Climbing

In the letters of admirals, commanders and colleagues of Glory, the words “duty”, “feat” and “patriotism” are mentioned many times. What do these words mean?
Ending Start at #390
... The first four and a half hours went according to plan. For pilots, the most important part of the mission is taking off from the deck of the aircraft carrier and landing. They did not interfere with the mission. When the task was completed, Slava sent the plane back to the aircraft carrier. Most of the journey was completed, and the plane was at a height of eight kilometers when Jeremy noticed that the oil pressure in the right engine was falling. Glory to the intercom asked Ed, from whose place the engine was clearly visible, to check if there was a leak, and he confirmed that a stream of flowing oil was visible behind the right engine. Will there be enough oil for the rest of the flight? It was already within reach of the aircraft carrier, but if all the oil leaked out, the engine would not only stop, but it could catch fire. It turns out that a similar case was provided. According to the instructions, in such extreme circumstances, the faulty motor should be muffled and the car should be put on one engine. In this case, the blades of the non-operating engine are positioned in such a way that thrust is not created which would prevent the working motor from holding the aircraft in flight.
Let me remind you that when describing the technical capabilities of the aircraft, I drew the attention of readers to this feature of the new eight-blade propellers, which give the opportunity to the optimal configuration. Slava was known for such an emergency landing method, and as a person who did not rely on chance, he put a plane with one engine on the aircraft carrier deck several times during training. But so far there was no need to turn off the engine, and Slava hoped to reach for the ship. By order of Glory, Ed told the aircraft carrier what was happening, and received a reply that everything was ready for their return, and they could get in right away as they approached the ship.
Suddenly, about sixteen kilometers from the aircraft carrier, which is about three minutes of flight, the oil pressure in the damaged engine began to fall at a catastrophic speed and instantly reached a dangerous level. By this time, the plane was at an altitude of just 600 meters. Slava decided to stop the faulty engine.
From the story of the commander of the radar group Ed Poynton: “When Slava began to turn off the engine, the plane began to shake in such a way that I understood that something was wrong. The pilots could not put the blades perpendicular to the air flow, and this created additional traction. Imagine that a person who is lame on one leg is trying to go forward somehow, while his arm is being pulled to the side. Meanwhile, the plane dropped even more, the flight altitude was already 500 meters. It seemed to me that the pilots involved in installing the blades did not notice a dangerous decline. I reported this to the cabin. But Slava himself saw everything. The plane did not obey, and could not get up. Then he ordered to inform the aircraft carrier that the crew was leaving the plane. ”
Then everything happened much faster than you can tell about it. In order for the crew to jump with parachutes, it was necessary to remove the front door in the engineering compartment behind the cabin. To do this, there is a special pen near the chair of the commander of the ship, that is, Glory. Jeremy could not reach it. Therefore, Slava for a second transferred control to the second pilot and knocked the door down by pressing the handle. The door does not open, but it is dumped into the sea. After that, Slava ordered everyone to jump, trying to keep the plane in the air for the few seconds that were necessary for the crew to leave the plane. To prepare for the jump, special procedures are also needed, but the pilots did not have time for that.
From the story of the commander of the radar group Ed Poynton: “Since Glory warned us about the need to jump, Richard and I had a few seconds to get ready, although, of course, we did not have time to inflate the rafts, but at least we had time to inflate life jackets. Seeing that the door had fallen off, we jumped without thinking twice - first I, and Rich followed me. The last thing I heard was the shout of Glory to Jeremy: “Go! Gone! Go! ”I did not know, Slava was behind us, preparing to jump, or still trying to keep the plane in the air. I jumped, and Rich jumped after me ... "
The helicopters, sent immediately after the signal of misfortune, were picked up first by Ed, and then Rich.
From the story of the second pilot Jeremy Arnott: “When Ed told the aircraft carrier about our position, they asked for our coordinates. I passed them, and Slava ordered me to jump. I did not want to leave Glory and tried to help him hold the plane, but he shouted: “Go! Gone! Go! ”I was sure that he would immediately follow me, and jumped out of the wheelhouse. Ed was standing in the doorway with the vest already inflated. I screamed for him to jump. He jumped and Rich followed him. At the last moment I looked around and saw that Slava was holding the plane with superhuman efforts, giving us the opportunity to jump out ... We were at an altitude of about three hundred meters ...
I, of course, did not have time to inflate either a raft or a vest. Hitting the water, I unfastened the parachute and went under the water, then emerged, and then only inflated the vest. A few minutes later I was picked up by the second rescue helicopter. ”
From the imaginary story of Slava Zilberman, a lieutenant of the US Navy: “When Jeremy finally left the plane, one glance at the altimeter was enough to figure out that I would not have time to jump. The plane flew so low that I was afraid of crashing into an aircraft carrier that was imminently approaching me. I was not going to give up, but now the main thing was to fly over the ship, just to fly, because the turn would have taken that extra fraction of a second that could be fatal for hundreds of aircraft carrier sailors. Keeping the plane in the air was damn hard. Damned lever and strove to escape from the hands. Clenching my teeth and clutching the steering wheel so that my knuckles turned white, I still jumped over the ship, probably a meter away from the superstructures. Before me was the sea ... Now we need to land the plane on the water, which was already too close ... Storm ...
... But why am I flying up? And where is the plane?
The sea, covered with white lambs of the waves, with a small, like a matchbox, ship, everything moved away from me, and the sky grew closer and closer ... then it opened up ... "
The crash site was so close to the ship that it did not need to be installed. Sunken aircraft found quickly. Glory was not in it. He was searched for three days and three nights, but was never found.

Lieutenant Miroslav Zilberman was posthumously awarded the highest military awards. In the letters of admirals, commanders and colleagues of Glory, the words “duty”, “feat” and “patriotism” are mentioned many times. What do these words mean? Tens of thousands of thick and thin books have been written about this. We know how hundreds of years used these words to justify unclean goals. We also know examples of true heroism. But now these bright but overwhelmed words in my mind merge into a simple image: hands with knuckles whitened from the tension, clutching the plane's steering wheel ...
Those who were saved by Glory, now look at life with different eyes. Jeremy, a Christian, began to wear on his chest except the magendovid cross. Ed Poynton says that, thanks to Glory, his life, like the life of all sailors who communicated with Glory, has changed, and they feel that they have become better than they were before. Give them Gd ...
From the letter of Anna Sokolova, mother of Slava Zilberman: “Every morning I wake up thinking about you. And I want to gain strength and courage to be worthy of you, my pride! I want to grow to you, to that unattainable height, to which you climbed, saving the lives of your comrades, not thinking about yourself ... You returned three mothers of their sons ... I will try to rejoice over these mothers and, maybe, somehow calm your soul ... "

PS I bring the deepest gratitude to everyone who helped me talk about Slava Zilberman.
V.B.

Valery Bazarov,
HIAS