People who were born and lived in the era of revolutionary transformations left their names and deeds as a keepsake to their descendants. Mikhail Vodopyanov came to aviation thanks to a fluke and became a full-fledged member of the "eagle tribe".
From the train to the plane
As one famous poet remarked, the big is seen at a distance. This rule is fully manifested in the biography of Mikhail Vasilyevich Vodopyanov, the legendary "Stalin's Falcon", Arctic explorer and writer.
The future pilot was born on November 18, 1899 in an ordinary peasant family. Parents lived in the village of Bolshie Studenki, not far from the future city of Lipetsk. My father was engaged in arable farming. The mother kept the household and raised the children. According to all signs and traditions, the boy was destined to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors.
Mikhail graduated from three classes of the parish school and began to help his parents in their daily affairs and concerns. The usual way of life changed after the October Revolution in Petrograd.
In 1918, Vodopyanov was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army. A physically strong and intelligent guy was assigned to serve in the division of heavy bombers. He was assigned to look after the oxen and horses that were used to transport the planes. This is how the service of the future pilot began. Mikhail was interested in the design of aircraft and willingly helped mechanics in the repair of winged aircraft.
In war and in a peaceful sky
In the army, Vodopyanov did not succeed in becoming a pilot. After demobilization, he studied aviation technician courses, and began to service the plane of the legendary Russian pilot Khariton Slavorossov. In 1929, Mikhail Vasilyevich graduated from a flight technical school in Moscow and received a certificate of a professional aviator. The certified pilot was sent to work in the Far Eastern Directorate of Air Communications. He carried out important tasks of the command for laying air routes to remote regions of the North and to Sakhalin.
During the passage from Murmansk to Vladivostok, the ice crushed the steamer "Chelyuskin". The pilots were instructed to rescue the people. Vodopyanov made three flights and took 10 people to the mainland. These events took place in the winter of 1934. In the pre-war years, an experienced pilot brought research scientists to different regions of the Arctic. Repeatedly made landings on the ice. When the war began, Vodopyanov commanded a division of long-range bombers. The divisional commander personally bombed the capital of Nazi Germany, the city of Berlin in August 1941. When returning to the base, the commander's plane was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft guns. The crew miraculously managed to get into their territory.
Merit and personal life
After retirement, the honored pilot carried out a lot of educational work among young people. He was engaged in literary creativity. Stories and stories were published in magazines and were published in separate books.
The Motherland highly appreciated the merits of Mikhail Vasilyevich Vodopyanov. Among the first, he was awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Gold Star at number 6.
The pilot's personal life was calm. Husband and wife, Mikhail Vasilyevich and Maria Dmitrievna, raised and raised seven children - two girls and five boys. General Vodopyanov died in August 1980. Buried in Moscow.
