Major General Nikolai Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov, Nikolai Fedorovich
Kuznetsov, Nikolai Fedorovich
Fighter pilot, Honored Military Pilot of the USSR (1967), Hero of the Soviet Union (1943), Major General of Aviation, Doctor of Military. Sci. Participant of the Soviet-Finnish war. On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War from June 1941, he fought as part of the 436th (67th Guards) IAP and was a squadron commander. On January 6, 1943, in an air battle on the outskirts of Leningrad, an enemy fighter was rammed on a burning plane. He made 252 combat missions, in 150 air battles he personally shot down 25 and 12 enemy aircraft in a group. After the war, he continued to serve in the Air Force until 1978. Participant in the Korean War. In 1963-1972 was the head of the Cosmonaut Training Center. Author of the book "Front Above the Ground".
Kuznetsov, Nikolai Fedorovich
(12/26/1916-3/5/2000). Deputy squadron commander of the 436th Fighter Aviation Regiment (239th Fighter Aviation Division, 6th Air Army, Northwestern Front), captain. Born on December 26, 1916 in Petrograd into a working-class family. Russian. Member of the CPSU(b) since 1940. After graduating from the 7th grade and the secondary school, he worked as a turner at the Leningrad plant named after M.I. Kalinin. In the Red Army since 1935. He graduated from the Leningrad School of Aviation Technicians in 1937, and the Kachin Military Aviation School of Pilots in 1941. Participant of the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. Participant of the Great Patriotic War since June 1941. Senior Lieutenant Kuznetsov N.F. especially distinguished himself on January 6, 1943. In an air battle, Kuznetsov's P-40K plane was shot down. On a burning fighter, the Soviet pilot, fighting off the demonstrative attacks of five German vultures, went to the front line. The Germans were unable to finish off the plane: Kuznetsov was burning, losing altitude, but moving away from the Germans first in one direction, then in the other, gliding through the air and stubbornly pulling towards his own. When there was nothing left to reach the front line, the three Messers turned to the side and left, and the two decided to attack the Russian from above, hitting the cockpit in order to surely finish him off. Then Kuznetsov lifted the nose of the plane up and responded to the attack with all six machine guns that the Kitty Hawk was armed with, and it hit and landed right on the German - then, working with the rudders, it dived sharply down. Kuznetsov did a masterful job - with his screw he cut off, or rather, broke off the fascist's tail. The German fell to the ground like a stone and exploded at the same second. And Kuznetsov continued to pull the damaged car towards his own people, he felt that the fire was about to get into the cabin - because of this, he did not open the canopy, he was afraid that if he only opened the canopy slightly, the flame would penetrate into the cabin, it would even get through a very small gap, and then that’s it - the pilot will turn into a torch. Kuznetsov was unable to reach the airfield. His plane crashed just behind the front line. Then the pilot managed to walk about seven kilometers and lost consciousness from fatigue and loss of blood. And then there was a hospital, a difficult operation and a return to duty. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal was awarded to Nikolai Fedorovich Kuznetsov on May 1, 1943 for 213 combat missions, 17 personally and 12 in a group of downed enemy aircraft. He ended the war in Berlin, as a guard major, deputy commander of the 67th Fighter Regiment. In total, he conducted 252 air battles and shot down 37 enemy aircraft (including group victories). Took part in the Victory Parade. After the war he continued to serve in the Air Force. In 1949 he graduated from the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze, in 1956 - from the Military Academy of the General Staff. With his active participation, in the late 50s - early 60s, a detachment of Soviet cosmonauts was created and the Cosmonaut Training Center was built. In 1963-1972 - Head of the Cosmonaut Training Center named after Yu. A. Gagarin. Since 1978, Honored Military Pilot of the USSR, Doctor of Military Sciences, Major General of Aviation Kuznetsov has been retired. Author of memoirs about the Great Patriotic War, “The Front Above the Ground,” as well as books about S.P. Korolev and Yu.A. Gagarin. On May 13, 1945, Nikolai Fedorovich was nominated for the title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union. The submission was signed by S. Rudenko - Commander of the 16th Air Army, Lieutenant General K. Telegin - Member of the Front Military Council and Marshal of the Soviet Union G. Zhukov. But for some reason Kuznetsov did not receive a second star. This story continued in 1999. The chairman of the so-called “permanent Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR” Sazha Umalatova signed the Certificate of awarding the title of twice hero, and presented the Hero Star made of low-grade gold. On March 5, 2000, Nikolai Fedorovich died in Star City. He was buried in the cemetery of the village of Leonikha near Moscow. Awarded 2 Orders of Lenin, 4 Orders of the Red Banner, Orders of Alexander Nevsky, Order of the Patriotic War 1st degree, 3 Orders of the Red Star, medals.
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Born on December 13 (26), 1916 in Petrograd (now the city of St. Petersburg) in a working-class family. After graduating from 7 classes and a factory apprenticeship school, he worked as a turner at the Leningrad plant named after M.I. Kalinin. Since 1935 in the ranks of the Red Army. In 1937 he graduated from the Leningrad School of Aviation Technicians.
Participant of the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939 - 1940. Awarded the Order of the Red Star.
In 1941 he graduated from the Kachin Military Aviation Pilot School.
Since June 1941, Lieutenant N.F. Kuznetsov has been in the active army. Until September 1941 he served in the 191st IAP, flying I-16 and Hurricane. Then, until May 1945, in the 436th IAP (67th Guards IAP), he flew a Kittyhawk and an Airacobra.
By February 1943, the deputy squadron commander of the 436th Fighter Aviation Regiment (239th Fighter Aviation Division, 6th Air Army, Northwestern Front), Senior Lieutenant N. F. Kuznetsov, made 213 combat missions, and personally shot down 17 in air battles enemy aircraft and 12 in the group.
On May 1, 1943, for courage and military valor shown in battles with enemies, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
In total, he made 252 combat missions, in 150 air battles he shot down 25 enemy aircraft personally and 12 in a group with his comrades.
After the war he continued to serve in the Air Force. In 1949 he graduated from the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze. Participant in the armed conflict on Korean territory in 1950-1953.
In 1956 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff. From 1963 to 1972 he headed the Cosmonaut Training Center. Since 1978, Aviation Major General N.F. Kuznetsov has been retired. In December 1999, he was awarded the second Gold Star Hero medal. Author of the books: "Front Above the Ground" and "Years of Testing". Died March 5, 2000.
Awarded the orders: Lenin (twice), Red Banner (four times), Alexander Nevsky, Patriotic War 1st degree, Red Star (three times); medals.
* * *The fate of this combat pilot personifies the continuity of generations in Soviet aviation. Having begun his service as a cadet at the Leningrad School of Aviation Technicians in 1935, he went through 3 wars, commanded large aviation formations, and headed the Cosmonaut Training Center.
Nikolai Kuznetsov was born in December 1916 in Petrograd, into a working-class family. Having graduated from the Leningrad School of Aviation Technicians in 1937, as part of the 68th Fighter Aviation Regiment, he participated in the Soviet-Finnish War in the winter of 1939 - 1940, ensured trouble-free operation of all flight aircraft in prolonged 40-degree frosts and was awarded the Order of the Red Star. Then, of his own free will, he was sent to the Kachin Military Aviation Pilot School, which he successfully graduated from in 1941.
Since June 1941 - on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Participant in the defense of Leningrad. At first he fought in the 191st Air Regiment, flying I-16 and Hurricane. Lieutenant N. F. Kuznetsov won his first victory in July 1941 in the Petrokrepost area, when a volley of rockets fired in unison by an I-16 flight destroyed 2 Me-110 multi-purpose aircraft... After retraining to fly the Hurricane, Kuznetsov was part of the same regiment fought on the Kalinin Front.
In the fall of 1941, the wonderful Soviet artist Yar-Kravchenko worked in the regiment. From early morning until late evening, he was at the aircraft parking lots, on the runway, looking into the command post, into the dugouts, the pilots' dormitory and drawing, drawing tirelessly.
Yar-Kravchenko refused all privileges. He lived in a dugout at the airfield, ate the same as the pilots - often only crackers. He shared with them the bitterness of failures and the joy of victories. Maybe that's why his works were so expressive and realistic.
When the artist completed a series of aviation drawings and portraits in the combat regiments, journalist M. Zhestev wrote warm correspondence about him in one of the Leningrad newspapers:
“The names of our fighter pilots are covered with glory, they are loved by the people, and this love led the artist Yar-Kravchenko to the people’s heroes. With the masterful hand of a portrait painter, he created this wonderful front-line album.
When you look at this album, every stroke takes on extraordinary meaning. There are no air battles here. The heroism of the pilots is shown through the portrait. You feel it in the look of your eyes, the turn of your head, in every feature of your face..."
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We flip through the album. Here is the Hero of the Soviet Union, junior lieutenant Kharitonov. He is sitting in the cockpit. The artist sketched his strong-willed face before flying into battle. Here are Kuznetsov, Grachev, and Plavsky standing at the airfield. These 3 winged heroes shot down 48 German aircraft in air battles. Here is the master of the attack, Captain Gorokhov, here are the pilots - night lights Appolonin, Matsievich, Grigoriev - people with a keen eye, fearlessly following the enemy in the wake of anti-aircraft explosions. And here is the pilot Murga. Under the portrait there are laconic lines: “In air battles, he destroyed 11 fascist planes...”
The album was published by the editors of the newspaper "Ataka" in November 1941. You leaf through it from beginning to end, from the first to the last portrait, and you don’t want to part with the people near and dear to you. Their cheerfulness, courage and bravery make your heart beat faster. You are deeply concerned by the image of the hero pilot, the glorious defender of the city of Lenin. It has many faces, this image, it is in the heart of every Soviet patriot."
 I-16 type 17 N. F. Kuznetsova. 191st IAP, 1941.
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Soon, having rearmed again, now with American P-40 Kittyhawks, Kuznetsov was transferred to the 436th IAP (later became the 67th Guards IAP), where he fought until the end of the war.
Nikolai's combat tally grew quite quickly: on December 26, 1942, on his 26th birthday, he already won his 26th victory - an interesting coincidence of dates! And soon, on January 6, 1943, he fought his hardest battle during the entire period of the war.
On that day, a group of fighters from the 436th Air Regiment, having flown out to escort attack aircraft, was suddenly attacked by enemy aircraft. The Kuznetsov couple rushed towards the nearest Messera. Having approached the Germans from the direction of the sun with their wingman Goldobin, they began a battle.
The fight was fierce - the whole sky was covered with smoke. There was also a battle going on below. In one of the attacks, Kuznetsov’s car was hit by a Messer, damaging the oil line with a burst of fire. The splattered oil filled the entire lantern, for several minutes nothing was visible at all, only a small, unmarked space remained at the back. Then the oil flowed a little to the side, a gap formed in the glass of the lantern, and Kuznetsov involuntarily began to look in the air for his wingman: where is he?
But Goldobin was no longer there. A minute later he saw his wingman on fire, tumbling towards the ground with a long tail of smoke (Goldobin managed to jump out of the burning plane with a parachute, ended up with the partisans, remained alive and subsequently successfully continued to fight).
Friends congratulate N.F. Kuznetsov on another victory.
In general, Nikolai found himself alone against 5 Messers. They attacked him competently: at first Kuznetsov was attacked by a pair, then by a troika, then again by a pair and again by a troika, and so on, the Germans replaced each other, which, in fact, was what Kuznetsov needed: he pinned down the German fighters, did not allow them to reach our attack aircraft - he distracted 5 planes at once.
At some point, Kuznetsov noticed that one German plane had disappeared - one pair of Messers was in front, the second pair was behind, and there was no fifth plane, it had disappeared, although it should not have disappeared. He had to be found at all costs. But Senior Lieutenant N.F. Kuznetsov did not find the 5th German, did not have time to find him, he seemed to disappear without a trace in the bottomless blue sky, in the huge whitish sun.
At this time, the command of General F.P. Polynin sounded from the ground:
The stormtroopers have done their job, the stormtroopers are going home, and the hawks can return too. Hawks, hawks - home! Hawks, you can go back!
“Okay, it’s time for me to go to the airfield,” this was the last thought that flashed through Kuznetsov’s mind before a sharp blow that literally threw the plane to the side. It was the missing Messer that suddenly fell out of the luxurious winter sun, striking in its size, and attacked Kuznetsov. Metal hit his shoulder. It was like being hit with a sledgehammer. Kuznetsov’s left hand immediately stopped working, it was broken, the lantern, splattered with oil, this time splattered with blood... The engine stopped pulling.
But there was no pain or red haze before my eyes. Kuznetsov turned around and, on a burning plane, dragged himself to the front line, to his own. The Kittyhawk's engine did not work. The front line was no less than 15 kilometers away. The altitude reserve allowed us to still pull - the instruments showed 3500 meters. Although the flames are unlikely to be knocked down by simple gliding, good speed is needed to do this. The front line was clearly visible - it passed along the railway thread far ahead, the thread dissolved in a faint frosty haze, going in an arc to the left and along the same arc to the right.
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Kuznetsov was drawn to this railway as his only life goal, which was very important to achieve. For the Messers, his plane now represented easy money, they began to shoot at the Kittyhawk, as if at a training ground, indicatively, the Germans seemed to be training in air exercises: first, a team of two entered the plane, hit Kuznetsov with all guns, after shooting, turned away , and the troika took its place. And it also gushed from all the trunks.
And still the Germans were unable to finish off the plane: Kuznetsov was burning, losing altitude, but moving away from the Germans first in one direction, then in the other, gliding through the air and stubbornly pulling towards his own. When there was nothing left to reach the front line, the three Messers turned to the side and left, and the two decided to attack the Russian from above, hitting the cockpit in order to surely finish him off.
Then Kuznetsov lifted the nose of the plane up and responded to the attack with all 6 machine guns with which the Kittyhawk was armed, and it hit and landed right on the German - then, working with the rudders, it dived sharply down.
Kuznetsov worked masterfully - with his propeller he cut off, or rather, broke off the enemy’s tail. The German fell to the ground like a stone, whipping up a tall plume of snow, and at the same second exploded. The sunny space turned pink from the strong flame.
And Kuznetsov continued to pull the damaged car towards his own people, feeling that the fire would soon make its way into the cabin. Because of this, he did not open the canopy, he was afraid that the flame would penetrate into the cabin - it would get through even a very small gap, and then that’s it - the pilot would turn into a torch.
Kuznetsov literally crawled through the air, across the railway line, descended behind the uneven line, battered by shells, looked at the altimeter, noting how much remained to the ground, and was surprised: he was already at an altitude of 100 meters below the level of the airfield. It was impossible to lower the landing gear - the Kittyhawk would instantly turn over with its paws up, so Kuznetsov continued to glide. And the land is already very close, the snowdrifts are just a stone's throw away. Kuznetsov opened the canopy and the next moment a sharp blow threw him out of the cabin.
He flew several meters through the air and buried himself in the snow. The blow caused Kuznetsov to lose consciousness for several moments, although he did not record this moment; he woke up quite quickly. It was dark. But just now, literally a few minutes ago, he saw bright light, the sun, haze rising from the snow, snow pink from the flames of a burning German, and suddenly - darkness, night. A doomed thought flashed through my head: “Did my eyes go out? Or did they burn out?”
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Fighter R-40K "Kittyhawk" of senior lieutenant N. F. Kuznetsov. 436th IAP, winter 1943.
He moved his legs, both legs were working, he moved his right hand - the right hand was working, but the left hand, pressed to the body, was not, it was like a rag, someone else's. Whether she was killed, or what else happened to her, I don’t understand. There was no pain. A piece of snow fell on my face and scorched me with cold. Kuznetsov began to dig out the snow above him with his healthy hand and soon made it to the surface, into the light. He sighed in relief - his eyes saw.
Somehow I got to the plane - there was a walkie-talkie, from the cockpit you could contact your people, although communication with the ground from the ground is not the same as with the ground from the air. The radio turned out to be broken, there was no hope that anyone would try to help him. The plane continued to burn, the flames were not extinguished even by a high column of snow. The Kittyhawk's nose buried itself in a high snowdrift. Kuznetsov took shortened Finnish skis from the fuselage - not skis, but skis, almost child-like in appearance, very light. Kuznetsov always took them with him on flights in case they came in handy. And now they came in handy.
I heard something squelching in my boots. I thought I had landed in a swamp, scooped up some black, stinking liquid, but it turned out I didn’t. Blood was squelching in the high boots, flowing there from under the tunic. I turned off the side of the raglan, and there - it was scary to look at - a mess, half of the chest - a solid open wound. The blood had already thickened and turned into black jellied meat. Kuznetsov flew on missions without unscrewing his orders - he had old orders, with screws - Lenin, Red Star - and when the burst hit him, it turned the orders into crumbs, drove the metal into his body.
Friends congratulate Nikolai Kuznetsov on yet another victory.
Kuznetsov calmly, as if he was not the one who was wounded, estimated the size of the wound - about 20 centimeters by 12. He did not yet know that his ribs were broken. But the main thing is that the pain was not felt yet, there was numbness, there was nausea rolling up to the throat, there was something else, but not pain. It should be noted that the 30-degree frost was not felt either. Kuznetsov scooped out the bloody mess from the wound, tore off a piece of the sweater, wiped the wound, and put the pieces of iron remaining from the medals on the surface of the wound into his pocket. Then he tore a large tuft from his undershirt and stuffed it into the wound.
He got on his skis and moved towards the so-called rock road that fed the front - he knew the area well, the map, remembered where everything was - he had seen all this more than once from the air, he memorized it - cars constantly walked along the road, they carried shells, cartridges, food, wounded, Kuznetsov from the cars will definitely be seen and picked up.
I walked about 7 kilometers, and walking through the snow, on virgin soil, on short, constantly failing skis is difficult even for a healthy person who has not been cut by lead, not to mention a wounded person who has lost a lot of blood. When Kuznetsov became completely unbearable, he began to throw off the extra things that prevented him from walking. He threw off the tablet, then the scarf, then something else. The only thing I didn’t throw away was the TT pistol; a weapon can always come in handy. He didn’t think about the fact that he had to be held accountable for his weapons.
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The day quickly faded, the sun set below the horizon, and soon it became dark. Exhausted, Nikolai sat down in the snow to rest a little and lost consciousness. He woke up to the fact that a large winter moon was hanging over his head, Christmas bright, magical, it was blinding, like the sun, making his eyes water. After rummaging in his pocket, Kuznetsov took out the watch he had taken from his hand and peered at it. It was already a lot of time, half past ten at night.
“Lord, have I really lost consciousness again?” he thought doomedly. “Don’t let me die, don’t let me...” A few minutes later, somewhere far away, maybe even beyond the boundaries of the earth, voices were heard, they seemed to have melted away from some bad dream, from stupor, and not from reality, and Kuznetsov again thought tiredly: “Hallucination. That’s it, I’m freezing... This is the end!”
But it was not a hallucination, it was reality. People were coming to Kuznetsov - the commander of the Air Army F.P. Polynin, in front of whose eyes the senior lieutenant carried out the ramming - the general saw everything from his command post - sent a group to search for the pilot: maybe he was still alive?
The group found the plane, realized that the pilot was alive, and followed Kuznetsov’s footsteps. She found him lying in the snow, already freezing. Paramedic Leleko was in the group. He gave him an injection, brought him to his senses, the soldiers put the pilot on skis, grabbed him by the arms from both sides and so, on skis, dragged him through the snow. In this unusual way - standing on skis - they managed to cover as much as 10 kilometers. For the last kilometers Kuznetsov could no longer see anything: his eyes were swollen and shrank into tiny slits. Yes, and began to switch off.
He woke up warm, in a dugout. Some time later, at night, a car came for him - a semi-truck with an open body, the body was covered with spruce branches - spruce branches, and in the morning Kuznetsov was taken to the hospital. On the way we met a car coming from an aviation regiment; in the cabin next to the driver sat a doctor and a regimental navigator, the regimental commander sent them to support Kuznetsov, what if he needed help?
Kuznetsov, lying in the back, kept trying to break through the heavy stupor and tell people that he was still alive, there was no need to keep him in a coffin - the pilots in their unit were buried in coffins covered with spruce paws, this became a tradition in the aviation regiment, and Kuznetsov it seemed that he was being taken to a cemetery. But he was taken to the hospital. And it’s good that the regiment doctor was with him.
At the hospital, Kuznetsov was examined by a surgeon and made an inexorable conclusion:
You can't operate!
Why? - the doctor of the aviation regiment jumped up, turning very white. - How can you not?
Unfortunately, it's too late.
No, it's not too late. He was wounded only yesterday, there are no gangrene processes yet.
The surgeon gave in: Kuznetsov was taken to the operating table. The operation took a long time. Without anesthesia. The surgeon used pliers to straighten his ribs, bite off bones, and extract enamel from his medals from his muscles. Kuznetsov heard through the pain how the fragments fell with a ringing sound into the enamel basin. He put the plaque from the Order of the Red Star, which depicts a soldier with a rifle - those who are familiar with this order know a silver plate attached to ruby enamel - in the pocket of his robe, and said to Kuznetsov, who was wincing in pain:
I, elder, will take this for myself. As a souvenir of the operation, if you don't mind.
When the operation was over, the doctor gave Kuznetsov half a glass of alcohol:
Have a drink! The pain will go away.
Indeed, after drinking alcohol, the pain became dull and distant...
* * *
While Kuznetsov was in the hospital, the command prepared and sent to the authorities a proposal to award him the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By February 1943, the deputy squadron commander of the 436th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Senior Lieutenant N.F. Kuznetsov, flew 213 combat missions, personally shot down 17 enemy aircraft and 12 more as part of a group.
For the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command, courage, courage and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 1, 1943, Captain Nikolai Fedorovich Kuznetsov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. " (No. 966).
After treatment, Nikolai returned to the regiment and, having retrained for a new aircraft - the American Airacobra, continued to fight. He fought on the Kursk Bulge and participated in the liberation of Belarus and Poland. He ended the war in Berlin as a Guard major, deputy commander of the 67th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment for air rifle service.
In total, he completed 252 successful combat missions, in 150 air battles he shot down 37 enemy aircraft - 25 personally and 12 in a group with comrades.
Then, in the victorious May 1945, or rather on the 13th, he was presented with the title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union, which the division commander announced before the formation. On August 17, 1945, this submission was signed by S. I. Rudenko, the commander of the 16th Air Army, the future Marshal of Aviation, followed by a member of the Front Military Council, Lieutenant General K. Telegin and Marshal of the Soviet Union G. K. Zhukov. One must assume that this idea has been discussed more than once: this title is too high - twice Hero. But he received this award only 54 years later...
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In the front row in the center is the commander of the 67th Guards IAP, Lieutenant Colonel A. B. Panov,
to his right is Hero of the Soviet Union N. F. Kuznetsov. Autumn 1943.
The documents went to Moscow and... got stuck. Despite the fact that they were signed by such high people, that’s how it is. Zhukov himself! Kuznetsov did not become interested in how the papers were progressing - it was inconvenient. It's none of his business. And Marshal Zhukov, by this time, had become inconvenient for Stalin, those who sat in the Kremlin and intrigued in government corridors. This was instantly noticed by various court shufflers, they began to stop all the cases signed by the legendary Marshal. They also stopped the paperwork for awarding Kuznetsov the title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Kuznetsov’s award file was written off and sent to the archives in the city of Podolsk. As if there were no 37 German planes shot down by him (M. Yu. Bykov in his research points to 21 personal and 12 group victories) and many other destroyed equipment: cars, armored cars, steam locomotives...
And life, meanwhile, went on as usual. After the war, Nikolai Fedorovich continued to serve in the Air Force. In 1949 he graduated from the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze. Then he had to fight a little more - from the beginning of 1952, Guard Colonel Kuznetsov commanded the 16th IAP fighting in the skies of North Korea. There, the regiment under his command shot down 26 enemy aircraft, losing 4 pilots. Kuznetsov himself made 27 combat missions on the MiG-15bis fighter.
Returning to the Soviet Union, Nikolai Kuznetsov commanded an aviation division. In 1956 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff, became a general, an honored military pilot of the country, and a Doctor of Military Sciences. From 1963 to 1972 he headed the Cosmonaut Training Center. With his active participation, dozens of the most important manned space missions were carried out. By the way, he built Star City - from the very first brick. Yuri Gagarin was his deputy...
In 1978, Aviation Major General N.F. Kuznetsov retired and settled in the Moscow region (in Star City, Shchelkovsky district, Moscow region).
In 1986, his award documents were found in the Podolsk archive - the same ones signed by Zhukov. The general designer who replaced S. Korolev, Academician V. Glushko, sent a letter on deputy letterhead to the then Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR A. Gromyko with a request to return to the consideration of the old award case. After some time, Gromyko called Glushko and said: “You can congratulate Kuznetsov. The proposal was supported. Although the Decree has not yet been signed.”
The academician was not slow to congratulate General N.F. Kuznetsov, but, it turned out, he did it too early: he never received the second “Gold Star” then.
The matter is again, as in the post-war years, stuck. There were appeals from astronauts to the President, appeals from scientists, war veterans - all in vain. But nevertheless, what they say is true: water does not flow under a lying stone. I had to knock on that door all the time. It’s not the general himself, of course, who should knock on the door, but his friends.
In the late 1990s, the newspaper "Family" published an article about 5 failed women cosmonauts. Nikolai Fedorovich Kuznetsov was one of the consultants for this article - after all, all the cosmonauts, successful and unsuccessful, passed through his hands. After this article, as well as after the essay about the death of Yuri Gagarin, petitions to award Nikolai Fedorovich the title of twice Hero were renewed. And again refusals. From a variety of officials. Both the newspaper “Semya” and the Moscow Press Club of the Central House of Arts joined these petitions. As a result, as they say in such cases, “it happened”: at the end of 1999, news came that Major General of Aviation N. F. Kuznetsov had finally been awarded this long-awaited title.
Oh, how Nikolai Fedorovich rejoiced at this! In December 1999, he was awarded the second “Gold Star” of the Hero, and he gladly pinned it to the lapel of his jacket. But, unfortunately, he did not receive the award for long - in January 2000 he became ill and was admitted to the hospital. And wounds, and illnesses, and age took their toll... On March 5, as sad as it is to report this, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Fedorovich Kuznetsov passed away. But justice still triumphed: in our memory, General N. F. Kuznetsov will forever remain a twice Hero...
The famous Soviet ace is buried at the Preobrazhenskoye cemetery in Moscow (section 4).
* * *List of all known victories of the Guard of Major N. F. Kuznetsov:
(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 | 08/27/1941 | 1 Ju-87 | Tosno | I-16, "Hurricane" "Kittyhawk", "Airacobra". |
| 2 | 1 Me-109 (in pairs - 1/2) | Art. Hats | ||
| 3 | 08/29/1941 | 1 Ju-87 | Mga - Pogorelushka | |
| 4 | 09/06/1941 | 1 Ju-88 (in pair - 1/2) | "set on fire" | |
| 5 | 09/11/1941 | 2 Ju-87 | Nikolaevskoe | |
| 6 | 09/12/1941 | 1 Hs-126 | aer. Siverskaya | |
| 7 | 09/16/1941 | 1 Me-109 | north - app. Krasny Bor | |
| 8 | 09/21/1941 | 1 Ju-87 | Gorelovo | |
| 9 | 09/22/1941 | 1 FW-200 (in pair - 1/2) | Kronstadt | |
| 10 | 09/24/1941 | 1 Ju-88 (in group - 1/3) | south env. Shlisselburg | |
| 11 | 09/27/1941 | 1 Me-109 | Shlisselburg | |
| 12 | 06/27/1942 | 1 Me-110 | Volokonovka | |
| 13 | 1 Me-109 | Lentsovo | ||
| 14 | 06/28/1942 | 1 Me-109 | Bogdanovka | |
| 15 | 07/01/1942 | 1 Me-109 | Volokonovka | |
| 16 | 12/06/1942 | 1 FW-189 | Paula | |
| 17 | 12/30/1942 | 1 Me-109 | south Sosnino | |
| 18 | 01/06/1943 | 1 Me-109 (in group - 1/6) | Olkhovets | |
| 19 | 1 Me-109 (shot down by ram) * | Kuzminskoye | ||
| 20 | 1 Me-109 (in group - 1/6) | Olkhovets | ||
| 21 | 09/12/1944 | 1 FW-190 | Belolenka - Terchomin | |
| 22 | 10/15/1944 | 1 Me-109 | south Dzebanice | |
| 23 | 03/27/1945 | 1 FW-190 | zap. Hoen | |
| 24 | 04/19/1945 | 1 FW-190 | Danenberg | |
Total aircraft shot down - 21 + 12 [19 + 6]; combat sorties - 252; air battles - 99. |
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[ * Information taken from the public press and not confirmed by archival documents. ]
KUZNETSOV NIKOLAY FYODOROVICH
HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION
major general
Born on December 26, 1916 in Petrograd into a working-class family. After graduating from 7th grade and the FZU school, he worked as a turner at the Leningrad plant named after M.I. Kalinin.
In 1935, he was drafted into the Red Army as part of a special draft and in 1937 he graduated from the Leningrad School of Aviation Technicians. From November 1939 to March 1940, as part of the 68th Fighter Aviation Regiment, he took part in the Soviet-Finnish War, after which he entered the Kachin Military Aviation Pilot School.
From the very first days of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Lieutenant N.F. Kuznetsov took part in the battles on the Leningrad Front as part of the 191st Air Regiment. Already in July 1941, in the area of the Petrofortress, he won his first aerial victory: two Messerschmitt-110s were destroyed by a salvo of rockets from the I-16 unit.
I had to fly not only on Soviet planes. After some time, the regiment was re-equipped with British Hurricanes and continued to fight on the Kalinin Front.
Soon, having again undergone retraining on American Kittyhawk fighters, Senior Lieutenant Kuznetsov was transferred to the 436th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which in November 1942 became part of the 239th Fighter Aviation Division. The number of victories in N.F. Kuznetsov’s combat account grew quite quickly: on December 26, 1942, on his 26th birthday, he destroyed the 26th enemy aircraft! And just 10 days later, Kuznetsov faced the most difficult and dangerous battle during the entire period of hostilities at the front...
On January 6, 1943, Kuznetsov's P-40 Kittyhawk was shot down in an air battle. On a burning fighter, the Soviet pilot, fighting off the demonstrative attacks of five German vultures, went to the front line. However, the Germans were unable to finish off the plane: Kuznetsov was burning, losing altitude, but moving away from the Germans first in one direction, then in the other, gliding through the air and stubbornly pulling towards his own. When there was nothing left to the front line, the three “Messers” turned to the side and left, and the remaining pair decided to attack the Russian from above, hitting the cockpit in order to surely finish him off. Then Kuznetsov lifted the nose of the plane up and responded to the attack with all six machine guns with which his Kittyhawk was armed. And he hit it! And he hit the German exactly! Then, working with the rudders, he dived sharply down. Kuznetsov did a masterful job - with his screw he cut off, or rather, broke off the fascist's tail. The German fell to the ground like a stone and exploded at the same second.
And Kuznetsov continued to pull the damaged car towards his own, he felt that the fire was about to get into the cabin - because of this, he did not open the canopy, he was afraid that if he only opened it a little, the flame would penetrate into the cabin, it would even get through a very small gap, and then that’s it - the pilot will turn into a torch. Kuznetsov was unable to reach the airfield. His plane crashed just behind the front line...
And then the wounded pilot managed to walk about seven kilometers through the virgin snow, lost consciousness from fatigue and loss of blood, but at the last moment was found by a group sent to search for him. Next - the hospital, a difficult operation and a return to duty.
While Kuznetsov was in the hospital, the command prepared and sent to the authorities a proposal to award him the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: by February 1943, deputy squadron commander of the 436th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 239th Fighter Aviation Division of the 6th Air Army of the North-Western Front Captain Nikolai Fedorovich Kuznetsov made 213 combat missions, personally shot down 17 enemy aircraft and 12 more as part of a group. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 1, 1943, for the indicated differences, Captain N.F. Kuznetsov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 966).
While Kuznetsov was in the hospital, another important event occurred for him and the personnel of the regiment - by order of the USSR NKO No. 128 of March 18, 1943, the 436th Fighter Aviation Regiment was transformed into the 67th Guards.
After returning to the regiment and once again retraining for the new American Airacobra, the pilot continued to fight the enemy. He fought on the Kursk Bulge and participated in the liberation of Belarus and Poland. He ended the war in Berlin, as deputy commander of the 67th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment for air rifle service (in November 1943, the regiment became part of the 273rd Fighter Aviation Division). Several military orders on his chest testified to his skill and courage. One of these military insignia was the Order of Alexander Nevsky. In the presentation to the order the command indicated the following merits:
“On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War since June 1941. He made 233 combat sorties, participated in 94 air battles, in which he shot down 21 enemy aircraft personally and 12 in a group.
From August 6, 1944 to January 19, 1945, he carried out 33 combat missions, participated in one air battle, in which he shot down an enemy Me-109 aircraft: on October 15, 1944, while carrying out a combat mission in the Bultusk region, Serotsk conducted an air battle at an altitude of 3000 meters , as a result of which one enemy aircraft was shot down.
During the battles for the liberation of Warsaw, he carried out 6 combat missions to “free hunt”, attack enemy troops and equipment. On January 17, 1945, the regiment’s flight personnel destroyed up to 60 vehicles, 5 fuel tanks and shot down one enemy aircraft.”
For the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command, displaying valor and courage, inflicting significant losses on the enemy in manpower and equipment during the battles for the liberation of Warsaw, by order of the commander of the 16th Air Army No. 0199/n dated March 29, 1945, deputy commander of the 67th th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 273rd Fighter Aviation Division of the Guard, Major Kuznetsov N.F. was awarded Order of Alexander Nevsky No. 23572.
In total, by the end of the war, Nikolai Fedorovich Kuznetsov had carried out 252 combat missions, personally shot down 25 and in the group 12 more enemy aircraft. Took part in the Victory Parade.
After the war, Nikolai Fedorovich continued to serve in the Air Force. In 1949 he graduated from the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze. Then he had to fight a little more - from the beginning of 1952, Colonel Kuznetsov commanded the 16th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which fought in the skies of North Korea. There, his regiment shot down 26 enemy planes, losing four of its pilots. Kuznetsov himself made 27 combat missions on the MiG-15 fighter.
Returning to the Soviet Union, Nikolai Kuznetsov commanded an aviation division, graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1956, and became a general. In 1957, he was appointed head of the Chernigov Military Aviation School of Pilots. The school, under the command of Major General Kuznetsov, produced thousands of highly qualified fighter pilots for the country over the next six years.
From 1963 to 1972, N.F. Kuznetsov headed the Cosmonaut Training Center. With his active participation, dozens of the most important manned space missions were carried out. Yuri Gagarin was his deputy...
In 1978, Honored Military Pilot, Doctor of Military Sciences, Major General of Aviation N.F. Kuznetsov retired and settled in the Moscow region. He wrote several books: memories of the Great Patriotic War “The Front Above the Ground”, books about S.P. Korolev and Yu.A. Gagarin.
On March 5, 2000, Nikolai Fedorovich died in Star City and was buried in the cemetery of the village of Leonikha near Moscow.
Major General Kuznetsov N.F. - holder of two Orders of Lenin, four Orders of the Red Banner, Orders of Alexander Nevsky and the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, three Orders of the Red Star. He was also awarded many medals, including the Medal for Military Merit and the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
Sources:
1. Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, inventory 686196, file 4113, sheet 216.
2. “Knights of the Order of Alexander Nevsky of Moscow and the Moscow Region.” Volume 1. M.: Altex, 2000. – pp. 298-299;
3. Materials from the site "Aviators of World War II".
4. Biography of the Hero on the websites "Red Falcons" and "Heroes of the Country".
5. "Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary." Volume 1. M.: Military Publishing House, 1988.
6. Library of the journal "Order Book". Heroes of the Soviet Union. Directory: Dates. Numbers. Decrees. Compiled by: N. Efimov. I.Pak.
Born on December 13 (26), 1916 in the city of Petrograd (now St. Petersburg). In 1931 he graduated from the 7th grade of secondary school, in 1933 - from the factory apprenticeship school. He worked as a metal turner at plant No. 4 in Leningrad (production of fuses). Since September 1935 in the ranks of the Red Army. In 1937 he graduated from the Leningrad Military School of Aviation Technicians. Until April 1940 he served in the Air Force units of the Leningrad Military District. Participant of the Soviet-Finnish War from November 30, 1939 to March 12, 1940 as a unit technician of the 68th IAP. In May 1941 he graduated from the Kachin Military Aviation Pilot School.
Since June 22, 1941, Lieutenant N.F. Kuznetsov in the battles of the Great Patriotic War. He began his combat activities as part of the 191st IAP (pilot, flight commander and deputy squadron commander), flying I-16 and Hurricane. He fought on the Northern, Leningrad, Kalinin, Western and Southwestern fronts.
From October 1942, he fought in the 436th IAP (on March 18, 1943, transformed into the 67th Guards IAP), and flew the Kittyhawk and Airacobra. He worked his way up from deputy squadron commander to deputy regiment commander. He fought on the North-Western, Central and 1st Belorussian fronts.
By January 7, 1943, the deputy squadron commander of the 436th Fighter Aviation Regiment (239th Fighter Aviation Division, 6th Air Army, Northwestern Front), Senior Lieutenant N. F. Kuznetsov, made 213 combat missions, and personally shot down 15 and the group included 12 enemy aircraft (the award list states 17 personal and 12 group victories). For these exploits he was presented with the country's highest award.
On January 6, 1943, he was shot down in an air battle, seriously wounded in the chest, and made an emergency landing in a forest on his territory. Until March 1943 he was treated in hospital. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 1, 1943, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 966).
By May 1945, deputy commander for the air rifle service, also an inspector-pilot for piloting techniques of the 67th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (273rd Fighter Aviation Division, 6th Fighter Aviation Corps, 16th Air Army, 1st 1st Belorussian Front) Guard Major N.F. Kuznetsov made 252 combat missions, conducted 99 air battles, in which he personally shot down 21 and as part of a group 12 enemy aircraft (the latest award list speaks of 24 personal and 12 group victories). Participant in the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945 in Moscow on Red Square.
After the end of the war, he continued to serve in the Air Force (Central Group of Forces; Austria). In 1949 he graduated from the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze. Since December 1949 - commander of the 16th Air Defense Fighter Aviation Regiment (in the Moscow Air Defense District; the city of Ryazan).
Participated in the Korean War from January to July 1952 as commander of the 16th Fighter Aviation Regiment (64th IAK). Flew MiG-15bis. He flew 27 combat missions and had no enemy aircraft shot down. Returning to the Soviet Union, he commanded an aviation division.
In 1952-1954. - Inspector pilot of the Air Force Combat Training Directorate. In 1956 he graduated from the Higher Military Academy (Military Academy of the General Staff). Since October 1956 - head of the Grozny Military Aviation School of Pilots. Since August 1957 - head of the Chernigov Military Aviation School of Pilots. Since November 1963 - head of the Cosmonaut Training Center. Since 1972 - Advisor to the Chief Designer of NPO Energia on military space programs. Since June 1978, Aviation Major General N.F. Kuznetsov has been in reserve. Lived in Star City (Shchelkovsky district, Moscow region). Died March 5, 2000. He was buried at the Preobrazhenskoye Cemetery in Moscow. In Star City, a memorial plaque was installed on the house in which he lived.
Awarded the orders of: Lenin (10.29.1941, 05.01.1943), Red Banner (02.10.1942, 08.06.1944, 06.16.1945, 12.30.1956), Alexander Nevsky (03.29.1945), Patriotic War 1st degree (11.03 .1985), Red Star (04/07/1940, 12/03/1941, 05/17/1951), medals.
* * *
 |
List of famous aerial victories of N. F. Kuznetsov:
| Date | Enemy | Plane crash site or air combat | Your own plane |
| 26.08.1941 | 1 Me-110 (paired) | Leningrad area | I-16 |
| 27.08.1941 | 1 Yu-87 | Tosno | |
| 1 Me-109 (paired) | Shapki station | ||
| 29.08.1941 | 1 Yu-87 | Mga - Pogorelushka | |
| 4 Yu-87 (in group 4/7) | |||
| 02.09.1941 | 1 Do-215 (in gr. 1/6) | Mga | |
| 06.09.1941 | 1 Yu-88 (paired) | "set on fire" | |
| 11.09.1941 | 2 Yu-87 | Nikolaevskoe | |
| 12.09.1941 | 1 Khsh-126 | Siverskaya airfield | |
| 16.09.1941 | 1 Me-109 | northwest of Krasny Bor | |
| 19.09.1941 | 1 Me-109 (paired) | Leningrad area | |
| 21.09.1941 | 1 Yu-87 | Gorelovo | |
| 22.09.1941 | 1 FV-200 (paired) | Kronstadt | |
| 24.09.1941 | 1 Yu-88 (in group 1/3) | southern outskirts of Shlisselburg | |
| 27.09.1941 | 1 Me-109 | Shlisselburg | |
| 27.06.1942 | 1 Me-110 | Volokonovka | "Hurricane" |
| 1 Me-109 | Lentsovo | ||
| 28.06.1942 | 1 Me-109 | Bogdanovka | |
| 01.07.1942 | 1 Me-109 | Volokonovka | |
| 06.12.1942 | 1 FV-189 | Paula | "Kittyhawk" |
| 30.12.1942 | 1 Me-109 | south of Sosnino | |
| 06.01.1943 | 1 Me-109 (in group 1/6) | Olkhovets | |
| 1 Me-109 | Kuzminskoye | ||
| 11.07.1944 | 1 FV-190 | east of Bezvodna - Koshelevo | "Airacobra" |
| 16.07.1944 | 1 FV-190 | Szereszow | |
| 12.09.1944 | 1 FV-190 | Belolenka - Terchomin | |
| 15.10.1944 | 1 Me-109 | south of Dziebanice | |
| 27.03.1945 | 1 FV-190 | west of Hoen | |
| 19.04.1945 | 1 FV-190 | Danenberg | |
Total aircraft shot down - 21 + 12; combat sorties - 252; air battles - 99. |
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From photographic materials from different years:
From wartime press materials:
12 July 2012 10:48, Sobform
One of the most memorable commanders of the Ozyorsk military unit 3273 was Major General Nikolai Aleksandrovich Kuznetsov. Under his command, the division served to protect our closed city for 13 years - from 1984 to 1997, and was repeatedly awarded for success in combat and political training with high awards, including the Order of the Red Star. Here is a short story about his life, which is only similar to a heroic story.
Nikolai Alexandrovich was born in harsh wartime, on December 3, 1941, in the village of Kalistovo, Kalinin region, which, like many others, was occupied by the Germans.
Outside the window it is 1941, December. There are enemy soldiers and officers in the house. The time is not the most suitable for the birth of little Kolya, especially since his mother, Tatyana Vasilyevna, was already raising two children. One night, the newborn cried a lot, one of the Germans came up to him to stab him with a gun bayonet - he didn’t like the noise in the house. The poor mother had to tearfully beg the German not to kill the innocent baby. In exchange for life, I had to immediately pack my things and go live in a cold bathhouse with my three children. No food, no firewood, no protection.
In elementary school, the following story happened to the little, but even then heroic Kolya. At recess, all the children left the classroom to rest and sat on the old school bench. But there were so many students, and the bench was so dilapidated that it broke. It was unfortunate - Kolya’s leg was severely crushed. It’s getting dark outside, it’s winter, all the students have long gone home, but Kolya is still not there. The parents were seized with panic, and they went to Kolya’s friends, who had been warming themselves at home for a long time. It turned out that little, carefree Kolya did not turn to his friends for help, but decided to get home himself. When they found him, he was crying and actually crawling, his leg was broken, but he did not call for help.
After school - agricultural technical school. There he met his love, Margarita Ivanovna, one for life. He took care of her every minute and even from a distance, because Nikolai Alexandrovich traveled around dozens of cities. They always supported each other in everything and lived in perfect harmony until February 13, 2005, the day of Nikolai Alexandrovich’s death.
Young cadet of the Saratov Military School Nikolai Kuznetsov.
The love of my life is Margarita.
At the technical school, he began to lead a squad helping the work of the police. And then I realized that I wanted to be useful for the country, so after college I went to work not as an agronomist, but in the police. After a year of service, he was sent to the Saratov Military School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Later he graduated from the Military Academy. Frunze in Moscow.
With the rank of senior lieutenant.
Nikolai Kuznetsov’s son, Oleg, followed in his father’s footsteps and achieved great success in the service of the Fatherland.
Farewell to the Saratov Military School.
In total, his service to the country is no less than 36 years (from 1961 to 1997), and in fact he served his entire life, because he tried to keep abreast of events, even after resigning. For conscientious performance of military duty and special services to the Fatherland, Alexander Nikolaevich was awarded the title “Honorary Officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.” In addition, he was awarded the Order “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR”, 2nd and 3rd degree.
With grandson Alexey in his arms.
Honest, decent, responsive and very kind. He achieved everything through his own labor, because a simple village guy had no connections, he achieved everything himself. Demanding discipline and order, he treated the soldiers not condescendingly, but humanly, respecting each as a person. He knew how to see both good and bad qualities in people. Setting priorities, I didn’t make friends just like that and with just anyone. He said that he did not receive shoulder straps in order to be afraid.
Evgenia Kuznetsova, photo from the family archive
