Hero of the Soviet Union is the highest title, the greatest distinction and achievement that could only be achieved in the USSR. The award in the form of a gold star, universal respect and honor were received by those who performed a real feat during the war or other hostilities, as well as in peacetime, but most likely this was a rare exception than the rule. It was not easy to get such a title once, what can we say about those who have been awarded it several times?
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union… There were as many as 154 such exceptionally brave people. Of these, 23 have survived to this day - these are data as of November 2014.
The first twice heroes of the USSR
They became pilots. They received their awards back in 1939 during clashes with Japanese fighters. This is Colonel Kravchenko, Major Gritsevets and CommanderSmushkevich. Unfortunately, fate was cruel to them. The pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Gritsevets, shot down a dozen enemy fighters in the sky, died a month after receiving the award.
The plane crash also claimed the life of Kravchenko. By the way, he became the youngest lieutenant general in the USSR. He was then only 28 years old. During the war years, he commanded an entire air division, in the Japanese sky he eliminated 7 enemy aircraft. During one of the flights, he jumped out of a burning car, but his parachute did not open due to a cable broken by a shell fragment.
As for Smushkevich, after all his valor in Spain in 1937 and receiving the highest awards, in June 1941 he was taken into custody by representatives of the NKVD. The hero was accused of conspiracy and campaigning aimed at reducing the defense capability of the Red Army. He was shot a few months after his arrest.
Boris Safonov
One of those who first received the title of "Twice Hero of the Soviet Union" was this world-famous pilot. He distinguished himself already in the first air battles with the Nazis in 1941. They say that the Germans, when they noticed his plane on the horizon, passed the message to each other: "Safonov is in the air." This was the signal for all enemy fighters to immediately return to base. With the Soviet pilot, they were afraid not only to go into battle one on one, even a whole group of aircraft tried not to collide with him in the sky.
Soviet attack aircraft, whose combat vehicles were brightly painted, became the first targets of the Nazis. They were easy to notice, they irritated and provoked aggression in the enemy. Safonov already had two huge inscriptions on board: "Death to the Nazis" and "For Stalin." Despite this, for a long time he managed not only to survive, but also to have the highest rates of downed enemy fighters. Safonov's exploits were also noted in Great Britain. He received the highest aviation award of this country - "For outstanding flying merits". The hero died in May 1942 in battle.
Leonov Viktor Nikolaevich
They were two namesakes who received this high award. And I would like to tell you about these courageous people, so different, but such significant feats of which are inscribed in golden letters in the history of our country. The first is twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Viktor Nikolaevich Leonov. In 1944, his detachment, fearlessly attacking the enemy and capturing the Germans, created all the conditions for the Soviet troops to successfully land in the port of Liinakhamari and liberate the cities: Finnish Petsamo and Norwegian Kirkenes.
The second time he showed valor and courage, in fact, in peacetime. In 1945, during the continuation of the confrontation between the Soviet and Japanese states, his detachment several times captured thousands of soldiers and officers, fought the enemy for many days in a row and took possession of ammunition depots. For all these merits, he again received the highest award. Double HeroSoviet Union Viktor Nikolaevich Leonov continued to serve for the good of the Motherland after the war. He died in 2003.
Leonov Alexey Arkhipovich
Viktor Nikolaevich's namesake did not run under bullets and did not blow up dugouts, but his deeds not only glorified him, but the entire Soviet Union. Alexey Arkhipovich is a famous cosmonaut. He received a high award for being the first in the history of mankind to venture into outer space. His famous "walk" lasted 12 minutes and 9 seconds. He showed his valor when, due to a damaged, swollen spacesuit, he could not return to the ship. But taking strength into a fist and showing ingenuity in unforeseen conditions, he guessed to pump out the excess pressure from his robe and got on board.
For the second time, he was awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union" for the fact that, being the commander of the Soyuz 19 spacecraft, he successfully completed the docking operation with the American Apollo. Neither Soviet cosmonauts nor their fellow astronauts have seen this before. Therefore, the feat of Leonov gave impetus to the further active development of starry spaces. He became an example for all young cosmonauts, and is still such, as he is one of the living heroes. He turned 80 in 2014.
Feat of the Kazakhs
This nation played a big role in the destruction of fascism and the Third Reich. Like other republics of the USSR, Kazakhstan during the Second World War did everything for the front. More than a million ordinary soldiers volunteered for the battlefields.50 regiments and battalions, 7 rifle brigades, 4 cavalry and 12 rifle divisions were mobilized. The Kazakhs were among the first who broke into the Berlin City Hall, painted the walls of the Reichstag. Many of them, without thinking about themselves, covered enemy pillboxes with their bodies and dropped their planes on German "freight trains".
Five of them have received the highest award several times. Twice heroes of the Soviet Union, Kazakhs: Talgat Begeldinov, Leonid Beda, Sergei Lugansky, Ivan Pavlov. For example, the first on this list, the ace attack aircraft, shot down hundreds of enemy aircraft. There are legends about the pilot Begeldinov even today. Another Kazakh, Vladimir Dzhanibekov, became the fifth in this list, but after the war. He became famous as an outstanding astronaut. In addition, during the war, about 500 representatives of this nation once became heroes of the USSR, and their exploits will also never be forgotten.
Svetlana Savitskaya
There are 95 names of the fair sex in the list of Heroes of the USSR. But only one of them, Svetlana Savitskaya, managed to receive the highest award several times. A woman, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, she absorbed the desire to be the best with her mother's milk. Many qualities of character were passed down through the genes, many of which this strong personality brought up in herself.
Her father Yevgeny Savitsky, by the way, also twice a Hero, during the war he was an air marshal. Behind my mother there are also many sorties and downed Nazi planes. It is not surprising that the daughter of such parents entered the flight school. But the woman never used her father's connections, but she achieved everything herself. She became the second female cosmonaut after Tereshkova. More than once she worked in outer space, wiping her nose to American astronauts. She has nine world records in jet aircraft, three in group jumps from the stratosphere with a parachute. Savitskaya received the title of world champion in aerobatics on piston aircraft.
Amet Khan Sultan
The famous pilot is remembered and revered in his native Dagestan. The airport, streets, squares and parks are named after him. But Soviet citizens many years ago claimed that twice Hero of the Soviet Union Amet Khan Sultan had another homeland: the city of Yaroslavl. He was recognized as an honorary citizen of this settlement, and a monument was erected to him. Old-timers remember this young 21st boy who was not afraid to ram with an enemy plane right over the roofs of houses and thereby save the city from bombing.
The ejected pilot was picked up by local residents and bandaged his wounds. And the German messer he had shot down was dragged to the center and put on public display as an example of the valor and courage of a simple Soviet youth. Throughout the war, he showed his heroism more than once, so the awards he received are absolutely deserved. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union reached Berlin itself and fought his last battle on April 29, 1945, just a week before the Great Victory.
Ivan Boyko
Heroes were not only among the pilots. In the Great Patriotic War, tankmen also distinguished themselves more than once, among them Ivan Boyko. He fought in Belarus, in the Smolensk direction and the Kursk Bulge. He commanded a tank regiment, which distinguished itself on the Ukrainian front during the Zhytomyr-Berdychiv operation. After driving almost 300 kilometers, the tankers liberated a hundred cities. They captured 150 Germans with all their guns and fighting vehicles. We defeated several enemy echelons, from which they captured a strategically important cargo.
The tank regiment distinguished itself for the second time near the Ukrainian cities of Chernivtsi and Novoselitsa. The fighters under the leadership of Boyk not only liberated these settlements, but also captured many enemy soldiers and officers. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union ended the war on the ruins of the Reichstag. In the city of Kazatin, a commemorative bust was erected to the valiant tankman, he became an honorary citizen in Chernivtsi. He has many medals, orders and other awards. Died in 1975 in Kyiv.
Sergey Gorshkov
The title of "Hero of the Soviet Union" among the brethren received not so many soldiers and officers. But Sergei Gorshkov succeeded. He led the landing of the first amphibious assault on the Black Sea, which further contributed to the successful counteroffensive of the Red Army units in this area. He commanded the Azov and Danube military flotillas. In 1944, he rose to the rank of vice admiral.
SergeiGorshkov took part in the battles for the liberation of Hungary from the invaders. His last military operation was the capture of Gerjen, which he called an ideal springboard for an offensive towards Balaton. After all, having reached the lake, the Red Army could surround Budapest and drive the enemy out of there. The operation was successful. And in early 1945, Gorshkov was assigned to command the Black Sea Fleet. In this rank, he met the victory over the Third Reich. He received the highest awards for exceptional courage, courage and valor during the fight against the invaders, for the skillful leadership of the troops entrusted to him.
Afanasy Shilin
The first time he received the highest award in the winter of 1944 for the successful crossing of the Dnieper. Here he showed courage, which helped our soldiers to hold a foothold on the right bank. In this battle, Shilin independently managed to eliminate two machine-gun crews of the Germans, two officers and 11 soldiers. When the Fritz surrounded him, he did not hesitate to call fire on himself. Thanks to this, our troops managed to gain a foothold on the bridgehead and push the enemy far back.
The second time he was awarded as the head of a group that successfully reconnoitred the territory and destroyed the weapons of the Nazis. As a result, the enemy's plan to take the Magnushevsky bridgehead was thwarted. He personally stormed the enemy's strongholds, and in the battles on Polish soil, being wounded and almost unconscious, he threw a bunch of grenades into the bunker and destroyed it. Thanks to this, the Red Army launched an offensive.
Twice Heroes of the Soviet Union…The list includes the names of pilots and cosmonauts, sea wolves and tankers, gunners and partisans. But there are even more of those who, having shown exceptional courage, lay down unknown, were exiled or repressed, despite their merits and faithful service to the Fatherland. It is necessary to remember not only the decorated participants in the war, but all the privates and officers without exception, each of which is a Hero.
