Escaping from captivity is difficult. It was almost impossible to escape from a fascist concentration camp ... Nevertheless, there was a man who succeeded. Mikhail Devyataev escaped on a stolen bomber, for which he received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Mikhail Petrovich Devyataev was born on July 8, 1917 in the village of Torbeevo, Penza province, in the family of peasants Mokshan, where he was the 13th child. Having graduated from the seven-year school in 1933, Misha went to Kazan to enter the aviation technical school. But due to problems with the documents he was forced to enter the Kazan River Technical School. At the same time I began to study at the Kazan flying club. Then there was the Orenburg Aviation School. In the summer of 1939 he received a diploma of a fighter pilot.
On the front, Devyataev commanded one of the units of the 104th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Division of the 2nd Air Army of the First Ukrainian Front. During the air battles brought down 9 enemy aircraft. July 13, 1944 Devyataev participated in an air battle. In the Lviv region, his plane was hit and caught fire. The pilot managed to jump out with a parachute, but during the jump hit the stabilizer plane and landed unconscious in the territory occupied by the enemy. So Devyatayev was taken prisoner and found himself in the Lodz prisoner of war camp. Among them were military pilots, with whom Mikhail began to plan an escape.
On August 13, 1944, they attempted to escape from the camp, making a digging. But they were caught and sent to Sachsenhausen's camp as "suicide bombers". Nevertheless, Devyataev was lucky: a local hairdresser changed the sewn number on his camp robes, and Mikhail from the "suicide bomber" turned into a "penalty box". From now on, he was considered a Ukrainian teacher Stepan Nikitenko, who actually died in the camp. Under this name, he was sent to another camp - to Germany, to the island of Usedom, where the Peenemünde missile center was located. They developed a new weapon of the Third Reich - cruise missiles "V-1" and ballistic missiles "V-2".
February 8, 1945, killing a guard, a group of 10 Soviet prisoners of war managed to capture a German bomber Heinkel He 111 H-22. Devyataev sat at the helm of the plane. After the hijacked bomber, a German fighter rushed, piloted by Oberleutnant Gunther Hob, an experienced pilot, awarded with two Iron Crosses and one German Cross in Gold. However, the problem was complicated by the fact that no one knew what course the stolen plane would fly. Accidentally discovered "Heinkel" returning from the job, Colonel Walter Dahl. But he did not have enough ammunition to bring down the car. Having flown more than 300 kilometers, Heinkel reached the front line, but was hit by Soviet antiaircraft guns. I had to urgently call in a landing near the Polish village of Gollin, where at that time the artillery unit of the 61st Army was based. Devyataev delivered strategically important information to the Soviet command about a military training ground and a secret testing center on Usedom. Subsequently, this information allowed a successful air attack on Usedom. Devyatayev and his comrades were placed in the filtration camp of the NKVD. Fortunately, they were recognized as trustworthy and were able to return to the service. Since September 1945, Devyataev has cooperated with the Chief Designer of Ballistic Missiles, S.P. Korolev, who led the Soviet program to develop German missile technology. Participated in the creation of the first Soviet rocket R-1 - copies of the "V-2".
In November 1945, Devyataev retired. I could not find a job for a long time because I was in captivity. In 1946 he finally got a job at the station at the Kazan river port, and in 1949 - captain of the boat. Later, he became one of the first testers and commanders of the crews of domestic hydrofoil ships - Raketa and Meteor. The attitude towards the former prisoners of war changed after the 20th Congress of the CPSU. About the feat of Devyataev began to write Soviet newspapers. August 15, 1957, thanks to the petition of Sergei Korolev, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In addition, he was awarded the Order of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner, orders of the Patriotic War I and II degrees, medals. November 24, 2002, Mikhail Petrovich died in Kazan, where he lived his whole life. He was buried in the Arskoye cemetery, on the site where the memorial complex of soldiers of the Great Patriotic War is located.