The names of the heroes of the faded wars are carefully preserved in the memory of the next generations. Not all of them survived to victory salutes. Vitaliy Popkov, a Soviet pilot, master of air combat, lived a long and dignified life.
Aeroclub pupil
In the 30s of the last century, the children of the Soviet country had the opportunity to choose any profession. Then, even in the song, it was sung that young people are dear to us everywhere. According to the Komsomol call, many young men and women enrolled in flying clubs in order to master the technique of controlling the aircraft. Vitaly Ivanovich Popkov was among the young people who dreamed of becoming pilots. The future fighter pilot was born on May 1, 1922 in a working class family. Parents lived in Moscow. My father worked as a mechanic in a garage. Mother was engaged in housework.
The boy grew up energetic and inquisitive. At the school where Vitaly studied, an aircraft modeling club operated. Popkov was not even ten years old when he assembled his first glider model. Then came a model of an airplane with a rubber motor. Children's creativity was the impetus for choosing a life path. In high school, Vitaly began classes in the flying club, which was located on the Tushino field. He graduated from school in 1940, and at the same time received a pilot's license in the flying club. In the fall he was drafted into the Red Army.
In battles under the clouds
When the war began, Popkov was listed as a cadet of the Bataysk military aviation school of pilots. Young pilots were trained at crash courses. Vitaly was promoted to sergeant and assigned to a fighter regiment. He had to acquire the missing knowledge and experience in battles with enemy asss. Of our pilots, more often died young, who had not yet gained military practice. Popkov, as they say, slipped through the dangerous period of adaptation. And not just slipped, but in many ways understood the tactics of enemy behavior in the sky.
In fierce battles, the pilots won the bold, skillful and observant. The score of enemy vehicles shot down increased with each sortie. In the fall of 1943, during the battles for Donbass, Popkov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Then he fought in the skies of Poland and Germany. The squadron commander met the victory at the airport near Berlin. Vitaliy Popkov took part in the famous Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow. A promising pilot and officer was sent to receive higher education at the Moscow Air Force Academy.
