Search operations were carried out in the Zalegoshchensky district of the Oryol region, near the Zolotarevo station, from September 20 to 29. The choice of the place was based on the stories of local residents about Soviet planes shot down here in 1942, which was confirmed both by documents of the Red Army Air Force and by claims of “victories” of German pilots based on archival documents Germans. These data were later supported by the director of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War of the Orel Presidential Academy, Nikolai Andreev, as a result of an analysis of archival data from the flight documents of the units that fought in the region at that time. moment.
Searchers excavated two craters. One turned out to be the crash site of an Il-2 attack aircraft, the second was formed by a FAB-100 aerial bomb that fell from the wing.
“Probably, a damaged and burning attack aircraft (traces of combustion, molten aluminum, burned machine gun cartridges were found) during the fall was blown up by its aerial bombs (at least 3 FAB-100),” says Nikolai Andreev. At the same time, its hull sank to a depth of 3.5 meters, burned and broke into small fragments during the explosion, the cockpit was completely destroyed (fragments of its equipment were found within a radius of 300 meters) ”.
Large parts of the plane, such as the engine, landing gear wheels, cannons and machine guns, could not be found. At the same time, fragments of landing gear struts, fragments of an engine block and fragments of plating from the airframe were recovered. Probably, as the searchers explained, most of them were thrown to the surface of the earth during the explosion of aerial bombs and later collected by residents.
The first clue to identifying the pilot was a fragment of an engine block with the seal of the 30th Moscow Aviation Plant, which produced the Il-2 attack aircraft. Soon the plane number was discovered: 30313. It was found thanks to a wrench from the pilot’s kit, which was found by chance. In it, a search girl named Sasha from the “Vityaz” search unit of the Youth Army laundered the number.
Photo: Archive
According to archival data, on August 21, 1942, the regiment was tasked with destroying enemy material at the Orel airfield. Nine attack aircraft flew on the mission. Presenter – Bondarenko. No combat cover was provided. Two aircraft immediately returned to their Boloto airfield due to a breakdown. Seven did not return after the Me-109 attacks (TsAMO RF, F.22435, Op.0223168s, D.0001, L.4). The next day, two pilots returned to the regiment: Bondarenko and Malinkin. From his words it appears that the main load of ammunition was dropped at the Orel airfield, 20 aircraft of different types and three tankers were destroyed and disabled.
Five pilots: Pushkarev (Il-2 No. 30330), Roslyakov (Il-2 No. 3249), Lebedev (Il-2 No. 3277), Gulyaev (Il-2 No. 3239), Bashkirov (Il-2 No. 30313) were considered not to be returning from a combat mission (TsAMO RF, F.56, Op.12220, D.57; F.58; Op.818883, D.1582).
The attack aircraft discovered by search engines as part of “Memory Watch 2024” was shot down by Oberleutnant Albert Walter of 6./JG 51 “Mölders” at an extremely low altitude (this clarification of the German document made it possible to completely restore the image of the death of the plane and its pilot).
In command of the found Il-2 was Sergeant Ivan Vasilyevich Bashkirov, born in 1921, a native of the village. Old Matyushkino, Cherdaklinsky district, Kuibyshev region. The pilot was unable to use a parachute due to the low altitude and died in the explosion of his plane.
“Determining the vehicle number and the name of the pilot is a great success when working on the recovery of downed aircraft. As a general rule, in most cases, success in these search operations is low. Now we can begin to identify the person’s family members. deceased pilot, since there is data on the matter. The found remains will complement the exposition of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War of the Presidential Academy in Orel,” said Pavel Merkulov, president of the regional section of the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO), director of the Central Russian Institute of Management, a branch of RANEPA.
Of the five pilots who did not return from that combat mission, only the deputy commander of the squadron, Lieutenant Mikhail Alekseevich Pushkarev, born on October 29, 1921, a native of Molotov, survived the war. Until the day of his last battle, he had completed 48 combat missions and was twice awarded the Order of the Red Banner. His Il-2 crashed near the village of Prilepy (less than 14 km from the place where Sergeant Bashkirov’s attack aircraft fell), where the pilot was captured. Sent to Stalag Luftwaffe 2 Lodz. In total, he was held in four concentration camps. After being released from captivity, he was tested and awarded the medal “For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” He entered the reserve in November 1945. And on April 6, 1985 he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree.
It has not yet been established where the other pilots died after taking off on a mission on August 21, 1942: squadron commander Lieutenant Roslyakov, Junior Lieutenant Lebedev and flight commander Junior Lieutenant Gulyaev.
The search teams of the association participated in the field expedition of the autumn stage of the Orel regional program “Memory Watch 2024”: “Nameless Soldier” at the Central Russian Institute of Management of RANEPA, “Vityaz” at “Yunarmia “, “Paratrooper” in the city center “Paratrooper”, “Cossack” in OGKO VKO “TsKV”, “Named after SS Feronov”, “Zheleznodorozhnik”. A total of 58 people participated in the excavation of the plane during this surveillance.
