Born on November 11, 1911 in the village of Novoye Mordovo, now the Kuibyshevsky district of the Tatar Autonomous Republic, in a working-class family. Graduated from junior high school. Worked at the Yaroslavl distillery. Since 1931 in the Red Army. In 1935 he graduated from the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation Pilot School.
Participant in the battles with the Japanese invaders on the Khalkin-Gol River in the summer of 1939 and the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940.
Since August 1942, Senior Lieutenant A.M. Berkutov in the active army. Until December 1944 he served in the 84-A IAP (101st Guards IAP); to May 1945 - in the 57th Guards IAP. He distinguished himself in battles in the North Caucasus and for the Crimean Peninsula.
By March 1944, the navigator of the 101st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (329th Fighter Aviation Division, 4th Air Army, 4th Ukrainian Front) of the Guard, Major A. M. Berkutov, made 232 combat missions, participating in 68 air battles, personally shot down 15 enemy aircraft.
On August 2, 1944, for courage and military valor shown in battles with enemies, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Since 1947, Guard Colonel A.M. Berkutov has been in reserve. He lived in the city of Sochi, Krasnodar Territory, and worked at a city industrial plant. Died January 26, 1962.
Awarded the orders: Lenin, Red Banner (three times), Alexander Nevsky, Patriotic War 1st and 2nd degree, Red Star; medals.
* * *In the hungry year of 1921, the Berkutovs and their 10-year-old son Sasha came from Tataria to Yaroslavl and settled in the suburban village of Karabikha, famous for the estate - the museum of N. A. Nekrasov. The boilermaker at the ship repair plant, Maxim Berkutov, got a job as a mechanic at a local distillery, but there was no happiness here either - his wife soon died. The orphanage accepted my son. A year later, Sasha returned to his father and stepmother. Subsequently, Alexander talked about his “universities”:
In Karabikha, at the school named after N.A. Nekrasov, I completed an eight-year education, then worked as a laborer, secretary of the village council, as an apparatchik at a distillery, and in 1931 I volunteered for the Red Army. He served in Yaroslavl - first as a cadet in the 18th artillery regiment, and after graduating from the regimental school - as a gun commander in the 52nd rifle regiment.
But it turned out that aviation still became his calling. It was the call of a heart in love with the sky. According to a special recruitment in 1933, Alexander Berkutov was sent to the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation School of Pilots. 2 years of study flew by quickly, followed by service in Belarus and the Bryansk region.
When the Japanese military unleashed aggression against the friendly Mongolian People's Republic, Alexander, among other fighter pilots, found himself in the area of the Khalkin-Gol River. There, in the hot Mongolian sky, in August 1939, his baptism of fire took place.
Alexander returned with the Order of the Red Banner, and 4 months later he had a new test in the frosty skies of Finland. There, for 3 months, the flight commander led his pilots on combat missions - intercepting enemy aircraft, storming military trains, airfields, firing positions, and pillboxes. These flights were a good school for the young commander. In May 1940, Alexander Berkutov was entrusted with command of the squadron and at the same time promoted to the position of navigator of the aviation regiment.
On June 2, 1941, the 3rd war in his life began - the Great Patriotic War. In the very first days, Alexander Berkutov, like many others, submitted a report with a request to be sent to the front, but only in August 1942, when German troops broke through to the Caucasus, was his desire satisfied. And here is the North Caucasus Front, 84-A Fighter Aviation Regiment. Fierce fighting raged on the ground and in the air. The regiment's pilots selflessly fought against superior enemy forces, destroyed his columns on mountain roads and crossings, and fought unequal battles with German aircraft. Captain A.M. Berkutov showed an example of courage.
Once, at the head of seven “Seagulls” (as our pilots called the I-153 fighter), the squadron commander crossed the front line. Immediately, a group of Me-109s burst out from behind the white veil of clouds. The superiority in strength made the enemy daring and impudent. Four Me-109s furiously attacked the commander. The calculation is to bring down the leader.
Moving away from the fiery routes, Berkutov himself attacked the enemy, lashing them with machine-gun bursts. The most impudent of the Germans launched a frontal attack. The commander accepted it. And now the enemy fighter is in the crosshairs. The distance is closing... It seemed that a collision was inevitable. But no: the German could not stand it and abruptly went into a dive. The fiery tracks of the "ShKAS" dug into the thin body of the "Messer". With a mane of fire and smoke, it rushed to the ground and soon exploded. Another 3 Me-109s were shot down by the Captain's wingmen. The rest of the German planes disappeared with lightning speed...
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In the evening of the same day, Alexander Berkutov once again fought with the enemy - another enemy plane crashed to the ground from his well-aimed fire. So he won 2 victories in one day.
In the first days of September 1942, fighting broke out on the Terek line. Almost every day, Berkutov’s squadron stormed enemy crossings across the Terek; on other days it was necessary to make 8 sorties.
At the end of September, aerial reconnaissance discovered a large concentration of German tanks west of the village of Voznesenskaya. They strove for Grozny and its oil fields. Armored vehicles moved along the valley between the Tersky and Sunzhensky ridges. The 4th Air Army of General K. A. Vershinin was assigned to defeat the German group. Berkutov took his comrades to attack several times a day. Only on September 29, he personally destroyed 2 tanks and knocked out 14 more, and during the ten-day battles near Mozdok he shot down 5 enemy aircraft. The command of the Transcaucasian Front awarded the Yaroslavl resident the Order of the Red Banner. The pilot bore his proud surname with dignity - he was a real Caucasian eagle - a golden eagle.
The order of the Military Council of the 9th Army noted his valor: “in 4 sorties, Berkutov’s group destroyed 9 tanks, 18 vehicles, 4 anti-aircraft guns, more than 100 enemy soldiers and officers.”
At the beginning of October 1942, Major A.M. Berkutov’s plane was shot down in an unequal air battle. Bleeding, the pilot still managed to land him. Alexander Maksimovich lay in a hospital bed for a long time. Only in 1943 did he return to duty, and soon his car took off into the air again.
On March 17, 1943, five I-16s, led by regimental navigator Captain Berkutov, took off from an airfield near the village of Dneprovskaya for reconnaissance in the area of the villages of Petrovskaya and Chernoerkovskaya. Over Taman they met with 3 groups of Messers with a total of 14 vehicles and entered into battle with them. Berkutov attacked the Me-109 head-on and immediately shot it down. Soon another Messer began to smoke and began to fall. But four Me-109s, quickly attacking our group from above, shot down one of the Donkeys.
The battle had already lasted 25 minutes. Fuel was running out. The ammunition is also almost used up. The Messers set fire to another of our fighters. A few moments later, Captain A. M. Berkutov caught the Me-109 in his sights and fired a short burst. The Messer, shuddering, spun around and entered its final dive.
The battle continued until the aircraft's fuel tanks were almost completely exhausted. Two of our pilots did not return to their airfield. It was a bitter, heavy loss. But the enemy also felt the force of our guys’ blows: 4 Me-109s were burning out on the ground.
Under the blows of Soviet troops, the enemy rolled back from the North Caucasus and Kuban, and it was the turn of the liberation of Crimea.
Having mastered the new LaGG-3 fighter, Alexander beat the hated enemy with even greater skill and energy. By the end of the year, he made 67 combat missions and fought 25 air battles. In the issue of February 26, 1944, the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper reported: pilot Berkutov shot down 11 enemy aircraft in 15 days of fighting. At that time, the aviation regiment in which the brave pilot served helped ground troops defeat the enemy on the Kerch Peninsula.
Once he covered our bombers. Heavily loaded vehicles rose into the sky... Having bombed German communications in the Kerch area, they turned to their airfield. Suddenly 6 enemy fighters appeared. Berkutov attacked and shot down the lead Me-109. At this time, a pair of Messers attacked him. Skillfully maneuvering, Berkutov launched a counterattack on them. One German plane did not have time to escape from the attack and was shot down. Our fighters returned to the airfield in victory.
And at dawn (this was at the end of January 1944) - a new task. Major A.M. Berkutov led the four over the Kerch Strait. At this time, a group of 10 German bombers was approaching the crossing under the cover of 16 Messers. And yet Berkutov ordered the attack.
The brave four crashed into the enemy formation. The Germans, who did not expect such audacity, were clearly at a loss. It cost them one plane. But the Me-109s turned in different directions and rushed towards our vehicles. However, our fighters skillfully covered each other. In this unequal battle, the enemy lost 4 aircraft. Berkutov's group emerged from the battle without losses.
Alexander Maksimovich still had to fight a lot on Crimean soil - until the enemy was expelled.
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On August 2, 1944, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command, courage and bravery shown during the liberation of the North Caucasus and Crimea, the deputy commander of the 101st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Guard, Major A. M. Berkutov, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 4050).
From January 6, 1945, A. M. Berkutov commanded the 57th Guards Red Banner Fighter Aviation Regiment.
After the liberation of Crimea, the Guard, Lieutenant Colonel A. M. Berkutov, as part of the 2nd Belorussian Front, took part in many major military operations in the skies of Poland, finishing off the enemy in their lair. He ended the war flying the American P-39 Airacobra fighter. His wife, Maria Ivanovna, a Yaroslavl weaver, and son Albert were proud of their husband and father, who made 345 successful combat missions during the war, conducted 75 air battles, in which he shot down 16 enemy aircraft personally and 5 in a group with his comrades. [ M. Yu. Bykov in his research points to 15 personal and 2 group victories. ]
In February 1947, Berkutov was demobilized and settled in the city of Sochi, where he worked as a production manager at an industrial plant, head of a driving school, and was elected as a deputy of the city council four times. Retired Guard Colonel A. M. Berkutov died on January 26, 1962 and was buried in the Sochi cemetery. Yaroslavl residents honor their fellow countryman - Hero. The pioneer squad of the Karabikh eight-year school named after N. A. Nekrasov bore his name for a long time.
* * *List of famous victories of the Guard of Lieutenant Colonel A. M. Berkutov:
(From the book “Victories of Stalin’s Falcons” by M. Yu. Bykov. Published by “YAUZA - EKSMO”, 2008.)
| № p/p | Date | Downed aircraft | Air battle location (victory) | Their aircraft |
| 1 | 08/19/1942 | 1 Me-109 (in group - 1/?) | Altud | I-153, I-16, "Airacobra". |
| 2 | 08/25/1942 | 1 Me-109 | Dortui | |
| 3 | 09/01/1942 | 1 Me-109 | Kizlyar | |
| 4 | 09/02/1942 | 1 Me-109 | north Voznesensk | |
| 5 | 09/04/1942 | 1 Me-109 (in pairs - 1/2) | south Nizhny Bekovich | |
| 6 | 09/11/1942 | 1 Me-109 | southwest Gnadeburg | |
| 7 | 01/10/1944 | 1 Not-111 | north Kezy | |
| 8 | 01/23/1944 | 2 Me-109 | Alexandrovka | |
| 9 | 01/25/1944 | 1 Me-109 | north high 115.5 (Crimea) | |
| 10 | 1 FW-190 | Caterlez | ||
| 11 | 01/26/1944 | 1 Ju-87 | Kerch-2 | |
| 12 | 02/05/1944 | 2 FW-190 | high 88.5 (Kerch district) | |
| 13 | 02/06/1944 | 1 FW-190 | Caterlez | |
| 14 | 02/07/1944 | 1 FW-190 | zap. Alexandrovka | |
| 15 | 04/17/1944 | 1 FW-190 | south env. aer. Chersonesos | |
Total aircraft shot down - 15 + 2; combat sorties - 361; air battles - 71. |
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The interview with Alexander began with a question about what connects him with the Republic of Chuvashia.
- Tell us about your family ties with Chuvashia?
My paternal grandmother Margarita is from Alatyr. I went there every summer until I was about 14 years old. Now my grandparents live in Udmurtia. But there are many relatives left in Alatyr. I'm planning to go there in the near future. My two aunts from Alatyr were also involved in sports - one of them was a master of sports in swimming, the other a master of sports in gymnastics.
- Many were touched by your live congratulations to your other grandmother on her birthday. Did she see him?
Yes, on November 1, my maternal grandmother Lyudmila turned 80 years old. And they just gave her a tablet with Internet access. And now she watches all the matches with my participation live. And it so happened that during the break of the match I gave a quick interview about the game, and at the same time congratulated my grandmother on her anniversary. She was very pleased. She and her grandfather live in Perm. Grandfather himself is from Leningrad and survived the blockade. He often tells me about this.
-We know that you have a sports family. Tell about her.
Yes that's right. My father is a master of sports of the USSR in skiing, and my mother is a candidate master of sports of the USSR in skiing. That's how they met at competitions. I am grateful to my parents. Hockey is not a cheap sport. They provided me with everything I needed.
-During your career you have played in many teams and leagues. Tell us more about this.
I started my career in my hometown of Perm. He played in the Super League for Molot-Prikamye. Then I was invited to Spartak (Moscow). This was the very first season of the KHL. I then played under the leadership of Milos Rzhiga.
-What can you say about this coach?
I really enjoyed his training process. The classes were very intense and lasted no more than 50 minutes.
After playing two fairly successful seasons at Spartak, you moved to the camp of the bitter rivals of HC CSKA. How did the fans of the teams perceive this transition?
Overall calm. I was respected by Spartak fans. But I tried not to wear the CSKA suit again. So as not to provoke.
-What happened next?
At CSKA, head coach Sergei Nemchinov gave me little playing time and I decided to move to Avtomobilist. And he spent the next season in Togliatti as part of Lada. In terms of points scored, he turned out to be the most successful in his career. Our head coach was Gennady Fedorovich Tsygurov, whom I respect very much. This is an outstanding mentor. May his memory be blessed.
In the offseason, I attended a training camp with HC Ugra, but then the lockout in the NHL had just begun, and a lot of strong players came from overseas. I wasn't given a chance. Then I already played in the VHL, and then for several seasons in the Kazakhstan championship.
-Have you been to our city before?
Only once last season with Rostov. You told me that Cheboksary won one of the matches against Rostov with a score of 7-3. But I can’t remember this match. Apparently, the memory is configured in such a way that it removes all negative aspects from the head.
-Why did you leave Rostov after the championship season?
The coach didn't see me in the squad. But I didn’t like that he didn’t say this personally to his face, but conveyed it through the captain.
- Does this mean that the upcoming home matches with Rostov will be of great importance for you?
I wouldn't say that. These are calendar matches that we must win. The main thing is that it will be very pleasant to beat the current champion. But for this you need to try hard. “Rostov” has now gained momentum.
- Do you feel comfortable as part of the “Bogatyrs”?
Yes, we have found someone who is close in spirit to the team. We set the highest goals. When I arrived in Cheboksary, I only knew Pasha Nikulin well, with whom we played together in the same five back in Perm. But now we are all comrades and friends on the team!
- Many people highlight your truly heroic throw.
People tell me this often. Even as a child, I threw, and the goalkeepers’ masks bent. I have always paid great attention to this component. Even during the summer holidays, I would always pick up a stick in the yard and throw the puck a lot at the wall.
-Tell me about your marital status
I am married to a girl from next door to my hometown. We've been together for a very long time. She is like the wife of a Decembrist to me. Ready to go with me anywhere in the world. She is also an athlete - she trained in kyokushinkai karate.
- What interesting or fun events have you had at the moment in our club?
In the very first away game in Barnaul, I scored a goal and was recognized as the best player of the match. The guests gave me a set: Altai honey, tea and balm. I’ve already tried honey and tea, and I’ll take the balm to my grandparents (laughs). I also liked how my team and I played an intellectual game in the form of “Brain Ring”. This was almost immediately after I joined the team. We had sophisticated, intellectual opponents playing against us, but we looked decent. Although, probably, everyone thinks that hockey players are not the smartest people (laughs). The most important thing was that everything was done with humor. One of the questions was: “First she rubs around you, and then asks for money, who is this?” We thought it was a gypsy or a wife, but it turned out that the correct answer was the conductor.
The city of Perm is known to the younger generation from the TV series “Real Boys”. Do you personally not know the characters in the series?
I talked with them at one of the social events in Moscow. It was funny, when I first came to Spartak, everyone told me that I spoke like the main character of this series “Kolyan”. Among the artists, I am well acquainted with Vyacheslav Grishechkin (major/lieutenant colonel from the series “Soldiers” and many other roles). I personally gave him a Spartak HC sweater and he became a fan of the club.
Interviewed by Mikhail Mikheev, press service of HC "Cheboksary"
Dossier: Alexander Andreevich Berkutov (May 31, 1986, Perm, USSR) defender, left stick grip.
Career: A graduate of the Perm hockey school “Moloto-Prikamye” where he made his debut at the highest level. He played for Molot, for its youth and main teams, until 2008. In the 2008/2009 season he moved to the Moscow Spartak system, where he made his debut in the KHL. On October 27, 2008, he was recognized as the best defender of the week. Then, in two matches in a row, he scored four points using the goal+pass system (1+3). He spent two full seasons with Spartak, with short-term business trips to his native Molot and the capital's Krylya Sovetov. In total, Alexander played 75 matches as a member of Spartak and earned 24 scoring points using the goal+pass system (7+17). In the 2010/2011 season he moved to CSKA Moscow. However, he played in only 6 matches with the Army Men and was traded to Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. As part of Avtomobilist until the end of the season, Alexander played 12 meetings and gave one assist. Alexander Berkutov spent the 2011/2012 season as part of the Tolyatti Lada, which played at that time in the VHL - 53 matches and 40 (14+26) points in the goal+pass system in the regular season, as well as 2 assists for 4 games played in the playoffs. Alexander spends the off-season with HC Yugra (Khanty-Mansiysk), but the hockey player begins the 2012/2013 season as part of his native Molot-Prikamye. Having played 10 matches for Perm and given 2 assists, the hockey player moved to the Tyumen Rubin system, where, for the rest of the season, he played 20 matches and gave 8 assists. He spent the 2013/2014 season as a member of 2 VHL clubs: HC Ariada (Volzhsk) and HC Buran (Voronezh) and ultimately scored 11 points (4+ 7). Subsequently, Alexander moved to Kazakhstan, where he played the next 3 seasons for the clubs Almaty and Irtysh. In mid-January 2017, Alexander Berkutov enters into a contract with HC Rostov, with whom he will win the Federation Cup. In the 2017 off-season, Alexander joined the ranks of the Cheboksary Bogatyrs. And at the moment he is one of the leading defenders of the team. 15 games and 9 points (1 goal + 8 assists).
Berkutov Alexander Andreevich
Role: Defender
Putter grip: Left
Date of Birth: 31.05.1986
Place of Birth: Perm
Pupil of the city hockey school: Permian
Height Weight: 184 cm/ 95 kg
Awards: 2017 - 1st place. VHL Championship. "Rostov"
2018 - 2nd place. VHL Championship. HC "Cheboksary"
Played for teams:“Molot-Prikamye” (Perm), “Spartak” (Moscow), CSKA (Moscow), “Avtomobilist” (Ekaterinburg), “Lada” (Tolyatti), “Rubin” (Tyumen), “Buran” (Voronezh), “ Ariada (Volzhsk), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Irtysh (Kazakhstan), Rostov (Rostov-on-Don), HC Cheboksary (Cheboksary)
Will play for Mordovia at number 18
Berkutov Alexander Andreevich. 05/31/1986. Permian
Alexander Berkutov is a graduate of the hockey school of his hometown of Perm. Already at the age of 18, he made his debut for the main team from his city in the Super League. The following season, Alexander already had 17 matches in the elite of Russian hockey, two goals scored and one assist. From time to time, the defender was involved in the games of the Molot-Prikamye youth team. In the 2006/2007 season, the Perm club left the elite division and moved to a lower division - the Major League. By this time, Alexander Berkutov was already a solid player in the team's main squad. In 2007, the team reached the playoffs, but lost to Izhstal at the quarter-final stage. After another season in Perm, the promising defender was invited to Spartak Moscow. Alexander Berkutov made his debut in the KHL as part of the red and white team. In Season 1, he played 32 games in the regular championship and 6 matches in the playoffs. On October 27, 2008, he was recognized as the best defenseman of the week in the KHL. Then, in two matches in a row, he scored four points using the goal+pass system (1+3). The Spartak team advanced to the 1/8 finals of the playoffs, then not so famous St. Petersburg SKA, and in the quarterfinals they lost to the future finalists Lokomotiv from Yaroslavl. At the beginning of the next season 2009/2010, Berkutov played briefly for the capital's Krylya Sovetov in the "tower" and then returned to Spartak. The following season, Berkutov was invited to the camp of Spartak’s principal rival, CSKA Moscow. However, as part of the Army team, head coach Sergei Nemchinov did not give him much playing time, and he decided to move to Avtomobilist. Berkutov ultimately played only 12 matches at the Ekaterinburg club.
In total, the defender played 93 games in the KHL. 7 goals and 18 assists.
The 2011/2012 season became one of the most successful in the career of Alexander Berkutov. As part of the Togliatti Lada, which spent that season in the VHL championship, Alexander Berkutov became the most productive defender in the league based on the results of the entire regular championship. In 53 games, he scored 14 goals and gave 26 assists. In total, he scored 40 points. He scored 10 goals in the power play, which speaks volumes about the strength and accuracy of the defender's shooting. In 53 games, he made 180 shots at the opponent's goal. According to this indicator, he became 2nd in the league, even taking into account forwards. However, Lada did not find happiness in the playoffs. The team was eliminated in the first round, losing to Penza Diesel. It is not surprising that after such a season, Berkutov was invited to the KHL club Ugra from Khanty-Mansiysk, but after the pre-season training camp, the coaches did not give the player a chance to prove himself. He went to his native Perm, and then moved to Tyumen Rubin. He finished second in the regular season, and reached the quarter finals in the playoffs. Berkutov also spent the 2013/2014 season in the VHL. At first for the Voronezh “Buran”, and then for the Volga “Ariad”.
In total, Alexander Berkutov has 134 games in the VHL, 18 goals and 45 assists. Overall usefulness score “+19”
The defender spent the next two seasons in Kazakhstan, defending the colors of Almaty and Irtysh. In 2017, Berkutov returned to Russia and moved to the VHL championship club Rostov. In 2017, the team won the Federation Cup. The player spent last season in Cheboksary, where he was the leader in playing time and performance among defenders. He also became the most productive defensive player during the regular season. Ahead of our defender Alexander Brykin by 3 points. In the playoffs, the Cheboksary team quite unexpectedly managed to reach the final, where they lost to Tambov with a total score of 0:4. The player spent the beginning of this season in Cheboksary, but then the paths of the club from Chuvashia and one of its leaders diverged.
Statistics of Alexander Berkutov in the 2017/2018 season:
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Guard Major A.M. Berkutov made 232 combat missions, participating in 68 air battles, and personally shot down 15 enemy aircraft. On August 2, 1944, for the courage and courage shown in battles with enemies, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Alexander Berkutov was born on November 11, 1911 in the village of Novoye Mordovo, now the Kuibyshevsky district of the Tatar Autonomous Republic, into a working-class family. Graduated from junior high school. Worked at the Yaroslavl distillery. Since 1931 in the ranks of the Red Army. In 1935 he graduated from the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation Pilot School.
Participant in the battles with the Japanese invaders on the Khalkin-Gol River in the summer of 1939 and the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940.
On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War since August 1942. He especially distinguished himself in battles in the North Caucasus and for the Crimean Peninsula.
By March 1944, the Navigator of the 101st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (329th Fighter Aviation Division, 4th Air Army, 4th Ukrainian Front) Guard Major A. M. Berkutov made 232 combat missions, participating in 68 air battles, personally shot down 15 enemy aircraft. On August 2, 1944, for the courage and courage shown in battles with enemies, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
After the war, Alexander Maksimovich did not continue to serve in the Air Force for long. Since 1946, Guard Colonel A.M. Berkutov has been in reserve. He lived in the city of Sochi, Krasnodar Territory, and worked at a city industrial plant. Awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner (three times), Alexander Nevsky, the Order of the Patriotic War 1st and 2nd degree, the Red Star, and 4 medals. Died January 26, 1962.
In the hungry year of 1921, the Berkutovs and their 10-year-old son Sasha came from Tataria to Yaroslavl and settled in the suburban village of Karabikha, famous for the estate - the museum of N. A. Nekrasov. The boilermaker at the ship repair plant, Maxim Berkutov, got a job as a mechanic at a local distillery, but there was no happiness here either - his wife soon died. The orphanage accepted my son. A year later, Sasha returned to his father and stepmother. Subsequently, Alexander talked about his “universities”:
In Karabikha, at the school named after N.A. Nekrasov, I completed an eight-year education, then worked as a laborer, secretary of the village council, as an apparatchik at a distillery, and in 1931 I volunteered for the Red Army. He served in Yaroslavl - first as a cadet in the 18th artillery regiment, and after graduating from the regimental school - as a gun commander in the 52nd rifle regiment.
But it turned out that aviation still became his calling. It was the call of a heart in love with the sky. According to a special recruitment in 1933, Alexander Berkutov was sent to the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation School of Pilots. Two years of study passed quickly, followed by service in Belarus and the Bryansk region. When the Japanese military unleashed aggression against the friendly Mongolian People's Republic, Alexander, among other fighter pilots, found himself in the area of the Khalkin-Gol River. There, in the hot Mongolian sky, in August 1939, his baptism of fire took place.
Alexander returned with the Order of the Red Banner, and four months later he faced a new test in the frosty skies of Finland. For three months, the flight commander led his pilots on combat missions - intercepting enemy aircraft, storming military trains, airfields, firing positions, and pillboxes. These flights were a good school for the young commander. In May 1940, Alexander Berkutov was entrusted with command of the squadron and at the same time promoted to the position of navigator of the aviation regiment.
On June 2, 1941, the third war in his life began - the Great Patriotic War. In the very first days, Alexander Berkutov, like many others, submitted a report with a request to be sent to the front, but only in August 1942, when German troops broke through to the Caucasus, was his desire satisfied. And here is the North Caucasus Front, the 84th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Fierce fighting raged on the ground and in the air. The regiment's pilots selflessly fought against superior enemy forces, destroyed his columns on mountain roads and crossings, and fought unequal battles with German aircraft. Captain A.M. Berkutov showed an example of courage.
Once, at the head of seven “Seagulls” (as our pilots called the I-153 fighter), the squadron commander crossed the front line. Immediately, a group of Me-109s burst out from behind the white veil of clouds. The superiority in strength made the enemy daring and impudent. Four Me-109s furiously attacked the commander. The calculation is to bring down the leader.
Moving away from the fiery routes, Berkutov himself attacked the enemy, lashing them with machine-gun bursts. The most impudent of the Germans launched a frontal attack. The commander accepted it. And now the enemy fighter is in the crosshairs. The distance is closing... It seemed that a collision was inevitable. But no: the German could not stand it and abruptly went into a dive. The fiery tracks of the "ShKAS" dug into the thin body of the "Messer". With a mane of fire and smoke, it rushed to the ground and soon exploded. Three Me-109s were shot down by the Captain's wingmen. The rest of the German planes disappeared with lightning speed...
In the evening of the same day, Alexander Berkutov once again fought with the enemy - another enemy plane crashed to the ground from his well-aimed fire. Two victories in one day!
In the first days of September 1942, fighting broke out on the Terek line. Almost every day, Berkutov’s squadron stormed enemy crossings across the Terek; on other days it was necessary to make 8 sorties.
At the end of September, aerial reconnaissance discovered a large concentration of German tanks west of the village of Voznesenskaya. They strove for Grozny and its oil fields. Armored vehicles moved along the valley between the Tersky and Sunzhensky ridges. The 4th Air Army of General K. A. Vershinin was assigned to defeat the German group. Berkutov took his comrades to attack several times a day. Only on September 29, the Captain personally destroyed 2 tanks and knocked out 14 more, and during the ten-day battles near Mozdok he shot down 5 enemy aircraft. The command of the Transcaucasian Front awarded the Yaroslavl resident the Order of the Red Banner. The pilot bore his proud surname with dignity - he was a real Caucasian eagle - a golden eagle.
The order of the Military Council of the 9th Army noted his valor: “in 4 sorties, Berkutov’s group destroyed 9 tanks, 18 vehicles, 4 anti-aircraft guns, more than 100 enemy soldiers and officers.”
At the beginning of October 1942, Major Berkutov's plane was shot down in an unequal air battle. Bleeding, the pilot still managed to land him. Alexander Maksimovich lay in a hospital bed for a long time. Only in 1943 did he return to duty, and soon his car took off into the air again.
On March 17, 1943, five I-16s, led by regimental navigator Captain Berkutov, took off from an airfield near the village of Dneprovskaya for reconnaissance in the area of the villages of Petrovskaya and Chernoerkovskaya. Over Taman they met three groups of Messers with a total of 14 vehicles and entered into battle with them. Berkutov attacked the Me-109 head-on and immediately shot it down. Soon another Messer began to smoke and began to fall. But four Me-109s, quickly attacking our group from above, shot down one of the donkeys.
The battle had already lasted 25 minutes. Fuel was running out. The ammunition is also almost used up. The Messers set fire to another of our fighters. A few moments later, Captain Berkutov caught the Me-109 in his sights and fired a short burst. The Messer, shuddering, spun around and entered its final dive.
The battle continued until the aircraft's fuel tanks were almost completely exhausted. Two of our pilots did not return to their airfield. It was a bitter, heavy loss. But the enemy also felt the force of our guys’ blows: four Me-109s were burning out on the ground.
Under the blows of Soviet troops, the enemy rolled back from the North Caucasus and Kuban, and it was the turn of the liberation of Crimea.
Having mastered the new LaGG-3 fighter, Alexander beat the hated enemy with even greater skill and energy. By the end of the year, he made 67 combat missions and fought 25 air battles. In the issue of February 26, 1944, the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper reported: pilot Berkutov shot down 11 enemy aircraft in 15 days of fighting. At that time, the aviation regiment in which the brave pilot served helped ground troops defeat the enemy on the Kerch Peninsula.
Once he covered our bombers. Heavily loaded vehicles rose into the sky... Having bombed German communications in the Kerch area, they turned to their airfield. Suddenly 6 enemy fighters appeared. Berkutov attacked and shot down the lead Me-109. At this time, a pair of Messers attacked him. Skillfully maneuvering, Berkutov launched a counterattack on them. One German plane did not have time to escape from the attack and was shot down. Our fighters returned to the airfield in victory.
And at dawn (this was at the end of January 1944) - a new task. Major Berkutov led the four over the Kerch Strait. At this time, a group of 10 German bombers was approaching the crossing under the cover of 16 Messers. Four and sixteen... And yet Berkutov ordered the attack.
The brave four crashed into the enemy formation. The Germans, who did not expect such audacity, were clearly at a loss. It cost them one plane. But the Me-109s turned in different directions and rushed towards our vehicles. However, the red star fighters skillfully covered each other. In this unequal battle, the enemy lost 4 aircraft. Major Berkutov's group emerged from the battle without losses.
Alexander Maksimovich still had to fight a lot on Crimean soil - until the enemy was expelled. On August 2, 1944, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command, courage and bravery shown during the liberation of the North Caucasus and Crimea, the deputy commander of the 101st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Guard, Major A. M. Berkutov, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union .
After the liberation of Crimea, already commanding the 57th Guards Red Banner Fighter Aviation Regiment, Guard Lieutenant Colonel A. M. Berkutov, as part of the 2nd Belorussian Front, took part in many major combat operations in the skies of Poland, finishing off the enemy in their lair. He ended the war flying the American P-39 Airacobra fighter. His wife, Maria Ivanovna, a Yaroslavl weaver, and son Albert were proud of their husband and father, who made 345 successful combat missions during the war, conducted 75 air battles, in which he shot down 16 enemy aircraft personally and 5 in a group with his comrades.
In February 1947, Berkutov was demobilized and settled in the city of Sochi, where he worked as a production manager at an industrial plant, head of a driving school, and was elected as a deputy of the city council four times. Guards Retired Colonel A. M. Berkutov died on January 26, 1962 and was buried in the Sochi cemetery. Yaroslavl residents honor their fellow countryman - Hero. The pioneer squad of the Karabikh eight-year school named after N. A. Nekrasov bore his name for a long time.