Nikolay Arsentievich Arkhipov (1918-23-10 - 2003-31-07). Fighter pilot, participant of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Way to heaven
Nikolai Arkhipov was born in the village of Putilkovo in the Yaroslavl region. Their family had 15 children. He was not yet fifteen years old when he had already received his education as a turner and began working as a turner at an aircraft building plant in Rybinsk. Then he did not yet know that his biography would be very diverse and rich.
The thirties was a time when all Soviet youth simply raved about the sky. Boys and girls en masse went to flight schools and colleges, mastered aircraft and conquered the sky. This dream did not pass by Nicholas either. When he saw the plane for the first time, he realized that his future was in aviation.
But the path from dream to reality was very far. Only adult youths could study at Osoaviakhim, and Nikolai was not yet fifteen. But I really didn't want to wait. The way to heaven was opened by fake documents: a good friend of the family, a doctor, in the metric indicated an age three years older than it actually was. The boy was admitted to the flying club.
In 1939 Nikolai joined the army. He studied at the school of military pilots in Stalingrad, successfully completed his studies and in 1940 he was sent to the Trans-Baikal Military District.
Baptism of fire
When the war was announced, Lieutenant Arkhipov immediately went to the front. His place of service was the western front. The combat path of the young pilot began on July 10, 1941.
He remembered this first day forever. The Germans attacked from the air the Smolensk airfield, where part of Arkhipov was based. Almost all aircraft were disabled. And Nikolai's plane remained intact. On this only surviving plane, he went to his first battle. In the air, he met two Me-109s. He knocked down one, the second preferred to hide.
Having barely landed, I received a new assignment. Now he was to escort the SB-3 bomber division on the mission. the operation was successful. Bombers bombed enemy tank columns. Only on the way back did the enemy fighters meet, but they did not dare to attack such a number of aircraft and evaded the battle. Having "delivered" the bombers to their destination, Arkhipov returned to his airfield. But again they failed to rest. By this time, several aircraft had already been restored. All the machines that could take to the air went into battle again.
Under Moscow
Soviet troops were retreating. The Germans were eager for Moscow. Fighters covered the withdrawal of Soviet troops, constantly fought with enemy aircraft. From one such battle, when he had to fight twelve Me-109 fighters, the pilot miraculously reached the airfield: the fuel was at zero, the propeller did not rotate.
Immediately after landing, the regiment's communist activists decided to admit Arkhipov to the CPSU. This was a clear recognition of the young pilot's merits.
The next stage of the combat path of Nikolai Arsentievich was the battle for Moscow. The thirty-second IAP was located not far from the place where the fighting took place.
Once it was necessary to urgently carry out aerial reconnaissance and find out how many forces the fascists have in the Dukhovshchina area, and how they are located. A general arrived from the headquarters for this information.
Nikolay Arkhipov went on reconnaissance. I had to show all my flying skills to accurately determine the location of the enemy's equipment and manpower, but the pilot succeeded. The price of success is an almost completely wrecked aircraft, which did not even make it to the airfield. But the importance of the findings was worth it.
The situation near Moscow became more and more difficult. Our troops held back the enemy on the ground and in the air. However, it also happened that the pilots flew "in vain", that is, they did not meet enemy aircraft. And at this time Nikolai Arkhipov suggested not to waste sorties, but to help the "infantry" if possible. Now the pilots fired unspent ammunition at ground targets. The system "got accustomed" to the regiment, and soon it was used by the entire flight crew.
Wound
After the victory at Moscow, the regiment was relocated to Yeisk, where the pilots fought against the Germans rushing to the Crimea.
Here he received his first wound, due to which he was out of action for a long time. He covered our troops from the air crossing the Kerch Strait. His plane was seriously damaged in an air battle, it was not possible to eject - the cockpit jammed. The fact that Nikolai survived can be considered a miracle. We can say that the miracle happened twice: while the pilot was in the hospital, almost all the pilots of his regiment died, except for one crew.
Nikolai returned to service in July. The regiment at this time was again relocated to the Western Front. Arkhipov still had difficulty walking, but there was no time for a full recovery. It was necessary to fight and train young pilots.
Over the next year, he fought in the Rzhev-Sychevsky direction, on the Kalinin front, then on the Voronezh front.
Hero Star
In 1943, a fighter regiment took part in the battle at the Kursk Bulge. On July 16, four of our aircraft, one of which was flown by Arkhipov, met with 26 German fighters. Nikolai Arsentievich decided to attack. It turned out to be successful thanks to the well-coordinated and quick actions of our pilots and their composure. Seven aircraft were shot down, two of which were on account of Arkhipov.
Two months after this battle, Nikolai Arkhipov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 1251).
He continued to fight. He took part in the battles on the Leningrad Front, the destruction of the Kurland group in the Baltic States.
Life after the Victory
There, in the Baltic States, he was also on May 9, 1945. During the war, he managed to make 389 sorties, participated in air battles 148 times, shot down 26 aircraft (19 personally and 8 in a group).
Major Arkhipov with other winners walked along the cobblestones of Red Square in June 1945, during the victorious parade. He also did not part with the sky - until 1973. After retiring, he lived in Rostov-on-Don, worked and was engaged in social activities.
In the same place. in Rostov, Nikolai Arkhipovich died after living a long, fruitful life. In this city he was buried. The famous pilot made a contribution to the history of the Great Patriotic War and left a mark in the memory of posterity.
