Sergei Aleksandrovich Sokolov - the pilot who cheated death

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

In the history of the Russian Air Force, the operation in Afghanistan stands apart. It was not only the largest in terms of the number of troops involved and the volume of weapons used, but also showed thousands of feats of the Soviet military. The story of the pilot Sergei Alexandrovich Sokolov in their overall picture is a ready-made plot for a movie.

Biography

Our hero was born in Tula on 1959-07-01. As a child, he was fond of sports and was even a member of the regional youth team in artistic gymnastics. After graduating from high school in 1976, he went to Volgograd to enter the Kachin Pilot School. During his studies, he was the commander of the flight department, mastered the MiG-21 fighter and the L-29 jet training aircraft. In 1980 he graduated from college and went to serve in the Turkestan military district, the city of Mary.

At the air base he mastered the Su-15 fighter-interceptor. A year later, he began flying at extremely low altitude on a Su-17 fighter-bomber, during which he conducted air strikes against ground targets.

Afghanistan

In October 1983Sergey Alexandrovich Sokolov went to the Afghan airbase Bagram as a flight commander. With his aviation unit, he took part in six major army operations aimed at destroying enemy military equipment and manpower. Within a short period of time, he made about 120 sorties.

1984-25-04 During a combined-arms operation in the Panjshir Gorge, a Su-17 aircraft flown by pilot Sergei Alexandrovich Sokolov was hit by an American Stinger anti-aircraft missile at an altitude of 1200 m. The CIA intensively supplied Afghan militants through border controlled channels with such MANPADS.

There was no time to think, and the pilot pulled the handle of the catapult. But this time the rescue procedure from the wrecked aircraft went wrong: the parachute dome opened only at the very ground, when Sokolov had already practically touched the surface. The hard landing was only the beginning of the problems: the opponents rapidly moved towards Sergey, began to surround him. A battle ensued, the pilot was seriously wounded, but fired continuously. The available ammunition was rapidly running out, and the situation became hopeless.

Sokolov decided to use the remaining last grenade when the bandits take him prisoner. Holding the ammunition with his hand and pulling out the pin, the pilot gradually lost consciousness and mentally said goodbye to life. But at the last moment, a rescue team arrived and rescued the exhausted Sergei from the encirclement. Only when loading into an ambulance aircraft did the members of the detachment notice the pilot in his handa grenade with a pulled pin.

Recovery

Sergey Alexandrovich Sokolov died. The regimental headquarters received just such a message. But our hero was not going to die. On the plane in the field, he underwent a vital operation, and four days later he regained consciousness. Then there were twelve more operations, unbearable pain, attempts to learn to walk again. Despite the doctors' efforts, the pilot's left foot remained immobilized.

In 1985, Sergei Sokolov was written off from flight work due to injuries, at that time he was only 26 years old. In 1986, he was recognized as a war invalid. But the pilot did not think to give up: he made sure that he was left in the ranks of the Ministry of Defense, he entered the Air Force Academy. Gagarin to the faculty of navigators and gradually recovered.

New life

Dedication and great willpower helped Sergei Aleksandrovich Sokolov return to the sky. In 1991, he began to perform parachute jumps, then started flying on Mi-2 and Mi-8 helicopters. Soon he mastered the Yak-52, L-39, An-2 aircraft and the MiG-29 combat fighter.

In April 1994, as part of an Arctic expedition, Sergei Alexandrovich made a parachute jump to the North Pole. He was the first disabled person in the world to do so. For the heroism and courage shown during the jump, in 1995 the pilot was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. In the same year, he was officially returned to the flight position and appointed head of the Yegoryevsk flying club.

Currently

Now Sergei Alexandrovich Sokolov lives in Moscow,flies on Mi-2 and Mi-8 helicopters and L-29, Yak-52 and An-2 aircraft. His total flight time is over 2500 hours. As for the personal life of the Hero of Russia, he is married and has two adult children. The family also has two adopted children.

In 2010, a documentary film was made about the pilot Sergei Sokolov. This is a movie about a man who survived the tragedy, but did not break. The epigraph to the film is the biblical quote "Get up and walk, and your faith will help you."