The names of the heroes of the wars that have died down are carefully preserved in the memory of future generations. Not all of them lived to see the victorious salutes. Vitaly Popkov, a Soviet pilot and master of air combat, lived a long and dignified life.
Pupil of the flying club
In the 30s of the last century, the children of the Soviet country had the opportunity to choose any profession. Then, even in the song, it was sung that young people are dear to us everywhere. At the call of the Komsomol, many young men and women enrolled in flying clubs in order to master the technique of aircraft control. Vitaly Ivanovich Popkov was among the young people who dreamed of becoming pilots. The future fighter pilot was born on May 1, 1922 in a working class family. Parents lived in Moscow. My father worked as a mechanic in a garage. Mother was engaged in housekeeping.
The boy grew up energetic and inquisitive. At the school where Vitaly studied, there was an aircraft modeling circle. Popkov was not even ten years old when he assembled his first glider model. Then a model airplane with a rubber motor appeared. Children's creativity served as an impetus for the choice of a life path. In high school, Vitaly began his studies at the flying club, which was located on the Tushino field. He graduated from school in 1940, and at the same time received a pilot's license in the flying club. In the fall he was drafted into the Red Army.
In battles under the clouds
When the war began, Popkov was listed as a cadet at the Bataysk Military Aviation Pilot School. Young pilots received crash training. Vitaly was promoted to sergeant and assigned to a fighter regiment. He had to gain the missing knowledge and experience in battles with enemy aces. Among our pilots, young people who had not yet gained combat practice died more often. Popkov, as they say, slipped through a dangerous period of adaptation. And not just slipped through, but in many respects understood the tactics of the enemy's behavior in the sky.
In the fiercest battles, the pilots who were brave, skillful and observant were victorious. The number of downed enemy vehicles increased with each sortie. In the fall of 1943, during the battles for Donbass, Popkov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Then he fought in the skies of Poland and Germany. The squadron commander met the victory at the airfield near Berlin. Vitaly Popkov took part in the famous Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow. A promising pilot and officer was sent to receive higher education at the Moscow Air Force Academy.
Peacetime service
After graduating from the academy, Popkov received a referral to the Korean Peninsula, where he had to face the American aces. He personally shot down four enemy vehicles and forced an American B-29 with secret equipment on board to land at our airfield.
The personal life of the hero-pilot was successful. He met his wife Raisa Vasilievna Volkova in 1944 during the battles for Poland. The Air Force captain and the senior lieutenant of the medical service have lived under the same roof for 55 years. The husband and wife loved each other. Raisa Vasilievna died in 2000. Vitaly Ivanovich passed away ten years later.
