Twice hero of the Soviet Union Sultan in the sky. The first twice Hero of the Soviet Union Is not a twice Hero of the Soviet Union

Sergei Gritsevets lived a short but unusually bright life and left a noticeable mark in the history of Russian aviation. The son of a poor Belarusian peasant, he was born on July 19, 1909 in the village of Borovtsy, now the Baranovichi district of the Brest region. He graduated from the 7th grade in 1927. He worked as a laborer in the track service on the railroad, in Flax Trade, as an apprentice locksmith in the hilt shop of a mechanical plant in Zlatoust. He graduated from the FZU, studied at the evening department of the metallurgical technical school. Since 1931 in the ranks of the Red Army.

In June 1931, on a Komsomol ticket, he arrived at the 3rd Orenburg Military Pilot School, where he was considered one of the most enterprising and capable cadets. The battle sheets of those years called for being equal in studies to Sergei. After graduating from the aviation school in September 1932, Gritsevets became a fighter pilot. At first he served in the Kyiv Aviation Brigade, and from December 1933 in the 1st Red Banner IAE in Gatchina. As part of this squadron, he then served in the Far East, became the head of the squadron's airborne rifle service, and then was appointed flight commander. From August 1, 1936 he studied at the Odessa School of Air Combat and Aerobatics, then he was an instructor pilot there.

A military pilot with a small suitcase was waiting for tram number 13, as it was called "aviation" here, to go from the Odessa-Hlavnaya station towards Lustdorf - the seaside children's climatic station. A sultry day at the end of July 1936 was approaching, but it was not yet hot in the morning, and Sergei felt cheerful and light, breathing in the fresh and humid sea air with pleasure. The mood was great.

Almost empty at an early hour, the carriage, having received a lone passenger, ran along deserted streets lined with trees of the middle lane interspersed with subtropical ones. Before Lustdorf, the tram turned onto Ulyanovka and stopped not far from the checkpoint of the aviation school. Sergei Gritsevets got out, and the carriage, rattling and ringing, turned into the city.

The core of the aerobatics school was a special-purpose aviation squadron. Talented career pilots of the Red Army Air Force, under the guidance of experienced instructors - methodologists, honed their air combat skills here, increased the accuracy of aerial fire, in a word, mastered the full course of using the newest aircraft in combat - the I-16 fighter.

By the end of July 1936, most of the fighter pilots of the first set arrived at the Odessa air combat school ...

Sergei wrote to his brother Ivan in Moscow:

“Since August 1, I have been in Odessa and have been studying at school. By the way, they teach theory very well. I fly a new fighter. I have to work a lot: 7 hours a day and work out of school until 1-2 am. This, however, happens on some days. if so, then Galya will stay with her mother for that time, it’s true, it will be boring to live apart, but we are no strangers to her. That’s how it is with us. Until then, all the best. Your brother Seryozha ... "

Then it happened in aviation units. In the rank of senior lieutenant, he was acting commander of the 8th Odessa Pilot School of the Kyiv Military District.

In June 1938, as part of a group of 34 pilots, he arrived in Spain to assist the Republican Air Force. He had pseudonyms "Sergio" and "Commander Serge".

In battles with enemy aircraft in unequal conditions, when the ratio between Republican and Francoist aircraft was often 1: 5, he came to the conclusion that the only correct tactic to fight in such conditions could only be a group "falcon strike" - a sudden attack of the enemy by the entire squadron from above, from behind.

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Weight, kg
takeoff
engine's type
Power, hp
Maximum speed, km/h
on high
Practical range, km
Climbing capacity, m/min
Practical ceiling, m
Armament:	four 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns

On August 14, 1938, the group of aircraft he commanded used this new tactic for the first time in air combat. The blow was so unexpected and stunning for the enemy that the enemy group lost control. Several enemy vehicles fell to the ground, engulfed in flames. Gritsevets' group in full force returned to the airfield.

In total, in the sky of Spain, Sergey Gritsevets made 88 sorties with a total flying time of 115 hours, in 42 (according to other sources in 24) air battles he shot down 30 enemy aircraft (6 personally and 24 as part of a group).

The pilots of the group under his leadership shot down 85 aircraft. The news of one of his sorties spread around the world ...

An air battle with German He-51s and Italian Cr-32s began near the Ebro River over the positions of Lister's corps, to which Spanish and foreign journalists were invited that day. Senior Lieutenant Gritsevets fought in the sky with superior enemy forces. But how! On the "donkey" - this is how the maneuverable I-16 was called - Sergey boldly attacked groups of enemy aircraft. The central newspaper of the Spanish communists, Mundo Obrero, reported about this unequal battle: “Sergio, a brave pilot of the Republic, loyal to military duty, fighting heroically, shot down 7 (seven!) Fascist planes in one sortie (including 5 Fiats CR-32), but his car was seriously damaged.

He-51

Fiat CR-32

Many foreign newspapers also wrote about this feat. Among others - the English "Daily News", whose correspondent watched the air battle and even managed to find out the real name of Sergio's camarado. The newspaper came out with a catchy headline: "Russian pilot Sergei Gritsevets - a man of amazing courage." [According to the data of S. V. Abrosov, in reality, during one of the sorties to escort the Security Council, Sergei had to fight off 7 Fiats alone, but, according to official documents, he did not declare victories in this battle. Most likely, this is just a beautiful legend. ]

Sergei Gritsevets especially distinguished himself in the final and most difficult battles for the Ebro, where the Germans used experienced Messers armed with cannons and significantly superior to the I-16 in speed. In just 20 days of August 1938, Soviet and Spanish pilots shot down 72 enemy aircraft.

I-16 battle with Bf-109

In one of the battles on August 13, 1938, together with the Spanish pilot Sergeant Luis Margalef, he shot down and forced to land on the Republican territory a German He-111 bomber, whose crew was taken prisoner.

August 18, 1938 - on the day of Aviation, Gritsevets shot down 2 Italian Fiats. With his pilots, Gritsevets sometimes climbed without oxygen devices to a height of up to 7 km in order to bring down a blow on the enemy from there.

The last time the pilots of the group of Sergei Gritsevets took part in the battle was on October 15, 1938, when about 100 republican aircraft were immediately lifted into the air as part of 7 squadrons. Then, over the Ebro River, in a tense air battle, by the joint efforts of Soviet and Spanish pilots, 3 Messers and 5 Fiats were shot down. Our losses amounted to 3 aircraft (all pilots escaped by parachute).

However, by the time the 113-day battle for the Ebro ended, of the 34 pilots who arrived with Gritsevets in June 1938, only 7 remained in service.

List of famous victories of Senior Lieutenant S. I. Gritsevets:

	date victories	downed airplane	battle area (falls)	Note
				(within a group)
				(within a group)
				(as part of a link)
				(within a group)
			Barcelona	(paired with Luis Margalef)
				(together with Sapronov M.S.)
				(within a group)
			Villalba	(within a group)
				(within a group)
				(within a group)
				(within a group)
				(within a group)
				(within a group)
* Presumably the pilot of this Bf.109 was the ace of the Condor Legion, Lieutenant Otto Bertram, captured.

Otto Bertram

On February 22, 1939, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a Decree stating that for the exemplary performance of special tasks of the government to strengthen the defense power of the Soviet Union and the personal courage and courage shown at the same time, Senior Lieutenant S. I. Gritsevets was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin himself presented Gritsevets with a certificate of conferment of this high rank. It should be noted that the rank of captain Sergei Gritsevets never had: from a senior lieutenant, he immediately became a major (December 31, 1938).

In full force, the strengths of the character and flying skills of Sergei Gritsevets manifested themselves in the sky of Khalkhin - Gol in the summer of 1939: lightning resourcefulness, keen observation, a sense of comradely assistance, virtuoso piloting technique. In air battles, personally and as part of a group, he shot down 12 Japanese aircraft.

At first, Gritsevets flew I-16s, and when the new I-153s ("Seagulls") were received at the end of June, he was appointed squadron commander of these aircraft.

In most sorties of the "Seagulls", whose squadron was always in the lead by Gritsevets, ended in victory for the Soviet pilots.

So it was in the memorable air battle on August 25, when ground troops finished off the encircled units of the 6th Japanese Army. On this day, 7 air battles took place over Khalkhin-Gol. One of them involved more than 200 Soviet and Japanese aircraft.

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empty plane
normal takeoff
normal takeoff
engine's type	1 PD Army type 97
Power, hp
Maximum speed, km/h
on high
Cruise speed, km/h
Practical range, km
Combat range, km
Maximum rate of climb, m/min
Practical ceiling, m
Armament:	two synchronous 7.7 mm type 89 machine guns

The battle unfolded at altitudes up to 6000 meters. Engines roared over the river valley, machine-gun bursts crackled, planes fell down, leaving trails of black smoke behind them. And in this whirlwind, the "Seagull" of the squadron commander stood out.

In the midst of the battle, Gritsevets noticed how a Japanese fighter was attached to the tail of Leonid Orlov's car. Fascinated by the attack, Orlov did not notice this, and then Sergei Gritsevets went head-on against the Japanese. The enemy could not withstand the oncoming attack and soared up like a candle. Gritsevets fired a short aimed burst at the Japanese pilot. He threw his car into a steep dive, pretended to be hit and falls. But such a trick of the enemy was well known to Gritsevets from the battles in Spain. He immediately dived down after the samurai, caught up with him and shot him at close range. The Japanese fighter, without leaving the peak, crashed into a sand dune.

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Wingspan, m
top
Height, m
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Weight, kg
empty plane
normal takeoff
maximum takeoff
engine's type
Power, hp
Maximum speed, km/h
on high
Practical range, km
Rate of climb, m/min
Practical ceiling, m
Armament:	four 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns (2500 rounds)

On June 26, 1939, an air battle with the Japanese began in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bLake Buir - Nur, which lasted about two hours and ended in a complete victory for the Soviet pilots. The enemy lost 15 aircraft. On this day, Sergei Gritsevets accomplished a feat that became known throughout the country.

I-153 and I-16 in Mongolia

In the battle, the plane of the commander of the 70th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Major V. M. Zabaluev, was shot down and he parachuted into the territory occupied by the enemy.

Sergey Gritsevets saw all this. Without thinking twice, he landed his car not far from the landed comrade, helped him climb into the cockpit and took off under fire from the Japanese infantry. It was the first such case in Soviet aviation.

Sergei Ivanovich Gritsevets and Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Zabaluev

In the sky Khalkhin - Gola S. I. Gritsevets made 138 sorties. In air battles, he shot down 12 enemy aircraft (according to some sources - 10 personally and 2 in a group, according to others - all 12 personally).

List of famous victories of Major S.I. Gritsevets in the sky of Mongolia:

	date victories	downed airplane	battle area (falls)	Note
			Buir - Nur
			Huhu - Uzun - Obo
			Ganchura	(2 in person and 1 in a group)
				(together with Pisanko A.S. and Smirnov B.A.)
			Hamar - Daba

On August 29, 1939, for victories in air battles and rescuing the commander, Sergei Gritsevets was awarded the second Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union. He was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner (1939) and the Mongolian Order of the Red Banner of the 1st degree (08/18/1939).

He was not only an excellent air fighter, but also a wonderful mentor. Dozens of young pilots learned the art of air combat from Gritsevets. He conducted debriefings with them, tactical lessons, taught them to combine maneuver and fire: "Only a second is allotted for a pilot to aim at, - he said, - Only one second!"

He really knew how to be the first to give a turn, for some fraction of a second ahead of the enemy. He always attacked unexpectedly, never allowing a pattern in tactics. By the beginning of World War II, it was Gritsevets who was the most productive Soviet fighter pilot with 42 air victories!

In early September 1939, Major S. I. Gritsevets, together with a group of pilots led by commander Y. V. Smushkevich, left for Moscow.

He was appointed as an adviser to one of the air brigades of the Belarusian military district. A campaign of the Red Army troops was coming to Western Ukraine and Western Belarus.

On September 16, Gritsevets with a group of pilots attended a meeting of the Military Council of the district in Minsk. They returned to their airfield near Orsha at dusk. Gritsevets landed first. Major P. I. Khara, who was on his way to land second, did not see the laid out letter "T", began to land from the opposite side of the airfield and crashed into a parked car of Gritsevets at high speed.

As a result of the collision, both aircraft were destroyed, Khara was seriously injured, and Gritsevets was cut off by a propeller blow. So, an absurd accident caused the death of an outstanding Soviet pilot.

The concept of "twice, thrice, four times Hero" today seems somewhat strange, probably it would be more correct to talk about awarding several Gold Star medals. But this is a fact of our history, and it cannot be bypassed.

For the first time, three pilots became Heroes for the military exploits shown in battles with the Japanese invaders on the Khalkhin-Gol River in 1939: Major Sergei Ivanovich Gritsevets and Colonel Grigory Panteleevich Kravchenko (Decree of August 29), as well as commander Yakov Vladimirovich Smushkevich (Decree of November 17). The fate of all three was tragic.

Marshal of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army H. Choibalsan congratulates twice Hero of the Soviet Union S. I. Gritsevets with a high government award

Gritsevets shot down 11 enemy planes in the sky of Khalkhin Gol. He died in a plane crash less than a month after the award. Kravchenko, who commanded a fighter aviation regiment at Khalkhin Gol and shot down 7 Japanese aircraft during the conflict, in 1940 became the youngest Lieutenant General of the Red Army. During the Great Patriotic War, he successfully commanded an air division, but on February 23, 1943, he died after jumping out of a downed plane and failing to use a parachute (his exhaust cable was broken by shrapnel). Smushkevich was arrested in the summer of 1941 and shot in the autumn of the same year.

Kravchenko and Gritsevets became the first twice Heroes of the Soviet Union

In 1940, the number of twice Heroes increased by two people: the head of the rescue expedition to remove the icebreaker "Georgy Sedov" from the ice, Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Dmitrievich Papanin became twice a Hero (Decree of February 3), the second "Gold Star" for battles in Finland was received by the pilot division commander Sergei Prokofievich Denisov (Decree of March 21).

I. D. Papanin at the drifting station SP-1

During the Great Patriotic War, 101 people became Heroes twice, seven of them posthumously. Pilot Hero of the Soviet Union Lieutenant Colonel Stepan Pavlovich Suprun By decree of July 22, 1941, he was the first to be awarded the second Gold Star medal during the Great Patriotic War. On June 14, 1942, the first twice Hero appeared, both times awarded this title during the war. This was also a pilot, the commander of the fighter aviation regiment of the Northern Fleet of the Guard, Lieutenant Colonel Boris Feoktistovich Safonov.

Among the twice Heroes were three Marshals of the Soviet Union - Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky, Ivan Stepanovich Konev and Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, one Air Chief Marshal - Alexander Alexandrovich Novikov, 21 generals and 76 officers. There were no soldiers and sergeants among the twice Heroes.

During the Second World War, 101 people became Heroes twice, 7 of them posthumously

It should be noted that in 1944 Decrees were promulgated to award the navigator of a fighter regiment, Major Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev (during the war years, he made 250 sorties, personally shot down 55 enemy aircraft in 49 air battles) with the third "Gold Star", as well as a number of pilots with the second "Gold Star", but none of them received awards due to the brawl they arranged in a Moscow restaurant on the eve of receiving. The orders were cancelled.

Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev

After the war, the number of double Heroes continued to increase. In 1948, lieutenant colonel, future Chief Air Marshal of the USSR, Alexander Ivanovich Koldunov was awarded the second Gold Star medal. During the war years, Koldunov made 412 sorties, in 96 air battles he personally shot down 46 enemy aircraft.

In September 1957, the famous pilot Vladimir Konstantinovich Kokkinaki was awarded the title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union for testing aviation equipment, the first he received back in 1938.

In total, 154 people became Heroes of the Soviet Union twice

Marshals of the Soviet Union Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko, Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky, Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan, Kirill Semenovich Moskalenko and Matvey Vasilievich Zakharov received the second "Gold Star" after the war in connection with various anniversaries, and Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Sergey Georgievich Gorshkov, Marshals of the Soviet Union Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov and Andrei Antonovich Grechko generally became twice Heroes only in the world new time.

G. T. Beregovoy on a stamp of the USSR Post

In November 1968, pilot-cosmonaut Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy was awarded the title twice Hero of the Soviet Union, and he received the first award during the Great Patriotic War for 186 sorties on the Il-2 attack aircraft. In 1969, the first cosmonauts appeared - twice Heroes, who received both "Stars" for space flights: Colonel Vladimir Alexandrovich Shatalov and Candidate of Technical Sciences Alexei Stanislavovich Eliseev (Decree of October 22). In 1971, they were both the first in the world to make a space flight for the third time, but the Golden Stars did not give them a third: perhaps because this flight was unsuccessful and was interrupted on the second day. In the future, the cosmonauts who made the third and even the fourth flight into space did not receive additional "Stars", but were awarded the Order of Lenin. A total of 35 people received the title of twice Hero for space exploration.

The last twice Hero was the commander of the tank brigade, Major General Azi Agadovich Aslanov, who was awarded the second rank posthumously (Decree of June 21, 1991).

A. I. Pokryshkin - the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union

In total, 154 people became Heroes of the Soviet Union twice. The vast majority of them - 71 people - pilots, 15 tankers, 3 sailors, 2 partisans. The only woman among the twice Heroes is pilot-cosmonaut Svetlana Evgenievna Savitskaya, daughter of twice Hero of the Soviet Union Air Marshal Evgeny Yakovlevich Savitsky.

Svetlana Evgenievna Savitskaya

On August 19, 1944, Colonel Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin became the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union, who during the war years made 650 sorties, conducted 156 air battles, personally shot down 59 enemy aircraft. In 1945, Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, who received the fourth “Star” (Decree of December 1, 1956), and Major Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub, became Heroes three times.

After the war, in connection with various anniversaries, Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny became three times Hero and Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev four times Hero.

The highest degree of distinction in the USSR was the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. It was awarded to citizens who accomplished a feat during military operations or distinguished themselves by other outstanding services to the Motherland. As an exception, it could be assigned in peacetime.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was established by the Decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR of April 16, 1934. Later, on August 1, 1939, as an additional insignia, for the Heroes of the USSR, it was approved in the form of a five-pointed star fixed on a rectangular block, which was issued to the awarded along with the diploma of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces. At the same time, it was established that those who have performed a repeated feat worthy of the title of Hero are awarded the second Order of Lenin and the second Gold Star medal. When the award was repeated in the homeland of the hero, his bronze bust was installed. The number of awards with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was not limited.

The list of the first Heroes of the Soviet Union was opened on April 20, 1934 by polar explorers: A. Lyapidevsky, S. Levanevsky, N. Kamanin, V. Molokov, M. Vodopyanov, M. Slepnev and I. Doronin. Participants in the rescue of passengers in distress on the legendary Chelyuskin steamer.

The eighth in the list was M. Gromov (September 28, 1934). The crew of the aircraft headed by him set a world record for the flight distance along a closed curve at a distance of more than 12 thousand kilometers. The following pilots became Heroes of the USSR: crew commander Valery Chkalov, who together with G. Baidukov, A. Belyakov, made a long non-stop flight on the route Moscow - the Far East.

It was for military exploits that for the first time 17 commanders of the Red Army (Decree of December 31, 1936) who participated in the Spanish Civil War became Heroes of the Soviet Union. Six of them were tankers, the rest were pilots. Three of them were awarded the title posthumously. Two of those awarded were foreigners: Bulgarian V. Goranov and Italian P. Gibelli. In total, during the battles in Spain (1936-39), the highest distinction was awarded 60 times.

In August 1938, this list was supplemented by 26 more people who showed courage and heroism in the defeat of the Japanese invaders in the area of ​​Lake Khasan. Approximately a year later, the first presentation of the Gold Star medal took place, which was received by 70 fighters for their exploits during the fighting in the area of ​​the river. Khalkhin-Gol (1939). Some of them at the same time became twice Heroes of the Soviet Union.

After the start of the Soviet-Finnish conflict (1939-40), the list of Heroes of the Soviet Union increased by another 412 people. Thus, before the start of the Great Patriotic War, 626 citizens received the Hero, among whom were 3 women (M. Raskova, P. Osipenko and V. Grizodubova).

More than 90 percent of the total number of Heroes of the Soviet Union appeared in the country during the Great Patriotic War. This high title was awarded to 11,657 people, 3,051 of them posthumously. This list includes 107 fighters who became twice heroes (7 were awarded posthumously), and 90 women were also included in the total number of awardees (49 posthumously).

The attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR caused an unprecedented rise in patriotism. The Great War brought a lot of grief, but it also opened up the heights of courage and firmness of character, it would seem, of ordinary ordinary people.

So, who would have expected heroism from the elderly Pskov peasant Matvey Kuzmin. In the very first days of the war, he came to the military registration and enlistment office, but they dismissed him there - he was too old: "go, grandfather, to your grandchildren, we'll figure it out without you." Meanwhile, the front moved inexorably to the east. The Germans entered the village of Kurakino, where Kuzmin lived. In February 1942, an elderly peasant was unexpectedly summoned to the commandant's office - the battalion commander of the 1st mountain rifle division found out that Kuzmin was an excellent tracker who knew the area perfectly and ordered him to assist the Nazis - to lead a German detachment to the rear of the forward battalion of the Soviet 3rd shock army. “If you do everything right, I’ll pay well, and if not, blame yourself ...”. “Yes, of course, of course, don’t worry, your honor,” Kuzmin pretended to whine. But an hour later, the cunning peasant sent his grandson with a note to ours: “The Germans ordered a detachment to be brought to your rear, in the morning I will lure them to a fork near the village of Malkino, meet me.” That same evening, the fascist detachment set off with its guide. Kuzmin led the Nazis in circles and deliberately exhausted the invaders: he forced them to climb steep hillsides and wade through thick bushes. “What can you do, your honor, well, there is no other way here…”. At dawn, tired and frozen Nazis were at the fork in Malkino. "All right, guys, come." "How did you come!?" “Well, let’s rest here, and then we’ll see…”. The Germans looked around - they walked all night, but moved away from Kurakino only a couple of kilometers and now stood on the road in an open field, and twenty meters in front of them was a forest, where, now they understood it for sure, there was a Soviet ambush. “Oh, you…” - the German officer pulled out a pistol and discharged the entire clip into the old man. But at the same second, a rifle salvo burst out of the forest, then another, Soviet machine guns chirped, a mortar hooted. The Nazis rushed about, shouted, fired randomly in all directions, but not one of them left alive. The hero died and took 250 Nazi invaders with him. Matvey Kuzmin became the oldest Hero of the Soviet Union, he was 83 years old.

And the youngest cavalier of the highest Soviet rank, Valya Kotik, joined the partisan detachment at the age of 11. At first he was a liaison for an underground organization, then he took part in military operations. With his courage, fearlessness and firmness of character, Valya amazed his worldly older comrades. In October 1943, the young hero saved his detachment, noticing the approaching punishers in time, he raised the alarm and was the first to enter the battle, killing several Nazis, including a German officer. On February 16, 1944, Valya was mortally wounded in battle. The young hero was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. He was 14 years old.

The whole nation, young and old, rose up to fight the fascist infection. Soldiers, sailors, officers, even children and the elderly selflessly fought against the Nazi invaders. Therefore, it is not surprising that the vast majority of awards with the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union fall on the years of the war.

In the post-war period, the title of GSS was awarded quite rarely. But even before 1990, awards for feats during the Great Patriotic War, which were not made at one time for various reasons, continued, scout Richard Sorge, F.A. Poletaev, the legendary submariner A.I. Marinesko and many others.

For military courage and dedication, the title of the GSS was awarded to combatants who performed international duty in North Korea, Hungary, Egypt - 15 awards, in Afghanistan 85 internationalist soldiers received the highest distinction, 28 of them - posthumously.

A special group, rewarding test pilots of military equipment, polar explorers, participants in the exploration of the depths of the oceans - a total of 250 people. Since 1961, the title of GSS has been awarded to cosmonauts, for 30 years it has been awarded to 84 people who have made a space flight. Six people were awarded for the liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

It should also be noted that in the post-war years, a vicious tradition of conferring high military distinctions for "office" achievements dedicated to anniversary birthdays appeared. This is how the repeatedly marked heroes like Brezhnev and Budyonny appeared. The Golden Stars were also awarded as friendly political gestures, due to this, the list of Heroes of the USSR was replenished by the heads of the allied states Fidel Castro, Egyptian President Nasser and some others.

Completed the list of Heroes of the Soviet Union on December 24, 1991, captain of the 3rd rank, underwater specialist L. Solodkov, who participated in a diving experiment on long-term work at a depth of 500 meters under water.

In total, during the existence of the USSR, 12 thousand 776 people received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Of these, 154 people were awarded it twice, 3 people three times. and four times - 2 people. Military pilots S. Gritsevich and G. Kravchenko became the first twice Heroes. Thrice Heroes: Air Marshals A. Pokryshkin and I. Kozhedub, as well as Marshal of the USSR S. Budyonny. There are only two Heroes on the list four times - these are Marshals of the USSR G. Zhukov and L. Brezhnev.

In history, there are cases of deprivation of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union - a total of 72, plus 13 canceled Decrees on conferring this title, as unfounded.

Biographies and exploits of Heroes of the Soviet Union and holders of Soviet orders:

If you write about those who are three times Heroes of the Soviet Union, the list would have three names, but I will write about four. I'll start with Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov - four times Hero, well, where there are four, there are three, right?

Georgy Konstantininoaich Zhukov is a gifted military leader and a bright personality, the name Zhukov is synonymous with Victory.

Georgy Zhukov was born in 1896 in the village of Strelkovka in the Kaluga region. After graduating from the parochial school, he entered the apprenticeship in a furrier's workshop. Later he graduated from the city school in the evening department. Zhukov's military career began during the First World War. As part of a cavalry regiment, Zhukov distinguished himself in combat operations and was twice awarded the St. George Cross, a high award in the Russian Empire. In 1918, Georgy Zhukov joined the Red Army, commanded a cavalry corps, showed himself to be a talented commander and organizer of military operations. In July 1938, Zhukov was commander of a group of Soviet troops in Mongolia. Zhukov received the first star of the Hero of the Soviet Union for leading the operation in Mongolia and defeating the Japanese on the Khalkin Gol River. In this operation, Zhukov actively and successfully used tanks to encircle and destroy the enemy.

During the Great Patriotic War, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov was Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief. During the war, Zhukov received the military rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. He commanded the fronts: the troops of the Leningrad Front and the Baltic Fleet stopped the offensive of the German army, the troops of the Western Front defeated the army "Center" Zhukov personally was the coordinator of actions on the fronts near Stalingrad (1942), on the Kursk Bulge (1943) and during the breaking of the blockade in Leningrad (1943). The name of Zhukov is associated with the liberation of the Right-Bank Ukraine, the Bagration operation in Belarus, the capture of Warsaw, the Vistula-Oder operation and the powerful Berlin operation. On May 8, 1945, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov personally accepted the unconditional surrender of Germany from the German Field Marshal W. von Keitel.

Georgy Zhukov four times became the Hero of the Soviet Union. Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov received his fourth star of the Hero of the Soviet Union for suppressing the Hungarian uprising in 1956.

The book has been published in thirty countries and translated into nineteen languages. It is noteworthy that the first edition of the book was in West Germany, in the FRG, in 1968.

Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin, three times Hero of the Soviet Union. Born in 1913 in the city of Novonikolaevsk (Novosibirsk), in a working-class family. After completing the seven-year plan, Alexander began working in a locksmith shop, then graduated from an aviation school in Perm, and by the beginning of World War II he was a deputy squadron commander on the Southern Front.

The proximity to the border led to the fact that the airfield where Pokryshkin worked was bombed already on the first day of the war. Moreover, in the first days of the war, Pilot Pokryshkin shot down a Soviet plane by mistake, mistaking it for an enemy flying machine. This was partly due to the fact that Su aircraft appeared just before the war, their appearance was not standard, many pilots did not yet know them. The pilot of the plane shot down by mistake survived, but the navigator died. The failures of the first days prompted Pokryshkin to carefully analyze all his sorties, changing the outdated tactics of the military air forces of the Soviet Union. Alexander Pokryshkin said that "he who did not fight in 1941-1942 does not know a real war." Pokryshkin received the Order of Lenin for being able to deliver data on the location of enemy tanks near Rostov in difficult weather conditions.

Pokryshkin received the first Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union for thirteen enemy aircraft shot down and participation in more than fifty sorties.

The second title of Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Pokryshkin received for the fact that he showed himself brilliantly and talentedly in air battles in the south, in the Kuban. From here began the famous "Kuban whatnot" - a number of fighters that accompanied the offensive of our troops from the air. Pokryshkin always tried to take on an important task - to shoot down the leading enemy aircraft and thereby demoralize the enemy.

Twenty-two German aircraft were shot down in the battles. The glory of Pokryshkin and his students thundered throughout the country. In 1943-44, Pokryshkin's career was "at its zenith": fifty-three enemy aircraft were shot down, more than five hundred sorties were made. And in August 1944, Alexander Pokryshkin received the third Star, thus becoming the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union. Alexander Pokryshkin died in Moscow in 1985 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.

Every Soviet schoolboy knew that Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub was a pilot, three times Hero of the Soviet Union. Born in Ukraine, in the Chernigov province, in 1920, in the family of a church elder. Becoming a student of the chemical-technological college in the city of Shostka, he began to study at the flying club. He graduated from an aviation military school, worked as a flight instructor.

The beginning of the war turned out to be chaotic and very dangerous for Sergeant Kozhedub. In the very first air battle, his LA-5 ("Lavochkin") plane was shot down by a German fighter, and during landing, the plane was mistakenly fired upon by Soviet anti-aircraft guns. All this, of course, speaks of the inconsistency and unpreparedness of the actions of the pilots at the very beginning of the war. Yes, and there were no good planes for a long time, I had to fly on practically decommissioned equipment from hangars.

After several dozen sorties, Ivan Kozhedub seemed to break through: first, on the Kursk Bulge, he shot down a German bomber, the next day another one, and then two fighters at once. Kozhedub was distinguished by the fact that he could "completely merge with the flight machine" and knew how to shoot accurately. Kozhedub was very brave, often going on risky frontal attacks, even when the enemy's forces were several times superior. When the government awarded senior lieutenant Kozhedub for the first time with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, he had almost one and a half hundred sorties and twenty planes shot down by him personally. And in August 1944, the second star of the Hero of the Soviet Union appeared on Kozhedub's chest. Already in 1945, in a battle over the Oder, Kozhedub, together with his partner Dmitry Titorenko, shot down the latest German fighter-bomber at high altitude. By the end of the war, Ivan Kozhedub personally shot down 64 German aircraft and made 330 sorties. And during his last battle, on April 17, 1945, Ivan Kozhedub shot down two enemy fighters at once.

Ivan Kozhedub received the third star of the Hero of the Soviet Union in August 1945. After the war, Ivan Kozhedub continued to serve in the Air Force, in 1985 he became an Air Marshal, died in 1991, and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.

Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich - Marshal of the Soviet Union, three times Hero of the Soviet Union.

Born in 1883 on the farm Kazyurin (today - the territory of the city of Rostov-on-Don). After being drafted into the army in 1903, Budyonny remained in active service and took part in the Russo-Japanese War of 1903-1904. Having received the honorary title of "Best Rider" in his regiment, Budyonny was sent to a riding course in St. Petersburg at the Cavalry School. Then he served in a cavalry division on the Austrian-German and Caucasian fronts. As part of the reconnaissance regiment, they captured German convoys and took the enemy prisoner, carried out attacks on the Turkish front and captured enemy guns, and took Turkish soldiers prisoner. For his courage, Budyonny became a full holder of the St. George Cross of four degrees ("St. George's bow").

In 1918, Budyonny led a revolutionary cavalry detachment on the Don. Budyonny's detachment acted against the Whites and soon grew and became a division, and later the First Cavalry Army, headed by Budyonny.

Under the leadership of Semyon Budyonny, serious work was carried out at the stud farm and new breeds of horses were bred with the names - "Terskaya" and "Budenovskaya". Budyonny was also noted for the fact that in 1923 he came to Chechnya, to Urus-Martan and announced the creation of the Chechen Autonomous Region. Budyonny invested a lot in the development of the stud farm in Uspenkom

Budyonny was one of the first five generals to be awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. Since 1940, Budyonny was the first deputy of the People's Commissar of Defense in the USSR. During the war, Budyonny, as part of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, took part in the defense of Moscow. Budyonny insisted on the urgent formation of new light-type cavalry divisions to replace those heavily reduced before the war (due to their incompatibility in combat conditions with tanks and other equipment). Budyonny always considered the cavalry a "breakthrough tool".

Marshal Budyonny, being the commander-in-chief of the Southern Front, ordered to blow up the Dneproges. Water gushed, soldiers of both the German and Red Army, civilians, livestock died, water flooded vast spaces.

Later, Budyonny submitted to the Headquarters a proposal on the need for a retreat in the Kyiv region due to the threat of encirclement. Stalin removed Budyonny from command of the Southern Front and replaced him with Timoshenko. Although it later turned out that Budyonny was right, in Kyiv, the troops of the front fell into the cauldron and were defeated. After that, Budyonny was appointed commander of the Reserve Front and the troops of the North Caucasian Front, and since 1943 Semyon Budyonny was the commander of the Red Army cavalry. Since 1953 - cavalry inspector, was a member of the Presidium of DOSAAF.

Semyon Budyonny was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union three times (in 1958, 1963 and 1968). Budyonny was buried at the Kremlin wall.

Monuments to heroes of the USSR Margelov and Gritsevets will be erected in Moscow.
I like this initiative: military leader Vasily Margelov and pilot Sergei Gritsevets are legendary people who certainly deserve to be cast in bronze and decorate Moscow.

Today, in the Hall of Heroes in the Museum of the Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Hill, I looked at models of the future monument to Major Gritsevets.
The unique biography of this man, the legendary pilot, deserves the memory and respect of posterity.

Sergei Ivanovich Gritsevets was born in 1909 in the village of Borovtsy (now the Baranovichi district of the Brest region).
In the ranks of the Red Army since 1931, on a Komsomol ticket, he is sent to study at the Orenburg military pilot school, forever linking his life with military aviation.
In 1938, he participated as a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, made 88 sorties, conducted 42 air battles and shot down 30 fascist aircraft, 7 of them in one day.

2. February 22, 1939 for the exemplary performance of special tasks of the Government to strengthen the defense power of the Soviet Union and for the heroism shown, Major Sergey Ivanovich Gritsevets was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

3. From May to September 1939, he participated in the battles near the Khalkhin-Gol River. He commanded a squadron of the 70th IAP, and then a group of I-153 Chaika fighters, which were undergoing military trials.
He made 138 sorties and personally shot down 12 enemy aircraft.

4. On June 26, 1939, S.I. Gritsevets saved the commander of the 70th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Major Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Zabaluev. Shot down during the battle, Zabaluev made an emergency landing on Manchurian territory. Gritsevets saw what was happening, landed in the steppe and took out Zabaluev on his I-16.
Afghan veterans get acquainted with the models of the monument.

5. On August 29, 1939, for the exemplary performance of combat missions and the outstanding heroism shown in the performance of combat missions, Major Sergey Ivanovich Gritsevets was the first in the USSR to be awarded the title twice Hero of the Soviet Union.

6. In early September 1939, he was appointed adviser to one of the air brigades of the Belarusian Military District.

7. September 16, 1939 Gritsevets with a group of pilots attended a meeting of the Military Council of the district in Minsk. We returned to the Bolbasovo airfield near Orsha at dusk. Gritsevets landed first. Major P.I. Khara, who was going to land second, did not see the laid out letter "T", began to land from the opposite side of the airfield and crashed into Gritsevets's plane at high speed.
As a result of the collision, Khara was seriously injured, and Gritsevets was cut off by a blow of a propeller.
So, an absurd accident caused the death of an outstanding Soviet pilot.

8. Sergei Ivanovich Gritsevets was buried near the airfield, in the Bolbasovo garrison.

13. A monument to Major Sergei Gritsevets is proposed to be erected near the Solntsevo Park microdistrict of the "new Moscow" on the street named after the pilot.

14. 10 million rubles will be spent on the erection of the monument from the funds of the fund for perpetuating the memory of the Heroes of the Fatherland "Winner".
What monument do you like?
Hero of the Soviet Union Igor Chmurov.