Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov became famous. Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov - one of the undeservedly forgotten Soviet aces

Rechkalov Grigory Andreevich

One of the most productive Soviet aces, distinguished by swiftness and indomitability.

Statistics

During the war years, he flew more than 450 sorties, conducted 122 air battles, won, according to updated data, 61 victories personally (according to other sources, 56) and 4 in a group, for which he was awarded twice (in May 1943 and July 1944) Hero titles Soviet Union.

Biography

Born on February 9, 1920 in the village of Khudyakovo, Irbitsky district, Perm province, into a peasant family. At a young age, he learned to fly at a local flying club. In 1939 he entered and graduated from the military pilot school in Perm. After being promoted to the rank of sergeant, he was sent to serve in the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment in Kirovograd. He flew on the I-153 fighter.

Who was

During the war years, he grew up in the regiment (which became the 16th Guards in March 1942) from junior lieutenant to major. He flew out to attack, escort attack aircraft, for reconnaissance, but considered the main task of conducting air battles with enemy aircraft, often conducted "free hunting". graduated fighting inspector for piloting techniques of the 9th Guards Fighter Division, commanded by his teacher, three times Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel A.I. Pokryshkin. After the war he continued to serve in the Air Force. In 1951 he graduated from the Air Force Academy in Monino. Since 1959 he was in the reserve, first he lived in Moscow, since 1980 - in the city of Zhukovsky, Moscow Region. He wrote books about military everyday life: "Visiting Youth", "Smoky Sky of War", "In the Sky of Moldova".

What is famous

In recent years, he fought on the Aerocobra, decorated with numerous stars on the engine according to the number of victories won, and with his own initials of the RGA, printed on the rear fuselage. According to the memoirs of the ace himself, in his fighter, he most of all appreciated the excellent radio station, which allowed him to constantly maintain confident radio communication with other pilots and the ground. Probably no other Soviet ace on a personal account has such a variety of types of officially downed enemy aircraft as Rechkalov: Heinkel and Junkers bombers, Henschel and Junkers attack aircraft, Messerschmitt and Focke fighters. wulf", connected "fiziler", reconnaissance and transport workers, as well as relatively rare trophies - the Italian "Savoy" and the Polish PZL-24, used by the Royal Romanian Air Force.

Battle sites

He fought on the Southern, North Caucasian, 1st, 2nd and 4th Ukrainian fronts.

Cases of manifestation the highest degree heroism

During the first two weeks of the battle in the Kuban, Art. Lieutenant Rechkalov personally shot down 8 enemy aircraft in air battles and was first presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He achieved the greatest results on October 1 and November 1, 1943, having shot down three Junkers-87 dive bombers on each of the indicated days in the area of ​​​​the Molochnaya River and north of Perekop.

Circumstances of death

State awards

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union awarded the Order of Lenin, four Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of the Red Star, Orders of Alexander Nevsky and Patriotic War 1 degree.

R Echkalov Grigory Andreevich - commander of the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (216th mixed aviation division, 4th air army, North Caucasian Front), Guards Senior Lieutenant; deputy commander of the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (9th Guards Fighter Aviation Division, 7th Fighter Aviation Corps, 5th Air Army, 2nd Ukrainian Front), guard captain.

Born on February 9, 1920 in the village of Khudyakovo (now within the boundaries of the village of Zaikovo, Irbitsky District, Sverdlovsk Region) into a peasant family. Russian. He graduated from the 6th grade of the school, the school of the FZU of the Verkh-Isetsky Metallurgical Plant (1935). He worked at this plant as an electrician, studied at the flying club.

In the Red Army since January 1938. In 1939 he graduated from the Perm Military Aviation Pilot School. Served in the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Force (in the Odessa Military District), junior pilot.

Member of the Great Patriotic War: in June 1941-July 1944 - pilot, flight commander, air squadron commander, navigator - deputy commander of the 55th (from March 1942 - 16th Guards) Fighter Aviation Regiment. During one of the air battles, he was seriously wounded in the head and leg, for a long time he was treated in the hospital, where he underwent three operations.

By May 1943, he made 194 sorties, in 54 air battles personally shot down 12 enemy aircraft and 2 - as part of a group.

For courage and heroism shown in battles, Guards Senior Lieutenant Rechkalov Grigory Andreevich By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 24, 1943, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

By June 1944, he made 415 sorties, participated in 112 air battles, personally shot down 48 enemy aircraft and 6 as part of a group.

For new combat exploits of the guard, the captain was awarded the second Gold Star medal by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 1, 1944.

In July 1944-March 1945 - commander of the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, from March 1945 - Pilot-Inspector for Piloting Techniques of the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Division.

He fought on the Southern, North Caucasian, 1st, 2nd and 4th Ukrainian fronts. Participated in defensive battles in southern Ukraine, the defense of the North Caucasus, the liberation of the Kuban, Donbass, Crimea, Belarus and Poland, in the Berlin operation. In total, during the war he made more than 450 sorties on the I-153 Chaika, I-16, Yak-1 and R-39 Airacobra fighters, participated in 122 air battles, in which he personally shot down 61 and as part of a group of 4 aircraft enemy.

After the war he continued to serve in the Air Force. Since August 1945 - inspector-pilot for piloting technique of the 6th Guards Fighter Aviation Corps. In 1951 he graduated from the Air Force Academy (Monino). From 1951 - deputy commander, from July 1952 - commander of the 10th Guards Fighter Aviation Division, then commanded the 146th Fighter Aviation Division (Sakhalin Air Defense Corps). Since 1957 - Deputy Commander of Fighter Aviation of the Separate Far Eastern Air Defense Army. Since April 1959, Major General of Aviation G.A. Rechkalov has been in reserve.

Lived in Moscow. Died December 22, 1990. He was buried in the village of Bobrovsky, Sysertsky district, Sverdlovsk region.

Major General of Aviation (1957). He was awarded the Order of Lenin, 4 Orders of the Red Banner, Orders of Alexander Nevsky, Orders of the Patriotic War 1st degree, 2 Orders of the Red Star, medals.

The bronze bust of the Hero was installed in the village of Zaikovo, Irbitsky District, Sverdlovsk Region. The memorial museum named after G.A. Rechkalov.

Compositions:
Visiting youth. M., 1968;
The smoky sky of war. Sverdlovsk, 1968;
In the sky of Moldova. 2nd ed. Chisinau, 1979, etc.

TO THE GLORY OF RUSSIAN WEAPONS

On June 22, 1941, Grigory Rechkalov returned from the city, where he was sent to the medical commission to check his eyesight. He could not distinguish colors, and the commission made a negative conclusion. "Don't fly me now," Grigory thought. Frustrated, he got out of the car onto the platform. And then the terrible news: the war. Grigory, without hesitation, straight from the station, jumping into the back of the first car he came across, drove to the field airfield. The regiment was already fighting against the Nazis in the south-west of Ukraine. Entering the regiment commander, Grigory reported his sadness. He read the conclusion and said:

Eka trouble, you can not distinguish colors! Can you distinguish a foreign plane from your own?

Distinguished, comrade commander.

So, you see, - pointing out the window, the commander continued, - there is "Seagull" number 13, sit down and fly.

Together with other pilots, Rechkalov stormed enemy troops on his "Seagull" six times on the first day, and seven times on the second day. Then reseeding on the I-16, he accompanied the bombers and attack aircraft, fought air battles. And here is the first joy: in an air battle, Grigory shot down a fascist Yu-88 plane. Twelve "Junkers" carried a bomb load to drop it on Chisinau. Three Soviet pilots, including Rechkalov, crashed into their formation and with bold attacks forced them to unload far from the target.

O once, when the fighters were escorting the "Seagulls", which stormed the fascist column, a dry crack was heard in the cockpit of Rechkalov's plane, blood flowed down his face, his right foot slipped off the pedal. He barely made it to the airfield, landed the car with difficulty, but he didn’t have enough strength to get out of the cab.

For several months, Gregory lay in hospitals, underwent three operations. And as soon as the wounds healed, he began to beg the doctor to discharge him to the unit. One day the doctor said angrily:

Okay, we’ll write it out, but we’ll give a restriction, you will fly in the rear on light aircraft.

A few days later, Rechkalov arrived at the flight school. First, he asked:

What kind of planes do you have?

Only U-2, - answered the staff officer.

So, there was a mistake, ”Rechkalov said nervously and, picking up his suitcase, went back to the district air force headquarters.

What, did you send me there for a laugh? After all, I am a fighter! - he pressed on the officer who issued him an order to go to school.

But he was relentless. Only the commander of the Air Force of the district, after a long conversation, allowed Rechkalov to be sent to a reserve fighter regiment, in which pilots were being retrained for LaGGi and Yaks. But Gregory was drawn to where his fellow soldiers were, to the front. He writes a report with a request to send him to the army. He is denied. Writes the second, third ... And then the leg began to bother: a fragment. Rechkalov was put in for an operation. He spent more than two weeks in the hospital. And when he was discharged, he came to the commander of the reserve aviation regiment to ask for a vacation, to his homeland. Before that, there were cases when pilots, getting vacation, went to the front, to their unit. The regiment commander, having received Rechkalov, said:

Okay, you're not getting away from me on crutches.

And he let go. Grigory stopped for a couple of days in Sverdlovsk, to visit his relatives, and, still with a crutch in his hand, went to the Rostov-on-Don region, where his native regiment fought.

On the train, someone gave him a fresh issue of the newspaper. From it, he learned that the regiment was given the name of the Guards. Grigory was delighted, he was eager to meet with his fighting friends and, together with them, under the banner of the Guards, smash the Nazis.

AT new front, combat life. Grigory Rechkalov quickly entered her. Mastering the experience accumulated by the pilots of the regiment, he seeks and applies new tactical methods of air combat, boldly fights the enemy. Within a short time, it makes more than a hundred sorties, destroys dozens of vehicles, artillery pieces, railway cars and a lot of enemy manpower by assault actions; in 20 air battles conducted during this time, Rechkalov shot down six enemy aircraft: four personally and two in a group. At the end of December 1942, Rechkalov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for these successful actions.

New planes were sent to the front. The 16th Guards Fighter Regiment also received them. Day and night, the pilots mastered the new car. In April 1943, at the height of the air battle in the Kuban, they entered the battle on new aircraft.

It was sunny spring days. In the Kuban sky, from dawn until late at night, dozens of their own and other people's aircraft were flying. “There was not a single sortie,” recalls Grigory Rechkalov, “that we did not fight. At first, the Nazis acted impudently. A group will jump out, fall in, you look, then one or another of our planes, on fire, flies to the ground. But we quickly unraveled the tactics of the fascist pilots and began to apply new techniques: to walk in pairs, not in flights, it is better to use it for communication and radio guidance, to echelon groups of aircraft in the so-called "whatnot". It was during these days that the “falcon strike” developed by Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin was born in our regiment. Grigory Rechkalov, who then served in Pokryshkin's squadron, was his faithful assistant.

... AT eight fighters flew towards the front line, escorting attack aircraft. Suddenly nine Me-109s and ten Me-110s appeared at the bottom left. Not noticing the Soviet fighters, they attacked the attack aircraft. Rechkalov realized that there was not a second to lose. Instantly sounded the command: "Attack!" Steeply diving, the Soviet pilots from above suddenly fall on the Messerschmitts. Rechkalov sees how the silhouette of the enemy aircraft is increasing in scope. Involuntarily, the hand tends to press the trigger. But the mind prompts: "Early, early, to beat - so for sure, from a short distance." The fascist pilot tries to sharply turn away, but too late. The fire track is stitching his car.

“How opportunely the“ falcon strike ”came,” Rechkalov thinks and, using the high speed developed due to a steep dive, gains altitude in order to attack enemy aircraft again ...

This was already the second air battle held over the Kuban land on April 21, 1943 by Rechkalov's eight. Like the first, it ended in complete victory: the Messerschmitts could not break through to the Soviet attack aircraft. Having lost several cars, they got away. Two of them were shot down by Grigory Rechkalov.

Day after day, five-pointed scarlet stars were added on Rechkalov's plane and lined up in one common line. In the Kuban, 19 of them have been added!

In fierce battles with the enemy, Gregory understood the main commandment of the fighter: “Find the enemy first. Do not rush to attack - wait a moment. Attack for sure, from close range, in one burst.

O once eight fighters under the command of Rechkalov covered ground troops in the area of ​​​​the Molochnaya River. When the patrol time was almost up, Rechkalov noticed a large group of "Junkers" below on the right - no less than 50. They were fifteen kilometers from the front line. They were covered by two links of fighters.

Attack in the forehead, Rechkalov decides.

Such a decision was based on surprise and on the use of the full power of the strike group's fire.

Klubov, cover us, we're going on the attack, - he told the leader of the second four and, rebuilding his group in bearing, rushed into the enemy's forehead. From a distance of 200 meters, he shot down the leading fascists. Almost simultaneously, another Yu-87 caught fire. It was lit by the pilot G. G. Golubev. Without ceasing fire, Soviet fighters passed through the entire formation of bombers. The sixes, in which the plane was shot down, dropped their bombs and began to leave. The entire formation of Yu-87 crumbled.

Having made a military turn, Rechkalov with his wingman again found himself above the bombers. But at that moment, a pair of Messers began to enter the tail of his plane. This was noticed by senior lieutenant V.I. Zherdev and decided to tie them up in battle. He shot down one on a bend. Seeing that Zherdev was repulsing the Messers, Rechkalov, diving, caught the lead pair of bombers in sight and pressed the trigger. A well-aimed turn flashed another Junkers.

The Nazis swooped in. Taking advantage of the panic, Rechkalov drove a line into the third Yu-87, which exploded in the air from its own bombs.

Soviet pilots destroyed five Junkers and one Messerschmitt in this battle. Rechkalov managed to shoot down three planes.

Soon Grigory Rechkalov appeared at the airfield with the Order of Alexander Nevsky on his chest. It was the award of the Motherland for successful victories in battle with superior enemy forces.

... To somehow, late in the evening, an order came to the regiment: by sorties of several pairs of “free hunter” fighters, to prevent the actions of enemy “hunter” aircraft, transport and communication vehicles, to disrupt the movement of railway trains, single vehicles, etc. In the morning, Rechkalov and his wingman received the task of "free hunting". He passionately loved to fly like this over the battlefield or far behind enemy lines, to seek out targets on his own and suddenly destroy them ...

There was an air battle. Rechkalov, going to a height of 5-6 thousand meters, watched him. Suddenly, two Me-109s, obviously also "hunters", gaining altitude, went to our territory. Rechkalov let them pass under him, and then dived and from behind in a short burst from a distance of 50 meters lit one plane. The second went to his territory.

Shortly before the expulsion of the Nazis from the Crimea, Rechkalov "hunted" over the sea for transport aircraft that brought ammunition, fuel and food for the encircled enemy. On one of the gloomy days, he noticed three Ju-52s.

“Gasoline is being transported to the Crimea,” thought the pilot. And he was not wrong. When the two Junkers shot down by him and his wingman crashed into the sea, a huge flame ran across the water.

W whether days or months. Our troops moved further and further to the west, freeing their native land from the fascist invaders, crushing them in their own lair. The Nazis threw new reserves into battle, and our pilots had to participate in two, three, or even four air battles a day. Grigory Rechkalov also took part in them.

The regiment was on alert. Suddenly, the commander of the division of the guard, Colonel A.I. Pokryshkin, flew in. At the command post, he opened the map and explained the mission.

Into this area,” he began, pointing to the map, “our tanks moved. Probably, in a few minutes, "Focke-Wulfs" will appear there, we must prevent them from going there, cover up the actions of the tankers. It's clear? Fly out!

“I gave the command,” says Rechkalov. - Less than five minutes later, we were in the air. Mountains covered with snow appeared below us. We knew that the German airfield was somewhere in these mountains. And on their white background, we saw the silhouettes of enemy aircraft. These were the "Focke-Wulf-190", which were used not only as fighters, but also as attack bombers. We failed to attack the airfield: fascist fighters rose towards us.

We started a fight with four Focke-Wulfs. Beryozkin and Sukhov, breaking into the formation of German aircraft, immediately shot down one FV-190 each. We were already preparing to settle scores with the remaining two aircraft, when eight more Focke-Wulfs fell on top of us. They hastily dropped their bombs and engaged us. I managed to shoot down one of them, and the other, which I attacked from the side, began to flee. I started chasing...

At the sixteenth minute of the battle, we managed to disperse the Focke-Wulfs. Five of them were shot down ... "

This brilliant air fighter was distinguished by a very contradictory and uneven character. Showing a model of courage, determination and discipline in one sortie, in the next he could be distracted from the main task and just as resolutely start pursuing a random enemy. His combat fate intertwined with the fate of A. I. Pokryshkin; he flew with him in a group, replaced him as a commander, then as a regiment commander. Alexander Ivanovich himself best qualities Rechkalova considered directness and frankness.

Grigory Rechkalov was born on February 9, 1920 in the village of Khudyakovo, Irbitsky district, Perm province. He learned to fly at a local flying club. After being drafted into the Red Army, in 1938 he was admitted to the Perm Military Aviation School. The one that 5 years before Rechkalov's arrival there, his future commander, A. I. Pokryshkin, graduated. True, then the school produced only aviation technicians. Becoming a military pilot in 1939, Rechkalov served in the Air Force of the Red Army of the Odessa Military District.

Despite the fact that the medical board determined he had color blindness, he won the right to continue his service and in 1941 was sent to the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment with the rank of sergeant. The regiment was stationed in Moldavia and re-equipped with new types of fighters during the summer. However, Rechkalov's squadron was still armed with obsolete I-153s.

The beginning of the war saved Rechkalov from being written off from flight work: the regiment commander ignored another, disastrous for the pilot, conclusion of doctors.

Rechkalov made his first sorties, to attack the enemy troops, on the I-153 - a biplane with a blue tail number "13". During the 1st week of the war, he completed about 30 sorties for ground attack and conducted 10 air battles.

On the same machine, he won his first victory - on June 27, 1941, with a volley of rockets, he shot down one of the Me-109s that attacked him. Like Pokryshkin, he later said that his number 13 was "unlucky for the enemy." On it, however, he, however, had an accident due to engine failure: the connecting rod broke, and, having scapotted, Rechkalov almost died. After the accident, he began to fly already on the I-16.

Soon, Rechkalov shot down first a Polish PZL P-24 fighter (Romanian pilots flew them), and then a German Ju-88 bomber. On July 26, in the Dubossary area, while attacking an enemy column, he was wounded in the head and leg by fire from the ground, brought the car to his airfield and landed in the hospital, underwent 3 operations there - the wound in the leg turned out to be quite severe.

After a relative recovery, the pilot was sent to the reserve regiment, but, having learned that he was equipped only with U-2 aircraft, he decisively turned and went back to the district air force headquarters. There he achieved a meeting with the commander and managed to demand a direction for retraining in a fighter regiment. Only on March 30, 1942, having mastered the Yak-1 and having once again been in the hospital - it was difficult for a fragment to come out, Rechkalov, by hook or by crook, returned to his regiment - the 55th IAP, which by that time had received the Guards name (16th Guards IAP). Here, on the Southern Front, he makes about a hundred sorties, participating in 20 battles, bringing the number of his victories to 6, shooting down 4 aircraft personally and 2 as part of a group.

In December 1942, the regiment was recalled from the front for re-equipment with American P-39 Air Cobra fighters. By the spring of 1943, having received new vehicles in the North Caucasus, the regiment went to the Kuban. On the very first sortie, Rechkalov and Pokryshkin shot down one Me-109F each in an air battle over the village of Krymskaya. On April 15, Rechkalov shot down a Ju-88 in a battle with a large group of bombers. The next day - Me-109 near the village of Kholmskaya and 2 more Me-109 until the 21st.

A. Klubov, G. Rechkalov, A. Trud and B. Glinka (from left to right).

8 days later, 6 Aerocobras of Captain A. Pokryshkin started a battle with a group of Ju-87s escorted by 4 Me-109 fighters over the front line. Pokryshkin attacked the bombers, and Rechkalov took up the fighters. As a result, both shot down 2 enemy aircraft and thwarted their attack.

Only in the first 2 weeks of the battle in the Kuban, the deputy commander of the 1st squadron of the 16th GvIAP of the Guard, Senior Lieutenant G. R. Rechkalov personally shot down 8 enemy aircraft in air battles (7 Me-109 and 1 Ju-88) and was promoted to the rank Hero of the Soviet Union. Recalling those days, Grigory Andreevich later wrote:

“There was not a single sortie so that we would not fight. At first, the enemy acted impudently. A group will jump out, pile up, you look, then one or another of our planes, catching fire, rushes to the ground. But we quickly unraveled the tactics of the German pilots and began to apply new tricks: to walk in pairs, not in flights, it is better to use it for communication and radio guidance, to echelon groups of aircraft in the so-called "whatnot". It was during these days that the “falcon strike” developed by Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin was born in our regiment.

In the Kuban, Rechkalov fought on the P-39D-1, P-39D-2 Air Cobras, tail number "40", won 19 victories, destroying 2 aircraft three times in one battle and once - 3. Usually he flew leading a pair in the Pokryshkin group. May 24, 1943 became a Hero of the Soviet Union. Rechkalov made his last double already near Iasi, shooting down 2 Ju-87 dive-bombers in a short and decisive attack.

Infinitely brave personally, daring, full of contempt for enemies, Rechkalov fought on a decorated Aerocobra, in addition to the standard coloring and quick recognition elements, which carried stars according to the number of downed enemies and the formidable letters RGA (pilot's initials) on the tail section of the fuselage.

In the summer of 1943, at the head of eight fighters, he attacked a large group of Ju-87 dive bombers and personally shot down 3 of them. His group then shot down 5 Junkers and one Messer.

In the autumn of 1943, during the famous "hunt over the sea", opened by Pokryshkin, Rechkalov managed to shoot down 3 aircraft - 2 three-engine Ju-52 - fuel trucks in one sortie and the Italian flying boat "Savoye".

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union G. A. Rechkalov in the cockpit of his Aerocobra.

He was happy to fly on a "hunt", liked to climb to a great height, about 6000 meters, and, using his exceptionally sharp eyesight, quickly attack the chosen victim. The ace flew on missions with different pilots. Among them were A. Trud, G. Golubev, V. Zherdev. He fought over the Sea of ​​Azov, when in the spring of 1944 the regiment operated as part of the 4th Ukrainian Front over the Crimea, participated in the Chisinau campaign, which sent him back to the places where he made his first sorties in this war.

He became a captain, deputy regiment commander with rich combat experience. In July 1944, Boris Glinka was seriously wounded and Rechkalov temporarily took over his duties. On July 1, 1944, he was awarded the second Gold Star medal, for 48 personal and 6 group victories won by him in 415 sorties and 112 air battles (as of June 1944).

A distinctive feature of Rechkalov was that he quickly caught the idea of ​​​​each battle and, no matter how the situation in the air developed, almost always brought the fight to the end, achieving victory. His ability to interact with other groups made it possible to confidently fight against numerically superior enemy forces.

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union G. A. Rechkalov on the wing of his Aerocobra.

The air battle conducted by our aces on July 16, 1944 can be called truly classic. In all its brilliance, the fighting qualities of Soviet commanders and ordinary pilots appeared in it. 12 aircraft of the 16th Guards Regiment under the command of G. A. Rechkalov in the Sushno area covered the ground troops from air raids, which were in the initial position for the attack. The fighters of the strike group loitered at an altitude of 2000 meters. Above them, with an excess of 400 - 500 meters, a cover group headed by the leader - Guard Lieutenant Colonel A. I. Pokryshkin, walked. And the uppermost tier was occupied by a support group under the command of the Hero of the Soviet Union Guards Senior Lieutenant A. Trud.

Grigory Rechkalov was born on February 9, 1920 in the village of Khudyakovo, Vladimir Region. The boy grew up in an ordinary peasant family. After graduating from the sixth grade of the school, he got a job as an electrician at the Verkh-Isetsky Metallurgical Plant. At the same time, the young man studied at the local flying club.

He served in the Red Army from January 1938. A year later he graduated from the Perm Military Aviation Pilot School. He served as a junior pilot in the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Force of the Odessa Military District.

He was on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War from June 1941. He was a flight commander of the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, 216th Mixed Aviation Division, 4th Air Army.

By May 1943, Senior Lieutenant Rechkalov made 194 sorties, in 54 air battles, and personally shot down 12 enemy aircraft. During one of the air battles, he was seriously wounded in the head and leg, and was treated in the hospital for a long time.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 24, 1943, for the courage and heroism shown in battles, Guards Senior Lieutenant Grigory Andreevich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

After treatment, he returned to service and by June 1944 made 415 sorties, participated in 112 air battles, personally shot down 48 enemy aircraft and 6 as part of a group.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 1, 1944, Captain Rechkalov Grigory Andreevich was awarded the second Gold Star medal for new military exploits of the guard.

From July 1944 to March 1945 he was commander of the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. In March 1945 he became a pilot inspector for piloting technique of the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Division.

Grigory Andreevich fought on the Southern, North Caucasian, 1st, 2nd and 4th Ukrainian fronts. Participated in defensive battles in southern Ukraine, the defense of the North Caucasus, the liberation of the Kuban, Donbass, Crimea, Belarus and Poland, in the Berlin operation. In total, during the war, Rechkalov made more than 450 sorties on the I-153 Chaika, I-16, Yak-1 and R-39 Airacobra fighters; participated in 122 air battles, in which he personally shot down 61 enemy aircraft.

After the war, Rechkalov continued to serve in the Air Force. From August 1945 he became an inspector pilot for piloting technique of the 6th Guards Fighter Aviation Corps. In 1951 he graduated from the Air Force Academy.

From 1951 he was deputy commander, from July 1952 he was commander of the 10th Guards Fighter Aviation Division. Then he commanded the 146th Fighter Aviation Division of the Sakhalin Air Defense Corps. Since 1957, he was appointed deputy commander of fighter aircraft of the Separate Far Eastern Air Defense Army.

Since April 1959, in the rank of Major General of Aviation, Grigory Rechkalov was transferred to the reserve. Lived in the cities of Novosibirsk, Moscow. AT last years life was in the city of Zhukovsky, Moscow region.

Military pilot Grigory Rechkalov died on December 20, 1990. He was buried in the village of Bobrovsky, Sverdlovsk Region.

Grigory Rechkalov's awards

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (05/24/1943, 07/01/1944);
The order of Lenin;
Four Orders of the Red Banner;
Order of Alexander Nevsky (October 2, 1943);
Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class;
Two Orders of the Red Star (October 26, 1955; 1956);
Medal "For Military Merit" (June 24, 1948);
Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945";
Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945";
Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945";
Jubilee medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945";

Honorary citizen of the city of Balti.

Memory of Grigory Rechkalov

In the homeland of the Hero in Zaikovo, bronze bust and opened a museum on the street. Communist, 170. In mid-August 2015, the museum was transformed into a museum and patriotic complex, at the opening of which MiG-31 fighter-interceptors made a "memory flight" in honor of Grigory Rechkalov.

The Hero's name is given to school No. 1 in Zaikovo, where Grigory Rechkalov studied, a memorial plaque was installed at the school.

A bust of G. A. Rechkalov is installed on Pobedy Boulevard in the city of Irbit, Sverdlovsk Region.

In Yekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk), where Grigory Andreevich studied and worked, a street in the Verkh-Isetsky district is named after him.

In February 2019, a bust of twice Hero of the Soviet Union Grigory Rechkalov was unveiled in the village of Krylovskaya, Krasnodar Territory.

The future twice Hero of the Soviet Union, one of the best Soviet aces, Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov was born on February 9, 1920 in the village of Khudyakovo, Irbitsky district, in the most ordinary peasant family. At the end of 1937, on a Komsomol ticket, young Rechkalov went to a military pilot school in Perm, which he successfully graduated in 1939. After distribution, Grigory, with the rank of junior lieutenant, is sent to serve in the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which gave the country many famous pilots.

At the time when Rechkalov got into the 55th IAP, he was equipped with I-153, I-16 and UTI-4 aircraft and was part of the 1st KOVO high-speed bomber brigade. In 1940, the regiment was transferred to the 20th mixed aviation division, which was part of the Air Force of the Odessa Military District. The regiment was located on the outskirts of the small town of Balti near the border with Romania.

On June 22, 1941, Grigory Rechkalov arrived at the disposal of his regiment from Odessa, where he passed a medical flight commission, which wrote him off from flying work, the pilot had color blindness, he could not distinguish colors well. By that time, the first losses had already been noted in the regiment, and combat work was in full swing. Having reported his arrival to the unit and the cancellation from flights, Rechkalov immediately receives his first combat mission - to take the documents to the neighboring unit on the I-153 fighter. The chief of staff of the regiment, Major Matveev, did not even pay attention to the conclusion of the doctors, there was no time for that. So, unexpectedly for a fighter pilot, a very difficult task was solved, which tormented him all the way to the regiment. In his very first sortie, Grigory Rechkalov met the enemy in battle, survived and was able to rescue his comrade.

In the future, chance will intervene more than once in the fate of the ace pilot, which will provide him with the opportunity to return to the sky. It would take too long to tell about them. It is only worth mentioning that after a month of the war, having 3 downed German aircraft on his combat account, Rechkalov is seriously wounded in the leg and wounded brings his I-16 to the airfield, from where he is immediately transported to the hospital. In the hospital, he undergoes a very complicated operation on his right leg. This injury put him out of action for almost a year. In April 1942, having escaped from the reserve aviation regiment, where the pilot was retrained on the Yak-1, he returned to his native, now the 16th GvIAP.

From this moment begins a new stage of his flying career with the call sign "RGA". Ahead of him is retraining for the American P-39 Aerocobra fighter, the formidable sky of the Kuban, the first Golden Star of the Hero, fierce battles in the sky over Iasi, the second Golden Star and, at the end, the sky of Berlin. He included this segment and some confrontation with the famous Soviet ace Pokryshkin, which received an unexpected development after the end of the war and which they preferred not to talk about out loud before.

Grigory Rechkalov entered as the most productive ace, who won the most victories on the P-39 Airacobra fighter. By the end of the war, his Cobra had 56 stars, which symbolized 53 personal and 3 group victories of the pilot. Rechkalov was the second most successful Allied pilot. On his account there were 61 personal victories and 4 group victories.

Among the German aircraft shot down by Grigory Rechkalov were:

30 Me-109 fighters;
5 FW-190 fighter
2 Me-110 fighters;
11 Ju-87 bombers
5 Ju 88 bombers
3 Ju 52 transports
2 He-111 bombers
2 light reconnaissance aircraft Fi 156
1 Hs 126 spotter fighter

Conflict with Pokryshkin

For those who were interested in the history of the 55th IAP, which later became the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, and subsequently the 9th GvIAD, which Pokryshkin commanded from July 1944, the strained relationship between the commander and one of the best Soviet aces twice Hero of the Soviet Union Grigory Andreyevich Rechkalov. At one time, the aviation community even led serious disputes in the vastness of the worldwide network, trying to understand the nature of the relationship between two famous Soviet aces. Many believed that the reasons lay in their air rivalry, while taking into account the most diverse aspects of their combat interaction.

Pilot-aces of the 9th Guards Aviation Division near the Bell P-39 "Aerocobra" fighter G.A. Rechkalov. From left to right: Alexander Fedorovich Klubov, Grigory Andreyevich Rechkalov, Andrey Ivanovich Trud and commander of the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment Boris Borisovich Glinka.

Like it or not, but over time it began to seem that the strained relationship between the two pilots, which led to a serious conflict, was connected with their personal accounts of downed aircraft. These assumptions were also confirmed by Rechkalov's relatives, in particular, his wife Anfisa and daughter Lyubov spoke about this. According to the daughter of the famous ace, already at the end of World War II, Grigory Rechkalov, working with TsAMO documents, found 3 of his planes shot down in 1941 on the account of Alexander Pokryshkin. Having learned about this, he most likely called his immediate military commander and expressed everything that he thinks about him. The reaction of Alexander Pokryshkin was not long in coming, after this conversation they forgot about Rechkalov, and access to the TsAMO archives was closed to him. Even another Soviet ace, Georgy Golubev, who was Pokryshkin’s follower and was friends with Rechkalov during the war, in his book Paired with the Hundredth, writes practically nothing about his friend during the war, building the whole story around Pokryshkin’s personality. According to the relatives of Grigory Rechkalov, he adhered to his opinion that the 3 planes he shot down were attributed to Pokryshkin until his death in 1990.

Since 06/22/1941, Rechkalov’s personal combat account has been opened by the following enemy aircraft shot down: on June 26 in the Ungen region he shot down a Me-109 fighter, on June 27 an Hs 126 spotter fighter and on July 11 a Ju 88 bomber. However, a month after the start of the war, Grigory Rechkalov gets seriously injured in the leg. During a sortie on 07/26/1941 to escort seven I-153s that took off for an attack, Rechkalov was part of a flight of I-16 escort fighters. In the Dubossary area, when approaching the target, a group of aircraft comes under intense German anti-aircraft fire. During the shelling, Rechkalov was wounded, the hit on the plane was so strong and accurate that the fighter's control pedal was broken in half, and the pilot's foot was seriously injured.

During the absence of the pilot, many documents of the 55th IAP were destroyed during the retreat from Odessa. It is possible that Rechkalovo's account was reset to zero also because during his almost year-long absence, the regiment was transferred to another unit, while information about the pilot's victories remained in the documents of the 20th mixed air division. A report on the combat work of the new 16th Guards Aviation Regiment was already compiled in the reserve regiment, so there was nowhere to take data for 1941 from. This would be a fairly convincing version, if not for the fact that many pilots of the 55th IAP, even despite the burning of headquarters documents, shot down aircraft were again recorded and only the "returner" Grigory Rechkalov had to start his combat path from scratch. One way or another, Rechkalov was convinced until the end of his life that 3 victories of 1941 were withdrawn from his combat account, which, by some coincidence, fell into Pokryshkin's account.

Already many years after the end of the war, Grigory Rechkalov was asked what he most valued in his P-39Q Airacobra fighter, on which he won so many victories: the power of a fire salvo, speed, engine reliability, visibility from the cockpit? To this question, Rechkalov noted that all of the above, of course, played a role and these advantages are important, but the most important thing in his opinion in the American fighter was ... radio. According to him, the Cobra had excellent, rare radio communications at that time. Thanks to her, the pilots in the group could communicate with each other, as if by telephone. Anyone who saw something in the air immediately reported, so there were no surprises during the combat sorties.

It is worth noting that the Aircobras have come a long way, constantly being modernized and improved, including taking into account the requirements of the Soviet side. To assemble and fly around the fighters that were in the USSR, a special group of the Air Force Research Institute was created, which engaged in a thorough study of the flight performance of the Aerocobra, as well as the elimination of various identified defects. The first versions of the P-39D were characterized by overestimated performance. For example, the speed near the ground was only 493 km / h, and at an altitude of 7000 m - 552 km / h, the maximum speed that the aircraft managed to develop at an altitude of 4200 m was 585 km / h. The higher the plane climbed, the lower its rate of climb became. At an altitude of 5000 meters, it was 9.6 m/s, but near the ground it was already 14.4 m/s. The takeoff and landing characteristics of the fighter were also quite high. The mileage of the aircraft was 350 meters, and the takeoff was 300 meters.

It is worth noting that American engineers, designers and workers were sympathetic to the proposals coming from the Soviet Air Force, which concerned improving the design of the fighter. When coming to the USSR, Bell specialists visited military units, tried to study the circumstances and causes of accidents on the spot. In turn, Soviet engineers and pilots were also sent to the United States, where they helped the Bell company to improve the R-39 Airacobra fighter. Was connected to the work on the aircraft and the largest center of Soviet aviation science - the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute. Zhukovsky, known by the acronym TsAGI.

In 1942, the most massive and best modification of the P-39Q fighter went into production, Rechkalov flew the P-39Q-15 fighter. Unlike other models, instead of 4 rifle-caliber wing-mounted machine guns, 2 large-caliber 12.7-mm machine guns were installed on the fighter with the letter Q. Among the fighters of this series there were also special lightweight models, for example, the P-39Q-10 version was distinguished by the fact that the wing machine guns were completely absent on it.

Sources used:
www.airwiki.org/history/aces/ace2ww/pilots/rechkalov.html
www.airwar.ru/history/aces/ace2ww/pilots/rechkalov.html
www.airaces.narod.ru/all1/rechkal1.htm
www.vspomniv.ru/P_39