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53 Shot Down On August 20, 1944, we took a break from combat missions in honor of Air Force Day. We celebrated at Prince Zeltowski's lavish estate in Milanow, near Parczew. The prince had been executed by the Fascists in Warsaw two months before. The servants raved about the prince as if he were a hero. We, frankly, didn't wish to delve deeply into the question of his heroism. He was a prince, after all. Everyone was in high spirits. To me, those pilots were a special breed. It wasn't that they scorned death; fear is universal. But the men suppressed it. They would look death right in the eye, and the next moment, they were joking and singing as if nothing had happened. The laughter and songs somehow protected them. That day the pilots arranged an amateur performance for the holiday. One of the squadrons performed a song we especially loved. A regimental navigator from the 7th Ground Attack Regiment who used to study at the conservatory composed it when we were fighting on the Taman. The refrain went like this: Hey, "Ilyusha, " my dear friend, Let's attack them yet again! Our revelry didn't last long. By midday, division pilots were fending off furious attacks over the Magnuszew bridgehead, on the west bank of the Vistula , south of Warsaw. For Chuikov's guardsmen! to resist the enemy onslaught , they would need our Shturmoviks like they needed air. Our 805th was to fly in echelons, in two groups. Karev, our new Regimental Commander, Zampolit Shvidky, and I discussed the mission in the command post. "I'll lead the first formation of fifteen planes," said Karev, "and Yegorova will take off with the other half of the regiment ten minutes ! Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (1900-82). A Soviet general (later marshal) who became a national hero leading the defense of Stalingrad. ("We will defend the city or die in the attempt," Chuikov famously said.) Chuikov and his 8th Guards Army (formerly the 62nd Army, promoted to "Guards" status after its success at Stalingrad) spearheaded the advance through Belorussia and Poland and into Berlin. He accepted Germany's surrender and commanded the occupation forces after the war. SHOT DOWN 179 later. We'll need all our crews. Which group will you fly with, Dmitri Polikarpovich , mine or Yegorova's?" After a long silence, Shvidky declared, "I'm not flying!" We were stunned. With takeoff time fast approaching, Pyotr Timofeyevich lost his temper. "What kind of commissar are you, if you desert your regimental compatriots at this difficult hour?" he snapped. We hastily left the dugout and saw the green flare sailing into the air, signaling the first group's departure clearance. Karev sprinted to his plane as Shvidky melted away. I sat down on a stump to think, trying to banish my nasty thoughts by humming a song: Mishka, Mishka, where is your smile? I anxiously awaited the green flare. I hated the waiting. I always wanted to take off right after the mission briefing. It's true what they say: the worst things of all are "hurry up" and "catch up." I headed to the parking area. In the distance I spotted my tail-gunner Nazarkina in the airplane's rear cabin. I hadn't seen her smiling like that in a long time. Her cheeks were rosy, her eyes shining. Well, I thought. She looks like she's perking up after the shock she had. My mechanic Gorobyets made his report, then nodded covertly in Dusya's direction and whispered, "Comrade Senior Lieutenant, Sergeant Nazarkina's been sneaking anti-tank bombs into the rear cabin." "She's lost her mind!" I blurted. "Clear the cabin at once!" I looked at my watch. We had three minutes before takeoff. "She won't let me," Gorobyets explained. "She threatened me with her pistol." I bounded onto the wing and turned to Nazarkina. Dusya scurried to cover something with her hands like a mother hen protecting her chicks. I gently moved her aside and reached toward the floor of the cabin. Bombs! I pulled a one-and-a-half kilo bomb out and handed it to the mechanic. When I tried to extract another one, Dusya cried frantically, "Comrade Senior Lieutenant! Let me keep them. If these bombs make a direct hit, they'll blast right through any tank- 'King Tigers: 'Panthers: 'Ferdinands.' Please, let me keep them! I promise to only use them over tl1e target when there...

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