Vasily Reshetnikov "Bomber pilot on the Estern front. 307 missions behind enemy lines"
Vasily V. Reshetnikov was born in 1919 and was sent to Air Force by Komsomol, youth section of the Communist Party. He fought in long-range special bomber regiment and flew 307 missions. He was awarded with title of Hero of the Soviet Union in summer 1943. After the war he was commander of Air Division, Air Corps, from 1969 to 1980 Col. Gen. Reshetnikov was Commander of Long-range Air forces, from 1980 to 1986 – Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force of the Soviet Union. Pre-war bomber units of the Soviet Air Force were a formidable force with several thousands of bomber planes. However, defeats of the first months of the war forced the Soviet command to employ long-range bomber units as frontline bomber units in daytime without proper fighter escort. Given Luftwaffe’s air supremacy, this resulted in catastrophic losses and by the end of 1941 this branch of Red Army Air Force was disbanded. Long-range bomber forces (ADD) were gradually reinstituted during the war. Author of this book, Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Reshetnikov entered the war in autumn of 1941 as commander of a heavy bomber. He experienced daytime missions into deep rear of the enemy, bailing out from a burning plane, forced landings and successful missions to enemy’s targets. He witnessed the return to night-time operations and gradual increase of range of missions, switch from tactical to strategic missions. Flying in difficult weather conditions, German flak fire and coming under German fighter attacks, losing friends and daily life of pilots – all these aspects of a Russian pilot’s life in ADD are very vividly described in this memoir.
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Vasily V. Reshetnikov was born in 1919 and was sent to Air Force by Komsomol, youth section of the Communist Party. He fought in long-range special bomber regiment and flew 307 missions. He was awarded with title of Hero of the Soviet Union in summer 1943. After the war he was commander of Air Division, Air Corps, from 1969 to 1980 Col. Gen. Reshetnikov was Commander of Long-range Air forces, from 1980 to 1986 – Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force of the Soviet Union. Pre-war bomber units of the Soviet Air Force were a formidable force with several thousands of bomber planes. However, defeats of the first months of the war forced the Soviet command to employ long-range bomber units as frontline bomber units in daytime without proper fighter escort. Given Luftwaffe’s air supremacy, this resulted in catastrophic losses and by the end of 1941 this branch of Red Army Air Force was disbanded. Long-range bomber forces (ADD) were gradually reinstituted during the war. Author of this book, Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Reshetnikov entered the war in autumn of 1941 as commander of a heavy bomber. He experienced daytime missions into deep rear of the enemy, bailing out from a burning plane, forced landings and successful missions to enemy’s targets. He witnessed the return to night-time operations and gradual increase of range of missions, switch from tactical to strategic missions. Flying in difficult weather conditions, German flak fire and coming under German fighter attacks, losing friends and daily life of pilots – all these aspects of a Russian pilot’s life in ADD are very vividly described in this memoir.
