Konyaev, Arkady Nikolaevich

Arkady Nikolayevich Konyaev was born on January 23, 1919 in the family of an employee in the family of an employee of the employee of the employee in the village of Nadezhdinsk, Verkhotursky district, Yekaterinburg province of the Russian State (now the city of Serov , the administrative center of the Serov city district of the Sverdlovsk region of the Russian Federation ). Russian He graduated from 9 classes and the Nadezhda Aero Club in 1937. He did not work long in the railway depot, and then in the city council of physical education and sports.

In the ranks of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army A.N. Konyaev was drafted by the Serov District Military Commissariat of the Sverdlovsk Region in 1939. He completed preliminary training at the Perm Military Aviation Pilot School. In October 1940 he graduated from the Stalingrad Military Aviation Pilot School . Junior lieutenant A.N. Konyaev began his service in the 56th Fighter Regiment, which was stationed in the Mongolian People's Republic near the city of Bayan-Tumen . Here he was caught by the beginning of World War II. At the beginning of 1942, the air squadron, in which Arkady Nikolayevich served, was transferred to the Chita area. Lieutenant A.N. Konyaev underwent retraining on the Yak-1 fighter. The combat training took place on the Western Front . On February 4, 1942, as part of a group of three Yak-1s in the Vyazma area, Arkady Nikolaevich shot down a German reconnaissance aircraft Henschel Hs 126 . Then he was sent to the officer training course (CMOS), which he graduated in the summer of 1943. In July 1943, Arkady Nikolayevich was assigned to the Voronezh Front and was appointed deputy commander of the aviation squadron and navigator of the squadron of the 32nd fighter aviation regiment of the 256th fighter aviation division of the 5th fighter aviation corps of the 2nd Air Army .

In battles with the Nazi invaders, Lieutenant A.N. Konyaev since July 25, 1943. He received baptism of fire on Kursk . Arkady Nikolayevich won his first personal victory during the Belgorod-Kharkov operation , having shot down an enemy Me-109 fighter in the area of ​​the village of Kovyagi in the Kharkiv region . Already in the first battles, Lieutenant Konyaev demonstrated excellent piloting technique, high military skill and organizational skills. In the period from August 3 to 29, 1943, the unit of Lieutenant A.N. Konyaev made 142 combat sorties, conducted 18 air battles, in which 7 enemy planes were shot down. Personally, Lieutenant Konyaev during this period made 49 sorties on the Yak-7B fighter and in 13 air battles increased his personal score to 3 destroyed enemy fighters. Particularly noteworthy was the air battle on August 20, 1943. The enemy, trying to stop the advance of the Soviet troops, pulled up large tank reserves and launched powerful counterattacks in the region of Bogodukhov and Akhtyrka . To repel the tank attacks of the Germans, the command of the 2nd Air Army threw into the battle all the attack aircraft at its disposal. In the Akhtyr direction, the actions of attack aircraft were covered by fighters of the 256th Fighter Aviation Division. Four Jacob, under the command of Lieutenant Konyaev, flew to escort the nine Il-2 attack aircraft . On approaching Akhtyrka, a group of Soviet aircraft was attacked by superior enemy forces in the amount of 8 Me-109 and 12 FV-190 . In a fierce battle, Arkady Nikolayevich tied eight enemy fighters in battle and, thanks to skillful maneuvering and accurate shooting, he won, knocking down two Messerschmitts. Two more Fokke-Wulfs were shot down by pilots of his group. After completing the combat mission, the Soviet attack aircraft and escort fighters returned to their airfields without loss. In the body of Konyaev’s plane, mechanics counted thirty-two holes.

In September - November 1943, Arkady Nikolayevich actively participated in the Battle of the Dnieper , carrying out combat missions to escort his attack aircraft and bombers, covering ground troops, guarding the crossing of the Dnieper , having completed 49 sorties by mid-November 1943. He participated in the liberation of the capital of Ukraine, the city of Kiev . By December 1943, A.N. Konyaev was promoted to senior lieutenant and was soon appointed to the position of squadron commander. During the liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine, the 32nd Fighter Aviation Regiment acted in the interests of the 1st Ukrainian Front in the Zhytomyr and Proskurov directions. The winter of 1944 was the most generous for victory for Arkady Nikolaevich. During this period, he chalked up seven downed enemy aircraft. Two battles were especially memorable for him: the attack of the German airfield near Vinnitsa and the battle in the sky above the village of Happy . In early January 1943, air reconnaissance discovered a large concentration of German bombers at the Vinnitsa airfield, from which the enemy actively bombed the advancing units of the Red Army. On January 8, 1944, a group of 18 Il-2 under the command of Captain P.K. Kizyun and 8 cover fighters led by Senior Lieutenant A.N. Konyaev took off at his attack from the Skomorokha airfield near Zhitomir . Soviet aircraft were already on their way to the goal, when 14 Junkers and 2 Messerschmitt appeared on the horizon. Leaving the four Jacob to cover the attack aircraft, Arkady Nikolayevich led the second four to intercept enemy aircraft. Immediately crashed into the ranks of the enemy "Junkers", senior lieutenant Konyaev knocked down his leader. A few minutes later another downed Yu-88 crashed to the ground. The remaining enemy aircraft hastily left the battlefield. In total, as a result of the attack on the Vinnitsa airfield, the enemy lost 3 Yu-88 , 3 Yu-87 and 1 Yu-52 on the ground and in the air. The battle over the village of Happy took place on January 14, 1944. The four Yak-7B under the command of Konyaev, covering a group of attack aircraft, boldly entered the battle with 16 enemy fighters FV-190. In a fierce air battle, the enemy lost two fighters, one of which was shot down by senior lieutenant Konyaev, and despite a significant numerical superiority, he hastily retreated. In total, by March 12, 1944, Arkady Nikolayevich made 150 sorties, including 116 to escort attack aircraft and bombers, 34 to cover ground troops and military infrastructure facilities. In 49 air battles, he shot down 15 ^[2] enemy planes. On April 24, 1944, the regiment commander Lt. Col. A. S. Petrunin introduced senior lieutenant A. N. Konyaev to the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union. The decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was signed on October 26, 1944.

Subsequently, Arkady Nikolaevich participated in the liberation of Western Ukraine and Poland , fought in the skies of Germany . As part of his unit, he participated in battles for the cities of Shepetivka , Starokonstantinov , Skalat , Tarnopol , Lviv , Krakow and Ratibor . In the period from March 15, 1944 to February 20, 1945, he made 67 sorties, including 14 in adverse weather conditions. In 14 conducted air battles, he shot down two enemy aircraft (FV-190 and Yu-87). The squadron of Captain Konyaev also acted successfully, the pilots of which destroyed 58 enemy aircraft in 58 air battles. For the able leadership of the squadron, Arkady Nikolayevich was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky . At the final stage of the war A.N. Konyaev participated in the Berlin and Prague operations, stormed Berlin , Breslau and Dresden . Until the end of the war, he chalked up another enemy Me-109 fighter. June 24, 1945 Arkady Nikolayevich as part of the consolidated column of the 1st Ukrainian Front participated in the Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow .

After the end of World War II A.N. Konyaev continued to serve in the USSR Air Force until 1946 . In reserve, he quit as a lieutenant colonel . He lived in the city of Vinnitsa, Ukrainian SSR . In May 1952, Arkady Nikolayevich received a serious spinal injury and became disabled. But physical suffering did not break the morale of the pilot. He was always busy with business: he corresponded with veterans and schoolchildren, was engaged in patriotic education of youth. Arkady Nikolaevich died on November 30, 1993 . He was buried in the Central cemetery of the city of Vinnitsa.

• Medal "Golden Star" (10.26.1944);
• Order of Lenin (10.26.1944);
• Order of the Red Banner - twice (10/22/1943; 02/23/1944);
• Order of Alexander Nevsky (04/05/1945);
• Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (04/06/1985);
• medals .
• Honorary Citizen of Serov (1985).

• In honor of the Hero of the Soviet Union A.N. Konyaev, three memorial plaques were installed in the city of Serov, Sverdlovsk Region.

An excellent pilot, a fearless air fighter, ready at any moment to “come” to the aid of a comrade in battle. Courage, coupled with steadfastness, heroism and excellent knowledge of their craft, as well as indomitable hatred of the enemy, brought the glorious fighter pilot many brilliant air victories ... There are no obstacles for him in air battles. Despite any superiority of the enemy, he entered the battle and always came out victorious

- The commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Stepanovich Petrunin. TsAMO, f. 33, op. 686043, d. 23

• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1987.- T. 1 / Abaev - Lyubichev /. - 911 p. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN comp., Reg. RCP No. 87-95382.
• Gold stars of Sverdlovsk citizens: a collection of essays and memoirs about Sverdlovsk citizens - Heroes of the Soviet Union. 2nd ed., Rev. and additional / comp .: S.G. Aleksandrov, P.V. Yablonskih. - Sverdlovsk: Middle Ural Book Publishing House, 1970. - S. 132-134. - 454 s.
• M. Yu. Bykov. Aces of the Great Patriotic War. The most successful pilots of 1941-1945. . - M: “Yauza” - “EKSMO”, 2007. - S. 641. - 1477 p. - ISBN 978-5-699-20526-4 .
• Dzyubinsky L.I. Heroes of the city of Serov. - Serov, 2010 .-- S. 65-72. - 414 p.

• Public electronic document bank “The Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” (neopr.) . Archived March 13, 2012. The database number is 46245954 Hero of the Soviet Union (Neopr.) . Archived on May 27, 2013. , 20161713 Order of the Red Banner (1943) (neopr.) . Archived on May 27, 2013. , 21171474 Order of the Red Banner (1944) (neopr.) . Archived on May 27, 2013. , 39464958 Order of Alexander Nevsky (Neopr.) . Archived on May 27, 2013. , 1523959987 Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (neopr.) . Archived on May 27, 2013.

• Konyaev, Arkady Nikolaevich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• Konyaev Arkady Nikolaevich at www.az-libr.ru (neopr.) . Archived on May 27, 2013.
• Administration of the Serov city district: Honorary citizens of the city of Serov (Neopr.) . Archived on May 27, 2013.
• Red falcons (neopr.) . Archived on May 27, 2013.
• Encyclopedia of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (neopr.) . Archived on May 27, 2013.