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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| 238 long-range reconnaissance missions |
| 2023-09-18 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. Link in the title goes to redstar.ru via a VPN. by Egor Alexeev In the summer of 1940, newspapers and posters were full of the call: “Komsomol - get on the plane!” Eleven Komsomol members were selected to study at the flight school at the Mytishchi Carriage Plant. Ivan Lezzhov was among them. Training began at the Tambov Civil Air Fleet Flight School, which was soon transformed into an Air Force pilot school. It was here that the war found cadet Lezzhov. Ivan spent several months trying to be sent to the front, but he was one of ten cadets sent near Ufa to form reconnaissance flight crews. Private Lezzhov was appointed commander of one of the crews. Training flights began. At the end of 1942, a number of crews, including Lezzhov's crew, were relocated to Stalingrad. Reconnaissance missions began. Next - relocation to the Chkalovsky airfield, where the 4th Separate Long-range Reconnaissance Air Regiment of the Supreme High Command Headquarters was formed. Reconnaissance crews almost always took off for combat missions from operational airfields 20–50 km from the front line in order to fully refuel the aircraft to increase the reconnaissance flight range. It should be noted that in order to reduce the weight of the aircraft to increase the range and altitude of its flight, all armor protection was removed from it. Two unprotected gas tanks were suspended between the engines and the fuselage. These gas tanks looked like powerful bombs and held more than 200 liters each. The front line flight for long-range reconnaissance was carried out at an altitude of at least 6,500–7,000 meters. To do this, they had to build a broken route over their territory in order to gain such height to the front line. At the same time, the plane flying at high altitude was sometimes hit not only by enemy anti-aircraft weapons, but also by our own. I.I. Lezzhov recalled: “When analyzing the entire number of my reconnaissance sorties during the war, it turned out that when flying along the reconnaissance route, we were equally fired upon by both our and German anti-aircraft guns. It should be recalled that in long-range reconnaissance aviation, a combat sortie was counted for the crew only if the specified objects were photographed. There are no photographs - the flight is considered not a combat flight, but a weather reconnaissance flight.” By the summer of 1943, the situation on the Kursk Bulge was heating up all the time. The General Staff constantly demanded new data on the location and concentration of enemy troops. Each crew of the operational group, which included Lezzhov’s crew, had to carry out at least two reconnaissance sorties daily in the direction of Kharkov - Poltava - Kiev - Gomel - Bobruisk - Mogilev - Orsha - Smolensk. At this time, German aircraft began a systematic bombing of Kursk. The Kursk railway junction, which became the main distribution point for the arrival of front-line troops, was especially hard hit. Sometimes the crews of the task force, taking advantage of the situation, lined up behind the departing columns of long-range German bombers to identify and photograph their landing airfields. The situation on the Kursk Bulge became more and more aggravated every day. Enemy aircraft increased the number of sorties to bomb the city and the Kursk railway junction. In the air there is an almost constant carousel of a large number of enemy aircraft and our fighter aircraft at the same time. On the night of July 7, Lezzhov’s crew was informed of an urgent mission from the Supreme Command Headquarters of extreme importance. The telegram received by the command of the task force said: “Immediately send a crew with the task of detecting the presence and direction of advance of a German reserve division from Kharkov. If detected, immediately report from the air and confirm with photography.” The shooting had to be done at night, and to fly on an unfamiliar type of aircraft. The crew was personally escorted by the regiment commander. After taxiing to the runway, the thought flashed through Lezzhov’s head: “Seeing off is like a last journey.” Occupied Belgorod met the reconnaissance plane with anti-aircraft fire. On the railway, two trains with locomotive smoke were visible. They walked towards the front. It was impossible to take photographs due to the strong near-Earth haze. Lezzhov: “We go to Khar'kov to the right of the railway and find five more enemy echelons. Khar'kov also met with anti-aircraft fire. We turn to the right, make a small loop so that the haze dissipating towards sunrise makes it possible to photograph the heavily loaded trains heading towards Belgorod. On our way back to Khar'kov we were again fired upon by anti-aircraft guns. Turn left - and below us there is a railway, parallel to it there is a highway, on which solid columns of Nazi troops are visible, also moving in the direction of Belgorod. The camera is turned on. Filming in progress. I make small turns only by gliding the plane, so that the photographed object (both roads - railway and road) does not leave the shooting frame. From a height of 7,000 meters, almost the entire situation below us began to be visible. We broadcast in clear text on the radio: “Seven enemy railway echelons are on the move from Kharkov to Belgorod, large columns of troops are moving along the highway and parallel country roads.” We repeat twice." The command post of the task force informs that the scouts' message has been delivered. Belgorod again greets the crew with powerful anti-aircraft fire. Suddenly the fire stops. And suddenly, from the direction of the rising sun, a pair of Focke-Wulfs rush by, firing machine guns. Next are two more pairs of Fokkers... Lezzhov's burning gliding plane hit the top of the hill going down to the Psel River. The explosion tore off the right burning engine along with the wing. The remains of the plane with the smoking left engine slid down the hillside past the tents of the medical battalion and froze at the water's edge. The regimental doctor and technician found a cassette with the film in good condition on the plane. They removed the pilot’s crumpled armored back and loaded him into the car along with the wounded. On the same day, Lezzhov and the navigator were brought to Kursk to a front-line hospital. The next day they were taken by Li-2 plane to the aviation hospital in Sokolniki. Li-2 being a lend-lease C-47 Skytrain There, where at the same time Stalin’s son Vasily was recovering from an injury, Lezzhov and his navigator were visited by the head of the Air Force intelligence department and presented both with the Order of the Red Banner. He expressed personal gratitude for the discovery of the advance of the German division from Kharkov to Oboyan. The initial version of the medical report put an end to Lezzhov’s ability to return to aviation. But thanks to his personal persistence and fortitude, the attentive attitude of doctors and the support of fellow soldiers, the conclusion was adjusted. The course of treatment at the sanatorium ended in early September. The pilot was given leave for five days. The appearance of Ivan Lezzhov in his parents’ house in Kashira was like his appearance from the other world. Crying, screaming... Mom fainted... Women and children from neighboring houses came running to the screams. When everyone had calmed down a little, one of the relatives took a piece of paper out of a cardboard box and handed it to Ivan. This was a funeral message for him, sent from the regimental headquarters from the Chkalovsky airfield on July 8, 1943: “Your son I.I. Lezzhov died the death of the brave...” Then the hero learned that his father, having worked hard at work for the front, died in 1942. Upon returning to the regiment, the combat work of long-range reconnaissance officer Lezzhov resumed, but on new types of aircraft - American Kingcobra fighters. In difficult weather conditions, reconnaissance pairs (leader and wingman) had to carry out missions several times a day at altitudes ranging from low level flight to 3,000 to 5,000 meters, while being exposed to anti-aircraft gun fire. One of the Soviet cosmonauts I exchanged mail with back in 1990 flew the P-39. Aircobra. The Kingcobra was a later bird. In the summer of 1944, Lezzhov was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (in 1943, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin, it was established that the Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to a long-range reconnaissance crew that completed 70 effective combat missions). By that time, Lezzhov had more than 100 such sorties. But, apparently, he was reminded of a Soviet fighter shot down near Moscow in 1941 by mistake. As a result, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree. Previously, Lezzhov was twice awarded the Order of the Red Banner. By the beginning of 1945, I.I. Lezzhov flew more than 190 reconnaissance missions. The Sandomierz-Silesian offensive operation of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front began on the morning of January 12. An order came over the radio from the front intelligence department: “Lezzhov personally and his wingman immediately take off under any weather conditions. Conduct on enemy territory a reconnaissance of the highways approaching the Sandomierz bridgehead...” Continuous cloud cover 10–20 meters high above the hills and visibility of less than a thousand meters excluded the possibility of a departure. Lezzhov’s report that there was no weather and it was impossible to take off was followed by a menacing shout: “Take off immediately.” As it turned out later, information was received at the front command post: a column of more than 70 enemy tanks was approaching the area where our troops had broken through. After takeoff, the flight passed over the treetops. The altitude was so low that the pair flew among the fiery tracks of the artillery preparation of their troops. Rounding the next hill, Lezzhov discovered on the highway, densely lined with trees on both sides, part of a column of enemy vehicles with unloading infantry. In the process of flying over the entire column at low level, Lezzhov established its number - more than 70 vehicles. Having conveyed in plain text to the front command post that a column of vehicles without tanks had been discovered and received gratitude in response, Lezzhov continued reconnaissance of highways from the west and southwest. He reported to the front command post that no columns of enemy tanks were detected moving towards the bridgehead from these directions. In January 1945, during the Vistula-Oder offensive operation, the operational group of the Supreme High Command Headquarters was given the task of area photographing Berlin. The flight crew was informed that there were eight air defense towers in Berlin. Each tower is 6–8 floors high, on the floors there are balconies with Oerlikon anti-aircraft crews. On the upper platform there are two 105mm anti-aircraft guns with a firing range at an altitude of about 8,000 meters. FLAK 38 105mm The first crew on a Pe-2 plane, while photographing Berlin, was shot down and fell in the outskirts of the city. The second crew took photographs, but upon returning, already over the front line, it was shot down by enemy fighters, fell and exploded on our territory. Given the tragic experience of the two crews, Lezzhov, together with his wingman, was ordered to go around Berlin to the south, gain maximum altitude and photograph the city and its surroundings. While carrying out the mission, the planes came under fire from German guns, however, the photography was successfully completed. The pilots accelerated the planes to maximum speed with a loss of altitude, thereby escaping the attack of German fighters flying out to intercept them, and landed safely at their airfield. By the beginning of March 1945, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front went on the defensive at the line of the Neisse River and were preparing for an attack on Berlin. The task force continued to conduct reconnaissance deep within the enemy forces. Combat sorties were carried out deep into enemy territory right up to the borders of France and Holland. Particular attention was paid to reconnaissance of the transfer of German troops to Berlin from the western front. The flight crew of long-range reconnaissance aircraft, who constantly carried out reconnaissance missions at an altitude of 6–9 thousand meters, where the temperature at any time of the year fluctuated between minus 40–50 degrees, in addition to underwear, tunic and trousers, always wore a woolen sweater and fur overalls. He wore untya (fur stockings) and fur high boots over ordinary socks. A woolen balaclava was put on the head under the fur helmet. On the morning of May 9, representatives of the front intelligence department installed a special radio station on Lezzhov’s plane. Task: at the moment of the meeting in the center of Prague, the advanced units of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts, inform the whole world about this. At an altitude of about 3,000 meters above the capital of Czechoslovakia, Lezzov and his comrades formed a stretched circle and began to carefully observe the advance of Soviet tanks along the streets of Prague from the north and southeast. At the moment when the tank columns moving perpendicular to each other met, I.I. Lezzhov turned on a special radio station installed on his plane and for more than 45 minutes, circling over Prague, broadcast in a clear and joyful voice: “Listen everyone, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts have united in Prague!” But the Great Patriotic War did not end there for military aerial reconnaissance officers. At this time, several columns of German troops broke out of the encirclement west of Prague and quickly moved into the American zone. On May 11, during a combat mission, heavy fire from Oerlikons was suddenly opened on reconnaissance aircraft. One of the bursts pierced the end part of the right wing of Lezzhov’s plane. Despite the damage received by the plane, the crew landed safely at the home airfield. It was on that day that the Great Patriotic War ended for Ivan Ivanovich. During it, he flew 238 combat missions for long-range reconnaissance. During this time, Lezzhov’s regiment, while conducting reconnaissance of enemy targets, lost 112 flight personnel and 91 aircraft. On June 24, 1945, the famous Victory Parade took place on Red Square. Among its participants are two of the best pilots of the 98th ogdrap: senior lieutenant Luzgin and captain Lezzhov. 55 years later, Aviation Major General Lezzhov again found himself at the Victory Parade on Red Square. Now he commanded a combined regiment of veterans of the 1st Ukrainian Front. The long-range aerial reconnaissance ace was nominated three times for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the war. But the ideas remained unrealized. And only on June 29, 1945, he was deservedly awarded this high title. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #1 Thank you, badanov, for posting this. Absolutely fascinating stuff. |
| Posted by: Canuckistan sniper 2023-09-18 23:06 |