE lBNR ULBBM, YUFP UCHPYNY KHUREYBNY iBTFNBOO PVSBO UCHPENKH PUPVEOOPNKH NEFPDH BFBLY. BY CHUEZDB UFTEMSM FPMSHLP CH KHRPT.

rPUME CHPKOSHCH CHYMSH CHBO DE lBNR LBL-FP ULBJBM xY iBTFNBOO, YuFP, EUMY CHUE RYMPFSHCH-YUFTEVYFEMY CH NYTE YURPMSHЪPCHBMY bFKH FBLFYLKH, yTYI OE UFBM VSC MKHYUYN BUPN. hBO DE LBNR UYUYFBM, YUFP KHUREYYIB RTYYMYY RPFPNKH, UFP BY TELP RPTCHBM U FBLFYUEULYN OBUMEDYEN RTPYMPZP. VEMPLHTSCHK tSHGBTSH UPЪDBM UCHPA UPVUFCHEOHA FBLFYLH, LPFPTHA NSCH DEFBMSHOP PRYYEN CH LFK LOYSE.

iBTFNBOO VSHHM YUEMPCHELPN UP NOPTSEUFCHPN OEDPUFBFLPC, LPFPTSHCHE VSHCHMY UMEDUFCHYEN EZP IBTBLFETB. BOBMYFYUEULYK KHN CH UPYUEFBOY YOFKHYGYEK RPJCHPMSM ENKH UTBH CHOYLOKHFSH CH UHFSH MAVPK RTPVMENSH Y OBKFY CHETOPE TEYEOYE. rTYOSCH TEYEOYE, yTYI OEHLPUOYFEMSHOP CHSHRPMOSM EZP. h VYJOEUE LFY LBYUEUFCHB NPZMY VSC UDEMBFSH EZP NBZOBFPN, OP Y CH CHPEOOPN DEME POY RTYOEUMY ENKH VPMSHYIE DYCHYDEODSH.

h AOPUFY EZP RTSNPFB CHSHCHMYCHBMBUSH CH RPTCHCHYUFPE, YUBUFP TYULPCHBOOPE RPCHEDEOYE. h ZPDSH ЪTEMPUFY ON FPTs RPLBЪSCCHBM RPFTSUBAEE PFUHFUFCHYE FBLFB. h UPCHENEOOOPK LHMSHFKHTE, ULMPOOPK CHYDEFSH ZETPS OETEYYFEMSHOSCHN Y LPMEVMAEINUS, BY LBCEPHUS TSYCHSHN BOBITPOPYNPN. EZP TSYCHPK ZYVLYK KHN RPJCHPMYM ENKH UPITBOIFSH AOPUFSH CH UETDGE. th UETDGE FYZTB RP-RTETSOENH VSHEFUS Ch ZTHDY UFBTPZP LPFB. h UEZPDOSYOEN iBTFNBOOE BDULYK BU-YUFTEVYFEMSH, OEVTETSOP PDEFSHCHK, OEYNEOOOP TPNBOFYUEULYK YULBFEMSH RTYLMAYUEOYK, OBIPDIFUS UMYYLPN VMYYOLP CH RPCHETIOPUFY DMS YUEMPCHELB, L PFPTPNKH UFKHLOHMP 60 MEF.

yFP YUEMPCHEL UPITBOSM YULMAYUYFEMSHOPE IMBDOPLTPCHYE CH OBRTSSEOOSCHI PVUFPSFEMSHUFCHBI Y RTPUFP OE OBBM, YuFP FBLPE OETCHSHCH. yuBUFP ON UVMYTSBMUS U RTPFYCHOILPN NEOEE, YUEN ABOUT 100 ZHFPCH, RETED FEN, LBL PFLTSCHFSH PZPOSH. bFP VSHMB LTBKO PRBUOBS DYUFBOGYS, ZDE VHLCHBMSHOP CHPMPUPL PFDEMSM RPVEDH PF UFPMLOPCHEOYS CH CHPDHIE. iBTFNBOO RETETSYM 14 CHSCHOKHTSDEOOSCHI RPUBDPL ABOUT CHPUFPYuOPN ZhTPOFE, OP LBTSDSCHK TB BY UOPCHB RPDOINBMUS CH CHPDKHI, LBL FPMSHLP RPSCHMSMUS OPCHSHCHK UBNPMEF. oEUNPFTS ABOUT ASCH ZPDSH - ENKH VSHMP CHUEZP 22 ZPDB, LPZDB ON RPMKHYUM VTYMMYBOFSH - ON OE RPFETSM ULTPNOPUFY Y UDETSBOOPUFY.

MADI, ZPTBJDP VPMEE UFBTSHCHE, YUEN YTYI IBTFNBOO, CH CHPPTHTSEOOSHI UIMBI UFTBO CHUEZP NYTB YBUFP OE CHSHCHDETSYCHBMY ZTHB NBOFYY ZETPS, FETSMY DPUFPYOUFChP Y KHBTSEOYE OB GYY. mHYUYK BU BNETYLBOULPZP LPTRKHUB NPTULPK REIPFSH RPMLPCHOIL zTEZPTY vPKOZFPO PDOBTDSCH ULBBM: “rPLBTTSYFE NOE ZETPS, Y S FHF TSE RPLBTsKH CHBN ZPCHOALB.” dMS NOPZYI ZETPECH SDPCHYFPE PRTEDEMEOYE vPKOSFPOB VSHMP VPMEE YUEN URTBCHEDMYCHP. nOPTSEUFChP ZETPECH CHPEOOZP CHTENEOY OE CHSHCHDETTSYCHBMY YURSHCHFBOYS NYTPN. yTYI iBTFNBOO UKHNEM UPITBOIFSH YUUFPPH OE FPMSHLP RETED MYGPN OBZTBD, CHTHYOOOSCHI ENKH CHPUIEEOOOPK OBGYEK, OP Y RETED MYGPN TETSINB, LPPTSHCHK CHSCHOKHDIM EZP CHEUFY FSTSEMSHCHE, PRKHUFPYBAEYE DKHYKH, VPY CH PDYOPYULH CH FEYUEOYE 10 MEF iPMPDOPK chPKOSHCH.

iBTFNBOO YZTBM FENY LBTFBNY, LPFPTSCHE ENKH UDBCHBMB UHDSHVB Y CH DOY CHPKOSHCH, Y CH DOY NYTB, U OECHPINKHFYNPUFSHA, LPFPTBS CHPUIEBMB BVUPMAFOP CHUEI, OP RPDTBTSBFSH LPFP TPK OILFP DBCE OE OBDESMUS. lPZDB CH 1955 BY CHETOKHMUS CH ZETNBOYA, ENKH RTYYMPUSH YURYFSH EEE OE PDOKH YUBYKH ZPTEYUY. EZP USCHO, REFET-YTYI, KHNET CH 1947, Y VEMPLHTSCHK TSHGBTSH OILPZDB OE CHIDEM NBMSHUILB. EZP MAVINSCHK PFEG FPCE ULPOYUBMUS. EZP NBMSHYUYYUEULYE OBDETSDSCH HOBUMEDPCHBFSH PFGPCHULHA RTPZHEUUYA CHTBYUB VSHMY TBCHESOSCH CH RTBI CHPTBUFPN Y DPMZYN PFMKHYUEOYEN PF NYTB NEDYGYOSCH. rPUFY FTEFSH TSYYOY BY RTPCHEM CH TKHUULYI MBZETSI.

uFBTSHCHPЪDKHYOSCH FYZTSCH DOEK EZP UMBCHSH KHVETSDBMY EZP RPUFKHRYFSH CH OPCHSHCHE ZETNBOULYE chchu. sing TBCHETOHMY OBUFPSEKHA LBNRRBOYA RP CHPCHTBEEOYA iBTFNBOOB ABOUT CHPEOOKHA UMKHTSVKH. fBL LBL CHUE PUFBMSHOSHE RETURELFYCHSHCH VSHMY DPUFBFPYUOP FHNBOOSCHNY, ON OBYUBM ЪBOPChP UFTPYFSH UChPA TSYOSH ABOUT PUOPCH PRSHCHFB RYMPFB-YUFTEVYFEMS, FP EUFSH FPK CHEY, LPFPTHA PF MYUOP OBBM, RTPZHEUUYY, LPFPTPK CHMBDEM CH UPCHETYEOUFCHE.

BY RTPYYEM RETERPDZPFPCHLH CH uyb ABOUT OPCHSHCHI TEBLFYCHOSCHI YUFTEVYFEMSI, OBYUBM OPCHHA UENEKOKHA TSYOSH U MAVINPK DPYUTSHA. th FPZDB OBYUBMUS RTPGEUU EZP CHPTPTSDEOYS. ьTYI VSHM EDYOUFCHEOOSCHN YUEMPCHELPN CHPPTHTSEOOSHI UIMBI ZETNBOYY, LPFPTSCHK CH ZPDSH chFPTPK NYTPCHPK CHPKOSH RPMKHYUM vTYMMYBOFSH L tschGBTULPNH lTEUFH. EZP UFBTBS UMBCHB RPJCHPMYMB DBMSHOPCHYDOPNH Y UETSHOPNH LPNBODHAEENH chchu ZEOETBMH LBNNIKHVETH OBYUYFSH iBTFNBOOB LPNBOYTPN RETCHPK ULBDTSCH TEBLFYCHOSHI YUF TEVYFEMEK ZETNBOULYI chchu. POB RPMKHYYMB OBCHBOYE "ULBDTB TYIFZPZHEO", YuFP OBRPNYOBMP P UMBCHOPK YUFPTYY. iBTFNBOO UFBM PDOYN YUBNSHCHI KHCHBTSBENSHCHI PZHYGETPCH CH ZETNBOY.

pDOBLP, OE DTENBMY Y EZP CHTBZY. rTPFYCHOILBNY VEMPLHTPZP tSHGBTS VSHMY OE FPMSHLP CHTBTSEULYE RYMPFSHCH ZPDSH CHPKOSH YMY PZHYGETSCH olchd Ch ZPDSH NYTB. chTBZBNY EZP VSHMY NEMLYE MADIYIL, KHUECHYYEUS CH CHCHUPLYE LTEUMB CH OPCHSHCHI ZETNBOULYI chchu. fY YEUFETLY ABOUT VPMSHYI DPMTSOPUFSI OEOOBCHYDEMY YTYIB iBTFNBOOB Y UFTENYMYUSH MAVPK GEOPK YURPTFIFSH EZP LBTSHETKH. yuete OEULPMSHLP MEF PDYO FBLPK YuEMPcheyuel Ch ZEOETBMSHULPN NHODYTE RPRSCHFBMUS UVYFSH YTYIB YUCHPEZP LBVYOEFB, YuFP NSCH EEE PRYYEN DEFBMSHOP. yTYI RETECYM Y LFPF HDBT.

VEMPLHTSCHK tSHGBTSH U YUEUFSHHA RTPOEU UCHPK YЪTHVMEOOOSCHK EIF, B EZP ZETV UYSEF RP-RTETSOENH STLP. oENOPZYE RTPUMBCHMEOOOSCH ZETPY NPZHF ULBBFSH P UEVE FP TSE UBNPE. rTYYMP CHTENS TBUULBBFSH YUFPTYA LFPZP VMBZPTPDOPZP TSCHGBTS, PRYUBFSH EZP RPDCHYZY ABOUT FHTOYT, ZMHVYOKH UFTBDBOYK CH PLPCHBI Y OEBVSCCHBENSCHK TPNBO U RTELTBUOPK DB NPK.

Toliver Raymond F., Constable Trevor J.

Erich Hartmann - blond knight of the Reich

Erich Hartmann

Translator's Preface

Write the truth and only the truth. But not the whole truth.

Moltke the Elder

“In the beginning was the word,” says the Bible. In our case this is absolutely not true. At first there was deathly silence. Read the memoirs of our pilots, the works of “historiographers”. No personalities. Abstract Nazi occupiers and planes with black crosses on the wings. At best, some vague aces of diamonds flash by - and that’s all. Maybe someone was luckier than me. Personally, I found only one mention of the name of the German ace in our literature of the Soviet era. Kurzenkov's memoirs talk about sergeant major Muller (92 victories), shot down by the young lieutenant Bokiy. All. Next - silence. It seems that Hartmann, Rall, Graf, Mölders and others do not exist.

Then the revelation began. Not a single book about the enemy's aces has yet been published, but the bourgeois falsifiers have caused feathers to fly. Like any honest Soviet person, I have not read this book, but I unanimously condemn it! “Ace or U-two-s?” “Marked Aces”... Well, and so on. The names alone are worth it. Only in the last couple of years have any scraps of information about enemy pilots appeared.

And here is the opposite example - a book written during the same Cold War. But pay attention with what respect, even admiration, the authors speak about Pokryshkin! They consider him an excellent pilot, a brilliant theorist, and an excellent commander. About which of the German aces did we say at least half of these kind words? By the way, I learned a number of details of Pokryshkin’s biography from a book about Hartmann, although his own memoirs “Sky of War” are now on my table. Moreover, details that one should be proud of! For example, his tenacity and perseverance, his colossal analytical work. In fact, the authors call Alexander Pokryshkin one of the creators of the theory of air warfare. Why do you have to learn all this from a book about a German ace? Isn't this a shame for our historians!

But this concerns the general approach to the problem. When it comes to some private issues, doubts remain. The personal accounts of German aces and pilots of any other countries look too different. 352 aircraft of Hartmann and 60 aircraft of Kozhedub, the best of the Allied fighter pilots, involuntarily give rise to different thoughts.

I’ll immediately make a reservation that what follows will be more like reasoning out loud. I do not claim to be the ultimate truth. Rather, I want to offer the reader “food for thought.”

First of all, I want to point out the typical mistakes of Soviet historiographers. But besides them, we often have to deal with examples of forgery and falsification, alas. Precisely because we are talking about typical examples that can be found more than once, not twice, or even ten, I will not specify where exactly this or that mistake can be found. Every reader has encountered them.

1. Erich Hartmann flew only 800 combat missions.

Hartmann flew about 1,400 combat missions during the war. The number 800 is the number of air battles. By the way, it turns out that Hartmann ALONE made 2.5 times more sorties than the ENTIRE Normandie-Niemen SQUADRILE combined. This characterizes the intensity of the actions of German pilots on the Eastern Front. The book emphasizes more than once: 3–4 flights per day were the norm. And if Hartmann spent 6 times more air battles than Kozhedub, then why can’t he, accordingly, shoot down 6 times more planes? By the way, another Diamond holder, Hans-Ulrich Rudel, flew more than 2,500 combat missions during the war years.

2. The Germans recorded victories using a machine gun.

Confirmation was required from witnesses - pilots participating in the battle, or ground observers. In this book you will see how pilots waited a week or more for confirmation of their victories. What then should be done with the unfortunate carrier-based pilots? What kind of ground observers are there? They didn’t shoot down a single plane during the entire war.

3. The Germans recorded “hits,” not “victories.”

Here we are faced with another variant of unfair multiple translation. German - English - Russian. Even a conscientious translator can get confused here, and there is generally room for forgery. The expression “claim hit” has nothing in common with the expression “claim victory”. The first was used in bomber aviation, where it was rarely possible to say more definitely. Fighter pilots did not use it. They only talked about victories or downed planes.

4. Hartmann has only 150 confirmed victories, the rest are known only from his words.

This, unfortunately, is an example of direct forgery, because the person had this book in his possession, but chose to read it in his own way and throw out everything that he did not like. Hartmann's first flight book has been preserved, in which the FIRST 150 victories are recorded. The second disappeared during his arrest. You never know that it was seen, and it was filled by the squadron headquarters, and not Hartmann. Well, she’s gone - that’s all! Like the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This means that since December 13, 1943, Erich Hartmann has not shot down a single plane. Interesting conclusion, isn't it?

5. German aces simply could not shoot down so many planes in one flight.

They really could. Read more carefully the description of Hartmann's attacks. First, a strike is made on a group of covering fighters, then on a group of bombers, and if you're lucky, then on a mop-up group. That is, in one run, 6-10 aircraft came into his sights one by one. And he didn’t shoot down everyone.

6. You can’t destroy our plane with a couple of shots.

Who said it was a couple? Here is a description of the escape from Crimea. The Germans transport technicians and mechanics in the fuselages of their fighters, but do not remove the wing containers with 30-mm cannons. How long can a fighter survive under fire from 3 guns? At the same time, this shows to what extent they despised our aircraft. After all, it is clear that with 2 containers under the wings the Me-109 flew a little better than a piece of wood.

7. The Germans took turns firing at one plane and each chalked it up to their own account.

Just no comments.

8. The Germans sent elite fighter units to the Eastern Front to gain air superiority.

Yes, the Germans did not have elite fighter units, except for the Galland JV-44 jet squadron created at the very end of the war. All other squadrons and groups were the most ordinary front-line formations. No “Aces of Diamonds” or other nonsense there. It’s just that many of the German units, in addition to numbers, also had a proper name. So all these “Richthofens”, “Greifs”, “Condors”, “Immelmanns”, even “Grun Hertz” are ordinary squadrons. Notice how much

Current page: 1 (book has 20 pages in total)

Toliver Raymond F., Constable Trevor J.
Erich Hartmann - blond knight of the Reich

Erich Hartmann

Translator's Preface

Write the truth and only the truth. But not the whole truth.

Moltke the Elder

“In the beginning was the word,” says the Bible. In our case this is absolutely not true. At first there was deathly silence. Read the memoirs of our pilots, the works of “historiographers”. No personalities. Abstract Nazi occupiers and planes with black crosses on the wings. At best, some vague aces of diamonds flash by – and that’s all. Maybe someone was luckier than me. Personally, I found only one mention of the name of the German ace in our literature of the Soviet era. Kurzenkov's memoirs talk about sergeant major Muller (92 victories), shot down by the young lieutenant Bokiy. All. Next - silence. It seems that Hartmann, Rall, Graf, Mölders and others do not exist.

I’ll immediately make a reservation that what follows will be more like reasoning out loud. I do not claim to be the ultimate truth. Rather, I want to offer the reader “food for thought.”

1. Erich Hartmann flew only 800 combat missions.

Hartmann flew about 1,400 combat missions during the war. The number 800 is the number of air battles. By the way, it turns out that Hartmann ALONE made 2.5 times more sorties than the ENTIRE Normandie-Niemen SQUADRILE combined. This characterizes the intensity of the actions of German pilots on the Eastern Front. The book emphasizes more than once: 3-4 flights per day were the norm. And if Hartmann spent 6 times more air battles than Kozhedub, then why can’t he, accordingly, shoot down 6 times more planes? By the way, another Diamond holder, Hans-Ulrich Rudel, flew more than 2,500 combat missions during the war years.

2. The Germans recorded victories using a machine gun.

3. The Germans recorded “hits,” not “victories.”

Here we are faced with another variant of unfair multiple translation. German – English – Russian. Even a conscientious translator can get confused here, and there is generally room for forgery. The expression “claim hit” has nothing in common with the expression “claim victory”. The first was used in bomber aviation, where it was rarely possible to say more definitely. Fighter pilots didn't use it. They only talked about victories or downed planes.

4. Hartmann has only 150 confirmed victories, the rest are known only from his words.

This, unfortunately, is an example of direct forgery, because the person had this book in his possession, but chose to read it in his own way and throw out everything that he did not like. Hartmann's first flight book has been preserved, in which the FIRST 150 victories are recorded. The second disappeared during his arrest. You never know that it was seen, and it was filled by the squadron headquarters, and not Hartmann. Well, she’s gone – that’s all! Like the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This means that since December 13, 1943, Erich Hartmann has not shot down a single plane. Interesting conclusion, isn't it?

5. German aces simply could not shoot down so many planes in one flight.

They really could. Read more carefully the description of Hartmann's attacks. First, a strike is made on a group of covering fighters, then on a group of bombers, and if you’re lucky, then on a mop-up group. That is, in one run, 6-10 aircraft came into his sights one by one. And he didn’t shoot down everyone.

6. You can’t destroy our plane with a couple of shots.

7. The Germans took turns firing at one plane and each chalked it up to their own account.

Just no comments.

8. The Germans sent elite fighter units to the Eastern Front to gain air superiority.

You can, of course, dig further, but it’s too disgusting. I should not be accused of apologizing for fascism and praising the enemies of the Soviet Union. Hartmann's account also raises doubts for me, however, it seems to me that one should not try to deny that he was the best ace of World War II.

So, who is Erich Hartmann?

After reading this book, it becomes clear that a pilot like Hartmann, and indeed none of the German aces, in principle, could appear in the Soviet Air Force. The tactical methods of combat were so different, the views on their duties were so different, that any comparison would be incorrect from the very beginning. This, in my opinion, is where such a sharp rejection of their results arises, as a consequence of the unwillingness to UNDERSTAND AND UNDERSTAND. Well, in addition, everyone knows for sure that the Soviet elephant is the strongest in the world. Our historians can be partly understood. It is always difficult to part with myths; you have to rip them out of your memory with meat and blood.

For example, the first, completely paradoxical conclusion that arises after reading the book. Erich Hartmann did not have ALMOST ANY air combat. He rejected the aerial carousel, so dear to the hearts of our pilots, on principle. Climb, dive to target, immediately leave. Shot down - shot down, didn't shoot down - it doesn't matter. The fight is over! If there is a new attack, it will only be based on the same principle. Hartmann himself says that at least 80% of the pilots he shot down were not even aware of the danger. And certainly no dangling over the battlefield to “cover your troops.” By the way, Pokryshkin once rebelled against this. “I can’t catch bombs with my plane. We will intercept bombers as they approach the battlefield.” They intercepted it, it worked. And then the inventive pilot received a slap on the head. But Hartmann did nothing but hunt. So, it would be more fair to call his 800 battles air clashes or something.

And remember the undisguised irritation that shows in the memoirs of our pilots regarding the tactics of the German aces. Free hunt! And there’s no way you can force a fight on him! Such helplessness is obviously due to the fact that the Yak-3 was the best fighter in the world. The shortcomings of our best fighters were also shown by the authors of the Russian film “Fighters of the Eastern Front,” which was recently shown on screens. A. Yakovlev writes about the maximum ceiling of 3–3.5 km for our fighters in all his books, passing it off as a big plus. But only after watching the film did I remember the constantly flashing line of Hartmann’s own memories. “We were approaching the battle area at an altitude of 5.5–6 km.” Here! That is, the Germans, in principle, received the right of first strike. Right on the ground! This was determined by the characteristics of the aircraft and the vicious Soviet tactics. It’s not hard to guess what the price of such an advantage is.

Hartmann made 14 forced landings. This phrase appears only once in the book. The authors love their hero, so they don’t press this fact, but still they don’t try to hide it. However, read more carefully the descriptions of those cases that were included in this book, for example, the battle with 8 Mustangs. Hartmann ran out of fuel and what did he do? – trying to save the plane? Not at all. He just chooses the opportunity to jump out with a parachute more carefully. He doesn’t even have the thought of saving the plane. So only our pilots returned on the planes that received 150 hits. The rest reasonably believed that life was more valuable than a heap of iron. In general, it seems that the Germans treated the fact of the forced landing quite casually. The car broke down, okay, let’s change it and move on. Remember Johannes Wiese's 5 forced landings in one day. Despite the fact that on the same day he shot down 12 planes!

However, let's say frankly that Hartmann was not a reckless brave man. During the battles over Romania, when JG-52 was supposed to cover oil rigs, he showed reasonable cowardice, preferring to deal with escort fighters rather than with a closed formation of “Fortresses” bristling with dozens of machine guns. And it's not that he was a fighter specialist. He just once again soberly assessed where the chance of breaking his neck was higher.

They can shove heroic surrender under my nose along with civilian refugees. Yes, there was a fact that later ruined his whole life. 10 years of Stalin's camps and a complete collapse later. But even here there is a simpler explanation. Hartmann was prompted to take this action not by courage, but by naivety and ignorance. He simply had no idea what “socialist legality” was, and in general, he had the same idea about the morals of communists as he did about life on Mars. Most likely, Hartmann believed that he would be given a good spanking, kept for a year, and sent home. Ha ha ha! He, like any normal person, simply could not imagine the way of thinking and logic of real communists. Everything would have turned out well on the Western Front. But not in Vostochny. And all subsequent fabrications of the authors are nothing more than a desire to pass off need as virtue.

In general, from the book we see an eccentric, hysterical drinker, alien to any discipline. And the authors should not blame ill-wishers for Hartmann’s post-war failure. Even Kammhuber, who clearly favored him, did not dare to give the best ace of the last war general's shoulder straps. Of course, it is impossible to emerge from the Soviet camps as a normal person, but even during the war years several excellent pilots did not turn into excellent commanders. For example, the same Otto Kittel. The Germans had many aces, and commanders - Galland, Mölders... Who else? But Erich had an undoubted talent, although it had nothing to do with the military sphere. German, Chinese, English, French, Russian - not bad for a boy who has never seriously studied anywhere?

But this book will tell you better about Erich Hartmann. Before I started working with her, I believed that Hartmann might have about 150 aircraft to his name. Now I think he shot down more than 250, the figure 352 still seems too high. But this is my personal opinion, which I cannot support with any facts. And Hartmann’s exact result, apparently, will never be established. The only possible way is to compare the data from Hartmann's flight book with the combat logs of the units that fought against JG-52. I reject Soviet historiography by definition. “An impartial presentation of facts is in itself biased and unacceptable for a Marxist historian.” It's called bourgeois objectivism. But we, however, have a class approach and analysis. After our historians successfully burned more than 3,000 of the 90 Ferdinand self-propelled guns produced, it is quite difficult to believe them.

This book was not written by Marxists, but it should be treated with caution. For example, are all Russians degenerate-looking Asians, as the authors claim? I have strong doubts and statements about the love of the population of the temporarily occupied territories for the Germans. They are especially loved in Khatyn... Mentions of the mysterious Lagg-5 and Lagg-9 also cause outright bewilderment. I can only assume that we are talking about ordinary La-5s, although there is no complete certainty about this. At the same time, this also shows that Western publishers are no better than our would-be book slaps of the wild market era. Run the reprint and don’t think twice about it. This book first appeared in the 60s, but the passage of time has not affected the quality of the text. All errors and omissions have been preserved. However, I hope that the first biography of the best fighter pilot in the world published here will be useful to the reader, despite some disadvantages.

A. Patients

Chapter 1
Hero scale

The world is a constant conspiracy against the brave.

General Douglas MacArthur

Eight years after the end of World War II, exhausted German soldiers in the Degtyarka camp in the Urals had little hope of life. Buried in the depths of Russia by the vengeful Russian government, deprived of all the rights of a soldier and a person, half forgotten at home, they were completely lost people. Their attitude to life rarely rose above the stoic apathy of ordinary prison reality. However, on an October morning in 1953, word spread about the arrival of a German prisoner, which revived a glimmer of hope.

Major Erich Hartmann had special spiritual qualities that again were able to ignite the hearts of the humiliated and needy prisoners. This name was repeated in whispers in the Degtyarka barracks; his arrival was a significant event. The greatest fighter ace of all time, Erich Hartmann received the Diamonds to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, Germany's highest honor. But this exceptional display of heroism meant little to the prisoners. To them, Hartmann was the hero of other, longer battles that he had waged for many years with the Soviet secret police. He was a symbol of resistance.

His true significance as a person and leader was revealed after his arrival in Degtyarka. All the prisoners of this convict camp ran out of the barracks and pressed themselves against the wire as the prison truck, raising a cloud of dust, drove through the gate. As this cloud cleared, the new arrivals began to emerge under the watchful eye of armed guards. A wiry man of average height with a shock of straw hair and piercing blue eyes stood in a group of ragged prisoners, dressed in the same shapeless robe as everyone else.

"It is he! - shouted one of the prisoners standing by the barbed wire. “This is Hartmann!”

The dirty crowd behind the fence burst into cheers. They screamed and waved their arms like fans at a football match. The blond man smiled and also waved his hand, causing a new fit of delight. The nervous guards hastened to drive Hartmann and his comrades behind the barbed wire barrier. The armed Russians also heard about Hartmann. Like the deprived German prisoners in Degtyarka, they knew that a true leader had arrived, one of the most valuable prisoners of the Soviet Union, who at the same time created a lot of problems.

Erich Hartmann was a model of implacable resistance. Several times this brought him to the brink of death when he went on hunger strikes. And last year his resistance culminated in a direct rebellion in Shakhty. Former German soldiers, called war criminals, were turned into slaves in Russian coal mines. Erich Hartmann refused to work, and this led to a mutiny in the camp, which later inspired all the Germans in Russia.

It was a special kind of story. These are loved by prisoners who cannot escape, whose vital energy is depleted by daily resistance to the process of dehumanization. The Russian commandant and guards at Shakhty were overwhelmed by the prisoners, and Hartmann was freed from solitary confinement by his comrades. He led a movement to improve the impossible living conditions in the camp. He coolly dissuaded many German prisoners from attempting to escape. Instead, Hartmann demanded the arrival of an international commission to inspect the slave camp in Shakhty.

The enraged Russians did not dare kill Hartmann, but they abandoned him alone in another camp in Novocherkassk. Some of his comrades in the rebellion in Shakhty were sent to Degtyarka and brought there the history of this rebellion. The maximum security camp in Degtyarka lived according to harsh laws, but still the prisoners managed to greet Hartmann with shouts.

Located in the Urals near Sverdlovsk, Degtyarka had a special regime block, a prison within a prison, where important German prisoners were kept. There were 12 German generals there, representatives of famous German families and “war criminals” like Erich Hartmann. In the eyes of the Russians, this blond man, who received such a noisy reception from the inhabitants of the special block, was not a soldier who performed his duty in accordance with the laws of his country and general military traditions and codes. His tireless resistance to the Soviet secret police led to his "conviction" as a war criminal by a buffoonish Soviet court.

Erich Hartmann was handed over to the Russians in 1945 by an American tank unit, to which he surrendered along with his group (Gruppe) from the 52nd Luftwaffe Fighter Squadron. He consistently refused to work for the Russians or cooperate with their East German puppets. His resistance continued for 6 years, despite threats, deception and attempts at bribery. He even refused an extremely tempting offer to immediately return him to West Germany to his family if only he agreed to become a Soviet spy. After 6 years, the Soviets realized that Hartmann would never agree to cooperate with them. Then he was put on trial as a war criminal and sentenced to 25 years of hard labor. In response, he asked to be shot.

Soviet imprisonment was a long and terrifying test of human character. At literally every step the Germans were subjected to soul-corroding humiliations, and many broke down. America today had its own experience of the horrors of such imprisonment when scores of its sons were similarly turned into "war criminals" by Asian communists. Even Erich Hartmann, who looked indestructible, had his breaking point. Those who spent many years in Soviet prisons unanimously claim that any person has his own limit of endurance in such conditions.

Senior generals in Russia turned out to be no stronger than privates. And when they broke, it was an even more pitiful sight. The officers did not show any superiority over the rank and file in the fight against the NKVD. Age, experience, family tradition, or education—the traditional determinants of the development of character and intelligence—offered little protection from moral destruction. Those who endured this suffering better and for a longer period were people who drew strength from one or two sources.

Religion became a strong personal bastion for people in Russian captivity. A religious person could resist his jailers regardless of the nature of his faith - conscious convictions or blind fanaticism, it did not matter. Those who enjoyed absolute family harmony could also maintain their internal integrity, so they unshakably believed that they were welcome at home, in the family. These people forged armor out of their love. Erich Hartmann belonged to the second group.

His wife Ursula, or Ush as he called her, was a source of spiritual and moral strength while he was in shackles to the Soviets. She was the light of his soul when the black curtain of a Soviet prison hid him from the rest of the world. She never let Erich down, she was always a part of him. Without her, he would not have survived 10 years in Soviet prisons; without her, he would not have been reborn to a new life.

By general recognition of his fellow prisoners, Erich Hartmann was not only the strongest man to fall into the clutches of the Soviets. He belonged to an elite group of authentic leaders. When Germany lay in ruins and all military codes were thrown aside, German prisoners recognized only those leaders who themselves emerged from among them. Usually these were the best of the best.

Titles and awards did not matter here, as did age and education. No tricks or tricks were used. In Russian prisons there were traitorous generals and magnificent sergeants, unbending privates stood shoulder to shoulder with corrupt officers. However, those leaders who proved themselves were among the best representatives of the German nation in terms of character, willpower and endurance.

Erich Hartmann was barely 23 years old when he fell into the clutches of the Russians. And he ended up at the very top, despite his youth. He was able to withstand all the tests himself and during 10 years of imprisonment in unbearable conditions he served as an example of perseverance for his compatriots. It is very rare in ancient history and simply never in modern history to find such lengthy attempts to break a hero. Hartmann's behavior in inhumane conditions better confirms his heroism than all his awards.

The origins of Erich Hartmann's power lay beyond the reach of the NKVD. These sources were his family, upbringing in the spirit of freedom, natural courage, strengthened by the undying love of a beautiful woman - his wife. Erich combined the best traits of his parents. His father was a calm, noble man, a worthy example of a European doctor of old times, who was distinguished by sincere concern for his neighbor and practical wisdom, almost completely lost among modern people. His mother, who was alive when this book was written, was a sensitive extrovert in her youth, a cheerful, energetic, adventurous adventurer.

Dr. Hartmann loved to philosophize over a glass of beer, taking a break from the daily worries of his arduous profession. And his restless blonde wife flew airplanes long before German public opinion decided that this activity was also decent for a woman. A willingness to take risks and a strong sense of limits are the key elements that made Erich Hartmann the best driver of all time. And he directly inherited these traits from his parents. Such a happy inheritance imposed an axis on his own outstanding qualities and resulted in exceptional talent.

His will to overcome obstacles was almost fierce. His directness of thoughts and words stunned his interlocutor, turning the timid and hesitant into unshakable. He was a die-hard individualist in an era of mass submission and conformism. He was a fighter pilot through and through, not only in the sense of becoming a top ace, but also in relation to life's challenges.

Wagging around something was unthinkable for him, even if his life depended on it. He was completely unfit for diplomatic service with his habit of slashing, but he was an excellent athlete and a supporter of fair play. An honest person could not be afraid of him at all. In an era when fair play is considered something incomprehensible and even anachronistic, Erich was ready to extend his hand to a defeated opponent, as the knights of old times did.

In aerial combat as a soldier, he had killed many enemy pilots, but in everyday life he was simply incapable of hurting anyone. He was not religious in the formal sense of the word, although he admired and respected the Germans who suffered such torment in Russia. His religion was conscience, which was an extension of his fighter's heart. As George Bernard Shaw once noted: “There are a certain type of people who believe that some things simply cannot be done, no matter what the cost. Such people can be called religious. Or you can call them gentlemen." Erich Hartmann's code of conduct—his religion, one might say—was that he could not do anything that he sincerely believed was wrong. And he did not want to do what he considered wrong.

This way of thinking was a consequence of his black and white perception of the world, which allowed almost no halftones. He believed in the moral principles of the past. Perhaps his father instilled this in him. He had a particularly keen sense of Truth, which earned him the admiration of modern young German pilots. In the Russian camps, his spiritual powers focused on creating an ideal image of his beloved Ush. His belief that everything would be fine at home, the mental pictures that Erich saw, also became a kind of religion. His faith in Ush never wavered and was rewarded a thousandfold.

Was Erich Hartmann therefore a closed-minded egocentric, focused only on himself and his Ush? Of course not. In fact, he did not even need to go to a Russian prison. Just before the end of the war, General Scheidemann ordered him to fly from Czechoslovakia to central Germany. He was ordered to surrender to the British. General Scheidemann knew that the Russians would take revenge on their most formidable air enemy. The order to fly to safety was the last order Hartmann received from higher headquarters during the war.

The young blond major deliberately refused to carry out this order. Thousands of German civilian refugees - women, children and old people - accompanied his group. Most of them were somehow connected with his subordinates. For a military man, an order is everything; it must be carried out. Instead, Erich acted as, in his opinion, the code of honor of an officer and a decent person dictated. He was left with defenseless refugees. This decision cost him ten years of his life.

Modesty was as integral a feature of this man as his blue eyes and brown hair. He did not inform the authors about General Scheidemann's order during the 12 years of acquaintance that preceded the preparation of this book. They learned about the order from other sources. When asked directly about this, Hartmann just grinned.

Ruthlessly hard on himself, he could always find in his heart an excuse for a comrade who could not withstand Soviet pressure. Each person has his own limit of strength, some break earlier, some later, so thought Erich Hartmann. When the psyche of his comrades gave in, unable to withstand such a test as divorce from their wives who remained in Germany, he tried to restore their mental strength. He could speak softly to them or bring them back to reality with a sharp slap. His way of the cross was his own. Other people could follow him only if they themselves voluntarily made the same choice.

When Chancellor Adenauer achieved his release from Russian captivity in 1955, there were still many German prisoners in Russia. Many prisoners were released before him, and when he returned to Western

Germany to their relatives, this became a holiday for former prisoners and their families. At the station in Herlechshausen, where he first set foot on free soil, he was greeted by noise and joyful excitement. He was informed that an even more magnificent meeting was planned in Stuttgart, near his hometown of Wel im Schönbuch. The Prisoners of War Association organized celebrations and the arrival of important people was expected.

The thin and emaciated Hartmann was visibly shaken. Then he stunned those meeting with an urgent request not to organize such a reception. He could not take part in such festivities. The newspapermen asked him why he refused to accept the most cordial greetings from the people of Stuttgart.

“Because the Russian point of view on life is different from ours. They may well decide, having heard about such a celebration, not to release any more German prisoners. I know the Russians well enough to fear such a decision regarding my compatriots who remained captive in Russia.

When they ALL come home, then we should celebrate. And now we have no right to calm down until the last German prisoner is repatriated from Russia.”

His 10-year battle with the Russian secret police sharpened Erich's innate straightforwardness. He did not tolerate subterfuge and if he encountered mistakes, he announced it loudly and directly. Even Reichsmarschall Goering, at a time when the Nazis were in power in Germany, could not convince the young ace Erich Hartmann, who protested, deciding that Goering was acting incorrectly.

In January 1944, Erich visited his mother, who lived near Uteborg. During this period, the Reich's air defense suffered from a shortage of pilots rather than a shortage of aircraft. He landed at a fighter base near Uteborg when the weather worsened. Erich was only 22 years old, but he was struck by the youth of the pilots based at this airfield. He didn't like the youth of the pilots who joined his squadron on the Eastern Front, but these pilots generally looked like high school students.

When he returned from a visit to his mother, he found that his squadron had been sent flying in bad weather. The wind rose several hours before he himself landed at the airfield. The pilots' task was to intercept American bombers. With limited training and even more limited experience, 10 young pilots crashed before even encountering American aircraft. The enraged Blonde Knight sat down and wrote a personal message to Reichsmarshal Goering.

Hartmann, Erich (Hartmann), Luftwaffe fighter pilot, major. According to official statistics, he shot down 352 enemy aircraft, topping the list of German aces in World War II. Born on April 19, 1922 in Weissach. He spent his childhood in China, where his father worked as a doctor. From 1936 he flew gliders in a flying club under the guidance of his mother, an athlete pilot. He piloted airplanes from the age of 16. From 1940 he trained at the 10th training regiment of the Luftwaffe near Königsberg, then at a flight school in Berlin. He began his combat flying career in August 1942 as part of the 52nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, which fought in the Caucasus. He took part in the Battle of Kursk, was shot down, captured, but managed to escape. In 1944 he was appointed commander of the 53rd Air Group. He was awarded many orders and medals, including becoming the sixth Luftwaffe pilot to receive the Knight's Cross with oak leaves, swords and diamonds.

During World War II, he flew 1,525 combat missions, scoring 352 aerial victories (345 of them over Soviet aircraft) in 825 air battles. Due to his small stature and youthful appearance, he received the nickname Bubi - baby.

A pre-war glider pilot, Hartmann joined the Luftwaffe in 1940 and completed pilot training in 1942. He was soon sent to the 52nd Fighter Squadron (German: Jagdgeschwader 52) on the eastern front, where he came under the tutelage of experienced Luftwaffe fighter pilots. Under their guidance, Hartmann developed his skills and tactics, which eventually earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds on 25 August 1944 for his 301st confirmed aerial victory.

Erich Hartmann achieved his 352nd and last air victory on May 8, 1945. Hartmann and the remaining troops from JG 52 surrendered to American forces, but were handed over to the Red Army. Formally accused of war crimes, but in fact - for the destruction of enemy military equipment in wartime, sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment in maximum security camps, Hartman will spend 10 and a half years in them, until 1955. In 1956 he joined the rebuilt West German Luftwaffe, and became the first commander of the JG 71 Richthoffen squadron. In 1970, he left the army, largely due to his rejection of the American Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, which was then used to equip the German troops, and constant conflicts with his superiors.

Childhood and youth

Erich Hartmann was born in Weissach, Württemberg, the elder of two brothers. During World War II, his younger brother Alfred also joined the Luftwaffe (he was a gunner on a Ju 87 during the German campaign in North Africa and spent 4 years in English captivity). The boys spent some of their childhood in China, as their father wanted to escape the effects of 1920s German poverty and economic depression. With the help of his cousin, who worked as a consul at the German embassy in China, Erich's father managed to find work there. Upon arrival in the city of Changsha, to his great surprise, he realized that living conditions in China were much better and moved his family there. However, in 1928 they had to return to Germany due to the outbreak of the civil war in China. The local population stopped trusting foreigners, and attacks on diplomats began. Elisa Hartmann and her two children quickly left the country, their return journey took place along the Trans-Siberian Railway - this was Erich’s first meeting with the USSR.

After some time, the family was reunited in the city of Weil im Schönbuch in southwestern Germany. From that moment on, Hartmann began to become interested in aviation. He joins a glider training program run by the resurgent Luftwaffe. Hartman's mother, Eliza, was one of the first female pilots. The family even bought a small light aircraft, but in 1932 they were forced to sell it due to poverty resulting from the economic collapse of Germany. After the National Socialists came to power, flight schools began to receive support from the new government, and Elisa Hartmann created a new flight school in her city, in which fourteen-year-old Erich received a pilot's license, and at the age of fifteen he became an instructor in one of the glider groups Hitler Youth.

After studying at a secondary school (April 1928 - April 1932), a gymnasium (April 1932 - April 1936) and at the National Institute of Political Education in Rottweil (April 1936 - April 1937), he entered the gymnasium in Korntal, where in October 1939 he met the girl Ursula, who soon became his wife.

Luftwaffe

During his training, Erich showed himself to be an outstanding sniper and a diligent student (although he was of little interest in military drill), and by the end of his training he was in perfect command of his fighter. On 24 August 1942, still at the advanced aerial gunnery course in Gleiwitz, he flew to Zerbst and demonstrated some of the tricks of Lieutenant Hohagen, the former German aerobatic champion, over the airfield. After performing some elements of aerobatics over the airfield in Gleiwitz, the authorities placed the pilot under a week-long house arrest, which may have saved his life - the pilot who flew in his place the next day crashed.

In October 1942, having completed his training in the Vostok reserve fighter group, he was assigned to the North Caucasus in the 52nd Fighter Squadron on the Eastern Front. After arriving at the Luftwaffe supply base in Krakow, Erich Hartmann and three other pilots had to fly to their squadron in a completely unfamiliar Stuka. This ignorance turned into a local pogrom and two destroyed attack aircraft; the pilots were sent to JG 52 on a transport plane. The battles on the Eastern Front were fought at least 750 miles above Soviet territory, and Hartmann had to conduct air battles in these unknown places. The JG 52 squadron had already earned great fame in Germany; many of the best Luftwaffe aces flew in it, as Hartmann was able to verify immediately after arrival - Walter Krupinski barely escaped from a burning, grounded fighter. Walter Krupinski (197 aircraft shot down, 16th in the world) became his first commander and mentor. Among the others was Chief Sergeant Paul Rossmann, who preferred not to enter the “air carousel”, but to attack from an ambush, a carefully studied tactic that would bring Erich Hartmann first place in an informal competition of the world’s best aces and 352 aerial victories. When Krupinski became the new squadron commander, Erich became his wingman. Since Krupinski constantly called the 20-year-old recruit, who looked much younger than his years, “Bubi” (boy, baby), this nickname became firmly attached to him.

Hartmann shot down his first plane on November 5, 1942 (an Il-2 from the 7th GShAP), but over the next three months he managed to shoot down only one plane. Hartmann gradually improved his flying skills, focusing on the effectiveness of the first attack. Over time, the experience bore fruit: during the Battle of Kursk in July 1943, he shot down 7 aircraft in one day, in August 1943 he accounted for 49, and in September he added another 24 downed aircraft to his personal account.

Walter Krupinski and Erich Hartmann (right)

By the end of the summer of 1943, Erich Hartmann already had 90 victories, but on August 19, during an attack by another IL, his plane was damaged, and he made an emergency landing behind the front line. Squadron commander Dietrich Hrabak ordered Hartmann's unit to support Stuka dive bombers from the second squadron of Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 attack aircraft, led by the famous attack aircraft ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel, but the situation suddenly changed, and the German pilots had to face a mass of Yak-9 and La-5 fighters. Hartmann managed to shoot down 2 planes before shrapnel damaged his Bf-109. Having landed with difficulty (behind the front line), Hartmann, having fiddled with his plane for some time, saw approaching Russian soldiers. Realizing that resistance was futile and there was no way to escape, he pretended to be wounded. His acting skills convinced the soldiers, and he was placed on a stretcher and sent to headquarters in a truck. Waiting patiently, Hartmann seized the opportunity, using a Stuka attack to distract the soldiers, he hit the only guard hard, jumped out of the truck and ran towards a large field in which huge sunflowers grew, evading the bullets flying after him. Moreover, the entire story associated with the details of Hartmann’s rescue from Russian soldiers is known exclusively from his words and does not have any reliable confirmation. Waiting until nightfall, he followed the patrol going west and returned to his unit, crossing the front line. Already approaching his own, the nervous sentry tried to shoot Erich, who did not believe that he was really a downed pilot, but the bullet miraculously missed the target, tearing his trouser leg.

Four pilots of III./JG52 on the Eastern Front at the end of 1942

From left to right: Oberfeldwebel Hans Dammers, Oberfeldwebel Edmund Rossmann, Oberfeldwebel Alfred Grislawski and Lieutenant Erich Hartmann

On October 29, 1943, Lieutenant Hartmann was awarded the Knight's Cross, having 148 aircraft shot down, on December 13 he celebrated his 150th air victory, and by the end of 1943 their number had risen to 159. In the first two months of 1944, Hartmann earned another 50 victories, and the rate of their acquisition was constantly increasing. These results raised doubts in the Luftwaffe Supreme Headquarters; his victories were double-checked two or three times, and his flights were watched by an observer pilot attached to Hartmann’s unit. By March 2, 1944, the number of victories reached 202 aircraft. By this time, the call sign Karaya 1 had already become familiar to Soviet pilots, and the command of the Soviet Army set a price of 10,000 rubles for his head.

Erich Hartmann with his mechanic Heinz "Bimmel" Mertens

For some time, Hartmann flew aircraft with the “Black Tulip” paint element (a multi-pointed star painted on the propeller spinner and around the cowling).

From left to right: Walter Krupinski, Gerhard Barkhorn, Johannes Wiese and Erich Hartmann

Having achieved his first significant successes, Bubi applied a frightening livery to his Messer in a purely boyish way - he painted the nose of the fighter black. This is allegedly why, according to British historians, Soviet pilots nicknamed him the “Black Devil of the South.” To be honest, it is doubtful that the Russians called the adversary so metaphorically. Soviet sources retained prosaic nicknames - “Black” and “Devil”.

Oberleutnant Erich Hartmann in the cockpit of his Bf-109G-6. Russia, August 1944

They immediately started a hunt for “Cherny”, placing a premium of 10 thousand rubles on his head. I had to run away all the time. Having played “cool” enough, Erich returned the plane to its normal appearance. He left only the sign of the 9th squadron - a heart pierced by an arrow, where he wrote the name of the bride - Ursula

That same month, Hartmann, Gerhard Barkhorn, Walter Krupinski and Johannes Wiese were summoned to Hitler's headquarters to present awards. Barkhorn was nominated for the Swords and Knight's Cross, while Hartmann, Krupinski and Wiese were to be awarded the Leafs. During the train ride, the pilots drank heavily and arrived at the residence, struggling to stand and supporting each other. Hitler's Luftwaffe adjutant, Major Nikolaus von Below, was shocked. After Hartmann came to his senses, he tried on an officer’s cap from a hanger, but this greatly upset von Belov, who noticed to him that it was Hitler’s cap.

Possessing vast flying experience, Hartmann neglected the rules of classic air combat. He flew masterfully in his Messerschmitt, sometimes flaunting his courage. He described his tactics in the following words: “saw - decided - attacked - broke away.” Hartmann survived 14 emergency landings, was shot down twice and bailed out once. When the war ended, his immediate superior, Air Commodore Seidemann, ordered him to fly from Czechoslovakia to the British occupation zone. For the first time, Hartmann disobeyed the order and, joining a group of civilian refugees, surrendered to the advancing American troops, unaware that he would spend the next 10 years in the extremely difficult conditions of a Soviet prisoner of war camp.

In October 1955, Erich Hartmann finally returned to Germany and joined the rebuilding Luftwaffe. He mastered jet flying and was appointed the first commander of JG 71 Richthoffen. He objected to the Luftwaffe equipping the American F-104 Starfighter supersonic fighters, considering them too difficult to pilot and not effective enough in combat. This led him on September 30, 1970 to a premature farewell to military service, which he left with the rank of aviation colonel.