About the book: 2006 / The author of the book is twice Hero of the Soviet Union Grigory Flegontovich Sivkov, a former front-line pilot, now a candidate of technical sciences. The book is the author's memoirs about his life. The central places are occupied by chapters devoted to the war, the combat path of the 210th assault Sevastopol air regiment, which passed from the Caucasus to Vienna. Sivkov talks warmly and cordially about his friends, pilots, navigators, engine mechanics, and gunsmith girls; about the heroic pilots of the neighboring women's aviation regiment; about their favorite commanders and political workers. In the post-war years, the author studies and works at the Air Force Engineering Academy named after. Zhukovsky. We get acquainted with designers and scientists - S.V. Ilyushin, V.S. Pyshnov, V.F. Bolkhovitnov, with test pilots - V. Ilyushin, G. Baevsky, I. Emelyanov, S. Mikoyan and others, as well as with interesting scientific problems. Biographical information: Grigory Flegontovich SIVKOV, born on February 10, 1921 in the village of Martynovo, now in the Kungur district of the Perm region. Russian. Member of the CPSU since 1943. Graduated from aviation technical school. In the Soviet Army since 1939. Graduated from the military aviation school in 1940. On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War since December 1941. The squadron commander of the 210th assault aviation regiment (230th assault air division, 4th air army, North Caucasus front), senior lieutenant Sivkov, by September 1943, made 132 combat missions to attack enemy targets , causing great damage to the enemy in manpower and equipment. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded on February 4, 1944. The navigator of the same regiment (136th Assault Air Division, 10th Assault Air Corps, 17th Air Army, 3rd Ukrainian Front), Captain Sivkov, had completed 181 combat missions by March 1945. Awarded the second gold medal "Golden Star" on August 18, 1945. After the war - test pilot. In 1952 he graduated from the Air Force Engineering Academy. Since 1972, head of the department of the Air Force Engineering Academy. Major General (1975). Awarded the Orders of Lenin, the October Revolution, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, Alexander Nevsky, 2 Orders of the Patriotic War 1st degree, the Order of the Red Star, medals, foreign orders. A bronze bust was installed in his homeland. ("Heroes of the Soviet Union", brief biographical dictionary, volume 2, p. 452. Military Publishing House. 1988.)