Lev Lvovich Shestakov: biography.
Born on December 28, 1915 in the village of Avdeevka, now the city of Yasinovatsky City Council, Donetsk Region (Ukraine), in the family of a railway worker. Russian. Graduated from 6th grade, FZO school. He worked as a toolmaker at the railway depot at Avdeevka station. He studied at the Dnepropetrovsk Institute of Road Transport Engineers, but interrupted his studies there for the desire to become a pilot.
He began serving in the Red Army in August 1934.
Graduated from the 2nd Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation Pilot School.
With the rank of lieutenant, he served as a junior pilot in the 36th Fighter Aviation Brigade of the Kyiv Military District.
He took part in the national liberation war in Spain from August 20, 1937 to April 25, 1938, and was a pilot and then a flight commander of I-16 fighters.
In total, he made more than 100 sorties in Spain, participated in 36 air battles, personally shot down 2 fighters (Me-109 and Fiat-32) and, together with another pilot, 1 Me-109.
According to other sources, he made 150 combat missions, participated in 98 air battles, and shot down 39 aircraft (8 personally and 31 in a group), but this is unlikely.
After returning from Spain, he served first as an assistant squadron commander in the Kiev Military District, and then as a commander of a separate squadron near Rostov as part of the North Caucasus Military District.
In 1941 he was awarded the military rank of major.
Since 1941, he was deputy commander of the 69th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Odessa Military District.
Participated in the Great Patriotic War from June 22, 1941. In July he was appointed commander of the 69th Fighter Aviation Regiment (in March 1942 it was reorganized into the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment). Defending Odessa, he personally shot down 2 planes and shot down 8 more planes as part of a group.
Participated in the Kharkov operation and the Battle of Stalingrad.
“...Combat description of the commander of the 9th Guards Red Banner Odessa Fighter Regiment of the 268th IAD of the 8th Air Army of the Stalingrad Front, Lieutenant Colonel Lev Lvovich Shestakov.
In office since August 1941.
Appointment order - dated August 10, 1941.
On the Stalingrad Front - from August 1942
He has no wounds or concussions.
Awarded the Order of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Flies on the following aircraft: UTI-1, UTI-4, I-16, LaGG-3, Yak-1, Yak-7.
Has 210 combat missions, 183 flight hours.
Since the beginning of the war, he personally shot down 15 enemy aircraft. Comrade During his stay in the division, Shestakov proved himself to be a demanding, competent regiment commander. He loves to fly, systematically carries out combat missions, as a result of which he has acquired great authority and love among all personnel. In 1941, the regiment he led heroically defended Odessa, carried out 6,608 combat sorties, shooting down 94 enemy aircraft.
In the regiment, 181 people were awarded, twelve Heroes of the Soviet Union were raised.
In air battles, Shestakov himself tries to impose his initiative on the enemy, while showing courage and bravery, and instilled these qualities in his subordinates by personal example. On the Stalingrad Front, he skillfully organizes the combat work of the regiment, which makes the fight against the enemy highly effective.
Every air battle Comrade. Shestakov undergoes thorough analysis, thanks to which the pilots constantly improve their training. The regiment carefully studies the accumulated combat experience, from which tactical conclusions are drawn.
On the Stalingrad front, the regiment shot down 54 aircraft. 738 combat sorties were flown. L.L. Shestakov, having completed 31 combat missions, destroyed 6 aircraft.
Comrade Shestakov is an excellent, brave and decisive pilot, a skilled commander, selflessly devoted to his Socialist Motherland.
Commander of the 268th IAD
Colonel Sidnev.
December 31, 1942..."
(From the combat characteristics of L. L. Shestakov)
In one of the battles on January 10, 1943, in the Kotelnikovo area, he was shot down. Having landed the burning plane on the fuselage in a field, he managed to get out of it safely and was not injured.
In 1943, he was awarded the military rank of lieutenant colonel.
In August 1943, he was first appointed deputy commander of the 6th Guards Fighter Aviation Division and then commander of the 19th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Participated in the liberation of Ukraine.
In 1944, he was awarded the military rank of colonel.
In total, during the Great Patriotic War, he carried out about 450 combat missions, participated in 65 attack missions, conducted about 100 air battles, and shot down 19 aircraft (15 personally and 4 as part of a group). According to other sources, he shot down 24 aircraft (16 personally and 8 in the group).
He flew fighters I-16, LaGG-3, Yak-7, La-5.
Died on March 13, 1944. On that day, he, as part of six fighters, fought an air battle with a group of German Ju-87 dive bombers and Me-109 fighters in the area of the city of Proskurov (now Khmelnitsky). In battle, he shot down the Me-109 of the German ace holder of the Knight's Cross, Chief Sergeant Major Hans Dammers, who had 113 aerial victories. The German plane exploded, but Shestakov’s fighter was damaged by the blast wave and fell into a ravine near the village of Davydkovtsy, Khmelnitsky district, Khmelnytsky region. The deceased pilot was found only in May, when the snow melted in a deep ravine, and was buried in a mass grave in the city of Khmelnitsky (Ukraine).
On April 15, 1966, he was permanently enlisted in the military unit.
List of famous aerial victories of L. L. Shestakov:
08/00/1937 1/2 Me-109 Spain in pairs
12/22/1937 1 Fiat-32 Teruel in person
12/00/1937 1 Me-109 Teruel in person
06/24/1941 1/gr. Yu-88 Spartakovka as part of a group
08/09/1941 1 PZL-24 Odessa in person
08/14/1941 1 Me-109 Ackerman personally
08/27/1941 1/gr. Me-109 Freudenthal as part of a group
09/02/1941 2/gr. Me-109 Red Migrant as part of a group
09/02/1941 1/gr. PZL-24 Red Migrant as part of a group
06/22/1942 1 Xe-111 Verkhniy Burluk personally
06/22/1942 1 Me-110 Novo-Nikolaevka in person
07/12/1942 1 Yu-88 Medovaya personally
07/30/1942 1 Me-109 Ostrov personally
08/01/1942 1 Me-109 zap. Borislavsky personally
12/12/1942 1 Yu-86 Zeta in person
12/19/1942 1 Yu-52 southwest. Vasilyevka in person
12/19/1942 1 Yu-52 Verkhne-Kumsky personally
12/29/1942 1 Yu-52 Basargino personally
05/12/1943 1 Yu-52 north-east. Maly Yanislav in person
07/21/1943 1 Xe-111 north-east. Dmitrievka in person
02/11/1944 1 FV-190 Personal attack
03/13/1944 1 Yu-87* north-east. Proskurov personally
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated February 10, 1942, for courage and bravery, Lev Lvovich Shestakov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (“Golden Star” No. 988).
Awarded the Order of Lenin (11/14/1938), two Orders of the Red Banner (3/2/1938, 11/5/1941), the Order of the Patriotic War 1st degree (1/26/1943), medals “For the Defense of Odessa” (1942) and “For the Defense of Stalingrad” "(1942).
Note:
* It is officially believed that Shestakov shot down a Yu-87 dive bomber. There is also a legend that the pilot of this dive bomber was a holder of the Knight's Cross, Colonel Kurt Rehner, with whom Shestakov allegedly personally met back in Spain. However, among the Luftwaffe aces there was no pilot with that name. And all this is nothing more than a beautiful story invented by the famous Soviet pilot twice Hero of the Soviet Union V.D. Lavrinenko, which he told on the pages of his book about Shestakov “Falcon-1”. And according to the results of the latest research, it has been established that in his last battle Shestakov shot down not the Yu-87, but the Me-109 fighter of the German ace Oberfeldwebel Hans Dammers.
USSR USSR
Colonel
In July 1942, on the initiative of the commander of the 8th Air Army T.T. Khryukin, reinforcements from among the most experienced fighter pilots arrived in the regiment (at this time Lavrinenkov, Sergeants, Budanova, Litvyak, etc. arrived in the regiment), the regiment received new equipment (Yak-1 aircraft to replace worn-out and lost in battle LaGG-3), the regiment is assigned tasks related to gaining air superiority.
The “special regiment” under the command of Shestakov shot down about a hundred enemy aircraft and became one of the most effective regiments of the Battle of Stalingrad. Shestakov himself flew out on combat missions almost every day, increasing his personal tally to 11 victories.
Was it shot down by Gadermann (Rudel's gunner), or fell due to being caught in turbulence from my propeller during our short turns? Doesn't matter. My headphones suddenly burst into confused screams from the Russian radio; the Russians observed what happened and, apparently, something special happened... From Russian radio messages we discovered that this was a very famous Soviet fighter pilot, who was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on several occasions. I have to give him credit - he was a good pilot
Original text(English)
Was he shot down by Gadermann, or did he go down because of the backwash from my engine during these tight turns? It doesn't matter. My headphones suddenly exploded in confused screams from the Russian radio; the Russians have observed what happened and something special seems to have happened… From the Russian radio-messages, we discover that this was a very famous Soviet fighter pilot, more than once appointed as Hero of the Soviet Union. I should give him a credit: he was a good pilot
However, this version falls apart, since on March 13, at the time of the death of L.L. Shestakov, the third group (III. Gruppe/Schlachtgeschwader 2 "Immelmann") Rudel was based in Nikolaev. From Nikolaev to Proskurov (now Khmelnytsky) more than 450 km.
Awards
- The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded on February 10, 1942.
- Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.
Memory
- He was buried in a mass grave near the Eternal Flame in the city of Khmelnitsky.
- Enlisted forever in the lists of the military unit.
- An obelisk was erected at the site of the Hero’s death.
- A collective farm and a school in the village of Davydkovtsy and a street in the city of Avdeevka are named after him.
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– And why would people like you have children? If you weren’t my father, I couldn’t blame you for anything,” said Anna Pavlovna, raising her eyes thoughtfully.- Je suis votre [I am your] faithful slave, et a vous seule je puis l "avouer. My children are ce sont les entraves de mon existence. [I can confess to you alone. My children are the burden of my existence.] - He paused, expressing with a gesture his submission to cruel fate.
Anna Pavlovna thought about it.
– Have you ever thought about marrying your prodigal son Anatole? They say,” she said, “that old maids are ont la manie des Marieiages.” [they have a mania to get married.] I don’t yet feel this weakness in me, but I have one petite personne [little person] who is very unhappy with her father, une parente a nous, une princesse [our relative, Princess] Bolkonskaya. “Prince Vasily did not answer, although with the quickness of thought and memory characteristic of secular people, he showed with a movement of his head that he had taken this information into account.
“No, you know that this Anatole costs me 40,000 a year,” he said, apparently unable to control the sad train of his thoughts. He paused.
– What will happen in five years if it goes like this? Voila l"avantage d"etre pere. [This is the benefit of being a father.] Is she rich, your princess?
- My father is very rich and stingy. He lives in the village. You know, this famous Prince Bolkonsky, who was dismissed under the late emperor and nicknamed the Prussian king. He is a very smart person, but strange and difficult. La pauvre petite est malheureuse, comme les pierres. [The poor thing is as unhappy as stones.] She has a brother who recently married Lise Meinen, Kutuzov’s adjutant. He will be with me today.
“Ecoutez, chere Annette, [Listen, dear Annette,” said the prince, suddenly taking his interlocutor by the hand and bending it down for some reason. – Arrangez moi cette affaire et je suis votre [Arrange this matter for me, and I will be yours forever] most faithful slave a tout jamais pan, comme mon headman m"ecrit des [as my headman writes to me] reports: rest ep!. She is good family name and rich... Everything I need.
And he, with those free and familiar, graceful movements that distinguished him, took the maid of honor by the hand, kissed her and, having kissed her, waved the maid of honor's hand, lounging on the chair and looking to the side.
“Attendez [Wait],” said Anna Pavlovna, thinking. – I’ll talk to Lise today (la femme du jeune Bolkonsky). [with Liza (the wife of young Bolkonsky).] And maybe this will work out. Ce sera dans votre famille, que je ferai mon apprentissage de vieille fille. [I will begin to learn the craft of a spinster in your family.]
Anna Pavlovna's living room began to gradually fill up. The highest nobility of St. Petersburg arrived, people of the most diverse ages and characters, but identical in the society in which they all lived; Prince Vasily's daughter, the beautiful Helen, arrived, picking up her father to go with him to the envoy's holiday. She was wearing a cipher and a ball gown. Also known as la femme la plus seduisante de Petersbourg [the most charming woman in St. Petersburg], the young, little princess Bolkonskaya, who got married last winter and now did not go out into the big world because of her pregnancy, but still went to small evenings, also arrived. Prince Hippolyte, the son of Prince Vasily, arrived with Mortemar, whom he introduced; Abbot Moriot and many others also arrived.
-Have you seen it yet? or: – you don’t know ma tante [my aunt]? - Anna Pavlovna said to the arriving guests and very seriously led them to a little old lady in high bows, who floated out from another room, as soon as the guests began to arrive, called them by name, slowly moving her eyes from the guest to ma tante [auntie], and then walked away.
All the guests performed the ritual of greeting an unknown, uninteresting and unnecessary aunt. Anna Pavlovna watched their greetings with sad, solemn sympathy, silently approving them. Ma tante spoke to everyone in the same terms about his health, about her health and about the health of Her Majesty, which was now, thank God, better. All those who approached, without showing haste out of decency, with a feeling of relief at the fulfillment of a difficult duty, walked away from the old woman, so as not to approach her once all evening.
The young Princess Bolkonskaya arrived with her work in an embroidered gold velvet bag. Her pretty upper lip, with a slightly blackened mustache, was short in teeth, but it opened even more sweetly and sometimes stretched even more sweetly and fell onto the lower one. As is always the case with quite attractive women, her flaw—short lips and half-open mouth—seemed special to her, her actual beauty. Everyone had fun looking at this pretty expectant mother, full of health and vivacity, bearing her situation so easily. It seemed to the old people and bored, gloomy young people who looked at her that they themselves became like her, having been and talked with her for a while. Whoever spoke to her and saw her bright smile and shiny white teeth, which were constantly visible, with every word, thought that he was especially kind today. And that's what everyone thought.
The little princess, waddled, walked around the table with small quick steps with her work bag on her arm and, cheerfully straightening her dress, sat down on the sofa, near the silver samovar, as if everything she did was part de plaisir [entertainment] for her and for everyone those around her.
“J"ai apporte mon ouvrage [I captured the work],” she said, unfolding her reticule and addressing everyone together.
“Look, Annette, ne me jouez pas un mauvais tour,” she turned to the hostess. – Vous m"avez ecrit, que c"etait une toute petite soiree; Voyez, comme je suis attifee. [Don't play a bad joke on me; you wrote to me that you were having a very short evening. You see how poorly I am dressed.]
And she spread her arms to show her graceful gray dress covered in lace, girded with a wide ribbon just below her breasts.
“Soyez tranquille, Lise, vous serez toujours la plus jolie [Be calm, you will be better than everyone else],” answered Anna Pavlovna.
“Vous savez, mon mari m"abandonne,” she continued in the same tone, addressing the general, “il va se faire tuer. Dites moi, pourquoi cette vilaine guerre, [You know, my husband is leaving me. He is going to his death. Tell me “Why this nasty war,” she said to Prince Vasily and, without waiting for an answer, turned to Prince Vasily’s daughter, the beautiful Helen.
– Quelle delicieuse personne, que cette petite princesse! [What a lovely person this little princess is!] - Prince Vasily said quietly to Anna Pavlovna.
Soon after the little princess, a massive, fat young man with a cropped head, glasses, light trousers in the fashion of that time, a high frill and a brown tailcoat entered. This fat young man was the illegitimate son of the famous Catherine’s nobleman, Count Bezukhy, who was now dying in Moscow. He had not served anywhere yet, he had just arrived from abroad, where he was brought up, and was for the first time in society. Anna Pavlovna greeted him with a bow that belonged to people of the lowest hierarchy in her salon. But, despite this inferior greeting, at the sight of Pierre entering, Anna Pavlovna’s face showed concern and fear, similar to that expressed at the sight of something too huge and unusual for the place. Although, indeed, Pierre was somewhat larger than the other men in the room, this fear could only relate to that intelligent and at the same time timid, observant and natural look that distinguished him from everyone in this living room.
“C"est bien aimable a vous, monsieur Pierre, d"etre venu voir une pauvre malade, [It’s very kind of you, Pierre, that you came to visit the poor patient,] - Anna Pavlovna told him, exchanging fearful glances with her aunt, to with which she let him down. Pierre muttered something incomprehensible and continued to look for something with his eyes. He smiled joyfully, cheerfully, bowing to the little princess as if he were a close friend, and approached his aunt. Anna Pavlovna’s fear was not in vain, because Pierre, without listening to his aunt’s speech about Her Majesty’s health, left her. Anna Pavlovna stopped him in fear with the words:
“You don’t know Abbot Morioh?” he is a very interesting person...” she said.
The commander of one of the best regiments in the history of the Soviet Air Force, a man of exceptional energy and brilliant pedagogical talent, L. Shestakov was an example in carrying out a combat mission, a strict and tireless commander in flight, fire and tactical training, a cheerful and inexhaustible comrade in an unofficial setting. “He flies like a god,” his comrades said about him; this definition became the main guarantee of the pilot’s authority. His innate flying skill was noticed even in flight school; later commanders noted his enviable determination: “to learn and master everything that related to combat use and the effective use of a fighter aircraft.” Later, during the Great Patriotic War, his grip did not escape the attention of the high command: in July 1942, in the Stalingrad direction, his regiment became a special, special subordinate fighter regiment of the 8th VA. The regiment was replenished with strong pilots who had more than five shot downs, and was re-equipped with new, officially considered the best, Soviet Yak-1 fighters. At Stalingrad, fighting on the LaGG-3, and later on the Yak-1, the pilots of the 9th GIAP destroyed about a hundred enemy aircraft in the air. Along with the 32nd GIAP (434th IAP), the regiment became the most effective fighter regiment of the Battle of Stalingrad... At the end of the summer of 1943, Shestakov was appointed deputy commander of the 6th GIAP, but, burdened by staff work, he soon took over the 19th GIAP, reporting directly to Air Chief Marshal A. Novikov. The regiments headed by Shestakov were among the best in the Soviet Air Force; their pilots destroyed more than 1,000 enemy aircraft in air battles: the 9th GIAP - 558, and the 176th GIAP - 445.
A. Shestakov was born on December 28, 1915 in the village of Avdeevka (now a city in Yekaterinoslav province) in the family of a railway employee. In 1930, he entered the FZU school at the Avdeevka railway depot, after graduating from which he worked at the Yasinovataya station and was soon accepted into the Dnepropetrovsk Institute of Railway Transport Engineers. However, the young man dreamed of heaven and, having received a Komsomol permit, on August 8, 1934, Lev Shestakov became a cadet at the Voroshilovgrad (11th) military aviation school.
Having completed school with excellence in 1935, Sergeant Major Shestakov was assigned to the 2nd Fighter Squadron. In mid-1937, Lieutenant Shestakov arrived in Spain, where in six months he carried out 150 combat missions on the I-16, and personally shot down 8 enemy aircraft in 90 air battles. 31 planes were shot down by the squadron in which he fought. Along with A. Serov and V. Bobrov, Shestakov was the most effective of the Red Army Air Force pilots who fought in Spain. For the battles near Saragossa on the Teruel front and near Aragon, he was awarded the Orders of Lenin and the Red Banner.
In September 1939, Captain Shestakov was appointed assistant commander of the newly formed 69th IAP. With the beginning of the war, he became the main organizer of the regiment’s combat work, and on July 16 he replaced A. Maryinsky as regiment commander. Already in the first days, having called the telephone operator at the Razdelnaya station near Odessa, he asked her to convey everything she learned about the raids on Odessa from this station, thus organizing something like an additional VNOS post. He took an active part in retrofitting the “donkeys” with beams for rockets. He personally led the attack on enemy positions, including the particularly successful attack on airfields in Baden and Seltsy on September 22, 1941, when 21 enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground... September 10, 1941 “for heroism and courage,” 3 personally shot down and 8 aircraft enemy destroyed in the group under his command, Major Shestakov was nominated for the rank of Hero. Already by that time, he had tested several tactical techniques that were later widely used: vertical combat, tiered arrangement of groups of aircraft - whatnot, attacks from clouds, and the transformation of a fighter into a fighter-bomber. Participating in the defense of Odessa, pilots of the 69th IAP (later 9th GIAP) shot down 94 aircraft in the air - no regiment had such a score at that time. It was at that time that the pilots of the 69th IAP acquired a new name - “Shestakovites”.
After rearmament with LaGG-3, the regiment was sent to the Stalingrad direction. Here Lev Lvovich quickly developed recommendations for the combat use of this complex machine, which significantly increased their effectiveness and reduced losses. By personal example, he confirmed his faith in the new aircraft, only in July 1942 he shot down 3 Yu-88 and Me-109. In September, the regiment was again withdrawn from the front and re-equipped with the Yak-1. Near Stalingrad, Shestakov takes part in battles almost every day, bringing the number of personal victories to 11. On January 10, 1943, having shot down an Me-109, he was shot down and wounded in the head and shoulder blade. Having landed the Yak in a field, he barely had time to jump out of the cockpit before his plane was blown to pieces by a cannon fire from the Messer.
Shestakov was very attentive to methodological work and to understanding the accumulated combat experience. He repeatedly spoke at front-line meetings and conferences with bright, memorable reports.
On August 15, 1943, when the pilots of the regiment mastered the Airacobra, which was new to them, Lev Lvovich, having assembled the regiment, demonstrated the withdrawal of the Cobra from what seemed to be a terrible flat spin. At the end of the summer of 1943, he was appointed deputy commander of the 6th Giad . After some time, he was called by the Air Force commander, Air Marshal Novikov, and proposed to begin forming a special, separate subordinate regiment of “hunters” on the basis of the 19th IAP...
Again organizational work, again retraining, now on La-7, and on March 4, 1944, the regiment returned to combat work in Western Ukraine in the Proskurovo-Chernovtsy offensive operation. On March 12, near the village of Davidkovtsy, Khmelnitsky region, at the head of six fighters, he attacked a large group of Ju-87 dive bombers, shot down one plane with a masterful attack and, having approached to 20-30 meters, opened fire on another from behind - from below. As a result of its hits, the enemy bomber exploded - apparently the bombs detonated, Shestakov's plane was damaged, lost control, the pilot left the plane at low altitude and died.
It was a great loss for the country; In his person, the Air Force lost a most talented commander, who promised to become an aviation commander of the highest rank in the future.
Guard Colonel Shestakov conducted more than 600 sorties, 130 air battles in the skies of Spain and over his native land, shot down 29 enemy aircraft personally and in a group of 45. The son of the famous ace, also Lev Lvovich, followed in his father’s footsteps, was a military pilot, flew jet machines.
Born on December 28, 1915 in the village of Avdeevka, now the Yasinovatsky City Council of the Donetsk region, in a working-class family. He graduated from 6 classes and the FZU school. Then Lev Shestakov worked as a mechanic at the Avdeevka railway depot. Since 1934 in the Red Army. He graduated from the Voroshilovgrad military pilot school. By the summer of 1937, he was a Lieutenant, junior pilot of the 36th Fighter Aviation Brigade of the Kyiv Military District.
Participant in the National Revolutionary War in Spain from August 20, 1937 to April 25, 1938. He was a pilot and then a flight commander of the I-16. In air battles, he destroyed several enemy aircraft personally and in a group with his comrades. Awarded the Order of Lenin (11/14/1938) and the Red Banner (03/02/1938). After returning to his homeland, he served as commander of a fighter squadron in Rostov.
On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War from the first day. By September 1941, the commander of the 69th Fighter Aviation Regiment (separate Primorsky Army), Major L.L. Shestakov personally destroyed 3 and in a group with his comrades 8 enemy aircraft.
On February 10, 1942, for the courage and bravery shown in battles with enemies, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
On March 13, 1944, the commander of the 19th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Guard, Colonel L.L. Shestakov, died in an air battle. He was buried in a mass grave near the Eternal Flame in the city of Khmelnitsk. An obelisk was erected at the site of his death. A collective farm and a school in the village of Davydkovtsy and a street in the city of Avdeevka are named after the Hero.
Awarded the Orders of Lenin (twice), Red Banner (twice), Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree; medals. On April 15, 1966, he was permanently enrolled in the lists of the military unit.
* * *One of the most famous commanders of the Soviet Air Force, Lev Shestakov formed two fighter regiments during the war, which were among the best aviation units of the USSR. An excellent aerobatic pilot, he constantly improved his flying skills, and his significant combat experience forced his subordinates to treat him with great respect. Strict and exacting to the smallest detail in an official setting, Shestakov was the life of the company during leisure hours, inexhaustible in inventions and jokes.
The commander of one of the best regiments in the history of the Soviet Air Force, a man of exceptional energy and brilliant pedagogical talent, Lev Shestakov was an example in carrying out a combat mission, a strict and tireless commander in flight, fire and tactical training, a cheerful and inexhaustible comrade in an unofficial setting. “He flies like a god,” his comrades said about him; this definition became the main guarantee of the pilot’s authority. His innate flying skill was noticed even in flight school; later commanders noted his enviable determination: “To learn and master everything that related to combat use and the effective use of a fighter aircraft.” Later, during the Great Patriotic War, his grip did not escape the attention of the high command: in July 1942, in the Stalingrad direction, his regiment became a special, special subordinate fighter regiment of the 8th Air Army.
The regiment was replenished with strong pilots who had more than 5 downed aircraft, and was re-equipped with new, officially considered the best, Soviet Yak-1 fighters. At Stalingrad, fighting on the LaGG-3, and later on the Yak-1, the pilots of the 9th Guards IAP destroyed about 100 enemy aircraft in the air. Along with the 32nd Guards IAP (434th IAP), the regiment became the most effective fighter regiment of the Battle of Stalingrad...
At the end of the summer of 1943, Shestakov was appointed deputy commander of the 6th Guards IAP, but, burdened by staff work, he soon accepted the 19th IAP, reporting directly to Chief Marshal of Aviation A. Novikov. The regiments headed by Shestakov were among the best in the Soviet Air Force; their pilots destroyed more than 1,000 enemy aircraft in air battles: the 9th Guards IAP - 558, and the 176th Guards IAP - 445.
* * *Lev Shestakov was born in 1915 in the village of Avdeevka, Yekaterinoslav province (now the city of Yasinovatsky City Council, Donetsk region), in the family of a railway employee. Graduated from 6 grades of primary school. In 1930, he entered the FZU school at the Avdeevka railway depot, after graduating from which he worked as a toolmaker at the Yasinovataya railway depot and was soon admitted to the Dnepropetrovsk Institute of Railway Transport Engineers. However, the sky attracted the young man, and, having received a Komsomol ticket, on August 8, 1934, he became a cadet at the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation Pilot School. Having completed it with flying colors in 1935, Sergeant Major Shestakov was assigned to the 2nd Fighter Squadron of the 36th Fighter Brigade of the Kyiv Military District.
In mid-1937, Lieutenant L.L. Shestakov volunteered for Spain, where he took part in battles with the Nazis for the first time. Here, in six months, he completed more than 100 combat missions on the I-16, in 36 air battles he shot down 2 fighters personally and 1 paired with another pilot. [According to other sources, he made 150 combat missions, participated in 98 air battles, shot down 8 planes personally and 31 in a group, but this is unlikely. ] For the battles near Saragossa on the Teruel front and near Aragon, he was awarded the Orders of Lenin and the Red Banner.
During the battles in Spain, such qualities of Shestakov as a sense of collectivism and the ability to make self-sacrifice in the name of a comrade emerged. Once, during an air battle with Italian Fiats, he, seeing no other way out, shielded Platon Smolyakov’s fighter from machine-gun fire with his plane. Only chance then saved his life - 2 bullets hit the armored back of the chair, and one pierced the pilot’s leather trousers. The two of them shot down the taken aback Italian pilot, who had not expected such a maneuver.
It was in Spain that Lev Shestakov developed his first rules of aerial combat. For example, when it was impossible to achieve a height advantage, he used enemy bombers as cover and attacked enemy fighters from below.
“Mutual assistance of comrades in battle, their mutual understanding is the basis of success,” he said, “one must act compactly and without breaking away from the group.” Shestakov considered it advisable to use a pair of aircraft as the main combat unit and was always a supporter of this order.
List of all known victories of Lieutenant L. L. Shestakov:
* * *
After returning from Spain, he served first as an assistant squadron commander in the Kiev Military District, and then as a commander of a separate squadron near Rostov as part of the North Caucasus Military District.
In September 1939, Captain L.L. Shestakov was appointed assistant commander of the newly formed 69th IAP, equipped with I-16 fighters.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he became the main organizer of the regiment’s combat work, and on July 16 he replaced A. Maryinsky as regiment commander. By this time, 18 Romanian divisions were advancing along the entire front, and fierce battles broke out on the approaches to the city.
Already in the first days, having called the telephone operator at the Razdelnaya station near Odessa, he asked her to convey everything that she learned about the raids on Odessa from this station, thus organizing something like an additional VNOS post. He took an active part in retrofitting the “donkeys” with beams for rockets. He personally led the attack on enemy positions, including the particularly successful attack on airfields in Baden and Seltsy on September 22, 1941, when 21 enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground...
Commanding a regiment at 25 years old, and even in such difficult conditions, is not something everyone is capable of. On the first day of the war, he raised his falcons to meet the enemy armada. The war did not give him time to make preliminary acquaintance with people. The personnel were learned directly in battles. Major L.L. Shestakov, showing courage and courage, skillfully led his subordinates.
The regiment, led by Shestakov, first fought on the distant approaches to Odessa, and when German troops approached the city, it turned out to be the only unit defending the Black Sea stronghold from the air. The sailors and infantrymen, bleeding in the unequal struggle, looked with gratitude at the red star “hawks” who carried out bold assault strikes on the enemy’s tanks and mechanized columns.
In order to support ground troops, Shestakov advocated the idea of transforming the I-16 into light bombers - attack aircraft. In August, 16 fighters were equipped with suspensions for small 50-kg fragmentation bombs, as well as guides for rockets. Soon, improvised assault groups were already operating above the front line. For 115 days, the pilots of the Shestakov regiment fought defending Odessa and taking off from airfields in close proximity to enemy positions.
On September 21, 1941, Shestakov launched an unprecedentedly daring attack on an enemy airfield in the area of Baden and Seltsy, where many Heinkels, Messerschmitts and Junkers were concentrated. Having taken off before sunrise, Soviet fighters with muffled engines approached the airfield unexpectedly. While one group was dealing with enemy anti-aircraft batteries, another brought down a firestorm on the tents in which German pilots were still sleeping, shot up planes in parking lots, set fire to a gas depot and stacks of ammunition. The regiment returned home in full force, and the enemy lost more than 20 vehicles.
In air battles with fighters, Shestakov used his own tactics. The battle formation of his group was located in several tiers in height - in the near future, such a formation was called a “whatnot.” The upper tier was where the Me-109 usually finished climbing after an attack and, from a combat turn, dived again onto the I-16. The upper tier aircraft, taking advantage of their superior speed during descent, could pursue enemy fighters, just like the middle tier aircraft. The lower "donkeys" at low altitude were forced to rely only on their best, relative to the enemy, horizontal maneuverability. In fights with the more maneuverable Romanian PZL P-24 fighters, the German style of combat was used - the faster I-16s attacked them from above and immediately went back up.
For 73 days, Shestakov’s fighter aviation regiment fought side by side with the defenders of the blockaded city. When the enemy came almost close to the airfield and began shelling it with artillery guns, the commander decided to move the planes to a pre-prepared site in the area of the 4th station of the Big Fountain, essentially within the city. The planes were hidden in barns, between houses, and the enemy wondered where they were taking off from. The airfield and take-off sites were located next to the combat positions of ground troops, and in recent days - on the football field of the stadium. But this did not prevent the pilots from successfully completing combat missions.
During the defense of Odessa, Shestakov’s regiment made 6,600 sorties, conducted 575 air battles, 3,500 attack aircraft, destroyed 124 enemy aircraft, not counting the enormous damage it inflicted on the enemy in manpower and equipment on the ground. Soon, 12 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The regiment won the title of Guards, the honorary name "Odessa", and the Order of the Red Banner shone on its banner.
By September 1941, Lev Lvovich Shestakov personally destroyed 3 and in a group with his comrades 8 enemy aircraft. On February 10, 1942, for the courage and courage shown in battles with enemies, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (“Gold Star” No. 988). A month later, his regiment was sent to Crimea for reorganization.
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After rearmament with LaGG-3, the regiment was sent to the Stalingrad direction, where the German command transferred its 52nd squadron, which was considered the striking power of German aviation. Its core consisted of air force veterans. Many of them fought on Franco's side in Spain. The aim was to instill fear and terror in the defenders of the Soviet sky.
Against selected enemy warriors, it was necessary to create not only a reliable shield, but also a devastating sword that would be able to deliver a fatal blow to them, dispelling the overblown glory of the German aces into dust. For this purpose, the 9th Guards Fighter Regiment was formed. Many Soviet pilots who had already become famous by that time joined its ranks. The selected Guard of Soviet Aces was headed by the fearless fighter and talented aviation commander Lev Lvovich Shestakov.
Having received LaGG-3 fighters, the 9th Guards IAP (formerly the 69th IAP) on June 15, 1942 joined the 268th Air Division, which fought in the Stalingrad direction. However, at the very beginning of the battles, 6 aircraft were lost at once and the pilots became disillusioned with the LaGG-3. They were clearly not suitable for combat with the new German Me-109G, losing maneuverability at low altitudes. Shestakov had to urgently develop rules for the use of these heavy aircraft, which significantly increased their efficiency, putting them into practice by personal example. He immediately abandoned the defensive circle used by the LaGGs of the neighboring unit, and opposed the Germans with his spaced battle formation, echeloned in height.
Offensive tactics made it possible to reduce losses and increase the effectiveness of battles. In 10 days, the regiment destroyed 50 enemy aircraft. He had to work especially hard when the enemy tried to break through the air to Paulus’s army surrounded in Stalingrad. And again, as in the battles for Odessa, the regiment commander personally led his pilots into battle, only in July 1942 having shot down 3 Ju-88 bombers and an Me-109 fighter.
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Nevertheless, the German pilots continued to dominate the skies and the forces of the regiment quickly melted away. In September it was again withdrawn from the front and this time equipped with lighter Yak-1 fighters. The unit was replenished with experienced pilots who had at least 5 victories each, and were transferred to a special subordination of the command of the 8th Air Army. The struggle for dominance in the sky henceforth became his main task.
At Stalingrad, Shestakov flew out on combat missions almost every day, increasing his personal tally to 11 victories. “To Lev Shestakov,” wrote the head of the division’s political department, Zubkov, “on January 8, 1943, Timofey Khryukin ordered to fly as few missions as possible. However, Shestakov flew like an ordinary pilot, that is, every flight. Today the regiment had 2 flights in two groups of 8 aircraft, and Shestakov was the leader both times. He did not return from the second mission..."
This happened on January 10th. Having entered into battle with 3 enemy fighters in the Kotelnikovo area, Shestakov destroyed one of them with a daring attack. At the same time, he himself was wounded in the head and shoulder blade (for the first time during the entire war), and the plane was damaged. Having received a burn to his face, he still managed to break away from the enemy. On the burning plane, Shestakov reached his territory and landed it on the field platform. He barely managed to jump out of the cockpit before his Yak was blown to pieces by a cannon fire from the Messer.
Lev Shestakov enjoyed not only great authority among the regiment pilots as a wonderful air fighter, but also sincere love for his truly fatherly care for his subordinates. One of the poems written by the regimental poet contained the following lines:
Our eagle spread its wings proudly
above a bank of black clouds,
leads the squadron Guards into battle
commander fearless Shestakov.
Shestakov was very attentive to methodological work and to understanding the accumulated combat experience. He repeatedly spoke at front-line meetings and conferences with bright, memorable reports. In 1943 he was awarded the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
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On August 15, 1943, when the pilots of the regiment mastered the new Airacobra, Lev Lvovich, having assembled the regiment, demonstrated the recovery of the Cobra from a flat spin that seemed terrible to it.
Having destroyed about a hundred enemy aircraft at Stalingrad, the 9th Guards IAP became one of the 2 best air regiments in the battle on the Volga. At the end of the summer of 1943, Shestakov was appointed deputy commander of the 6th Guards Fighter Aviation Division, but did not hold on to this position for long - staff work did not appeal to him.
After some time, he took command of the 19th Fighter Aviation Regiment, the first special-purpose aviation unit created on the initiative of Air Force Commander Marshal Novikov to conduct “free hunting.”
This regiment included the best pilots from various units of the 8th Air Army, who had several downed aircraft to their credit. And yet, the first thing Shestakov started with was to personally check the level of piloting technology of all the regiment pilots without exception. And then he sat them down to “gnaw on the granite of science.” With his subordinates, Shestakov developed what, if we apply modern terminology, could safely be called a comprehensive air combat control system. Its basis was the motto: “Who is the master of the heights is the master of the battle!”
Reliable radio communications, continuous control of crews in flight, determination of rational combat formations of fighters and selection of effective tactical maneuvers - all this, according to Shestakov, was supposed to help achieve advantages over the enemy from the very beginning of the air battle. And of course - fire! Fire to kill from the minimum safe distance.
To prove the importance of using the most advantageous angles of climb in battle, Lev Lvovich Shestakov held demonstration fights in the air with several pilots of his regiment, and he warned his opponents in advance that he would not resort to complex maneuvers during the attack. “Rivals” were allowed to perform any aerobatics at their own discretion.
But no matter how hard Shestakov’s charges tried to “catch” his plane in the crosshairs, they could not do it: the “Bati” fighter (as the pilots affectionately called their commander among themselves) a few minutes after takeoff found itself in a tactically advantageous position in relation to the mock enemy aircraft position And... one of his attacks followed another.
Thus, bit by bit, the “Shestakov science of winning” was formed, which later formed the basis of the tactics of the Soviet fighters - “hunters”. Everything in it was subordinated to the main goal - achieving victory in the air, and the commander himself - a “pilot from God”, who flew along with ordinary pilots - led his subordinates to it.
After retraining for the new La-5FN fighters, the regiment of aces began combat operations on March 4, 1944, taking part in the Proskurovo-Chernivtsi offensive operation (Western Ukraine). In total, during the war, the regiment's pilots completed 9,450 combat missions and destroyed 389 enemy aircraft in battle - a worthy result of the glorious Air Force unit. However, its first commander did not live to see the bright day of Victory.
On March 13, 1944, a week after the start of the fighting, Guard Colonel L.L. Shestakov died in another air battle. On that day, near the village of Davydkovtsy, Khmelnitsky region, our pilots entered into battle with a large group of enemy Ju-87 dive bombers and Me-109 fighters. Shestakov, at the head of the six, fought an air battle with a group of German Ju-87 dive bombers and Me-109 fighters in the Proskurov area (now Khmelnitsky). In the battle, Shestakov shot down one plane, which exploded. [It is officially believed that Shestakov shot down a Ju-87 dive plane. There is also a legend that the pilot of this dive bomber was Colonel Kurt Rehner, holder of the Knight's Cross, with whom Shestakov met back in the skies of Spain. However, among the Luftwaffe aces there was no pilot with that name. And all this is nothing more than a beautiful story invented by the famous Soviet pilot twice Hero of the Soviet Union V.D. Lavrinenko, which he told on the pages of his book about Shestakov “Falcon-1”. According to the results of the latest research, it has been established that in his last battle L.L. Shestakov shot down not a Ju-87, but an Me-109 fighter of the German ace holder of the Knight's Cross Ober - sergeant-major Hans Dammers, who had 113 aerial victories. ] But Shestakov’s fighter was damaged by the blast wave and fell into a ravine near the village of Davydkovtsy, Khmelnytsky district, Khmelnytsky region. The deceased pilot was found only in May, when the snow melted in a deep ravine, and was buried in a mass grave in Khmelnitsky.
Shestakov’s death was a shocking surprise and resonated with acute pain in the hearts of all aviators: in his person, the Air Force lost a most talented commander, who promised to become an aviation commander of the highest rank in the future.
A special order of the Red Army Air Force indicated that Guard Colonel L.L. Shestakov made more than 400 combat sorties during the Great Patriotic War (of which 65 were to attack enemy troops), participating in 82 air battles, shot down 15 aircraft personally and 11 as part of groups.
FROM THE ORDER ON THE AIR FORCE OF THE RED ARMY April 1944. On March 13, 1944, in an air battle in the Prosnurov area, the commander of the N-noy Red Banner Fighter Aviation Regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel Lev Lvovich Shestakov, died. Comrade From the first days of the Patriotic War, Shestakov, giving all his strength and knowledge, was always ahead heroically beating enemies on the ground and in the air. In August 1941, during the difficult days of the siege of Odessa by the enemy, Comrade. Shestakov is appointed commander of the only fighter aviation regiment here. In the difficult conditions of the blockade, the regiment under the leadership of Comrade Shestakov perfectly fulfills its combat mission, assisting ground troops in the defense of Odessa. The regiment was transformed into a Guards regiment and awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and 12 pilots, including Comrade Shestakov himself, were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In the battles for Stalingrad, the regiment completed 784 combat missions and shot down 54 enemy aircraft. On the Southern Front, the regiment carried out 1,393 combat missions and shot down 54 enemy aircraft. In total, the units commanded by Comrade Shestakov shot down about 200 enemy aircraft. Personally, Colonel Shestakov had over 400 combat sorties during the Patriotic War, carried out 65 attack aircraft, conducted 82 air battles, personally shot down 15 and 11 enemy aircraft in a group. On the instructions of Air Chief Marshal Novikov, Colonel Shestakov formed and perfectly prepared for combat work a special fighter regiment, which is now successfully operating in the Prosnurov-Tarnopol area. I ORDER: For outstanding services in leading combat aviation units, for the personal bravery and bravery of the commander of the N-sky Red Banner Fighter Aviation Regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel Lev Lvovich Shestakov, who died a hero’s death in an air battle with the enemy, be enlisted forever in the lists of the N-sky Red Banner Fighter Aviation Regiment. The order is announced to all personnel of the Air Force. Vreed of the Air Force Commander, General - Aviation Colonel NIKITIN. Member of the Air Force Military Council Colonel General of Aviation SHIMANOV. Chief of Staff of the Air Force KA General - Aviation Colonel KHUDYAKOV. |
In total, during the Great Patriotic War, L. L. Shestakov made about 450 combat missions, participated in 65 attack aircraft, and conducted about 100 air battles. The number of enemy aircraft shot down by him in various sources is interpreted far from unambiguously. Thus, the overall result of his combat activities, according to the data given in the book of the outstanding pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union V. Lavrinenkov “Falcon - 1”, was more than 600 sorties, 130 air battles, 29 enemy aircraft shot down by him personally and more than 45 in the group with comrades; D. Ya. Zilmanovich, in his book “On the Wings of the Motherland,” points to 400 combat missions, 23 shot down personally and 44 in a group; M. Yu. Bykov in his research points to 16 personal and 8 group victories...
For military merits he was awarded: Order of the Red Banner (??.11.1941), Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree; medals "For the Defense of Odessa" (1942), "For the Defense of Stalingrad" (1942).
The son of the famous ace, also Lev Lvovich, followed in his father’s footsteps, was a military pilot, flew jet machines...
* * *List of famous victories of the Guard of Colonel L. L. Shestakov:
(From the book by M. Yu. Bykov - “Victories of Stalin’s Falcons”. Publishing house “YAUZA - EKSMO”, 2008.)
| № p/p | Date | Downed aircraft | Air battle location (victory) | Their aircraft |
| 1 | 06/24/1941 | 1 bomb-k (1/ in group) | Spartakovka | I-16, LaGG-3, Yak-1, R-39 "Airacobra", La-5. |
| 2 | 08/09/1941 | 1 PZL-24 | Odessa district | |
| 3 | 08/14/1941 | 1 Me-109 | Ackerman | |
| 4 | 08/27/1941 | 1 Me-109 (1/ in group) | Freudenthal | |
| 5 | 09/02/1941 | 2 Me-109 (2/in group) | Red Migrant | |
| 6 | 1 PZL-24 (1/ in group) | Red Migrant | ||
| 7 | 06/22/1942 | 1 Not-111 | Verkhniy Burluk | |
| 8 | 1 Me-110 | Novo - Nikolaevka | ||
| 9 | 07/12/1942 | 1 Ju-88 | Medova | |
| 10 | 07/30/1942 | 1 Me-109 | Island | |
| 11 | 08/01/1942 | 1 Me-109 | zap. Borislavsky | |
| 12 | 12/12/1942 | 1 Do-215 | Zetas | |
| 13 | 12/19/1942 | 1 Ju-52 | southwest Vasilyevka | |
| 14 | 1 Ju-52 | Verkhne-Kumsky | ||
| 15 | 12/29/1942 | 1 Ju-52 | Basargino | |
| 16 | 05/12/1943 | 1 Ju-52 | north - east Maly Yanislav | |
| 17 | 07/21/1943 | 1 Not-111 | north - east Dmitrievka | |
| 18 | 02/11/1944 | 1 FW-190 | Attack | |
| 19 | 03/13/1944 | 1 Ju-87 | north - east Proskurov | |
Shot down aircraft - 16 + 8 [15 + 5]; combat sorties - about 450; air battles - about 100. |
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