Esin Stepan Nikolaevich
Rank: Lieutenant Colonel. Type of troops: Aviation. Esin Stepan Nikolaevich - my great-uncle (brother of my grandmother Esina Klavdia Nikolaevna). A career officer, fighter pilot. In the Red Army - since 1935. I got into military aviation thanks to the recommendation and support of my grandfather (also a pilot) Mikhail Semyonovich Novikov. Esin Stepan Nikolaevich - participant of the Second World War from March 18, 1943 to May 9, 1945, as part of the 254th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 14th Air Army. Before arriving at the front, he taught at the Stalingrad Pilot School as a detachment commander, with the rank of Art. lieutenant. All that is known about the combat path of Stepan Nikolaevich is information from the only award list presenting him to the Order of the Red Star, which he earned just a month after arriving at the front. This is what the commander of the 254th IAP, Lieutenant Colonel V.V. Kosenko writes in this award document: “Comrade. Yesin arrived at the 254th Fighter Aviation Regiment on March 18, 1943 to gain combat experience. Established position - squadron commander at the Stalingrad Pilot School. Before arriving at the front, he flew the following planes: U-2, UT-2, UTI-4, I-16, Yak-7, Yak-1, total flight time 820 hours, 5950 landings. Despite the fact that before that Comrade. Yesin did not know the LA-5 plane and flew on it, during the first two days he studied it and passed the tests in the materiel and in the same period of time took off on his own, revealed an excellent piloting technique. From the moment when Comrade. Yesin received permission to carry out combat missions, he could only be seen at the plane or at the phone of the unit on duty, waiting for an order to take off. An adult, but like a child, he was jealous of pilots who had a fixed plane and regularly performed combat missions. Starting to carry out combat missions, Comrade. Yesin flew with such a desire and love that only a person who wholeheartedly loves his Fatherland and who hates its enemies with all his heart is capable of. On each flight, Comrade Yesin felt confidence, excellent mastery of his business, the true art of a fighter pilot. Within a few days comrade. Yesin won the well-deserved authority of an excellent air fighter, he began to lead groups of 4-8 aircraft on combat missions, pilots flew with him willingly, all missions were completed successfully. He flew 15 sorties, escort sorties for IL-2 and PE-2 in a short period of time, comrade. Yesin became a truly combat pilot who can be assigned to carry out any combat mission. In flight he was bold and resourceful, quick in decisions, persistent in their implementation. Once, accompanying a group of IL-2, which dispersed behind the front line, Comrade. Yesin alone went deeper into the territory occupied by the enemy, found the IL-2 and brought it to the location of our troops, then came back, found the second IL, brought him and then the third and took everyone home. So, thanks to the persistence of Comrade. Yesin, all the ILs did an excellent job and returned to their bases without loss. This case is not isolated, there are similar ones in every flight. Esina. Comrade Yesin, as a fighter pilot, fulfilled his task in an exemplary manner: he ensured the smooth execution of tasks for bombers and attack aircraft. " On the website "Hero of the People", which provides access to declassified documents of the Great Patriotic War, there is also information about the awarding of Esin S.N. Order of the Patriotic War II degree. According to my mother's recollections, Stepan Nikolaevich had many orders, but there is only reliable information about these. Having begun to participate in the war with the rank of Senior lieutenant, Stepan Nikolayevich graduated with the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is known that after the war Stepan Nikolayevich moved with his family to Riga (the capital of Soviet Latvia), the city that he liberated and where he met Victory, and there he continued to serve in the Armed Forces for some time. It is known that he had four children: Zhanna, Natalia, Vladimir and Oleg (my cousins uncles and aunts).
