Amet-Khan Sultan is an Outstanding Son of the Crimean Tatar People (To the 100th Anniversary of His Birth)

Abstract

The purpose of the study to trace the life and military path of one of the most famous military pilots the Anti-Hitler Coalition, a test pilot who joined the creation of the latest aviation and space technology in the USSR.

The methodology of the study is based on the application of techniques of historical biography, specific historical research and comparative studies. The authors use special military and military-historical terminology and carry out scientific reconstruction of the historical portrait on interdisciplinary methods and modern scientific approaches.

Conclusions. The fate of Amet-Khan Sultan was similar to the paths of many of his peers who dreamed of the romance of heaven, wanted to learn and love. The war scattered them on the fronts of World War II and sentenced one to rapid death and oblivion, and the other – bright feats and unusual life trajectories. Raised in a simple Crimean Tatar family and receiving the usual secondary education for his generation, the future world-famous pilot acted according to his heart’s calling, and the war simply left him no choice. However, in order to become a pilot of this level, you had to have something other than the desire to fly aircraft. By nature clever and emotional, Amet-Khan Sultan demonstrated the ability to soberly assess their own capabilities and learn a lot for self-improvement, to overcome the twists and turns of fate. And, in the end, he was rewarded with impressive air victories and recognition from the state and society, a new chance to pursue a career that he did not waste. Without severing his spiritual and mental connection with his stigmatized people, he, as a true citizen, sought to restore historical injustice. Being in the “circle of the chosen” who joined the latest developments of the Soviet post-war military-industrial complex, Amet-Khan Sultan found himself in this field as a selfless, responsible, full of duty man.