Popovich, Grigory Danilovich

Grigory Danilovich Popovich was born on April 23 ( April 10 according to the old style ) in 1905 in the village of Morintsy of the Kanevsky district of the Kiev province of the Russian Empire (now the village of Korsun-Shevchenkovsky district of the Cherkasy region of Ukraine ) in a peasant family. Ukrainian . Education - 7 classes. Prior to conscription for military service, he worked in a personal peasant farm.

G. D. Popovich was called up to the ranks of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Fleet by the Korsunsky district military registration and enlistment office of the Kiev region of the Ukrainian SSR on November 4, 1927. He passed military training in the training detachment of the naval forces of the Black Sea Fleet . The Red Navy GD Popovich began his military service as an mechanic in the 60th Air Force Squadron of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force, which was based in Sevastopol . He went from a mechanic to a senior aircraft engineer. After serving military service, Grigory Danilovich decided to remain in the fleet, and in December 1933 he was transferred to the post of junior engineer in the 124th aviation squadron of the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet.

The first half of the 30s of the XX century in the Soviet Union was marked by the rapid development of aviation. Changes began to occur in naval aviation, albeit at a slower pace: ships appeared that could take on board seaplanes, a new naval torpedo bomber TB-3 began to enter the troops, the development of new weapons was in full swing. The epic with the salvation of the crew of the Chelyuskin steamboat once again demonstrated the need to increase the strength of naval aviation. In the mid 30-ies of the XX century began the preparation of pilots and navigators for new units of naval aviation, the creation of which was planned to be completed by 1938. In December 1934, G. D. Popovich became a student of the 2nd Red Banner Military School of unit commanders .

Since December 1936, Grigory Danilovich in combat units of naval aviation. He began his service as a flight commander of the 27th separate mine and torpedo aviation squadron of the Baltic Fleet Air Force . In August-September 1938, he briefly held the position of flight commander in the aviation control group of the Navy, after which he was sent to Romanovka , where the formation of the 4th mine and torpedo regiment as part of the 29th aviation brigade named after N. A. Ostryakov began Air Force Pacific Fleet . He commanded the link of the 4th Aviation Squadron, then was the assistant commander of the 1st Aviation Squadron. On January 17, 1941, Captain D. G. Popovich was appointed commander of the 1st Squadron of the 4th Mine Torpedo Regiment.

With the outbreak of World War II, Captain G. D. Popovich wrote several reports about sending him to the front, but all his requests were rejected. Only in January 1942, the nine best crews of the Popovich Squadron received orders to be sent to the Northern Fleet . Having received new DB-3F torpedo bombers in Komsomolsk-on-Amur , the group, led by Grigory Danilovich, overcame a distance of 9000 kilometers in 28 winter conditions without a single flight accident and landed near Moscow . From here, on the personal orders of Lieutenant General S.F. Zhavoronkov, commander of the Navy, 3 crews were sent to Saransk , where new naval aviation regiments were being formed, and the rest headed for Vaenga . Of the Pacific fleets who arrived in the Northern Fleet, the 6th Aviation Squadron of the 2nd Guards Mixed Red Banner Aviation Regiment named after B.F.Safonov was formed , the commander of which was captain G. D. Popovich.

About a crescent moon, the squadron pilots took on the adaptation and study of the local terrain, after which they actively engaged in combat work. Led by their commander, they mined the straits and fjords of northern Finland and northern Norway , patrolled the Barents Sea to Bear Island and the Norwegian Sea all the way to Tromsø , attacked enemy ships and escorted convoys of the allies. Among the most significant operations of the squadron during this period were the laying of mines in Petsamo Bay, the Bök Fjord , the Mageroy Sound and Bray Sound straits. On June 17, 1942, Captain Popovich bombed the enemy airfield in Luostari , destroying 6 enemy aircraft (2 Yu-88 , 1 Me-110 , 3 Me-109 ) and 3 more seriously damaged. On June 30, 1942, his squadron at the Banak airport ^[1] in northern Norway destroyed 8 German bombers. On July 15, 1942, as a result of a bombing attack on the port of Honningsvag, squadron pilots sunk a tanker with a displacement of 12,000 tons, on July 30, 1942, a transport with a displacement of 15,000 tons was torpedoed at the entrance to the Porsanger fjord , and a displacement of 7,000 tons was put to the bottom on August 9, 1942. . In August 1942, two enemy ships were recorded on the personal account of Captain G. D. Popovich’s Guard: on August 21, in the waters of the Porsanger Fjord, he sunk a patrol ship, and on August 23, near the Norwegian village of Hamningberg , transport with a displacement of 7,000 tons.

As early as March 1942, the conversion of the 2nd Guards Mixed Aviation Regiment into a fighter regiment began, but the squadrons of torpedo bombers remained part of it until October 1942. In October 1942, on the basis of its 5th and 6th squadrons, the formation of the 24th mine torpedo aviation regiment began. On October 21, 1942, Captain G. D. Popovich was appointed commander of his 1st squadron. The formation of the regiment was completed in November 1942, and the pilots resumed combat work in December 1942. On December 15, 1942, Grigory Danilovich was the first in the Northern Fleet to carry out a night torpedo attack, having sunk enemy transport in the Varangerfjord with a displacement of up to 6,000 tons.

In January 1943, the 24th mine and torpedo aviation regiment was included in the 5th mine and torpedo aviation brigade of the Northern Fleet Air Force. In its composition, the pilots of the regiment continued to destroy surface targets off the coast of northern Norway and the Spitsbergen archipelago. March 23, 1943 G. D. Popovich hit another surface target - enemy vehicles with a displacement of 8,000 tons in the Kungs Fjord. On March 28, 1943, as part of the group, Grigory Danilovich participated in an attack on a German convoy, as a result of which three vehicles went to the bottom with a total displacement of 20,000 tons. For the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command and the mass heroism of the flight crew by order of the People's Commissar of the Navy No. 190 of 05/31/1943, the 24th mine and torpedo aviation regiment was transformed into the 9th Guards. In total, during the participation in hostilities as part of the Northern Fleet of the Guard, Captain G. D. Popovich made 56 sorties, including 19 on special missions of the command, personally sank 4 ships (3 vehicles and 1 patrol ship) and 5 more as part of the group, in an air battle and at airfields, he destroyed and damaged 19 aircraft, created 15 fires at enemy airfields and naval bases.

At the end of June 1943, G. D. Popovich was recalled from the front. He was awarded the rank of major and again sent to the Pacific Fleet. After a two-month stay in the officer reserve on October 6, 1943, an experienced combat pilot was appointed to the post of assistant commander of the 4th mine and torpedo aviation regiment of the 2nd Pacific Fleet Air Force Mines and Torpedo Division for flight training and aerial combat. Before the start of the Soviet-Japanese War, Grigory Danilovich was engaged in training the regiment's flight crew, passing on the combat experience acquired in the Northern Fleet. The successful actions of the regiment pilots during the war with Japan were largely due to preliminary combat training conducted under the leadership of Major G. D. Popovich. On August 9, 1945, the regiment was one of the first to launch military operations against Japanese troops, attacking targets in the port of Racin ( North Korea ). During the 9 days of participation in the war, pilots of the 4th mine torpedo aviation regiment made 115 sorties, during which 10 enemy ships were sunk. Major G. D. Popovich during this time made two sorties, one of which was reconnaissance. On August 10, 1945, in difficult weather conditions at Cape Boltin (Musudan) (North Korea), he torpedoed a Japanese destroyer. On September 14, 1945, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Major Popovich Grigory Danilovich was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

After the end of World War II, Grigory Danilovich served at the Romanovka airbase as part of his regiment. In 1948, he retired to the reserve with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He returned to Ukraine. He lived and worked in the city of Kherson . September 24, 1966 G. D. Popovich died. He was buried in Kherson.

• The Gold Star Medal (09/14/1945);
• Order of Lenin (09/14/1945);
• two orders of the Red Banner (October 1942; 04/02/1943);
• Order of Alexander Nevsky (02/04/1943);
• Order of the Red Star (09/01/1944);
• medals, including:
  • medal "For the defense of the Soviet Arctic" (1945).

• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1988. - T. 2 / Love - Yashchuk /. - 863 s. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-00536-2 .
• Your heroes, Kherson region. - Simferopol: Tavria, 1980. - S. 289-290. - 295 p.
• Gold Stars of the Pacific / author-comp. K.P. Prokhatsky. - Vladivostok: Far Eastern Book Publishing House, 1982. - S. 285-289. - 384 p.
• Korolev V.T. Sea Route: Heroes of the Great Ocean. - Vladivostok: Far Eastern Book Publishing House, 1972. - S. 120-130. - 435 p.
• Minakov V.I. The angry sky of Tauris. - M: DOSAAF, 1985 .-- 352 p.
• Yolukhovsky V. M. Famous people of the Pacific Fleet. Biographical reference. - St. Petersburg: Publishing and printing company Galeya Print, 2011. - 388 p. - ISBN 978-5-903038-13-8 .

• Public electronic document bank “The Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” (neopr.) . Date of treatment December 10, 2012. Archived March 13, 2012.

Presentation to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Neopr.) . Date of treatment December 10, 2012. Archived January 18, 2013.

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (neopr.) . Date of treatment December 10, 2012. Archived January 18, 2013.

Presentation of the Order of the Red Banner with a mark on the award (1942) (neopr.) . Date of treatment December 10, 2012. Archived January 18, 2013.

Order of the Red Banner (award sheet and award order dated 04/02/1943) (neopr.) . Date of treatment December 10, 2012. Archived January 18, 2013.

Order of Alexander Nevsky (award sheet and award order) (neopr.) . Date of treatment December 10, 2012. Archived January 18, 2013.

Order of the Red Star (award sheet and award order) (neopr.) . Date of treatment December 10, 2012. Archived January 18, 2013.

• Popovich, Grigory Danilovich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• Popovich Grigory Danilovich at www.az-libr.ru (neopr.) . Date of treatment December 10, 2012. Archived January 18, 2013.
• Vladivostok city in numbers and photographs (neopr.) . Date of treatment December 10, 2012. Archived January 18, 2013.
• G. D. Popovich on the site of Borisoglebsky VAUL (neopr.) . Date of treatment December 10, 2012. Archived January 18, 2013.
• Memoirs of Hero of the Soviet Union V. I. Minakov on the site "I Remember" (neopr.) . Date of treatment December 10, 2012. Archived January 18, 2013.
• L.R.Diament. Torpedo bombers (neopr.) . Date of treatment December 10, 2012. Archived January 18, 2013.