Many years ago, the Great Patriotic War ended, ruthlessly passed through the souls of people and claimed millions of human lives. She entered every family without knocking, destroyed the usual life, introducing new amendments, irreversible in scale. It was at this time that the patriotism of a Russian person manifested itself to the maximum, ready for his native land, in the name of a bright future for his descendants, to pay with his own life. Everyone joined the fight against death: men and women, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, adults and children. Children of War…
Arkady Kamanin, whose feat contributed to the approach of the Great Victory, in peacetime was an ordinary Soviet boy who, like most of his peers, was fond of sports, reading, playing musical instruments (bayan and accordion). And the sky beckoned him too: blue, clear, distant…
The sky beckoned him
Arkady was bornKamanin, whose biography and photo are of sincere interest to the modern generation, November 2, 1928. The father of the future hero, Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin, a Soviet officer, an experienced pilot, who was a vivid example of a real man for a young man, served at the airfield, and his son always had the opportunity to be with him and provide all possible teenage assistance.
Arkady Kamanin is a pioneer hero, whose biography is a vivid example of love for the motherland, readiness to protect the native land from enemies in the name of a brighter future. Born in the Far East, the boy, together with his family (on duty of his father), changed his place of residence several times, lived in Moscow for some time and spent all his summer holidays at the airport, mastering the profession of an aircraft mechanic. In this capacity, he even managed to work at the capital's aviation plant in 1941.
Remained in the war
In the same year, my father continued to serve in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), where he stayed with his family until 1943. In February, he was appointed commander of an attack air corps, and 14-year-old Arkady Kamanin again began working as an aircraft mechanic at the location of his father's military unit. While still a minor, he was under the threat of being sent to the rear, but flatly refused to leave the military unit. In addition, the high level of qualification did not allow the management to let go of a competent specialist so easily. Indeed, in wartime, the need for skilled technical workers was constant.
Successful start
Arkady Kamanin was enlisted as a special equipment mechanic in the 423rd Communications Squadron (Kalinin Front), which was a successful start in the air career of a young man who decided to learn to fly. It was flight practice that gave invaluable experience and helped to understand the theory. For the first time, Kamanin Jr. took to the skies in a two-seat training U-2.
At first he flew as a flight engineer and navigator-observer, and in July 1943 he received official permission to fly independently. The reason for this was the case when, during one of the flights, a stray bullet shattered the visor of the cockpit, and the fragments that got inside blinded Arkady. The young man called an experienced pilot from the ground, under whose remote control he managed to land the car professionally. After this successful event, the talented young man began to take flight training officially. Two months later, Kamanin Jr. successfully passed the exams to the strict and demanding Major General N. Kamanin, who could not find reasons to prevent his son from flying solo.
Rescue a comrade
War is war, and General Nikolai Kamanin sent Sergeant Arkady Kamanin on flights, risking not to wait for his son from the next mission. In reconnaissance flights, the “flyer” (as the boy was called by adult colleagues) showed himself heroically, delivering orders from the leadership to the commanders of the advanced units, obtaining valuable information right under the noses of the Nazis and performing other complex assignments.
ArkadyKamanin, a pioneer hero, was characterized by amazing fearlessness and took risks on a par with adults. In confirmation of this, there is a case when, upon returning to the location of the squadron headquarters on his combat vehicle, Arkady saw a padded attack aircraft lying on his belly in the neutral zone. Looking at the closed cockpit of the plane, the young man realized that the pilot was inside and, apparently, injured. Remembering the unwritten law - the mutual assistance of a comrade, Arkady Kamanin, without a moment's hesitation, professionally landed near the downed plane, masterfully "parked", closing himself from the Germans with a downed attack aircraft, in the cockpit of which was lieutenant Berdnikov wounded in the head. Having completed the assignment, he did not have time to deliver the results of aerial photography to the base. A fragile young man managed to smuggle a camera with film into his plane, and then the limp body of the rescued pilot.
First Award
Kamanin Jr. managed to get safe and sound to the location of his unit, besides, his colleagues helped him in this, diverting the attention of the Germans from the bold and arrogant corncob by shooting. For the perfect feat, 15-year-old Arkady was awarded his first Order of the Red Star.
Arkady has saved another comrade, a mechanic, who took off on the tail of the plane. When taking off on wet ground, technical workers specially sat on the tail of the apparatus, pressing it in such a way that it would not “peck its nose” into the ground. Then it was necessary to jump off skillfully and in a timely manner, which in this case the mechanic did not have time to do.
Arkady, being inwhile waiting for permission to land, he noticed a man in the air, about which he signaled with rocket launchers to an imprudent pilot who had already managed to hide the landing gear. The man was removed from the tail of the plane.
Fearless Flyer
The Second Red Star Arkady Kamanin was awarded in 1944: when the enemy attacked the front headquarters, the young man took to the air under fire on his plane, called for help and bombarded uninvited guests with grenades.
Arkady earned the Order of the Red Banner in early 1945 for delivering secret documents and food for a walkie-talkie to a partisan detachment. The young man had to make a 1.5-hour flight over the front line along an unfamiliar route, characterized by difficult mountainous terrain, which made the task much more difficult.
The total track record of pilot Kamanin Jr. has 283 hours in the air (more than six hundred sorties). Many of them were produced in difficult weather conditions, under the guns of German guns. During this period, the young man received six government awards, among which are the medals "For the capture of Vienna", "For the victory over Germany", "For the capture of Budapest".
Peaceful life ahead
The war is over. It seemed that a bright future awaited Arkady Kamanin. Having significantly lagged behind his peers in studies, the young man, with his inherent purposefulness and zeal, began to actively study the missed material. One academic year was enough for him.
Having received schoolcertificate, in 1946 Arkady Kamanin (photo can be seen in the article) was enrolled in the preparatory course of the Air Force Academy. Zhukovsky, where his father once studied. Years of training, service in the Soviet army, a real opportunity to get into the detachment of Soviet cosmonauts… But…
Forever young
At the age of 18, Arkady fell seriously ill with meningitis and died suddenly for everyone. April 13, 1947 is the last day of the life of the youngest pilot, who fearlessly went through the Great Patriotic War from beginning to end. Arkady was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. So he was remembered by his peers: young, cheerful, purposeful, always ready to help a friend. In love with the sky…
