History of the Leningrad MPVO

Local air defense (LAD)- a system for mobilizing the civilian population to reduce human losses and preserve the country’s material resources in the face of massive enemy air attacks, during an uncivilized, total war. The need to create similar centralized state systems in all countries participating in World War II during the interwar period was dictated by the threat of the use of weapons of mass destruction (gases). The development of the domestic MPVO began with a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars from October 4, 1932. (Regulations on the air defense of the territory of the USSR). The main tasks of the air defense were: warning the population about the threat of an air attack; implementation of camouflage (especially blackout) of attack targets; liquidation of the consequences of the attack; preparation of bomb shelters and gas shelters; organizing first medical aid for victims; maintaining public order in areas under threat. The implementation of all these tasks was provided for by the forces and means of local authorities. The general management of the MPVO in the country was carried out by the People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs (since 1934 - the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR), and within the boundaries of military districts - by their command. In 1940, the Main Directorate of the MPVO (1940–1949 was headed by Lieutenant General V.V. Osokin) was subordinated and included in the system of the NKVD-MVD of the USSR. Personnel training for MPVO was carried out at special MPVO courses, and training of the population was carried out through the training network of public defense organizations. Financing of exercises and other activities of the MPVO was carried out from the local budget.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, an important role in the mobilization of air defense was played by the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated July 2, 1941 “On universal compulsory training of the population for air defense,” according to which all Soviet citizens from 16 years of age had to acquire the necessary knowledge of air defense. In addition, men from 16 to 60 years old and women from 18 to 50 years old were required to belong to self-defense groups. At all enterprises and institutions, self-defense groups were created at the rate of one group (15 people) per 100–300 workers and employees, and in residential buildings - per 200–500 people. The MPVO fighters were not military personnel and received only tools and special equipment centrally.

Heads of the Leningrad MPVO

1932 - 1933 - division commander Rybkin

1933 - 1937 - division commander Kosmachev

1937 - 1938 - Colonel Karavaev V.P.

Since 1938, Colonel (since 1942 Major General) Lagutkin Emelyan Sergeevich was appointed head of the Leningrad MPVO.

Lagutkin Emelyan Sergeevich (1900–1983) - military leader, major general (1942). Awarded two Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Star and many medals.

Emelyan Sergeevich Lagutkin was born on August 19, 1900 in the village of Sloboda, Dubensky district, Tula region, into a peasant family.

In 1921, he was drafted into the Red Army and sent to study at the Tula School of Junior Commanders. In 1924 he graduated from the Military Institute of Physical Culture. In 1936, the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze in Moscow. Served in the organs of the OGPU - NKVD. In 1937–1938 participated in the Spanish Civil War, was a corps adviser.

Since 1938 - Deputy Chairman of the Leningrad City Executive Committee - Head of the Local Air Defense (LAD) of Leningrad (until 1948). He was involved in preparing the city for defense against enemy air attacks.

Under him, the headquarters of the MPVO was formed, to which the following were directly subordinate:

• emergency recovery battalions that formed mobile detachments thrown into dangerous areas (for example, a regiment of university students);
• city ​​services: police, firefighters, medical services, transport, etc.;
• heads of district MPVO (deputy chairman of district executive committees) with their headquarters, to whom they reported:
• heads of anti-aircraft defense facilities;
• district services of MPVO.

The work of household self-defense units was organized in local police departments.

Even during the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939–1940. Leningrad's air defense demonstrated high combat readiness; these were the best pre-war results achieved during training and exercises of air defense formations and the population: 143 stationary first aid stations were equipped and prepared for deployment, 1,117 bomb shelters were prepared; There were about 133 thousand MPVO fighters, including over 14 thousand people in precinct commands, 45 thousand people at installations, 20 thousand in service formations, 49 thousand in self-defense groups, 3 thousand in Red Cross squads . Human; Almost the entire urban population was trained in the rules of air defense and chemical defense.

On June 22, 1941, at 03:00, the personnel of the city, district and district air defense headquarters were assembled, and from 10:00, under the guise of exercises, the deployment of forces and means of the Leningrad air defense began. From July 23, 1941, round-the-clock duty was established on the roofs and attics of residential and industrial buildings, and active measures began to prepare the city for air attacks: by the end of August alone, 3040 self-defense groups were formed in residential buildings, which consisted of about 90 thousand people, and in December the number of shelters increased almost 3.5 times.

The first air bombs were dropped on September 6, 1941, and almost daily artillery shelling began in December. From September to December 1941, MPVO units eliminated about 12 thousand fires caused by bombs and shells, and rescued 3,260 people from the ruins of houses. In total during the Great Patriotic War for 1941–1945. The MPVO carried out a huge amount of work. Only by the forces of local commands, and then MPVO battalions: about 7 million explosive objects were discovered, neutralized and destroyed, 1,152 large fires and 16 thousand fires were eliminated; 6554 rubbles were cleared; 3,968 people were pulled out from the rubble and rescued; assistance was provided to 33,782 people; 1,300 protective structures were constructed and repaired; 2,118 residential buildings, 24 medical institutions, 81 schools, 393 communal and 26 industrial buildings were repaired and restored; More than 200 km of railway tracks were restored, and, sad statistics, 318 thousand corpses were buried.

The losses of Leningrad MPVO personnel amounted to 4,577 people, including: killed, died from wounds, died while performing missions - 345; wounded - 454; missing - 320; died from dystrophy - 3458 people.

For the courage and heroism shown by the personnel of the Leningrad MPVO during the Great Patriotic War, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 2, 1944, the MPVO of the city of Leningrad was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

On December 6, 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a Resolution on presenting the Red Banner Air Defense Forces of Leningrad with the Battle Banner - as a symbol of military honor, valor and glory.

In 1948–1949 - Lagutkin Emelyan Sergeevich Head of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Leningrad and the Leningrad Region. In 1949–1950 - Deputy Head of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Kaluga Region. Since 1950 - in reserve.

In 1952 he was arrested and was under investigation for the “Leningrad case.” Released in May 1953. Since 1953 - in party and public work. Author of a number of articles, including memoirs.

His name was given to a street in St. Petersburg ( General Lagutkin street). There is a memorial plaque on the house where he lived ( st. Tchaikovsky, house 10).

The Museum of the Red Banner Local Air Defense (KMPVO) of Leningrad was opened on the school premises on April 29, 1976. During the Great Patriotic War, the school building housed companies of the 339th separate city battalion of the Leningrad MPVO.

The exposition of the school museum tells about the combat activities of the Red Banner local air defense of Leningrad, starting from its creation. The museum contains memories of veteran MPVO fighters about their activities during the war. The MPVO fighters during the siege of Leningrad were mainly girls and women. It was they who had to, with their hands worn to the point of blood, manually scatter multi-meter rubble, hearing the groans and cries of gasping people, stand for hours on observation towers when bombs and shells exploded over the city, and during duty, which did not stop day or night, at the first signal rush to the hotbeds of destruction and provide assistance to the Leningraders.

After the war, MPVO fighters restored the city destroyed by the Nazis and cleared mines. This activity is reflected in the exhibition of the school museum.

The museum's exposition is used by school teachers to conduct museum-pedagogical classes, history lessons, local history, life safety, drawing and other subjects. The museum conducts excursions for students, parents and school guests.

The Council of Veterans of the KMPVO of the Central (Smolninsky) region has been working at the school museum for many years. Veteran soldiers of the MPVO take an active part in the civic and patriotic education of students.

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“ACCEPTED” “APPROVED”

By decision of the pedagogical council, Director of GBOU SKOU (VIII type) No. 18

GBOU SKOU (VIII type) No. 18 of the Central Central District of St.

St. Petersburg district of St. Petersburg

Protocol No. 1

No. 237-k-03

POSITION

about the school museum

"Museum of the Red Banner Local Anti-Aircraft

defense (KMPVO) of Leningrad"

State budgetary special (correctional) educational institution for students, pupils with disabilities “special (correctional) secondary school

(VIII type) No. 18" Central district of St. Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

1 . General provisions.

1.1. The School Museum of the Red Banner Local Air Defense (KMPVO) of Leningrad is a structural subdivision of GBOU SKOU (VIII type) No. 18 of the Central District of St. Petersburg.

The Museum of the Red Banner Local Air Defense (KMPVO) of Leningrad (hereinafter referred to as the museum) operates on the basis of the Law of the Russian Federation on Education, Resolution of the All-Russian Socialist Federation of the Russian Federation No. 3267-1 of July 10, 1992, Law of the Russian Federation of the All-Russian Socialist Federation No. 3513 of October 9, 1992 “Fundamentals legislation of the Russian Federation on culture" and regulatory documents on the fund of state museums of Russia.

1.2. Certificate of compliance with the status of “Museum of an educational institution” No. 84 – since / 2009, issued by the Education Committee of St. Petersburg in May 2009. Museum passport No. 84 – p / 2009, May 2009.

1.3. The museum is a systematized, thematic collection of authentic monuments to the history of the Great Patriotic War and the Siege of Leningrad, assembled, preserved and exhibited in accordance with current rules.

The basis of search and collecting activities is the local history principle.

1.4. The museum was created on April 27, 1976 by veterans of the MPVO of St. Petersburg, teachers, students, with the participation of members of the public.

2. Basic Concepts

2.1. The profile of the museum is military history. The museum collection is dedicated to the activities of the Local Air Defense fighters in besieged Leningrad.

2.2. A museum item (exhibit) is a monument to the history of the Great Patriotic War and the siege of Leningrad, received by the museum and recorded in the inventory book and file cabinet.

2.3. A museum collection is a scientifically organized collection of museum objects (exhibits), historical, scientific, auxiliary and archival materials.

2.4. Acquisition of museum collections is the activity of a museum in identifying, collecting, recording and describing museum objects (exhibits).

2.5. The inventory book is the main document for recording museum items (exhibits).

3 . Goals and objectives of the school “Museum of KMPVO Leningrad”

3.1. Main goal The museum's activities are to create optimal conditions for students and teachers to use the museum collection for the education, training and social adaptation of students with disabilities based on the relationship and continuity in historical and patriotic education and socialization of children with developmental problems in primary, secondary and high school , as well as in the “Special Child” classes.

Formation in students of love for the Motherland and respect for war and labor veterans. Maintaining long-standing traditions of the museum.

3.2. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

1. The use of museum materials in organizing and conducting the educational process.
2. Protection and promotion of monuments and memorial sites in St. Petersburg related to the activities of the KMPVO.
3. Active excursion - mass work with students, the population, close communication with veterans and public associations of the KMPVO.
4. Formation of the school museum fund and ensuring its preservation.

1. Correct deviations in intellectual development (thinking, memory, attention, speech).
2. Develop the ability to establish the sequence of events and cause-and-effect relationships; develop students' cognitive abilities.
3. Develop communication skills.

1. Contents and forms of work

4.1. The KMPVO School Museum in its activities is guided by the following documents:

– Law of the Russian Federation on Education.

– Resolution of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation No. 3267-1 of July 10, 1992

– Law of the Russian Federation VSRF No. 3513 of 09.10.1992 “Fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on culture.”

– Letter of the Ministry of Education of Russia No. 28-51-181/16 dated March 12, 2003 “On the activities of museums of educational institutions.”

– Regulatory documents on the fund of state museums of Russia.

4.2. The museum takes part in planned re-certifications, exhibitions, competitions, shows, and is included in the programs of the military-patriotic and youth movement. Actively participates in work with veterans of the Great Patriotic War, veterans of the Moscow Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

4.3. Museum Council.

Composition of the School Museum Council - 9 people: 5 students, 3 WWII veterans, deputy school director for educational work.

Activities of the Museum Council:

– studies historical, literary and other sources relevant to the museum’s profile;

– keeps records of funds in the inventory book, ensures the safety of museum exhibits;

– preparation and conduct of excursions;

– work with museum exhibits and documents;

– creates and updates expositions and exhibitions;

– works in contact with the Palace of Youth Creativity, establishes contacts with state museums of the relevant profile, participates in the implementation of their tasks;

– establishes and maintains contact with school museums of the relevant profile.

1. Organization of museum activities

5.1. The creation of the museum is the result of purposeful, creative and search-and-research work of WWII veterans - MPVO fighters, schoolchildren and teachers on the topic: "Red Banner Local Air Defense (KMPVO) of Leningrad during the Siege":

– the asset of students and members of the Museum Council who are able to carry out

Systematic search, stock, exhibition, and

Patriotic work;

- leader and active participation in this work of the pedagogical

Collective;

– collected and registered in the inventory book of the collection

Museum items (exhibits) corresponding to a particular museum

Profile;

– exhibitions that correspond in content and design to modern

Requirements;

– premises and equipment ensuring the safety of museum objects

Items (exhibits) and conditions for their display;

– regulations on the museum, approved by the head of the educational institution

Institutions.

5.2. Profile of the Museum "Red Banner Local Air Defense"

(KMPVO) Leningrad" - military-historical. The issue of opening a museum is decided by the school’s Pedagogical Council.

5.3. Accounting and registration of the museum is carried out in accordance with the instructions on the certification of museums of educational institutions, approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.

1. Functions of the museum

The main functions of the museum are:

– implementation by museum means of activities for the education, training, development, and socialization of students;

– organization of civil-patriotic, cultural-educational, methodological, informational and other activities permitted by law;

– development of children's self-government.

1. Accounting and ensuring the safety of the school museum funds

The accounting of museum objects (exhibits) of the museum collection is carried out according to the main and archival funds:

– accounting of museum items from the main and archival fund (original and copies of monuments of material and spiritual culture: documents, photographs, books, letters, medals, orders, items from the time of the Second World War, etc.) is carried out in the inventory book of the museum’s receipts;

– assignment of museum objects (exhibits) and museum collections to the ownership of an educational institution is carried out by the owner in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation with the right of operational management;

– the director of the school and the head of the museum are responsible for the safety of the museum’s funds;

– storage in the museum of explosive and other items that threaten the life and safety of people is strictly prohibited;

– storage of firearms and bladed weapons, items made of precious metals and stones is carried out in accordance with current legislation;

– museum objects (exhibits), the safety of which cannot be ensured by the museum, are transferred for storage to the nearest or specialized state museum or archive.

1. Management of the activities of the "Museum of the Red Banner Local Air Defense (KMPVO) of Leningrad"

8.1. Direct management of the practical activities of the museum is carried out by the head of the museum, appointed by order of the school.

8.2. The current work of the museum is carried out by the Museum Council and the Veterans Council.

8.3. In order to assist the museum, a council of assistance or a board of trustees can be organized.

1. Reorganization (liquidation) of the school museum

9.1. The issue of reorganization (liquidation) of the school museum, as well as the fate of its collections, is decided by the founder in agreement with the higher education authority.

9.2. To transfer the school museum funds to a state or public museum or archive, a special museum commission is created.

9.3. Upon closing, the museum’s passport and certificate are transferred to the Palace of Youth Creativity in St. Petersburg.

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Lagutkin Emelyan Sergeevich,

Major General,head of the Leningrad MPVO during the fascist blockade.

BLOCKAGE GENERAL.

Every year at the end of April, veterans - fighters of the Air Defense Forces meet in

school museum of the KMPVO, they remember their military youth, colleagues and comrades who died defending our city.

But there is a person whom all MPVO veterans know and love - this is the organizer and head of the Leningrad MPVO during the fascist blockade, Major GeneralLagutkin Emelyan Sergeevich.

Lagutkin Emelyan Sergeevich was bornAugust 19, 1900in the village of Sloboda, Dubensky district, Tula region, in a peasant family.

His father, Sergei Lazorevich Lagutkin, was a participant in the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

Emelyan Sergeevich began his career at the age of 13. He worked in Moscow as a laborer. In Tula - as a loader at the Provincial Food Committee and as a worker at the Tula Arms Factory.

In 1921 he was drafted into the Red Army. He was sent to study at the Tula School of Junior Commanders, and then to the Military Institute of Physical Education, from which he graduated in 1924.

In 1926, E.S. Lagutkin was accepted as a member of the party (VKP (b)).

Autumn 1938 Emelyan Sergeevich Lagutkin was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Leningrad City Executive Committee, head of the city's Local Air Defense.

He had just returned from Spain, where he received the Order of the Red Banner. Saw massive bombings of Barcelona and Addis Ababa. He understood well the role of the civilian population during air raids. Colonel Lagutkin knew: it was necessary to organize a massive system of repulsing the enemy. And training of the population in air defense methods began in institutes, workshops, households and schools.

All this was useful during the war. City leaders supported his ideas. Work was in full swing. The Nazis dropped the first high-explosive bomb on Leningrad on July 18, 1941. The first shell exploded in the city

September 4, 1941. There were 900 days of blockade and 611 days of shelling ahead. Ahead there was truly inhuman tension at the anti-aircraft defense control panel.

In the most desperate moments of the blockade, residents, MPVO fighters, and firefighters saw Lagutkin’s short figure nearby.

...The command post of the city's Local Air Defense was located in the basement of an old building with very strong masonry. The house often shook from nearby explosions. But this has never happened before. It seemed to everyone that the floor had disappeared from under their feet, and the dim lights began to blink alarmingly.

– Explosion at Rzhevka station.

Lagutkin knew what Rzhevka was. There are now several trains with shells, mines, and explosives. The black Emka rushes through the silent city, diving through the snowdrifts.

The fire has already engulfed an area of ​​one and a half hectares. Twenty fire sources were identified simultaneously. An avalanche of fragments and fire rages over Rzhevka. You can't hesitate. The remaining ammunition will be destroyed. Anti-aircraft defense soldiers strictly follow the orders of their commander. Tragedy averted.

Where else is the black Emka going?

Major hit in Gostiny Dvor. More than a hundred people were killed, dozens of wounded were buried under rubble. Several pieces were thrown here. The source of defeat, they report to Lagutkin, is so complex that getting to those buried alive is almost unthinkable.

For four days, the MPVO battalion has been fighting for the lives of people trapped under the rubble. They manage to provide them with food, water, medicine and blankets. Several dozen people were saved. Only one fighter Nikolaev pulled out six through a narrow hole...

And again the black Emka rushes to where it is most difficult.

For military services, on January 2, 1942, Emelyan Sergeevich Lagutkin was awarded the military rank of major general.

It was a very difficult day when, after looking through the next “combat note,” Lagutkin became convinced that out of 18 thousand personnel in the Leningrad MPVO, no more than two thousand remained. The rest died from their wounds or starved to death. And it was on this day that he was called to the front headquarters.

“The situation is very serious,” they told him. It was decided to take all the soldiers from the MPVO. We are mobilizing women for your battalions. Eighteen thousand people. Accept, teach, put into operation.

Male MPVO fighters went to the front line, and young Leningrad women settled in several schools where barracks were hastily equipped. Women are fighters.

Soon the girls became real air defense warriors. Disciplined, skillful, fearless sappers, observers, scouts, demolitions, medics...

At the “air raid” signal, air defense fighters rushed out into the street. They worked selflessly in the shelled area, saving and restoring everything possible and impossible.

Great happiness for the commander of the Leningrad MPVO was the complete lifting of the blockade of the city.

At one of the meetings of MPVO veterans, Emelyan Sergeevich said:“Perhaps, there has never been such a case in history that military units were staffed by women. Now, remembering the past, I would directly say: “Before our women, we, men, must take off our hats and bow.”

Major General Lagutkin Emelyan Sergeevich for services to the Fatherlandawarded many government awards: two Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, Order of the Red th Stars and many medals.

In 1950, the honored general was sent into retirement.

1952 – the famous “Leningrad affair”. Hundreds of blockade-hardened fighters were declared “enemies of the people.” In November, E.S. was also arrested. Lagutkin.

“What happened next,” Emelyan Sergeevich told his relatives, “remembers like a nightmare: interrogations, demands to confess, bullying...”

At the very beginning of May 1953, old and sick, he returned home.

Hundreds of elderly women came to see him off on his last journey. Many cried, repeating: “What a wonderful man our Father was!” Everyone who served under Major General E.S. Lagutkin noted: “He was a fair commander... Smart, knowledgeable... He understood people well, everyone loved him.” Emelyan Sergeevich was buried at the Bogoslovskoye cemetery.

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Lagutkin Emelyan Sergeevich – major general, head of the Leningrad MPVO during the Great Patriotic War

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GBOU Special (correctional) secondary school (VIII type) No. 18 of the Central district of St. Petersburg MUSEUM OF THE RED Banner LOCAL AIR DEFENSE (KMPVO) LENINGRAD MUSEUM OF KMPVO LENINGRAD SCHOOL No. 18

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TRADITIONAL MEETINGS WITH VETERANS ARE HOLD IN THE MUSEUM ANNUALLY ON MEMORABLE DATES FOR THE SIEGE OF LENINGRAD 2008 2009 2010 65th Anniversary of Victory

2011 2012 2013. 70 years of lifting the blockade 2014 2015. 71st anniversary of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad

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L.P. Zvonova

GBOU school No. 18 of the Central district of St. Petersburg.

FEATURES OF WORKING WITH THE SOFTWARECIVIC-PATRIOTIC EDUCATION AND SOCIALIZATIONSTUDENTS WITH CHILDHOOD AUTISM IN A TYPE VIII CORRECTIONAL SCHOOLON THE EXAMPLE OF USING THE POTENTIAL OF THE SCHOOL MUSEUM OF KMPVO LENINGRAD

The school museum of the Red Banner local air defense of Leningrad was opened on April 27, 1976. Its exhibition tells about the specific work of the MPVO units, the courage and dedication of soldiers shown in the performance of their official duty to protect the population and preserve the urban economy of Leningrad during the fascist blockade.

Our school educates children with early childhood autism (ECA). Currently there are two classes – 6th and 9th. The first students came to school in 2008 in the 5th grade. Now these children are studying in the 9th grade. Over the past four years, sufficient experience has been accumulated in social and correctional work with these students.

Autism is a mental disorder in which the sufferer has difficulty communicating with and understanding others. In autism, certain segments of the brain cannot work clearly and coherently. Most people suffering from this disease will always have difficulties in their relationships with the outside world. Moreover, the symptoms of such a disease can vary greatly in intensity in each specific case. Moreover, over time, individual manifestations and behavior in such children may change.

Students with developmental disabilities first came to the school museum in the 5th grade. The behavior of most of them was inappropriate: they closed their eyes because... they were afraid to look at stands and exhibits related to life during the siege of Leningrad; They turned away from the guide and did not want to hear about the activities of the MPVO fighters. In some children, inappropriate behavior was expressed in affective outbursts.

Therefore, there was a need to develop the necessary organizational and pedagogical conditions to realize the internal potential of autistic children in a special (correctional) school of type VIII. In particular, the creation of a special program for the activities of the school museum of the KMPVO Leningrad for students with early childhood autism, which took into account the specific individual characteristics and needs of each child.

Patriotic and humanistic education of schoolchildren based on universal human values ​​is today one of the from priority tasks of our society. Therefore especiallyrelevant and appropriateimplementation of a program at school for children with complex disabilities, which leads to disruption of connections with society and culture as a source of development. Such students are not able to perceive social norms and requirements on their own.

This program aims to purpose to create optimal conditions for students and teachers in using the museum collection for the education, training and social adaptation of students with early childhood autism based on the relationship and continuity in historical and patriotic education and socialization of children with disabilities in grades 5-9. Formation in students of love for the Motherland and respect for war and labor veterans.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

1. Fostering patriotism and a culture of inheritance, ensuring the inclusion of the younger generation in the process of reproducing the values ​​of patriotism, St. Petersburg and world culture.
2. The use of museum materials in the organization and conduct of the educational process, designed for a long period.
3. Activation of students' cognitive activity.
4. Active excursion-mass work with students.

Correctional and educational work with autistic children is represented by a system of psychological and pedagogical measures aimed at overcoming or weakening deficiencies in their mental development.

Correctional and developmental tasks:

1. Establishing emotional contact.
2. Correction of deviations in intellectual development (thinking, memory, attention, speech).
3. Development of skills to establish the sequence of events and cause-and-effect relationships; development of students' cognitive abilities.
4. Help overcome inappropriate forms of behavior.
5. Development of communication skills.

The construction of correctional and educational work with autistic children in accordance with the named tasks ensures the most complete disclosure of the potential development opportunities of an autistic child.

Expected results:

1. Forming in students love for the Motherland, respect for war and labor veterans through meetings and providing specific assistance to veterans.
2. Development and conduct of museum-pedagogical classes for students with developmental disabilities of different ages in accordance with their intellectual problems.
3. Development and implementation of integrated lessons in the museum on general education subjects (literature, history of the Fatherland, life safety, drawing, labor) using the museum collection.
4. Students’ ability to communicate with other students and the people around them.
5. Adequate behavior and correct reaction to historical messages and facts.

To implement the program of activities of the school museum of the KMPVO Leningrad for students with early childhood autism (EDA), it is advisable to use the following forms of work:

• Conducting special museum-pedagogical classes and games based on the exposition of the school museum.
• Thematic historical and local history games and competitions based on the school.
• Meetings and conversations with veterans of the Great Patriotic War.
• Competitions and exhibitions of children's creative works (crafts, drawings, essays, etc.).
• Mass memory events, participation in city events “Parcel to a Soldier”, “Postcard to a Veteran”, etc.
• Excursions to places of military glory of MPVO soldiers and to the State Museums of the city.

Autistic children often have problems identifying sensations. Tactile sensations and touch are developed in games. For example, in the game “Journey to the Past,” children search in the museum for objects that could be found in every home of Leningraders during the siege: a pincushion, an iron, a smokehouse, a loudspeaker, a pot, a tobacco pouch, medals, etc. You can pick up all these objects and feel their physical and aesthetic qualities. Visual and auditory sensations in children with RDA are improved in games with the surrounding attributes of the museum space, therefore, saturation of the environment with a variety of objects gives schoolchildren with complex mental, physical and mental development disorders more visual and kinesthetic stimuli for development. Individualization of the upbringing process is built taking into account the dynamics of adaptability of autistic children. Direct interaction of the head of the school museum with teachers and specialists of the educational institution in the interests of stimulating children in the educational process, as well as the formation of a pedagogical culture in the microenvironment of raising children. Our experience in teaching and raising children with complex mental and physical development disorders shows that the rehabilitation of intellectual and motor disorders can have positive dynamics in all museum and pedagogical classes conducted. Students began to experience less difficulty in mastering drawing skills and motor skills, they showed interest in the creative process in general, fine motor skills improved, their passive vocabulary increased, and their active vocabulary was replenished with new words. Problems in behavior in the museum premises and within the school walls in general have decreased significantly. Children visit city museums, where they are actively and adequately involved in the work proposed by the guide. And yet, some of the behavior problems (inappropriate crying and laughing, outbursts of aggression) could not be corrected. Probably because they are caused by the individual characteristics of the child’s psychophysical state.

Comparison of the results of educational work using museum pedagogy, carried out at the beginning of school (5th grade) and in 9th grade, makes it possible to see the positive dynamics of development of coordination, motor skills and spatial orientation skills in students with RDA. Speech and communication skills have also improved; The level of general development of mentally retarded children with childhood autism has significantly increased.

Thus, students with complex developmental defects are a special category of children who have their own specific characteristics, the consideration of which makes it possible for children to develop in their entirety. As a result of systematic educational, educational and correctional work, it is possible to overcome negative trends and gradually integrate students with RDA, who have complex mental and physical development disorders, into society. At different paces, with different results, but each student can gradually move towards more complex and correct interaction with people, as well as respond adequately and correctly to historical messages and facts.

Literature

1. Bardyshevskaya M.K., Lebedinsky V.V. Diagnosis of emotional disorders in children. – M., 2003.

2. Weiss Thomas J. “How to help a child?” Moscow 1992.

3. Nikolskaya O.S. "Problems of teaching autistic children" Defectology 2*1995.

5. Morozova S.S. Speech development in children within the framework of behavioral therapy./ Autism. Methodological recommendations for correctional work./ Edited by Morozov S.A. – M., 2002.

6. Morozova S.S. Autism: correctional work for severe and complicated forms. – M., 2010.

7. Dictionary - reference book on defectology, Moscow 1998.

APPLICATION for participation in the seminar

Participant information

Surname	Zvonova
Name	Lyudmila
Surname	Pavlovna
City	Saint Petersburg
Place of work (full name of organization, university)	State budgetary special (correctional) educational institution for students and pupils with disabilities “special (correctional) secondary school (VIII type) No. 18” of the Central district of St. Petersburg
Job title	Head of the school museum, history teacher
Academic degree, academic title	No
Direction of the seminar	Educational work with children suffering from complicated forms of autism
Form of participation (publication, presentation at a conference, poster presentation, listener)	Publication
Title of the report (publication)	Features of work on civic-patriotic education and socialization of students with childhood autism in correctional educationschool of the VIII type on the example of using the potential of the school museum of the KMPVO Leningrad
Mailing address	index – 193015, st. Kavalergardskaya, house No. 9-11-13 letter “A”.
Email address	E-mail - sksh 18@ yandex. ru.
Phones	275-62-67	fax - 275-62-67
The need to stay in a hotel (payment for accommodation at the expense of the traveling party)

Preview:

We sacredly believed in our Victory!

The defense of Leningrad is full of examples of courage, resilience and heroism not only of the Red Army soldiers, but also of the local air defense fighters. Soldiers of special formations of the MPVO ensured the normal life of the city and the uninterrupted operation of enterprises. They quickly eliminated the consequences of enemy air raids and artillery shelling, extinguished fires, restored broken communications, water supply, electricity, provided first aid to the wounded, repaired roads, neutralized unexploded bombs and artillery shells.
Our school has a museum of the Red Banner Local Air Defense (KMPVO) of Leningrad. It is dedicated to the girls who served in the Leningrad Air Defense Forces during the most difficult time for the city in its entire history - during the 900-day siege. The veterans elected Lyudmila Vasilievna Kovaleva as the Chairman of the Museum Veterans Council. Lyudmila Vasilievna Kovaleva (Vasilevskaya) is a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, a soldier of the 339th Regional Brigade of the MPVO of the Smolninsky region, whose companies were located on the premises of our school. (Appendix 2).

Lyudmila Vasilievna was born on September 20, 1924 in Leningrad. When the war began, she was only 16 years old. Before and during the war, she lived on Suvorovsky Prospekt, building 40-b. We know her very well. For many years, Lyudmila Vasilievna has been coming to our school and talking about the war and the siege of Leningrad. It's very interesting to listen to her. Therefore, we decided to write about Lyudmila Vasilievna Kovaleva. We recorded her memories of the siege. We really want as many people as possible to know about Lyudmila Vasilievna and her life during the days of the war and the siege. This is an amazing woman. Despite her advanced age, she is full of life and optimism.

The war found Lyudochka Vasilevskaya in her hometown - Leningrad.

« Smolninsky district is my hometown.

Here I was born, grew up, studied at school No. 12 (now it is school No. 163), and was friends with girlfriends. We had a big yard. Lots of guys. We all grew up in the yard and lived together. We had a “Red Corner” at the housing office. And even in rain and snow, winter and summer, we had shelter.

The older girls and boys brought a gramophone and records here on Saturdays and danced.“Tired Sun”, “If you love, forgive” - these are our favorite tangos, sung by Utyosov.

School and technical school ended and the holidays began. Tomorrow is Sunday. We decided to go out of town, to Pargolovo, to the third lake. The nature there is amazingly beautiful: you stand on a mountain, and below is a small, round lake, a lot of greenery and a playground.

22nd of June a company of nine people gathered. The day is sunny and warm. Our people are cheerful and noisy. They swam, sunbathed, played ball, ran races, baked potatoes over a fire, and fooled around.

And in the evening we came to the tram ring in Ozerki and saw a crowd of people. People silently and tensely listened to the announcer's voice from a loudspeaker mounted on a pole.

"What's happened?" – we asked. But trouble happened! War! Our carefree life is over! So suddenly war burst into our lives.

Our boys immediately became serious, even matured, and they all agreed at once to go to the military registration and enlistment office to sign up as volunteers for the front.

They were first trained in combat and military affairs and even how to wrap footcloths. Soon everyone was sent in a military train to the front. And not one of our guys returned home.

Peaceful life is over. Now a completely different life has begun - a military one. In this military life there were: a metronome, the howl of sirens, the roar of exploding shells and bombs, the groan of the wounded. This is how our harsh life has become.”

The primary formations of the Local Air Defense of the city on the Neva were self-defense groups of residential buildings, institutions and enterprises. Despite the difficult conditions of the blockade, especially in the winter of 1941-1942, they, together with the soldiers of the Leningrad Air Defense Forces, carried out their combat watch day and night, courageously and skillfully carried out tasks to protect factories, factories, and residential buildings from enemy air raids and artillery shelling.

Among the many pages of the Great Patriotic War, there are those that make your blood run cold.

The day of September 19, 1941 in Leningrad was not warm and sunny like autumn. At about sixteen o'clock the air raid alarm sounded. Fourth this day. Many residents took refuge in bomb shelters. Many, but not the staff of the evacuation hospital at the address: Suvorovsky Ave., 50-52. The night before, a large batch of wounded, about a thousand people, arrived here. Doctors, nurses, and attendants were knocked off their feet. And then there’s the anxiety...

Only one enemy bomber flew over the hospital. But he hit right on target. Several dozen high-explosive and incendiary bombs hit the hospital. The building burst into flames like a match.

A terrible picture appeared: the wounded and doctors were burning alive, jumping from the windows to save themselves... Firefighters caught them on blankets, carried them out in their arms until all the entrances and exits were closed by fire.

The consequences of the fire were terrible: about 600 people were burned alive or died. For 54 years, their ashes lay in a mass grave with an unnamed monument in the form of a large gray building on Suvorovsky Avenue.

In memory of that terrible day, May 9, 1995, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Victory, a memorial plaque was unveiled on the wall of the hospital, on which it is written in gold letters:

In loving memory

wounded, sick

and medical personnel

evacuation hospital,

tragically killed

in this building

during the raid

enemy aircraft.

This plaque appeared thanks to the care and perseverance of eyewitnesses of this tragedy - veterans of the Great Patriotic War. The most persistent of them was Nina Vasilievna Kostenetskaya.(Appendix 2).

From the memoirs of Lyudmila Vasilyevna Kovaleva (Vasilevskaya):
“When the war started, I was included in a self-defense group. Such groups were organized in all households of the city.

I quickly stood up at my post at the door of the main entrance, which faced Suvorovsky Prospekt. Passersby were ordered to take shelter in a bomb shelter. The street is empty. The weather was good. The sky is clear and cloudless. But it would have been better if it had been pouring rain that day... I stand and carefully watch the sky. Suddenly I hear a dull noise. I see a plane approaching, from which two black dots have separated.

“Yes, these are bombs!” - flashed through my head, and in horror I ran into the front door and pressed myself against the elevator. The house rocked. I heard a strong roar and there was an ominous silence.

I ran out into the street. At the site of the house where the evacuation hospital was located, there was continuous black smoke with flames. Through the smoke I saw white spots on the road. These were pillows and sheets thrown from the hospital windows by the blast wave.

She ran closer to the building. He was enveloped in smoke and flames were shooting out of the windows. A stream of water flowed along Red Cavalry Street (now Kavalergardskaya). It was a water pipe that was blown up.

Then I saw a wounded man in the third floor window. He rushed about, not knowing what to do. By this time, the firefighters had arrived, the sanitary workers and the anti-aircraft defense soldiers had come running. The wounded, who were rescued from the utter hell, were sheltered in neighboring houses. But few managed to escape. The inside of the building collapsed. It smelled like burning for a very long time.

On this day, I saw the selfless work of the Air Defense Forces fighters and sanitary guards. Soon I myself became an air defense fighter.”

In 1942, Kovaleva (Vasilevskaya) Lyudmila Vasilievna was drafted into the army and until the end of the war she steadfastly endured all the hardships of the war and the blockade. Their company was initially located in Smolny, in the premises where the Institute of Noble Maidens was located before the revolution. During the blockade, the Main Headquarters of the Leningrad Front, the City Party Committee and the City Executive Committee were located there. Then the soldiers were transferred to the school building on Red Cavalry Street, where she served until the end of the war.

From the memoirs of Lyudmila Vasilyevna Kovaleva (Vasilevskaya):

“I remember what our room (barracks) looked like in which we lived during our service. She was in a school classroom on the second floor. Only one light bulb burned dimly under the ceiling. Opposite the door, in the partition, near the window there was an iron stove - a potbelly stove, the pipe from which was led out into the window. When it was cold, we heated it with coal. There was a large table in the center of the room, with chairs around the table. 10-12 beds were located along the perimeter walls, there were bedside tables between the beds, one for two beds. We kept our personal belongings in the storage room, which was located at the end of the corridor. What they were allowed to keep with them was hidden in the closet. These cabinets are still in classrooms today. I also remember, to the right of the entrance, there was a small mirror hanging on the wall. The girls tried to decorate their room. The bedside tables were covered with knitted or embroidered napkins. The room was always clean, the floors were washed, there was nothing unnecessary on the bedside tables and beds. The orderliness was monitored by the orderly, and the commanders checked.

From here we went on missions and returned here after shelling, bombing, duty on towers, clearing rubble, transporting and dressing the wounded and many other works that had to be done in a besieged city at the front.” (Annex 1).

Systematic artillery shelling and bombing of Leningrad continued from September 6, 1941 until October 17, 1943. During 300 air raids, enemy aircraft dropped about 5 thousand high-explosive and more than 100 thousand incendiary bombs on the city. For 611 days (an average of 245 shells per day) artillery shelling was carried out. Many months of the siege of the city did not break the fighting spirit of Leningraders. They strengthened the stamina, endurance, perseverance and will of the working people, and enriched the combat experience of the MPVO formations and self-defense groups.

From the memoirs of Lyudmila Vasilyevna Kovaleva (Vasilevskaya):

“Surprisingly, during the siege, the Leningraders simply and routinely did the work assigned to them, although at any moment their lives could have been cut short by a bomb or a shell. But there was no panic, whining, or confusion: we sacredly believed in our imminent Victory. And they did everything for the front. Our people have always been able to unite in times of danger for the country and rise to its defense. And so it was: everyone, young and old, even children, rose up to defend their city, their home.”

For service in the MPVO In 1944, Lyudmila Vasilievna was awarded the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad.”

After the war, she graduated from the Higher School of Physical Education, worked at school and for 25 years as a teacher in a kindergarten, and then as a head. She got married, gave birth and raised a son. Has a granddaughter and great-grandsons.

Kovaleva Lyudmila Vasilievna is still in service. For many years she has been the chairman of the Veterans Council of the school museum and has been doing a lot of patriotic work. He actively participates in the activities of the school museum, visiting with the activists the Bogoslovskoye cemetery, where the heroes of the Great Patriotic War are buried. Lyudmila Vasilievna is amazingly kind and sympathetic. All the students in our school know her. Despite her age and state of health, she is always ready to help anyone who needs it. (Appendices 3-5).

LIST OF SOURCES AND REFERENCES:

1. Exposition, documents and photographs of the Leningrad KMPVO Museum, School No. 18, Central District of St. Petersburg.
2. Documents and photographs from the personal archive of L.V. Kovaleva
3. Memoirs of Kovaleva L.V.
4. Collection of memories of veterans V.O. war. We have come out of the blockade days. St. Petersburg 1993
5. Collection. There was a city - a front, there was a blockade... L. 1984
6. Collection of memories of veterans V.O. war - air defense fighters. MPVO girls. St. Petersburg 2011
7. A. V. Gusev. Self-defense groups of the MPVO of besieged Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War. Collection of articles of the VII International Scientific and Practical Conference / International Scientific Research Center of Perm State Agricultural Academy. - Penza: RIO PGSHA, 2009. - 232 p. pp. 72 - 75.

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GBOU school No. 18 of the Central district of St. Petersburg A group of fighters from the 339th State Security Bureau of the MPVO near the school. 1944

Dear veterans, our dear women, girls of the MPVO! We congratulate you on the 40th anniversary of the KMPVO school museum and the 71st anniversary of the Great Victory over Nazi Germany. Students, teaching staff and the administration of school No. 18 of the Central District remember and honor the unprecedented feat of all who defended our city during the years of the siege during the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945. We sincerely wish you, our dear veterans, good health, love and respect.

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State budgetary educational institution secondary school No. 18

Central district of St. Petersburg

Address: index – 193015, st. Kavalergardskaya, house No. 9-11-13 letter “A”.

CONTACT INFORMATION

MUSEUM OF THE RED Banner LOCAL AIR DEFENSE (KMPVO) LENINGRAD

Passport No. 167/2014

Yudina Elena Nikolaevna - Deputy Director

schools for educational work

Email:

Yudina E.N. - [email protected]

Over the course of its centuries-old history, our people have endured many trials. The Great Patriotic War had no equal in the past in its scale, intensity, casualties, losses and destruction. And the more weighty and significant is our Victory in it, which in its results and consequences has world-historical significance.

The victory over Nazi Germany was the result of the joint efforts of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. But the main burden of the struggle against the shock forces of world reaction fell to the lot of the Soviet Union. It was on the Soviet-German front that the most fierce and decisive battles of the Second World War took place.

The path to Victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War was extremely difficult and bloody. The most difficult was its first period, when the enemy seized the strategic initiative and managed to break deep into our country. The territory he occupied contained areas of industry and agriculture that were most important in military and economic terms. Our economy has suffered enormous damage. The Nazis turned 1,710 cities and towns, more than 70 thousand villages and hamlets into ruins, and destroyed tens of thousands of kilometers of railways.

Together with all the people during the Great Patriotic War, police officers fought bravely at the front and worked selflessly in the rear. One of the largest and most advanced detachments of the country's internal affairs bodies were the bodies of the North-Western region of the USSR, covering the Leningrad, Pskov, Novgorod regions and the Karelo-Finnish SSR. Their activities took place in the specific conditions of besieged Leningrad and the protection of the most important communications connecting the port of Murmansk with the entire country, through which the main flow of goods arriving in the USSR was sent in accordance with agreements with countries allies of the anti-Hitler coalition.

The goals of Hitler's command

Hitler's command considered Leningrad - the second most important political, economic and cultural center of the country after Moscow, a major port and railway junction - as the most important object of its aggression. One of the three fascist military groups that crossed the borders of the USSR on June 22, 1941, Army Group Nord, was aimed at Leningrad.

Field Marshal F. Paulus subsequently wrote in his memoirs about the intentions and goals of the German command at the beginning of military operations against the USSR in 1941: “Particular importance was attached to the capture of Moscow in the OKB plans. However, the capture of Moscow had to be preceded by the capture of Leningrad. The capture of Leningrad pursued several military goals: the liquidation of the main bases of the Russian Baltic Fleet, the disabling of the military industry of this city and the liquidation of Leningrad as a concentration point for a counter-offensive against German troops advancing on Moscow.”

City blockade

In fact, the destruction of the civilian population of Leningrad by blockade was originally planned by the Nazis. Already on July 8, 1941, on the seventeenth day of the war, a very characteristic entry appeared in the diary of the Chief of the German General Staff, General Franz Halder:

“...The Fuhrer’s decision to raze Moscow and Leningrad to the ground is unshakable in order to completely get rid of the population of these cities, which otherwise we will then be forced to feed during the winter. The task of destroying these cities must be carried out by aviation. Tanks should not be used for this. This will be “a national disaster that will deprive not only Bolshevism of centers, but also Muscovites (Russians) in general.”

Hitler's plans were soon embodied in official directives of the German command. On August 28, 1941, General Halder signed an order from the High Command of the Wehrmacht Ground Forces to Army Group North on the blockade of Leningrad:

“...based on the directives of the Supreme High Command, I order:

1. Block the city of Leningrad with a ring as close to the city itself as possible in order to save our forces. Do not put forward demands for surrender.
2. In order for the city, as the last center of red resistance in the Baltic, to be destroyed as quickly as possible without major casualties on our part, it is forbidden to storm the city with infantry forces. After defeating the enemy's air defenses and fighter aircraft, his defensive and vital capabilities should be broken by destroying waterworks, warehouses, power supplies and power plants. Military installations and the enemy's ability to defend must be suppressed by fires and artillery fire. Every attempt by the population to escape through the encircling troops should be prevented, if necessary, with the use of weapons..."

As we see, according to the directives of the German command, the blockade was directed specifically against the civilian population of Leningrad. The Nazis did not need either the city or its inhabitants. The Nazis' fury towards Leningrad was terrifying.

“The poisonous nest of St. Petersburg, from which poison is pouring out into the Baltic Sea, must disappear from the face of the earth,” Hitler said in a conversation with the German ambassador in Paris on September 16, 1941. — The city is already blocked; Now all that remains is to fire at it with artillery and bomb until the water supply, energy centers and everything that is necessary for the life of the population are destroyed.”

The feat of the firefighters of besieged Leningrad

On June 22, 1941, the Great Patriotic War began. The first air raid alert was announced in Leningrad on the night of June 23.

The history of the heroic defense of Leningrad constituted one of the brightest pages in the chronicle of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The fascist German command attached great importance to the capture of Leningrad. Leningrad, already in the initial period of the war, became a front-line city. Already in July 1941, German troops of the Army “North” and “Center” invaded the Leningrad region, but were stopped in the area of ​​the Luga River, where fierce bloody battles took place and the offensive was suspended for almost a month. In August 1941, battles near Leningrad unfolded in almost all directions. The main blow was delivered on the southern approaches to the city. The Nazis operated on the territory of the Leningrad region, and on September 8, 1941, using their superiority in technology, they managed to capture the city of Shlisselburg, completing the encirclement of Leningrad from land.

Serious and difficult trials befell the firefighters of the city on the Neva. At the beginning of the war, the fire department was militarized and organized into units according to the administrative division of the city. They included city fire departments and facility fire brigades. In August 1941, district fire departments (RUPO) were organized, which united all fire departments within the districts. Fire protection, consolidated into regional units, became one of the MPVO services. The headquarters of the fire service of the city's MPVO was headed by: - ​​head of the service, Colonel M.K. Serikov, chief of staff - quartermaster 2nd rank B.I. Konchaev, commissioner - G.P. Petrov, deputy chiefs of staff - state security lieutenants V.I. Rumyantsev and G.G. Tarvid, Chief of Logistics - State Security Lieutenant M.N. Demyanenko and the head of communications - state security lieutenant V.Ya. Novikov. The leadership of the headquarters headed all areas of operational activity - prevention, fire fighting, equipment, communications, and material support.

The fire service of the MPVO Fire Department prepared the city for fire defense. In a short time, attics and courtyards of residential buildings, areas of industrial enterprises were cleared of flammable materials, sheds, storerooms, fences were demolished - everything that could feed the fire. A huge amount of sand was brought in and water containers were prepared. Wooden structures in attic spaces were treated with a fire retardant throughout. Much attention was paid to preparing and training the population to combat incendiary bombs.

Komsomolsky fire defense regiment of Leningrad

To help firefighters in August 1941, the Komsomol fire defense regiment of Leningrad was formed. The regiment was formed from students, high school students, and working youth. It consisted of 16 companies and 3 separate platoons with a total number of about 1,600 people; its units were stationed in all districts of Leningrad. The regiment was entrusted with preparing facilities for fire protection, systematically carrying out preventive work, eliminating fires and their consequences. Among the fighters of the regiment was Hero of the Soviet Union Volodya Ermak, a former fighter of the October company of the regiment, who repeated the feat of Alexander Matrosov in the battles for the Sinyavinsky Heights in June 1943. In March 1943, after breaking the blockade, soldiers of the Komsomol regiment were sent to procure fuel for Leningrad in the Tikhvin district of the Leningrad region. On August 6, 1943, by decision of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the regiment was disbanded, the personnel were sent to units of the Soviet Army, to the fire department and Lespromtrest.

The regiment's soldiers provided significant assistance to the career firefighters: they extinguished numerous fires and carried out preventive work. The deputy head of the political department of the UPR, regimental commissar S.S., was appointed commander of the regiment. Voronov, chief of staff - A. Frolov, commissar - M. Gitman In addition to extinguishing fires, the regiment's soldiers performed a variety of tasks: they built defensive structures, dismantled wooden houses for firewood, and worked in logging. The combat activities of the Komsomol members of the checkpoint during the Great Patriotic War are inscribed as a heroic page in the history of the defense of Leningrad.

Measures to prevent the development and spread of fires

To prevent the possibility of the development and spread of fires - this was primarily the focus of urgent actions to protect the city from fire; in a short time, fire brigades, with the most active assistance of the population, adapted a huge number of reservoirs for extinguishing. An effective means of neutralizing incendiary bombs and preventing the spread of fire was sand, which was even taken from the beach of the Peter and Paul Fortress.

It was very important to reduce the flammability of attic wooden structures. The State Institute of Applied Chemistry proposed a solution of superphosphate in water for this purpose. 90% of all attic structures in the city were coated with this coating twice. The training of the population and fire-fighting units in methods of defusing incendiary bombs and extinguishing fires has reached no less scope. Practical classes were held at enterprises, institutions, schools, and hospitals.

Among the measures to strengthen fire protection, an important role was assigned to the mass involvement of the population in the fire-fighting formations of the MPVO. By the beginning of September 1941, about 6,000 fire brigades had been created in industrial enterprises and more than 2,000 in households.

Fire at Badaevsky food warehouses

The day of September 8, when the blockade began, will forever remain in the memory of Leningraders. On the same day, fascist aviation carried out the first massive raid on Leningrad. The German command “marked” the encirclement of the city with a massive aerial bombardment. More than 6,000 incendiary and high-explosive bombs were dropped on the city, and 178 fires broke out that day. The target was mainly the Moscow region. The fire at the Badaevsky food warehouses was especially memorable. Numerous wooden buildings, crowded into a vast area, were literally bombarded with incendiary bombs. Fires broke out simultaneously in many places, and the fire quickly spread from one warehouse to another. Rising above the roofs of the houses, a huge column of fire and smoke was clearly visible outside the city. The warehouses were a large number of light plank structures without proper breaks, which instantly turned into one huge blazing fire. The fire was extinguished by 350 soldiers from paramilitary fire brigades, under continuous machine-gun fire from the Germans. Despite all the difficulties, the fire was localized after three hours. Although some of the food was saved, the enemy caused significant damage to the city's food supplies.

It was from this day that the garrison of the Leningrad fire brigade began to suffer losses.

Fires in the autumn and winter of 1941 and 1942

The fire of the hospital branch on Suvorovsky Prospekt on September 19 was very serious. The large five-story building in which the wounded were housed was hit by three large-caliber high-explosive bombs and many incendiary bombs, resulting in the collapse of three main walls facing the inside of a closed courtyard. Most of the staircases collapsed. Within a few minutes after the bombs exploded, the building turned into a huge fire. The wounded and hospital staff tried to escape through windows, breaks in the walls, and fell from a height of several floors. “It was a heartbreaking tragedy,” wrote eyewitnesses of those events. The bombs destroyed the water supply, and we had to pull fire hoses from distant hydrants. Firefighters fought the fire and carried out the wounded, acting quickly as the remaining parts of the building threatened to collapse. The battle with the fire lasted for almost 6 hours until firefighters managed to localize the fire. As a result of this barbaric raid, more than 600 wounded and medical personnel died.

Air raid alarms followed one after another. Fascist planes bombarded the city with incendiary bombs. Since the beginning of the war, more than 9 thousand fire-fighting units and protection groups have been organized in enterprises and residential buildings. Together with firefighters, they selflessly fought the fire and neutralized incendiary bombs. Not only adults, but also children took part in putting out the “lighters.” As a result of the dedicated work of firefighters and the population, 93% of incendiary bombs were neutralized. A large number of fires caused by bombing and shelling were eliminated by the population themselves and local fire units.

During September-November 1941, a large number of fires were extinguished under conditions of artillery shelling. Leningrad firefighters never waited for the air raid warning to go off. At the first signal they rushed to the fire. People died along the way, equipment broke down, but the fire was always caught at the very beginning. The firefighters of our city did not allow the fire to spread or turn into a natural disaster. Individual buildings suffered from fires, but there was no case where an entire industrial or residential block burned out.

The severe December frosts of 1941 arrived. The enemy temporarily stopped air raids. Difficult days have come for the besieged city. The city water supply froze. This affected the life of the city, and, first of all, the work of firefighters. Water had to be taken from the Neva. Some canals and ducts froze. Firefighting took place in the most unfavorable conditions.

On the night of January 12, 1942, a fire started in Gostiny Dvor. The fire quickly spread, engulfing shops, and the flames threatened the courtyard buildings. Four fire engines arrived, but there was no water in the hydrants. The Griboyedov Canal, located 600 meters away, froze almost to the bottom. Hungry and exhausted people were unable to lay the sleeves and break through the thick layer of ice on the canal. It was necessary to dismantle the building structures at the central entrance and on the sides of the Sadovaya and Perinnaya lines. Create gaps in structures. This was how the fire was localized. They extinguished this fire without water, covering the fire with snow and sand and defeated the fire.

It was during this first winter of the siege that new techniques, tactics and methods of fighting fires were born: creating ruptures in burning structures, using snow for extinguishing, introducing cold air to give the flames the desired direction.

Not only was there no water in the city, but there was no electricity and fuel. By the beginning of the blockade, part of the population was evacuated, leaving about 2 million people in Leningrad. Everyone needed food, warmth and light. The struggle for the minimum amount of heat has become a struggle for life. As during the Civil War, “potbelly stoves” came into everyday life: temporary stoves of various designs: from a large tin can to bulky structures made of iron, brick and various auxiliary materials. Along with them appeared “smokehouses” - primitive lamps of all kinds of fire hazardous types. This was the only possible way out of the difficult situation, but they put the city before an unprecedentedly serious fire threat. Weakened by hunger, people lost their caution in handling fire. Massive fires started in residential buildings.

We can recall other episodes of the blockade, where firefighters showed courage and heroism. This is the fire of the Central State Historical Archive (1941), at the Rzhevka railway station (1942), at the Krasny Neftyanik oil depot (1943) and many others. And there was not a single case where artillery shelling or bombing forced firefighters to retreat, stop working, or hide in cover. No paragraphs of regulations, no textbooks of tactics could predetermine the complex situation in which it was necessary to solve the problems of extinguishing fires in war conditions.

One of the brightest pages in the history of the Leningrad fire department is the defense of the city of Kolpino. Already in September 1941, the city found itself in the battle zone, and throughout the long months of the blockade it was in the front line. During wartime, all fire departments of the city and the Izhora plant were subordinated to the RUPO, which was headed by V.V. Klaas. At the end of September 1941, the enemy was 3 - 4 km from the city. He failed to move closer; the front line stabilized. In addition to extinguishing numerous fires, city firefighters had to patrol the city streets. And in 1942, sniper fighters D.T. emerged from among the firefighters. Belokon, I.M. Zamorin and M.S. Efimov. In their free time from duty, they went to the front line and destroyed the enemy with sniper rifles. D.T. Belokon and I.M. The Zamorins died in March 1943; they accounted for more than a hundred killed enemies.

In January 1942, the number of fires from domestic causes increased to 897. In just 2 days on January 13 and 14, the number of such fires reached 111 cases. But it was not only the cold that threatened people. An even more formidable enemy was knocking on the door of Leningrad houses - hunger. With the war, ration cards appeared in Leningrad. The situation of the city, cut off from all food supply routes, was extremely difficult. After repeated reductions, on November 20, 1941, the grain standard for employees, dependents and children was increased to 125 grams. Workers received 250 grams of bread. The same was the norm for fire department workers. On top of this, 50 grams of cereal and 20 grams of fat were given. Deaths from starvation began. In December-January it acquires catastrophic proportions. In December, 52 thousand people died, including 300 firefighters. During the entire blockade, more than 2 thousand Leningrad firefighters died while working on fires or starved to death.

The history of the defense of Leningrad does not know a single case in which artillery shelling or air raids forced firefighters to stop working, retreat, or take cover. Under continuous bombing, under shell explosions, hungry, frozen people waged a stubborn fight against the fire, without sleep or rest. When air raid signals sounded and the population took refuge in shelters, firefighters still remained on the line of fire. eliminating fires, rescuing people from the rubble.

“The country must know its heroes. - Nikolai Tikhonov wrote in those days - and if we describe in detail the feats accomplished on the battlefield, in the air or at sea, then the worse are the humble heroes of the fiery battles, who, under bombs and shells, without sparing their lives, defended the people's property.

Heroes of fiery battles

In July 1942, the Leningrad fire department was awarded the Order of Lenin. “For the exemplary preparation of the fire defense of the city of Leningrad, for the valor and courage shown by personnel during the elimination of fires...” - these are the lines of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. More than a thousand firefighters were awarded orders and medals.

The city suffered not only from fires, but also from other difficulties and hardships associated with the blockade. The personnel took part in laying the famous “Road of Life”. Bakery factories were under threat of shutdown due to lack of water; despite the extremely limited combat vehicle fleet, the fire department ensured the completion of this important task. Comprehensive assistance to the population and the city has become one of the traditions of the fire department of the city on the Neva.

The beginning of 1943 brought great joy to the besieged city: on January 18, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts broke the blockade ring. But victory was still far away... And a year later, a powerful offensive by the troops of the Leningrad Front began.

On January 14, 1944, the offensive of the 2nd Shock Army began under the command of I.I. Fedyuninsky from the Oranienbaum bridgehead, January 15 - 42 armies of the Leningrad Front under the command of N.I. Maslennikov from Pulkovo Heights. On January 27, 1944, a solemn artillery salute announced the victory at Leningrad and the complete lifting of the 900-day heroic blockade.

After the blockade was lifted, firefighters continued to provide assistance to the city: they repaired damaged buildings of children's institutions and schools, water supply and heating systems, cleared away rubble, etc. In April 1944, two companies of miners consisting of 228 people were formed from the personnel of the city fire service. After undergoing short-term training, they were sent to clear mines in suburbs liberated from enemies.

During all these blockade days, V.A. Pugachev, E.A. Korneeva, G.G. Ivanov, V.A. Averbakh, E.E. Eroma served in various positions in the Admiralteysky district in the 2nd GVPK, 4th GVPK, 70th MIC. , Novikova Z.V., Ushakov V.S., Orlova E.P. and 21 more veterans.

On May 9, 1945, the city’s firefighters, together with Leningraders and all the people, celebrated Victory Day.

Let us recall some figures behind which stand the suffering and death of people, the destruction of enormous material assets. During the 900 days of the siege, about 5 thousand high-explosive bombs of various calibers, 103 thousand incendiary bombs, and more than 148 thousand heavy artillery shells were dropped on Leningrad. The city lost more than 5 million square meters of living space, 10,317 buildings for various purposes and 840 industrial enterprises were completely or partially disabled.

The blockade caused great damage to the city's fire department. 535 combat vehicles, thousands of meters of hoses, and several fire brigade buildings were destroyed. More than two thousand firefighters gave their lives defending Leningrad.

Burning nights of Leningrad

The night and morning of May 3, 1943 in besieged Leningrad passed calmly, without alarm. The anti-aircraft guns were silent, the glow of fires did not blaze in the spring sky, and plumes of smoke did not rise above the empty houses.

The firemen of the city, having received a few hours of respite, put the barracks and garages in order, repaired fire engines that were pretty worn out during the blockade, repaired hoses, patched combat clothing, well aware that a temporary lull would inevitably turn into the most severe shelling and they would have to go out on alert again to extinguish fires, clear collapses and rubble, rescue people from buildings damaged by shells and bombs, and provide assistance to the wounded.

On this day, the Fire Department was less crowded than ever. Many officers left early in the morning for preventive inspections of industrial enterprises that had recently suffered from artillery shelling and aerial bombs; several people urgently went to units to help personnel conduct a technical inspection of pumps, tank trucks and fire-fighting equipment. The chief of staff of the Leningrad fire service, Lieutenant Colonel Boris Ivanovich Konchaev, and a group of officers were busy analyzing reports from the districts.

Boris Ivanovich Konchaev (center) in the famous raincoat. July 1941

The situation in the city in the spring days of 1943 was very difficult. Although troops from the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts broke the blockade in January, the city was still under siege. Leningrad lived and fought, helped the front, fed itself with vegetable gardens dug up on every piece of stone-free land. The famine subsided, but death was caused by continuous artillery shelling, day and night. Entire industrial districts were under targeted fire from German guns: Kirovsky, Moscow, Volodarsky, Leninsky, Nevsky. Recently, air raid sirens have become more frequent: in February the danger signal was sounded 20 times, in March - 30. In April, the alarm was announced 42 times, sometimes two or three times a day. On a large-scale map of the city, red circles of fires were clustered around several industrial enterprises. Is this a coincidence? That's what worried Konchaev. He remembered yesterday’s artillery shelling of the Bolshevik plant, located in the Nevsky district. In total, 203 large-caliber shells were fired at this area of ​​the city in a short time, of which more than 30 shells fell on the territory of the plant. Some of the shells landed in the factory warehouse of flammable liquids, where gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, and transformer oil that had just arrived for production purposes were stored in tanks. A direct hit from a shell destroyed a large tank of gasoline, the liquid flared up as a giant torch. Soon, barrels of kerosene, fuel oil and oil, pierced by shell fragments, caught fire, and thick clouds of smoke enveloped the plant. The black mushroom of smoke that rose high into the sky served as a good reference for the enemy, and the artillery shelling of the entire territory of the plant intensified.

As always, Konchaev was one of the first to arrive at the fire. At the entrance to the plant’s territory, he saw the still smoking shell-mangled shell of a fire pump and nearby, on the blood-stained ground, the body of a firefighter literally riddled with shrapnel. The wounded and burned firefighters were assisted by girls from the medical platoon of the MPVO factory formation. They deftly made bandages and carried the victims away from the plant, away from exploding shells.

Although the duty guard of the 6th fire department suffered heavy losses in people and equipment, firefighting continued. Fire trucks from other units soon arrived. With their help, this fire was dealt with relatively quickly. We installed fire pumps on the banks of the Neva and supplied powerful water barrels from the main lines to extinguish the warehouse of flammable liquids and protect the factory buildings. After some time, the firemen pacified the fire, the smoky landmark above the plant gradually dissipated, and the artillery shelling subsided. The chairman of the executive committee of the Leningrad City Council, Pyotr Sergeevich Popkov, and the head of the city's MPVO, General Emelyan Sergeevich Lagutkin, who arrived at the plant, highly appreciated the energetic and skillful work of the firefighters: they did not hope that the plant could be saved. Popkov, on behalf of the City Council, thanked the firefighters for their dedicated work.

Yesterday's fire at the Bolshevik plant seemed to close the chain of similar fires that have recently occurred in various areas of Leningrad. Lieutenant Colonel Konchaev remembered all of them very well: first, intense shelling of important industrial enterprises, and then a riot of fire as a result of direct shell hits in workshops and oil product warehouses. This was the case at the Kirov plant and at the Zhdanov plant, where after artillery shelling they had to extinguish ignited fuel in tanks. This was the case during the shelling of the port, which resulted in a large fire at the Morskaya Pristan oil depot.

This was the case on April 20, when German artillery used thermite shells when shelling the area of ​​the Krasny Vyborgets plant. One of them hit a metal tank in which about 5 thousand tons of fuel oil were stored. The fuel oil ignited, flames and a dancing column of black-gray smoke rose above the factory buildings. The fire exposed the plant, and the enemy intensified artillery fire. Firefighters attacked the fire, under the incessant explosions of shells, under the whistling sound of shrapnel. Without waiting for the artillery shelling to stop, they laid hose lines and brought down cascades of water onto the burning reservoirs. At the same time, production workshops and unignited containers with fuel were protected, without which the plant would not be able to operate normally and fulfill orders from the front.

Georgy Tarvid, as always, distinguished himself in putting out the fire. Outwardly, he did not at all resemble the head of the city’s fire extinguishing service. His small stature, quiet voice and constant kind, even shy smile were in no way associated with his dangerous profession. But it was not without reason that, wanting to emphasize his high professional skill and fanatical love for his work, they jokingly said about Tarvid that he was born “with a fire helmet on his head.”

Tarvid's rise to the heights of tactical firefighting prowess began in the early 1920s. He was decisively denied admission to study at the only educational institution in our country that trained firefighters, the Leningrad Firefighting College... due to his short stature. The chairman of the admissions committee, the patriarch of firefighting, the author of the textbook “Fire Tactics,” N.P. Trebezov, advised the little applicant: “You should not become a firefighter, but an acrobat.” However, Tarvid did not lose heart. He showed persistence and extraordinary perseverance and still achieved admission to the exams. Subsequently, he became Trebezov’s favorite student and a talented successor of his work. During the fires, little shy Tarvid was transformed. His black cloak and silver-plated shiny helmet were seen everywhere where it was most dangerous, where it was necessary to inspire the fighters by personal example. Tarvid was an unsurpassed tactician; in this art he had no equal among the firefighters of Leningrad. His decisions were unmistakable, clear and, perhaps, one might say optimal, because they always indicated the shortest path to extinguishing the fire.

Tarvid extinguished the fuel oil tanks at the Krasny Vyborgets plant using a massive supply of sprayed water. Only three fire departments protected huge factory buildings from fire with compact jets. The fire extinguishing operation took place under continuous enemy artillery fire. Three firefighters were killed by shrapnel and many were injured. People acted fearlessly and skillfully, and this ensured that the fire was quickly extinguished.

During the fire, Verbitsky, a member of the Military Council of the Baltic Fleet, was on the territory of the plant, who saw how much effort was required from firefighters to protect the fuel reserves and production buildings of the plant from being destroyed by fire. On behalf of the Navy Military Council, he awarded orders to a group of particularly distinguished firefighters.

As a result of the analysis of the fires, Lieutenant Colonel Konchaev came to the conclusion that fascist aerial reconnaissance had established the flow of petroleum products into the city and that artillery shelling was being carried out on enterprises in order to destroy stocks of gasoline and kerosene, fuel oil and oils. Petroleum products for the army, navy and the needs of industrial and municipal enterprises arrived through a pipeline laid along the bottom of Lake Ladoga, and then were delivered to the besieged city by railway tanks. The conclusion was that further artillery attacks should be expected where oil reserves were stored.

Konchaev shared his thoughts with the head of the city fire department, Colonel M.K. Serikov. And although Serikov objected: “It’s your job, Konchaev, to organize fire extinguishing well, and not to engage in fortune-telling,” - on the morning of May 3, it was decided to send inspectors to the enterprises to check the state of the fire department.

Konchaev's fears were confirmed. At 14:06 on May 3, the voice of the duty officer at the MPVO headquarters was heard from the loudspeaker: “Attention! Attention! Air raid alert! Air raid alert! The enemy began artillery shelling of the city. The Moscow, Leninsky and partly Nevsky districts are being shelled. The population needs to take shelter.” The city's central fire communications point continuously received reports of shell explosions on the streets, in courtyards and in residential buildings. From observation points located on the roofs of tall buildings, fires were reported. So far these were separate, scattered outbreaks, the elimination of which required no more than one or two fire engines. Anti-aircraft defense units of enterprises and residential buildings joined the fight against the fire. The shelling was carried out over a very wide area, and so far it was difficult to determine at which object in the city the enemy aimed the main attack - the heavy batteries of guns.

But the dispatcher excitedly reported: “At 14:20, the enemy unexpectedly transferred artillery fire to the area of ​​the Krasny Neftnik oil depot.” The oil depot was of great value to the life of the city. After all, the main supply of petroleum products, so necessary for the city, army, and navy, is concentrated there. There are about 50 above-ground metal tanks at the oil depot, some of them disguised as residential buildings. Tanks with gasoline, kerosene, oils and fuel oil are standing closely together, the gaps between them are very small... The Dispatcher’s voice was heard: “I’m connecting you with Colonel Golubev, he is at the oil depot.” Konchaev’s service is not subordinate to the deputy head of the city fire department, Sergei Gordeevich Golubev. They are largely connected not by official position, but by long-term friendly relations, mutual respect and Bolshevik devotion to the cause, to which they both devote themselves without reserve.

Golubev’s information is very brief: “The base is being shelled by large-caliber shells. The shell hit a tank with diesel oil standing on the tracks, it was completely destroyed, the oil ignited. The oil depot fire brigade on duty began extinguishing the fire. Shells continue to explode on the territory of the oil depot; one flew into the fire station building. I’m about to…” At these words the connection was interrupted, the black telephone receiver was silent. What happened there?! The most terrible assumptions came to mind. Get there to the oil depot as quickly as possible.

The operational group and the chief of staff are already ready to leave. Like all city firefighters, Konchaev is constantly in a barracks position, without the right to leave his family. A service office, also known as a bedroom, with a folding bed and a skinny mattress, on which you can sleep in fits and starts for 3-4 hours a day. Everything you need to go to the fires is here, at hand: a battered old percale raincoat, a helmet, a wide belt with an attached hatchet, rubber boots, an electric torch.

Running out to the car, Konchaev hears the fire department dispatcher broadcasting over the intercom: “The fire at the Krasny Neftnik oil depot has been declared number four.” The fourth number of the fire means that all fire departments in the city must gather on alert.

From a car rushing through the deserted streets, a smoky cloud visible in the distance, hanging heavily over the southern part of the city, is clearly visible. The dull explosions of shells are heard. On deserted Litovsky Avenue, the operational vehicle overtakes the units following the fire. As the fire grew closer and closer, as the sooty cloud of smoke grew inexorably and menacingly in the clear spring sky, Konchaev’s thoughts became more and more focused on the upcoming battle with the fire.

It was difficult to predict in advance what nature the fire on the Krasny Neftnik would take. One thing is clear: the enemy will try to disable the tank farm with artillery fire in order to deprive Leningrad of its fuel reserves. If Golubev is in service, then Konchaev is firmly convinced that there will be no disaster at the oil depot. But what about him? Why was the telephone conversation interrupted so unexpectedly?

Konchaev knew well the location of tanks and installations on the territory of the oil depot and hoped to quickly navigate the current situation. But when he arrived at the oil depot, a complete darkness lay before him. For a moment, a gust of wind tore through the dense curtain of smoke, and then Konchaev saw a group of tanks with oils and fuel oil. Two tanks were badly damaged, almost destroyed, with streams of burning liquid gushing out through holes in their walls. The ignited oil and fuel oil spread across the ground in a bubbling stream of fire. The wind drove the flaming mass towards the tanks with kerosene and gasoline. Fuel that entered the flow area instantly flared up and burned with a blinding flame. Heavy, slate-black, oily smoke spread along the ground, rising in spirals into the blue sky. Soot fell like black rain onto the ground. The light of the sun faded in the smoky cloud; its disk glowed a dull red, almost bloody color. Explosions of artillery shells roared over the entire oil depot, and the smoky mass was illuminated by flashes of fire.

Ambulances that had stopped at the gates of the oil depot were already carrying wounded firefighters who had come under artillery fire. These were soldiers from the 26th city fire department, well known to Konchaev. According to them, the main fight against the fire is taking place in the depths of the territory, where firefighters, together with workers and engineers of the oil depot, are trying to defend the main tank farm with kerosene and gasoline. “And Golubev?” asked Konchaev, “what’s wrong with him?” The wounded soldier did not have time to answer when two people suddenly emerged from the smoky darkness right in front of them. He recognized them as the chief engineer of the oil depot, Sorokin, and Lieutenant Colonel Golubev. As always, he was dressed in his usual leather cloak, which he did not part with during fires, either in winter or summer. Half-jokingly, half-seriously, Golubev said more than once that a gray helmet and a leather cloak with traces of fire and water are his talismans, bringing him happiness in battles with fires. And today he miraculously escaped death. When the artillery shelling began, the lieutenant colonel was on the observation tower of the oil depot. The shell hit the tower directly and destroyed it. Golubev escaped with only a slight concussion and managed to independently get out from under the wreckage of the tower. A talisman is, of course, a talisman. But how lucky would it be if Golubev had not had almost thirty years of fiery battles behind him, if he had not thoroughly studied firefighting, if he had not been able to maintain amazing composure in incredibly difficult situations.

During the shelling, Golubev took charge of extinguishing the fire. According to him, the situation at the oil depot is very serious. Although the fire of fuel oil in a tank on the railway tracks was extinguished, the fuel oil and oil groups of the tanks ignited when the shells hit. The most dangerous thing now is the threat of fire spreading to tanks with kerosene and gasoline. Near them are the 26th fire department, the fire brigade of the oil depot and cadets of the fire-technical school. They are holding back the fire. But it is very difficult for people to work with guns in combat positions: high temperature, acrid and thick smoke, there are wounded and shell-shocked, many soldiers received burns. Only the seriously wounded were removed from combat positions; the rest are holding out for now. But the situation is changing all the time, it is impossible to predict where the next projectile will fly. Concluding the conversation, Golubev excitedly reports: “One fire truck with cadets from the fire-technical school was cut off by a burning stream of fuel oil. We urgently need to help people out, otherwise they will die in the fire.” He instructs Konchaev to take the first fire truck that arrives from the city and, first of all, start rescuing the cadets. In addition, Konchaev needs to direct some of the fire trucks to protect tanks with kerosene and gasoline, and the remaining vehicles need to eliminate the burning of fuel oil and oils in damaged tanks. At the same time, something should be done to prevent further spreading of the burning liquid throughout the territory of the oil depot and its entry into the underground sewerage system and into the Obvodny Canal.

The most experienced fire extinguishing specialists arrive at the oil depot with the first fire pumps and tank trucks: Georgy Tarvid, Semyon Kalyaev, Nikolay Ivanov, Pavel Artamonov, Leonid Yuvonen, Ivan Shulgin, Vladimir Dekhtyarev. Konchaev instructs the latter to perform the duties of chief of the fire extinguishing staff. He himself led the group to rescue the cadets. The plan is already clear: you need to quickly go through the smoke-filled area in a pump truck, then rush at high speed past the burning tanks and go straight to the fire pier, where the combat crew of the cadets found themselves in a ring of fire. Having rescued them from trouble, you will have to return the same way. The risk is great, but there is no other way out. The rescue group on the pump truck was already ready to move to the aid of their comrades in trouble when the cadets appeared. They themselves were able to get out of the fiery captivity. “Everything is fine,” reports the head of the school, Nikolai Ivanov. “People have been taken out. The car is in a safe zone." He helps fire truck driver Nikolai Prokhorov walk. Prokhorov's appearance is terrible: covered in soot, his burned face is covered in blood, his left hand, broken by shrapnel, hangs lifelessly. The wounded man was immediately sent to the hospital. Ivanov and the cadets immediately took their places in combat positions and continued to work until the fire was extinguished.

After the fire, Ivanov sparingly told Konchaev how they managed to escape. The burning liquid spilled across the pond came close to the pump installed on the pier. The temperature was so high that the paint on the car faded and fell off. The fire cut off the only escape route - a bridge over a ditch. People and equipment found themselves on a small island amid a raging sea of ​​flames. There seemed to be no way out. But the pump driver was not at a loss. He managed to overcome the pain in his wounded arm, quickly jumped into the cabin, seated the people and, with fire hoses attached, rushed through the fire and smoke.

On this day, the cadets had to find themselves in the most critical situations more than once. They are tasked with using guns to make their way to the burning oil tanks. They were already close to success when a large-caliber shell exploded at their position. Shrapnel seriously wounded Dmitry Maslov and Taisiya Butareva. Many received shell shock and wounds, but remained in their combat positions until the end.

The cloud of smoke that rose above the oil depot, as always, was a good reference point for artillery fire. Heavy German guns methodically bombarded the fire site, shell after shell. A German spotter plane appeared in the area of ​​the oil depot.

Under incessant artillery fire, amidst choking smoke, in streams of hot air, firefighters had to conduct a combat deployment, holding back an avalanche of fire threatening gasoline tanks. This fire extinguishing section was headed by Konchaev. Tarvid led an attack on burning oil and fuel oil tanks. Under the leadership of Kalyaev and Juvonen, earthen bridges were built to block the path to the flaming streams of spilled oil products.

The general coordination of the actions of all combat areas and fire departments was carried out by Golubev. He once again had to try his luck: an exploding shell killed the chief engineer of the oil depot, Sorokin, who was standing next to him; Golubev remained unharmed. Only the hems of his leather cloak became like a sieve, and another dent appeared on his helmet from shell fragments.

The fire could have been extinguished much faster if the city's fire departments had powders to make foam. But powders have long become a super-scarce product in Leningrad. We had to rely only on water. And laying hose lines from fire trucks to the starting positions cost the linemen incredible work. The hemp fabric of the sleeves was easily cut by shell fragments and quickly caught fire from the hot ground. The hose lines and branches sank in a liquid mixture of mud and fuel oil. I had to restore damaged sleeves again and again, dragging heavy sleeve lines on myself.

It became especially unbearable when swirling currents of hot air and heavy stinking smoke descended closer to the ground, enveloping firefighters in a suffocating atmosphere in which every breath of air burned their throats and lungs. The voices of those standing nearby could not be heard in the roar of the fire, the bubbling of burning oil products, or the roar of artillery shells exploding. Covered in soot, wounded, with burnt faces, the firemen and officers of the second battle line continuously poured water over the first line firemen - this was the only way to attack the fire. Water saved people’s lives, and it was the only weapon the firefighters used to wage an unprecedented battle with the elements. People who had completely devoted themselves to fighting the fire no longer felt the danger to which they were exposed every second. Even the wounded and burned did not leave the battlefield, trying to help their comrades in any way they could. Bleeding, firefighter Sergei Shkarin held the gun in his hands until the end of the operation. Many officers and privates, workers and employees of the oil depot did the same.

To protect people from burns and thermal radiation, they used everything that was at hand as shields: boards, plywood sheets, sanitary and construction stretchers. Using them as cover, the gunmen held their combat positions, knocked out the flames, and moved forward.

The time was approaching 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when they had to withstand a new onslaught of fire. A shell that hit a gasoline tank exploded and smashed it. The gasoline immediately burst into flames. The fire could have spread to nearby containers. Fortunately, the broken tank contained little gasoline and did not spill across the area. The flame, rising from the bottom of the tank, rushed upward like a fiery sail. All fire engines in reserve were placed at Konchaev’s disposal. The firemen formed a curtain of water around the burning tank, covering the neighboring containers with gasoline like a shield. But the fire was still burning in the tank damaged by the shell. It is unknown how all this could have ended if not for the commander of the 8th city fire department, Nikolai Busov. Under the cover of water jets, he climbed to the roof of the burning tank, descended through the gap using a rescue rope into it and, skillfully maneuvering the barrel, put out the fire.

The threat to gasoline tanks was averted. But at 16:32 the situation during the fire became even more complicated. The enemy intensified artillery fire. New fires could appear any minute. It was then that the determination of the head of the city fire department, Colonel Serikov, was fully demonstrated. He establishes contact with the Department of Internal Affairs, military units and insists on strengthening measures to suppress fascist artillery fire. Serikov's persistence yielded results. Soon the guns of our batteries silenced the enemy artillery.

The fire burned over an area of ​​more than 6 thousand square meters. He was surrounded on all sides by powerful trunks. The general attack on the fire began. He began to retreat. All fires on the ground were suppressed, and then water was poured onto the burning tanks with oil and fuel oil.

After eliminating all sources of combustion, some combat crews were left to cool the oil that continued to boil in the tanks. The released units were immediately sent to their units.

The entire operation to extinguish the giant fire, complicated by artillery shelling (120 shells in 3 hours), was completed in record time. The victory came at a high price - the firefighters suffered heavy losses in people and equipment. But we managed to protect all the main fuel reserves from the fire. More than 10 thousand tons of valuable fuel, which the front could not do without, were saved. And the end of the war was still far away. And Leningrad firefighters faced new battles with fire.

In Konchaev’s memory there were many of them, maybe even too many - large and small, but always very difficult battles with fire.

Burnt, destroyed houses, deserted and silent streets, along which the operational vehicle was returning from the oil depot, reminded Konchaev of the recently experienced days and months full of difficult trials and anxieties.

It was along this same road that he rushed on September 8, 1941 to the first military fire that arose as a result of a massive raid by fascist aviation. More than two years have passed since then, he has more than one victory over fire in a besieged city, and he cannot erase that first fire from his memory.

At that time, the Badaevsky food warehouses were burning, where significant supplies of food were stored in wooden buildings. Nazi planes dropped thousands of incendiary bombs on warehouses and adjacent buildings. Mainly electronic incendiary bombs were used. They weighed little - a kilogram and a half, but when they ruptured and burned they created a very high temperature (1200-1400 degrees), at which not only wood, but also other combustible materials ignited. The fire engulfed food warehouses, refrigerators, raw materials warehouses of a butter factory, buildings of a coke-and-gas and soap factory, and over 70 buildings located over a large area. The fight against the fire lasted for about 5 hours. The air pirates resumed the bombing several times and fired at the fighters with machine guns from a strafing flight. Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to neighboring buildings, but they were unable to save food warehouses. It was a heavy loss for the population of the besieged city.

For Leningrad residents and for the fire department personnel, the time has come for testing. Numerous fires exhausted our strength. The bombing continued continuously for 4 months. During this time, the enemy carried out 287 air raids and dropped thousands of incendiary and high-explosive bombs on the city. As a result of air raids alone, about 15 thousand fires broke out in the city, most of them (86 percent) were extinguished by the population themselves and local fire defense units.

However, some fires that arose as a result of bombing, the use of incendiary bombs and thermite shells became large in size and required enormous efforts of city and facility fire departments to eliminate them.

The night from September 11 to 12, 1941, was memorable for Leningraders and very difficult for the city’s fire department, when nine districts of Leningrad simultaneously became the target of Nazi vultures: Kirovsky, Oktyabrsky, Sverdlovsky, Leninsky, Krasnogvardeysky, Moskovsky, Dzerzhinsky, Vasileostrovsky and Frunzensky . These areas contained a significant, if not most, portion of the besieged city's 2.5 million population.

German aviation brought destruction and death. Everything was bombed: residential buildings and hospitals, schools and kindergartens, theaters and museums, the cultural significance of which is of global importance. This is how Hitler’s barbarians put into practice the Fuhrer’s misanthropic idea of ​​wiping Leningrad off the face of the earth. It will become known later, during the Nuremberg trials, when the secret directive of the German naval headquarters dated September 22, 1941 “On the future of the city of St. Petersburg” will be announced. The directive stated: “After the defeat of Soviet Russia, there is no interest in the continued existence of this large populated area... It is proposed to closely blockade the city and, by shelling from artillery of all calibers and continuous bombing from the air, raze it to the ground.”

The September nights of Leningrad were filled with the piercing howl of falling bombs, the thunder of gun salvos, and the ominous glow of fires. The entire territory of the Seaport - piers, piers, warehouses, barracks - and the enterprises surrounding the port were also the target of a fierce raid on the night of September 12. First, the air pirates dropped high-explosive bombs, and then incendiary bombs rained down, causing hundreds of fires on roofs, attics, staircases, and in the basements of dilapidated buildings. Isolated fires quickly grew, and the flames raged across a vast area of ​​the port, engulfing 508 different buildings and structures.

On this menacing night, blazing with lightning explosions, the city’s firefighters simultaneously extinguished numerous fires at industrial enterprises, in freemen and hospitals, museums, and residential buildings in the central part of the city.

To extinguish the fire in the Seaport, it was necessary to use reserve fire fighting equipment, mobilize those who could work with the trunk, and fire brigade units from a number of enterprises. 41 pump trucks, 13 tank trucks, 3 powerful marine firefighting boats, mechanical ladders and special service vehicles were sent here; 500 firefighters defended the port, bringing more than 100 water guns into the fight. Enemy planes continuously bombed the port and, at low level, fired at its entire territory, trying to prevent the fire from being extinguished. Four companies of the Komsomol fire-fighting regiment, MPVO formations, workers and employees of the port and neighboring enterprises came to the aid of the firefighters.

Communists and Komsomol members were in the most decisive and dangerous areas, setting an example of fulfilling their official duty. Assistant squad commander A. Vavilov with a barrel made his way through the wall of fire and smoke to a tank with gasoline and, cooling it, prevented an explosion. Examples of courage and fearlessness were shown that day by commanders and fighters S. Voskoboynikov, V. Chugin, A. Ageev, A. Voronikhin, S. Stepanov, G. Shubin, M. Nikolaev and many others. Extinguishing the fire lasted 6 hours and was completed only by the morning of September 12.

With the memorable flashes of the September fires, nights and days of continuous alarms, enemy air raids, and artillery cannonade began. The Nazi hordes, encountering fierce resistance from the troops of the Leningrad Front, were still trying to break into Leningrad. The city lived a harsh front-line life. 500 thousand Leningraders built defensive fortifications every day. Day and night, weapons for the front were forged at the city's enterprises. 10 divisions of the people's militia were formed. Everything possible was done to prevent the enemy from entering the cradle of the revolution.

The offensive forces of the Nazi hordes had already been significantly undermined by the Red Army troops during the exhausting battles near Luga and on the distant approaches to the city. The concentrated defense of Leningrad became an insurmountable wall for the Nazis. Then the enemy relied on the moral suppression of the defenders and civilians of the city, intensifying air raids and systematic shelling of its entire territory. Typically, fascist planes attacked the city from the south and east, flying in groups of three to fifteen combat vehicles. On some days, the number of aircraft trying to break through to city blocks reached eighty. On their way there was heavy fire from anti-aircraft batteries. In most cases, only a few planes managed to break into the city. And they often dropped bombs randomly, trying to quickly get rid of the dangerous cargo and leave the zone of action of the city’s air defense forces. The enemy, as a rule, carried out air attacks in the evening and at night, often using lighting means - glowing bombs on parachutes - to increase the targeting and effectiveness of bombing. Air raids were often accompanied by artillery shelling, which was very difficult for the Leningrad batteries to neutralize. As a result of being hit by aerial bombs and artillery shell explosions, buildings were damaged and collapsed, and people who needed immediate help were often left under the rubble of walls and ceilings. Fires occurred both from explosions of high-explosive bombs and shells, and from the action of incendiary bombs, especially when they were dropped on houses already damaged by explosions. Fighting fires under air raids and enemy fire required great courage from firefighters.

Firefighter working on the roof of a building. On the right - D. Shostakovich

The basic rule, which became like a law for every firefighter, was sacredly observed - to extinguish fires in any conditions - during bombing and shelling, day and night. When the alarm signaled, city residents took refuge in shelters, firefighters began their dangerous work. During all the years of the siege, during the most brutal enemy air raids and artillery shelling, there was not a single case when firefighters evaded fighting fires, retreated from combat positions, or went for cover if people were in danger. They died in fierce battles with fire, found themselves victims of landslides and collapses, and died from wounds and monstrous burns. But their surviving comrades continued the sacred work - the work of saving Leningrad.

The operational situation in the besieged city developed differently. The fires in medical institutions, which housed thousands of wounded and sick, were very serious and tragic. Hospitals and clinics in Leningrad had the identification marks of the Red Cross, but this did not stop the Nazis from deliberately dumping their deadly load on them.

In Konchaev’s memory, like an unhealed wound, the fire in the hospital, which was located in house number 50 on Suvorovsky Prospekt, remained forever. It was subjected to a particularly savage and merciless bombardment. This happened on the afternoon of September 19th. A German plane dropped three large-caliber high-explosive bombs on the hospital, which housed about 1,000 wounded Red Army soldiers, in a targeted dive. From a strong bomb attack, the five-story brick building of the hospital split into several parts, the internal staircases collapsed, and three brick walls collapsed. Some of the wounded, along with the collapsed walls, were thrown out of the premises into the courtyard and buried forever under the rubble. Plaster, stones, twisted beams and fragments of floor boards fell on those who remained in the chambers. The screams of horror and dying groans of hundreds of people chilled the blood. Before the cloud of dust raised by the explosion had time to settle, numerous fires broke out on all floors of the building from shorted electrical wires and destroyed heating stoves. Through gaping gaps, flames and smoke entered the chambers.

The dilapidated skeleton of the hospital building, filled with wooden fragments of interfloor ceilings, in a matter of minutes turned into a giant bonfire, in which hundreds of people confined to hospital beds burned alive. Someone tried to crawl to windows, holes in the walls and fell down from a height of several floors.

The fire quickly completed its work. The blast wave knocked out the window panes along with the frames, and the resulting strong draft contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. When the main forces of firefighters arrived, more than half of the five-story building was engulfed in flames. Acrid, thick smoke filled all the rooms.

Firefighters immediately began using ladder trucks to rescue the surviving wounded from the fourth and fifth floors. To top off the disaster, there was no water in the water supply: the explosions of high-explosive bombs destroyed the streets and disabled the water main. Water had to be supplied through fire hoses from hydrants located very far away. It was first pumped into a large crater from an exploding shell, and from there fire trucks were supplied to extinguish the fire. During the first 30 minutes, 31 barrels were put into action. But the fury of the fire could not be quickly quelled; flames were shooting out through the windows. They threatened the neighboring house, in which the window frames had already caught fire and the roof eaves were smoking. The fire was contained shortly before dark. The most difficult task was completed by the commanders and fighters of the city fire departments N. Semenov, P. Vilunas, N. Vasiliev. They entered the burning, smoke-filled premises and carried out some of the wounded, unconscious and burned. As a result of the barbaric raid, 600 wounded soldiers, doctors, and nurses were killed.

On this terrible day, the air raid warning was announced six times in the city. Enemy aircraft dropped 528 high-explosive and 1,435 incendiary bombs on the city, which caused 89 large fires in different areas.

During the bombing and subsequent fire in the hospital on the Fontanka embankment, house number 160, firefighters of the 3rd city fire department carried 22 seriously wounded front-line soldiers from the burning wards. The rescue of people was led by the head of the unit, I. Baranovsky. In another hospital, firefighters of the same unit, led by junior lieutenant N. Suslov, saved 102 wounded from death in a fire. In the area of ​​Palace Embankment, people were buried under the rubble of a house from a direct hit from a high-explosive bomb. Firefighters from the 2nd city fire department, led by team chief O. Dickelson, entered the dilapidated basement and rescued 15 people.

In house No. 4 on Shchepyanoy Lane, a bomb explosion covered the entrance to the room in which there were children and women. The walls of the house were about to collapse. The head of the district fire department, N. Suslov, and a group of firefighters found a shelter in the ruins and saved 30 people from death.

While providing assistance to those in need, the firefighters themselves often died from bombs, shells and collapses of buildings damaged by bombing. This happened on November 8, 1941, when extinguishing a fire in a hospital located in house No. 19 on the Obvodny Canal. Firefighters were working to extinguish a fire and rescue people in a building badly damaged by a high-explosive bomb explosion. The heavy interfloor ceiling collapsed, burying five firefighters under the rubble, and nine were seriously injured.

During an air raid, three high-explosive bombs exploded in a large five-story building on Borovaya Street. A fire broke out in the destroyed house, the fire spread to neighboring houses, and there was a threat of destruction of the entire block. The fire was quickly localized, but it turned out that people remained in the basements of the destroyed houses. With great difficulty, through mountains of bricks and rubble, firefighters penetrated deeper and deeper into the destroyed buildings to bring helpless old people, women and children out of the basements. There were a few more people left to save, whose groans could be heard from the most destroyed part of the house. When help had already been provided to the people, the outer wall damaged by the explosion collapsed, burying 17 firefighters under the rubble.

In October-November 1941, industrial enterprises, including factories producing textiles, footwear, clothing, and food products, were targeted by air raids. In most cases, heavy high-explosive bombs were dropped on industrial sites. Many of them had a delayed effect and exploded when restoration work began.

One of the most severe industrial fires caused by enemy aircraft was the fire on September 28 at the Ya. M. Sverdlov plant. The plant was literally bombarded with incendiary bombs. Fires occurred simultaneously in dozens of places. As soon as the firefighters began to extinguish the fire, a second air attack followed. High-explosive bombs dropped on fires scattered burning structures throughout the plant. A fire pump was disabled by a bomb, killing or seriously injuring 8 firefighters. The area engulfed in fire was so vast that even powerful water columns could not block the flame front. The fight against the elements lasted 7 hours. The fire was suppressed by 44 powerful water jets supplied from 17 fire pumps and the fire steamer Kirillov.

The bombings using combined high-explosive and incendiary bombs, designed to kill people with an explosion and the simultaneous action of an incendiary charge, were frankly barbaric in nature. These three bombs were dropped on the May 1 textile factory. The bombs, weighing up to 100 kilograms each, simultaneously hit a large five-story production building. When they exploded, the dye ignited and the flammable mixture was scattered. Three intense fires immediately formed in the building. The fire quickly spread through the attic, fifth and fourth floors. High temperatures and thick suffocating smoke did not allow the fire-fighting unit of the factory's fire-fighting unit to eliminate or at least localize the fire. The sprinkler system with which the production building was equipped also turned out to be ineffective in conditions of rapid fire development. Under the influence of high temperature, all sprinkler heads opened at once. There were more than 300 of them, and a colossal amount of water was required for which the system was not designed. To save the factory, firefighters decided to flood the entire third floor with water, thus creating a water screen. Thanks to a bold decision, the fire was contained within the two upper floors and all equipment and machines were preserved on the lower floors. To carry out this operation, firefighters applied 58 water jets.

For Leningrad firefighters, the first months of the war were a harsh school for testing their professional skills. Even in the most intense days of air raids by Nazi aviation, the actions of fire departments to eliminate fires were analyzed in detail, and the circumstances that positively or negatively influenced their extinguishing were scrupulously identified. The work of each unit was assessed by fire extinguishing managers, and specific individuals who showed courage in fighting fire were named. And this strengthened the spirit of the people.

In the process of fighting large fires caused by air strikes and artillery shelling, new methods of using fire equipment and tactics for extinguishing fires were developed and successfully applied. Military equipment was now hidden in safe places, reserve lines were laid in parallel with the main hose lines, linemen in positions worked from shelters, rescue ropes and chairs were widely used to rescue people from the upper floors of buildings. In Kolpino, battle tanks were often used to create fire breaks and demolish flammable buildings. The true masters of fire battles, who perfectly mastered the methods of extinguishing fires in the extremely difficult conditions of a besieged city, were Georgy Kulikov, Mikhail Yuskin, Leonid Yuvonen, Nikolay Yushkov, Boris Kornichenko, Vladimir Myallo, Sergey Cherkasov, Mikhail Danilov, Semyon Kalyaev, Sergey Vyazovkin, Vladimir Class. Thanks to their courage and skill, it was possible to save hundreds of people, preserve homes, factories, hospitals, and the most valuable architectural monuments of Leningrad.

The fighters learned to replace each other in firefights. One of the first to do this was the driver V. Ya. Gorin. When the driver of a nearby pump was wounded by a shell fragment, Gorin began servicing him and his fire trucks until the end of the fire. From that time on, it became a rule that one driver must be able to work simultaneously on two fire engines in difficult situations.

The complexity of the work of firefighters during artillery shelling and when eliminating fires in collapsed and explosion-damaged buildings gave rise to the creation of special - assault - units, which were entrusted with carrying out the most difficult and dangerous operations during fires. In units, these assault units were called head departments. Belonging to the head department is a special honor bestowed on the most experienced and seasoned firefighters. The instructions for the work of the head departments stated that “they are called to all sources of serious fires to deliver decisive blows, after which the departments can be sent to the disposal of the unit. A call to the head department for a fire can be made at any time of the day.” The assault squads performed well in many fires.

A major role in strengthening the fire protection of the city belonged to the inspectorate of the State Fire Supervision, which at that difficult time was headed by engineer Vladimir Rumyantsev. From the first days of the war, work began in the city to actively involve the population, workers and employees of enterprises and institutions in the fight against fires. It took on a broad, nationwide character. Every Soviet citizen sought to contribute his share to the common cause of defending the Motherland, defending the city of Lenin.

The population cleared attics, upper floor corridors, stairwells, closets and sheds from trash and debris. The combustible filling of the attic space (sawdust, peat) was replaced with fireproof, and if this could not be done, it was covered with a layer of sand. Water barrels, boxes and sandbags were placed on the roofs, attics and upper floors of buildings. In the apartments on the upper floors, a supply of water was created in bathtubs, basins, and buckets.

The territories and courtyards of industrial enterprises, institutions and residential buildings were cleared, passages to buildings were cleared, and fire breaks were provided. All this helped limit the spread of fire and thereby facilitated the work of fire brigades. Thousands of fire extinguishers and hydraulic remote control units, hundreds of thousands of buckets, barrels, shovels, axes, crowbars, sand boxes, ladders, and pliers for capturing and dropping incendiary bombs were manufactured to arm firefighting units. Brochures, leaflets, and posters on the rules of conduct for the population during air raids were published in mass quantities. Hundreds of thousands of Leningrad residents joined voluntary fire brigades. All this was not long in taking its toll. During enemy air raids, not only members of professional fire brigades, but also civilians successfully extinguished incendiary bombs, preventing hundreds of fires.

In the second half of September, the battle on the outskirts of the city began to subside. But the Nazis did not abandon their plan, and, having captured Pushkin, Peterhof, Strelna, they again stubbornly rushed to the city, fighting took place at the Pulkovo Heights. At the beginning of October, the offensive of German troops near Leningrad was practically suspended. The Sovinformburo report dated October 9, 1941 reported that in recent days the enemy had not advanced one step towards the city. No longer able to break through the defenses of the troops of the Leningrad Front, he intensified air bombing and shelling of the city. There was not a day without heavy fires. During the most difficult months of mass air attacks on Leningrad, as a result of air raids and artillery shelling, 1,739 fires broke out in the city, not counting small fires and individual fires extinguished by fire brigades of the MPVO, workers and employees of enterprises, and the city population itself.

But no matter how difficult and alarming the autumn days of 1941 were, all this was only the beginning of the most severe trials for the defenders and civilian population of the city. With each passing day of the cold autumn, food supplies dwindled, store shelves became empty, food in canteens became scarcer, and there was no fuel. The blockade ring has closed. The situation in Leningrad, cut off from the entire country, became extremely difficult. In December 1941, famine began in the city. All shops were closed, only in bakeries, empty and dark, it was possible to get 125 grams of bread per day - the minimum norm established for city residents. Terrible diseases - scurvy, pellagra, bloody diarrhea, nutritional dystrophy - struck Leningrad. Along with everyone else, the fire department workers also went hungry. They, like the workers, received 250 grams of black bread soaked in moisture per day and, in addition, 50 grams of cereal and 20 grams of butter. This exhausted the daily ration of people who had to do the hardest work: putting out fires, clearing rubble, saving people.

Winter brought severe frosts. On the snow-covered streets and avenues of besieged Leningrad, frost-covered, icy houses stood gloomily like dark icebergs. There was no fuel, power plants did not work. Even the gray winter light did not penetrate through the windows, tightly blocked with broken boards, plywood, or covered with blankets.

Konchaev especially remembers a cold winter day when he brought a hard-earned pine tincture to the long-unheated, completely frozen barracks. Exhausted people, exhausted by hunger and disease, lay motionless on iron beds. More recently, he fought fire battles with them, and with many, hand in hand, he went a long way in the fire departments. It was unbearable to see the suffering of loved ones and to realize that it was impossible to do anything to save their fading lives.

Mortality from hunger and disease in the cold days of December 1941 among firefighters acquired catastrophic proportions. Many days of exhausting battles with fire, which required the utmost effort of all human strength, also took their toll. By January 1, 1942, more than 300 people died from exhaustion in fire departments. By mid-January, the number of bedridden patients accounted for 40 percent of all personnel. Those who remained in the ranks were so weakened that they could hardly work. To maneuver the barrel during fires, several people had to be placed on one barrel. The body's resistance to the effects of smoke and carbon monoxide sharply decreased: at each fire, three to five people were incapacitated as a result of poisoning. Fainting from hunger was not uncommon, and sometimes death occurred from overwork of a weakened body while working on a fire. By the beginning of 1942, the strength of the fire service personnel was exhausted to the limit due to exhaustion and unbearable nervous and physical stress. Dystrophy, scurvy, and stomach diseases were rampant. Oatmeal “chatter” and a flatbread made from substitutes is the entire daily ration of a soldier who is forced to go to the next fire on foot and carry heavy axes, a shovel and a crowbar. Not everyone could always raise the alarm. Weakness confined me to the bed, my arms and legs gave out, and I felt dizzy.

And when by force of will people nevertheless forced themselves to rise, it often turned out that there was nothing to put out the fire, there was no water, the water supply was frozen. They threw snow at the fire, not so much defending the burning house as trying to save the neighboring buildings. And again on foot, through dark streets, under the whistling sound of shrapnel, we made our way to our units, to the cold, unheated barracks.

“In the winter of forty-one and forty-two, the strength and will of Leningraders were subjected to the most painful tests. The city stood in snowdrifts, like a ship caught in snowstorms in the north. The fires grew menacingly. Coats of smoke fluttered in the frosty air. There was no water. Ice growths hung, snowdrifts rose, but there was no water. Then they started putting out fires without water. Since the creation of the world nothing like this has been seen. The huge façade was on fire. Firefighters climbed onto the roof and, staggering from hunger, dismantled the burning structures by hand, threw them down onto the ice cushion of the basement and covered them with snow. The fire went out under a white veil.

When it was necessary to save important parts of burning objects, the doors to which the fire was approaching were covered with wet rags and poured with melted snow. The fire hoses were not working. The intake of frosty air was prepared. And when the doors burned out, cold air rushed like a tornado into the room where the ceilings were already collapsing, and the flame deviated to the side by about a meter and a half, it reluctantly went away, it turned. The fire stopped. The population came to the rescue. Long lines were formed, passing from hand to hand ladles and buckets of water accumulated in bathtubs, kitchens, and barrels in apartments.

Hunger was knocking on all the houses of the city. He did not escape the firefighters either. When one trunk worker did not have enough strength to hold the trunk, four people began working on the trunk. The chiefs took over from the axemen and stemmen. It happened that the barrel began to supply the stream in the wrong place. They went to see what was the matter and found the dead fireman at his post, leaning against the wall.

In December, there was no fuel, seven percent of the cars remained, and even those were in need of repair. Then the firefighters, having loaded all the equipment on themselves, stumbling from weakness, went to the fire. Almost all the electrical fire alarms were out of order. There was nothing to charge the batteries with. At one point the telephone also went silent. And the fires were raging. Then they began to keep in touch with runners, walkers, skiing, and riding motorcycles.

In January, the city water supply stopped working. The saboteurs tried to set fire to empty houses. The saboteurs were caught, the fires were extinguished, preventing them from spreading. The firefighters were dying of hunger. Almost everyone had an exemption from work due to illness, and receiving a ballot at that time meant that a person could not stand on his feet. The head of one of the combat teams, Comrade Kalyaev, came to the team and saw that trouble was obvious. Of the eighty people, only eight were fit for duty. The rest lay covered with blankets.

He stood in the middle of the room and said: “Comrades, can you hear me?” “We hear,” answered his people, with whom he had recently defeated the fiery element, in weak voices.

“So, comrades, this cannot go on! So, are we going to lie there and the city is going to burn? So, will we overcome the blockade or will it overcome us? - "Never!" - said the closest one, and people began to crawl out of bed. They fiddled with their pencils, took pieces of paper and went to the table. Soon there was a pile of application papers on the table, and on each one was written “I refuse the ballot.” The same thing happened in all teams. The boss himself put six people to bed and did not order them to get up. The rest, shouldering heavy equipment, again walked through the deep snow to work.

What drove these people? Hatred for the enemy burned in their hearts. Not for one minute could they imagine that their hometown would bend and break under the weight of the siege. And they worked like all the other workers of Leningrad. They didn't give up."

This is what Leningrader and great Soviet writer Nikolai Tikhonov said about the firefighters of the besieged city.

The fire department of Leningrad, fulfilling its main task of fighting fires, responded to all the requests and needs of the residents of the besieged city. In January 1941, when severe frosts, like iron, bound the earth, disabled the water supply system, the Military Council of the Leningrad Front set the city's fire department the most important task - to provide water to bakeries that were facing the threat of shutdown. And firefighters, using combat pumps and tank trucks, began to supply it not only to bakeries, but also to many hospitals.

But hunger, as if by inertia, gaining terrible strength, continued the harvest of death and disease. In January 1942, fewer and fewer people became part of the firefighting crews. Most of the firefighting equipment was out of order, there was no gasoline for combat vehicles, and supplies of fire hoses were dwindling. There was a threat of a sharp weakening in the fight against fires.

During this very difficult period in the life of the blockaded city, assistance to the fire service came from the city party committee and the authorized representative of the State Defense Committee, Alexei Nikolaevich Kosygin.

“On a frosty January night in 1942, B. I. Konchaev and other fire service leaders were called to Smolny by A. A. Zhdanov and A. N. Kosygin. Alexey Nikolaevich was stern. “There are fires in the city, a glow... Report what your service is doing? What else needs to be done to ensure its operation?”

They talked about starving soldiers and commanders who wander to the fires on foot because there is no gasoline, that the water supply is frozen and, far from natural bodies of water, the fire is put out with snow.

A. N. Kosygin ordered that firefighters be equalized with frontline fighters in terms of supply standards. I immediately found an opportunity to allocate 20 tons of gasoline.

“What else is needed?” - Alexey Nikolaevich looked at the exhausted fireman standing in front of him. Konchaev replied: “Hoses, fire hoses are really needed.”

They were immediately delivered from the mainland. And soon reinforcements arrived from the rear - 400 strong guys who quickly became warriors of the fiery service of Leningrad.”

By a decree of the Military Council of the Leningrad Front, firefighters were equal in terms of food supply to the front line fighters, and permanent funds were also allocated for gasoline and oils for combat fire engines.

For firefighters, the first military winter in the besieged city was the most difficult during the entire 900 days of the siege, an extremely harsh school testing all physical and moral strength.

On January 27, 1944, an artillery salute of 324 guns announced to the world the great victory at Leningrad. The heroic units of the Soviet Army broke the enemy ring around the city on the Neva and fought forward, clearing the cities and villages of the Leningrad region of fascists. The order to the troops of the Leningrad Front dated January 27, 1944 said: “...Citizens of Leningrad! Courageous and persistent Leningraders! Together with the troops of the Leningrad Front, you defended our hometown. With your heroic work and steely endurance, overcoming all the difficulties and torments of the blockade, you forged a weapon of victory over the enemy, giving all your strength...”

During the 900 days of the siege, the enemy dropped 4,638 high-explosive bombs of various calibers, 103 thousand incendiary bombs, and fired more than 148 thousand heavy artillery shells on Leningrad. On average, 245 artillery rounds were fired throughout the city daily. For every square kilometer of urban territory there were 16 high-explosive bombs, over 320 incendiary bombs and 480 shells.

In the line of duty, 308 brave soldiers and commanders of the Leningrad fire department died. 210 people were missing - these are those who could not be found under the collapsed buildings and who were destroyed by direct hits from bombs and shells. During the blockade, 1,593 fire brigade personnel died from starvation and injuries.

The origins of the heroism and courage of the personnel of the Leningrad fire department lie in the boundless love for the Motherland and hatred of the Nazi invaders. During all the days of the city siege, communists and Komsomol members of the fire department acted as the main force rallying all personnel to fight fires.

The party and government highly appreciated the work and heroism of the Leningrad fire department, awarding it a high government award.

DECREE

PRESIDIUM OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE USSR

On awarding the Order of Lenin to the city fire department of the NKVD of the city of Leningrad

For the exemplary training of the fire defense of the city of Leningrad, for the valor and courage shown by the fire department personnel in extinguishing fires, award the city fire department of the NKVD of the city of Leningrad with the Order of Lenin.

Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR M. KALININ Secretary of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR A. GORKIN

Literature:

1. Historical milestones of the Russian fire service. Firefighting. 1993. Savelyev P.;
2. Fire protection of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War. Leningrad, 1971. Zilberstein F.B., Konchaev B.I., Solosin. G.I.;
3. Leningraders during the siege. Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences, M., 1968. Karasev A.V.;
4. Based on the book by P.S. Savelyev “Fires - disasters”;
5. Photos:http://waralbum.ru, http://www.oldsp.ru/.

The heroic defense of Leningrad is one of the most striking pages of the Great Patriotic War. Defense was carried out not only from the ground, but also from the air. leningrad war aviation combat

Direct cover of Leningrad from air strikes was provided by the 2nd Air Defense Corps. The corps was commanded by Major General M. M. Protsvetkin, his deputy was Artillery Major General S. A. Krasnopevtsev, the deputy for political affairs was Brigade Commissar Chumakov, the chief of staff was Colonel V. M. Dobryansky, and the corps artillery chief was Colonel S. K. Grokhochinsky.

After the deployment of the corps at the beginning of the war, it included: six medium-caliber anti-aircraft artillery regiments, one separate medium-caliber anti-aircraft artillery division, one anti-aircraft machine gun regiment, two anti-aircraft searchlight regiments, three barrage balloon regiments, one VNOS regiment and a separate VNOS radio battalion.

In addition to ground-based air defense units for the air defense of Leningrad, two fighter aviation divisions were allocated from the Air Force of the Leningrad Military District. With the outbreak of hostilities, five additional fighter aviation regiments were included in these divisions.

Hero of the Soviet Union Colonel S.P. Danilov was appointed corps commander, brigade commissar F.F. Verov as military commissar, and Colonel N.P. Abramov as chief of staff.

The 7th Fighter Aviation Corps was transferred to the operational subordination of the commander of the 2nd Air Defense Corps, which was extremely important for ensuring the targeted use of fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery in the air defense system of Leningrad.

To carry out the assigned tasks, air defense fighter aircraft were based at 10 airfields located around Leningrad, 20 - 60 km from it. In addition, in the first months of the war, 15 other airfields could be used if necessary. Most of the airfields were located in the south and southwest of the city. But by September 1941, when the city was besieged by the enemy, the airfield network of the 7th Fighter Wing was sharply reduced. There were only four airfields left at his disposal, located to the north. Air defense fighters were based on them during the entire period of the siege of Leningrad.

From the first day of the war, air defense fighter aircraft established round-the-clock air patrols on the approaches to Leningrad and over the city itself, and duty groups of fighters were on duty at the airfields. But as the reliability of detection of enemy air by the Redut radar stations increased, the opportunity was created to more or less timely lift on-duty groups of fighters into the air. This made it possible to reduce fighter patrols near Leningrad from September 1941.

The grouping of medium-caliber anti-aircraft artillery was based on the principle of all-round defense with strengthening of the northwestern, western and southwestern directions, which before the war the command of the 2nd Air Defense Corps considered the most dangerous. In the first weeks of the war, some changes were made to the medium-caliber anti-aircraft artillery grouping. In particular, they strengthened the western direction by placing eight batteries on barges in the Gulf of Finland and somewhat expanded the fire zone in the northern part of the city in order to cover the most important airfields.

After the main directions of approach of enemy aviation to Leningrad from the south and south-west were identified during the fighting, and our southern air defense fighter airfields began to be subjected to assault and bombing raids, in August 1941 it was necessary to carry out a more significant regrouping of medium-caliber anti-aircraft artillery batteries . An additional external line was created of 15 batteries of medium-caliber anti-aircraft artillery, which were removed from the northern and eastern sectors and installed along the line Nizino, Ropsha, Sloboda Kolomenskaya, Pokrovskaya, Glinka. For maneuverable operations along enemy aircraft approach routes from the southwest and south, a separate division of medium-caliber anti-aircraft artillery was formed, consisting of three batteries, using surplus material. In addition, to cover communications routes, 6 separate railway anti-aircraft batteries were created in August 1941.

With the approach of German ground troops to Leningrad, a number of anti-aircraft batteries in the southern and southwestern sectors had to be moved to new positions, as well as anti-aircraft batteries standing on barges in the Gulf of Finland had to be removed, as they were under the influence of enemy artillery fire. As a result, by October 1941, the zone of anti-aircraft fire for the defense of Leningrad in the south and southwest was significantly reduced.

In the western and southwestern directions, the depth of the fire zone was only 17 - 18 km from the city, in the south - 27 km, and in other directions - 26 - 28 km.

Small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery covered the most important objects inside the city. Its guns were installed on the roofs of buildings on specially equipped sites. Due to the fact that small-caliber anti-aircraft batteries were located throughout the city, isolated from the battle formations of their regiments, their control was difficult. Therefore, in September 1941, they were promptly subordinated to the commander of an anti-aircraft machine gun regiment, and in February 1942, they were consolidated into a separate small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery regiment, which made it possible to more properly organize the management of batteries and their combat training.

Most of the anti-aircraft machine guns were located to cover the firing positions of medium-caliber anti-aircraft batteries from low-flying aircraft. The remaining machine guns, mainly the DShK systems, were part of the anti-aircraft machine gun regiment and carried out combat missions in the defense of the city's industrial facilities. They, like small-caliber anti-aircraft guns, stood on the roofs of buildings.

Due to the large understaffing of the units of the 2nd Air Defense Corps with searchlight stations, at the beginning of the war, all anti-aircraft searchlights were used to create only a light zone to support night firing of anti-aircraft artillery. But the combat situation in the very first months of the war required the creation of light searchlight fields for night combat of fighters. At the end of July 1941, with the help of searchlight regiments, a light searchlight field with an area of ​​40X25 km was created on one of the main enemy aviation routes in the southwestern direction, in the area of ​​Gatchina, Sivertsy, Vitino, Ropsha.

At the end of July 1941, to strengthen the western direction in the Gulf of Finland, 8 search stations with sound collectors and 12 accompanying stations were installed on barges. This achieved a connection between the light zone of Leningrad and the air defense light zone of Kronstadt.

The enemy's advance towards Leningrad forced at the end of August 1941 to remove the searchlight field for night fighter combat in a southwestern direction, and also to withdraw barges with searchlights from the Gulf of Finland to the mouth of the Neva, as they were subject to artillery fire from the Nazis. In addition, 86 searchlights were allocated from both the southern and southwestern directions.

As a result, during the blockade, the main area of ​​the light zone of anti-aircraft searchlights was significantly reduced and the searchlights could only partially support night fire of anti-aircraft artillery. In the southern and western directions, the border of the light zone was behind the border of the anti-aircraft artillery fire zone.

Three regiments of barrage balloons built their battle formation on the principle of all-round defense, with increased cover of the most important objects inside the city and with the consolidation of the group in the most likely directions of enemy aircraft flights. On the approaches to the city, a front line of barrage balloons was created, located 12-15 km from the south and 8-10 km from the north from the city boundaries. Here, the barrage balloons were located in a checkerboard pattern with intervals between posts of 800 - 1200 m. At the beginning of the war, there were 150 balloon posts within the city, and 147 on the approaches to it. To cover the western approaches to Leningrad in the Gulf of Finland, they also operated on barges 31 balloons.

During the blockade, the area of ​​the barrage balloon was sharply reduced. Due to the loss of balloons and the lack of hydrogen for balloon units, only 114 posts remained on the defense of Leningrad; they were clearly not enough to create the appropriate barrier density.

The barrage balloons, which were in service with the air defense of Leningrad, made it possible to barrage at altitudes of 2000 - 4500 m with maximum wind speeds of up to 12 - 15 m per second.

By June 24, 1941, the 2nd regiment and the 72nd separate VNOS radio battalion deployed the main VNOS post of the 2nd Air Defense Corps, 16 company posts, 263 observation posts, 23 VNOS posts for targeting fighter aircraft at the enemy air force and 8 sets of RUS radio installations -1 (“Rhubarb”).

The basis of the VNOS service in the first months of the war were ground-based visual observation posts. A warning strip and a continuous observation field were created from them. The warning strip of VNOS posts was located 120 - 140 km from Leningrad and ran from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Ladoga along the line Narva, Luga, Chudovo, Volkhov and further along the eastern shore of Lake Ladoga. In the north and northwest, warning strip posts were located along the state border with Finland. A continuous observation field was created around Leningrad and consisted of four or five concentric rings of VNOS posts. The outer contour of the continuous observation field took place at a distance of 60 - 70 km from the city, and the internal contour - at a distance of 25 - 30 km. The warning strip and the continuous observation field were connected by nine radial compartments from observation posts. The airspace over the Gulf of Finland near Leningrad and over Lake Ladoga was not visible by the VNOS posts of the 2nd Air Defense Corps. Here, surveillance of the air enemy was carried out by the forces of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, which interacted with the air defense corps.

Eight RUS-1 radar installations were deployed a month before the war and formed three lines of radio detection of enemy air.

The enemy's offensive led to a significant reduction in the network of VNOS observation posts. Thus, on July 3, 1941, the withdrawal of VNOS posts on the Karelian Isthmus began, on July 19 - from the Gdov, Luga line, and in early August - along the entire front. By mid-September, the previous VNOS service system in Leningrad ceased to exist. The front line moved almost close to the city. There were only 62 active VNOS posts left to support Leningrad, which formed a continuous observation field in the blocked area. The front line of VNOS posts ran in the north along the line N. Nikuoyasy, Lembalovo, Sestroretsk, and in the south - the Commercial Port, Pulkovo, Ust-Izhora and further along the Neva. Posts remained at these lines throughout the blockade.

During the blockade, the RUS-2 radar installations played an exceptional role. From the second half of August 1941, they became the main means of monitoring the air situation. By the end of the first year of the war, Leningrad's air defense was already provided by 10 RUS-2 radar stations, of which 2 were of the Pegmatite type, and the rest of the Redut type. Leningrad itself was provided by 5 RUS-2 stations. All these stations worked quite reliably, providing detection of enemy aircraft at a range of 100 - 140 km.

Thus, from September 1941, the old VNOS air defense system of Leningrad, based on visual observation of VNOS posts, ceased to exist and its place was taken by the VNOS system, in which the main role was played by RUS-2 radar stations. VNOS observation posts turned into a means of clarifying radar data on the closest approaches to the city (176).

Leningrad air defense troops entered into battle with the air enemy in the very first days of the war. On the night of June 23, 1941, two groups of bombers, seven to nine aircraft each, tried to carry out a raid on Leningrad from the Karelian Isthmus (177). The bombers were flying at low altitude. Met by anti-aircraft gunners in the Gorskaya, Sestroretsk area, they split up: one group went to Kronstadt, where the anti-aircraft gunners of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet shot down 4 aircraft, and the rest, hastily turned around and left. The second group bombed a military camp and anti-aircraft gunner command posts. The raid of this group was repelled by batteries of the 115th and 194th anti-aircraft artillery regiments. Anti-aircraft gunners of the 2nd Air Defense Corps shot down one enemy aircraft from this group.

In the first months of the war, the efforts of enemy aviation were mainly focused on conducting aerial reconnaissance. Scouts usually operated from high altitudes - 6000 - 7000 m. Along with reconnaissance, fascist aircraft bombed Leningrad targets.

In the first half of July 1941, the Nazi Army Group North, using its numerical superiority and large superiority in equipment, reached the distant approaches to Leningrad. An immediate threat was created to the city of Lenin. To strengthen and support our ground forces, the 2nd Air Defense Corps on July 5 allocated 100 anti-aircraft guns with the best crews and sent them to anti-tank defense. By order of the Military Council of the Leningrad Front, on August 22, the 115th, 189th, 194th and 351st anti-aircraft artillery regiments additionally formed four anti-tank divisions and sent them to anti-tank defense in the Southern fortified area.

The entry of German troops to the distant approaches to Leningrad allowed them to pull up their aircraft to the airfields closest to the city and, from the second half of July 1941, to intensify bombing raids on the city.

On July 20, a group of 9 Yu-88 bombers, under the cover of 11 Me-110 fighters, at an altitude of 3000 m, tried to break through to Leningrad from the south. In the Krasnogvardeysk area she was met by 25 fighters of the 7th Fighter Aviation Corps. In an air battle, our pilots shot down 8 enemy aircraft, forcing the rest to turn around and go back.

The enemy repeated an attempt to break through to Leningrad the next day, when 25 Yu-88, Me-110 and Me-109 aircraft at an altitude of 4000 m approached the city from the south, but, encountering intense fire from anti-aircraft batteries, turned around and left, dropping bombs on Gorelovsky aerodrome.

On July 22 the raid was repeated. This time, five groups with a total number of up to 70 aircraft rushed to Leningrad. 75 of our fighters were scrambled to meet them, which in air battles shot down 13 aircraft and forced the rest to abandon the raid.

Having received a crushing rebuff from the air defense of Leningrad over these three days, especially from air defense fighters, the Nazis launched their raids on fighter aviation airfields, trying to suppress it. Along with this, they continued to try to break through to Leningrad. In total, in July and August, the Nazis carried out 17 group raids on Leningrad, of which 8 were daytime and 9 were nighttime.

The air defense forces of Leningrad, successfully repelling all these raids, shot down 232 enemy aircraft by September 1, including 192 destroyed by fighter aircraft, and 40 aircraft by anti-aircraft artillery. Of the 1,614 enemy aircraft sent to Leningrad, only 28 enemy bombers managed to break through to the city.

When repelling enemy air raids, pilots and anti-aircraft gunners, Vnosovtsy and searchlight operators showed courage and bravery.

On August 10, 1941, 6 fighters of the 192nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, led by squadron commander Captain I. A. Shapovalov, stormed enemy ground forces in the area of ​​the village of Ustye. At this time, an enemy group of 40-50 bomber aircraft appeared in the air. Our six fighters, having dropped bombs on enemy positions, decided to thwart the Nazis' plan and resolutely attacked them. Captain I. A. Shapovalov set fire to the Me-110 with a successful burst, but his plane also caught fire from enemy shots. But the captain continued the fight and rammed the second fascist plane with his burning car. With bold attacks, six brave fighters prevented the enemy group from completing their task

But it was not only in the air that Leningrad fighters destroyed enemy aircraft during this period. They carried out daring, crushing raids on enemy airfields. Thus, on August 25, reconnaissance established a concentration of over 70 German aircraft at an airfield in the Spasskaya Polest region. Four groups of fighters consisting of 41 aircraft took off to attack this airfield. On the first approach, they bombed the airfield, and then began to storm the aircraft parking lots, making three or four attacks. The Nazis tried to get their planes into the air, but our pilots destroyed 14 planes during takeoff, and a total of 40 aircraft were destroyed at the airfield. To the rescue, the Germans scrambled 12 of their fighters from a nearby airfield. Our aviators entered into an air battle with them and shot down 6 planes.

The anti-aircraft gunners, with their fire, forced enemy bombers to operate from high altitudes and drop bombs, often without aiming, anywhere. Many anti-aircraft units and subunits, courageously repelling fascist air raids, successfully replenished the count of downed enemy aircraft. Thus, a division of the 351st anti-aircraft artillery regiment under the command of Captain A.I. Sumenkov shot down 14 enemy aircraft during one battle.

In the battles on the outskirts of Leningrad, the 8th battery of the 351st anti-aircraft artillery regiment under the command of Lieutenant P.N. Petrunin distinguished itself. On August 30, 1941, the advanced units of the Nazi troops reached the Neva near the village of Ivanovskoye and tried to cross it. In this area there was only one 8th anti-aircraft battery, located on the opposite bank. Our rifle units have not arrived here yet. Lieutenant P.N. Petrunin immediately organized the defense. The commander of the control platoon, Lieutenant E. A. Miloslavsky, with scouts Junior Sergeant D. A. Krayukhin and Red Army soldier A. D. Panfilov, established continuous surveillance of the enemy. As soon as the Nazis accumulated and headed to the shore to cross, the battery opened fire. According to the precise adjustment of Lieutenant E.A. Miloslavsky, the explosions covered the Nazis and dispersed them, preventing them from crossing.

Then the enemy decided to destroy the battery with an air strike. On the morning of September 2, several Yu-88 bombers appeared over the firing position. However, the battery detected the danger in a timely manner and met them with well-aimed volleys. Three planes, engulfed in flames, crashed into the ground, and the rest, hastily dropping bombs, disappeared.

In the evening, the enemy again sent a large group of Yu-88 bombers to suppress the battery. A hot battle broke out. But this time the anti-aircraft gunners won, shooting down three more planes. It was clear that the Nazis would try to take revenge on the artillerymen. The commander changed his firing position. The enemy discovered the battery and again threw a large group of planes at it, now Yu-87, which attacked from different directions and dived. Each gun had to conduct direct fire independently. In a fierce battle, the battery suffered losses, but the fire did not stop until the last enemy aircraft was driven away.

The advanced VNOS posts also had to operate in difficult conditions. With the advance of the enemy, the command of the 2nd Air Defense Corps was forced to withdraw these posts closer to the city. And, retreating together with our troops, they often had to fight the enemy on the ground. For example, on July 14, 1941, in the area of ​​VNOS post No. 0114 near the village of Ivanovskoye, a column of fascist tanks broke through. The head of the post, Sergeant N.I. Zornikov, having reported this, together with the Red Army observers I.A. Zaitsev, P.A. Zhuliev and P.P. Yakovlev, entered into an unequal battle. And even when the Nazis opened artillery fire on the post, the brave warriors continued to fight the enemy. The Vnosovites destroyed four tanks and several dozen Nazi soldiers. The entire personnel of the VNOS post died in an unequal battle, but the tanks were detained, and in the meantime our units arrived and drove back the enemy. Zornikovites have since become a symbol of courage and patriotism in air defense units of Leningrad.

The very first battles with a strong and experienced air enemy forced the pilots of the 7th Fighter Aviation Corps to seek out and master new tactics and master the art of air combat. At the beginning of the war, when patrolling and repelling raids, our pilots usually used the battle formations of the “ceremonial” formation of flight and nine. This greatly limited the maneuverability of the group, diverted the pilots’ attention to maintaining the battle formation and prevented the timely detection of the enemy. The entire group usually entered the battle, without providing cover for their attacking crews. The enemy took advantage of this and launched unexpected attacks from above, from the direction of the sun, from behind the clouds, as a result of which our pilots suffered unnecessary losses. They carried out attacks in the same way, as a rule, from the rear hemisphere, and especially from below, and fired from long distances and in long bursts. Camouflage using clouds and sun was also insufficiently used. Exiting an attack was most often done by diving without using a horizontal maneuver, which allowed enemy fighters to use their advantages in a vertical maneuver.

Eliminating these shortcomings became the most important task of fighter pilots in the first months of the war. “Parade” formations were no longer used. In combat formations, a strike group and a covering group began to be distinguished, and a pair of fighters became the smallest combat unit. Particular attention was now paid to covering attacks and getting out of them. Techniques such as covertly approaching the enemy, opening fire from short distances, and forcing enemy fighters to fight horizontally and at the most advantageous altitudes began to bring significant success to our pilots in air battles. If the results of air battles with the enemy in July - August 1941 were approximately 2: 1 in favor of the pilots of the 7th Fighter Air Corps, then in May - June 1942 this ratio increased to 4: 1.

In some anti-aircraft artillery units in the first months of the war, the crews were late in opening fire, the batteries were poorly prepared for firing and fired volleys uncoordinated. To eliminate these shortcomings, much attention was paid to the organization of air surveillance and target designation on batteries, to the training of rangefinder and instrument crews, and to the preparation of materiel for firing. In turn, the VNOS radio battalion had to quickly master the new RUS-2 radar installations coming into service, which, given the reduction in the network of VNOS observation posts, were the only means of timely detection of enemy air on the approaches to the city.

At the beginning of September 1941, enemy ground forces came close to Leningrad and began preparing to storm the city. Before launching an assault on the defensive lines of Leningrad, the enemy subjected the city to heavy artillery fire and aerial bombardment. On September 8, 1941, fascist aviation carried out a daytime raid on the city with two groups of Yu-88 bombers consisting of 23 aircraft flying at an altitude of 4000 m. Some of them managed to break through to the target and drop high-explosive and incendiary bombs in the southern part of the city, causing a number of fires . With the onset of darkness the raid was repeated. Up to 20 aircraft, approaching one by one from the south-west at an altitude of 6000 m, bombed the city. And in the morning the enemy went on the offensive, hoping to take Leningrad by storm, but failed.

On the night of September 9, German aircraft repeated the air raid on Leningrad, dropping 48 high-explosive bombs weighing from 250 to 500 kg.

During September 1941, the enemy carried out 23 group raids on Leningrad, 11 of them during the day, and the rest at night. During the day he carried out the main bombing strikes, and at night the raids were designed to wear out the air defense and demoralize the population. The most intense raids on Leningrad were carried out on September 19 and 27. On September 19, the enemy carried out four day and two night raids involving about 280 aircraft, and on September 27, during the day, groups of up to 200 aircraft attacked the city and airfields three times.

Simultaneously with the bombing of the city in September, fascist German aviation tried to destroy the main forces of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet in Kronstadt with air strikes. To this end, for three days in a row - September 21, 22 and 23 - up to 400 aircraft carried out massive bombing raids on Kronstadt.

The main burden of repelling the raids fell on the anti-aircraft artillery of Kronstadt and Leningrad. On September 21, 22 anti-aircraft batteries fired, shooting down 7 aircraft. Under anti-aircraft artillery fire, the Nazis were unable to conduct targeted bombing and did not cause significant damage to the ships of the fleet. The next day, September 22, the Nazis failed to raid Kronstadt. Fighters and anti-aircraft gunners, having destroyed 6 aircraft, did not allow the bombers to reach the facility. Having suffered losses and not achieving success in the first two days, on September 23, enemy aircraft increased their flight altitude to 4000 - 6000 m. But even on this day, five raids on Kronstadt did not bring success to the Germans. Only one of our battleships was damaged and several objects in Kronstadt were damaged. The enemy was missing 12 aircraft that day.

In general, the enemy was unable to achieve the fulfillment of his plans to destroy the ships of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet. Having carried out several more small raids, which were also successfully repelled by air defense forces, he stopped attacks on Red Baltic Fleet ships until April 1942.

More than 2,700 enemy aircraft took part in the September raids on Leningrad, but as a result of active air defense operations, only 480 German aircraft were able to break through to the city. At the same time, fascist aviation suffered significant losses. The country's Air Defense Forces alone, defending Leningrad, shot down 272 aircraft, of which the pilots of the 7th Fighter Aviation Corps - 120 and the anti-aircraft artillery of the 2nd Air Defense Corps - 152 aircraft.

The fascist German command, having failed to achieve decisive results in the September battles, was forced to abandon further attempts to take Leningrad by storm. It decided to break the heroic resistance of the city's defenders with a long blockade, systematic artillery shelling and air bombing.

And indeed, the Nazi troops moved on to implement their barbaric plan. But the huge losses suffered by enemy aircraft during massive daytime raids forced him to switch almost exclusively to night operations. From October 1 to November 24, 1941, the Nazis carried out 37 bombing raids on Leningrad, of which 32 were carried out at night and only 5 during the day, and then in completely cloudy conditions. About 840 aircraft took part in these raids. Night raids, as a rule, were carried out on clear moonlit nights at altitudes of 5000 - 6000 m. Bombers approached the city from different directions. The time intervals between planes reached up to 20 minutes, and the raids lasted throughout the night, exhausting the personnel of the air defense forces and the population. So, on the night of November 14, the raid lasted 14 hours, and only about 36 aircraft took part in it.

During the blockade, significant changes took place in the Leningrad air defense control system aimed at strengthening it.

In accordance with the decision of the State Defense Committee, the 2nd Air Defense Corps was reorganized into the Leningrad Air Defense Corps Region. Major General of the Coastal Service G.S. Zashikhin was appointed commander of the troops of the Leningrad Corps Air Defense District, regimental commissar A.A. Ikonnikov as military commissar, and lieutenant colonel P.F. Rozhkov as chief of staff.

The Svirsky and Ladoga air defense brigade areas, which performed tasks to defend Leningrad's communications routes, remained unchanged. The State Defense Committee provided for the direct subordination of the Leningrad Corps, Ladoga and Svirsky brigade air defense districts to the Military Council of the Leningrad Front, and not to the commander of the Air Defense Forces of the country, as was done for all other air defense formations of the country. Such an exception was dictated by the specific conditions of the air defense of a blockaded city, in which the front troops and the country's air defense troops performed one common task - the defense of the city. In this situation, it was advisable to concentrate the leadership of all the troops defending Leningrad in one center.

During the blockade, changes were also made in the leadership of the 7th Fighter Aviation Corps, which was operationally subordinate to the commander of the corps area. Colonel E.E. Erlykin was appointed corps commander, brigade commissar G.Yu. Pevzner as military commissar, and lieutenant colonel N.P. Zhiltsov as chief of staff.

During the difficult times of the blockade, the main attention of the command of the 7th Fighter Aviation Corps was focused on covering the Ladoga waterway from enemy air attacks, on patrolling and repelling raids on the Ladoga waterway. In three months, starting in October 1941, the corps carried out 1,836 sorties, which amounted to about 42 percent. total number of corps sorties. At the same time, pilots over Lake Ladoga shot down 37 enemy aircraft. The corps also continued to conduct combat operations in support of ground troops. To carry out these missions, 1,460 sorties were flown.

Anti-aircraft artillery played a decisive role in repelling raids on Leningrad in October and December. But during this period, a critical situation with ammunition developed. The supply of shells during the fighting did not cover the costs. Thus, in September 1941, anti-aircraft gunners spent about 69,000 shells and received 14,530 shells. The workers of Leningrad provided great assistance to the anti-aircraft gunners, who established the production of anti-aircraft shells at the factories of the besieged city. However, an acute shortage of shells for 85-mm anti-aircraft guns was felt throughout the blockade.

The command was forced to take emergency measures to save ammunition. Fire on enemy aircraft was opened only with the permission of the regiment commander and, in some extreme cases, with the permission of the division commander. When repelling night raids, barrage fire was carried out by only two guns of each battery, and the number of series of shots in the screen was also reduced. In addition, the command of the 2nd Air Defense Corps made a mistake by widely practicing anti-aircraft artillery firing based on sound detector data. This method of shooting turned out to be extremely ineffective. During the period from June to December 1941, 69,220 shells were used when firing using this method, and only 1 enemy aircraft was shot down. Therefore, at the beginning of 1942, the air defense of Leningrad abandoned the method of shooting with sound detectors and switched to barrage fire.

At the end of November 1941, the Germans again changed their attack tactics on Leningrad and switched to mainly daylight raids. But now these raids were carried out exclusively in completely cloudy conditions, with bombing from behind the clouds. Usually the raid began in the afternoon and continued until dark. The bombers approached the city singly or in groups of 2 - 3 aircraft, at intervals of 20 - 40 minutes, at an altitude of 4000 - 4500 m. 12 - 15 aircraft took part in each such raid. At the same time, the enemy carried out artillery shelling of the city.

Repelling these raids was extremely difficult. Fighter aircraft could not operate successfully in conditions of continuous low clouds, and anti-aircraft artillery did not have instruments for conducting aimed fire at targets invisible to optical instruments. She conducted only low-density barrage fire due to a lack of ammunition.

On April 4, 1942, Nazi aviation once again attempted to destroy the ships of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, which were now stationed at the mouth of the Neva near Vasilyevsky Island. For this purpose, the Nazis sent 100 bombers under the cover of fighters. At the same time, they attacked the airfields of our fighter aircraft and fired artillery fire at the anti-aircraft batteries located in the raid zone.

But this time too the enemy miscalculated. Given the nature of its aerial reconnaissance, the Leningrad air defense command strengthened the defense of the ship parking lot in advance. The grouping of anti-aircraft batteries on the approaches to the ships was compacted, and medium- and small-caliber anti-aircraft batteries and some anti-aircraft machine guns were concentrated directly at the parking lot to combat diving aircraft. The enemy planes were met by our fighters and powerful anti-aircraft artillery fire. 58 bombers managed to break through to the city, dropping up to 230 high-explosive bombs. But under anti-aircraft artillery fire, the bombing accuracy was low, and the ships of the fleet did not suffer significant damage. The Nazis lost 25 aircraft.

After this unsuccessful raid, the Nazis conducted intensive additional reconnaissance of the air defense and the location of the ships in the parking lot for twenty days. And then over the course of four days - April 24, 25, 27 and 30 - they carried out a series of large raids on the ships' parking lot. Up to 200 bombers under cover of fighters took part in them. But this time too, our aviators and anti-aircraft gunners successfully repelled all the raids, destroying 38 enemy aircraft. A small number of bombers broke through to the city and the ship parking area, causing almost no damage.

After the April raids on ships at the mouth of the Neva, the Germans did not launch bombing raids on Leningrad until the end of October 1942.

In April, the Leningrad Air Defense Army was created, which included ground air defense units of the Leningrad Corps District and the 7th Fighter Aviation Corps. Major General of the Coastal Service G.S. Zashikhin was appointed commander of the troops of the Leningrad Air Defense Army, brigade commissar A.A. Ikonnikov, brigade commissar F.F. Verov and chairman of the executive committee of the Leningrad City Council of Workers' Deputies P.S. Popkov were appointed as members of the Military Council.

This event played a positive role in strengthening the air defense of Leningrad, since it completed the operational and organizational unification of all troops defending Leningrad from the air into a single system, and the significant strengthening of command and control bodies made it possible to improve the quality of management of their combat operations.

In conditions of a long blockade of the city, the importance of reliable interaction between the troops of the Leningrad Air Defense Army, the Air Force of the Leningrad Front and the air defense troops of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet has increased significantly. For this purpose, their headquarters developed documents common to all: a planning table for the interaction of air defense systems; instructions for fighter aircraft of the Leningrad Air Defense Army, the Air Force of the Leningrad Front and the Air Force of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet on repelling enemy air raids on Leningrad, on the Kronstadt naval base and on the port of Osinovets; a unified coded map for targeting fighter aircraft at enemy air and a unified diagram of fighter aircraft combat zones.

By a special resolution of the Military Council of the Leningrad Front, the commander of the Leningrad Air Defense Fighter Aviation was given the right to use the Red Banner Baltic Fleet fighter aircraft to repel massive raids on the city.

The system of fighter guidance posts at the enemy was the same for all air defense fighter aircraft, the Leningrad Front Air Force and the Red Banner Baltic Fleet Air Force. The VNOS services of the Leningrad Air Defense Army, the Leningrad Front and the air defense of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet had direct telephone and radio communication with each other and exchanged data on the air situation.

The anti-aircraft artillery regiments of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet had fire communication with the anti-aircraft artillery regiments of the Leningrad Air Defense Army and exchanged mutual information via direct telephone communication.

Interaction with the military air defense system was organized by the headquarters of the Leningrad Front.

For 1941 - 1942 pilots of the 7th Air Defense Fighter Aviation Corps destroyed 653 German aircraft, of which 534 in air battles and 119 during airfield attacks. Besides, in. fighting the ground enemy, they destroyed 23 tanks, 228 vehicles, about 34 artillery batteries and suppressed about 86 batteries. During the same period, anti-aircraft artillery units shot down 339 enemy aircraft. In the fight against the ground enemy, anti-aircraft gunners destroyed 61 enemy tanks, 29 vehicles, destroyed about 37 and suppressed 59 artillery and mortar batteries, 35 bunkers and 16 observation posts.

Defending besieged Leningrad, air defense soldiers accomplished many glorious military deeds and heroic deeds.

Despite the extremely difficult conditions of the fight against fascist aviation, the air defense forces of Leningrad in the first period of the Great Patriotic War did not allow the fascist barbarians to destroy the city with air strikes. Lenin's city lived and continued to fight heroically.

Museum of the Red Banner Local Air Defense (KMPVO) of Leningrad. In the building of State Educational Institution No. 18 of the Central District, 1st floor, room. 102.

The museum was opened on April 29, 1976 at school No. 154 in the Smolninsky (now Central) district of St. Petersburg. During the Great Patriotic War, the school building housed companies of the 339th separate city battalion of the Leningrad MPVO. In memory of this, a memorial plaque was installed at the entrance to the school museum.

Exhibits for the museum were collected by MPVO veterans, teachers and students of school No. 154. The museum contains documents from the Great Patriotic War, photographs of military and current air defense veterans, personal belongings of veterans, and household items from besieged Leningrad.

After the closure of school No. 154 in 2005, the building housed special (correctional) school No. 18. Teachers and students of the school continue the museum’s activities in the military-patriotic education of students and work with veteran soldiers of the KMPVO.

The exposition of the school museum tells about the combat activities of the Red Banner local air defense of Leningrad, starting from its creation. The stands display documentary materials and photographs about the siege of Leningrad and the activities of various MPVO services: warning, communications, fire, medical and sanitary, degassing, sapper and others. The display cases contain personal belongings of veterans, items from the siege, diaries of air defense fighters and wartime books.

The museum contains memories of veteran MPVO fighters about their activities during the war. The MPVO fighters during the siege of Leningrad were mainly girls and women. It was they who had to, with their hands worn to the point of blood, manually scatter multi-meter rubble, hearing the groans and cries of gasping people, stand for hours on observation towers when bombs and shells exploded over the city, and during duty, which did not stop day or night, at the first signal rush to the hotbeds of destruction and provide assistance to the Leningraders. After the end of the war, MPVO fighters restored the city destroyed by the Nazis and cleared mines. This activity is reflected in the exhibition of the school museum.

The stand “Our school during the Great Patriotic War” presents the activities of the 339th Regional Brigade of the Moscow Military District. There are documents, photographs of soldiers, commanders, the school building and the school grounds during the war. Based on the recollections of veterans, S. A. Barabanov made drawings of the situation in some school classrooms at the time when air defense soldiers were stationed there.

On April 29, 2009, a new exhibition opened in the museum, which tells about the life and work of the organizer and head of the Leningrad MPVO during the fascist blockade, Major General Lagutkin Emelyan Sergeevich. It presents personal belongings, documents and photographs of Emelyan Sergeevich and members of his family.

A large section of the museum's exhibition is dedicated to the air defense soldiers who died in the line of military duty. In memory of the fallen heroes, in 2006, an exhibit was installed in the museum representing a girl - an air defense fighter in military uniform. The museum's work has become an integral part of the school's educational program. The main goal of this work is the relationship and continuity in historical and patriotic education and the socialization of students, maintaining the long-term traditions of the school museum.

The museum's exposition is used by school teachers to conduct museum-pedagogical classes, history lessons, local history, life safety, drawing and other subjects. The museum conducts excursions for students, parents and school guests.

The Council of Veterans of the KMPVO of the Central (Smolninsky) region has been working at the school museum for many years. Veteran soldiers of the KMPVO take an active part in the patriotic education of students.

From the website of State Budgetary Educational Institution No. 18