The Black Day of the 3rd Fighter Aviation Corps

A Tragic Chapter in Taganrog

The years of the Great Patriotic War recede further and further from us. The history of that war, like any other, consists of a multitude of events, big and small, where every detail simply cannot be superfluous. One such small episode of the big war occurred on April 17, 1943, in the sky over the southern Russian city of Taganrog.

In a secluded corner of the old Taganrog cemetery, there is an inconspicuous grave that is not easy to find, even knowing where to look. On a modest obelisk, under the image of red-starred “hawks,” are carved the words: “Captain Alexei Gavrilovich Egorov. Senior Lieutenant Ivan Yakovlevich Edinarkhov. Heroically perished in an unequal battle after landing at the German-occupied ‘Taganrog-West’ airfield,” and the date – 17.04.1943.

Quite natural questions arise. Who were the fallen pilots? In what unit did they fight? When, how, and why did they end up in the Taganrog sky? And most importantly, what happened, why did everything happen this way and not otherwise, and who was to blame for it all? Let’s try to understand all the intricacies of these tragic events that occurred over 65 years ago.

The Struggle for Air Superiority

The Great Patriotic War, early 1943. Our country greeted the third year of the war with great hopes. The successful outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad instilled faith in the Soviet people that ultimate victory would be achieved and was already within reach. The Red Army Air Force (VVS KA), in the coming year, was to seize strategic initiative in the air war from the Luftwaffe, ensuring air superiority along the entire Soviet-German front.

The preconditions for this were the constant quantitative growth of the VVS and the improvement of their qualitative composition, thanks to the massive influx of new models of aviation equipment into front-line units. It was precisely for the struggle for air superiority that, at the end of December 1942, the 3rd Fighter Aviation Corps (IAK) of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command was formed, under the command of Major General E.Y. Savitsky. The corps included two fighter aviation divisions of three regiments each – the 265th and 278th. In total, the 3rd IAK RVGK numbered about two hundred of the newest “Yak” fighters (Yak-1 and Yak-7).

One of the corps’ divisions, the 265th IAD, which had already seen combat by this time, received the 291st, 402nd, and 812th fighter aviation regiments during its reorganization. The division’s regiments underwent training on new equipment in the winter of 1942-43 at the 8th Reserve IAP at Bagai-Baranovka airfield near Saratov. Brand new Yak-1s were supplied from the nearby Saratov Aviation Plant No. 292.

The core of the flight personnel of the division’s regiments consisted of pilots from the Far East who had not yet fought. In particular, the 291st IAP received flight personnel from the 306th IAP of the Far Eastern Front, based in Uspenovka, Khabarovsk Krai. Among these “Far Eastern” pilots were Captain A.G. Egorov and Lieutenant I.Y. Edinarkhov. Although both had no combat experience, both were pre-war trained fighter pilots. Egorov graduated from the 2nd V.P. Chkalov Pilots School in 1938, and Edinarkhov from the Bataisk Military Aviation School in 1940. After retraining on “Yaks” in Bagai-Baranovka, Captain A.G. Egorov was appointed squadron commander in the 291st IAP, and Lieutenant I.Y. Edinarkhov became his deputy.

Navigation Failures and Tragic Errors

By early April 1943, the formation of the corps was largely completed. In mid-April, the corps’ regiments began redeploying to the Voronezh Front, in the Oboyan area, under the command of the 17th Air Army. However, the situation on the fronts at this point had changed dramatically. In the spring of 1943, fierce battles unfolded in the Kuban against the 17th Field Army of the Wehrmacht, which had retreated to the Taman Peninsula, entrenched itself in well-equipped positions of the so-called “Gotenkopf” line, and received an order requiring “holding the Kuban bridgehead at all costs.”

From the air, the German grouping was supported by aircraft of the Luftwaffe’s 4th Air Fleet. Groups of 20-60 German machines constantly “hung” over the battlefield, literally pinning our advancing troops to the ground. It soon became clear that whether the Germans would hold Taman largely depended on whether the Red Army Air Force or the Luftwaffe would dominate the air. Therefore, both German and Soviet commands began to build up their air groupings, throwing more and more new units and formations into battle. Marshal of Aviation A.A. Novikov, commander of the VVS KA, personally arrived at the Taman Peninsula. Under his personal leadership, the concentration of Stavka reserves in the southern direction began.

Naturally, the 3rd IAK RVGK could not long remain aloof from these events. The corps was redeployed from the central sector of the front to the Kuban, as part of the 4th Air Army. The significance attached to the 3rd IAK in the unfolding battle in the Kuban sky is evidenced by the fact that the commander of the corps was personally briefed by the Supreme Commander himself, I.V. Stalin. The deadlines for redeployment were set very strictly; upon arrival at the destination, the regiments of the 3rd IAK were to immediately go into battle.

Regarding the practical issues of organizing the corps’ flight to the south, E.Y. Savitsky contacted the commander of the 17th Air Army, General V.A. Sudets. The latter reported that the 3rd IAK fighters would lead Pe-2 bombers from the 1st Bomber Aviation Corps of Colonel I.V. Polbin, but Savitsky’s proposal to draw up a flight plan was resolutely rejected. According to Sudets, who had commanded the 1st BAK back in March, the fighters were simply not to break away from the leader and were to follow his radio commands, and they could forget about the rest. As Savitsky later recalled: “I really didn’t like it, but I didn’t argue.”

It is quite possible that similar thoughts occurred to squadron commander Egorov when he was given the task of relocating his squadron. After all, such an organization violated elementary rules for flight preparation and execution. They had to fly without mapping or working out the route on a map, without preliminary calculations, essentially “by eye.” But orders in the army, as is well known, are not discussed but carried out, especially if they come from “the very top.”

In fact, the successful redeployment of the 3rd IAK fighters directly depended on the professionalism of the navigators of the “pewkas” – the leaders of the 1st Bomber Aviation Corps. But, as it turned out, the corps’ navigators precisely lacked this professionalism. The navigation service in the divisions of the 1st BAK was, to put it mildly, not up to par. In January 1943, three groups of corps bombers, due to loss of orientation, returned to their airfields with bombs without finding their targets; another three groups, again due to loss of orientation, dropped their bombs on unplanned targets.

On April 8, 1943, Pe-2s from the 81st Guards BAP of the 1st Guards BAD even bombed a village already occupied by our troops and located in the rear, fifteen kilometers from the front line. Despite such scandalous incidents, the command of both the corps and its constituent divisions rather leniently approached the order to allocate sixteen, and indeed the best, crews to lead the 3rd IAK fighters. Essentially, they assigned those who were available at that moment. Among them, for example, was Lieutenant Nazarov – a trainee from the Omsk Pilots School. Captain Egorov’s squadron was to be led by a Pe-2 crew from the 82nd Guards BAP of the 1st Guards BAD, consisting of pilot Lieutenant Zotov and squadron navigator Senior Lieutenant Karimov.

The corps’ redeployment to the Kuban began on April 16, 1943, and just a day later, on the 17th, “thunder struck.” Seven of the sixteen Pe-2s leading the fighters lost orientation during the flight. Three groups, instead of landing at Millerovo airfield, arrived at Chertkovo, where two Yak-7s and two “pewkas” crashed during a field landing. One group, instead of Millerovo, arrived at Veshenskaya, crashing another Yak-7 upon landing.

To top it all off, the crew of another “pewka” managed to get completely lost between Rostov and Taganrog. The escorting fighters had to reorient themselves and lead their unfortunate leader to the Rostov airfield. But the main events of this tragic day unfolded in the sky over German-occupied Taganrog, and the main participants were the pilots of Captain Egorov’s squadron.

Let us immediately state that there are currently no available documents (both ours and German) that would describe in detail the events of April 17. Furthermore, there are discrepancies and inconsistencies in sources that, one way or another, touch upon the mentioned events. Therefore, when attempting to reconstruct the picture of what happened, the words “possibly” and “probably” will often be used.

So, on April 17, 1943, the “Yaks” of the 291st IAP took off from Rossosh airfield to Rostov-on-Don. Their route then lay through Tikhoretsk to Staronizhesteblievskaya airfield of the Krasnodar airfield hub. However, en route, the navigator of the Pe-2 leading Egorov’s squadron, Senior Lieutenant Karimov, despite what veterans of the corps recalled as quite tolerable weather conditions, lost orientation and led his group in the afternoon of April 17, instead of Rostov, to German-occupied Taganrog.

Most likely, our planes reached the German airfield “Taganrog-West,” now “Taganrog-Central,” located on the western outskirts of the city. The airfield of the second airfield “Taganrog-Süd” (currently the factory “Taganrog-Yuzhny”) was located right on the shore of Taganrog Bay, and it would be simply impossible to confuse it with Rostov. In contrast, “Taganrog-West” was located next to the wide Mius Liman, which, when approaching for landing from the west or northwest, could well be mistaken for the Don. It should be noted that during this period, Luftwaffe aviation units were not permanently based in Taganrog. The unsuspecting squadron circled over the enemy airfield, and the fighters began to land…

From Order No. 0318 of April 27, 1943, issued by Deputy People’s Commissar of Defense, Marshal of Aviation A.A. Novikov, “On the unsatisfactory leading of 3rd IAK fighters by Pe-2 aircraft of the 1st BAK”: “Despite the anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fire opened by the enemy, 3 Yak-1 aircraft led by squadron commander Egorov of the 291st regiment landed in Taganrog and fell into enemy hands. 3 Yak-1 aircraft were shot down by enemy AAA in the airfield circle and crashed there, burning. The remaining 4 aircraft, with the criminal-leader, returned to Rostov airfield.”

According to the memoirs of former pilot S.P. Shpunyakov, Hero of the Soviet Union, from the “brotherly” 402nd IAP, a trio consisting of Egorov, Edinarkhov, and another pilot, O.M. Gorbachev, landed immediately. The aircraft did not taxi to the parking area but shut down their engines next to the runway, right at the landing “T.” Apparently, everything that happened was no less a surprise for the Germans, so anti-aircraft fire was opened only on the next trio approaching for landing, while German soldiers rushed towards the landed “Yaks.” In this situation, the remaining pilots of his squadron could do nothing to help their squadron commander who was on the enemy airfield. Judging by the same memoirs, the aircraft were supposed to receive their full ammunition load only in Rostov.

Sacrifice, Captivity, and Lessons Learned

Egorov, who had already managed to get out of the cockpit, began to shoot back with his pistol and was killed in the ensuing firefight. Edinarkhov was killed, apparently immediately, while still in the cockpit of his aircraft, and his “hawk” was set on fire by the attackers and completely burned down. Gorbachev, on the other hand, was captured.

The courage of the squadron commander and his deputy made a proper impression even on the enemy. By order of the commander of the 111th Infantry Division, which occupied the Taganrog sector of the “Mius Front,” Major General Recknagel, Egorov and Edinarkhov were buried in the city cemetery with all due military honors. Such “acknowledgments from the enemy” are often used in feature films and books to emphasize the heroism of our soldiers. But, let us note, in reality, this happened quite rarely.

It must be said that in the description of the events of April 17, 1943, several points remain unclear. To begin with, according to Order No. 0318 and memoirs, on April 17 over Taganrog, the 291st IAP lost six fighters, but in the documents on irretrievable losses of the 265th IAD, only the names of five pilots are listed who “due to loss of orientation by the leader, landed at the enemy airfield, Taganrog.” Besides Egorov and Edinarkhov, these are Senior Sergeants Oleg Mikhailovich Gorbachev, Mikhail Semenovich Dobyteev, and Vyacheslav Konstantinovich Bogatyrev [1].

A legitimate question arises: who was the sixth pilot? The answer, quite unexpected, was found in the documents of the corps’ second division – the 278th IAD! The 15th IAP, which was part of it, lost a Yak-7B fighter on April 17 in Taganrog, which was piloted by Senior Sergeant Vasily Ferapontovich Grabelnikov. But that’s not all. During the flight on April 17, in the compartment behind the pilot’s armored backrest of his Yak-7, was a flight mechanic, Technical Lieutenant Alexey Vasilyevich Kondrakhin.

Why did Grabelnikov’s “Yak” end up in formation with aircraft not just of a different regiment, but of an entirely neighboring division? Probably, due to a malfunction (apparently quite serious), the Yak-7 had to be left for repair at the departure airfield, and a flight mechanic was also assigned to help the pilot. After putting the equipment “into service,” they caught up with their regiment along with the fighters of the 291st IAP.

In addition to O.M. Gorbachev, another pilot of the 291st IAP, M.S. Dobyteev, was also captured. According to documents, he was captured on April 18, 1943. As for the date of capture, since the events occurred closer to the evening of April 17, it can be assumed that, by bailing out or belly-landing his damaged “Yak,” Dobyteev managed to hide from the Germans in the encroaching twilight but was apparently captured the next morning. Mikhail Semenovich Dobyteev was able to drink the bitter cup of captivity with dignity. He was liberated in April 1945 and successfully passed a special check in August 1945. After the war, he lived in Moscow and died in 1978.

Gorbachev’s fate turned out differently. Changing his military oath, he entered German service and eventually ended up in the so-called “VVS ROA” (Air Force of the Russian Liberation Army), and in fact in 3./Sud FluG 1, a Luftwaffe unit that was engaged in ferrying “Messerschmitt” fighters from factory airfields to the front. While ferrying another Bf109, he died in an aircraft crash in January 1945.

Let’s note one more point. As a result of the events of April 17, at least one serviceable Yak-1b fighter (and a brand new one, fresh from the factory) fell into enemy hands. Which, again, by the standards of spring 1943, was also a rather extraordinary event. The Germans attempted to deprive the Soviets of this valuable trophy, for which two flights of “Airacobras” from the 16th Guards IAP were sent to attack the Taganrog airfield. The leader, Guards Captain A.I. Pokryshkin, was tasked with destroying the “Yak” fighter located there. However, the “Yak” could not be found. The Germans either managed to ferry their trophy out of Taganrog or well camouflaged the aircraft on the ground. It is curious that already in the twenties of April 1943, our pilots, including the fighters of the 3rd IAK, encountered a “werewolf Yak” in the Kuban sky. It cannot be stated with 100% certainty that this was exactly the Taganrog trophy. Still, the probability that our pilots were dealing with a former “hawk” of the 291st IAP is very high.

The direct culprits of the tragic events of April 17, the pilot and navigator of the ill-fated “pewka,” were court-martialed. The command of the 1st Bomber Aviation Corps got off relatively easily. Several individuals were temporarily demoted in rank, and several received reprimands. The “black day” of the 3rd IAK itself was quickly overshadowed by the ensuing combat routine. The names of the pilots who died in Taganrog very soon sank into oblivion.

Who knows how everything would have turned out if not for that tragic April 17, and already on the 20th, they, along with their regiment, could have begun their front-line journey. Perhaps one of them, like his fellow regimental pilot A.F. Lavrenov, would have become an ace and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Who knows… But one thing we know for sure: they wanted to fight for our Homeland, and they were eager for battle. It was not their fault that military fate decreed otherwise.