Mikhail Petrovich Odintsov

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Memorial bust MP Odintsov in Yekaterinburg.

Mikhail Petrovich Odintsov ( Russian Михаи́л Петро́вич Одинцо́в) (born November 18, 1921 in Polosovo; † December 12, 2011 in Moscow) was a writer, two-time hero of the Soviet Union, colonel general of the aviators, honored military aviator of the USSR and war veteran (World War II).

Life and career

Mikhail Odintsov was born on November 18, 1921 to a Russian family with a rural background in the village of Polosowo in Ujesd Sarapul ( Perm Governorate ). The father worked as an investigator for OGPU and NKVD and the mother worked as a laboratory assistant.

After finishing school № 36 in Sverdlovsk (today Yekaterinburg ), he began studying at the Sverdlovsk Technical College for Construction in 1937 , which he gave up for lack of parental financial support. He then completed training as a skilled worker in the Sverdlovsk shoe factory and at the same time joined the local aeroclub, where he passed his pilot exam with distinction in 1938 . In the same year he became a soldier.

Military career

At the age of 17 years Odintsov came as a volunteer in the Red Army and became after basic training and was sworn in as cadet drafted for military aviation school in Perm. There he was able to finish his training early and came to the military aviation school in Engels . In May 1940 Odintsov finished his officer training course here, was appointed lieutenant and began service in the 62nd Reconnaissance Regiment as a crew member of a Tupolev SB-2 . In October of the same year he was promoted to commander of a Su-2 bomber crew in the 226th medium-range bomber regiment. In 1943 Odintsov joined the CPSU .

In 1941 Odintsov was dispatched to the war, where he flew his first frontline deployment on June 23. His machine was hit during an enemy flight, and he and his on-board navigator Tscherwinski survived seriously wounded. After seven months of convalescence, the aero-medical commission found him permanently unfit to fly and temporarily not fit for use in the war. Regardless of this, he reported back to his squadron , flew at his own risk despite physical limitations and obtained type approval for the Il-2 bomber , which he then flew until he defeated Hitler Germany.

Due to personal operational experience and not least because of his wounding, Odintsov became a staunch advocate of the use and (in the case of the Il-2) retrofitting of protective armor for the gunner's cabin of combat aircraft. The success of Sergeant Dmitry Nikonov , his highly decorated gunner, who in aerial combat enemy aircraft shot down eight fight while unhurt, this could prove.

During the war, Odintsov served as the commander of a flying squadron in the 820th Attack Air Regiment and as a regimental commander-deputy of the 155th Guard Attack Regiment , where he was able to distinguish himself through particular bravery and as a leader in larger flight formations. Overall, Odintsov was involved in operations on the Southwest Front , Bryansk Front , Steppe Front , Stalingrad Front , Voronezh Front , Kalinin Front and the 2nd Ukrainian Front .

He ended his war employment in the rank of Guard Major (the aviator) with a total of 215 enemy flights. During this time he was shot 14 times in aerial combat against enemy fighter planes, which was previously considered unsurpassed for a bomber pilot in the Soviet air force. For this he was honored twice with the country's highest distinction, “ Hero of the Soviet Union ”. The comprehensive operational report of his squadron commander at the time, Lieutenant Colonel and Hero of the Soviet Union Grigory Tschernezow , 155th Guard Attack Regiment, dated June 8, 1945, of which the original is available , contains detailed descriptions . His special achievements have also been recognized and formally recognized several times by various commanders of the land and air forces in command. Former crewmates, subordinates and officers under his command, including six heroes of the Soviet Union, dedicated a book to him in 1987.

Time after World War II

After the war he continued his military career. In 1948 he began a seven-year external course at the Military Academy of the Air Force . At the end of 1948 he was written unfit to fly due to nephritis that had not cured during the war years and was suspended from military service until 1950. In this context, he switched to the Air Force Faculty of the Lenin Academy of Military Politics , which he was able to finish in 1952 with the title “excellent”. During this time he trained himself physically and technically, so that in 1950 his fitness to fly could be recognized again without restrictions

After completing his studies, he devoted himself more to military aviation , flew and personally assessed a large number of military aircraft that were at that time in the inventory of the Soviet air defense as well as the army and front-line aviation forces . This included in particular aircraft of the types Pe-2 , Tu-2 , Tu-4 , Il-28 , Pe-2 , Su-7 , MiG-15 , MiG-17 , MiG-21 , MiG-23 , Tu-16 , Tu-22 , Su-24 , Mi-2 , Mi-4 , Mi-8 and Mi-24 . His flight expertise flowed directly into constructive improvements to increase combat value while maintaining flight characteristics.

From 1958 to 1959 he attended the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR (today: Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces ), which he graduated with the title “excellent”. In 1963, Odintsov was one of the first directors of the cosmonaut training center, in addition to being employed in airborne units as a regimental commander, division commander and commander of the air force in the Moscow military district.

Other uses and appointments followed such as:

  • General Inspector for Air Force and General Inspector at the Ministry of Defense of the USSR (1976–1981)
  • Assistant to the Representative of the Polish Armed Forces at the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact States (1981–1987)
  • Delegate XXIV and XXV party congress of the CPSU

During his service, but also after his retirement, he regularly published essays, articles and books; For example, Back in 1942… (Тогда, в 1942-м) , exams in fire (Испытание огнём) , notes from a pilot (Записки лётчика) and overcoming (Преодоление) .

After his retirement in 1987, Odintsov lived in Moscow, where he died on December 12, 2011. His grave is in the Wostryakovo cemetery .

Odintsov was married and had three children with his wife.

Orders and awards

Honorable memory

  • Hero's bust in Polosow, Perm County; Namesake of the local middle school
  • Bust at the main entrance of the Yekaterinburg Suvorov School
  • Namesake of the school № 36 in Yekaterinburg
  • Namesake of a street in Yekaterinburg, "Mikhail Odintsov Square, two-time hero of the USSR".

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Author collective Светлая память. М.П. Одинцов // magazine «Красная Звезда». - Moscow: Красная Звезда, 2011.
  2. ^ Decree (№ 1466) of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, dated February 4, 1944, award: Hero of the Soviet Union,…. for First Lieutenant Odintsov, Mikhail Petrovich.
  3. ^ Decree (№ 6035) of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, dated January 27, 1945, award: Hero of the Soviet Union,…. for Guard Major Odintsov, Mikhail Petrovich.
  4. ↑ Речкалов, Кичигин и Одинцов: в Екатеринбурге появились новые улицы и сквер .
personal data
SURNAME Odintsov, Mikhail Petrovich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Одинцо́в, Михаи́л Петро́вич (Russian); Odincov, Michael Petrovič; Odintsov, Mikhail
BRIEF DESCRIPTION soviet pilot
DATE OF BIRTH November 18, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Polosovo
DATE OF DEATH December 12, 2011
Place of death Moscow