Marshal Efimov biography. Efimov Alexander Nikolaevich

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Air Marshal Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov.

06.02.1923 – 31.08.2012

He was born on February 6, 1923 in the village. Kantemirovka, Voronezh region. At an early age he moved with his mother to the town of Millerovo. He spent his childhood and youth in the town of Millerovo, so he always considered Millerovo land his small homeland. In 1940, Alexander graduated from secondary school No. 2, then it was located at st. Lunacharsky, 22. At school, Efimov organized a circle of young aircraft modellers, took an active part in glider competitions, and made glider models.

After graduating from school, he entered the flying club named after. Levanevsky in Lugansk. A year quickly flashed by there. Theory classes, glider ascent, first training flights with an instructor on the PO-2 plane, noisy arguments in the evenings. When the exams began in April 1941, Sasha Efimov passed them perfectly and was enrolled in the school of military pilots.

Alexander Nikolaevich graduated from flight school in June 1942, receiving the rank of junior sergeant. The young man was eager to go to the front. Soon Efimov was sent to a reserve aviation regiment, and then transferred to an attack aviation regiment.

A.N. Efimov made his first combat flight in the fall of 1942. This was during the battles near Rzhev. Some time passed and Efimov was given command of a small aviation unit. Efimov often flew behind enemy lines and took part in the attack on enemy trains approaching the front. During these fights Alexander Nikolaevich developed and successfully put into practice new battle tactics. So he gradually mastered the complex profession of a pilot - an attack aircraft.

After A.N. Efimov made 19 combat missions, he received the first government award - the Order of the Red Banner, and during the battles near Vyazma and Yelnya he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

Efimov's flying skills grew rapidly. In the most dangerous and difficult moments of the battle, he did not lose either composure or calm.

In 1943, Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov took part in the battles on the Oryol-Kursk Bulge. One day Efimov received a task to bomb an enemy train approaching a railway station located behind enemy lines.

It so happened that the commander of the covering fighter group mistakenly went to accompany another four Ilovs, while Efimov’s group was left without cover.

- We're going to the target, we're going to the target. Form tighter! – the wingmen heard Efimov’s confident voice on the radio and the group, having closed formation, followed the commander.

A powerful bomb salvo hit the Ilyushins at the railway station. The pilots and gunners saw the carriages burst into flames and the shells exploding. The first approach was followed by a second the second - the third, as a result of which the echelons were smashed to smithereens. At this time, a pair of Messerschmitts crept up on the attack aircraft. They rushed to attack, but met staunch resistance from air riflemen.

The attack aircraft then made nine approaches to the target, simultaneously firing at the echelons and repelling attacks by fighters. Having repelled 5 enemy attacks and fought against 17 enemy aircraft, Efimov and his comrades emerged victorious from the unequal battle.

The day of July 13, 1943 will never be erased from the memory of Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov. Here is his story: “Under the cover of a couple of fighters, our four attack aircraft launched a successful bombing attack on enemy firing positions. We were already returning back when the leader of the group, Captain Malinkin, radioed: “Attention!” And then I saw what forced the commander to abruptly change course. To the left, above our front line, in a closed circle, spewing fire, German planes circled, storming our infantry. There were 13 Messerschmitts and 4 Fockewulf-190s. We established their exact number later. But at that moment the commander decided to help the infantry, and each of us accepted this decision without the slightest hesitation. 6 our planes against 17 German ones. The unequal, stubborn air battle began with a daring attack by the Ilyushins.

The covering fighters engaged the Fokkers in battle, and thus there were 4 Messer-110s for each attack aircraft. But the effect of the surprise attack was fully justified: the battle formation of the “Messers” was disrupted, their leader rushed to the side, and the rest of the vultures stopped their attack after him.

The air battle lasted 27 minutes. He was very heavy. My air gunner, Sergeant Dobrov, was wounded; an enemy shell disabled the machine gun. The fuselage, wings and tail of the plane were riddled with holes - the mechanics counted about 400 holes in my Ilya. Our squadron commander, Captain Malinkin, died in this battle. He died helping the infantry."

During the days of fighting on the Oryol-Kursk Bulge, a joyful event occurred in the life of the glorious pilot - Alexander Nikolaevich was accepted into the ranks of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). Soon he was appointed commander of the squadron, which was always entrusted with the most important tasks.

On the Second Belorussian Front, Alexander Nikolaevich was appointed regimental navigator. On June 26, 1944, the soldiers of his unit solemnly celebrated a joyful event in Efimov’s life - on this day he made his hundredth combat mission.

Somewhat later, a front-line newspaper in the article “170 sorties of Captain Efimov” wrote about our fellow countryman: “Scouts reported that a large number of German vehicles, artillery and manpower had accumulated at the crossing of one water line. Experienced attack pilot Captain Efimov and junior lieutenant Babkin turned to the commander with a request to allow them to fly out to destroy the crossing..."

Returning from this flight, during which a huge amount of enemy equipment and soldiers were destroyed, Captain Efimov received his fifth award - the Order of Alexander Nevsky.

Efimov had to take part in battles near Grodno, Konigsberg, Stettin and other cities.

In October 1944, for the excellent performance of combat missions of the command and the courage shown in battles to Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

During the Great Patriotic War, Efimov grew from senior sergeant to guard major.

Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov often joked: “I am especially lucky with the number 2. To begin with, my plane had number 2, the squadron was the second in the regiment. When I was 22 years old, I had flown 222 combat missions, and on August 18, 1945, I was awarded my second Gold Star medal.

The high flying skill, strong will to win, perseverance, endurance, and purposeful courage of Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov were highly appreciated by the Motherland. Two gold stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Alexander Nevsky and the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, several military medals - a well-deserved award adorned the chest of Major A.N. Efimov - participant of the Victory Parade in Moscow.

In 1951 he graduated from the Air Force Academy, in 1957 from the Military Academy of the General Staff, and served in command positions in the Air Force. He is a laureate of the USSR State Prize, Candidate of Military Sciences from March 19, 1966.

From December 1984 to July 1990, Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force and Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR; from to 1993, Chairman of the State Commission for the Use of Airspace and Air Traffic Control. On April 29, 1975, Efimov was awarded the rank of Air Marshal. He is an Honored Military Pilot of the USSR (), Doctor of Military Sciences, Professor, Academician of the Academy of Aviation and Aeronautics Sciences, laureate of the USSR State Prize ().

WITH August 1993 Air MarshalA. N. Efimov - retired.

Every year on February 6, on the birthday of Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov, a memorial rally in honor of the glorious fellow countryman is held at the monument in Millerovo.

On the last day of August 2012, at the age of ninety, the famous pilot-hero of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet military leader Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov, went on his Eternal Flight.

Fate gave me a meeting with a fellow countryman in the summer of 2003. After a long separation, he visited his native land. Here, in the settlement of Kantemirovka, Bogucharsky district, Voronezh province, he was born and raised, studied at a seven-year school. High school student and gliding club cadet Alexander Efimov took to the skies for the first time in the neighboring town of Millerovo, Rostov Region, where his family moved to live.

...Sultry July. The guest asked for a drink. A glass bottle was found in the pocket of the cover behind the back of the car seat. Uncorked. Alexander Nikolaevich took another sip. And - he peered at the paper sticker in disbelief. “Yes, I haven’t drunk anything more beautiful than Kantemirovsky pear soda since childhood! Lord, did they really save the old recipe? I'll take it to my grandchildren as a gift. Let them not go crazy over foreign drinks.” Afterwards I was surprised for a long time: “Wow, the taste is the same. I’ve been dreaming about this citro for so long.”

From Efimov’s conversations with his fellow countrymen at that time, from his answers to our questions, my “Marshal of the Sky” was born. In response to the newspaper publication, I received a postal parcel from Moscow with a book by a military pilot, “Stormtroopers are on target,” with warm words from its author.

Sky Marshal

A native of Voronezh Kantemirovka, Air Marshal Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov is one of the best “air tankers” of the Great Patriotic War. The attack pilot made his first combat mission at the age of nineteen. And already at the age of twenty-two he was awarded the title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union.

In appearance, our fellow countryman is not a hero. Neither gigantic height, nor epic slanting fathoms in the shoulders. They say about such people: like everyone else. In his youth, Alexander Nikolaevich, according to him, did not stand out in particular. Biographical fact: I passed the exams at the Naval Aviation School with excellent marks, but failed in the weight category. “They advised me to gain three or four kilograms and mature.”

“It’s a shame, it’s a shame,” says Efimov. “But I still achieved my goal.” In Voroshilovgrad-Lugansk, they were accepted first into the flying club, and then into the school of military pilots.” There he will learn to fly on a plywood “duck” - the famous U-2, and then in Uralsk he will take to the skies a brand new, armored IL-2 - the creation of designer Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin. This is an attack aircraft - a “flying tank”, generally recognized as heading the list of aircraft of the Second World War, “which made the greatest contribution to the victory” over fascism.

Having celebrated his eightieth birthday in 2003, Efimov visited his small, sweet homeland. And Alexander Nikolaevich considers it Kantemirovka, where he was born and grew up, near Rostov Millerovo, where a family of railway workers moved to live, where from the seventh grade Sasha continued and completed his studies in high school.

The marshal wanted to walk and follow the stitch-paths of his distant childhood. Ivan Grigorievich Aleynik, head of the district administration, got behind the wheel of an all-terrain vehicle. The duties of the navigator fell on Alexander Nikolaevich. I, a journalist for the Voronezh regional newspaper “Kommuna,” was lucky enough to listen attentively to the guest and talk to him.

On a quiet street near the Trinity Church, Efimov, without hiding his surprise and joy, saw an old house intact. “I only replaced the reed roof. Behind the gardens,” he pointed, “there is a river, a meadow.” They swam and fished there. They grew on pasture,” he said and laughed. And one day a fabulous miracle happened here, which was not only remembered - it determined the whole future life. A fairytale bird, an airplane, landed on skis in broad daylight on a snowy pasture. Alexander Nikolaevich now believes that it was an emergency landing for the pilot. Enchanted children and adults crowded around the airplane until nightfall. Rarely anyone has been able to see it in the sky, but here you can even touch it with your hand. Of course, all the rural boys definitely decided to “become pilots.” From that day on, Sasha and his older half-brother Kostya played only aviators. The desire to fly higher was added to by the propaganda arrival of also an unexpected guest - an airplane with the name of the newspaper “Pravda” on board. The pilots gave newspapers, leaflets with stories about the air fleet,

The children got practical advice on how to make flying model airplanes. It was breathtaking when even a tin propeller from an ordinary reel took off over the meadow, and then “airplanes with a motor” made of rubber threads. Already in Millerovo, in the gliding club, Sasha will be able to experience the joy of flight himself. Then I definitely and consciously told myself: I will be a pilot!

Later, the Efimov family moved to live in a more spacious apartment at the station, “you could step from the open window onto the roof of the carriage.” One day the brothers were playing around and broke the glass. “They were afraid that they would punish us. They ran away from home. In the evening we walked to the large village of Markovka. We stayed with good friends. Our parents found us at night.”

Alexander Nikolaevich asked to drive at least a little along that former country road. It’s difficult to get to Markovka these days; it’s now abroad – in Ukraine.

We stopped on a steppe hill, from where open fields open to all corners of the world. Efimov silently peered into the opening distances, as if trying to guess where the path that was familiar to him only lay. He looked detached, as if he was again in an irrevocable, barefoot distance.

And when he woke up, he said:

– You probably know that Marshal Eremenko is from Markovka.

Still, what I had lived and experienced did not let me go. On the way back, Alexander Nikolaevich talked about himself.

– My stepfather raised me. I consider my father my own, I carry his last name. He was an engineer, a hereditary railway worker. The elders Kostya and Lisa are his children, and the youngest Lyusya and I are my mother’s. We didn't notice this difference. They grew up like family.

Father Nikolai Gerasimovich, by the way, supported our passion for aviation. How I felt that it would become my main thing.

In '37 my father was arrested. Two years later he was found not guilty. He returned and soon died. We were already living in Millerovo with my mother’s relatives. Kostya went to study in Voronezh. During the war he will be sent abroad as a scout. He will be an excellent scout. They will be awarded with orders. It so happened that I found out about this after the death of my brother. And Lisa, a Komsomol member, will be killed by the Nazis during the occupation. Here, in Kantemirovka, is her grave.

Fate treated the Efimov family harshly. Sometimes she was merciless, sometimes she was merciful.

On Sunday morning, June 22, 1941, Sasha, a military flight cadet, will be called to a checkpoint. His mother and sister were waiting for him here. “So you are what kind of pilot we have,” the mother will say when she sees her son in military uniform. And suddenly she added as she exhaled: “If only there was no war.” And the war had already rumbled since four o’clock in the morning, but in Voroshilovgrad they did not know about it yet. Sasha will hear the dark news at the tram stop when he is seeing his family home.

– First wish, Alexander Nikolaevich?

- Go to the front. I wasn’t the only one who thought so – all the guys. Right at the rally at the school, they immediately explained to us: chill out, the army needs well-trained pilots. My pilot universities have been delayed. I had to retrain on IL-2 all the way in Uralsk.

And I saw a new attack aircraft back in Voroshilovgrad, the plane was being ferried somewhere. It hit us right away. Steppe eagle: a predatory nose, powerful wings and the crushing power of fire. The pilot told and showed: bomb bays, cannons, machine guns, rocket shells. He pulled out a pistol and fired into the cabin - the bullet left only a scratch on the armor.

My first combat flight took place on such an IL-2. It was November 30, 1942 in the Moscow region near Rzhev. The enemy train was bombed. The railroad tracks were turned upside down. Everything would be fine, but I fell behind my group and got lost.

Okay, I went to the next airfield. There I refueled. From there I got home safely. I received a scolding from the squadron commander. I was already considered shot down. By time the tanks ran out of gas.

– Alexander Nikolaevich, briefly explain what attack aviation is?

“I called one of my books this way: “Above the Battlefield.” The title reflects the main task of attack aircraft: air support for ground troops. They walked over the heads of the enemy. They ironed trenches and trenches, dugouts and machine gun nests, artillery batteries, tanks, other equipment, control headquarters, bridges, crossings. They destroyed front-line airfields, trains and stations,

“Winged infantry”, “flying tankers” - that’s what they said about us. “It’s impossible to get used to this: anti-aircraft guns are hitting you, and you go through the fire to the target.

- Is it dangerous, scary?

“There is no safe job on the front line.” Although there is official information about the survival rate of Soviet pilots during the war: fighter aircraft - 64 sorties, bomber aircraft - 48, attack aircraft - 11.

– You flew 288 combat missions. You could die in any of them, but even officially, statistically, you were threatened 26 times not to return to the airfield alive. Were you born wearing a shirt?

– A flight commander once told me about a lucky shirt. I still don’t understand how I managed to fly and land safely a plane that had half its fin and rudder cut off by an anti-aircraft shell.

So, personally, I am grateful, first of all, to Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin and all the creators of IL. Moreover, due to the difficult relationship between the designer and the People's Commissar of Armaments, the path of the two-seater aircraft to the sky turned out to be difficult. Stalin, when he understood this situation, demanded that the defense industry increase the production of aircraft: IL-2s are needed like air, like bread.

I’ll say this about myself: I traveled from the Moscow region to the Elbe in an IL-2, and it never let me down.

Neither our allies nor the enemy had such an attack aircraft. The Germans feared him, and the allies envied and admired him.

Yes, the first production attack aircraft took off from the airfield of the Voronezh aircraft plant in March 1941, our fellow aircraft builders did their best.

- Alexander Nikolaevich, a good car still requires a smart pilot.

– Experienced, skilled specialists are needed everywhere and always. Luck is one thing, a survivable aircraft is another, but intelligence was gained in flight, in battle, in the squadron team on the ground. Those who carried out the regulations in big and small, who knew how to obey and could demand from others, fought bravely and skillfully against the enemy. The war did not forgive sloppiness.

Skill came in battles. The flight goes to destroy an enemy object protected by anti-aircraft guns. Some of the crews attacked the anti-aircraft guns, causing fire on themselves, while the main strike group stormed the target. It seems like a simple solution, but it didn’t come right away. Then they told others how to act.

If you are constantly lucky, then this is already mastery.

And, as in any business, it is profitable. I was never shot down by enemy fighters, not because I was so brave. I immediately learned the main thing. You can't get away from a high-speed plane on an attack aircraft. The armor is strong, but not tank-like. It will be broken through by volley fire at point blank range. So, don’t put yourself in the face of a fascist. Avoid a pursuer or anti-aircraft fire from the ground in a straight line. Maneuver! The IL-2 perfectly allowed us to turn sharply left and right, descend or gain altitude, and simply glide smoothly, like on skis, in one direction or the other.

It is difficult for your opponent to predict which knee you will throw. But it is important, if you are a leader, that your comrades understand you in advance, as they say, not immediately, but from the first letter. Those who follow you.

In flight, responsibility for the fate of the assault four is borne not by the senior in rank or age, not by the squadron commander, but by the leader. Your happiness is if he is a master of assault strikes who knows how to take care of a link.

I became a group leader at the age of nineteen on my fourth or fifth mission. It happened by accident. They had just taken off when the leader made a sharp turn for an emergency landing. Something happened to his plane. Suddenly, unexpectedly, I found myself in front. I admit, I was confused. I make a circle over the airfield, three attack aircraft are behind me. And from the ground they wave flags towards the front. We got on the course. Calmed down. I determined where we were using the flight map. “Kaganovich’s Compass,” as the pilots nicknamed the rail tracks, because the country’s railway networks were at one time led by People’s Commissar Lazar Kaganovich, who led us to a station with enemy trains. He gave the signal to his comrades to attack - he slightly shook his wings. I dive and drop bombs directly on the target. I turn around to attack again. The wingmen repeat my maneuver. They bombed successfully. The station is on fire. We were lucky, the anti-aircraft gunners missed us and opened fire belatedly. But I was happy early. Nimble Messerschmitts appeared in the sky. My guys are huddling closer to me. We descend and leave just above the ground, safely hide, dissolve over a snow-white field. There is no chase. We gain altitude again. We return home in formation. Boys. To celebrate, why not have fun? At low speed, you place the wing of your plane on the wing of your friend. Just tap: ta-ta-ta. And they weren’t afraid to crash into each other...

At the airfield, the regiment commander, after my report, said: “Another leader has appeared.”

The meeting with the designer Ilyushin is memorable. He asked how the plane was flown in combat. I listened carefully to everyone. What was surprising was that the designer knew the tactics of assault combat thoroughly and gave sensible advice. It was as if he fought with us. It turned out that Sergei Vladimirovich is a pilot himself.

– The pilot is also not the only warrior in the field. What does combat comradeship mean to you?

- There are no holier bonds!

You can’t say Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol more accurately. At first we flew on single-seat ILs. From behind, the plane is completely open to the enemy fighter. Fly up and hit point-blank, calmly, like hitting a target at a shooting range. The Messerschmitts attack - a flight of attack aircraft is saved only together. We quickly form a circle. In this carousel I cover the one in front, I am my comrade,

On the two-seat IL-2, your fate is largely in the hands of the air gunner. Just like his - in mine. He sits in his cockpit with his back to the pilot. Let's fight back together. So we fought a lot together with Georgy Pavlovich Dobrov. The desperately brave sergeant was my reliable shield. To this day I am forever grateful.

I was lucky to have comrades in arms. And this is great happiness.

– Alexander Nikolaevich, what remains memorable from the war years?

– A lot, mostly light. I keep in my soul the joy when I learned that in January 1943 my birthplaces were liberated from the occupiers - Kantemirovka, Millerovo; not only my fellow soldiers congratulated me, they came from other units and shook my hand firmly. In those first months of my everyday life at the front, I discovered how many good, sensitive friends there were around.

I immediately sat down to write. I received an answer from my mother only in March, two months later. And I already thought that they were no longer alive.

– What do you remember with a smile?

“When we returned safely from battle, we sometimes had a low-level flight over the airfield in style. One day I, the leader, showed off along with the whole team. I saw the guys huddled near the dugout. And there was a dirty puddle there after the rain. I think I'll scare you now. They rushed over them with a roar, almost touching the ground. We gain altitude again, now for landing. I'm taxiing in for landing. God! From the cabin I see the car of division commander Smolovik. And it turns out they just sewed him a new overcoat. And the leather raglan of regiment commander Selivanov looked no better after swimming in a puddle.

In general, they boasted to their own advantage.

– Have you, a pilot, ever met with the “big” authorities?

– Marshal Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky knew me. Then he commanded the 2nd Belorussian Front. During random meetings, he asked for a minute or two about our everyday life. The generals were probably surprised to themselves: the commander stopped some captain. They usually didn’t wear awards during the war, and in my worn uniform I didn’t look like a hero.

For me, Rokossovsky is an example of real domestic officers. Yes, he is the most talented military leader of the twentieth century. But still, when they talk only about him or only about Zhukov, Konev and others - “Marshal of Victory”, I do not agree. They are its creators, worthy of the honorary title. Only the first one should call this title Stalin.

– What do you talk about to each other at meetings with fellow soldiers?

- Remember the war!

I’ll add to myself: remember its winners.

- Alexander Nikolaevich, it’s just a stone’s throw from our Kantemirovka to Veshenskaya. The closest railway station to the world famous Donskaya Stanitsa is also yours, Millerovo. But you were not only a fellow countryman of Sholokhov, you were friends with the great Russian writer?

- A happy incident in my life. We met Mikhail Alexandrovich in 1944. I am twenty one years old. I am a military pilot, I received a short leave, I was at my mother’s house in Millerovo. I go to see a friend, he is in a hurry to get to the train. Sholokhov meets! He took me with him to the station. Submitted. From that day on we became friends.

We saw each other often. I was one of the first to read “The Fate of Man” in manuscript.

Mikhail Alexandrovich sat me down to reminisce about the war. “Now you simply don’t understand how your descendants will need your story. Forget about your general's shoulder straps. Write like a front-line pilot. Write what you experienced, what you saw with your own eyes, what you yourself are a witness to. While everything is in your memory, don’t put it off for later.”

I followed his advice. The book “Above the Battlefield” was published in Rostov-on-Don. I was worried like a schoolboy when I gave it to Sholokhov. And he read with a fountain pen. I made amendments right away. He threw me questions. I took into account all the remarks of the marshal of the word when I was preparing the memoirs for republication in Moscow.

Alexander Nikolaevich explained why he calls his fellow countryman this way. He recited lines from the poet Felix Chuev. The poems are dedicated to the “Don eagles” - Sholokhov and him, Efimov.

We lived and were friends, just like we did in reality,

Tight times passed through.

They touched the earth and the blue...

Even if renewal takes place in souls,

The grandchildren will feel their

Marshal of the sky and marshal of the word -

Two fellow countrymen of the steppe and blood.

Foreign awards

Retired

Social activities - member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation (since 2006)

Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov(February 6, Kantemirovka - August 31, Moscow) - participant in the Great Patriotic War, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Honored Military Pilot of the USSR (1970), Air Marshal (1975), Doctor of Military Sciences, member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. Deputy of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 9-11 convocations (1974-1989) from the Kyrgyz SSR. Member of the CPSU Central Committee (1986-1990).

Biography

Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov was born on February 6, 1923 in the village of Kantemirovka, Voronezh province (now the urban village of Kantemirovka, Kantemirovsky district, Voronezh region) in the family of a railway worker.

His childhood and teenage years were spent in the city of Millerovo.

In total, during the war years, Efimov made 288 combat missions on the Il-2 attack aircraft, during which he personally and as part of a group destroyed 85 enemy aircraft at airfields (which is the highest achievement among Soviet pilots of all types of aviation) and shot down 8 aircraft in air battles, A large amount of enemy manpower and equipment was destroyed.

In peacetime, A. N. Efimov held high command positions in the Air Force: in 1951, after graduating from the Air Force Academy in Monino, he commanded a regiment and division; in 1957, after graduating from the Military Academy of the General Staff, he was appointed deputy commander of the 30th Air Army in the Baltic Military District; from to 1969 he commanded the air army in the Carpathian Military District; from March 1969 as First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force. In the early 1970s he fought alongside Hosni Mubarak.

Since August 1993, Air Marshal A. N. Efimov has been retired.

1 Now living. 2 Subsequently received the rank of Chief Marshal of Artillery. 3 Stripped of his rank in 1952, restored in 1953. 4 Demoted to the rank of major general of artillery in 1963. 5 Chief Marshal of Artillery, previously held the rank of Army General.

Air Marshals

	1 Now living. 2 Subsequently received the rank of Air Chief Marshal. 3 Stripped of his rank and shot in 1950, rehabilitated and restored to rank by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 6, 1965. 4 Stripped of his rank in 1946, restored in 1953. 5 The last holder of the title of Chief Marshal of all branches of the military.

Marshals of the Armored Forces

Marshals of the Engineer Troops

Marshals of the Signal Corps

Excerpt characterizing Efimov, Alexander Nikolaevich

- No, this cannot be! – he said out loud. Unable to sit still, he holds the letter in his hands, reading it. began to walk around the room. He ran through the letter, then read it once, twice, and, raising his shoulders and spreading his arms, he stopped in the middle of the room with his mouth open and eyes fixed. What he had just prayed for, with the confidence that God would grant his prayer, was fulfilled; but Nikolai was surprised by this as if it was something extraordinary, and as if he had never expected it, and as if the very fact that it happened so quickly proved that it did not happen from God, whom he asked, but from ordinary chance.
That seemingly insoluble knot that tied Rostov’s freedom was resolved by this unexpected (as it seemed to Nikolai), unprovoked by Sonya’s letter. She wrote that the latest unfortunate circumstances, the loss of almost all of the Rostovs’ property in Moscow, and the countess’s more than once expressed desires for Nikolai to marry Princess Bolkonskaya, and his silence and coldness lately - all this together made her decide to renounce him promises and give him complete freedom.
“It was too hard for me to think that I could be the cause of grief or discord in the family that had benefited me,” she wrote, “and my love has one goal: the happiness of those I love; and therefore I beg you, Nicolas, to consider yourself free and to know that no matter what, no one can love you more than your Sonya.”
Both letters were from Trinity. Another letter was from the Countess. This letter described the last days in Moscow, the departure, the fire and the destruction of the entire fortune. In this letter, by the way, the countess wrote that Prince Andrey was among the wounded traveling with them. His situation was very dangerous, but now the doctor says there is more hope. Sonya and Natasha, like nurses, look after him.
The next day, Nikolai went to Princess Marya with this letter. Neither Nikolai nor Princess Marya said a word about what the words could mean: “Natasha is caring for him”; but thanks to this letter, Nikolai suddenly became close to the princess into an almost family relationship.
The next day, Rostov accompanied Princess Marya to Yaroslavl and a few days later he himself left for the regiment.

Sonya's letter to Nicholas, which was the fulfillment of his prayer, was written from Trinity. This is what caused it. The thought of Nicholas marrying a rich bride occupied the old countess more and more. She knew that Sonya was the main obstacle to this. And Sonya’s life recently, especially after Nikolai’s letter describing his meeting in Bogucharovo with Princess Marya, became harder and harder in the countess’s house. The Countess did not miss a single opportunity to make an offensive or cruel hint to Sonya.
But a few days before leaving Moscow, touched and excited by everything that was happening, the Countess, calling Sonya to her, instead of reproaches and demands, turned to her with tears and prayed that she, by sacrificing herself, would repay for everything, what was done for her was to break her ties with Nikolai.
“I won’t be at peace until you give me this promise.”
Sonya burst into tears hysterically, answered through her sobs that she would do everything, that she was ready for anything, but she did not make a direct promise and in her soul could not decide on what was demanded of her. She had to sacrifice herself for the happiness of the family that fed and raised her. Sacrificing herself for the happiness of others was Sonya's habit. Her position in the house was such that only on the path of sacrifice could she show her virtues, and she was accustomed and loved to sacrifice herself. But first, in all acts of self-sacrifice, she joyfully realized that by sacrificing herself, she thereby raised her worth in the eyes of herself and others and became more worthy of Nicolas, whom she loved most in life; but now her sacrifice had to consist in giving up what for her constituted the entire reward of the sacrifice, the entire meaning of life. And for the first time in her life, she felt bitterness towards those people who had benefited her in order to torture her more painfully; I felt envy of Natasha, who had never experienced anything like this, never needed sacrifices and forced others to sacrifice herself and yet was loved by everyone. And for the first time, Sonya felt how, out of her quiet, pure love for Nicolas, a passionate feeling suddenly began to grow, which stood above rules, virtue, and religion; and under the influence of this feeling, Sonya involuntarily, learned by her dependent life of secrecy, answered the countess in general, vague words, avoided conversations with her and decided to wait for a meeting with Nikolai so that in this meeting she would not free her, but, on the contrary, forever bind herself to him .
The troubles and horror of the last days of the Rostovs’ stay in Moscow drowned out the dark thoughts that were weighing on her. She was glad to find salvation from them in practical activities. But when she learned about the presence of Prince Andrei in their house, despite all the sincere pity that she felt for him and Natasha, a joyful and superstitious feeling that God did not want her to be separated from Nicolas overtook her. She knew that Natasha loved one Prince Andrei and did not stop loving him. She knew that now, brought together in such terrible conditions, they would love each other again and that then Nicholas, due to the kinship that would be between them, would not be able to marry Princess Marya. Despite all the horror of everything that happened in the last days and during the first days of the journey, this feeling, this awareness of the intervention of providence in her personal affairs pleased Sonya.
The Rostovs spent their first day on their trip at the Trinity Lavra.
In the Lavra hotel, the Rostovs were allocated three large rooms, one of which was occupied by Prince Andrei. The wounded man was much better that day. Natasha sat with him. In the next room the Count and Countess sat, respectfully talking with the rector, who had visited their old acquaintances and investors. Sonya was sitting right there, and she was tormented by curiosity about what Prince Andrei and Natasha were talking about. She listened to the sounds of their voices from behind the door. The door of Prince Andrei's room opened. Natasha came out from there with an excited face and, not noticing the monk who stood up to meet her and grabbed the wide sleeve of his right hand, walked up to Sonya and took her hand.
- Natasha, what are you doing? Come here,” said the Countess.
Natasha came under the blessing, and the abbot advised to turn to God and his saint for help.
Immediately after the abbot left, Nashata took her friend’s hand and walked with her into the empty room.
- Sonya, right? will he be alive? - she said. - Sonya, how happy I am and how unhappy I am! Sonya, my dear, everything is as before. If only he were alive. He can’t... because, because... that... - And Natasha burst into tears.
- So! I knew it! Thank God,” said Sonya. - He will be alive!
Sonya was no less excited than her friend - both by her fear and grief, and by her personal thoughts that were not expressed to anyone. She, sobbing, kissed and consoled Natasha. “If only he were alive!” - she thought. After crying, talking and wiping away their tears, both friends approached Prince Andrei’s door. Natasha carefully opened the doors and looked into the room. Sonya stood next to her at the half-open door.
Prince Andrei lay high on three pillows. His pale face was calm, his eyes were closed, and you could see how he was breathing evenly.
- Oh, Natasha! – Sonya suddenly almost screamed, grabbing her cousin’s hand and retreating from the door.
- What? What? – Natasha asked.
“This is this, that, that...” said Sonya with a pale face and trembling lips.
Natasha quietly closed the door and went with Sonya to the window, not yet understanding what they were saying to her.
“Do you remember,” Sonya said with a frightened and solemn face, “do you remember when I looked for you in the mirror... In Otradnoye, at Christmas time... Do you remember what I saw?..
- Yes Yes! - Natasha said, opening her eyes wide, vaguely remembering that Sonya then said something about Prince Andrei, whom she saw lying down.
- Do you remember? – Sonya continued. “I saw it then and told everyone, both you and Dunyasha.” “I saw that he was lying on the bed,” she said, making a gesture with her hand with a raised finger at every detail, “and that he had closed his eyes, and that he was covered with a pink blanket, and that he had folded his hands,” Sonya said, making sure that as she described the details she saw now, that these same details she saw then. She didn’t see anything then, but said that she saw what came into her head; but what she came up with then seemed to her as valid as any other memory. What she said then, that he looked back at her and smiled and was covered with something red, she not only remembered, but was firmly convinced that even then she said and saw that he was covered with a pink, exactly pink, blanket, and that his eyes were closed.
“Yes, yes, exactly in pink,” said Natasha, who now also seemed to remember what was said in pink, and in this she saw the main unusualness and mystery of the prediction.
– But what does this mean? – Natasha said thoughtfully.
- Oh, I don’t know how extraordinary all this is! - Sonya said, clutching her head.
A few minutes later, Prince Andrei called, and Natasha came in to see him; and Sonya, experiencing an emotion and tenderness she had rarely experienced, remained at the window, pondering the extraordinary nature of what had happened.
On this day there was an opportunity to send letters to the army, and the Countess wrote a letter to her son.
“Sonya,” said the Countess, raising her head from the letter as her niece walked past her. – Sonya, won’t you write to Nikolenka? - said the countess in a quiet, trembling voice, and in the look of her tired eyes, looking through glasses, Sonya read everything that the countess understood in these words. This look expressed pleading, fear of refusal, shame for having to ask, and readiness for irreconcilable hatred in case of refusal.
Sonya went up to the countess and, kneeling down, kissed her hand.
“I’ll write, maman,” she said.
Sonya was softened, excited and touched by everything that happened that day, especially by the mysterious performance of fortune-telling that she just saw. Now that she knew that on the occasion of the renewal of Natasha’s relationship with Prince Andrei, Nikolai could not marry Princess Marya, she joyfully felt the return of that mood of self-sacrifice in which she loved and was accustomed to living. And with tears in her eyes and with the joy of realizing a generous deed, she, interrupted several times by tears that clouded her velvety black eyes, wrote that touching letter, the receipt of which so amazed Nikolai.

At the guardhouse where Pierre was taken, the officer and soldiers who took him treated him with hostility, but at the same time with respect. One could still feel in their attitude towards him doubt about who he was (whether he was a very important person), and hostility due to their still fresh personal struggle with him.
But when, on the morning of another day, the shift came, Pierre felt that for the new guard - for the officers and soldiers - it no longer had the meaning that it had for those who took him. And indeed, in this big, fat man in a peasant’s caftan, the guards of the next day no longer saw that living man who so desperately fought with the marauder and with the escort soldiers and said a solemn phrase about saving the child, but saw only the seventeenth of those being held for some reason, by by order of the highest authorities, the captured Russians. If there was anything special about Pierre, it was only his timid, intently thoughtful appearance and the French language, in which, surprisingly for the French, he spoke well. Despite the fact that on the same day Pierre was connected with other suspected suspects, since the separate room he occupied was needed by an officer.
All the Russians kept with Pierre were people of the lowest rank. And all of them, recognizing Pierre as a master, shunned him, especially since he spoke French. Pierre heard with sadness the ridicule of himself.
The next evening, Pierre learned that all of these prisoners (and probably himself included) were to be tried for arson. On the third day, Pierre was taken with others to a house where a French general with a white mustache, two colonels and other Frenchmen with scarves on their hands were sitting. Pierre, along with others, was asked questions about who he was with the precision and certainty with which defendants are usually treated, supposedly exceeding human weaknesses. where he was? for what purpose? and so on.
These questions, leaving aside the essence of the life matter and excluding the possibility of revealing this essence, like all questions asked in courts, had the goal only of setting up the groove along which the judges wanted the defendant’s answers to flow and lead him to the desired goal, that is to the accusation. As soon as he began to say something that did not satisfy the purpose of the accusation, they took a groove, and the water could flow wherever it wanted. In addition, Pierre experienced the same thing that a defendant experiences in all courts: bewilderment as to why all these questions were asked of him. He felt that this trick of inserting a groove was used only out of condescension or, as it were, out of politeness. He knew that he was in the power of these people, that only power had brought him here, that only power gave them the right to demand answers to questions, that the only purpose of this meeting was to accuse him. And therefore, since there was power and there was a desire to accuse, there was no need for the trick of questions and trial. It was obvious that all answers had to lead to guilt. When asked what he was doing when they took him, Pierre answered with some tragedy that he was carrying a child to his parents, qu"il avait sauve des flammes [whom he saved from the flames]. - Why did he fight with the marauder? Pierre answered, that he was defending a woman, that protecting an insulted woman is the duty of every person, that... He was stopped: this did not go to the point. Why was he in the yard of the house on fire, where witnesses saw him? He answered that he was going to see what was happening in the building? Moscow. They stopped him again: they didn’t ask him where he was going, and why he was near the fire? They repeated the first question to him, to which he said he didn’t want to answer. Again he answered that he couldn’t say that. .

Born on February 6, 1923 in the village of Kantemirovka, now a village in the Voronezh region, in the family of a railway worker. In 1940 he graduated from school No. 2 in the city of Millerovo, Rostov region. Since 1941 in the ranks of the Red Army, in 1942 he graduated from the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation Pilot School.

In August 1942, with the rank of sergeant, he was assigned to the 198th ShAP, operating on the Western Front. As an attack pilot, he took part in battles near Vyazma, Rzhev, Bryansk, Smolensk, in Belarus, Poland, and Germany. He was a flight commander, a squadron commander, and an air regiment navigator.

By July 1944, the squadron commander of the 198th Volkovysk assault aviation regiment (233rd assault aviation division, 4th Air Army, 2nd Belorussian Front), senior lieutenant A. N. Efimov, made 100 successful combat missions for reconnaissance and attack of troops , airfields, crossings and railway trains of the enemy.

On October 26, 1944, for courage and military valor shown in battles with enemies, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

By April 10, 1945, the navigator of the 62nd Assault Aviation Grodno Order of Suvorov Regiment (233rd Assault Aviation Yartsevskaya Red Banner Division), Captain A. N. Efimov, made 200 successful combat missions. In total, he personally destroyed 28 enemy aircraft at airfields, 9 railway trains, 65 guns, 47 tanks, and up to 2,000 fascists. Having carried out 58 air battles, he shot down 7 enemy aircraft (1 personally and 6 as part of a group).

In 1951 he graduated from the Air Force Academy, and in 1957 from the Military Academy of the General Staff. Served in command positions in the Air Force. Since 1969, First Deputy Commander-in-Chief, since 1984 - Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force - Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. Honored military pilot. Since 1975 Air Marshal. Candidate of Military Sciences. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 2, 9 - 11 convocations. Lived and worked in Moscow. Author of the books: “Above the Battlefield”, “Soviet Military Air Forces”.

Awarded the orders: Lenin (three times), Red Banner (five), Alexander Nevsky, Patriotic War 1st degree (twice), Red Star, "For service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd degree; medals, foreign orders. A bust was erected in the city of Millerovo, Rostov region.

* * *

In the park on the central street of the city of Millerovo, Rostov region, surrounded by tall chestnut trees and silver spruce trees, there is a bust of twice Hero of the Soviet Union, now Marshal of Aviation - Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov. During his first 100 combat missions, he destroyed 12 enemy aircraft, 25 tanks, and much other equipment. He made his last, 222nd combat mission on May 8, 1945. For special merits in the development of aviation technology, high performance in the education and training of flight personnel and many years of flight work in the aviation of the Armed Forces of the USSR, he was awarded the honorary title "Honored Military Pilot of the USSR".

The life path of Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov did not turn out at all the way his father, a hereditary railway worker, wanted. For dozens of years until the end of his days, Nikolai Gerasimovich worked as the head of the track. Naturally, he believed that his son would follow in his footsteps. But no. The son chose a different path - heaven. His passion for aviation began in his school days, in the mid-1930s. Who didn’t dream of becoming a pilot back then? Yes, almost all young people.

Sasha attended a school aviation club, where boys made simple flying models with rubber motors. In Millerovo, under Osoviakhim, there was a gliding school that had several US-4 gliders. High school students studied there. The guys mastered the theory with enthusiasm and looked forward to independent flights. Finally they took place. Alexander Nikolaevich will never forget that day, August 18, 1938. He took to the air for the first time. Even if it was at a small height, it rose and hovered above the ground. This feeling cannot be expressed in words!

Thus, Alexander laid, without exaggeration, the beginning of a new dynasty - the dynasty of Efimov aviators. After all, not only his children, but also his grandson, Alexander, devoted his life to aviation.

Immediately after graduating from high school in 1940, Sasha entered the Voroshilovgrad Aero Club, and in May 1941, the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation Pilot School, which he graduated from in July 1942 and immediately went to the front. He was assigned to the 198th Assault Aviation Regiment of the 233rd Assault Aviation Division.

Alexander, as they say, was lucky: he was assigned to the 2nd squadron of Captain V.A. Malinkin, who was rightfully considered one of the best commanders. Even before the war, Viktor Malinkin was an instructor at a flying club, then flew fighter planes, then retrained as an attack pilot. Under his leadership, the formation of pilot Efimov began. And very successfully: he quickly got into battle formation.

Like all front-line soldiers, Alexander Nikolaevich remembers his first flight on a combat mission. The attack aircraft then attacked the Osuga railway station in the Kalinin region. The enemy was hit hard and suffered heavy losses. The first flight brought the young pilot a lot of joy because he successfully completed the task.

By the beginning of the Battle of Kursk, Alexander was already a mature pilot. He was promoted in rank and position, sent to lead the group on important assignments. He became deputy squadron commander.

The tasks followed were one more difficult than the other, and the situation at times was the most incredible. The pilots often had to fight in clearly unfavorable conditions, with superior enemy forces. The battle that took place in mid-July 1943 is firmly etched in the memory of Alexander Nikolaevich.

The Battle of Kursk unfolded in all its breadth. The enemy, unable to break the resistance of the Soviet troops, stopped the offensive and turned back. The 198th assault air regiment was ordered to strike in the Bolkhov direction against the retreating enemy, destroying his tanks and manpower in the villages of Sorokino and Ukolitsy. To accomplish this task, the regiment commander allocated two groups of attack aircraft. The second of the 4 Ilovs, which included Efimov’s crew, was led on a mission by Captain Malinkin.

A short flight - and the attack aircraft are already at their target, near the village of Sorokino. But what is it? There are no retreating columns here. The enemy's defenses are clearly visible from above. The Germans managed to gain a foothold: dig trenches for the infantry, place tanks and self-propelled guns in the trenches, and equip positions for artillery and mortars. Such a surprise!

Malinkin decides to attack tanks and self-propelled guns first as the most dangerous targets. The captain makes a U-turn and rushes towards the enemy. The rest of the crews follow him. Powerful PTABs fly towards enemies. Explosions - and tongues of flame shoot up. German tanks are burning.

The group makes a new approach and destroys enemy batteries with cannons and eres, shooting manpower from machine guns.

Now you can return home. The attack aircraft take a reverse course. Soon the pilots saw how a large group of enemy aircraft bombed Soviet troops with impunity. We need to help out our infantry and disperse the enemies. And there were 13 multi-purpose Me-110s and 4 FW-190 escort fighters. The forces are clearly unequal. But this did not frighten Captain Malinkin. "Attack, follow me!" - he orders over the radio.

A deadly fight ensued. Malinkin shoots down one Messer with powerful cannon fire. The Germans immediately set fire to the car of junior lieutenant Zinovsky. The fight continues. Shooter Efimov manages to knock out another Messer. However, Alexander is soon left without a wingman - Lieutenant Petrov's plane crashes to the ground. The loss is huge!

The carousel in the air does not stop for a single second. With incredible efforts, "Ilam" manages to push back the enemy and cover its infantry. But using their absolute superiority, the Germans act brazenly and attack continuously.

“Commander, the commander’s plane was shot down,” Alexander heard the voice of his air gunner, Sergeant Yuri Dobrov. Efimov turned his head to the right and saw Malinkin’s car descending to the east. He could not cover the Captain, the Messers were pressing. Now Alexander was left alone against a pack of enemies. Every now and then he maneuvered, throwing the IL-2 left and right. And the Me-110s pounced on him like kites. One of them, without calculating, jumped ahead of the attack aircraft. Efimov instantly pressed the triggers of the cannons and machine guns and with concentrated fire smashed the enemy plane to pieces. It exploded in the air.

Efimov was already leading the attack aircraft over the very tops of the trees, making it difficult for the Messers to maneuver. Suddenly they fell behind "Ila". Alexander realized: they had run out of fuel, and the enemy had left the battle. This is exactly what he was counting on.

Of the entire group, only the crew of Alexander Efimov returned to their airfield. Mechanic Sergeant Yuri Konovalov looked at the car and sighed heavily: there was no living space on it, it was all riddled with shrapnel and bullets, and fragments of pine needles were sticking out of the oil radiator.

This was, perhaps, the most difficult battle for Senior Lieutenant Efimov. But he bravely withstood the inhuman tests. He stood it and thought: why were they, quite experienced pilots, beaten up so badly by the Germans? Alexander racked his brains for a long time and came to the conclusion that tactical combat techniques were outdated. We need to look for new ones. And he searched, persistently improved his and his subordinates’ combat flying skills, honed the art of maneuver.

On July 13, 1943, after the death of Captain Malinkin, Senior Lieutenant Efimov was appointed commander of the 2nd squadron. And he was only 20 years old at that time!

* * *

“Fly to photograph the enemy’s front line,” the regiment commander once ordered Alexander Efimov. - I won’t explain what it is, you know it yourself. 6 fighters will cover you.

Eat! - Alexander answered briefly.

Yes, Efimov knew perfectly well into what hell they were sending him. He began to carefully prepare for departure. In his plane, in the air gunner's cabin, the regimental craftsmen adapted an aerial camera so as to take perspective photographs of enemy ground targets.

At the appointed time, Alexander took off the Il and headed for the city of Mstislavl, where he was met by escort fighters. Below is the front line of the enemy's defense. Efimov dropped to a height of 50 meters and, under the noses of the Germans, passed low along the front line at high speed. Meanwhile, the air gunner was taking photographs. Efimov drove the car in such a way as to create the most favorable conditions for photography. The Germans opened furious fire.

Having completed the first approach, Alexander turns around and makes a second, then a third. And at a height of no more than 20 meters. A sea of fire rages around the stormtrooper, but he stubbornly does his job. Finally the photography is complete. As Efimov gains altitude, he moves away from the front line. The photographs turned out to be extremely successful and very valuable. The commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front expressed gratitude to the crew.

* * *

By June 1944, Alexander Efimov had flown 100 combat missions. His shooter, Sergeant Yu. P. Dobrov, had shot down 4 enemy aircraft by that time (2 of them in the group). In the spring of 1945, they took part in battles over Polish territory, conducting their 200th sortie near Gdansk. Captain A. N. Efimov made his last combat mission on May 5, 1945 to the port of Swinemunde, located on the Baltic Sea, already as a navigator of the 62nd Guards Assault Aviation Regiment.

In total, during the war he made 222 successful combat missions, of which 47 were reconnaissance missions. He personally and as part of a group destroyed 85 enemy aircraft at airfields and 7 in air battles. And how much equipment and manpower the enemies lost from the fire of his attack aircraft! Their number is in the hundreds. For heroism, courage, bravery, and high combat skill, on October 26, 1944, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and on August 18, 1945, he was awarded the second Gold Star medal.

Alexander Nikolaevich could not imagine himself without aviation. After the end of the war, he remained in the combat ranks of the Air Force. In 1951, A. N. Efimov graduated from the Air Force Academy, and in 1957, from the Military Academy of the General Staff. A competent, educated officer (in 1970 he received the title “Honored Military Pilot of the USSR”), A. N. Efimov quickly advances in his career: he commands an air regiment equipped with Il-10 aircraft. Then an air division with MiG-15 and MiG-17, the Air Army. In 1975 he was awarded the rank of Air Marshal.

In 1984, A. N. Efimov was appointed to the highest post in aviation - Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force - Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. He stayed in this position for 6 years. In the same 1984, he was awarded the USSR State Prize for testing new weapons. Since 1990 - Chairman of the State Commission for the Use of Air Transport and Air Traffic Control under the government of the country.

A. N. Efimov was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 2nd, 9th - 11th convocations, people's deputy of the USSR (1989 - 1991), deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, Ukrainian and Latvian SSR. He is a professor, candidate of military sciences.

In recent years, Air Marshal A. N. Efimov has been the chairman of the commission for interaction with public organizations of veterans, reserve and retired officers under the President of the Russian Federation, and president of the International Charitable Public Fund "Victory - 1945".

* * *

Attack aircraft attack Legstrisse airfield (Danzig).

Fortified on the outskirts of the city. Danzig, the Germans offered stubborn resistance to our advancing troops. Fierce fighting raged day and night. Every meter of land, every house was taken in battle. Danzig, completely blocked by our troops, was covered by a strong air defense system. Despite the proximity of the front line, the Legstrisse airfield continued to operate. The planes were dispersed far beyond the working field: between hangars, houses, at a distance of up to 1000 - 1500 meters from the working field. Sometimes the Germans taxied planes along the highway to the city and hid them between houses.

On March 25, 1945, I received an order with a group of 16 Il-2s to strike artillery and mortar positions and a concentration of enemy equipment in the Oliva area. Our unit was based at Marienburg airfield. The group was supposed to be covered by 8 Yak-3s from the same airfield.

The group's combat order is fours in the right "bearing". In each of the last 3 fours, I assigned crews to suppress FOR the enemy.

Approaching the NBP - Kartkhauzy, I contacted the guidance station and received a new task: “Strike the Legstriss airfield.”

According to intelligence information, there were many aircraft at the airfield prepared for relocation. In the hangars, preparations were being made for loading disassembled aircraft onto barges that could not leave in summer.

By radio, I notified the entire group and the leader of the covering fighter group about the retargeting. I decided to attack the target in pairs with the left "circle" and then closing it. In plain text, I conveyed to the leading fours the method of attacking the target. The Legstriss airfield was located next to the target previously given to us, so there was no need to make any recalculations, I just increased the course by 2°, hoping to reach the eastern part of the airfield to make it more convenient to attack.

I walked to the front line with a climb of 2000 - 2200 meters. He crossed the front line while descending at increased speed (340 km/h). The Germans, having become accustomed to the calculations of 290 - 300 km/h for the Il-2, could not immediately inflict defeat on the group. All the gaps lay far behind. We walked the entire way to the target under heavy fire from the Germans, who were trying to disrupt the group’s battle formation. We approached the airfield at an altitude of 800 - 900 meters. The group stretched out in a line along the front. Having reached the airfield, we began an attack with a left turn. BEHIND the airfield they opened fire on the group, but were unable to inflict a serious defeat. The crews specially allocated to suppress the ZA forces silenced them on the second approach.

Standing in a “circle” in pairs, the group began attacking the airfield. Due to the great dispersion of the aircraft, each had to choose a target. The group made 3 passes. Leaving the attack, I headed for the center of Danzig. The Germans did not expect such a maneuver and, falling silent, did not fire at first. The group stretched out in pairs in a chain behind the leader. Not reaching the city center 2 km, I turned sharply to the right, simultaneously giving the command to the group. Cutting off the “circle”, the group quickly assumed a battle formation, gradually gaining altitude.

The group had no losses, only 4 aircraft received minor damage. At the Legstriss airfield, 14 aircraft and a hangar were burned, which contained up to 20 various aircraft prepared for evacuation.

The results of the attack were confirmed by ground units, photographs and covering fighters.

(From the collection - “One Hundred Stalinist Falcons in the Battles for the Motherland.” Moscow, “YAUZA - EKSMO”, 2005.)

Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov February 6, 1923 (86 years old) (19230206) Place of birth ... Wikipedia

Efimov Alexander Nikolaevich Encyclopedia "Aviation"

Efimov Alexander Nikolaevich- A. N. Efimov Efimov Alexander Nikolaevich (b. 1923) Soviet military leader, air marshal (1975), candidate of military sciences (1966), honored military pilot of the USSR (1970), twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945). Graduated from Voroshilovgrad... ... Encyclopedia "Aviation"

- (b. 1923) Russian military leader, air marshal (1975), twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945). During the Great Patriotic War in attack aviation, squadron commander and air regiment navigator; 222 combat missions. Since 1969 1st deputy, in 1984 91... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (b. 6.2.1923, Kantemirovka, now Voronezh region), Soviet military leader, colonel general of aviation (1969), twice Hero of the Soviet Union (10.26.1944 and 18.8.1945). Member of the CPSU since 1943. Born into a working-class family. In the Soviet Army since May 1941.… …

- (b. 1923) Soviet military leader, air marshal (1975), candidate of military sciences (1966), honored military pilot of the USSR (1970), twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945). Graduated from the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation School (1942), Military... ... Encyclopedia of technology

- (b. 1923), Air Marshal (1975), Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945). During the Great Patriotic War in attack aviation, squadron commander and air regiment navigator; 222 combat missions. From 1969 1st Deputy, in 1984 1990 Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (born 02/06/1923) attack pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945), Honored Military Pilot of the USSR, State Prize laureate, Air Marshal (1975), Ph.D. military Sci. Participant of the Great Patriotic War since August 1942. Was... ... Large biographical encyclopedia

Efimov is a Russian surname, one of the 250 most common Russian surnames. Known media: Contents 1 A 2 B 3 C 4 D 5 E ... Wikipedia

I Efimov Alexander Nikolaevich (b. 6.2.1923, Kantemirovka, now Voronezh region), Soviet military leader, colonel general of aviation (1969), twice Hero of the Soviet Union (26.10.1944 and 18.8.1945). Member of the CPSU since 1943. Born into a family... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Books

Moscow on the front line, Bondarenko Alexander Yulievich, Efimov Nikolai Nikolaevich. The book brought to your attention is compiled on the basis of materials from the newspaper "Red Star", covering little-known pages of the Second World War, with a special place given to the defense...
Bitter Summer of 1941, Efimov Nikolai Nikolaevich, Bondarenko Alexander Yulievich. “For a correct analysis and assessment of military events, it is important that all historical facts are considered with a professional understanding of the essence of the matter, with deep consideration of the specific features of a particular...