Улица Осипенко
(Tomskaya until 1937,
Yezhova until 1939)
Yezhova until 1939)
Osipenko Street was the first street in Tyumen to receive an "aviation" name back in 1939. A hundred years ago, this short street was called Tomskaya. In August 1938, it became Yezhov Street, the next People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs, who was soon removed from office and shot as an "enemy of the people." The street was urgently renamed in honor of the deceased Hero of the Soviet Union, Aviation Major Polina Denisovna Osipenko (1907−1939).
The 30s of the XX century were a time of rapid development of aviation all over the world. The Soviet Union was one of the most developed "aviation" countries. Not only men were interested in aviation, but also women.
The 30s of the XX century were a time of rapid development of aviation all over the world. The Soviet Union was one of the most developed "aviation" countries. Not only men were interested in aviation, but also women.
Almost none of Tyumen residents knows whose name Osipenko Street is named after. Many assume that Osipenko is a hero of the revolution or war, after whom one of the streets of the regional center was named. But this is a Soviet pilot, a five-time world record holder, whose name was on everyone’s lips in the 30s. Polina Osipenko has set five world aviation altitude and range records for women. In 1937, she climbed to an altitude of 9100 meters, which no other female pilot in the world had ever climbed before. On July 2, 1938, the crew of Osipenko, Vera Lomako and Marina Raskova set the women’s world record for flight in a straight line (Sevastopol — Kiev — Veliky Novgorod — Arkhangelsk)
In those years, pilots tried to fly higher, faster and further. National and international records were set for these indicators. Polina Osipenko participated in setting five international records for female pilots, the most famous of which is a non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East in the Komsomolsk-on-Amur region. On September 24, 1938, at 8:12 a.m., a Sukhoi Rodina aircraft took off from Shchelkovsky Airfield near Moscow. The commander was pilot V.S. Grizodubova, co-pilot P.D. Osipenko, navigator M.M. Raskova. In 26 hours and 29 minutes of flight, the aircraft covered 6450 km. The end of the flight turned out to be dramatic. On the morning of September 25, they went off course in the fog, there was very little fuel left, and the plane landed in a taiga swamp far from populated areas. The connection was interrupted, the plane and the pilots disappeared. They were searched from the ground and air and found only on the morning of October 4. The place was remote. The pilots were taken on foot through swamps and taiga to the river, floated on rubber boats to the navigable Amgun River, taken by boat to the Amur River and taken to Komsomolsk, and from there to Khabarovsk. On October 19, the pilots left by train for Moscow. They were accompanied by a large group of ground and air rescuers who found the plane and brought the pilots to Komsomolsk.
In those years, pilots tried to fly higher, faster and further. National and international records were set for these indicators. Polina Osipenko participated in setting five international records for female pilots, the most famous of which is a non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East in the Komsomolsk-on-Amur region. On September 24, 1938, at 8:12 a.m., a Sukhoi Rodina aircraft took off from Shchelkovsky Airfield near Moscow. The commander was pilot V.S. Grizodubova, co-pilot P.D. Osipenko, navigator M.M. Raskova. In 26 hours and 29 minutes of flight, the aircraft covered 6450 km. The end of the flight turned out to be dramatic. On the morning of September 25, they went off course in the fog, there was very little fuel left, and the plane landed in a taiga swamp far from populated areas. The connection was interrupted, the plane and the pilots disappeared. They were searched from the ground and air and found only on the morning of October 4. The place was remote. The pilots were taken on foot through swamps and taiga to the river, floated on rubber boats to the navigable Amgun River, taken by boat to the Amur River and taken to Komsomolsk, and from there to Khabarovsk. On October 19, the pilots left by train for Moscow. They were accompanied by a large group of ground and air rescuers who found the plane and brought the pilots to Komsomolsk.
Rallies were held at large and small stations, and speeches were made. M. Raskova said in one of her speeches: "We flew to break the world record for the range. This record was held by American pilot Amelia Earhard for three years. This pilot drowned in the ocean during her round-the-world flight. They didn’t save her because she was alone, surrounded by a world of brutal capitalism… We have surpassed this record by almost 2,000 kilometers. When we sat down in a swamp in the taiga, we did not doubt for a minute that help would surely come to us…".
On October 25, 1938, at 20:06 local time, the Express train arrived in Tyumen. The newspaper Krasnoe Znamya wrote that "several thousand working people of the city gathered on the platform to meet the heroic crew. Polina Osipenko got out of the carriage in which the pilots were traveling." Speeches were made: from the Tyumen people, Comrade Stakhanovite, Markeev and the polar aviation pilot Comrade Eremenko spoke. In reply, P. Osipenko, among other things, said: "Let the enemies know what Soviet women are capable of. The strength of the Soviet people is enormous…", said a toast in honor of the best friend of Soviet pilots, Comrade Stalin. It was already a ritual.
On November 2, at a grand reception in the Kremlin, all three pilots were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. The rescuers of the pilots and the aircraft designer were awarded.
In May 1939, Polina Osipenko performed a training flight on a UT-4 spark aircraft with the famous pilot Anatoly Serov. When performing aerobatics, they crashed.
Osipenko is buried on Red Square near the Kremlin Wall. A settlement on the Amgun River, collective farms, state farms throughout the country, and streets in many cities are named after her. And a variety of remontant roses with white yellow flowers is named after Polina Osipenko.
On October 25, 1938, at 20:06 local time, the Express train arrived in Tyumen. The newspaper Krasnoe Znamya wrote that "several thousand working people of the city gathered on the platform to meet the heroic crew. Polina Osipenko got out of the carriage in which the pilots were traveling." Speeches were made: from the Tyumen people, Comrade Stakhanovite, Markeev and the polar aviation pilot Comrade Eremenko spoke. In reply, P. Osipenko, among other things, said: "Let the enemies know what Soviet women are capable of. The strength of the Soviet people is enormous…", said a toast in honor of the best friend of Soviet pilots, Comrade Stalin. It was already a ritual.
On November 2, at a grand reception in the Kremlin, all three pilots were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. The rescuers of the pilots and the aircraft designer were awarded.
In May 1939, Polina Osipenko performed a training flight on a UT-4 spark aircraft with the famous pilot Anatoly Serov. When performing aerobatics, they crashed.
Osipenko is buried on Red Square near the Kremlin Wall. A settlement on the Amgun River, collective farms, state farms throughout the country, and streets in many cities are named after her. And a variety of remontant roses with white yellow flowers is named after Polina Osipenko.
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