It is necessary to serve one who has strength and wealth. This somehow does not fit with the ideals of the knight of heaven. However, pilots also have their own antiheroes.
Representatives of each profession like to attribute to their work a certain ennobling effect on the soul. Aviation has always been fanned by legends, and it is customary for pilots to represent humans without fear and reproach. However, a completely immoral type can learn to drive a winged machine.
Childhood
The Stoyan family lived in the village of Galata near Varna. The head of the family, Elijah, served in the army; his salaries were enough to provide his wife and children well. With the latter, everything was fine with the spouses - in March 1913 a boy was born, who was given the name Stoyan. It was the fifth heir to the brave soldier. Father could not see the newborn - Bulgaria launched another campaign against the Turks, and he died a couple of months before the birth of the heir.
On the knife (1912). Artist Yaroslav Veshin
The son of the hero received the right to study at a school for military orphans in Varna. He did not remember his parent, but the teachers talked a lot about the exploits of the Bulgarian fighters. Behind the scenes of beautiful patriotic propaganda, the boy watched the joyless existence of his closest people. His mother, brothers and sisters were starving, he himself helped them by selling newspapers on the streets of the city.
Youth
A diligent student was noted by teachers. In 1930, Stoyan was sent to continue his education at Sofia Seminary. The teenager was not happy with what profession he was chosen. The army seemed much more attractive than the church. After 4 years, the mistake of adults was corrected. Having received a diploma, our hero entered the Higher Army School for officers.
After graduating from this educational institution, Stoyan began his service in the cavalry. For many of his peers, a beautiful uniform and participation in holiday processions in the capital were the ultimate dream, but this was not enough for this ambitious young man. He wanted to make a dizzying career and get rich. At that time, aviation was considered the most elite military branch, because Stoyanov continued his studies at the Military Aviation Academy, which he graduated in 1938.
Temptations
The young pilot was selected among the officers whom the Bulgarian government sent for an internship in Germany. Lieutenant Stoyanov and six other Bulgarian pilots arrived in Vernoyhen to study at a local aviation school. The technique they saw there shocked them.
Lieutenant Stoyanov at the German-made Bf.109G-6 fighter
There was something to see, besides new cars. Stoyan compared industrial Germany to his homeland and found the last wretched. He liked the famous German discipline, liked the idea of the existence of a superhuman breed, which allowed everything. The guy, of course, considered himself the one who would decide the fate of objectionable peoples, flying over them on a plane provided by civilized Germans.
At home
In 1939, the business trip ended. The aviator was forced to return to unsightly Bulgarian reality. He received an instructor position at the school of fighter pilots, which was deployed near the town of Karlovo. The only thing that pleased us was that hints and little things brought from abroad made it possible to qualitatively differ from the local rabble and make an indelible impression on the weaker sex.
The city of Karlovo in Bulgaria, where Stoyan Stoyanov served
During one of the walks in the city, Stoyanov met the beautiful Mina. She was only 18 years old, but she already understood that her personal life needed to be built, guided by pragmatic interests. A well-to-do military was the best option out of the variety of suitors the province could provide. In 1940, a wedding took place. What ideas her husband professes, Minu was much less interested in what kind of salary he had.
War
Stoyanov enthusiastically accepted the alliance of Bulgaria and Hitler Germany in March 1941. He himself became a Luftwaffe pilot and was proud of it. Stoyan Iliev was not opposed to contribute to the victory of the Third Reich over the states inhabited by subhumans, but the command was in no hurry to send him to the front. Until 1943, the lieutenant traveled to the airfields of his homeland, not participating in real battles.
Stoyan Stoyanov awarded the Iron Cross II class
The pilot received his first combat mission when he was appointed commander of the 682nd squadron of the 6th fighter regiment, which defended the sky over oil fields in Romania. Stoyanov performed his work properly - he managed to bring down 5 enemy bombers, giving the Nazis the opportunity to continuously supply fuel to their tanks, ironing the lands near Kursk. True, the Red Army leveled all the efforts of the unfortunate Stoyan.
