A presentation about a person Stepan Ivanovich Kretov. Stepan Kretov - biography, photos

Kretov Stepan Ivanovich - squadron commander of the 24th Guards Aviation Regiment (50th Aviation Division, 6th Long-Range Aviation Corps), captain. Born on December 25, 1919 in the village of Malaya Nichka, now the Minusinsk District of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in a peasant family. Russian. He spent his childhood and youth in the city of Minusinsk. Graduated from high school. He studied at the Kansk Agricultural College, graduated from the flying club. In the Red Army since 1939. In 1940 he graduated from the Balashov Military Aviation Pilot School. Served in combat units of the Air Force. In the battles of the Great Patriotic War, junior lieutenant S.I. Kretov - from June 22, 1941. He fought as part of the 21st Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment (since September 1943 - the 24th Guards Aviation Regiment). Participated in defensive battles in the south of Ukraine in the summer of 1941, in the Donbass and Rostov defensive battles, in the Rostov offensive operation of 1941, in the defensive and offensive stages of the battle for the Caucasus in 1942-1943, in offensive operations in the Kuban in the spring and summer of 1943, in the battle for the Dnieper and in the Donbass offensive operation of 1943. Despite a severe physical handicap (lack of smell), due to which he was to be written off from flight work, he managed to remain in the ranks. By October 1941, he had already completed 67 sorties (including 48 at night), becoming one of the best pilots of the regiment and remained so until the end of the war. Particularly successful was the sortie on September 25, 1942 to bombard the Bataysk railway junction, where from its accurate hits of air bombs and the subsequent detonation of flying ammunition, 6 railway echelons with ammunition and fuel were destroyed in a few minutes. From 1942 he commanded a flight, from 1943 - a squadron. As commander of an air squadron of the 24th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment (Long-Range Aviation), by the beginning of 1944, he made 336 sorties (including 306 at night) on an Il-4 bomber, with his crew destroyed 60 on enemy airfields and shot down in the air 10 enemy aircraft. For courage and heroism shown in battles, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 13, 1944, Captain Kretov Stepan Ivanovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 3538). Eight times he had to leave the cockpit of a bomber with a parachute. Once, after the successful completion of the task, the left engine failed. He flew the plane on one engine for more than 800 kilometers and reached his airfield. After a raid on an airfield near the city of Saray, the Nazis lost 26 aircraft on the ground. In December 1943, it was ordered to disable the port of Kerch, which was heavily guarded by the Nazis. The task was successfully completed, but on the way back the crew had to parachute over the sea a kilometer from the coast. In total, during the war he made 400 sorties on the Il-4 bomber. Successfully bombed enemy troops and targets in battles in Ukraine, during the capture of Koenigsberg, in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Finland (4 sorties), Germany. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 23, 1948, Major Kretov Stepan Ivanovich was awarded the second Gold Star medal (No. 44 / II). After the war, he continued to serve in the combat units of the Air Force. In 1950 he graduated from the Higher Officer Tactical Flight School, in 1958 - from the Air Force Academy (Monino). From July 1961 he served in the Strategic Missile Forces: teacher at the Department of Combat Use of Missiles and Tactics, then Senior Lecturer at the Department of Tactics, History of Military Art and Combined Arms Training at the Rostov Military Engineering Command School. Since December 1973 - Senior Lecturer at the F.E. Dzerzhinsky Military Academy. Since 1974, Colonel S.I. Kretov has been retired. Lived in the hero city of Moscow. Died January 19, 1975. He was buried at the Vvedensky cemetery in Moscow (plot 29). Colonel (1960). He was awarded two Orders of Lenin (12/31/1942, 03/13/1944), two Orders of the Red Banner (12/23/1941, 11/14/1942), the Order of the Red Star (1954), medals. The bronze bust of the Hero is installed in the city of Minusinsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Information sheet:

Stepan Ivanovich Kretov (1919 - 1975), Soviet pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1948), captain of the guard, squadron commander of the 24th Guards Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 50th Aviation Division.

Born on December 25, 1919 in the village of Malaya Nichka, Vostochensk volost, Minusinsk district. From peasants. Russian. Member of the CPSU (b) / CPSU since 1943. He graduated from high school. In 1937, he entered the Kansk Agricultural College and at the same time studied at the flying club.

In 1939 he was drafted into the Red Army. He graduated from the Balashov Military Aviation School. On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War from its first days.

Guard captain, squadron commander of the 24th Guards Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 50th Aviation Division (6th Aviation Corps, long-range aviation) by the beginning of 1944 made 336 sorties, with his crew destroyed 60 on enemy airfields and shot down in 10 enemy planes in the air.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 13, 1944. On February 23, 1948, Major S. I. Kretov was awarded the second Gold Star medal for 400 sorties.

After the war, he was in command and staff positions. In 1950 he graduated from the Higher Officer Tactical Flight School, in 1958 - from the Air Force Academy. Colonel, from 1961 to 1974 in teaching work. He was awarded two Orders of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of the Red Star, and medals. On June 8, 1973, S. I. Kretov was awarded the title of “Honorary Citizen of the city of Minusinsk, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the city. He died on January 19, 1975. He was buried in Moscow.

A bronze bust of the Hero was installed in the city of Minusinsk, one of the streets of the city was named after Kretov.

Literature:

Bass A. Golden Stars of Stepan Kretov / Bass A. // Krasnoyarsk Komsomolets. - 1960. - May 8.

Shvetsov A. In the sky Kretov / Shvetsov A. // Yenisei. - 1969. - No. 6. - S. 74-82.

Temerova O. Honoring a countryman: [meeting with twice Hero of the Soviet Union Stepan Kretov] / Temerova O. // Iskra Ilyich. - 1973. - July 24.

Tomorrow, December 25, our illustrious countryman Stepan Ivanovich Kretov would have turned eighty years old. // Hope. - 1999. - 24 Dec.

Kankeeva G. Memory of a hero: / Kankeeva G. // Power of labor. – 2010. – 6 Jan.

Stepan Kretov Career: Hero
Birth: Russia, 12/25/1919
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 13, 1944, Stepan Ivanovich Kretov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for his exploits at the front. February 23, 1948 he was awarded the second Gold Star. He was also awarded many orders and medals.

Stepan Ivanovich Kretov was born into a peasant family. Russian by nationality. Member of the CPSU since 1943. Until 1933 he lived and studied in the village. After graduating in

Minusinsk was seven years old, entered the Kansk Agricultural College, at the same time he mastered flying. In 1939 he volunteered for the Soviet Army.

During the Great Patriotic War he served in aviation. Made 400 sorties. With his crew, he destroyed 60 aircraft at enemy airfields and shot down 10 enemy aircraft in the air.

After the war, S. I. Kretov graduated from the Red Banner Air Force Academy, and for many years was in teaching. Since 1974, Guards Colonel S.I. Kretov was retired due to illness and lived in Moscow.

On the days of festive celebrations, when an army parade takes place on Red Square in Moscow, Stepan Ivanovich Kretov often asks himself: what did he, a simple peasant dude, do to continue the glorious revolutionary traditions of the people, what is his contribution to the common occupation of the struggle for communism? And somehow, especially acutely, at such moments he feels himself a part of a powerful Soviet family, a participant in many memorable events ...

While still at the flying club, cadet Kretov received good theoretical and practical training. Here he first learned about the first Russian aviators M. Efimov, N. Popov, A. Vasiliev, L. Mitskevich, P. Nesterov, about those who, with their fearless heroic flights, wrote a glorious page in the history of domestic aviation. Kretov persistently enriched his knowledge in the field of aviation, thoroughly prepared himself for the profession of a pilot, for future battles for the Soviet Motherland, which gave him mighty wings for a great flight.

Stepan Kretov's exceptional diligence, discipline, perseverance attracted the sensitivity of the flying club instructors. Studying at the technical school, he devoted all his free time to flights, preparing for them, studying the parachute, and participated in mass sports competitions.

The comrades loved and respected Kretov. Strong, capable all the way found in him sincere support and goodwill, he could rejoice at the successes and victories of his friends. And those who were weaker felt more confident with him, stronger. Kretov had an amazing gift of faith in the feeling of the elbow, in the strength and great potential of man. All these qualities dazzlingly manifested themselves later, during the Great Patriotic War, when he was entrusted with the helm of a combat aircraft.

For the rest of his existence, Stepan remembered his paramount flight when he studied at the flying club. The earth, the native Siberian soil, on which he was accustomed to roam every day, suddenly appeared as a fabulous panorama. A new, unusual picture for the eye. Will he recognize his airport from above, will he be able to find the building of a technical school among tens of hundreds of houses in the city? Will it retain clarity of thought, clarity and consistency in observations, in orientation? After all, this is a fundamental and that neither is a thorough exam in the air!

Indicate the most characteristic landmarks along the flight course, the instructor said to the cadet.

On the left is a five-story building of the school. Directly on the course of the airport, on the right side is an array of coniferous forests, Kretov answered sensibly.

The student's eyes shone with joy. And not amazing. After all, he made the first discoveries in the air, conquered the first steps of an endless staircase to the sky.

The instructor cheerfully nodded his head and smiled broadly: Well done, fellow cadet! So hold on!

After the first flight, Stepan Kretov told his comrades:

I used to think that my vocation was the mechanization of agriculture. Now I have completely decided to connect my life with aviation. I will enter the military aviation school of pilots.

When the Great Patriotic Battle began, Stepan Kretov was already a military pilot of a long-range bomber squadron.

The first days, the first months of the war were difficult for the junior lieutenant, commander of the combat crew.

On that memorable day, the beginning of the day was unusually bad weather. Bulky gray clouds floated across the sky. The ground was thickly shrouded in mist. But at the airfield, technicians, radio operators, gunsmiths were already busy with the camouflaged aircraft. From time to time they looked up with hope: would there be a gap in the clouds, was the fog spreading?

By noon the weather began to drastically improve. The sun came out, and the distant sky turned blue in the breaks of cumulus clouds. Technicians and mechanics dropped camouflage nets from cars and began to hang bombs.

Having settled down under the plane of the plane, using a parachute instead of a table, the lesser lieutenant Kretov finished laying the route. And the words from the mother's letter did not come out of my head: Son! To protect the close earth, do not spare your strength... My maternal heart is always with you...

Always with you ... As if in reality, his mother appeared before him. Luminous eyes, a kind smile, hard-working hands...

The pilot's thoughts were interrupted by a technician:

The plane is ready for a sortie!

The crew of Junior Lieutenant Kretov took off fourth. Gained altitude. We had to fly between two layers of clouds. In about twenty minutes we got into the icing zone. The windows of the cabins, the planes began to be covered with a thin crust of ice. The first to pay attention to this was the gunner-radio operator, foreman Ovodenko, and reported to the commander.

I see, replied Kretov. Let's break through the clouds.

The danger has passed. The flight continued. At the last stage of the route we met Messerschmitts. The Nazis went a little lower and did not notice the bombers. Kretov breathed a sigh of relief. It was not enough even a few minutes before the goal to get involved in a scuffle with enemy fighters.

A hail appeared ahead. A little to the left is the train station. Kretov looked at the navigator. He already specified the lateral aiming. A second, another and the navigator Matyushko presses the reset button. And now the railway station shuddered from powerful explosions.

Kretov was accompanied by fortune. There were trains with ammunition and fuel at the station. The Nazis did not expect a raid by Soviet bombers and were taken by surprise. The entire bomb load was dropped aimingly. The station has been turned into an absolute fire island.

With a great delay, the enemy anti-aircraft guns began to speak. Their fire became denser and denser. Two or three shells exploded not far from the aircraft. Kretov maneuvered, made turns to the right, to the left. Explosions of shells began to fit behind. With a sharp descent, the pilot took the car out of the firing zone and turned to the east. Now it's time for the airport.

Suddenly, the car shook. Kretov looked at the dashboard: the left engine was intermittent. Reported to the navigator. Matyushko reported that the airfield was at least 800 kilometers away. Can we make it on one motor? thought the crew chief. Last time I had to sit down with a damaged landing gear, but now I'm flying on one engine.

Kretov ordered the crew members to increase their caution, to be ready to leave the car with parachutes. No one knew how solidly damaged the airliner. After all, gas tanks could also be pierced. Then wait for the explosion. But tedious minutes passed, and the airliner was still in the air. So the tanks are in order, Kretov decided.

I wouldn't run into the Messerschmitts at dusk, he told the navigator. And we will fly!

Matyushko, a volunteer, a participant in the battles for Republican Spain, twice awarded military orders, was an experienced navigator. Not by chance, the Kretov crew was entrusted with the most important tasks. The command knew: Kretov would come, Matyushko would not miss. But at the current time, moreover, the battered navigator became depressed. It has never happened before to fly 800 kilometers on one motor.

And yet they survived the difficult test: they finally made it to their native airfield. The heroic crew was met by fighting friends. Kretov tried to report to the regiment commander about the completion of the mission, but he smiled and, shaking the pilot's hand firmly, said:

I know everything, Stepan Ivanovich! The main thing for you today is to take a breath.

The regiment commander reported by telephone to the division commander that the crew of junior lieutenant Kretov had returned.

The General thanks you for the excellent performance of the task. Six echelons of the enemy with fuel and ammunition were destroyed.

I serve the Soviet Union! Stepan Ivanovich replied excitedly.

A few days later, the head of the division presented high government awards to the members of the bomber crew. Second Lieutenant Kretov's tunic shone with the second Order of the Red Banner.

And again, flights, bombing, air battles ...

Gloomy, rainy autumn was replaced by winter. On December 7, 1944, the day turned out to be warm and calm, and towards night the bad weather suddenly broke out, snow grits were sprinkled. In the spacious dugout where the bomber squadron was located, birch firewood crackled merrily in an iron barrel adapted for a stove. The pilots put into operation close uniforms.

Sergeant Major Ovodenko and air gunner Senior Sergeant Kravchuk recalled the end raid on an enemy air terminal near the town of Sarai. The Nazis guarded a significant object, 15 searchlights and eight anti-aircraft batteries were on duty here around the clock. But all this did not save the Nazis from retribution. The crew of Kretov approached the airfield at a healthy height and, dropping incendiary bombs, caused two fires, a good guide for other bombers. After the raid, the Nazis missed 26 aircraft at the airfield.

Where are we headed right now? asked Ovodenko.

I would love to drop a couple of bombs on Berlin, Kravchuk replied.

A couple, you say? I would not regret ten for Hitler.

The door of the dugout opened, and a messenger from headquarters squeezed in.

Senior Lieutenant Kretov is summoned by the head of the regiment!

Stepan quickly dressed and went to the headquarters. The commander was very concerned about something. Looking inquisitively at the newcomer, he said:

Sit closer. Let's help together.

Glancing at the map, Kretov immediately understood: the conversation would be about the Kerch port. On the commander's map, he was surrounded by two blue circles. The pilot made no mistake. The commander called him in order to personally instruct and acquaint him with the situation. Two crews returned with nothing, the only one was shot down during a bombing approach.

It will not be easy to break through to the port, Kretov noted, after listening to the commander. When to fly?

At ten in the morning. And remember, Stepan Ivanovich: the port must be disabled. You will go on an assignment with only one crew.

At the appointed time, the bomber took off from the airfield and took the vector of movement to Kerch. Two hours later, the airliner approached the port. Several anti-aircraft batteries opened fire on the bomber. Kretov skillfully maneuvered and with a sharp turn went to the side. The Nazis, apparently, decided that the airliner would not appear again, and stopped the flame. And a Soviet-era bomber with muted engines approached the target from a different, less protected direction. Explosions of anti-aircraft shells flare up very close to the car, but it goes to the target. Bomb bays open, and huge puffs of black smoke envelop the tankers standing at the pier.

The enemy fire intensified. In the fuselage, near the radio, there were a few holes. Sergeant Ovodenko, who was watching the explosions of shells in the rear hemisphere, informed the crew commander that anti-aircraft guns hit the cell most of all. Kretov changed the altitude and orientation of the flight.

They left, he sighed with relief and ordered the radio operator to send a report to the headquarters that the combat mission had been completed.

Ovodenko barely had time to transmit the telegram when Kravchuk said:

I see an airliner!

Own or third party? thought Kretov and gave a signal. Not responding to the sign, an unknown airliner was approaching. It's clear: a fascist is in the air.

Messerschmitt discovered the heat from afar. The bullet path passed over the plane.

Senior Sergeant Kravchuk responded with a long burst from a heavy machine gun.

Well done Kravchuk! Kretov praised the air gunner. Strongly treated the fascist.

Messerschmitt darted to the side, leaving a trail of black smoke behind him. But the bomber was also damaged. The machine went down roughly, the right plane was blazing with heat. Stalled engine. And below the sea.

The right plane was shaking more and more strongly. The left engine was torn. But here he refused. The bomber rocked and pulled towards the water.

Far from the coast? Kretov asked the navigator.

One and a half to two kilometers.

Kretov was the last to leave the burning airliner. The sea met the pilot with a December cold, the incessant noise of lead waves ...

The next day, fascist newspapers reported that the Russian bombing sniper Stepan Kretov was shot down over the sea and the entire crew of the aircraft was killed. But the Nazis were wrong. The illustrious crew remained alive. The heroes stayed on the water for more than an hour and were saved.

And how many such trials fell to the lot of Stepan Kretov! Eight times he had to leave the cockpit of a bomber with a parachute. Once he landed on the territory occupied by the enemy. But every time the brave pilot returned to his close regiment and again sat at the helm of a combat aircraft, and again brought down a deadly load on the head of the enemy.

At the front, Kretov applied for admission to the Communist Party.

Speaking at a party meeting, the party organizer of the regiment said:

We believe Kretov. We have a good addition to our ranks. Stepan Ivanovich earned the confidence of the party by courage and courage, selfless devotion to the Motherland.

The bomber, piloted by Kretov, appeared dozens of times over military facilities in Koenigsberg and Danzig, Budapest and Stettin. The last bombing shock Kretov inflicted on May 2, 1945 on the accumulation of active enemy forces and equipment in the Berlin area.

When Nazi Germany capitulated, Kretov, congratulating his own guard squadron on the victory, said:

On the wings of our planes, throughout the war, we arrogantly carried the red stars of the emblem of peace and freedom. Let us always be faithful to the battle banner under which we fought and won.

A powerful cheer swept three times over the field airfield.

The military path of Stepan Ivanovich Kretov, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, convincingly testifies: in battle, brave, strong-willed people win, selflessly devoted to their people, passionately loving the Fatherland and fiercely hating its enemies. People say: Soviet soldiers are made of metal. It's really like that. One generation is being replaced by another, and the glorious traditions of the Great October Revolution, the traditions of the Communist Party, the revolutionary legacy of V. I. Lenin have lived and will continue to exist in the affairs of the people, in the courage and combat skill of Soviet soldiers, ready at any moment to defend the Soviet Motherland with their breasts .

In January 1975 he passed away.

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twice Hero of the Soviet Union

Soviet military pilot, colonel, participant in the Great Patriotic War, twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1948).
Born on December 25, 1919 in the village of Malaya Nichka, Tesinsky volost, Minusinsk district, Yenisei province (now Minusinsk district, Krasnoyarsk Territory). Russian. Since 1933 he lived in the city of Minusinsk. In 1936 he graduated from the 7th grade of a school in Minusinsk. In 1936-1937 he worked on the Krasnaya Zarya collective farm in his native village. In 1938 he graduated from the 1st course of the Kansk Agricultural College (Krasnoyarsk Territory). In 1938-1939 he worked as a clerk in the Kansk district commandant's office of the NKVD. In 1939 he graduated from the Kansk flying club.
In the army since February 1939. Until September 1939 he studied at the Chita Military Aviation School of Pilots, in August 1940 he graduated from the Balashov Military Aviation School of Pilots. He served in the Air Force as a pilot of the 228th Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment (in the North Caucasian Military District, the city of Novocherkassk, Rostov Region). From January 1941 - pilot of the 21st long-range bomber aviation regiment (in the Odessa military district, the city of Saki, Crimea). He flew DB-3A and DB-3F (IL-4).
Member of the Great Patriotic War: in June 1941 - June 1944 - pilot, pilot, flight commander, deputy commander and commander of an air squadron of the 21st (since September 1943 - 24th Guards) long-range aviation regiment. Participated in defensive battles in Moldova, Ukraine and Donbass, Rostov defensive and offensive operations, the battle for the Caucasus, the liberation of the Kuban, the Battle of Kursk, the Donbass operation, the lifting of the blockade of Leningrad and the Crimean operation.
At the beginning of the war, they wanted to remove Stepan Ivanovich from combat work due to a physical handicap (lack of smell), but he achieved a return to duty. Its crew made its first sorties in June 1941 on a DB-3A bomber with a characteristic, partially glazed navigator's cockpit. The crew under the command of S.I. Kretov, a large number of manpower and equipment were destroyed on the ground, several aircraft were shot down in the air in air battles. One Me-109 was shot down in the sky over Kakhovka in September 1941, while the DB-3A received about 200 holes, both gunners were wounded, one engine failed. Nevertheless, Stepan Ivanovich managed to land the plane at his airfield.
On December 2, 1941, after the bombing of the Taganrog port over the sea, two kilometers from the coast, his plane was intercepted by four Messers. In a fierce air battle, one Me-109 was shot down, but the DB-3A was hit and caught fire. S.I. Kretov, as commander, was the last to jump. Freed from the parachute, having swallowed water, he saw the rest of the living members of his crew in the waves. Burnt hands hurt badly. Soon, a piece of a large log was found nearby ... How they got to the shore, and then to their unit, he remembered poorly. But after 10 days, he again flew out on a combat mission.
On September 27, 1943, for the performance of 284 sorties (20 during the day and 264 at night), the commander of the air squadron of the 24th Guards Long-Range Aviation Regiment (50th AD DD, 6th AC DD, Long-Range Aviation) Guard Captain S.I. . Kretov was presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (assigned March 13, 1944). It is noteworthy that in two weeks, while the submission to the "Golden Star" was approved by the division and corps commanders, Stepan Ivanovich brought the number of his sorties to 306.
On February 6, 1944, a group of long-range bombers was instructed to deliver a layered strike strictly against military and naval targets in Helsinki. They tried to withdraw Finland from the war.
We flew out at midnight. The loaded planes took off heavily from the ground and began to climb. What is an echelon strike? This is when each aircraft, and many dozens of them fly, is given a certain height, a certain object and a certain time to reach the target. You can’t change anything - you interfere with another.
When approaching Helsinki, the aircraft were met by hurricane anti-aircraft fire. 20 kilometers to the target S.I. Kretov ordered the navigator to open the bomb bays. The cockpit rushed devilish cold. But the pilot ignored him. He had to dodge the blinding beams of searchlights, from anti-aircraft fire, and at the same time accurately guide the plane along the course. It seemed unbearably long to reach the target.
“Two degrees to the right. Slightly to the left. Another degree to the left, - the navigator clarified the course.
Finally - everything! The bombs have been dropped. The main thing is done. Now you can maneuver more freely - the plane has become lighter. But what is it? The cabin of the IL-4 was not equipped with sufficient heating, and many hours of flight on a cold plane required a lot of patience and endurance, especially from the pilot, and measures taken in advance.
So now: he could not tear his fingers off the helm. Frostbitten, a terrible thought flashed through his mind. With great difficulty, he pulled one hand off the helm. To achieve her sensitivity, he began to beat his hand on the wall of the cabin. Finally, he felt a strong pain in his hand - the hand came to life. Shifting the helm, began to bring to life the other hand.
And again in the sea of ​​​​fire. We must again pass over the target, photograph the results of the bombing ...
On May 31, 1944, by order of the commander of the 6th long-range aviation corps, Lieutenant General G.N. Tupikov for violation of discipline captain S.I. Kretov was removed from the post of commander of an air squadron, stripped of his guard rank and demoted to commander of a ship. In all likelihood, this is precisely what can explain the fact that until the end of the war he did not receive a single order (but was restored to the guard rank).
From June 1944 - pilot of the 24th Guards Long-Range Aviation Regiment (from December 1944 - 240th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment). Participated in the Bobruisk, Bialystok, Lublin-Brest, Iasi-Kishinev, Budapest and Koenigsberg operations.
In total, during the years of the war, the guard captain S.I. Kretov made 400 sorties (369 at night and 31 during the day) on DB-3A and Il-4 bombers to strike at enemy manpower and equipment behind enemy lines. 146 times he bombed the front line of the enemy, 40 - enemy airfields, 138 - railway junctions, 27 - ports, 23 - bridges and crossings. He made 24 sorties to bombard targets deep behind enemy lines.
On May 21, 1945, the pilot of the 240th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment (36th BAD, 1st Guards BAK, 18th VA), Guard Captain S.I. Kretov was presented for the second Gold Star medal (awarded on February 23, 1948).
Since September 1945 - the commander of an air squadron of the 240th Bomber Aviation Regiment (in the Northern Group of Forces; the city of Miedzyrzec Podlaski, Poland). In September 1946 - March 1950 - deputy commander and commander of an air squadron of the 108th bomber aviation regiment (Klimovo village, Bryansk region). He flew on the IL-4.
In 1950 he graduated from the Higher Officer Flight Tactical School of Long-Range Aviation (Ivanovo). In 1950-1953 - head of the flight department and senior officer for the use of war experience in the Directorate of the 50th Air Army of Long-Range Aviation (Smolensk). In April 1953 - March 1959 - head of the combat training department of the 11th Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division (Shatalovo airfield, Pochinkovsky district of the Smolensk region). In 1958 he graduated in absentia from the Air Force Academy (Monino).
From March 1959 - commander of the 335th aviation (missile) regiment (Bila Tserkva, Kiev region, Ukraine), in September 1959 - July 1961 - commander of the 151st missile regiment (Stryi, Lviv region, Ukraine).
From 1961 he was a lecturer at the department of combat use of missiles and tactics, and in 1970-1972 he was a senior lecturer at the department of tactics, history of military art and combined arms training at the Rostov Higher Command and Engineering School. In 1972-1974 - lecturer and senior lecturer at the Military Engineering Academy named after F.E. Dzerzhinsky. Since April 1974, Colonel S.I. Kretov - retired.
Lived in Moscow. Died January 19, 1975. He was buried at the Vvedensky cemetery (section 29) in Moscow.
Awarded 2 Orders of Lenin, 2 Orders of the Red Banner, Order of the Red Star, medals.
Honorary citizen of Minusinsk (1973).
Bronze bust of S.I. Kretov was installed in the city of Minusinsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory. Streets in the cities of Minusinsk and Bykhov (Mogilev region, Belarus), as well as the villages of Malaya Nichka and Selivanikha of the Minusinsk region are named after him. In Minusinsk, memorial plaques have been installed on the building of the school where he studied and on the street that bears his name.

Military ranks:
junior lieutenant (08/08/1940)
lieutenant (05/27/1942)
senior lieutenant (11/06/1942)
captain (07/03/1943)
major (07/11/1947)
lieutenant colonel (04/23/1952)
colonel (04/22/1960)

Academic degrees and titles:
assistant professor (1971)

Awards:
Order of the Red Banner
12/23/1941 order on the Southern Front No. 65
(for completing 67 sorties)

Order of the Red Banner
11/14/1942 order on the Transcaucasian Front No. 49 / n
(for the bombing of the Bataysk station on the night of 09/25/1942)

The order of Lenin
12/31/1942 Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces
(for completing 64 sorties)

medal "Gold Star"
The order of Lenin
03/13/1944 Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces
(for a total of 306 sorties)

second medal "Gold Star"
02/23/1948 Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces
(for a total of 400 sorties)

Order of the Red Star
04/30/1954 Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces
(for years of service)

I walk in the center of old Minusinsk (Southern Siberia, Krasnoyarsk Territory) in the bushes I saw a bust-monument. I approached, read and was a little taken aback, now I will explain why. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Hero of the Soviet Union Kretov S.I. was awarded for courage and heroism with the second star of the Hero. I was taken aback, since the second part of the decree provided for the construction and installation of a bronze bust on a pedestal in the hero's homeland. What you actually see in the photo, it turns out that the Soviet government (with the consent and maybe at the direction of Stalin I.V.) erected monuments during their lifetime to the heroes of the Second World War (here is the cult of personality). At the very bottom of the bust there is a star and wings, in front of us is a pilot, before that I had never heard anything about this person. When I got home, I surfed the Internet and learned a lot of interesting things....

Stepan Ivanovich Kretov was born on December 25, 1919 in a peasant family.

After graduating from school in Minusinsk, he entered the Kansk Agricultural College. While studying at the technical school, he simultaneously mastered the flying business, studying at the flying club. In 1939 he volunteered for military service. Already in the ranks of the Red Army, in 1940 he graduated from the Balashov Military Aviation School and became a bomber pilot.

As a pilot of a long-range bomber squadron, he participated in hostilities from the very beginning of the war, from June 1941. During the war, he made more than 400 sorties into the deep (several hundred kilometers) rear of the enemy. The crews under the command of Kretov destroyed at least 60 German aircraft on the ground, and also shot down at least 10 enemy aircraft in the air, which is a high figure for a bomber pilot. By the end of the war, he was a squadron commander of the 21st long-range bomber regiment of the 50th long-range aviation division.

At the end of the war, he served in command and staff positions in the air force, continued his studies, after which he himself switched to teaching. In 1950 he graduated from the Higher Officers' Flight Tactical School, in 1958 from the Air Force Academy. In 1960 he was awarded the military rank of Colonel. From July 1961 he taught at the Rostov VKIU, from December 1973 - at the Military Academy named after F.E. Dzerzhinsky. He died in January 1975 and was buried in Moscow.

But the story didn't end there....

An aircraft engine was found in the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of ​​​​Azov in 2013, by the number of which it was possible to establish its belonging to the aircraft flown by Stepan Ivanovich Kretov in the commemorative bombing of the Kerch port, occupied by the Germans. The engine, frozen into the ice field in shallow water and lifted by the force of ice, was noticed by winter fishing enthusiasts and delivered by enthusiasts of the history of domestic military aviation to one of the enterprises in Taganrog.

These are the heroes that Mother Siberia gives to the country.