Mikhail Vasilyevich Vodopyanov (russian: Михаил Васильевич Водопьянов; – 11 August 1980) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

aircraft pilot, one of the first Heroes of the Soviet Union, and a

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

of the

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

. Together with

Mikhail Babushkin Mikhail Babushkin (russian: Михаи́л Серге́евич Ба́бушкин; October 6, 1893 – May 18, 1938) was a Soviet polar aviator and a Hero of the Soviet Union (June 27, 1937). Together with Mikhail Vodopyanov, he was the first ...

, he was the first to land an airplane on the North Pole.

Biography

He was born on 18 November (6 November Old Style) 1899 in Bolshiye Studyonki village (now part of

Lipetsk Lipetsk ( rus, links=no, Липецк, p=ˈlʲipʲɪtsk), also romanized as Lipeck, is a city and the administrative center of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Voronezh River in the Don basin, southeast of Moscow. Populatio ...

) in Tambov Governorate. He volunteered for the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

in 1919 and took part in the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

. Initially, he was a driver in an air unit. From 1925 he trained as an aircraft mechanic, and in 1928 he became a pilot himself. He then worked in state commercial aviation on long distances, first flying to

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

. From 1931 he also worked for the ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the co ...

'' newspaper, distributing its

matrix Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...

from Moscow to other cities by the air. In 1934, he participated in the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

rescue operation of the crew of the sunken steamship '' Cheliuskin'' on the frozen

Chukchi Sea Chukchi Sea ( rus, Чуко́тское мо́ре, r=Chukotskoye more, p=tɕʊˈkotskəjə ˈmorʲɪ), sometimes referred to as the Chuuk Sea, Chukotsk Sea or the Sea of Chukotsk, is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west b ...

, making a historical flight from

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...

to Vankarem, being the first to fly across the Chukotka Mountains. Vodopyanov was awarded the title of the

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

for this deed on April 20, 1934, as one of the 7 first recipients of the title. Then, he commanded an expedition of four

Tupolev TB-3 The Tupolev TB-3 (russian: Тяжёлый Бомбардировщик, Tyazhyolyy Bombardirovshchik, Heavy Bomber, civilian designation ANT-6) was a monoplane heavy bomber deployed by the Soviet Air Force in the 1930s and used during the early ...

aircraft, being the first to land on the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

on May 21, 1937, carrying parts and crew for an Arctic station. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, after July 1941, he was the commander of the 81st Special Purpose Air Division (a long range

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

division). He commanded the first Soviet air raid on

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on 10/11 August 1941. On the return trip, his Petlyakov Pe-8 heavy bomber was shot down by the flak and crash landed in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, in ''no man's land'' between front lines. He and his crew managed to break through to the Soviet side. Vodopianov was dismissed from the commanding post as a result of big losses in this raid, but he continued to serve as a bomber pilot. (The main reasons for big losses were aircraft failures and hurried preparations, caused by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

's order). In 1943 he was promoted to

. After the war, in 1946 he was discharged from armed forces, and turned to writing in Moscow. He was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

and

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

four times each and the

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

1st class. Many children grew up with his book "The polar pilot" that has described not only his path to aviation, but also the further adventures of his plane in revolutionary Spain, as well as the description of the Cheliuskin rescue and his participation in the War.

Honours and awards

(20 April 1934) * Four

(20 April 1934, 27 June 1937, 6 November 1945, and 6 December 1949) * Four

(11 April 1940, 20 February 1942, 3 November 1944, 14 January 1952) *

, 1st class (13 July 1945)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vodopianov, Mikhail 1899 births 1980 deaths People from Lipetsk People from Lipetsky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union members First convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Soviet major generals Soviet Air Force generals Russian aviators Soviet polar explorers Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet World War II pilots Russian people of World War II Shot-down aviators Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery