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Boris Yeremin was in the Black Sea port of Odessa when the news of the
Nazi invasion came through on June 22nd, 1941. Yeremin served with an Air
Force and was an experienced fighter pilot and captain of a squadron. The
regiment he served with had the famous “E-16” planes.
“That was a wonderful plane,” Boris Yeremin says. “In peacetime we
flew it to gain experience. In December 1941 we got a new plane, one with
entirely different maneuverability, with speeds equal to those of enemy
planes. But the most important thing was the combat equipment. We found
it hard to believe – a gun, a machine-gun and six rocket missiles under
the control surface. The plane had a complete package, except for the radio.
We tested out the new planes in battle on March 9th, 1942. We took off
and flew to the given area in formation, and when we were close to the
area I saw a string of German planes rise into the air to bomb our troops.
We were at the same altitude, so I decided to retreat, gain height and
launch a surprise attack from the above. As it turned out later, that was
the only right decision to take under the circumstances. We were seven
against twenty-five enemy planes. We worked in pairs. We dispersed and
attacked the retreating German aircraft. We didn’t let them bomb and we
sent many down. The battle was called “Seven Against Twenty-Five.”
“On August 23rd, 1942, the skies over Stalingrad were black for enemy
planes dropping bombs indiscriminately,” Boris Yeremin recalls. “The Germans
had brought in all bombers at their disposal. Then the battles started.
The nights were short, four hours of sleep – and into battle again. Four
or five sorties a day left us shattered. One day we got reinforcement –
young pilots. I looked at their flying record – 18 hours! They can take
off and land but what about fighting in the skies of Stalingrad? Naturally,
many of the pilots were killed. Then the father of one of those killed
arrived and we couldn’t even show him his son’s grave. Shot down planes
crashed right into the rocky terrain, into the Volga… “Well, I said, your
son will have a proper grave, when the Nazis are kicked out.” He burst
out crying.”
In one of the battles Boris Yeremin was wounded seriously and his plane
fell right into the Volga. The pilot, who ejected, was lucky: he was spotted
by Soviet soldiers and rushed to hospital. Then – he was back, fighting
again. And it was then that something very unusual happened.
“I was put in command of the regiment,” Boris Yeremin says. “One
day I got a phone call from the front’s commander, who said a farmer had
purchased a plane and it was a special gift for me, so I should go and
collect it. I arrived in Saratov and there was this plane, with the inscription
saying: “To pilot of the Stalingrad Front Guards Major Yeremin from farmer
Golovaty.” We came up to examine the plane and Ferapont Golovaty asked
as he looked inside and saw numerous controls there: “I say, how on earth
do you manage to handle all of these when in battle? Do you have time for
it?” “No,” I said, “there’s no time to do that, we have to fight!” Then
I saw the episode in a newsreel, which also included footage of me at the
Saratov aircraft manufactures. I stood surrounded by 14 or 15-year olds,
old men, women, who worked at the plant. The young lads inquired: “Are
you a pilot, for real? From Stalingrad?” And I replied “Yes” and said to
myself: “Goodness, what a childhood!…” I found it difficult to talk…”
The battles at Stalingrad raged on… Yeremin shot down twenty-three enemy
planes flying his plane and fourteen – flying the plane given to him by
Ferapont Golovaty. After the battle was over he wrote a letter of thanks
to Golovaty. He did not know then that the farmer had bought him another
plane – a brand new “Yak” – which Yeremin flew until the end of the war.
“War veterans remember a lot from those days and this helps build a true
picture of the time,” Yeremin’s comrade-in-arms, Hero of the Soviet Union
Alexei Maresiev recalled. “Reconnaissance fighters in Yeremin’s regiment
fought round the clock. Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Glazov went on
475 sorties, Hero of the Soviet Union Valentin Shapiro – 592, and Hero
of the Soviet Union Foty Morozov, one of the best reconnaissance pilots,
had 800 sorties. Yeremin led groups of planes into battle and his ratings
were always high.”
Hero of the Soviet Union Lieutenant-General Yeremin has published two books
– “Flight Ready” and “Air Fighters”. Yeremin’s wartime deeds were the subject
of many documentaries and made numerous publications. One of Yeremin’s
planes is on display in Saratov, and another, “Yak-3”, is on view in the
museum in Santa Monica, the United States. Boris Yeremin is a member of
Russia’s War Veterans Committee, Heroes of the Soviet Union Club and Holders
of the Order of Glory Club. He has a son, a daughter and a granddaughter.
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