HERALD OF THE AIR FLEET

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81-01043R002000080005-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 67
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 24, 2013
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: January 1, 1957
• Content Type: REPORT

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EXPLANATORY NOTE
This publication is a translation of Herald of the Air Fleet, (Vestnik
VozdushnogoFlota)a monthly journal of the Soviet Air Force published by
the Military Publishing House, Ministry of Defense, USSR.
Every effort has been made to provide as accurate a translation as
practicable. Sovietpropaganda has notbeen deleted, b.s it is feltthat such
deletion could reduce the value of the translation to some portion of the
intelligence community. Political and technical phraseology of the orig-
inal text has been adhered to in order to avoid possible distortion of in-
formation.
Users and evaluators of this translation who note technical inaccu-
racies or have comments or suggestions are urged to submit them to:
Commander, Air Technical Intelligence Center, Attention: AFCIN-4B,
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
toosomillL!
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AIR TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE TRANSLATION
AF-WP-0-20 MA lt 58 400
(TITLE LNCLASSIFIED)
HERALD OF THE AIR FLEET
(Vestnik Vozdushnogo Flota)
6
1957
AIR TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE CENTER
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE
OHIO
44111W
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Table of Contents
On Intensifying the Combat Readiness of the Soviet Air Force 1
Editorial
TACTICS
Fighter Tactical Procedures During Aerial Combat in the Stratosphere 11
V. A. Trubachev
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
Developing Combat Habits in Pilots 18
Yu. B. Rykachev
Physical Training of the Flying Personnel 26
A. I. Pokryshkin
Longitudinal Control of Supersonic Aircraft .32
G. A. Sedov
Bombing with the Use of an Auxiliary Aiming Point 42
M. N. Galimov
Night Landing of a Bomber on an U illuminated. Runway 48
S. 0. Prokhorov
EQUIPMENT AND INSTALLATIONS
and their
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
Supersonic Aircraft Engines 52
A. N. Nikolayev
Preflight Servicing of Aircraft Armament 62
E. S. Markov
On a Dirt Airfield 65
M. F.R ebrov
ANSWERS TO READERS' QUESTIONS
Time and. its Reckoning 71
N. Ya. Kondr at ye'ir
FROM THE HISTORY OF SOVIET AVIATION
Transarctic Flight to America 80
A. V. Belyakov
In a Special Assignment Air Detachment 87
B.N.Kudrin.
410 FROM THE EDITOR'S MAIL *O. 400?98
We Need a Technician's Handbook
V. Ya. Fishelev, Yu. V. Skvbrtsov, A. A. Zavrazhnyy
Tightening Control of Aircraft Tools 99
B.M.Ravicher
sI SOLVED...
How Does the Attack-Line Distance Change? 101
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Table of Contents
11
REVIEW AND PUBLICATIONS
Our Country ? the Birthplace of Aviation and Aer onautics ? ?
120 Thousand Kilometers on the Aircraft TU -104
2. The Flight to England
A. K. Starikov
Compliments of the Commander Chief of the Air Force to
Participating Writers of the Periodical
107
115
121
40'
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Amosvie
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:1131Fr*.vaardirizo
ON INTENSIFYING THE COMBAT READINESS
OF THE SOVIET AIR FORCE
Hero of the Soviet Union, Lt. Gen. of the Air Force, S. I.Mironov
In 1933, the Soviet Government decided to observe Air Fleet Day annually.
Since that time this holiday has served the purpose of widely popularizing the
achievements of military and civil aviation among the toilers of the Soviet Union.
During the years of heroic labor, struggle, and victories of the Soviet People
led and directed by the Communist Party, our Air Force has grown immeasurably.
It is sufficient to call to mind that in the first air parades, universal rapture was
aroused by aircraft that flew at a speed of 350-370 km/hr. The Soviet People were
proud of such aircraft. And they were justifiably proud: for that time these were
first-class aircraft.
In all stages of its development, Soviet aviation has been and is in no way in-
ferior to that of foreign aviation. The slogan advanced by the Communist Party dur-
ing the thirties ? to fly higher, further, and faster than anybody ? became a call
to action for the entire personnel of the Air Force, for the Civil Air Fleet, for the
designers, engineers, and workers of the aviation industry, and for the thousands
and thousands of Soviet patriots through whose efforts the glory of our aviation has
soared from year to year. But the Soviet Union, which had created a mighty Air
Fleet, has never threatened anyone with force and has not been proposing to utilize
it as a means of aggression.
In 1934, for the first time, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was conferred
upon seven brave Soviet men. They were: A. V. Lyapidevskiy, S.A. Levanevskiy,
M. T. Slepnev, V. S. Molokov, N. P. Kamanin, M.,V. Vodop'yanov, and I. V. Dor onin.
They were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for having performed a heroic
deed in saving human lives ? the crew of the ice-breaker "Chelyuskin".
The crew of the great Soviet pilot, V. P. Chkalov, covered itself with unfading
glory by carrying out, in 1937, the first non-stop flight between Moscow and the Unit-
ed States of America over the North Pole.
"In carrying out the flight from Moscow to your country over the North Pole",
said Valeriy Chkalov in a speech at a reception in honor of the Soviet flyers in New
York, "we have borne a greeting on the wings of our plane from the one hundred and
seventy millions of our people to the great American people ... And no cyclones,
no polar storms were able to stop us, for we were fulfilling tliarwill of our people".
That same year the brilliant flight from Moscow to the United States of America
over the North Pole was repeated by a crew of Soviet flyers consisting of M. M. Gro-
nov, S.A. Danilin, and A. B. Yumashev.
The flights to America in 1937 served not only as an indicator of the great a-
chievements of Soviet aviation, but they contributed to a rapprochement between the
two countries. The broad strata of the American people enthusiastically follQwed
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S. I. Mironov
Military Pilot First Class, Captain V.N. Shvetsov ? one of the_participants
in the air parade of 1957.
On Intensifying the Combat Readiness of the Soviet Air Force
these flights and were carried away by the bravery of the Soviet flyers.
The Soviet Union is a peace-loving state, aggressive aims are alien to it, and
it presents no threat to other countries and peoples. But our people's love of peace
is not a sign of its weakness. And when Hitlerite Germany thrust war upon it, it
was able to defend the liberty and independence of the Socialist Motherland and utter-
ly to defeat the Fascist invaders.
During the years of the Great Patriotic War, the Air Force, as a component
part of the Armed Forces of the USSR, honorably carried out the tasks entrusted to
it. Hundreds and thousands of fearless air fighters exalted the glory of our Air Force
through their immortal deeds and were awarded many combat decorations. The elite
were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union..
Quite recently the glorious galaxy of aviators who are Heroes of the Soviet Un-
ion was increased by one more pilot who displayed limitless bravery, tenacity, and
self-sacrifice in fulfilling his duty to the Motherland. His name is Leonid Georgi-
yevich Belousov, a former fighter-pilot in the Baltic Fleet.
All told, during the years of the Patriotic War, L. G. Belousov carried out 298
combat sorties. There are 30 aerial engagements to his credit, and 3 enemy air-
craft which he personally knocked down. He successfully carried out combat assign-
ments and 10 times conducted aerial engagements even after both his legs had been
amputated. What a will to fight, what boundless love for the Motherland are needed
for a man to remain in combat formation under such circumstances:
When we speak of the exploit of this Soviet man, each of us is aware that his
bravery and tenacity, his spiritual force, his unsurpassed moral qualities are not
something exceptional. The source of these qualities is in the clarity of the recog-
nized goal, in the great justice of the cause for which Soviet men and women are
fighting.
Heroism has always been inherent in the Russian soldier. But the heroism of
Soviet fighters who have developed and increased all that was best and characteristic
of the Russian Army is a qualitatively new phenomenon, insofar as it is based on the
most advanced social and state system. Soviet patriotism, the moral and political
unity of all members of Socialist society, and the friendship among the peoples of
the USSR give rise to the entire system of indoctrinating each soldier of our army in
the spirit of loyalty to his duty, of constant readiness to defend his Motherland to the
last drop of blood, bravely and ably, with dignity and honor.
During the years which elapsed after the end of the Great Patriotic War our
country took a tremendous step forward along the ,path of building Communism. Every-
where ? in building and industrial enterprises, in the laboratories of scientists and
in the kolkhoz fields ? inspired creative work is in full swing. With tremendous
enthusiasm Soviet men and women are struggling to translate into reality the resolu-
tions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the decisions of the Party and of the Govern-
ment aimed at achieving a new steady upsurge in all branches of the socialist econo-
my, at making our Motherland even more beautiful and happier.
Throughout the entire country nationwide socialist competition has rallied to a
worthy welcome for the 40th anniversary of Great October. The broad masses of the
people are firmly resolved to fulfill the national economic program of the second year
of the sixth five-year plan ahead of schedule, to increase agricultural production con-
siderably, to improve the administrative organization of industry and construction,
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4
S. I. Mironov
and to mark the glorious jubilee in the life of the Soviet State with new victories.
Against this background of nationwide political and labor upsurge, Soviet men
and women are observing a traditional holiday? USSR Air Fleet Day. Thanks to
the tireless concern of the Communist Party and the Soviet Government, our glorious
Air Force has grown immeasurably in all its basic features: flight speed, range, and
altitude.
The Air Force is supplied with the most modern jet combat equipment. Modern
high-speed fighters and bombers are outfitted with perfect equipment and instruments,
which make it possible to carry out a long-range flight in the stratosphere, by day
and by night, under any weather conditions. This is to the credit of Soviet scientists,
aviation designers, test-pilots, and also engineers, workers, and employees of the
aviation industry. On May Day, by an Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
of the USSR, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was conferred upon N. G. Alifanov,
A. G. Vas il' chenko, S. D. Golovachev, L.I. Minenko, M. A. Nyulditikov, N. S. Rybko, G. A.
Sedov, and other test pilots for heroism and bravery manifested during test flights in
modern jet aircraft.
In the Air Force of the USSR splendid cadres have grown, of Air Force command-
ers, military pilots, navigators, engineers, technicians, and junior aviation special-
ists. Straining every effort to the full, they are working indefatigably to master per-
fectly the highly complex equipment that has been entrusted to them.
Repeatedly during the postwar years, numerous spectators at the air parades
have warmly applauded Military Pilot First Class V. S. Lapshin. This year, the high
honor of opening the military part of the air parade, i.e. , of demonstrating to one's
people that which has already been achieved and consolidated by Soviet military pi-
lots, has fallen to the lot of Captain V. N. Shvetsov ? one of the representatives of the
Soviet Air Force, one of the expert pilots who are faultless masters of their combat
weapons. In our units there are many such experts in aerobatics and air combat,
sniper gunnery, and precision bombing.
The aviation engineers, technicians, and junior aviation specialistg-have manag-
ed no less successfully to cope with their responsible work. Thus, through their self-
sacrificing work, they guarantee the reliable, dependable operation of the Air Force
in the air.
Officer F. T.Kharisov has been working a comparatively short time as deputy
commander in the Air Force Engineer Service, but he has already mastered well the
technical operation of new equipment. An outstanding methodologist, he organizes
properly the training of the flying and technical personnel of the unit and actively par-
ticipates in efficiency promotion and social work.
Our Air Force commanders organize the training and orientation of their men
skillfully. Constantly relying on the Party and Komsomol organizations, they mobi-
lize their entire personnel for exemplary fulfillment of their serviee responsibilities
and for maintenance of the strictest military discipline and order. Efficient organ-
ization of training, high exactingness on the part of the commanders who strive for
an exact and steady observance of all the rules of flight service, are the-most impor-
tant conditions for conducting intensive flight activity without accidents. Among our
best commanders who, over a number of years, have been achieving the fulfillment
of flight training schedules without crack-ups or crashes, we may mention officers
I. I. Yefrenov, A. P. Pedtko, A. I. Ageyev, and many others.
I.
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A
On Intensifying the Combat Readiness of the Soviet Air Force
5
In the personnel of the Air Force there are thousands upon thousands of out-
standing men in combat and political training. They are all genuine Soviet patriots,
who, through their self-sacrificing work, have been increasing the combat might of
military aviation. To them, service to their Socialist Fatherland, to their people,
to the Communist Party and the Soviet Government are above all else.
On Air Fleet Day, not only the personnel of the Air Force, but also the pilots
and aviation specialists of the Civil Air Fleet, workers of the aviation industry,
youth active in DOSAAF [Voluntary Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation,
and the Fleet] report to the people about their achievements.
The Civil Air Fleet of the USSR now carries out the most varied tasks in the
development of the country's national economy. Tens and hundreds of GVF [ Civil
Air Fleet] air lines unite the most remote corners of our Motherland into a single
whole, and communications are regularly carried out along international air lines.
Aviation finds broadest application in agriculture, and carries out important func-
tions, such as medical, transport service, etc. In air clubs and numerous circles
of DOSAAF, our youth?future pilots, glider pilots, parachutists, aviation design-
ers ? carry out their initial training.
With complete justification and a rightful sense of pride, we say that our Mother-
land is a mighty air power and we are proud of the fact that the great leader of the
working class, V. I. Lenin, stood by the cradle of Soviet aviation.
In April 1957, outstanding achievements in the field of science and technology,
literature and art, were marked by awards bearing the name of Lenin. Among those
who were awarded this high distinction for their creative work are also representa-
tives of Soviet aviation. One of them is the prominent designer, Andrey Nikolaye-
vich Tupolev, Academician, and Designer General of the aviation industry. He be-
came Lenin Prize Laureate for his creation of the highspeed jet passenger plane
TU-104. Itkkhail Grigor'yevich Surgutanov, pilot of the air party of the Ural Geolog-
ical Administration, was awarded the Lenin Prize for his discovery and prospecting
of an iron ore deposit of the Sarbay and Sokolov groups in Kazakhstan.
We Soviet men and women are full of new designs and plans, we do not need
war. But we cannot help but take into account the provocative intriguing of the ag-
gressive imperialist forces who are feverishly preparing for war against the Soviet
Union and the countries of people's democracy, intensifying the armament race, or-
ganizing aggressive blocs, strengthening their military bases in direct proximity to
our borders, and creating reserves of atomic and hydrogen weapons.
The Soviet Union cannot help but take all this into consideration. The Commu-
nist Party and the Soviet Government, while systematically pursuing a policy of peace,
are tirelessly concerned for the further strengthening of the defensive capacity of our
state. The forces of aggression and war are confronted by the powerful Socialist
camp, the countries of which, headed by the Soviet Union and the Chinese People's
Republic, are united by bonds of indissoluble friendship and brotherhood. Those
who love military adventures must know that there is no corner in the world right
now where an aggressor could take cover. The Soviet Air Force is capable of in-
flicting crushing blows upon any enemy wherever he may be.
In view of present-day conditions, when the imperialist fomenters of war are
bending every effort to aggravate the international situation, the Party and the Govern-
ment demand of Soviet soldiers, vigilantly standing guard over the peaceful creative
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S. I. Mironov
6
work of our people, even greater vigilance and further uninterrupted intensification
of combat readiness. Not for one minute must it be forgotten that the high combat
power of the Soviet Armed Forces is the reliable guarantee of peace in the entire
world.
"In training our troops", says Minister of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union
G. K. Zhukov, "we must assume the fact that our probable enemies have an adequate
amount of these weapons and the facilities for delivering them to our territory. This
circumstance obliges our Armed Forces, particularly the AA defense of the country,
and the Air Force to be ready at all times to stop any attempt by an aggressor to
carry out a sudden attack upon our country".
All this requires the personnel of the Air Force to maintain constant and high
combat readiness in every crew, element, and unit. Complacency and carelessness,
resting on one's laurels, cannot be tolerated in our midst. The primary duty of the
Air Force commanders of all ranks, of the political workers, and of the Party and
Komsomol organizations, lies in persistently continuing the struggle, without abating
our efforts even for a minute, to train our flyers thoroughly in carrying out the most
complicated missions.
From now on as well, we must struggle persistently to master flying in modern
combat formations at high altitudes and speeds, under adverse weather conditions, at
night, over great distances, and to learn to deliver running bombing attacks on un-
familiar bombing ranges.
In order to utilize modern aircraft in accordance with all the rules of skill and
to take from equipment all that it can yield in accordance with its flight and tactical
characteristics, every crew must master deep theoretical knowledge and solid habits
in the practical field of aviation.
In this connection, the great significance of military scientific work in the VVS
[Air Force ] must be emphasized over and over again. This work contributes to a
great extent to the development of our military theory and exerts direct influence
upon the intensification of the combat readiness of the Air Force.
It is no secret 'to anyone that aviation equipment is being constantly perfected
and modernized. Certain types of aircraft are replaced by others with even higher
flight and technical characteristics. Consequently, the commanders, the flying and
technical personnel, and all the specialists cannot but look ahead as they carry out
current schedules of combat training operations; they must prepare themselves for the
equipment of tomorrow. The military science societies being formed in o-ur units and
groups will undoubtedly play a great role in the solution of this problem, if the work
in them is organized and is conducted in a well-thought-out and purposeful manner.
A deep and perfect familiarity with equipment, the ability to operate itcompetent-
ly under any conditions, is the task of primary importance towards the solution of
which much work yet remains to be done.
We must constantly develop and advocate among our pilots, navigators, engineers,
and technicians a spirit of innovation, an invaluable feeling for the new, which does
not let our cadres grow stagnant but carries them irresistibly forward to newheights
of skill, to active creative work for the welfare of the Motherland.
We have always said that combat readiness in Air Force units depends to a very
considerable extent on the correct formulation of political and indoctrination work.
An important task of the commanders and of the party-political apparatus is to incul-
A
On Intensifying the Combat Readiness of the Soviet Air Force
7
Military Pilot First Class V. S. Lapshin
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On Intensifyingthe Combat Readiness of the Soviet Air Force
S. I. Mironov
cate in our flyers every day a high political awareness and ideological conviction and
to enhance their Ic.nowledge of theory. Party-political work must be organized in
such a way that ideological and theoretical indoctrination is organically connected with
practice. We must imbue our personnel with high qualities of combat morale to sur-
mount difficulties in a situation which excludes any over or laxity. Ex-
perience testifies rather convincingly to the fact that high results in combat training
are possible only where men do not fear difficulties but boldly overcome them, without,
at the same time, departing in any respect from the established rules of flight service.
Relying on the support of the Party and Komsomol organizations, the Air Force
commanders are called upon to reach general conclusions in a well thought out manner
and to disseminate the experience of their foremost men, and to be organizers of So-
cialist competition. All flyers must be actively included in the struggle for the train-
ing of outstanding pilots and for an everincreasing number of outstanding crews. The
more specialists ? first class experts in their profession there are in the Air Form,
the higher will be our combat readiness.
At the basis of methods for training and indoctrinating a bold pilot who knows his
job lie such fundamental principles as a consistent transition from the simple to the
complex, an individual approach to every man, the personal example of the commander,
and a mandatory and well-reasoned analysis of errors committed during the carrying
out of some mission or other.
During the course of ground training, the pilot must prepare himself thoroughly
for carrying out his flying mission. In classes he daily broadens his knowledge in the
field of equipment and tactics, aerodyn.amics, navigation, studies the nature of the
forthcoming flight, and analyzes typical errorswhich arise during the working out of a
regular exercise. Moreover, flying personnel is regularly trained in the cockpit of
an aircraft.
Thus, every flight is preceded by prolonged and painstaking work. It is fully
understandable that the better the exercises are thought out and inotructively organized,
the better and more fruitful are the results of such work. The commander must know
his work very well and love it in order to avoid formalism and routinism in organizing
the training of his men, in order to arouse their genuine interest, and, in every exer-
cise, to add something new, something useful to their knowledge.
Recently an "Honor Book" was set up by order of the Commander in Chief of the
Air Force. The unit commander, the head of the schoo3, was given the right to enter
in it the names of soldiers, cadeis, sergeants ? outstanding men in combat-and poli-
tical training ? who had achieved exemplary results in training and the highest rat-
ings in socialist competition., men who are faultlessly disciplined and also esipecially
outstanding in carrying out their military duty.
The "Honor Book" is an important means of indoctrination which must be skillful-
ly utilized by the Air Force commanders for the further encouragement of their out-
standing men in combat and political training, and for the transmission of their expe-
rience and traditions to young soldiers and cadets. The more broadly and intelligent-
ly all forms of indoctrination work with the men are applied by the Air Force command-
ers and politicaiworkers, the higher will be the combat readiness of our units and ele-
me nts .
An important criterion in evaluating the combat readiness of Air Force elements
and units is the state of military discipline: exemplary organization and order, and the
LENIN PRIZE LAUREATE
Designer General of the Aviation Industry, Academician A. N. Tupolev
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outward bearing and inner poise of the soldier, sergeant, and officer. Only under
the conditions of strictest adherence to regulations and discipline, can we speak of
the capacity of the personnel to carry out honorably the tasks which face the Air Force
elements and units. The duty of every aviator is to work selflessly at his post, thus
strengthening the dombat might of the Soviet Air Force.
S.I. Mironov
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FIGHTER TACTICAL PROCEDURES
DURING AERIAL COMBAT IN THE STRATOSPHERE
Candidate of Military Sciences, Lt. Col. V. A. Trubachev
At maximum altitudes, aircraft flight and tactical characteristics, especially
in group flight, deteriorate appreciably. This is quite normal. The lead pilot is
compelled to fly at something less than top engine rpm, leaving a certain rpm mar-
gin, so that the planes in trail may maintain their positions in the formation. For
that reason a group of aircraft usually flies at a lower altitude and speed than a
single aircraft.
As the make-up of a group, which is operating as a single formation, increas-
es, the required rpm margin of the lead aircraft expands, while the flight character-
-40m istics of the group as a whole deteriorate. Given the way an average group flies to-
gether, the rpm margin provided for a pair i. 100 -_ 150 rpi.r.r., for a flight it is 200 -
250 rpm. It is true that sometimes the leader flies at top engine rpm. But even
then the flight characteristics of a group are inferior to those of a single aircraft,
since the leader must apply the speed brakes from time to tirne in order to allow the
planes in trail to formate on.
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V. A. Trubachev
In order to determine certain special features of fighter group flight at high
altitudes, let us examine the effect of the leader's reduced engine rpm on the group's
ceiling. For the sake of convenience, let us use the thrust reserve as a starting
point.
Let us assume that at a certain altitude, a 150 rpm reserve for a fighter equals
approximately 30 kg of thrust, and a 250 rpm reserve e-
quals 50 kg of thrust.
As the altitude increases, the thrust reserve for
horizontal flight decreases, and, at some definite altitude,
becomes equal to zero, which fact determines the ceiling
AH=500m of the single aircraft.
Let us assume that in a pair the wingman must have
850-600m a 30 kg thrust reserve; while the leader's rated thrust Pr
30-41?9
will equal 375 kg, his available thrust Pa for the desired
altitude will equal 405 kg. The wingman.'s rated and a-
vailable thrust at this altitude will be identical and will
come to 405 kg. Only the last plane in the formation
Fig. 1. Pair in forma- will fully utilize the engine thrust, and even then, only
tion, echeloned to the from time to time. Therefore the wingman determines
rear z?nd down. the pair's flight altitude, and of course he cannot fly at a
highter altitude than his leader.
An analysis of the flight conditions of the pair's leader shows that it is feasible
to raise the pair's ceiling to that of a single plane. This is achieved by using a spe-
cial formation pattern. If the leader, maintaining his speed, utilizes the reserve
thrust to increase flight altitude, then his wingman will have a thrust reserve for main-
taining his position in formation while flying at the original altitude. (Fig. 1).
TEST PILOTS
HEROES OF THE SOVIET UNION
Pr=Pa
AP=30kg
Fighter Tactical Procedures During Aerial Combat in the Stratosphere
This happens because, with a change in altitude, the available engine thrust
alters more rapidly than the rated thrust.
In order that the wingman may observe the leader he must see him at an angle
Fig. 2. One version of pair teamwork and wingman's repulse
of enemy attack.
of no more than 30-40? upwards or laterally. With a 500 m difference in altitude,
the wingman will be located at a distance of 850-600 m.
Analogously, in a flight formation, the lead pair will be able to operate at the
ceiling of an independent pair, while the pair in train will be able to operate at the
ceiling of the flight. Thus by flying in an echelon, stepped to the rear and down, it
is possible to raise the ceiling of a fighter group.
Formations echeloned to the rear and down can be used at lower altitudes, when
-TEST PILOTS
HEROES OF THE SOVIET UNION
A. G. Vasil' chenko
N.. G. Alifanov
N. N. Ar zhanov B. N. Biryukov
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gi?
14 V.A. Trubachev
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flying under conditions of maximum speed and rate of climb, and ? which is partic-
ularly important ? with the afterburner cut in. In such cases the performance char-
acteristics of the group are improved, and the conditions for maintaining their posi-
tion are facilitated for those in train.
The formations', echeloned to the rear and down, which are being discussed, are
usually determined by the general capabilities of group flight under such conditions.
And it is quite understandable that fighter operations in such formations may_only be
compared with the operations of single aircraft, since in any other type of formation
the flight altitude (or speed) decreases, excluding group operations under the estab-
lished flight regime. However, notwithstanding, there exists a number of tactical
methods involving effective teamwork between fighters ? methods which justify the
use of the indicated formations.
Let us examine the sequence of interaction within a pair in case the leader is
threatened with an attack (Fig. 2). Maneuvering with loss of altitude, he will force
the enemy either to decline the attack or to assume a position advantageous for attack
by the wingman. Having eliminated the threat, and having taken advantage of the re-
sulting speed increment during loss of altitude, the leader will be able to quickly re-
establish his former altitude.
Let us take another example of teamwork where it is necessary to attack an en-
emy plane flying at the same altitude as the leader. In this case the wingman can
quickly reach the altitude of the hostile aircraft and attack it at adjusted speeds trail-
ing the leader, having gained altitude by zooming at the cost of some loss in speed.
The advantage of an attack at adjusted speed and at close range consists in an
increase in probabilities of direct hits: the fire effectiveness of fighters increases
appreciably. In stratospheric aerial combat with a bomber, fighters are faced with
the problem of the former's certain destruction in the shortest possible time and dur-
ing the very first attacks, since any single aircraft may turn out to be the carrier of
an atomic weapon.
In order to solve this problem successfully, it is necessary either to increase
the number of successively attacking fighters or to improve the effectiveness of the
attack. It is possible to maximize the effectiveness of the attack on the bomber by
approaching the target at minimal range (300-500 m), and by adjusting the-speed at
this range and conducting aimed fire.
But we cannot overlook the fact that attacks at adjusted speed have shortcomings
as well.
In aerial combat with a bomber, the fighter will be subjected to fire from the
former's weapons. Danger is further increased by the fact that in the stratosphere
the fighter enters the firing position at low close-in speeds where he remains for
some time. Therefore, in the course of an attack at adjusted speeds and-close rang-
es, it is expedient to protect the fighter entering the firing position from the bomber's
fire.
A preliminary attack, made by another fighter which has a speed res.erve and
which operates at a greater range, may serve as one such tactical maneuver for pro-
tection. In this case the maneuver of both fighters must be so set up that-the plane
attacking at adjusted speeds will occupy the firing position at the very moment the pre-
ceding fighter withdraws from the attack. In other words, the fighters attack succes-
sively: the first fighter, having a speed reserve, makes a relatively cursory attack,
V.
Fighter Tactical Procedures During Aerial Combat in the Stratosphere 15
while the second, so to speak, lingers in the firing position and blasts the enemy at
close range.
The attack by the first fighter does more than support operations by the second.
.It is executed with the intent to destroy; with this in mind, the pilot should make his
final approach with the most advantageous heading. The attack must be initiated at
the maximum possible range and terminated at the minimum range.
Thus, combining these two types of attack, the bomber's effective counterfire
may be reduced.
In the course of an attack at adjusted speeds, the technique of making the initial
approach to the firing position is rather complex. The fighter, approaching to a dis-
tance of 300-500 m, must be traveling at the same speed as the target. However, in
order to close in on the target from the rear hemisphere to this range, the fighter
must have a speed advantage. In order to insure the element of surprise, the pilot
endeavors to minimize the time lapse between the moment he spots the target and the
moment he initiates the attack. For this reason, in the course of closing in he must
have a great speed advantage over the enemy.
The maneuver in the stratosphere for reducing speed by cutting the engine rpm
and by letting down the speed brakes must be started at long range. Thus, at a given
altitude, with the enemy flying at 700 km/hr. and with the fighter ? attacking from
the rear hemisphere ? flying at 900 km/hr. , the fighter begins braking 3 km away in
order to adjust his speed at a 500 m range, and he will close in within 88 sec.
V-750mulhr
????
400A.
V=135Orche/hr-
th7501Wlhr v-1350m/hr?
???.
_
L 11.650m
1 rice
--550,w V:850mm/hr
Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of a successive attack on a target by.a
pair of fighters (lead plane attacks with a speed reserve, while plane
in trail attacks with a speed adjusted to that of the enemy).
The extensive time lapse necessary for reducing the speed of the fiihter attack-
ing at adjusted speeds precludes a preliminary attack on the part of the other fighter
who has a sp,eed reserve, since in this case the latter must overtake the first fighter
as he approaches his own firing tion. The time required for reducing speed can
be shortened by resorting to zooming.
As can be seen in Fig. 3, in the course of closing in, both fighters travel at the
same speed in echeloned formation.
The lead plane attacks the target in the uSual manner at long range and with a
speed reserve. The plane in trail, traveling a!t a lower altitude, and with a certain
interval, duplicates the former's maneuver for convenience of observation. Having
closed in on the enemy to a distance of 500-600 m, he zooms, and then attacks with
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16
V. A. Trubachev
a speed adjusted to that of the enemy. In order to avoid the backwash of
er's engines, the attack must be executed 150-200 m below the bomber.
When zooming under constant engine operating conditions the value
ed altitude as a function of the loss in speed is determined approximately
mula:
A H = V12) egirming V2end
9.81 ? 2
the bomb-
of the gain-
by the for-
in which V beinning
and Vend represent respectively the speed of the fighter in
g
m/ sec at the beginning and end of zooming.
Thus, reducing speed by zooming creates the necessary conditions for succes-
sive fighter attacks. The plane in trail attacks at adjusted speeds, while the lead
plane attacks with a speed reserve, at the same time protecting the plane, in trail
from the bomber's fire during the former's entry into the firing position at close
range.
Successive attacks by a pair result in a disruption of its formation. In order
to reestablish it, the first fighter maneuvers for a repeat run on the target while the
second fighter attacks; upon withdrawing from attack, the second fighter formates on
the lead plane.
Let us note that attacks with adjusted speeds are employed in those cases when
the enemy operates without cover or when his fighters are engaging other groups of
aircraft.
In all other cases our fighters must attack the enemy with a speed reserve, and
the more complex the air situation, the greater that reserve should be. If the hostile
bombers have strong fighter cover, a considerable speed reserve permits striking at
the main target, i. e. , the bombers,
This is explained by the fact that the
1000-12004?
"44
--????
49-49044ff
while evading the attacks of the escort fighters.
escort fighters' speed, as a rule, cannot exceed
to any considerable extent that of the
bombers. Consequently, a fighter at-
tacking with considerable speed reserve
can slip past the escort fighters which
will be capable of attacking it only in the
event it lags, and such attacks are hardly
effective.
Another tactical procedure which
can counteract the operations of the escort
fighters is a suitable formation of a pair
.411P-
and a flight with due regard for the capa-
bilities of the enemy escort fighters.
Aircraft performance characteris-
capable of at-
I00-20OAs
Fig. 4. Formation Ort. pair in order
for the plane in trail to parry the enemy
attack.
tics deteriorate in the stratosphere; therefore the escort fighters are
tacking effectively only within a narrow sector of- the rear hemisphere with an angle-
off of 1/4 - 2/4 at a range not exceeding 500-600 m. In order to protect the lead
plane,which is attacking the enemy bomber, from fighter escort fire, the plane in trail
ought to be located behind the leader at a distance of 1000-1200 m. In this case, mov-
ing into the critical area, he will be able to parry the enemy's attack on the plane a-
i hter Tactical Procedures Dunn
Aerial Combat in the Stratosphere 17
head (Fig. 4).
We must note that for a successive attack on the same target (gun-target dis-
tance equals 1200-1400 m), the distance between fighters should be 1000-1200 m.
From this we see that a fighter formation designed for a successive attack at the
same time allows the trailing aircraft to supply cover for the lead planes.
Thus, in stratospheric aerial combat, when dealing with a mixed enemy group,
there is no reason for splitting one's forces in two: one force for destroying the
bombers, and another for supporting the attack. It is better to direct all the fight-
ers towards destroying the bombers. Escort fighter attacks will be repulsed by on-
ly those planes which encounter such a problem in the course of the engagement.
In order to repulse the escort fighters within the narrow sector of the rear
hemisphere, the pilot in trail will not be obliged to change his heading appreciably.
In stratospheric aerial combat, the second fighter, for the purpose of attacking the
escort plane, moves in his direction without altering his overall flight heading. This
will force the enemy to evade combat. It is more than likely that he will maneuver
around towards the attacking fighter in order to force him to come out at a greater
angle-off. In the end, not having any speed advantage, the enemy will fall behind,
and will not be able to assist in repelling the attack on the bomber.
The pilots who are engaged in repelling the escort fighters need not pursue
them for any length of time. Their primary mission is to force the enemy to decline
the attack and to turn away.
In certain instances, when the escort planes are flying at close intervals with
respect to the bomber's flight axis, it is advantageous to close in in such a way that
they [the escort fighters] will be aligned with the bomber. Such a method of clos-
ing in will look like an attack on the escort fighter and will force him to engage in a
defensive maneuver. This maneuver ? in view of his speed disadvantage and reduc-
ed performance capabilities in the stratosphere ? will hamper his ensuing actions
against the fighter which is attacking the bomber.
However, even if after such a maneuver the escort fighters remain in their
former position, it is imperative to attack and to force them to turn away. Other-
wise, at the moment when the attacking fighter approaches the bomber, the escort
fighters will be in a position advantageous for repelling his attack.
On the other hand, an attack on an escort fighter aligned with the bomber does
not exclude the possibility of changing over into an immediate attack on the bomber.
Such are some of the fighter tactical maneuvers for stratospheric aerial com-
bat. They will enable the fighters to carry out more effectively, under given condi-
tions, their combat mission.
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ObrIEHHE II 130 CIIIITA1111 E
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
DEVELOPING COMBAT HABITS IN PILOTS
Guards Major General of the Air Force Yu.B.Rykachev
A basic factor in organizing and conducting the combat training of flying person-
nel in any branch of the Air Force must be the development of essential combat habits,
particularly during air training exercises, in the pilots, navigators, aerial radio gun-
ners, and. all members of the crew.
Nevertheless certain branches and types of flight training are sometimes studied
in an abstract manner, divorced from the ultimate aim: the training of a skilled, intrep-
id air fighter. Such a defect occurs frequently in an instance where, for example,
flight training under adverse weather ,conditions is not combined, with other very impor-
tant elements of the mission?interception, aerial combat, etc., where aerial gunnery
4.?
Developing Combat Habits in Pilots 19
or piloting intl zone are not correlated with aerial combat. Now, after all, it is well
known to every commander that outstanding execution of aerobatics and advanced pilot-
ing is necessary for pilots, not as an end in itself, but as a means for utilizing all the
potentialities and performance of an aircraft in aerial combat.
In some elements, the missions being carried out have a one-sided character at
times ? almost the entire allotted flying time is spent on perfecting isolated. operations
by the crew. There is no doubt that high-level training of individual crews is indispens-
able, but it is bad if at the same time attention to group training is relaxed. We some-
times evaluate the result of work which has been done in accordance with the number of
pilots flying during weather minimum, and we do not always ask ourselves whether they
can carry on combat above the clouds as part of a flight or a squadron. Or we count
the number of bombings for each crew in a year, and we do not ask ourselves if these
crews can operate in steady succession at night, and inflict an adequately massive blow
TEST PILOTS
HEROES OF THE SOVIET UNION
M. L. Gallay
P. Ya. Gerbinskiy'
S. D. Golovachev
in a given unit of time, or if they can operate in groups in the daytime under fighter cov-
er.
One of the reasons for such an approach to the matter is, in my opinilon, a not en-
tirely apt evaluation of the work of the pilots: Afterall, the hours of flying, time credit-
ed to a pilot and to a unit as a whole, the number of pilots trained for opera;tions
nder
adverse weather conditions, and the number of bombings, gunnery exercis!es and'in-
stances of firing, aerial combats ? all these are still far from providing a complete
picture of the work-'4....i Alas been performed. These da-tampillect more tb.rwntita-
tive aspect but are insufficient for an 'evaluation of the capacity of the element or \mit
to carry on organized group combat oPerati4ns.
Leading Air Force commanders ? P.I.Kokorev, for example ? strive to organize
the entire training in such a way that the young pilot is imbued from the firk flights with
combat qualities, efficiency, and. a spirit for the offensive. From the first pattern
flights and flights into the zone, habits of caution are inculcated in the young pilot. Dai-
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IND
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Yu. B.Rykachev
ZC
ly and persistently the thought is impressed upon him that this is absolutely essential
for any kind of combat sortie. Lack of sufficient caution may result in the enemy's
attacking first or being first to occupy the more advantageous position in the air. And
in order to emerge as victor from an aerial combat, one must himself display initiative.
Parallel to the development of habits of caution, the aspiration to participate in
an active sweep is fostered. The young pilots are trained in such a way that they will
be able in any situation to utilize all their advantages over the enemy swiftly_and correct-
ly, know how to occupy an advantageous position for an attack, to be first to attack, and
to avoid-being spotted to the very last moment.
That is possible only on condition that the flying personnel trains constantly and
persistently and develops consistently the tactics and technique for an active sweep as
well as the other elements which make up aerial combat. It is important for fighters,
TEST PILOTS
HEROES OF THE SOVIET UNION
A. N. Gratsianskiy
for example, to learn, when closing in, to make absolutely certain that they have an
altitude advantage over the enemy in order to have a reserve of speed when attacking,
to 'come in out of the sun, taking cover behind the clouds wherever possible.
The fighter must conduct a circular sweep constantly and strive always to be first
to spot the enemy and make a surprise attack. At the same time even during the very
course of the battle he must not cease observing the situation in the air but must contin-
ue the sweep and by skillful maneuvering attain an advantageous position for the attack.
And he must be taught this during every flight. Frequently we ee many contrails in-.4000.
the air, and we know very well that they manifestly reveal the whereabouts_of aircraft.
But it is not enough to observe and know this; the fighter and bomber must be required
daily to avoid leaving such traces behind them in the air by maneuvering skillfully for
this purpose in accordance with the altitude.
Of exceptional importance for every pilot are: discipline in the air, an exact and
efficient execution of assigned orders, and the ability to maintain strictly one's position
L. I. Minenko
V. A. Nef edov
Developing Combat Habits in Pilots 21
in the combat formation of the group. And the commander must constantly inculcate
all these qualities in his men, by manifesting strict exactingness, making flight as-
signments clearly, and checking in proper time on the execution of all his instructions.
We may be asked the following questions: Is the methodology correct, if the very
first flights are saturated-with tactical elements? After all, are not these flights by
their very nature still very remote from aerial combat? We will answer: Yes, they
actually are remote from aerial combat. But the elements of such combat are con-
tained in them. Subsequently, while observing strict sequence in training, the com-
mander will assign the pilots new, more complicated tasks. And, since they will al-
ready have the elementary combat habits, the pilots will perfect them and add to them.
Flying and tactical training are inseparable links in one chain, and it is complete-
ly natural that such problems must not be settled separately.
The logical culmination for classroom instruction in tactics is the combat train-
ing flight and preparation for it. A gap, an absence of close coordination between them
makes the entire work one-sided and inferior. In order for this not to happen, every
flight must be coordinated, insofar as possible, with tactical requirements. The tac-
tical background for flights must always be concrete and correspond to the nature of
the exercise being conducted.
The commander of an Air Force fighter unit, V.I. Borod_achev, takes all this into
account. It cannot be said that the entire combat training work in the elements under
his charge is carried on faultlessly; but he does give special attention to imbuing the
flying personnel with combat habits. Air Force commanders strive to concretize the
tactical situation in which the scheduled flight will be conducted. Every day they im-
press upon their pilots the importance of being well acquainted with the enemy, his
quantitative and qualitative composition, and with combat formations and the principles
of tactical operations.
In the course of combat training, the tactical horizon of the flying personnel is
constantly being broadened, arid their ability to employ one method or another grows,
depending on the existing conditions.
It is no less important for the pilot to know the situation on the ground thoroughly.
Its elements are pin-pointed before flights. For example, the "front line" is associated
with typical landmarks, instructions are issued for the operational organization of "de-
fense" and the deployment of "enemy" troops in defense or in areas of concentration.
On the basis of these data, the crews look for their targets or objectives on the terrain.
In all cases, the situation on the ground is closely coordinated with that in the air.
The flying personnel of bomber aviation learn to take advantage of any situation
which Comes up by considering both the effect of AA artillery and guided missiles, as
well as other factors.
Leading officers teach their men to carry out combat training missions at high-
speeds and altitudes, with limited time on the bombing run. They lay particular stress
on thrTecessity for knowing hoW?to-bit the-tteget on thlisrtry first run and to find well
camouflaged objectives under adverse conditions, swiftly and-without error.
In order for combat habits to be developed during each?flight, the pilots must be
taught to reach a swift decision in planning their aerial combat upon encountering the
enemy. Upon spotting single aircraft or a group, the pilot must at once evaluate both
the situation and the mutual location of aircraft, and decide what maneuver to apply in
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22 Yu. B. Rykachev
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a given instance, in order to achieve victory in aerial combat.
In perfecting flight teamwork, one must not forget about combat formations. As
is well known, they have various specific features, depending on the nature of the mis-
sion, the size of the group, etc. Thus, among fighters in an assault group or in an
escort group, when directly escorting bomber aircraft, the combat formation en route
is of one type, while during bomber operations in the target area it is somewhat differ-
ent.
The pilots must know this, because the change of combat formation at various stag-
es of the flight is not dictated by some sort of abstract circumstances, but by the neces-
sity for better execution of the mission. When direct escort is being provided, the com-
bat formation of fighters is a defensive one, but when support is being provided in the
target area, their mission consists in-preventing the enemy from attacking the escorted
bombers. Here their combat formation is of an offensive nature. The enemy must be
spotted while approaching the target, and his attacks-must be forestalled and he himself
destroyed.
During operations against ground. targets on the battlefield or deep in the enemy
defenses, there will be even more special features in the set-up of combat formations
within the component groups.
The basis of combat fighter formation is the pair and the flight. They can func-
tion in various elements of a squadron's combat formation, while a squadron can function
in the various elements of a unit's combat formation, and so on. It is precisely for this
reason that all pilots, lead pairs, flights, and squadrons must have a clear knowledge of
their missions and their position in various formations. But for this purpose, constant
study and training are necessary. Leading Air Force commanders actually do proceed
in this way: in every flight, their men work out various combat formations correspond-
ing to the conditions of the exercise being carried out against a tactical background.
But in some units a different picture may be observed. There too teamwork is
being developed, since, after all, it is provided for in the program. But some officers,
in carrying out group sorties, strive above all to establish the status necessary for ad-
vancement to the next class rating. As a consequence, the groups fly, not in combat
formations but in regular formation. For fighters whose combat formations differ mark-
edly from regular formation, such a practice is nothing but a waste of alloted facilities
and of the planned flight norms.
It also frequently happens that combat formations are set up without an analysis of,
and consideration for, the special features of one's own aircraft and those of the enemy,
and of the correlation of speed and other factors that influence the course of aerial com-
bat. Recently, for example, the fighters commanded by M. I. Zotov, in organizing an
escort, placed one group of aircraft at the head of the column of bombers and another at
the tail of the column. The first group of fighters was intended for repelling attacks on
head-on collisioh courses from the front hemisphere.
Such an arrangement was obviously made without basis. First of all it is most
likely that an enemy will attack from the rear hemisphere at angle of no more than 450
to the axis of the aircraft under attack. But he may attack on collision courses as well.
In both the former and the latter instances, the main task of the fighter escort is to fore-
stall the enemy attack by attacking him at the moment he is preparing to strike at the
bombers. If we take into consideration the correlation of speeds during frontal attacks
by modern aircraft, then an encounter by our fighters with the enemy must take place
?
?
Developing Combat Habits in Pilots 23
at a distance of several kilometers, at the extreme limit of visibility. That means
that the position of the fighter escort at the head of the column of bombers is useless.
They must be moved out in front.
In exactly the same way, the position at the tail of the column was an unhappy se-
lection. The task of the fighters immediately escorting the bombers is to repel the
enemy with fire before he himself manages to open fire on our bombers.
From what has been said above, we may reach several conclusions. The princi-
pal one is that in order to develop combat habits among the flying personnel, there is
absolutely no need to conduct any sort of special flights. In all flights, including those
made under adverse weather conditions, it is necessary to achieve faultless piloting
technique, perfect mastery of the elements of combat application, and to train the pilot
to analyze thoughtfully the technique and tactics of the enemy. In working out separate
exercises in connection with the course, we must coordinate them with the development
of combat habits. The team spirit of a pair and of a flight, combat formations under
various conditions, aerial gunnery, and aerial combat? all must be mastered not in
an abstract manner but in a concrete tactical environment. In this connection, by the
way, the vulnerable positions of the enemy's aircraft are studied, as are also the most
advantageous methods for attacking them, the fire area of one type of aircraft or another,
the area of backwash, the distinguishing characteristics of configuration, etc.
In working out cooperation with the ground troops, one must at the same time learn
"to read" the front line and the deployment of troops deep in enemy defense, and also to
look for camouflaged objectives on the battlefield: artillery, tanks, mortar batteries,
and concentrations of troops and. equipment.
The commander must saturate all flights with elements of a sweep and of caution,
and train the fighter pilots always to look for the enemy and down him with the first at-
tack. In this way only will the pilot be imbued with a combat spirit, decisiveness, bold-
ness, and readiness for active offensive operational methods.
Many combat habits among the flying personnel are worked out during the process
of ground training. In leading units, therefore, a great deal of attention is given to the
correct formulation of that training, and to the equipment of classes with visual aids.
In classes on tactics, for example, necessary materials for organizing and conducting
aerial combat are available. Combat formations and. methods and means of attack are
depicted on charts and demonstrations are given of essentially different targets, the
camouflage of these targets on the battlefield, and. the distinctive features by which they
are recognized.
It is expedient also to equip the classes with firing charts and posters which show
how the target or aircraft looks in the sights at various ranges, at the commencement
of sighting, at the commencement of opening fire, and at the moment of withdrawing from
the attack. Such charts may be kept not only in the classrooms but also in places where
the flying personnel reside permanently.
During the course of ground training, e pilots must constantly train at sighting
from the cockpits at mockups of aircraft on airfields at actual ranges. And these mock-
ups, it must be stated, have here and there become delapidated and are not being used.
It is helpful to place three aircraft at various ranges: at the commencement of sighting,
at the commencement of opening fire, and at the withdrawal from attack.
Constant improvement in organizing and conducting combat training and the execu-
tion of requirements necessary in combat_ all these will undoubtedly enhance the combat
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_
24 Yu. B. Rykachev
efficiency of the flying personnel.
TWICE HEROES AND OUTSTANDING MEN IN TRAINING
The names of these pilots ? commanders of units in our Air Force ? are wide-
ly known to Soviet people. They are (left to right) famous veterans of the Great Patriot-
ic War. Twice Heroes of the Soviet Union, Colonels N. M. Skomorokhov, A. N. Yefimov,
and. I.N.Stepanenko. In the combat score of each of them is a large number of downed.
enemy aircraft as well as of destroyed manpower and. equipment. Skomorokhov's per-
sonal combat score is 46 enemy aircraft and Stepanenko's 33. Yefimov ground-attacked.
enemy columns dozens of times and. inflicted great losses on the troops of the invaders.
The Motherland has highly evaluated the combat skill, bravery, and boldness of
these pilot heroes.
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, they all graduated from the Military
Academy. They were entrusted with the responsible work of mastering new jet equip-
ment and. training young flying personnel. The combat experience that they had acquir?
ed on the battlefields was very useful. With these veterans, young pilots studied the
ail of -e-m?p-loi-infiirtillitt in combat, acquired habits of accurate firing, and mastered
the art of flying under adverse weather conditions even at night. During the post-war
years, Twice Heroes of the Soviet Union, Comrades Skomorokhov, Stepanenko,, and
Yefimov have trained many experts in aerial combat and sniper gunnery.
Now they are studying again. Modern military equipment places great demands
upon the officers, especially if the officer heads a unit or a group. The Air-Force
commander must know a great deal and be able to do a grat deal. Only on ihat. condi-
Developing Combat Habits in Pilots
25
tion will he be able to ensure the combat readiness of the flying personnel.
Twice Heroes of the Soviet Union Skomorokhov, Yefimov, and Stepanenko, serve
as an example for other officers. They are top men in training, and they have only ex-
cellent ratings in all the subjects they are studying.
A MEETING OF THE COUNCIL
OF THE MILITARY SCIENCE SOCIETY OF A UNIT
Since the very first months of its existence, the council of the Society where of-
ficer M.I.Dorfman is chairman, has worked out a detailed schedule and put into effect
monthly meetings for considering urgent problems.
Thus, at a recent meeting, a report was heard from the secretary of the council,
officer V. P. Kopylov, on the work of the Military Science Society. He disclosed the
reasons for various shortcomings. It was explained that- some members of the society
were pursuing their research on their chosen topics slowly. This was taking place be-
cause many officers had set about military science work for the first time and they had
encountered difficulties. The council decided to give them practical assistance, to ex-
plain where to begin the treatment of the topic, how to plan it, and to suggest the most
expedient methods for research.
The council members found out that it is necessary to concretize the topics and
to coordinate them more closely with the tasks being solved by the outfits. When top-
ics are selected, of course, consideration must be given to the possibilities for treat-
ing them in the unit.
Then a scientific research paper, written by one of the officers, was discussed.
It was on the employment of new means of combat by ground troops and on methods of
reconnaissance. As a preliminary step he had consulted specialists with reference to
this work. After becoming acquainted with it in detail, the members of the council
made concrete comments. The positive aspects of the work as well as its shortcom-
ings were noted. It was suggested that the author give more concrete form to the
questions concerning reconnaissance.
Various opinions were expressed on the plan, style of exposition, and formulation
of the work.
In accordance with the decision of the council, the members of the Military Sci-
ence Society conduct briefings every week on new problems of Air Force equipment '
and on methods of it.
The council is also carrying on work for recruiting new members into the society.
Thus, at the last meeting, officer D. A. Kharitonov was inducted into the society.
Regular meetings of the council of the society, with consideration being given to
the most urgent problems, are undoubtedly cbritribufiilt the broad development of
military science work and to raising the level of combat training in the outfits:
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mimmommigimovi#6*-Itsurossicoislimizoilizz
PHYSICAL TRAINING OF THE FLYING PERSONNEL
Thrice Hero of the Soviet Union, Maj. Gen. of the Air Force A. I. Pokryshkin
In the years of the Great Patriotic War, I was once an unwilling witness-to a
sad occurrence. Our young fighter pilot engaged an experienced Fascist ace in
aerial combat. A combat with turning maneuvers ensued. Each of the pilots want-
ed to be the first to approach the other from the rear, decreasing for this purpose
the radius of the turn and causing considerable acceleration forces. The pursuit
circle, extended at first, grew tighter. Soon the crisis came. The enemy was the
first to get on the tail of our fighter. The guns went into action. The young pilot
was shot down.
On orders from the ground control post another of our fighters arrived at the
scene of the dogfight. Almost the same performance was repeated ? except that
the outcome of the fight was different this time. Great confidence could be felt in
the actions of our pilot. Nobody among those on the ground at the time had doubts
that the enemy would receive his due. Of course the enemy by then was exhausted,
but he made desperate efforts to cox-4e out victorious. He did not succeed. Hit by
a well-aimed burst from the Soviet fighter, the enemy plane started to belch smoke
and plunged to the ground.
We spent a long time analyzing the ,results of the aerial combat. Why was one
of our pilots unable to withstand the enemy, while the other achieved victory? -- Alter
all, they served in the same unit, flew aircraft of the same type, and hardly differed
from each other in the level of flightLtraining. And yet there was a difference-be-
tween them: the second pilot was an excellent athlete. Physically fit, he could stand
great acceleration forces and this gave him an advantage in aerial combat. While
the first pilot (incidentally, he survived and soon returned to his unit) was indifferent
to sports and was not concerned with condifioning his body. -
From personal experience, I have learned how important it is for a pilot to en-
gage in sports systematically. Good physical conditioning has helped in many an
aerial combat, has made it possible to conquer a strong enemy in the air, to arrive
in time to help one's comrades. The following combat episode comes to mind: My
co-flyer Semenov and I were attacked by 5 ME-109's simultaneously. We spotted the
enemy from afar as they began turning in our direction: three ME-109's flew at our
altitude, two flew above. 'Having euated the stion, I decided to attack head-on
_
and to get at the rear of the enemy with a subsequent combat turn. The attack-Was
on. The distance between the aircraft shrinks rapidly. We fire, the enemy fires
back, but without results.
Slieveraf seconds later our pair char ging thoughinto
the formation of Messer-
!
schmitts. Jerking the stick back, I put'the aircraft vertical zoom, tumble it
1
on the right wing. Now the Messerschmitts are again in front of me. At this moment
the enemy fighters were below my plane and were turning to the left. I also coM-plete
Physical Training of the Flying Personnel
27
a turn to the left and begin to aim, when suddenly there appears on my right the
tracks of bullets and projectiles. This means the enemy is also behind me. He
is already firing at my aircraft. Having estimated from the tracks where the at-
tacker is located, I jerk the stick back so abruptly that I gray out. But I do not
lose consciousness. Glancing back, I see the attacking plane whiz by on the left.
In this case I was saved only by good training in sports and by being condition-
ed to acceleration forces; otherwise I could not have "broken away" with the plane
so sharply and escaped from the fighter who was on top of me.
Again, just several minutes later, this quality aided me in helping my comrade
out of a tight spot. Semenov tried to withdraw from combat by using a roll. An
ME-109 was sneaking up on him from behind. I realized that my wingman needed
help. With a half-roll I put the plane into a dive and soon found myself on the Mes-
serschmites tail. I immediately open fire and see the fiery tracks bite into the fuse-
TEST PILOTS
HEROES OF THE SOVIET UNION
M. A. Nyukhtikov
N. S.Rybko
lage. The Messerschrnitt zooms, I catch him in my sight again and set him on fire.
These are only isolated instances which show how important it is for a pilot to
be physically strong and fit.
And have the requirements concerning physical fitness been reduced for the fly-
ing personnel in any measure? No, on the contrary, they have further increased.
With the -deloprnet of supersonic ai-r-akaft, plvf.ical conditioning of the pilot takes
on as much importance as his technical and tactical training, as his flying skill.
In spite of this fact there are pilots who consider physical training a secondary
matter. This is a serious mistake and must be eliminated. Marshal of the Soviet
Union G. K. Zhukov has given a good evaluation of the importance of physical training
and sports to the military man at the All-Army Conference of Outstanding Men:
"The nature of the commanding officer's job and that of the activity of the troops
on the whole have become considerably more complicated due to altered conditions
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28 A. I. Pokryshkin
under which military action is conducted. The flabby, physically unfit officer,
soldier or seaman will not be able to endure the great physical exertions of present-
day combat. And even in peace times in our training work, the physically weak
people cannot successfully cope with their service duties. I hope no insult will be
taken, but unfortunately we have observed in recent years that some of our military
men get corpulent prematurely and become sedentary, which is a great defect in any
military man? not to speak of the fact that this has a detrimental influence on the
man's health.
Good physical fitness is of tremendous importance to the pilot. It is known,
for instance, that the combat activity of a fighter pilot involves exceptionally great
acceleration forces on the body. In combat flight the pilot is also subject to con-
siderable nervous tension. Flights under adverse weather conditions, combat at dif-
ferent altitudes and speeds? all require that the pilot have good physical stamina.
TEST PILOTS
HEROES OF THE SOVIET UNION
K. K. Rykov
G. M. Shiyanov
But does this apply only to fighter pilots?
Considerable acceleration forces, partial oxygen starvation, motion sickness,
fluctuations in temperature and pressure are experienced by the flying personnel of
any present-day Air Force-. This is the reason why it is necessary to develop and
harden by all available methods the pilot's respiratory muscles, abdominal muscles,
to exercise and to strengthen the nervous and cardio-vascular systems. In or.saniz-
ing the-p:iysical training of thc-flying personnel, -toletance of-the body-to kreal accel-
eration forces, strong muscles, speed of reaction, spatial orientation, and caution
in the air and on the ground must be developed.
In fighter aircraft with powerful jet engines, a correctly established turning
maneuver can be carried out at 7 G's and modern equipment permits even greater
acceleration forces and turns in combat and in vertical maneuvers. This means that
everything depends on whether the pilot is capable of withstanding such a stress.
Physical Training of the Flying Personnel 29
If the pilot does not systematically engage in sports and does not exercise, his average
tolerance to sustained acceleration forces will not exceed 4. 0 - 4. 5, and he will not be
able to utilize fully the combat capabilities of his aircraft.
The same may be said of the navigator. The bomber navigator, as a rule, does
not experience great acceleration forces in flight, but exceptional accuracy and preci-
sion in operating the bombing equipment is required of him. And if he is not suffi-
ciently physically fit, he will not have the necessary accuracy in his work. And yet
in a short period of time, during which the aircraft is on the bomb run, the navigator
is in a situation which demands very precise and well-coordinated actions.
Physical endurance is also required of the maintenance personnel servicing
modern aircraft. Jet equipment has considerably complicated the work of the mainte-
nance personnel. One cannot discount the fact that flights at night and in adverse
weather have become more frequent. Servicing planes in adverse weather or at night
is considerably more difficult. The body must be physically fit.
Thus all flyers must be physically well conditioned and, above all, have a good
overall physical development. In addition, soldiers of different aviation specialties
must have a clear idea of which type of physical training and which type of sport best
develop their professional qualities.
For instance, special exercises on revolving swings, the gymnastic wheel, the
horizontal bar, parallel bars, and other apparatus increases tolerance to acceleration
forces. Hence they are very important for the pilot. Volleyball, basketball, tennis,
or fencing develops the habit of precise, well-coordinated movements.
In order that physical training and sports help the pilot develop the required
specialized qualities most efficiently, it is undoubtedly necessary to have at least an
elementary understanding of those physiological phenomena which take place in the
body during flight. First of all, let us note that acceleration and acceleration forces
produce changes in blood circulation. For instance, at the moment of pulling out of
a dive, the blood drains from the upper part of the body. This can cause the pilot to
gray out. If the stresses are reversed, conversely, blood rushes into the head. And
if the pilot is not fit enough this may cause headaches and changes in the conjunctiva of
the eyelid and the eyeball.
During training flights in jet aircraft we have repeatedly observed that pilots
who underestimate the importance of physical fitness are more likely to suffer from
these phenomena. Sometimes they could not even tolerate average stresses. Thus,
once wewere practicing formation flying, and vigorous maneuvers were being executed
(diving, combat turns, zooming). I felt well during the exercises. But some of the
pilots in trail experienced grayout; they lost sight of the leading plane and, after two
or three maneuvers, dropped out of formation. All of them were pilots who did not
much engage in sports.
The vestibular apparatus plays an impoitant role in flight. With excessive or
prolonged stimulation ? for instan.ce_in doing certain advancefi maneuvers, or_in_tur-
bulence ? some pilots experience fatigue, drowsiness, circulation is affected, the
pulse rate increases.
Specially selected physical exercises increase the reaction stability of the ves-
tibular apparatus under the action of acceleration forces. But it must be remembered
that after a lapse in training, the acquired tolerance of the circulatory and vestibular
systems drops considerably and the endurance of the body is decreased. Training of
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30 A. I. Pokryshkin
the organs of equilibrium, as well as of those of the circulatory system, must be
carried out systematically and must be combined with flight work.
Physical exercises also promote the tolerance of the body to lack of oxygen,
which is of great importance in high altitude flying. It is only necessary to select
exercises which subject the pilot to conditions of oxygen starvation. Such exercis-
es are fast running, ski runs, obstacle courses, etc.
Air Force commanding officers must know by what means the endurance of the
flying personnel is increased. It is only necessary to remember that the means of
increasing man's overall endurance are physical exercises connected with prolonged
use of large groups of muscles (skiing, athletic games, cross-country races, etc. )
Good development of muscles is also achieved by calisthenics, weight lifting,
wrestling, and other exercises. The strength of the abdominal muscles ? essen-
tial to the pilot in withstanding acceleration forces ? can be developed by working
on parallel bars, the horizontal bar, stall-bars and stool, as well as by free calis-
thenics.
Rapid walking, running, skiing, develop leg muscles. The pilot whose legs
and abdominal muscles are well developed is better able to withstand the mechanic-
al shifting of the blood from the head to the legs and vice versa.
Speed of reaction to unexpected changes in a situation plays an important role
in flight activity. Speed of reaction is developed in the course of systematic train-
ing, and through various sport competitions. Lightning-fast reactions are possessed
only by people who box, fence or play athletic games, for example.
Thus we see that overall physical development as well as purposefully directed
training, related to the character of flight work, are equally important to the flying
personnel. But the maximum benefit from any physical exercise can be derived only
on condition that it be well organized. It is necessary that the pilots come to like
body building and sports, and understand their full importance for maintaining health
as well as for the improvement of their combat readiness. These exercises and
sports will become essential for them.
Sometimes it happens that the pilot attends such exercises unwillingly. This
happens in those outfits where the physical instructors approach the training of the
flying personnel without regard for specialization and the individual qualities of the
officers. But is is extremely important to take these facts into account. The age,
the general physical development, the nature of service duties ? all must be taken
into account.
Physical training among the flying personnel is organized by the commanding
officer. On how demanding and skillfull he is depends the quality of the gaining. It
is the duty of the Komsomol organizations to assist the commanding officers and chiefs
in organizing physical training and, especially, mass sport activities. Communists,
and even to a greater extent the Komsomol members, must spearhead mass sport
activities.
Progressive Air Force commanding officers are striving to have more top-notch
athletes in their units and outfits.
In order that physical training be conducted on a high level in the units of the
Air Force, it is necessary to develop a core of athletes in the outfits who will func-
tion as instructor-leaders. This is a very important task, since physical training
must be conducted with the officer's type of duty, his age and conditions of. health in
-
.410.?
Physical Training of the Flying Personnel .31
mind. If the outfit does not have a sufficient number of instructors capable of setting
up the.training while taking account of the characteristics of physical fitness of a giv-
en group, then we will not obtain the desired results. This is why the commanding
officers must see to it without delay that qualified leaders be trained in the outfits and
units for every group of officers. Obviously, it will be profitable to have periodic
conferences of the instructor-leaders. It is also necessary to provide good sport
facilities in the units.
At present the Air Force needs people possessing a high degree of physical fit-
ness, which can only be achieved through systematic exercises in body building and
sports. It is a matter of honor for the commanding officers to make body building
and sports a favorite occupation of every soldier.
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mimikesummmiNIfte,00*-411130111w011111WAINKE
LONGITUDINAL CONTROL OF SUPERSONIC AIRCRAFT
Hero of the Soviet Union, Test Pilot First Class
Engineer Col. G.A. Sedov
At subsonic flight speeds, the present-day supersonic fighter plane1 differs
mainly from aircraft of the forties in having greater angles of attack. In the change-
over from straight wings to sweptback wings and along with the increase in sweep-
back angle X , the curve slope of the viing's lift coefficient c1 along the angle of at-
tack ot becomes less acute (Fig. 1), and the crit-
ical angles of attack a
? crit, corresponding to the
maximal value of c1 and to the wing stall, in-
crease. In present-day fighters with consider-
able wing sweepback they go up to 18 - 20?.
In this connection there is a marked in-
crease in the angles of attack at which the air-
craft may be controlled safely in landing and take-
off. Gliding prior to landing also takes place at
a markedly greater angle of attack. At all these
increased angles of attack, the aircraft maintains
good stability, and the pilot is neither threatened
by wing burbling nor by any other unpleasant ef-
fects. By the position of the cowling at lift-off
and touch-down and by the rate of speed during
the glide, the pilot judges whether or not he is
correctly utilizing the aircraft's capabilities. Re-
ducing the angles of attack when changing over
from subsonic to supersonic aircraft may in-
crease lift-off and landing speeds as well as take-
off and landing distances.
In carrying out a maneuver in present-day
fighters, the angle of attack must be altered con-
siderably more than was necessary in the case of aircraft of the recent past. Fig. 1
shows that, if straight and sweptback winged aircraft performed horizontatflight
with exactly the same lift coefficient value, cl h
or. flight' then, while executing a ma-
neuver with the same acceleration forces, the anxles of attack were_inc--ea-sed up to --oat
_ _
cl man, the aircraltiatith a wingsweep-back ?must alter its angle of attack by a
G. A. Sedov
1 Although this article will deal with flying fighter aircraft, many of the situations
may be applied also to flying supersonic bombers.
Longitudinal Control of Supersonic Aircraft 33
considerably greater increment 4.0(3 than in the case of a straight-winged aircraft
( AO( ). Increase in necessary "breakaway" of the aircraft is hardly noticeable
when flying at high indicated airspeeds; however, at low and medium speeds it is
quite perceptible. The danger of going into.a spin in present-day supersonic fighters
is negligible. In the first place, when the angle of attack is greatly increased, long
before o crit is reached, a warning burble flutter appears in the aircraft (in Fig. 1
its inception is shown by a point), the intensity of which increases with further increase
in the angle of attack. In the second place, even if the pilot, disregarding the warn-
ing flutter, continues to increase the angle of attack, reaching fa< crit, even then bur-
bling diffuses evenly and any uncontrolled break-
ing of the aircraft into a spin is improbable.
x X If the pilot has any reason to fear break-
ing into a spin (very strong burble flutter, toss-
ing of the aircraft from side to side), he must
push the control stick somewhat forward, and
then the aircraft will respond by assuming les-
ser angles of attack. This means that flying
with increased angles of attack is sufficiently
safe, and they can be used at low and medium
instrument speeds in the subsonic regime in all
cases when it is necessary to maximize the tra-
jectory curve: in high-speed maneuvers, in exe-
cuting low-speed rolls, if it is necessary to
lose a minimum of altitude, etc. Angles of at-
Fig. 1. Change in curve slope of tack must be exploited right up to the onset of
the warning flutter, while those pilots who have
fully mastered an aircraft of a given type must
continue right up to the maximum angles of attack. This piloting technique is of par-
ticular advantage in reducing the roll radius at high altitudes. Failure to use large
angles of attack results in a maneuver with large radii? a "spread" maneuver.
Thus, the main distinguishing characteristic of longitudinal control of present-
day supersonic fighters flying at subsonic speeds involves the necessity of controlling
the aircraft at takeoff and landing, and during a maneuver with increased angles of at-
tack.
Let us proceed to examine the peculiar features of longitudinal control at sonic
X,?0
Beginning of
warning flutter
c.
horn
AO(
crit
a crit
wing's lift coefficient
and supersonic speeds.
As is well known, with certain assump-
tions, that point where increased aircraft lift
is applied when the angle of attack is altered
called, aircraft's aerodynamic -centez-;
If an aircraft is in straight and level
flight, its lift y is equal to the weight G and
is applied at the center of gravity (Fig. 2).
In this case, the sum of all the longitudinal
moments equals zero.
In order to have the aircraft fly a curve
IVYsuperson
Xf
Xf super son
_
Lhor emp
hor emp
Ayhor emp superson
with an acceleration force of, for instance, 2, Fig. 2. Longitudinal effectiveness of
the angle of attack must be increased to such control surfaces.
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34
G. A. Sedov
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a degree that the lift Y = G will be increased by AY , also equal to G, since the
longitudinal acceleration ny is equal to the ratio of the aircraft's lift to weight. This
lift increment will be applied at the aircraft's aerodynamic center. In any longitudi-
nal stable aircraft, in the case of increased angle of attack and constant elevator or
stabilizer position, the emergent lift increment AY will tend to restore the aircraft's
original angle of attack, i. e., the aerodynamic center will be located aft of the center
of gravity. Let us designate the distance from the aerodynamic center to the air-
craft's center of gravity by xF (Fig. 2). In order to maintain the aircraft at an
angle of attack which corresponds to the acceleration force ny = 2, the control stick
must be pulled back, which will result in the application of an additional downward
force, A y , to the horizontal empennage. The distance from the center
of gravity to*The'forEe vector AY we will designate by Lh The
h,or or. emp.
condition of balanced moments resulting irPOrn additional forces at the new angle of at-
tack will be:
AY ? xr = AY hor. emp.
Fig. 3. Shifting of aircraft's aerodynamic
center with increased flight speed.
Lnor. emp.
Yelev
Ystal
IL. vv.? 2=3 Yetev
Fig. 4. Appearance of pressure
difference on the upper and lower
profile surfaces at subsonic flight
speed.
while the increased force on the horizontal empennage necessary for holding the air-
craft at the new angle of attack will be:
AY AY x
hor. emp. = F
Lhor. emp.
At subsonic speeds, i. e. , when any change in speed does not result in any ap-
preciable change of airflow around the aircraft, the position of its aerodynamic center
(or value xF) remains constant at all speeds and at all angles of attack which are of
practical use. However, at increased speed the aircraft's subsonic and supersonic
aerodynamic center shifts radically aft, so that at supersonic speeds xF is-3 - 5
times greater thrnsmat subsonic speeds (Fig. 3). This in fact means that the lift in-
crement with increased angle of attack at high supersonic speed, AY supersonic' will
be applied 3 - 5 times further from the center of gravity than at a subsonic speed.
Let us examine aircraft flight at an indicated airspeed of, say, 800 km/ hr, at
two different altitudes: in one case at an altitude of 1000 m, i. e., in a subsonic regime
with M 0. 7, and in the other case at an altitude of 12, 000 m, i. e., in a-supersonic
?
Longitudinal Control of Supersonic Aircraft 35
regime with M 1.3. In order to achieve the same vertical acceleration force
ny on the horizontal empennage for our example, it is necessary, at supersonic
speed, to apply a force AY 3 hor em - 5 times greater than in the case of subsonic
. p.
speed.
If we were to compare the forces applied to the horizontal empennage with equal
deflection angles of the elevator and at equal indicated airspeeds, then at supersonic
speed this force will be considerably smaller than at subsonic speed. With deflection
of the elevator in subsonic flight, a difference in pressures on the upper and lower
profile surfaces appears, not only on,the elevator itself, but also on the stabilizer
(Fig. 4).
CI
C.
1 max
In addition to force Yelev applied to
the elevator, there appears on the stabiliz
z er force 'stab' approximately twice as
great as Yekv . On the other hand, at
supersonic speed, when elevator deflection
does not result in any pressure redistribu-
tion on-the stabilizer, the resultant force
applied to the horizontal empennage will,
4 in effect, be the force applied to the eleva-
tor; that is, it will be approximately 3
times smaller than the force applied to the
horizontal empennage at subsonic speed.
Consequently, in order to maneuver
with the same acceleration forces at equal
instrument speeds in a supersonic regime,
it is necessary to deflect the elevator 9-15
times more than in a subsonic regime. In
other words, in flight at supersonic speeds
the pilot runs into a considerable drop in
effective elevator control. In the course
of flying, this is evidenced by the fact that,
toM at high supersonic speeds ? particularly
at high altitudes ? the aircraft responds
Fig. 6. The curve plotted on the basis sluggishly to elevator deflection; over a
of the available acceleration forces for a wide range of Mach numbers, the pilot, for
certain altitude, a more forceful maneuver, must pull the
stick all the way back to himself.
How do the available lift coefficient values for a present-day supersonic fighter
with elevator and fixed stabilizer appear? On the segment 1-2 (Fig. 5) the available
values of c1 are determined by the maximal value of c1 max; when the angle of attack
is further increased, wing stall occurs. On the segment 1-2 the pilot can bring the 'mit
aircraft up to a stall with an incompletely positioned stick. At point 2 the stall will
correspond to the completely positioned stick. On segment 2-3-4 are shown the val-
ues of c1, less than c1 max. They correspond to the fully positioned stick 6
a max'
In a wide range of Mach numbers, due to the slight effectiveness of the elevator, it is
impossible to put the aircraft into angles of attack corresponding to the onset of the
warning flutter.
1,0
Fig. 5. Available lift coefficients in
a present-day supersonic plane.
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36
G. A. Sedov
If this curve (Fig. 5) were replotted on the basis of the available acceleration
forces ny for any given altitude, it would appear as shown in Fig. 6.
Because of the insufficient effectiveness of elevators at supersonic speeds, the
aircraft cannot assume angles of attack bordering on stalling angles; consequently, so
long as the speed does not drop to the sonic level, breaking into a spin is impossible
even with a fully positioned stick. Below Mach 1 breaking into a spin is possible at
any point. If during a maneuver the speed varies slightly, the aircraft maintains the
planned acceleration force with a greater degree of stability at supersonic speeds than
at subsonic. But with intensive maneuvering the speed, as a rule, dissipates quite
rapidly, and when approaching Mach 1, due to the forward shifting of the aerodynamic
center as well as the reestablishment of elevator effectiveness (transition from point
3 to point 2 in Figures 5 and 6), the aircraft tends to increase its angle of attack and
acceleration force; the aircraft "picks up", as pilots say, greater acceleration force.
The "pick up" process is usually quite slow and the pilot has time enough to counter-
act it by smoothly pushing the stick forward into a neutral position. However, under
the most unfavorable set of conditions (braking at supersonic speed, with a fully posi-
tioned stick, with full power-off and speed brakes set, in a climb, and with stern heav-
iness ) "pick up" may be quite sudden, which will necessitate quick reaction on the part
of the pilot.
Since the elevator, even when fully deflected, at supersonic speeds does not per-
mit full exploitation of the wing lift characteristics, it has been superseded by a stabi-
lizer adjustable in flight [floating tail]. The adjustable stabilizer is much more ef-
fective than the elevator and permits more vigorous maneuvers at supersonic speeds.
The necessarily wide control-surface deflections and the increased hinge moment at
supersonic speeds have made it impossible to control present-day high-speed aircraft
manually (without additional devices). At first the pilot's muscle power was assisted
by reversible power control systems; then they were superseded by irreversible sys-
tems ? mainly hydraulic boosters. Essentially, the term "booster" is applicable on-
ly to a reversible control system, when an hydraulic amplifier takes only part of the
hinge moment, since the basic meaning of the English word "booster" is "helper". On
the other hand, when the hydraulic amplifier takes on the total hinge morlient of the con-
trol surface, i. e., when the pilot, by moving the control stick, shifts the slide valve by
means of connecting rods, and the hydraulic amplifier deflects the control surface,
while the pressure from the control surface is not transmitted back to the stick, then
the system may be more correctly called a simple irreversible power system and not
a booster system. But since the appellation of irreversible booster systems has al-
ready been firmly established, we too shall refer to it thus in this article.'
In recent years irreversible booster systems have completely predominated in
high-speed aircraft. Since the forces from the control surfaces do not act on the stick
when irreversible systems are used, and since the pilot cannot pilot the aircraft with-
out any forces at the stick, its loading has been accomplished artificially. The sim-
plest loading system involves the use of a spring mechanism whereby the force at the
stick varies only depending on the amount of the stick's deflection. This fully enables
the pilot to "feel" the aircraft by the forces acting on the stick in all regimes. How-
ever, this introduces a number of special features into piloting. At subsonic speeds
in planes with manual controls, the stick "took on weight" as speed increased.
Lon itudinal Control of Supersonic Aircraft 37
As a gauge of ease of control, it is customary to use the variation of the force at
the stick, A Pa, necessary for altering the acceleration force Any by one, i.e.
Pa
A ny
(Fig. 7). This characteristic is usually called the acceleration force gradient. On air-
craft with irreversible boosters and with the simplest system of stick loading (1), when
M< 1, ease of control varies with the speed in accordance with a law which is contrary
to the "natural" one, i. e., with increase in
speed the stick "loses weight". Therefore
in initial flights it is difficult to determine
the speed of flight by the forces at the stick
and it is necessary to refer to an instrument
more frequently than is the usual practice.
However, an average pilot, after only 5-6
flights, will be able to judge the speed of
flight by the varying forces at the stick just
as well as he would with manual control (2).
It should be kept in mind that, in con-
trast to manual-control, in the case of irre-
versible booster control, at the moment of ap-
Fig. 7. Graph of forces in relation to proaching top center of a loop or halfloop, the
rated pull at the stick does not decrease but
rather increases, causing the pilot to feel at
first as if he were overapplying the stick. Therefore some pilots ease the stick and a
stall occurs on the loop. One must remember that, during the pullup for a vertical ma-
neuver, an ever-increasing pull must be exerted on the stick. Until the pilot becomes
accustomed to the nature of the rated forces he may judge his piloting on the loop by the
position of the stick; at the beginning of the loop it is positioned in such a way as to pro-
duce the acceleration force prescribed in the operating instructions for a given type of
aircraft; thereafter the stick's position remains, on the whole, unaltered until top center
of the loop is reached. The pilot has greater difficulty in controlling the position of the,
stick than the pressure on it. Therefore, as soon as the pilot becomes accustomed to
evaluating the rated forces, he must change over to control in accordance with them.
In aircraft with more advanced systems of loading, where the forces on the stick
depend not only on its deflection, but are further corrected according to impact pressure,
altitude, or Mach number, the forces on the stick no longer vary unnaturally with speed.
In such aircraft the pilot need not relearn in order to judge correctly the flight regime.
The effort to increase the effectiveness of the elevator at supersonic speeds re-
sults in the fact that, when using the simplest irreversible booster system, the control
surface becomes overeffective at high indicated airspeeds of M 0.85 - 0.9, speed must be reduced with tho trim tab in trim position, while when
M 85 - 0.9 it is noces-saau; to resort to -be use of the.trira tab_to redu_pe.pressure
at the stick.
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22micimmgmlowii00*.vat
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BOMBING WITH THE USE OF AN AUXILIARY AIMING POINT
Military Navigator First Class, Col. M. N. Galimov
Bombing with the use of an auxiliary aiming point expands the tactical capa-
bilities of the radar bombsight in operation against targets which do not offer radar
contrast.
Various structures and natural reference points can be used as auxiliary aim-
ing points (large railroad bridges and industrial plants, characteristic river bends,
seashore-line configurations, as well as man-made radar points ? such as corner
reflectors).
We will examine only two methods of bombing by using an auxiliary aiming
point.
In essence, the first of these involves providing for a planned bomb short re-
lative to the auxiliary aiming point, depending upon the value of aiming off Sao. In
this case, flying proceeds along the line target ? VTP [ auxiliary aiming point].
The planned short ? relative to the VTP ? is achieved by introducing a fic-
titious number of rotations of the friction disc (nf) into the synchronous bombsight.
These rotations make it possible to set an aiming angle at which the bomb is releas-
ed with an intended short of a planned amount.
Their number may be calculated according to the formula:
nf = 5300 (1) or nf = 5300 , (2)
T+ Sao
T f
where T equals the bomb's time of fall for the planned flight conditions;
equals the distance from the VTP to the target;
ato
equals actual aircraft speed on the combat course;
Tf equals the bomb's fictitious time of fall, which equals T +
A diagram for range aiming by the
indicated bombing method is given in Fig. 1.
From an analysis of the aiming diagram
- and rmula, it is ap.pAunt that the..bb's
fictitious time of fall changes in proportion
to the actual speed; this means that the value
nf will also be variable. Therefore, in or-
der to release the bomb at the proper range,
before takeoff the navigator calculates a ta-
Fig. 1. Range aiming diagram.
woaaansaao. c. x.
WT
VTP
W T f
Sao
rf
target
Sao A
tf
Bombing With the Use of an Auxiliary Aiming Point
.43
ble of the functions of nf depending upon W and of the value of (1) f for the given
flight conditions.
In readying the bombsight, the following no-wind values are set in: nf , Nit
thous.,
. After wind is determined in flight or after synchronization on the combat course
in accordance with the obtained values of W or 4) f, the number nf is corrected and then
synchronization is repeated.
Depending on the type of bomb used, the lag is set in on the bombsight scale.
This is done as follows. The lag value is set in on the bombsight for the whole scale,
while the remaining number of thousandths is converted into distance and Sao is re-
duced by this amount. Then, in accordance with formulas (1) or (2), nf is computed.
For this computation Sao is no longer used, but rather its corrected (reduced) value
This same problem may be solved another way if the value of rotations n' from
table 7 (supplement to the description of the bombsight for cases when the bomb lag
exceeds the maximum allowable set-in value on the bombsight) is taken into account.
Then T' is obtained as 5300
Target-VTP] Line Target
VTP
Fig. 2. Diagram of geometrical relationship
between turn angle and radius.
Then nf is determined in accordance with the same formulas, except that T'
an arbitrary time of fall for the bomb chosen with provision for correcting the incom-
plete introduction into the bombsight of the actual bomb lag ? is substituted for T.
This very lag is thereafter compensated by the fictitious rotations of the bombsight's
friction disc (n'). The fictitious rotations are limited by the outer value of the bomb-
sight's rotation scale; therefore the possible planned short (for altitudes of 6000 -
8000 m) will be 3 to 4 km. However, when the lag which has been set in on the bomb-
sight is reduced, it may attain the sum of Sao + A .
Range aiming differs in no way from the usual techniques of operating the bomb-
sight. The most complicated element of aiming is the deflection setting which must
insure the aircraft's flight along the line target ? VTP.
For convenience of analysis, let us divide the whole process of deflection set-
'Inn into two stages: the firstbeingpothe "snaking" maneuver, made fi)r the purpose of
entering the planned line-up (30 - 40 km from the target at the far approaches) ; the
second being the course correction after termination of the deflectick setting in order
to compensate for a bombing deflection error caused by an inaccurate entry onto the
line target _ VTP.
In order to execute the "snaking" maneuver, a table is prepared in advance of
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I
:1
44 M. N. Galimov
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the turn angles depending on the amount of error iin the approach and on the remain-
ing distance to the target. The navigator determines the approach error *0 accord-
ing to the DGMK-3 [long-range gyromagnetic compass], :where the value of the plan-
ned course is obtained by taking into account the drift angle and the compass devia-
tion. The target range D is obtained from the scope of the radar sight, by using the
range marks or the measuring marker placed at 30 km.
The formula for computing the turn angles is derived from the geometrical
function of the angle NV?, .D, and the turn radius (Fig. 2.),I
cos UR [turn angle] = 1 -i D
115 R
The obtained angle values are tabulated.
Table of turn angles for R = 10 km
4,o
D mm
4
6
8
10 .
12
14
16 :
18
20
50
33
42
49
55
61
66
721
77
82
40
30
37
44 50
55
59
64 i
68
73
30
25
32
37
42
46
50
i
54 :
i
58
61
The above maneuver enables the crew, during the initial approach to the target
(VTP) made with an approach error, to select a final approach alignment without re-
course to homing radio facilities. The corner reflector 4 of the VTP serve as a
homing station in the final target approach, while the course angles of the target are
read off from the azimuthal scale of the radar sight. If a repeat target run has been
assigned, then the navigator raises the radar sight's anteinna and, while turning to
the target, he observes the corner reflec-
tors of the VTP. By their position and
by the inclination of the antenna, he de-
termines the remaining turn angle to the
target, communicating his findings to the
pilot. The latter, on the basis of the
readings of DGMK-3 (or GPK [direction-
al g-y-x-a11.40.-and the -navigators-oboist orts,
by using the OSP [ILS] procedural turn,
coordinates the planned course approach
with the target approach on the scope of
the radar sight.
As the aircraft rolls out of the
turn, the navigator lowers the antenna,
WC.
Planned cOmpass course
Actual
compass
course
Fig. 3. Determining the direction and
angle of turn (during "snaking" maneuver)
according to DGMK-3 readings and VTP
image! on the scope of the radar sight.
Bombing With the Use of an Auxiliary Aiming Point 45
securing the best image of the VTP corner reflectors. If, following the corrective
turn to the target, the course does not coincide with the planned course, then the
pilot, upon the navigator's order, executes the "snaking" maneuver.
The "snaking" maneuver ? its direction and turn angle ? is determined by the
DGMK-3 readings and the VTP image on the scope of the radar sight (Fig. 3).
The figure represents the moment when the aircraft has entered the target ap-
proach, but when the actual course differs from the planned course by the angle \r?
The "snaking" maneuver in this case is executed in the direction of the deviation
reading of the actual course relative to the planned course on the DGMK-3. The
turn angle is obtained from the table in accordance with the value of 11/* and D km to
the target.
When aiming is .completed, the approach course may differ somewhat from the
planned course; this characterizes the deviation of the actual aircraft path from the
line target ?VTP. In order to compensate for the bomb deflection error, the navi-
gator must alter the course in such a way that the flight track passes through the
planned target. The amount of correction is determined by the geometric function
shown in Fig. 4.
Taking into account the fact that during the initial target approach the final ap-
proach is selected by "snaking", while when the plane is nearing the release point
Nr0 actually does not exceed 4 - 60, . is possible without any appreciable error to
Target
[ Tar get-VTP] Line
Course after
corr. turn
Sao
VTP
ei?1
cOAIT tari(5
ps.Cta tow-50
ttl.T11"
cOT T ?
Fig. 4. Determining the amount of corrective turn.
express the relation:
Sao
H ?
= ; th Sao
en vi? =
Sao , (4)
tan(3
.
where ?vi is the
?Vis the
ao
S is the
p is the
H ? tan p is the
H ?
tani3 -
angle of corrective turn to compensate for the bomb deflection error;
final approach error in degrees;
distance between the target and the VTP;
sighting arigreto the VTP -the poirreiti. corrective turn;
distance from the VTP to the point of corrective turn.
If we are to assume certain fixed values, then the expression
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Sao
H ? tan p - Sao
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/05/24: CIA-RDP81-01043R002000080005-2
46 M. N. Galimov
in formula (4) may be expressed as a coefficient, K; then formula (4) will appear thus:
'Y1 = K ? If
For sighting the VTP within the angle range j3 = 63 - 56?, flight altitude
6000 - 8000 m, and Sao = 3 - 4 km, the coefficient K will approximately equal
0.4 - 0.5. Since the values of Nyare small, the corrective turn must be made by
using the scale image of the corner reflector (its dimensions are dependent on the an-
tenna radiation pattern of the radar sight). Thus, if 1.1/?= 4?, the corrective turn is
held until the aiming point coincides with the image of the corner reflector. The
corrective turn is made in the direction of deviation of the actual course indicator
relative to the planned course on the DGMK-3, exactly as it is done in the "snaking"
maneuver.
It must be borne in mind that, in addition to bomb deflection due to general
causes, directional errors in target approach appreciably affect the accuracy of bomb-
ing by the above-indicated method.
When computing the planned final approach to the target, the navigator must
know and take into account the amount of compass deviation.
Only those navigators who have been firmly grounded in bombing with the radar
sight and who have acquired skill in aiming at a target designated by corner reflectors
should be permitted to carry out bombing using an auxiliary point [V:TP].
By using this method in our unit a large number of bombing missions with an
auxiliary point has been carried out, and, as a rule, with good results.
The second bombing method consists essentially of setting up a planned bomb
over relative to the VTP along the line VTP - target.
Inasmuch as the rotations of the optical sight's friction disc may be widely in-
creased (this indeed being necessary for setting up a bomb over relative to the VTP),
there was reason to believe that the possibilities of bombing with an over ? provided
that fictitious rotations of the friction disc are introduced into the sight ? are quite
extensive. Actually, it is not so. Since aiming with the use of a corner reflector
is stable only for sighting angles up to p = 20?, the maximum over is determined as
the difference between the bomb deviation and the base of angle p = 20?. That is to
say, its value is equal to A - H ? tan 20?.
Consequently, when the aiming angles during bombing are small, the resulting
over is slight, and this is obviously insufficient for solving a tactical problem. That
is why, in order to set up a sizeable over relative to the VTP, it is necessary to re-
sort to bomb release with a time delay ttd which depends on Sao and W.
The time delay is reckoned from the point of the aircraft's initial approach to
the aiming angle relative to the VTP. At the moment of initial approach to this point,
the stopwatch is switched on, and when ttd has run out, the bomb is released.
The present method is not new. It has been tested in oper..ation and adequaiilly
treated in training manuals.
Our navigafirliE, when bombing with a time delay, make their initial approach
to the VTP-target line in the same manner as has been described for the first method.
However, the determination of the direction of the corrective turn for bomb- deflection
error compensation prior to bomb release, as well as the corrective turn itself, are
made in the reverse order.
-
,
Bombing With the Use of an Auxiliary Aiming Point
A RADIOTHEODOLITE
47
It is used for determining speed and direc-
tion of wind at altitudes up to 25 - 30 km in any
weather, day or night, under stationary or field
conditions. In design it is an ultrashortwave
radio direction finder which measures the azimuth
and elevation of the portable ultrashortwave trans-
mitter being tracked. The transmitter is releas-
ed into free flight attached to a weather-balloon
envelope filled with hydrogen.
When the radio transmitter being tracked
is operating in conjunction with the radiosonde,
the radiotheodolite makes it possible to carry out
detailed atmospheric soundings, to determine air
temperature, pressure, and humidity, as well as
wind direction and velocity right up to the radio-
sonde's ceiling.
In free flight, the radio transmitter trans-
mits signals which are picked up by the radio-
theodolite's receiver. Simultaneously with radio-
sonde signal reception, the transmitter's bearings
are taken to determine its angular coordinates (azimuth and elevation). The angular
coordinates of the tracked radio transmitter are determined by the radiotheodolite's
antenna system operating on the equisignal zone principle.
The signals from the tracked radio transmitter, picked up by the receiver, are
used on two separate channels: angular coordinate indicator and aural reception of the
radiosonde's signals.
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-411K
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/05/24: CIA-RDP81-01043R002000080005-2
NIGHT LANDING OF A BOMBER
ON AN UNILLUMINATED RUNWAY
Military Pilot First Class, Maj. S. 0. Prokhorov
There is no need to argue the point that it is important that the flying personnel
of any branch of aviation learn to land, not only on an illuminated airfield, but also on
a blacked-out field, using for this purpose the aircraft's landing lights. ?
However, it is natural that, when training bomber aviation pilots in the technique
of such landings, certain unique features are encountered. They are the necessary
concomitant of the recognized difficulty involved in acquiring the requisite habits (de-
termining, by reference to a point of light, the distance to the ground, the altitude for
initiating roundout and level-off).
Present-day airfield radar facilities greatly simplify the approach and landing
computation for all types of aircraft on an unilluminated airfield runway. In connec-
tion with this we should emphasize the fact that such a landing is most suitable where
there is a system of glidepath beacons which provides for a precise aircraft approach
to the runway.
In our unit the method of training the flying personnel in landing with landing lights
on a blacked-out runway has been by now quite well organized. Provisions have been
made for training flights in a combat-trainer aircraft and for practice flights in a com-
bat craft. Flying personnel who fly day and night missions under adverse weather con-
ditions are eligible for instruction and practice, eligibility being on a strictly individual
basis.
At first training and practice flights are made with the runway lighting system on.
In the course of two flights the instructor shows the pilot how to estimate the line of the
runway lights and the point for beginning the roundout. During the ensuing flights, the
pilot practices in a combat aircraft, going over the elements of landing.
Only after this do we begin training flights with the runway illumination turned
off. The instructor's task is to continually check on the trainee, to focus his attention
on correct sequence in operating the cockpit equipment, on the order of attention trans-
fer, on the special features of the glide after the fourth turn, and on determining the
altitude for beginning the roundout.
Prior to night flights, landing light alignment on all operational aircraft is careful-
.4becked, since correct alignment f.a.a.itates landing. When the landing lights are ful-
ly extended their beams should converge at a point 50 - 60 m in front of the plane on its
axis.
During night landing on a runway without floodlight illumination and without the
landing light system operating, the following are set up: an illuminated tee, two direc-
tion lights at the airfield boundary for maintaining the heading at takeoff, and one light
designating the point for beginning roundout. Since the moment of determining the
altitude for beginning roundout is most crucial, this point must be very conspicuously
"VD -
Night Landing of a Bomber on an Unilluminated Runwa
49
designated.
Along with landing technique we work on takeoff with extended landing lights; the
latter presents no difficulties for the pilot, since the terrain ahead is quite visible by
the light of the landing lights.. Heading is maintained by reference to the direction
lights at the edge of the airfield and by the changing aspect of the terrain in the illumi-
nated path just as is done in daytime. Takeoff is possible even without switching on the
landing lights. A special feature of takeoff with landing lights is the fact that the
change-over to instrument flying is made after the landing lights are turned off and re-
tracted. They must be turnea off at an altitude of from 15 to 20 m, taking into account
the pilot's visual adaptability. It is very important to turn the lights off first, and only
then to retract the landing light, sinceilanding lights which have not been turned off
distract the pilot's attention during their retraction (the light beam shifts sideways
from the aircraft axis).
Although the approach, Lie comPutation, and the landing with landing lights for
an unilluminated runway is more diffidult than for an illuminated runway, still with a
high degree of training this difference iis eliminated. The difficulty of a landing ap-
proach is due to the absence of check-points (lights), by reference to which the pilot
may assume the desired heading. It is impossible, even from a tight pattern and with
.1
good visibility, to determine the heading by reference to the landing T. Therefore,
in order to make the landing, it is neceIssary to make use of radar landing system facil-
ities.
The landing computation! is checked against the homing radio stations and the light
which marks specifically the Point for initiating roundout. The inner beacon serves
as a good check point for checking the computation. With a correct computation the
beacon is passed at an altitude of 70-100 m. In the course of the glide, the pilot must
place the aircraft in such a position the.t the glide path is directed towards the roundout
point. For this purpose he holds the light (point of light) which marks the start of the
roundout in the center of the cockpit windshield, permitting it neither to rise above nor
sink below the aircraft. At an altitude of 100 m the landing lights are turned on (they
must be extended in advance, 'either before or after passing the outer beacon). Then the
pilot gradually decreases the angle of glide and at the same time he increases the engine
rpm in order to maintain the desired speed.
The aircraft is flown on,instruments (special attention being given to flight altitude)
up till the moment when the pilot can clearly see the ground by the landing light illumi-
nation. Only after this does he relax this constant monitoring of the instruments which
indicate the aircraft's attitude; nevertheless he continues watching his speed and alti-
tude (periodically he shifts his glance from the ground to the instrument).
Depending on the transparency of the air, the ground will become visible at an
altitude of 100-50 m, and its illumination will increase with descent. The aircraft is
rounded out at an _altitude of 8-10 m and the landing is made just as in daytime.
_ _
Our flight experience shows that there s a v e n fewer rough landings made when
u g runway floodlights. This is explained
by direction f the di
lanng lights without divert-
u---dirowre
ing his attention to the sides as happens when a flight is made with floodlight landing il-
lumination.
During night flights various weather conditions have a unique psychological effect
on the pilot ? hence the idiosyncrasies in computation and landing. Thus, on a moon-
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/05/24: CIA-RDP81-01043R002000080005-2
50 S. O. Pr okhorov
lit night with good air transparency, flying presents the pilot with no difficulties. The
aircraft is flown by vthual reference. The approach and landing computation are made
by using radar facilities, but, in addition, by also using landmarks for cross-checking.
Landing has this special feature, namely, the landing light illumination diffuses;
therefore the ground is visible at much? closer range and there is inadequate contrast.
While the pilot judges his altitude, his attention is distracted by objects on the ground
which are illuminated by the moon, as well as by their shadows. As a result, he often
finds it difficult to determine the precise moment for initiating roundout.
On a dark moonless night, with good air transparency, conditions are altogether
different: it is difficult to determine visually the altitude and the range of the illuminated
check point. Landing approaches are made on instruments while using radar facilities
as well. Computations are checked by reference to the inner beacon and the point of
light indicating start of roundout. Good air transparency improves visibility within
the landing-light beams and the ground is quite visible.
When is it easier to fly a plane? By moonlight with visibility of 2-3 km and dense
haze, or on a dark night with the same visibility and haze conditions? Such a question
presented itself to our pilots. They are all.pilots first class, instructors, with a
wealth of experience, who have done extensive all-weather flying. And still some as-
serted that it is easier to fly an aircraft on a moonlit night than on a dark night, while
others asserted the opposite. It seems to me that on a moonlit night with limited vis-
ibility (heavy haze) the pilot is much more distracted from maintaining his flight regime.
This is due to the habitual tendency on the part of the pilot to observe anything outside
the aircraft. Moonlight diverts his attention from the instruments; he tries to see the
moon or the "horizon", but the silvery veil of moonlight obscures everything. The
moon is not clearly visible; it appears as a vague diffused spot. When making any
change in heading or attitude, the cockpit and instrument panel illumination change; the
cockpit canopy throws fleeting shadows. All these unusual features, as well as the ef-
fect of the darkness and the cockpit illumination, produce a marked tension in the pilot
which affects the quality of his piloting.
In marked contrast to this, flying on instruments in a closed cockpit may serve
as a good example. In this instance, the pilot's attention is not distracted by anything?
therefore there are no appreciable deviations. Hence we may conclude that, when fly-
ing an aircraft on a dark night with limited visibility, the pilot's attention Will be con-
centrated in the same way as it is in a closed cockpit when. flying on instruments alone,
since he sees nothing beyond the cockpit. And this means precisely that there is great-
er assurance of maintaining the flight regime than when flying on a moonlit night. Such
have been the observations made in the course of my work as an instructor.
A unique feature of approach, computation, and landing with limited visibility, on
a dark as well as on a moonlit night, consists of a complete absence of horizontal and
---TR-..rtical visibility at certain altitudes. The approach is made on instruments alone
with obligatory use of landing systems: Computation-0/11d landing with landing lights
are often complicated, and sometimes become even impossible, since switching on the
landing lights produces a luminous screen which hinders judging one's distance to the
ground. The ground is visible from low altitudes of approximately 50-30 m.
A rapid descent of the aircraft cuts down the time which the pilot has at his dis-
posal for determining the altitude at which to begin the roundout. As a result of his
tension, he may jerk at the control column, and this in turn will complicate the landing
II
Night Landing of a Bomber on an Unilluminated Runway 51
procedure. From the foregoing it is possible to conclude that, upon passing the in-
ner beacon, the glide angle must be decreased, while the engine rpm must be corre-
spondingly increased in order to maintain the required speed.
Landing with landing lights is not permissible under conditions of dense haze,
high humidity, rainfall and snowfall. The operations officer must switch on the land-
ing floodlights for crews which encounter such conditions. Here we might state that
under such conditions blackout is not of primary consideration, since the floodlight
illumination is visible only at short range.
In all instances when the pilot lacks confidence in effecting a safe landing with
limited visibility, he must, without fail, request the operations officer to switch on
the lighting system and the floodlights.
Just a few words about landing with a single landing light. Taking into account
our night-flight experience, we can say that landing-light failure hardly ever occurs.
Still it is possible that one of them may for some reason go out. The pilot must not
in this event lose his composure ? the landing is quite feasible with one landing light.
For instance, on one occasion at night on an 11-28 aircraft the left landing light burned
out. Landing conditions were quite difficult: cloud cover ? 10 points [10/10]; ceil-
ing of overcast ? 400 m; visibility ? 5-6 km. Nevertheless, the pilot managed to
make a good landing (the runway lights were switched on). According to his report,
when landing with a single landing light the main difficulties involved only judging the
correct altitude for starting the roundout as well as a somewhat poorer visual contact
with the ground during level-off.
A less experienced pilot in such circumstances must be assisted by the opera-
tions officer located at a mobile alert command post who not only monitors the landing,
but the altitude for roundout and final landing approach as well.
The ability of the Air Force flying personnel to fly under the most complex con-
ditions is a sure pledge of constant perfection of skill amongst an ever-increasing num-
ber of pilots. Regular night flights for polishing up the technique of landing with land-
ing lights will further raise the level of combat preparedness in the units and outfits.
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EQU I PMENT AND I NSTALLAT I ONS
AND THEIR
Supersonic Aircraft Engines 53
Formerly some specialists maintained that even at speeds corresponding to
M:2-2.5, ramjet engines were to be preferred. It turned out that the ordinary
turbojet engines are also suitable for considerably greater speeds. These capabil-
ities can be realized simply by further improvement of the turbojet engine rather
than, as was thought earlier, by conversion to athodyd and liquid fuel rocket engines,
which are more practicable at high speeds and high altitudes of flight. (Fig. 1)
In flights at supersonic speeds, it is necessary that the power plant have the
thrust required to overcome the tremendous drag. The simplest method to increase
the thrust is to increase the consumption of air by the engine, since the thrust is
directly proportional to the consumption of air, all other factors being equal. The
second method is to increase the speed of the air in the engine. This is achieved
by increasing the pressure and the temperature of the thermodynamic cycle, includ-
ing an additional heating of the air in the afterburner. In the latter case the turbo-
jet engine consumes 3-4 times as much
fuel as an engine without afterburner. Nev-
ertheless, this is advantageous for many
types of aircraft, since the thrust is sharply
increased for the same dimensions and for
a comparatively small increase in engine
weight.
One of the primary ways of perfect-
ing the turbojet engine is considered to be
the improvement of the operation of the com-
pressor, the turbine, and the afterburner.
To draw a large volume of air through the
engine, the height and tip speed of the blades
are increased in many designs while the ro-
tor hub is made smaller and a number of
other improvements are introduced to in -
Fig. 1. Diagram of the increase, crease the speed of the air flow.
of ceiling and speed of flight as a func- Considerable advantages are achieved
tion of the type of power plant. with a simultaneous decrease in the weight
of the compressor rotor and the increase in
its capacity to force great volumes of air. 'Judging from the reports in the literature,
many turbojet engines in production have rather large comparative dimensions of the
compressor hub (the ratio of the hub diameter to the outside diameter of the compres-
sor port). The increase of the annular section due to the decrease in the hub dia-
meter is very effective. For instance, by this method, the engine thrust was increas-
ed, in one case, from 3200 to 4500 kg.
The total increase of air pressure in the compressor depends both on the com-
pression stages as well as on the increase in pressure in each of the stages. If the
degree of compression is -inc-reased by one-stage, thenumhcr o stauiperease,_
As was mentioned in the literature, the pressure ratio was raised by 15% in one en-
gine when the tip speed of the compressor blades was increased from 305 to 427 m/
sec. The disadvantage of this method lies in the considerable increase in blade
stress and in the increased speed of the air flow in the compressor, which may lead
to great losses and "surge".
Liquid fuel rocket engine
Alt. in km
SUPERSONIC AIRCRAFT ENGINES
Col. A. N. Nikolayev
The transition to high supersonic flight speeds has put a number of complicated
problems before designers and scientists, particularly with regard to improving air-
craft engines, since their development is the key to progress in aeronautics. In the
last 10-12 years turbojet engines have become firmly established in aviation. At
present, designers in different countries have achieved considerable success in im-
proving such engines and, as a result, aircraft speeds in horizontal flight have by far
exetitheed the speed-GiNgrund.. Now dRukigners are solvins the problem of buildiagian-
gines which make it possible to fly at speeds 2. 5-3 times the speed of souid.
What are the means of improving engines? What should aircraft engines really
be? Will the engines be essentially new types of power plants or will the tested and
widely recognized turbojet engine be used in a specified speed range? Definite opin-
ions on these questions have been formed in many countries.
Turbojet
Piston engine
z
Ramjet
engine
Turbojet with
afterburner
Mach number
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54 A. N. Nikolayev
Special interest was roused by engines with axial flow compressors. In order
to further increase the flight speeds, designers must solve a number of new prob-
lems in the process of designing and developing the axial flow compressors for turbo-
jet engines. First of all, a wide range of operation of the compressor is essential.
For an engine, designed to perform at a constant physical number of revolutions,
these revolutions may change from 100% at takeoff to 70% in flight at speeds corre-
sponding to M=3. Such fluctuations in the number of revolutions are caused by an
increase in air temperature at the engine intake as the flight speed increases:
ngiv= nA/288 ,
where ngi .v is a given number of revolutions.
Fig. 2 gives the characteristics of a typi-
cal compressor tthe pressure ratio is plotted a-
long the x-axis, the air consumption along the
y-axis).
From the graph, it can be seen that a giv-
en air consumption drops with the decrease in
n iv. In general, this drop will be greater per-
centage-wise than the decrease in the number of
revolutions.
At the design point A, at 100% of number of
revolutions, all stages will work close to maxi-
mum efficiency (when the compressor is work-
ing at the design point, each stage of it is work-
ing at its own design point).
When the operating point of the compres-
sor is displaced to point B, all its stages will work
outside the design range. In this case the first
stages will approach the pumping limit while the
final stages will recede from it and approach the
cutoff regime. This is explained by the fact that
the compressor is designed for a prescribed de-
gree of compression and the corresponding in-
crease in density. Therefore, when the condition of continuity is taken into account,
it is necessary to design the air-gas flow area of the compressor with a definite ratio
of the flow sections at the input and the output. When the compressor begins operat-
ing at the lower revolutions mentioned, the degree-of-pressure increase, and conse-
quently, the degree-of-density increase, become correspondingly smaller. But the
flow sections of the compressor remain unchanged.
As a result, a given consumption of air in the first sta es is lower than that at
the design point and in the last of the compressor stages. This is why the first stag-
es beg-i& approaereumping limit regimes.
With a slight degree of pressure increase in the compressor, a greater change
in a given number of revolutions is possible before "surge" takes place in-the first
stages; whereas at a high degree of compression a slight change in a given number of
-
air consumption
Fig. 2. Compressorz_Character-
istics
1-Curves of constant kpd [ ef-
ficiency 2-Limit of pumping;
3-Curves of constant given rev-
olutions; 4-The work line of the
engine.
?
Supersonic Aircraft Engines 55
revolutions causes pumping in the first stages while the final stages may begin to
operate in the cutoff regime.
An engine designed to operate at high flight speeds must have a lower overall
pressure ratio in the work cycle, and hence its specific consumption of fuel will be
greater at subsonic flight speeds than that of a specially designed engine.
There exist several methods by which the requirements of the compressor's
operating capabilities over a wide range can be met. One of these is the use of a
device to change the setting angle of the inlet guide vanes. By turning the blades
of the guiding device, each stage can be adapted to the new flow conditions and there-
by its operation can be brought closer to the design (optimum) regime.
Another frequently employed method of regulation is the bleeding of air into
the atmosphere. The principle is rather simple. If the first stages, as mentioned
above, approach the pumping regimes, this condition can be alleviated by passing a
great volume of air through the first stages. But because the final stages are unable
to pass it, the necessity arises of opening special ports somewhere in the center of
the compressor; this will permit an increased consumption of air through the first
stages as compared to the last stages. The inefficiency of this method is due to loss
of energy. If an increase in weight is acceptable and special conduits are installed,
the air can be passed into the afterburner of the engine and used for additional burn-
ing of fuel.
In conjunction with this, it is possible to change the number of revolutions of
the individual parts of the compressor rotor to prevent pumping in the first stages
at low given revolutions. Reference is made here to the change of a given number
of revolutions in the first stages in accordance with the increase in flight speed.
This makes it possible to achieve operations of the first stages of the compressor
under optimum conditions throughout the full range of flight speeds. Such an effect
is very similar to the one obtained by regulating the angle of the inlet guide devices.
It is possible to choose a different approach: to maintain the large number of
revolutions of the first stages and assume that the number of revolutions of the fi-
nal stages will increase with the increase in the flight speed. The choice of the
most efficient combination will depend on the function of the engine.
Thus, in engines designed only for flight at supersonic speeds, a relatively
low degree of pressure increase in the compressor at takeoff is chosen.
If it is necessary to have low specific fuel consumption also at subsonic flight
speeds, higher pressure ratios in the compressor will be required. To enable the
engine to work over a wide range of speeds, a combined method of regulation may be
used.
High speeds can cause distortion of the air flow through actual input ducts and
. have a detrimental effect on the operation of the compressor by shifting the limit of
the pumping regimes in an unfavorable direction. The pumping margin in the pick-
up regimeereby decreased, while piping sometimes. takes _place_ even in the
_ _ _
established operating regimes.
The distortion of the flow is often the cause of an increase in vibrational stress
in the blades and leads, in some cases, to an increase in gas temperatures before
the turbine at maximum operating regimes.
Specialists are of the opinion that increase in temperature and pressure at the
intake due to ram compression in supersonic engines becomes increasingly important
?
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56 A. N. Nikolayev
in stratospheric flights. At such speeds compression due to ramming is utilized and
there exists the possibility of developing engines of smaller specific weight.
One of the main problems of supersonic flight which causes additional- difficul-
ties in achieving reliable operation of all units and systems of the turbojet engine is
the increase in air temperature in the compressor. Thus with a degree of boosting
equal to 9, in flights at the speed of sound at altitudes of oyer 11 km, the air enters
the compressor at a temperature of about 15?C, and leaves it at about 260 C. Such
a temperature is not considered high for modern designs. However, if the same
engine operates in flight at speeds three times the speed of sound, the air will enter
the engine heated to a temperature of the order of 3400 and leave it at a temperature
of about 600? C, which will require not only additional modifications in design, but
also high-strength materials. The greatest difficulties in designing a supersonic
turbojet engine are encountered in the development of improved turbines to -rotate
the compressor. The necessity of a high rate of consumption will make the stress
problem in the turbine even more difficult. The increase in operating temperatures
of gases in the turbine by any significant amount will require cooling not only of blad-
es but of the wheel itself.
With gas turbine engines of all types, especially in the turboprop and superson-
ic turbojet engines, the main factor which limits their performance is the maximum
permissible temperature of gases at the turbine intake. Even though, since the de-
velopment of the first turbojet engine, the temperature of gases at the turbine intake
has increased by slightly more than 100? C, the improvement of design methods of
axial-flow compressors has led in the same period of time to an almost threefold in-
crease in the thrust-to-weight ratio of the turbojet engine and to an almost tenfold
increase in specific forward thrust. The rate of improvement of these factors is
now slowing down, and for further substantial progress in engine design a solution of
the problem of the increase in working gas temperature is considered essential.
With the increase in the M-number, the gas temperature at the turbine intake
which corresponds to the minimum specific consumption of fuel by the turbojet engine
increases. Especially sensitive to the gas temperature are the specific weight and
forward thrust of the turbojet engine at supersonic flight speeds. This has rather
great significance for long-range high-speed aircraft. For instance, for a long-
range aircraft (duration of flight of the order of 5 hours), at cruising speed.s, corre-
sponding to M=2-2.5,the optimum gas temperature is 100-300? C higher than that for
the, conventional modern turbojet engine. For short-range interceptor aircraft with
turbojet engines equipped with afterburner, the increase in gas temperature can give
a great advantage in operation without afterburning, while the advantage of such an
increase will be less when the afterburner is turned on. A high-temperature turbo-
jet engine can develop the same thrust as a turbojet engine with an afterburner with
a 25% reduction in specific consumption of fuel (Fig. 3). Especially advantageous is
the increase in gas temperature in the turboprop enf011e for fligh in the stratosphere
at speeds of 700100 km/hr. Thus the increase in gas temperature at the turbine
intake from 1100 to 1400 can reduce the specific fuel consumption by about 10%.
The main and the most difficult problem, on the solution of which the develop-
ment of high-temperature engines depends, is the constructicn of high-loacIturbine
blades. There are two ways of solving it: the development of new structural ma-
terials and an effective cooling system. The use of nickel and cobalt alloys avre-1-1
valsollts
Supersonic Aircraft Engines 57
as ceramic materials combined with metals [cermets] for blade materials makes
it possible to raise somewhat the temperature of the turbine blades.
In recent years much attention has been devoted to the development of new
materials based on the principle of the combination of metals with heat-resistant
compounds. Such alloys do not change their properties if heated to operating tem-
peratures and cooled again. They are sufficiently strong to withstand at these tem-
peratures the stresses due to centrifugal forces on the rotating parts of the turbine.
In addition, parts made of these alloys show little change in their dimensions in
operation and are resistant to heat fluctuations and mechanical dynamic pressures.
The gas temperature can be increased if the turbine blades are cooled.
Several cooling methods are known. Wit1?. liquid cooling the heat conducted
away from the blades is absorbed by water or fuel. In combined liquid-air cooling,
the heat is conducted away from the blades by a
liquid which is cooled in a radiator exposed to the
oncoming stream of air, or in a heat exchanger lo-
cated between the compressor and the combustion
chamber. Air cooling of hollow blades can also
be used.
If the engine passes more air per square
meter of frontal area and the compressor com-
presses this increased volume of air, the engine's
combustion chamber must also be improved, since
the amount of fuel which must be burned per unit
time will increase.
In modern engines the gas temperature be-
fore the turbine is equal to 800-900? C. At this
temperature the combustion products contain con-
siderable amounts of unused oxygen; therefore the
possibility exists of injecting an additional amount
of fuel in order to increase the engine thrust by
burning the fuel behind the turbine in a special
afterburner.
Depending on how completely the free
oxygen is utilized and on the flight speed, the
engine thrust will increase. In this way, after-
burning can give a considerable increase in thrust required for supersonic flight. It
is therefore not accidental that the improvement of methods of afterburning became
one of the essential tasks of aircraft engine building. As is pointed out in the litera-
ture, at temperatures of 1730-1750? in the afterburner the static thrust of the engine
close to the ground increases by 35%. At the flight speed corresponding to the speed
of sound this increase is 69%; at twice the speed of sound it is 105%; and at three
times the speed of sound it is 219%. This increase in thrust takes place as the re-
sult of the difference between the exhaust speed of the stream with the afterburner
turned on and the flight speed. Afterburning of fuel is widely used in all modern air-
craft equipped with jet engines. Specialists consider that turbojet engines with after-
burning may be expected to be used effectively up to flight speeds corresponding to
M=3.5 and higher. Let us note that the limits of speeds and altitudes for different
tz
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
?
3
2
1
0
(17 413
?
MI
?
?ig'?
?
?
?
?
0,9 1,0 1,1 1.2 1,3 1,4 1)5
K3 / Kg thrust hr
Fig. 3. Characteristics of the
variation of specific fuel con-
sumption of some typical engines.
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58 A.N.Nikolayev
power plants are not yet permanently established, but change continually as new know-
ledge accumulates..
The charlaCteristics of power plants are chosen with the type of aircraft and its
flight regime in mind. Take, for instance, an engine for an interceptor aircraft
with short flying time. This engine is, of course, different from the engine in a
bomber aircraft; its equipment and control system are more complicated. In ad-
dition, the main part of the work of compression is done in it at very high speeds by
using ram pressure, not the compressor. All this makes it necessary to design the
aircraft and the engine as a unit.
Intake a air into the engine and exhaust of gases become quite important for
the aircraft. The problem of intake devices and of the change in area of the exhaust
nozzle involves the necessity of achieving high efficiency of the turbojet engine over a
wide range of operation from takeoff of the aircraft to supersonic flight speeds at high
altitudes.
It is necessary that the jet nozzle and the exhaust of gases from it be controlled
in accordance with the operating regimes of the engine and the flight conditions. But
such control often involves considerable angular and axial displacements and great
stresses; thergfore special devices are required to control them. Mechanisms which
change the gauge of the jet nozzle operate at very high temperatures and this further
complicates the solution of the problem.
The location of the engines under the wing on pylons gives rise, as it is some-
times thought, Ito additional design difficulties at high supersonic speeds and causes
additional drag. Often it is recommended that the engines be located at the wing
tips since this fact, as well as the installation on a pylon, makes it possible to achieve
the most-favourable characteristics of air intake and gas exhaust from the jet nozzle.
The disadvantage of such design is in the asymmetry in thrust in the case of failure
of one of the engines and in the necessity of precise balancing of thrust in flight. The
widely used installation of engines in the fuselage allows axial intake of air but at the
same time its intake duct takes up too much room. But side airscoops located at
the wing roots also have quite wide-spread application and they permit the use of the
nose part of the fuselage for equipment.
As a result of the increase in aircraft flight speed there is an increase in land-
ing speeds. Acute necessity arises to use special means for decreasing the length
of the landing run. One of the more successful means at present is considered to be
the reversing device, i. e., creation of reverse engine thrust. By using the reversing
device conditions can be created under which the counter-thrust will be 50% of the
maximum thrust developed by the engine under normal conditions. The resultant of
the counter-thrust is directed forward, since the gases exhaust at an angle of 450 to
the engine axis. The weight of such an installation is negligible ? only-about 3-4%
of the total weight of the engine, while its advantages are great. With the reversing
device in operation, an aircraft which ordinarily travels 800-1000 m after landin
requires only 400-500 m for the landing run.
Reverse thrust also allows an instantaneous or gradual transition from maxi-
mum thrust regime to a regime in which the direction of the air stream, is changed;
this gives rise to a considerable counterthrust. Because of this the aircraft can
descend to the strip with a greater vertical velocity. Thus landing accuracy increas-
es. In flight the reversing device can serve as a speed brake to facilitate steep
Su?er sonic Aircraft En
ines 59
dives and to increase the maneuverability of the aircraft in combat It also makes
possible a rapid regrouping of aircraft in formation flying. According to the liter-
ature, recent efforts of designers are devoted to the development of light and compact
means of reversing the engine thrust without losses and parasitic drag, capable of
operating under any conditions.
With the increase in combat altitudes of modern aircraft the necessity arose of
studying more carefully the types of fuel used in aviation. It is known that kerosene
boils at flight speeds equal to 2.3 times the speed of sound in the tropopause and at
double the speed of sound on the ground. Gasoline boils at flight speed correspond-
ing to 0.8 the speed of sound, at an altitude greater than 12 km, and at a one and a
half the speed of sound on the ground. Aircraft flying at an altitude of 15 km may
lose up to 20% of their fuel through evaporation if the fuel tanks are not air-tight. At
high supersonic speeds it is impossible to use the fuel as a heat absorber; rather
there is danger of autoignition, since at speeds equal to 3.5 times the speed of sound
the temperature of the aircraft skin may reach 430?C.
Therefore the fuel in a supersonic aircraft may require cooling. In the air
scoops and the compressor the drop in temperature may be of the order of 5000 C,
and if the fuel is heated by the heat from the aircraft skin, the vapor pressure may
become excessive. This leads to difficulties with compression, pumps, and auto-
matic systems, especially at high altitudes when the pressure of the surrounding air
is not high (at an altitude of 11 km it is equal to 0.23 kg/cm2) and the fuel consump-
tion is relatively decreased. In this manner the use of volatile and easily combusti-
ble fuels militates against the requirement of storage in hot tanks and feeding through
hot pipes without evaporation.
In different countries work is being done on the development of new fuels with
increased efficiency per unit weight as well as per unit volume, since this is of de-
cisive importance for the increase of the flight range of supersonic aircraft.
Recently pentaborane (liquid hydride of the light metal boron) has been regarded
as the best chemical fuel; it is 10% lighter than gasoline, whereas its efficiency is
54% higher.
Rather important is the high speed of flame propagation of this fuel, which is
several times as great as that of the hydrocarbon fuels. Combustion chambers in the
engine can be shorter, making it possible to design a shorter and lighter engine. The
duration of flight of a fighter aircraft using pentaborane is 20% greater than when con-
ventional fuel is used.
However, the use of new fuel types is accompanied by many and varied difficul-
ties. In particular, engine performance, when operating on pentaborane, is improved
due to the higher combustion temperature. The temperature is so much higher than
usual that the combustion chambers have to be modified. This in turn puts more
stringent requirements on the materials and gives rise to the necessity of a change-
over to combustion chambers with ceramic linings or chambers made totally of ceram-
ic material. It is pointed out in some sources that-maximum-speeds-3Na high flight
altitudes will be reached by using afterburners with chemical fuel when the bomber air-
craft approaches a target, while the cruising flight will take place with the aid of con-
ventional turbojet engines operating on standard fuel.
Independently of the work done in the field of application of nuclear energy to air-
craft propulsion, the need for chemical fuels for present and future military aviation
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60
A. N. Nikolayev
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is steadily increasing, while the transition to supersonic speeds and very-high alti-
tudes is impossible without special new types of fuel. Many specialists point out
that, basically, only chemistry is capable of providing long-range supersonic flight
with turbojet engines. Conventional kinds of lubrication materials cannot-be used
in the turbojet engine, which tends to increase its operating temperatures:- There-
fore new synthetic lubricants,capable of performing at high temperatures, must be
found.
The development and improvement of turbojet engines best suited for applica-
tions at high supersonic speeds does not, of course, preclude the development of
power plants of other types. As flight speeds equal to 3 times the speed of sound
are approached, and especially when they are exceeded, it will become advisable to
install combined power plants in the plane. In this case, in addition to the main turbo-
jet engine, a liquid rocket or athodyd engine will be installed. The liquid type rocket
engine has no equal for the majority of guided missiles and obviously has a future in
the field of application to piloted aircraft for which the flight range at maximum thrust
has less importance. The liquid type rocket engine is the lightest engine, even though
it is less simple than an athodyd engine: it has a very high fuel consumption and its
thrust does not depend on speed and increases somewhat at higher flight altitudes. In
interceptor aircraft the liquid type rocket engine will yield considerable improvement
in the rate of climb, acceleration, and especially in high altitude performance.
It must be pointed out that additional engines can be used not only to increase the
maximum flight speed and especially the aircraft's ceiling, but also for facilitating
takeoff.
Some specialists think that liquid type rocket engines incorporated-into combined
power plants are the next logical step in the technique of interception and are the only
effective solution in this particular area of application for combat aircraft. Thus an
interceptor with a combined power plant has a good combination of high rate of climb
and angle of climb, acceleration and operating ceiling as well as horizontal flight speeds.
A number of specialists, on the other hand, are of the opinion that the liquid type rocket
engines will be used as auxiliary engines for climbing and acceleration.
Special attention is focused at the present on problems involving the installation
of the liquid type rocket engine in aircraft; a number of countries have developed spe-
cial designs and means of insuring accessibility, of developing rapidly interchangeable
power plant assemblies in one unit, of insuring detachability of pods with-the liquid, type
rocket engine, of increasing the safety of integrating the engine with the aircraft con-
figuration, etc. The liquid type rocket engines use oxidizers as fuel: liquid oxygen,
nitric acid, hydrogen peroxide, and others. The fuel may be rather varied, including
hydrocarbons, alcohols, and aromatic compounds.
A few words must be said about the athodyd engine. The athodyd engine is the
simplest in construction of all jet engines. The air is compressed only because of the
ram pressure b-fihe-att -flo-w hrthedirecti0the engine. It. is neesy for the op-
eration of such an engine that the exhaust velocity exceed the flight velocity. At low
speeds the degree of compression of air is insufficient for satisfactory economy of op-
eration of the engine.
At higher-flight speeds, engine thrust increases and fuel consumption decreases.
The athodyd engine can be combined, with the turbojet engine as an-amdliary burner
(afterburner), while the turbojet and liquid fuel rocket engine are used for acceleration
Supersonic Aircraft Engines 61
at takeoff when the forward velocity must be increased, and the process of stable com-
bustion and good thrust performance must be insured.
Such are some of the characteristics of modern jet engines.
However, nuclear power plants have the greatest potentialities for supersonic
flight. The atomic engine will give the aircraft a vast flight range at high supersonic
speeds and will give strategic aviation new and better flight characteristics.
-0111/11
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1:
t
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mammommmigmk0311*-101100111IgOlsolICANIFE
PREFLIGHT SERVICING OF AIRCRAFT ARMAMENT
Candidate of Technical Sciences, Engineer Col. E. S. Markov
Armament specialists, in contrast to aircraft mechanics, radiomen and elec-
tricians, receive- training usually only in servicing flights for target practice. Spe-
cialists in other branches, however, have an opportunity to train during preparation
for any mission. This is why it is necessary to organize the training of armament
technicians and mechanics during flights in order to increase their practical expe-
rience.
Especially valuable is the training during the servicing of the aircraft for re-
peat sorties; it makes it possible to improve the methods of technical maintenance of
armament under the most difficult conditions, when the time for servicing is limited.
We agree with the opinion of Corn. V.A.Malygin, expressed in his article ("The Her-
ald of the Air Fleet') No. 6, 1955), on making use of any group flight to train arma-
ment specialists. Even though it is sometimes difficult to set up training of this
kind in the units, it is possible with sufficient perseverance to conduct such training
periodically. It seems to us, that only in this way is it possible to achieve good prac-
tical training of armament specialists in peace time.
The methods of training in servicing aircraft armament for repeat sorties can
be quite varied. For instance, armament engineers, officers L. B. Balagul, and
I. P.Shvayakov always include in training the replacement and reloading of ammuni-
tion for cannons. To decrease the time necessary to prepare the armament for fir-
ing in large groups of aircraft, they use a specially equipped service truck. On.it
is assembled, in a definite sequence, all the necessary equipment for servicing the
aircraft armament: batteries, a bottle of compressed air, portable toil boxes, all
kinds of gear. The truck also carries ammunition. All this makes it possible to
cut considerably the time spent in preflight preparation of the armament. In study-
ing the experience of other units, we have rejected the use of the device- designed to
clean the barrels of the guns without prior unloading proposed by B. S. Vinnik in an
article published by "The Herald of the Air Fleet", No. 10, 1956. This device, in
our opinion, does not completely solve the problem, since it does not permit cleans-
ing the chamber of lubricants and can lead, with careless handling, to damage of the
parts in the breech mechanism, especially of the firing pin. Working with this device
requires care and constant supervision.
In our outfits the regulation cleaning of the gun barrels before firing has been
eliminated. Our armament specialists have leararog?to coat the lands of the barrel
bore with a thin layer of lubricant. Armament engineers, officers L. B. Balagul,
I.P.Shvayakov, and I. A.Nesterenko have been using this method for several years.
The coating of cannon barrels combined with timely and proper cleaning reliably pro-
tects the bore of the barrel from corrosion.
In preparation of the armament for repeat firings, the lands of the barrels are
always wiped clean, in order to remove dust, sand and foreign bodies. The fact is,
Preflight Servicing of Aircraft Armament 63
that in taking off and landing on a dirt air field, sand and bits of gravel find their
way into the bores of the cannon barrels.
Speaking of armament, servicing the gun camera cannot be disregarded. It
must be noted that the location of the gun camera on MiG-type aircraft is not quite
convenient. The gun camera must be dismounted in order to wind the clock or set
the hands. Because of frequent dismounting of the gun camera, its fire adjustment
is affected. Thus it must be checked periodically, which distracts the armament
people from other work.
We also take into account the fact that with time, the clocks used in the gun
camera lose their precision, and their reliability decreases. This is the reason
why we check, wind, and compare the clocks N;vith a standard chronometer before
takeoff, in addition to checking the electrical circuit of the gun camera. This serv-
es as a prophylactic measure, so to speak, which prevents clock failures in the air.
With such preparation of the gun camera, the error in the clock readings as compar-
ed with the standard clock, by which the time is set, will be minimal.
The signal flare containers are only loaded prior to flight. In every squadron
(or group) one specialist is usually designated to load the flare containers in all air-
craft. While the cannon and other armament are being readied, he usually has
enough time to finish his work. The electrical circuit of the containers checked
on the day of preliminary preparation of the aviation equipment, and there is no ne-
cessity for additional checking, as we have learned.
In our opinion, the proposal made by officer V. A. GayvaronsIdy on the storage
of the containers outside the aircraft merits attention. With such storage the time
of preparation of the armament is not decreased, but on the other hand, better care
can be taken of the containers. Of course, the containers can be better protected
from corrosion indoors. But the trouble is that they belong to the non-dismountable
aircraft equipment and therefore their storage outside the aircraft is not recommend-
ed.
The servicing of the aircraft armament after firing is divided by us into two
stages. In the first, after the aircraft has landed at the end of the VPP [runway],
the cannon are checked and disarmed if necessary. In the second stage, they are
put in combat readiness, the armament is checked, ammunition reloaded, the sight
and the gun camera readied.
Every airfield has a special area at the end of the VPP to which the aircraft are
taxied and positioned in such a way that the armament barrels point in the direction of
the safe sector. The armament specialists inspect the armament and always clear it
Then the aircraft are towed to the location where fuel and air are taken on. Such
safety measures always pay off.
When flights are made by small groups or single aircraft, the second stage in
preparation is carried out immediately afte-r the first one. However, in training
flights of.aiiiigasp, aircraft it is sometimes more convenient to load the ammunition, no:..
at the end of the VPP, but somewhere else? for instance on the preliminary starting
line ? especially if the firing was done from one cannon, which can be cleared with-
out lowering the gun mount. In this case the preflight servicing of the armament is
done after the aircraft has been refueled and supplied with compressed gases.
Sometimes it happens that a large number of aircraft participate in gunnery mis-
sions; they land with short time intervals and the dimensions of the area on which the
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64 E. S. Markov
armament is cleared are limited. To avoid concentration of aircraft on the area,
we clear the armament and carry out its preflight servicing only on one group of
aircraft. The armament of the aircraft which landed in another group is rendered
safe with the aid of safety devices. Subsequently the aircraft are towed to the area
where they are refueled and supplied with compressed gases. Preflight servicing
of the armament is done on the preliminary starting line or somewhere else as direct-
ed by the commanding officer.
We have discussed only a few of, in our opinion, the most vital details of the
organization and execution of the preflight servicing of aircraft armament in our out-
fits.
ON A DIRT AIRFIELD
Senior Lt. Engineer MF. Rebrov
It is an overcast windy day. The sky is hidden by leaden clouds which stretch
like an impenetrable curtain reaching almost to the ground. How is it possible to
fly in this weather? Rather recently flights in jet aircraft were usually cancelled
in such weather. But with improved equipment and increased flying skill, they have
become a common occurrence. This is the reason why the aircraft of the squadron
in which officer K. M. Levankov is serving are ready any minute for takeoff. The
aircraft are positioned on the starting line, fully supplied with fuel, air, and oxygen;
the check lists are filled out and signed.
The fighter aircraft, used by the unit, has powerful engines and sources of elec-
tric energy; it has airborne radio and radar equipment with various functions, com-
plex instruments and automatic equipment. All this requires not only daily painstak-
,ing maintenance, but demands of the technical personnel extra precision in work,
thorough knowledge, an advanced technical background.
To organize the work efficiently, to teach the flying and technical personnel the
efficient use of the new equipment are the principal tasks of the engineer. Almost
all activity of the technical personnel takes place under his leadership. And even
though the group works with confidence and zest, Levankov always has many things to
take care of: finishing touches must be put on the work done on the aircraft, the cur-
rent regulation inspections must be carried out, and at the same time combat readi-
ness must not be sacrificed.
The aircraft specialist has neither the right nor the time to make mistakes; he
must always give a precise answer, find the correct solution. The equipment does
not tolerate slipshod treatment. Dynamic, fast-paced activity ? full of challenging
responsibilities ? is Levankov's element. All his work is a continuous learning
process, a great creative endeavor.
He got into aviation a long time ago and has been working now for almost twenty
years in maintenance. All kinds of aircraft have passed through his hands. A great
number of combat sorties were serviced by him,a great number of aircraft were tend-
ed by him during the Great Patriotic war. Communist Levankov has serviced aircraft
on tactical_a_ir_fields rapidly and efficjaatier under combat conditions.
The battle of Warsaw, the capital of the brotherly Polish people, comes to inind.
The Hitlerites offered stiff resistance. The squadron in which Levankov served as
senior technician used to fly up to thirty sorties a day.
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66
M. F. Rebrov
Escorting, interception, ground attack, takeoff and landings on dirt. There
were no failures and breakdowns for which the technical personnel were responsible.
Now the aircraft unit in which he serves is based on a field airdrome, but en-
tiny different from the one in war years. In addition to a metallic takeoff and land-
ing strip, there is a well-rolled dirt field. And although the notion that jet airCraft
can only take off and land on concrete airfields has been disproved by experience, the
idea of operating high-speed fighters from dirt fields has been regarded with doubt up
until recently by many, especially by young pilots and technicians.
The engineer had to work especially hard when new jet aircraft arrived in the
unit. As the first order of business, the design of the machine had to be studied, the
technology of servicing and maintenance had to be mastered, the peculiarities of opera-
tion of every unit and assembly had to be understood.
The theory was hard to master. To do it alone would have been quite difficult,
of course; but Levankov had help from senior comrades, the commanding officer, and
the engineer of the unit.
He made his first acquaintance with the new aircraft at the factory and became
deeply immersed in the study of the new equipment. He studied every detail with deep
interest, wanted to know more in order to teach the flying and technical_personnel the
efficient operation of these wonderful aircraft.
It is hard to forget the day when the first takeoffs and landings were made. It
is quite understandable that the excitement was much higher than before any other
flight, since the takeoff took place, not from a concrete runway, but from an ordinary
field. The engineer was worried as much as the rest. How will the machine behave,
what units and assemblies should receive special attention? When revving up on the
apron or taxiing to the start line, sand, dirt or gravel can get into the intake ports
and damage the engine compressor and turbine blades.
Military Pilot First Class Lt. Col.A.Kh.Tuayev was the first to take off, then of-
ficers I. E. Babenko and P. I. Kuznetzov.
A green rocket rose from the SKP [ alert command post] and immediately after-
wards a silvery aircraft sped down the field marked by flags, raising a cloud of dust.
In a moment it was airborne and zoomed into the skies, rapidly gaining altitude.
The first flights were successful. The equipment performed excellently. Now
that the main difficulties of mastering the technical and flight operation of the high-
speed jet fighter from a dirt airfield have been overcome, we would like to analyze and
evaluate the tremendous work, the daring and perseverance of the pilots and techni-
cians. Carefully servicing the machines for flights, they uncovered the peculiarities
of flights made from a dirt airfield.
For instance, (on the aircraft of technician Lt. V. A.Alekseyuk) after_ landing on
soft ground, kinks were observed in the landing gear fairings due to compression of
tires. This defect was analyzed with all technicians present. It was clear to every-
body that it-can also app-evern other aircraft. IrwrIt decided to clip the -corners of
the fairings. The factory was asked to take this into consideration. No more cases
of this type occurred even when the machines landed on a snow-packed airfield.
The landing of high-speed aircraft on dirt involves great stresses on the forward
strut of the landing gear. This did not go unattended in the squadron. The engineer
gave a lecture to the technical personnel, explained the necessity of careful checks of
the landing gear after every flight. Rigorous inspection helped to rectify in time the
?
On a Dirt Airfield 67
defect in the glands of the front wheel strut on the aircraft of officer Alekseyuk, where
they wore out prematurely due to high stresses, which led to spurting out of the hy-
draulic mixture.
Due to impact during landing on uneven ground and large stresses on the 'land-
ing gear, the rubber glands of the shock absorbers wore out prematurely also on the
aircraft of technician Lt. V. T. Lutikov. Two shock absorb'ers were replaced. Later
it was shown by experience that the shock absorbers on the main struts of the landing
gear need be replaced only after 100 flying hours; if the aircraft is properly operated
by the flying personnel.
Levankov is present as a rule at the preliMinary check-out and if the pilots have
any questions on the operation of the equipment, he answers them on the' spot. At one
of the lectures the engineer explained how taxiing should be done on soft ground and
pointed out the necessity of avoiding sharp braking of the front strut and explained to
what this may lead. The pilots should also know that the great weight of the aircraft
and the great momentum make themselves felt ini
braking on turns during taxiing, when the radius '
of the turn increases somewhat and the landing
gear is under great stress. In retracting or let-
ting down the landing gear at increased speeds
the fairings of the main struts may buckle.
At technical discussions which take place
after every flying day, Levankov always ana-
lyzes the mistakes made in operation. Once,
in climbing to the height of 12,000 m. at ivertical,
speed, the pilot did not observe the time of max-
imum power operation of the engine and switched.
over abruptly to afterburning. The engine flam-1,
ed out and he succeeded in starting .it onlY after the
aircraft dropped to 9000 m. The engineer dis-
cussed in detail this error and explained 'to
what consequences it could have lead.
In classes held for the technical pei?sonnef,1
Levankov explains the design and operatian of th&
various assemblies and systems of the aircraft
with the aid of mockups, diagrams, and working ! ice K. M. Levankov
installations. And then he shows them directly
on the equipment the methods and ways of checking and operating it.
He also requires of his subordinates that they have a good knowledge of
tions and directions for the operatiIon of equipment, studies with them all the
and in thig lies assurance not only of competent maintenance of the complex e
but also assurance of a-rfibre e-ffici!enfilltization of if.
The operation of aircraft froin a dirt airfield must be carried out With all its spe-
cial characteristics in mind.
Once, during preflight inspection of aircraft; the engineer noticed a thick Coating
of grease on the piston rods of one of the machines. He ordered the technician to wipe
the piston rods dry and explained to him that excess lubricant behaves as an abrasive
when dirt and dust gets in it, and this causes premature wear and play in the working
Captain of the maintenance serv-
instruc-
Manuals,
q4iament,
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68 M. F. Rebrov
On a Dirt Airfield 69 ?
parts and articulated joints.
This is the reason why special attention is paid in the outfit to the removal of
excess lubricant, and the ball bearings are lubricated with MK-8 oil, which is not
capable of retaining grains of sand in the same number as is the Ts IATIM-201 lubri-
cant Other assemblies in the aircraft may fail due to the presence of foreign matter.
For instance, after a mission a leak was once discovered in the cockpit of one of the
aircraft. In correcting this fault, technician Lt. A. V. Vasil'yev found that the safety
valve failed because there was dirt in it. Sticking of the wing flaps in the interme-
diate position is also possible due to the presence of sand on the guide rails.
During group flights an especially large number of foreign objects get into the
intake port, together with the exhaust gases from the aircriaft which are taxiing ahead.
The specialists know that this leads not only to dents in th blades but also to plugging
of filters of the centrifugal regulator of the air bypass band. Due to the failure of
the control system, the band may not open and pumping will result.
To avoid such occurrences, the main part of the work is done in the unit imme-
diately after the flight. No defect, no failure of the aviation equipment remains un-
attended and without a thorough analysis of its causes. Preflight inspections, on the
other hand, are the final step in preparing the equipment fOr flight.
Taking account of the peculiarities of design of the aircraft and the low suspen-
sion of the auxiliary fuel tanks, the technical personnel of the squadron tries not to
fill them to capacity with kerosene when takeoff and landing are made on moist and
soft ground (the tanks may touch the ground, which creates a definite danger).
One of the contributing causes of an accident is a low standard ofaircraft in-
spection on the part of the technical personnel. This is the reason why officer Levan-
kov makes demonstration inspections periodically and supervises the. work of the tech-
nical personnel. If the pilot has made no comments on the performa.nce of the air-
craft in the air, this does not yet mean anything, says ,he. ; There can be concealed
defects, which have not yet manifested themselves, but will do so on the next flight,
and they can only be discovered by a thorough inspection of the whole aircraft.
Once during tests on engines when the air bypass band was checked.at revolu-
tions in excess of 9700 rpm, one of the engines began pumping. A search for the
cause ensued. It turned out that similar phenomena may' occur due to a great num-
ber of dents or other damage to the compressor blades. '
This is just the reason why in the squadron, principal attention is focused on the
inspection of blades. With the aid of a special optical device and a lamp, the aircraft
technicians check the condition of blades under the supervilsion of their engineer, elim-
inating in this way causes contributing to accidents in flight.
Another matter is also important. Landing the aircraft on dirlt, the surface of
which may have various rough spots, is acOmpanied by vibration and jolting which
sometimes causes leaks in the oil, fuel, and hydraulic systems throu.gh breaks in the
pipe lines.
The automatic release valve of an hydraulic system 9,nce became inoperative;
in releasing the landing gear or the wing flaps the pressure in the system dropped to
zero.
The glass of the cockpit canopy also requires specia.1J care. In order to avoid
scratching t and dirt
raised by the aircraft in takeoff is deposited on it.
V. E.Krivonosov (on the, right) and U.S.Dorofeyev inspect an aircraft
after flight.
In takeoff and landing of the aircraft on a dirt airfield, sand and bits of gravel
get into the barrel bores and moving parts of the cannon, which may lead to their break-
down and to dilation of barrels.
A great deal must be done to ensure troublefree operation of the aviation equip-
ment under such airfield conditions and intensive flying training. In carrying out in-
spections and routine regulation work, the technicians and electricians thoroughly
check the external surfaces of the aircraft assemblies, armament, special 'equipment,
radio and radar equipment, cleanse them of dirt, dust and old grease. All this makes
it possible to prevent in time the occurrence of such defects as sticking of terminal
landing gear signal switches, which is especially characteristic of the nose strut. They
also carefully check the condition of the taxilight bracket, making sure it has not been
knocked out of alignment.
In their work, the technical personnel of the squadron also ran into the following
difficulty. Periodic checks of landing gear extension and retraction are required. To
do this the fighter is placed on special jacks. On a concrete surface this does not pre-
sent any difficulty. To lift the aircraft in soft ground, on the other hand, is very dif-
ficult, but a solution has been found. The specialists utilized steel plates or flooring
which prevent the jacks from sinking into the ground; this is especially important when
dismantling the tail section of the fuselage, when a redistribution of stresses on the
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70
M. F. Rebrov
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la.nding gear struts takes place.
Under the supervision of the chief engineer of the unit a scheduled inspection of
the aircraft was worked out in the squadron, during which the condition of the turbine
blades of the axial flow compressor and the landing gear is checked, and every 10 days
the gaps in the drings are checked when retracted. To prevent breakdowns in the per-
formance of the aviation equipment, overall inspections with disassembly of the aircraft
are conducted. Often starting the engines with open hatches is also practiced; it is pos-
sible then to see many assemblies and check their normal operation.
Flight servicirg is precise and well organized. If the chief engineer of the unit
assigns a task, Levankov briefs every technician and electrician on it as well as the
personnel of the maintenance group. Technical crews know how many sorties each
aircraft must make, the nature of the mission, the duration of every sortie, and the
interval between them.
Flying days can be very tense. A great deal depends on the coordination-between
specialists of all services. Thanks to the coordination of the work of technical person-
nel of Capt. Levankov's outfit and the drivers of special purpose vehicles, flight servic-
ing for repeat sorties is well organized and servicing time has been reduced.
Levankov is an active Communist; he works actively with the men of the outfit,
takes part in all theoretical conferences. The engineer carefully studies the men,
helps the new men, encourages the industrious and the punctual, punishes those_ who de-
viate from the rules and regulations of technical maintenance.
The engineering and technical personnel must carry out many different tasks and
the successful splution of the combat training problems put before the Air Force unit
depends a great!deal on how conscientiously and skillfully these tasks are carried out.
In a short time the technical personnel of the squadron has achieved great suc-
cess. Aircraft technicians M. A. Tsimonenko, U. S. Dorofeyev, A. V. Vasil'yev, flight
technician V.E.Krivonosov know new aircraft thoroughly and service them in an excel-
lent manner.
Almost all mechanics in the outfit L. V. Levchenko, P. E. Kulakov, V. D. Usa-
chev, M. V. Fedayev, and others ? have been mentioned in the order of the command-
ing officer. Squadron Engineer Capt. Levankov has also received many expressions of
thanks. He was twice given engraved watches and cash awards for accident-free work.
The lull on the airfield gives way to activity. The pilots climb into cockpits, the
technicians look searchingly for the last time at the silvery aircraft straining forward.
The roar of powerful jet engines shatters the silence. The planes race one after the
other along the runway and zoom into the sky. Aviation equipment, serviced by car-
ing and skillful hands, is operating faultlessly.
(ANSWERS TO READERS' QUESTIONS
TIME AND ITS RECKONING
Since 1 March 1957 new time zone borders have
been introduced in our country.
In connection with?this, some comrades have asked
us to explain what the time zones are, why the necessity
arose of introducing the new borders, how time is reckon-
ed, and what rules exist for transition between one standard
time and another.
Here we comply with their request.
It is known that the earth rotates continually and uniformly around its axis.
The 24-hour day, the period of one complete revolution, is the basic unit of time
which is subdivided into smaller.parts: hours, minutes, seconds.
The result of the rotation of the earth around its axis is an apparent daily
movement of the sun whose position in the skies gives the true solar time. This
time, seemingly easy to determine from the sun's position, is nevertheless com-
pletely unsuited for practical use. The fact is that the sun's position shifts some-
what with respect to the stars, the result of which is that its motion through the sky
is not completely uniform and on different days of the year its direction of motion is
not the same. Therefore the true solar day is sometimes shorter, sometimes long-
er. Corresponding to the change in the day, the hours, minutes, or seconds become
shorter or longer and if we were to live in strict accordance with the solar time, we
would have to adjust our clocks almost daily, which even a most accomplished watch-
maker cannot do. It is not surprising that famous Paris watchmakers in olden days
wrote the slogan in their advertisements "The sun shows the time incorrectly".
The necessity to use the solar time, but in such a way that the units of its meas-
urement would be constant, has compelled people to use in calculations the so-called
mean sun, which is taken to be an imagined point, not existing in reality, and which
performs a yearly rotation through the sky in the same direction and the same time
as the true sun, but moving always uniformly along the celestial equator. The move-
ment of this point on the celestial sphere averages out, as it were, the movement of
the true sun and makes the 24-hour time periods equal.
All clocks are thus adjusted to correspond to the mean sun and consequently
show the mean solar time. The greatest difference between the true and the mean
time occurs in February and November when it amounts to about 15 minutes; in April,
June, September, and December the difference is zero. The time is different on
different meridians of the globe at the same instant. When it is noon in Moscow, it
is past noon on the rmridians east of Moscow and before noon on the meridians to the
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72 N. Y a. Kondr at' yev
west. The earth rotates from west to east; therefore the meridians located east
of Moscow pass under the sun earlier than the Moscow meridian.
The total revolutions of the earth through 360? occur in 24 hours; consequent-
ly the earth rotates through 360? = 15? in an hour. In other words, the meridian
located 150 east of Moscow 24 passes under the sun exactly an hour earlier than
the Moscow meridian. Noon and all other instants of time occur also an hour earlier
there. If the meridian located 150 west of Moscow is compared with the Moscow
meridian, obviously all instants of time will occur there one hour later than in Mos-
cow. The fact that every geographical location has its own "local" time has in prac-
tice made the contacts between people living in different populated areas very incon-
venient, especially when using the railroads, aerial transportation, or the telegraph.
Indeed, if all of us were to live on local time, a continuous readjustment-of the
clock hands would be required in traveling from point to point to make the clock agree
with the local time. Even in one populated area, points with different geographic
longitude have different local time.
Therefore different countries began a gradual introduction of standard time in
their territory in the second half of the 19th century, this time usually taken to be
the local time of the capital or of the main astronomical observatory. In our coun-
try standard time was introduced on the railroad before 1919. It was taken as the
local time in Petersburg. Every town, however, lived on its own "average"-local
time: hence the distinction between "town" and "railroad" time. In England the
time reckoning was set by the Greenwich meridian (near London) where the main
English observatory is located; in France the time was taken as the time in Paris,
9.5 minutes ahead of Greenwich time; in Italy the time was taken as the time in Rome,
50 minutes ahead of Greenwhich time, etc. But with the development of widespread
industry and with the growth of socio-economic ties this standard time for each coun-
try proved inconvenient in practice, especially for countries such as ours which have
a great extent from east to west. In addition, such time reckoning introduced the
necessity of complicated conversion and confusion into international relations. It
became necessary once more to regulate uniformly the reckoning of time.
In 1879 a Canadian engineer, Fleming, proposed the so-called time-zone system.
According to this system, the surface of the globe is divided by meridians into_24
zones of 15? width. Within each zone a standard time is established, called the zone
time; this is taken as the local time of the central meridian of a given zone. When
the border of the zone is crossed the clocks are advanced or retarded by exactly an
hour depending upon which border is crossed: the eastern or the western border.
Minutes and seconds in all zones are the same as those on the clock in the Greenwich
observatory. Therefore Greenwich time is called international.
Time zones are numbered from west to east in the following order: zero, first,
second, third, etc., up to and including the twenty-third.. The center of the
i. e. the zero zone, is the zero (Greenwich) meridian; the center of the first zone is
the meridian at longitude 15 east; the center of the second zone is the-meridian at
longitude 30? east, and so on through every 15? of longitUde.
In view of the fact that the distance of even the, extreme points of the ..time zone
from the central meridian does not exceed 7. 50 of longitude, the difference between
the zonal and the local time does not exceed 30 minutes. Exceptions are the points
at a greater distance from the central meridian due to irregularities in the borders
Time and its Reckoning 73
of the zone. The fact is that the borders of the time zones are laid strictly along
the meridians only on oceans, deserts, and other uninhabited regions.
It is impossible to separate the time zones along the meridians in inhabited
regions, since some oblastb [regions], rayons [districts], and even individual popu-
lated areas would be in different time zones with different time. For instance, Mos-
cow lies on the border between the second and third zone. But what would happen if
the western part of the city would be on the time of the second, and the eastern part
on that of the third time .;.:;one, one hour ahead of the second zone? The inconven-
ience is obvious.
Therefore in inhabited regions the borders between the time zones are laid out,
not along the standard meridians, but along the borders of the countries, republics,
oblast's or along natural boundaries ? rivers, seashores, etc. (See the time-zone
map appended to the journal).
In our country standard time was introduced only after the Great October Rev-
olution by decree of the Council of People's Commissars, 8 February 1919, and
signed by V. I.Lenin. A total of 11 time zones were established in the territory of
the USSR, from the second to the twelfth inclusive. The borders of the time zones
were established in accordance with the administrative jurisdiction, therefore not
only Moscow, but also the whole Moscow oblast', was put in the second time zone.
Almost all countries in the world operate on standard time. Thus England,
France, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Portugal operate on the zero time zone, i. e.
on Greenwich or universal time. Germany, Austria, Poland, Norway use the first
time zone (it is called Middle-European time). In the USSR the time zones are called
by the name of large cities or rivers.
From the time of establishment of the time zones in the Soviet Union, almost
forty years have passed. In this time the economy has grown immeasurably; ties
have been strengthened between the various republics, oblases and rayons; admin-
istrative jurisdiction and administrative borders have changed. Therefore the form-
er time-zone borders caused real inconvenience for a long time. In some ?blasts ?
for instance Chitin oblast' ? different times had to be used, since through these ob-
last's passed the standard meridians. One growing town, Novosibirsk, was divided
by a time-zone border into two parts.
This is why the Interdepartmental Commission for Unified Time Service of the
Committee of Standards, Measures, and Measuring Instruments attached to the Coun-
cil of Ministers of the USSR passed a resolution to establish new time zones through-
out the territory of the Soviet Union on 1 March, 1957.
According to this resolution, there are still 11 time zones. But their borders
now fully correspond to the administrative borders. Exceptions are the Yakutsk ASSR,
which is divided into three time zones instead Of the former five, and the Krasnoyarsk
region, divided into two parts instead of the former four.
Throughout the territory cri th-e4ICSR on 1 March _1957; at 0 hours, 0 minutes,
and 0 seconds, Moscow time, clocks were set so that their time was ahead of Moscow
time by as many whole hours as the number of the time zone ? in which a given region
was located? differed from the number of the Moscow (second) time zone.
The map appended to the journal shows the new time-zone borders in the Soviet
Union. In comparison with the previous zones, they have been changed rather con- ?
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t-
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74 N. Y a. Kondrat' yev
siderably. 1 The railroad, telegraph, and all airways remain, as previously, on
one time ? namely, on Moscow time.
In addition to everything mentioned about time reckoning, it must be added
that we have been living on a somewhat modified standard time since the summer of
1930. By decree of the Sovnarkom of the 'USSR, dated 16 June 1930, all clocks in
our country were advanced by one hour. This time, advanced by an hour, is called
decreed time.
This has been done to enable the population to utilize more fully the natural sun-
light from spring to fall and to consume less fuel and electricity for artificial light-
ing. If one assumes that workers and employees usually get up at 7 o'clock in the
morning and go to bed at 11 p.m. , artificial lighting will be needed in the summer on-
ly during the night hours, from about 9 p.m. , i. e. only for about 2 hours. But the
decreed time has shifted the beginning and the end of the working day an hour ahead.
As a result, during the summer, no artificial lighting is required in the morning,
since dawn occurs long before people awake; and in the evening lighting is required
not for two hours, but only for one. In the winter, since people get up and go to bed
when it is dark, decreed time offers neither advantages nor disadvantages in the use
of fuel and electricity.
All clocks in our country run on decreed time; hence the population in the sec-
ond time zone lives on the time of the third time zone, as it were, and the difference
between it and Greenwich time is 3 hours (the difference between the zero and the
second time zone of 2 hours plus 1 hour of decreed time); in the third zone the popu-
lation lives on the time of the fourth zone, in the fourth on the time of the fifth zone,
and so on.
Standard time differs from local time in that the time in the eastern part of the
zone is slow, in the western part it is fast as compared to local time; decreed time,
on the other hand, is one hour ahead of local time in all time zones. For instance,
standard time in Moscow lags 30 minutes and 17 seconds behind local time, while
decreed time in Moscow is ahead by 29 minutes and 43 seconds. Hence noon is at
12:30 according to clocks of Muscovites.
Decreed time, just as any standard time, depends on its location on the globe.
When it is 7 p.m. in the Chukotka district it is only 9 a. m. in Moscow; when it is
noon here, it is midnight on the opposite side of the globe; when the population of
'Chukotka wakes up in the morning and gets ready for breakfast, Muscovites are eat-
ing supper on the day which for the Far East population was yesterday.
It seems that at the same moment different locations on the globe may have
different dates. Where does the new day, the new month, the new year begin?
History knows many instances when people were embarrassed because they
made a mistake in reckoning days. Such a mistake was made by the first expedition
around the world by Magellan. In 1522, upon return to Spain from the voyage, the
members of the expedition learned that they had-.retailer .d on Friday, while according
to their calculations it was Thursday. They carefully checked the entries in the ship's
1 Eight oblast's ? Vladimir, Voronezh, Ivanovsk, Kostromsk, Lipetsk, Ryaian',
Tambov and Yaroslav ? have been transferred by decree of the Interdepartmental
Commission for Unified Time Service from the second to the third time zone. But
at their request these ?blast's temporarily remain in the second time zone until a
special decision is reached.
1
Time and its Reckoning 75
log; according to their data the day of arrival was Thursday. But the day was, in
fact, Friday. For committing"a crime against religion", which consisted of observ-
ing the religious holidays not on appointed days, the members of the expedition were
forced to do public penance.
Another interesting historical example. About two centuries ago, when Rus-
sian Cossacks crossed the Bering Strait and took possession of Alaska, they were
very surprised by the fact that the local inhabitants observed Sunday one day later.
The cause of such discrepancies is very easily explained. Continuous change
in the time of day on the globe occurs as a result of the apparent movement of the
sun from east to west. Obviously, if one travels around the globe from east to
west, i. e. in the direction opposite to that of the rotation of the earth, one makes one
revolution less around the earth's axis. Therefore the Magellan expedition should
have added one day to their calculations. If the globe is traversed from west to east,
i. e. in the direction of its rotation, then, conversely, one day should be subtracted
from calculations, since one extra revolution is added.
To avoid mistakes in reckoning days and to fix the position of the beginning and
the end of the day, a date line was established by international agreement. This
line runs mainly along the meridian at 180? longitude from the Greenwich meridian,
touching land nowhere except in the Antarctic. It runs from the North geographic
pole through the Bering Strait, then through the Pacific ocean, skirting numerous
small Pacific islands and terminates at the South geographic pole.
The new calendar day, the new month, the new year always begin on the west-
ern side of the international date line.
The first to greet the new day, as well as the New Year, are the citizens of our
country, the inhabitants of Chukotka; then the inhabitants of Kamchatka, Magadan, to-
gether with the inhabitants of Eastern Australia; then the Japanese, the inhabitants
around Baikal, etc. For the inhabitants of Alaska, the new day and the New Year oc-
cur last.
In crossing the date line from east to west, one day should be dropped, and in
crossing from west to east, the same day should be counted twice. If, for instance,
an aircraft crosses the date line on 15 May from Alaska to Chukotka, the next day for
it will not be 16 May, but 17 May; and if the aircraft flies on the same day from Chu-
kotka to Alaska, the next day for it will be 15 May again.
The geographic poles of the earth and the adjoining land and water regions oc-
cupy a peculiar position. At the poles all meridians and time zones meet. At the
poles there is only one direction, south or north. The North Pole, for instance, is
surrounded everywhere by the south. If a house were built there, all its four sides
would face south.
An explorer at one of the poles can pass from one time zone to another or over
the date line several times a day;therefore the generally accepted rules of time reckon-
ing are not acceptable to him. But it is necessary to live on some sort of time. One
,has to get up, eat qtart and finish working, and _gQ to_lagen,? all at a certain time.
ow
Therefore a certain time is established there, for instance Moscow or Greenwich time,
according to which all astronomical tables are computed.
Actually it is often necessary, while using daily one time standard, to resort oc-
casionally to another time, especially in modern aircraft with its high speeds and long
range of flight. Crossing several time zones in one flight is now an ordinary occur-
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76
N. Ya. Kondrat' yev
rex ce in aviation. Sometimes it is necessary to know the time in other countries.
Everyone has undoubtedly read newspaper reports that the signing of some document
or a meeting of statesmen took place at a certain date and at a certain hour, accord-
ing to Washington, Middle-European, or some other time.
How can we equate it with our time?
The time at one point is easily determined from a given time at another point
for the territory of our country: here one simply takes the difference in time zones
which just yields the difference in hours. But calculations are considerably com-
plicated whei one deals with points abroad. Here our decreed time should be taken
into account and one must determine whether one crosses the date line or-not, and,
if one does, in what direction: east to west or west to east. For instance, knowing
the time in Moscow we would like to find the time in Fairbanks (Alaska). -Moscow
is in the second time zone, Fairbanks in the fourteenth. How do we determine
whether the date line is crossed or not?
This can be calculated from formulas, but the simplest way is to refer to the
table (See table), where the Moscow time is taken as the basis. All other time zones
have their correction with respect to the Moscow (decreed) time.
To determine from this table the standard time of any locality? given the Mos-
cow time ? one must find on the map the number of the zone in which that point is.
From the zone number the correction is determined and is algebraically added to the
Moscow time.
Assume that we must find the time in London when the time in Moscow is 7 a. m.
London is in the 0 time zone, the correction given by the table is -3 hours. The
standard time in London is 7+ (-3) = 4 hours.
To find the Moscow time from the given time in some other time zone, the cor-
rection obtained from the table for this time zone must be algebraically subtracted
from the standard time given.
Assume that we must find the Moscow time when the time in Chukotka is 18
hours. In the table for Chukotka time we find the correction, which is equal to +10
hours. The Moscow time will be: 18 - (+10) = 8 hours.
If the time in one zone has to be determined from the given time in another zone,
the algebraic difference between the given and the required time is algebraically sub-
tracted from the given zone time.
Assume that we must find the time in Chita at the moment when the time in Kam-
chatka is 10 hours. To solve this problem we find the difference in correct-ions. It
is 9 - 6 = 3 hours. The time in Chita is 10 - 3 = 7 hours.
Another example. In Paris the time is 2 hours. What is the time at Irkutsk?
The difference in corrections is -3 - (+5) = - 8 hours. The time in Irkutsk is 2 -
10 hours.
If in the calculations the difference or the sum is greater than 24 hours, the 24
hours are subtracted from it and the date is advanced by one day; if the sinn or the
difference is negative, the date is shifted back by one_day.end the- time is-dtkermined
as the complement of this negative number to 24.
Let us solve the following problem. Find the time in Magadan, when the time
in Moscow is 22 hours, September 25. From the table the correction for Magadan
time is + 8 hours. Consequently, Magadan time will be 22 + 8 = 30; 30 - 24 = 6 hours,
September 26.
Time and its Reckoning
77
Zone?
No.
Time designation
Correction in
hours by ref. to
Moscow time
0
Greenwich (International, West-European, London)
-3
1
Middle-European (Central European)
-2
2
Decreed standard: Moscow
0
3
n it Volga
+1
4
II II Ural (Sverdlovsk)
+2
5
II n West Siberian (Omsk)
+3
6
n n Yenisey (Krasnoyarsk)
+4
7
IIII Irkutsk
+5
8
9
II II Amur (Chita)
il
nMaritime (Khabarovsk)
+6
+7
10
It II Okhotsk (Magadan)
+8
11
nII Kamchatka
+9
12
II II Chukotka (Anadyr)
+10
13
Standard:
-14
14
n Fairbanks
-13
15
n Yukon
-12
16
n Pacific
-11
17
n Mountain
-10
18
II Central
- 9
19
20
, i Eastern (Washington)
n Atlantic
- 8
- 7
21
22
n 11
n II
-6
- 5
23
II
Iceland
- 4
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78 N. Y a. Kondrat' yev
In view of the fact that we took into account the decreed time for the time zones
passing through the USSR (from the second to twelfth), while there is no decreed
time in other countries which use the same zone, in calculations, if the number of
the zone of a foreign locality is two to twelve, the correction should be reduced by
one. For instance, Tokyo is located in the ninth zone; therefore the correction
should be taken not as +7 hours, as given in the table, but as +6.
In some countries in Western and Central Europe, as well as in the USA, the
time is advanced by one hour from about April to September by the order of the govern-
ment, and this time is called daylight saving time. In calculations this must be taken
into account, and one hour must be added to the correction for the time zone of such
a country. Such changes cannot be provided for in the table, since daylight saving
time extends over different periods in different countries.
Time, one of the objective forms of existence of matter, is a rather important
factor in man's life. Its reckoning and recording are irrevocably tied up with the
creative endeavors of our society. New time-zone borders now completely meet the
requirements of precise time reckoning, while a basic knowledge of this computation
and the ability to compute time enable us to have a thorough understanding of it over
the entire globe.
Military Navigator First Class,
Col. N. Ya.Kondrat'yev
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?
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/05/24: CIA-RDP81-01043R002000080005-2
FROM THE HISTORY OF SOVIET AVIATION
TRANSARCTIC FLIGHT TO AMERICA
Hero of the Soviet Union, Lt. Gen. of the Air Force A.V.Belyakov
Twenty years ago, in June 1937, the crew of the well-known Soviet pilot, V.P.
Chkalov, carried out the first non-stop flight from the USSR to America across the North
Pole, in a Russian-made aircraft, the ANT-25. The crew left Shchelkovo Airfield
near Moscow on 18 June at 0104 hours Greenwich Time and landed in the United States
of America on 20 June at 1620 hours (also Greenwich Time). The aircraft remained in
the air without landing for 63 hours and 16 minutes, i. e. , for more than two and. half
days, and covered a route of 9130 km over the earth's surface. As for air distance,
however, the route would amount to about 11,000 km. This difference in distance was
"consumed" by a head wind, which decreased air speed by an average of 30 km/hr.
If we draw a line between the points of takeoff and landing along the shortest dis-
tance, i. e. along an arc of the great circle, then the orthodrome will measure 8583 km.
The lengthening of the actual course by 547 km occurred as the result of its failure to
coincide with the orthodrome in order to avoid cloud cover and because the aircraft reach-
ed the coastal area of the Pacific Ocean in Canada.
The crew was made up of three men: the crew commander, V. P. Chkalov; the co-
pilot, G. F. Baydukov; and the navigator, A. V. B elyakov.
Shortly afterwards, on 12 July 1937, the Soviet pilots, M. M. Grornov, A. B. Yu-na.chev ,
and S.A. Danilin, carried out a second transarctic flight to America across the North
Pole. The Soviet aircraft, the ANT-25, flew a straight path, Moscow-North Pole-Amer-
ica, in 62 hours and 17 minutes, covering a distance of 10, 148 km.
These long-range transarctic flights showed the whole world clearly our tremen-
dous progress in aircraft construction, the great skill of our designers, and the remark-
able virtues of Soviet pilots.
Nineteen hundred and thirty-seven was the first year of the third five-gear plan for
our country, a year of intensive work by the entire Soviet People on the path of further
industrialization of the country. During the first five-year plan, an aviation industry
was created in our country, and as a result aircraft appeared in the USSR which surpass-
ed foreign models in quality. One such aircraft was the ANT-25, built in 1934 by a de-
_ _.
---aikogner team headed by A. N. Tupoleir:
This aircraft was designed for long non-stop flights. The high status of engineer-
ing development in this aircraft was manifested in a number of innovations and improve-
ments. The ANT-25 was an all-metal monoplane with a wingspread of 34 m, which was
quite unusual for a single-engined aircraft. The 13. 1 wing aspect ratio and the excep-
tionally high aerodynamic characteristic of the profile selected. gave the 11 ton aircraft,
which had a single 1000 hp engine, the capability of taking off from a concrete runway.
?
ransarctic Flight to America 81
ii
In the flight to America, the weight of the aircraft at the start was 11,180 kg, of which
5800 constituted. fuel (gasoline with a specific gravity of 0. 73),350 kg oil. Thus, fuel
and oil constituted 55%, i. e. more than half of the gross weight of the aircraft. To
facilitate design, part of the wing sections and the wing stump were converted into tanks.
Consequently, the walls of the tanks served as power elements of the wing, which was
a very rare phenomenon.
The ANT-25 was one of the first aircraft that had retractable landing gear and a
metal three-blade variable-pitch propeller. The AM-34 engine was of the "low alti-
tude" type, as a consequence of which the aircraft possessed a comparatively low "ceil-
ing", not exceeding 6300 m.
During the first 10 hours of flight, true airspeed was maintained at an average of
185 km/hr at a flight altitude of 1000 m. Later, in accord with the gradual consump-
tion of fuel, the weight of the aircraft kept decreasing, and this made it possible to fly
at a high altitude; in order to achieve economy in fuel consumption, the engine rpm and
airspeed were gradually decreased and by the end- of the flight, at an altitude of about
3000 m, true airspeed did not exceed 150-160 km/hr.
Chkalov's crew pioneered the shortest air route for an aircraft flying from the
USSR to America ? that, in a nutshell, is the gist of the flight from Moscow to Van-
couver. But is it true that the desired shortest "route is located precisely in this direc-
tion? Two years later Pilot Kokkinaki flew from Moscow to New York. His route,
7450 km long on the orthodrome, lay across Iceland and. joined the western part of the
USSR with the eastern coast of the USA. But the shortest routes connecting the central
parts of both countries as a rule cross the Arctic.
In 1937, our notions about the Arctic were rather meager. The northernmost
polar station of the Glavsevmorput' [Main Northern Sea Route] was located in Franz
Josef Land. Two months before our flight, a group of Soviet pilots, under the leader-
ship of the prominent scientist, 0. Yu. Shmidt, established the I. D. Papanin Station on
the floe in the region of the geographic North Pole. But the area from the North Pole
to the islands off the northern coast of Canada was a blank spot. The Papanin station
regularly transmitted weather information over the radio, but that, of course, was ab-
solutely insufficient for judging weather conditions throughout the entire central portion
of the Arctic.
Our central weather bureau and the main aerometeorological station of the Air
Force were the first to start setting up weather maps for the northern hemisphere, for
only in this way was it possible to ascertain and anticipate weather change in the Arctic.
Information was plotted on these maps as received from meteorological arctic stations
of the USSR, Alaska, Northern Canada, and Greenland, and from stations of all the
countries within 40? North Latitude.
In general the geophysical situation for a flight in June was favorable: it was the
season of the arctic day, and by taking off early in the morning, the aircraft was able
to fly for almost forty-eight hours in daylight. The first night should have found us in
the sourthern part of Canada. Anticyclonic weather could not, naturally, accompany
us throughout the entire tremendous route, and consequently we had to select periods
with the least cyclonic activity. The first part of the route lay in a high pressure area.
Beyond the North Pole we were met by an extensive anticyclone. En route we had to
pass through two cyclone zones ? in the Barents Sea and in Canada.
Inasmuch as the ceiling of the ANT-25 aircraft was not high, we had to fly blind
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A. V. Belvakov
in the clouds, risking the possibility of icing which represented the chief danger for
us durirg the flight (ally a fluid deicer had been installed on the aircraft for the propel-
ler).
Great difficulties arose in maintaining communication with the ground.. This prob-
lem was solved_ in the following way. On the aircraft there was a 20-watt crystal-con-
trolled transmitter for several short-wave frequencies. The ground transmitting sta-
tions also operated on short waves, the selection of which depended on the distance. At
a great distance, the operation was conducted on the 18 meter band. From Glavsev-
morput' the services of two radio centers, five arctic rediffusion stations, and 14 arc-
tic radio stations were enlisted to handle the flight. By agreement with the USA, radio
stations in Anchorage (Alaska) and Seattle (USA) were enlisted for purposes of commu-
nication, as well as a number of receiver-transmitter points. All radiograms receiv-
ed from the aircraft were transmitted by ground radio and wire facilities to flight head.-
quarters in Moscow, where they were checked, sorted., and the most reliable accepted
as valid.
During this flight, one of the most difficult problems of air navigation was solved?
flying across the Arctic close to the magnetic pole. For the first time the route was
being established along an orthodrome: the first part was from the point of takeoff to
the North Pole along the 38th meridian; East Longitude: and the second, from the North
Pole along the 123rd meridian, West Longitude. To improve navigation in an area
with a small horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field, the ANT-25 had a gyro-
magnetic compass, which was new for the time ,the prototype of modern long-range gyro-
magnetic compasses of the DGMK type. This compass, together with a directional
gyro, was the only facility for navigating the aircraft in the cloud cover. The gyro-
magnetic compass functioned satisfactorily almost up to the North Pole under conditions
of undisturbed rectilinear flight. The inconvenience of navigating with it lay in the ne-
cessity of frequent recomputations of the magnetic course.
However a more reliable facility for air navigation in the Arctic was and still is
astronavigation. It was used widely during this flight. For navigating on an ortho-
dromic course, the ANT-25 aircraft had a solar course indicator (SUK), mounted in the
navigator's compartment, which made it possible to determine the true course by the
sun. To maintain this course, the pilot used either a directional gyro (correcting it
periodically) or a special gnomon (sun clock) which was mounted on the engine cowling.
Furthermore, for determining the line of position with reference to one celestial body
or for determining the location of the aircraft by observation of two celestial bodies,
the aircraft was equipped with a sextant, a chronometer, and tables of previously cal-
culated altitudes and azimuths of the sun and the moon for points selected in advance.
During the flight very frequent use was made of the solar course indicator which had
been designed by Engineer L. P. Sergeyev and which served as the model for later astro-
compasses of the equatorial type.
Desiring to avoidily.i_ng in the cloud cover as much as possible, Chkalov was com-
pelled repeatedly to dist= the flight regimelr"Axing detours and altering tl-,P pre-
scribed altitude. This of course entailed an over-consumption of fuel. When we land-
ed after 63 hours of flight, 20 1 of gasoline all told remained in the tanks-, whereas if
the "flight regime" had been observed, there should have been enough of it for more
than 70 hours. The aircraft flew into the cloud cover five times, and of these, three
instances were in the Arctic, all with varying degrees of icing.
-
.11
KV'
Transarctic Fli ht to America
83
For the greater part of the time, the flight was spent above the cloud cover
which covered the earth, the water, and. the ice surface. The sun's dazzling bright
illumination of the clouds or of the boundless snow-covered ice, had a ruinous effect
on our eyesight. All three of us worked with protective dark glasses. Protection of
eyesight is indispensable for every crew flying in the Arctic in the daytime. Owing to
the high degree of transparency of the air, the unprotected parts of our faces and necks
were subjected to a deep tan and even to a light burn.
We turned towards the Pacific Ocean, after passing over Great Bear Lake. Be-
fore us was a heavy cloud cover lying on the mountains. After crossing the Rocky
Mountains at an altitude of 6300 m, Chkalov dropped down below the cloud cover when
we were over the ocean. Before us was the darkness of night, and behind us to the
north, dawn continued all the while. On the morning of 20 June, we reached the shores
of the USA in the region of the city of Seattle. Here we intercepted the air line route
and. used the American radio course beacons. We flew above the cloud cover at 3000 m.
While flying over the Columbia River, in order to check on our bearings, we drop-
ped below the cloud cover, the ceiling of which was 300 m. We started to penetrate
the overcast, but a warning light flashed from the supply fuel tank that there were only
60 1 of fuel left. We returned to the Columbia River and landed at Vancouver Military
Air Field in the state of Washington, at 0820 hours local time.
Our encounters with the American people began from the moment our Soviet air-
craft touched down on American soil. We travelled through the United States by train
from west to east, and spent some time in Washington, New York, and other cities. We
were swamped with congratulatory telegrams and letters. Representatives of various
strata of the American people wrote to us; but the majority of enthusiastic letters came
from workers.
A number of official receptions and welcomes were arranged in honor of us Soviet
pilots. I shall always remember how warmly we were welcomed by the population of
the city of Portland. We walked down the main street with large wreaths of honor. End-
less greetings echoed, and the entire route was strewn with flowers.
More than ten thousand people gathered at a meeting dedicated to greeting the So-
viet pilots organized by the editorial staff of the periodical "Soviet Russia Today". When
Chkalov mounted the rostrum, all rose to their feet and thunderous applause resounded..
Someone started to sing the USSR Air Force March in English and thousand.s of voices
joined in the singing.
We were greatly impressed by a meeting in New York in the huge building of the
71st Regiment. The top rows of seats were occupied by workers, whites and Negroes.
From this "peanut gallery" loud cries of approval resounded during the entire meeting.
The American people warmly received us, the envoys of the Soviet Union, because
we brought the friendship of our people to the United States.
Speaking at one of the meetings in New York, V. P. Chkalov said: "On the wings
of our aircraft we have brought a greeting from one hundred and seventy millions of our
people to the American people."
No less cordial was the reception accorded to the crew of M. M. Gromav which,
during the same year, made the second non-stop flight to America across the North Pole.
Grom.ov was presented with a certificate as honorary citizen of the city of Los
Angeles.
It is pleasant to recall these friendly encounters with representatives of the Ameri-
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84 A. V. Belyakov
can people.
However, the ruling imperialist circles in the USA have exerted and continue to
exert a great deal of effort in order to erase from the memory of simple Americans
all that was good in the interrelations of the Soviet and American peoples, and to obstruct
the development of normal friendly and cultural ties between both countries. But one
would like to believe that the honest people of America will repudiate the calumny against
the USSR being spread by the war-mongers, will not let themselves be intimidated, and
will not permit the unleashing of an atomic war which can bring incalculable disasters
upon all the peoples of the world.
THE EXPLOIT OF VALERIYA KHOMYAKOVA
_
On the dark gloomy night of 24 Septeriaber 1942, Valeriya Khomyakova took off
into the air with the element. Everything was quiet, it seemed. But suddenly in her
headset she heard the commander's voice: "There are enemy Ju-88 planes in No.6
quadrant at an altitude of 2000 m. "
Valeriya started to follow the search lights closely as they played about the dark
sky. But here, finally, she caught sight of the enemy, trapped by the intersecting
searchlights as though gripped by pincers.
Sizing up the situation, the aviatrix took over the control stick, zoomed -sharply
upwards, and found herself .over the enemy-in an advanta.gdous p?sitin. Soon-afterwards
she began trailing the enemy aircraft and she closed in on his tail. The enemy was
caught in the crosshairs of the sight. After convincing herself that the aim was accurate,
Valeriya let go with a long burst of machine-gun fire. A colored stream of tracer bul-
lets, slashing the darkness of the night, pierced the fuselage of the enemy airc?raft.
But the radio-operator gunner on the enemy aircraft returned her fire. Valeriya
Trans_aretic_Fli ht to Am eric 85
swerved sharply to the right and then boldly attacked a second time. Circling in from
the right, she opened fire on the pilot's cockpit. The Fascist aircraft fell into a steep
dive and plunged sharply to the ground.
Even now a report is preserved in the archives in which the following statement is
made:
"On 24 ember 1942, in the sky over the city of Saratov, in the area of the rail-
road bridge, Lt. Valeriya Khomyakova, aided by searchlights, made a second attack at
an altitude of 2000 m and downed an enemy aircraft of the Ju-88 type in aerial combat.
"The aircraft fell 1 km south of the railroad bridge.
"By her heroic deed, Lt. Khomyakova made the first entry in the combat score of
the 586th Fighter Air Regiment."
In the last months before the war I had occasion to work at the V. P. Chkalov Cen-
tral Aeroclub of the USSR. Here, among other women pilots who were distinguished
at the time, I met Valeriya Dmitriyevna Khomyakova, famous as an expert in advanced
piloting on sport craft and as a participant in air shows.
Valeriya Khomyakova grew up in the family of a chemical engineer, where from
childhood she became accustomed to work and to a feeling of respect for her comrades,
for the team.
Valeriya entered the D.I.Mendeleyev Chemical and Technological Institute in
Moscow. She combined her study in the Institute with training exercises in a glider
group. This was her new passion. In 1937, upon being graduated from the Institute,
she received the diploma of chemical engineer and also a certificate as a glider-pilot.
A year later, Valeriya Khomyakova, now a chemical engineer in the Frunze plant, suc-
cessfully completed training with the Aeroclub and remained in it in the capacity of pilot
instructor, thereby binding her life forever to aviation.
War broke out. Many of Khomyakova's students went off to the front. An ardent
patriot, Valeriya, too, longed to stand up for the defense of the Motherland with weapon
in hand. In the fall of 1941, she was enrolled in the newly formed Women's Fighter
Regiment, with the position of Deputy Squadron Commander.
A difficult period of retraining started, on the military fighter aircraft YaK-1.
The regiment studied aerial combat theory intensively, combining it with daily practice
work.
Major T. A. Kazarimova was appointed commander of the 586th Fighter Air Regi-
ment and 0. P. Kulikova, Military Commissar (see photo: T. A. Kazarirnova, right, and
0.P.Kulikova congratulate V. D. Khomyakoval on her victory).
Valeriya gave all her energy, knowledge, and skill, in order to serve her Mother-
land honestly. While carrying out combat watch duty to guard a sector entrusted to r'
their regiment, while making an intercept sortie, or while escorting aircraft, Valeriya
was always ready for a skirmish with the enemy.
Valeriya was the first woman pilot to down an enemy aircraft in night aerial com-
bat. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, she was awarded
the Order of the Red Banner for manifest bravery and courage in carrying out a cost
mission. The rank of "Senior Lieutenant" was conferred upon her, and she was appoint-
ed squadron commander.
Success did not, turn her head; as before, she carried out her combat missions self-
lessly and skillfully. It is a pity that the life of such a wonderful person came to such
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86 A. V. Belyakov
an early end.. Valeriya perished, carrying out a combat mission while still full of vigor
and a passionate desire to fight against the enemy untR. complete victory.
Senior Lieutenant of the Reserves, A. Ye. Tsapava
-4111.
mmizimmigimiliapirk-adral2PilfalININE:0111gE
IN A SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT AIR DETACHMENT
B. N. Kudrin
In connection with drawing up measures for battle against
the cavalry corps of White Guard General Mamontov, which had.
broken through to the rear of the troops of the Southern Front in
the summer of 1919, V.1. Lenin pointed to the possibility of utiliz-
ing aircraft against the cavalry. For this purpose a special as-
signment air group was quickly formed, by order of the Revvoyenso-
vet [Revolutionary War Council] of the Republic (the 41st and 51st
Reconnaissance and the 8th Fighter Detachments, the "IlLya Muro-
mets" Airship Detachment, and a special assignment detachment
made up of instructors from the Moscow School for Military Pilots).
Published below is a passage from the memoirs of Boris Ni-
kolayevich Kudrin, former pilot of the special assignment detach-
ment and. later a test pilot.
One night in August, 1919, we instructors of the Moscow School for Military Pi-
lots, living in one of the private residences in Petrovskiy Park, were awakened by the
head. of the school, Yu. A. Bratolyubov. He informed us that he had. been summoned. to
Glawcodukhoflot [Air Fleet Headquarters] and. ordered to form a special assignment
combat air detachment to fight General Mamontov's cavalry which had. broken through
to the rear of our troops.
In connection with the fact that the detachment had. been assigned a mission of
special importance, involving extremely dangerous combat flights, Bratolyubov had
been given unlimited. authority in the selection of personnel and equipment. "In accord-
ance with. the old combat tradition for carrying out particularly dangerous missions",
said Bratolyubov, "volunteers are always called upon. Consequently if anyone of you
feels that he isn't completely well or not strong enough and not confident of the fact that
he will be able to give his life for the Revolution without the slightest hesitation; if any-
one of you is not confident, not only of himself, but also of anyone of his comrades, then
say so right now, frankly and honestly."
I shall not begin to describe the tremendous enthusiasm which gripped. us. The
slight feeling of mortification occasioned by the very possibility of doubting anyone of
us, as indicated by tlre head. of the school, was lost in a feeling of gratitude, and joy- at
our awareness of the importance of the mission assigned us by V. I. Lenin, and of the
confidence and honor which had been shown us.
It would be difficult to exaggerate the feeling of love and respect that we pilots
felt for the head of our school. He was older, more experienced, and more intelligent
than any of us. A former officer in the Tsarist army, he had already become famous
during the imperialist war ? though he was still flying only as an observer-pilot at the
time? in one of the most famous air groups. Witty and gay, an inimitable raconteur,
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B.N.Kudrin
he possessed without doubt an innate artistic talent. In our school club, "Wings of
the Commune", where famous musicians, singers, and actors of the Moscow theaters
frequently appeared, Bratolyubov enjoyed no less success by his interpretation of comic
characters from Chekhov. But the main thing is he was a bold, courageous pilot who
had mastered the art of advanced piloting to perfection. At the Air Force celebration
in 1918, he demonstrated amazing flying skill before all of Moscow. His "falling leaf"
with autorotation, nose spin, and wheels-up spiral amazed everybody, and became part
of the golden heritage of the art of Soviet piloting. Yu. A. Bratolyubov also left behind
a literary monument of his flying skill, by writing what was to all intents and purposes
the first Soviet guide for advanced piloting ? "How IPerform Advanced Piloting Maneu-
vers".
I became acquainted with Bratolyubov in 1918, in the 14th Fighter Air Detachment,
to which we were both assigned at almost the same time. Upon receiving new aircraft
and testing them for advanced piloting, we shared our impressions. He said to me:
"You do successive loops well, but, Boris Nikolayevich, they'll be so much better if
you bring them down a little." I was greatly surprised by that. It seemed to me that
I was doing them very low now (there was danger in this and, consequently, a sort of
flying "dash"), but to my reply that in pulling out of a "dive", the ground. was "under
my very nose", he calmly answered: "It only seems like that to you; you've got a good
150 meters in reserve."
To tell the truth, I didn't believe him. But next day, noticing that he was flying
at an even lower altitude than what he had advised me to do, I became imbued with the
deepest respect for him.
Bratolyubov was soon appointed head of the Moscow School for Military Pilots.
He proposed that I, too, transfer to the school with the position of head of the fighter
section? as senior instructor for advanced piloting. And then once after one of his
aerobatic flights, when one of my young students asked him how it was that he was not
afraid to perform aerobatic maneuvers at such a low altitude, we heard the following
answer from him: "But who told you that I'm not afraid? I am afraid. But I force my-
self not to be afraid. Keep in mind that a coward will cite any number of the most ir-
refutable arguments and proofs in justification of his cowardice. But a real man, even
if he is afraid of something, must master his feelings and must do it without fail. At
first it will be a bit frightening, but then it's nothing, you get used to it. But if you
allow your cowardice to persuade you, even once, not to do what you can do, but are
afraid, then you're a goner. You'll never be a real pilot".
It should not be assumed, however, that, because of some sort of mischievous-
ness, Bratolyubov was urging us on to dare-deviltry and recklessness. Not at all. He
would very shrewdly and thoroughly evaluate the potentialities of each pilot .a_nd would
place demands upon him in accordance with his capacities. That's the kind of man Bra-
tolyubov was, and our love, respect, and devotion to him were boundless--; In Bratolyu-
bov's steps, or upon orders from him, each of us was ready to rush anywhere and to
carry out any task, even, it would seem, the most unfeasible.
After receiving our consent, Bratolyubov proposed that each pilot select an air-
craft and. a technical staff (mechanic and engine man). He then assigned duties among
the pilots, for the formation of separate detachment outfits. I was also given the func-
tions of train commandant.
Work was in full swing. Without pausing over the details of the formation, I shall
In a Special Assignment Air Detachment 89
say merely that an air detachment with eight aircraft and with its own facilities and
technical supply was formed during a forty-eight hour period. From that moment on
the railroad train became our primary "base on wheels".
We had not yet managed to leave Moscow, when Bratolyubov summoned me and.
warned me: "During the movement of the train, many obstacles will be encountered
that will hamper its rapid advance. You must ensure speed of movement by all means.
Don't let the train remain standing at the railroad stations". He warned me that he
would be following my work and would evaluate it as though I were carrying out my first
combat mission.
With the departure of the train from Moscow, a well-deserved, rest ensued for all,
since we had had hardly any sleep at all during the preceding two nights. But for me,
as train commandant, the train's advance to its destination proved to be even more
strenuous work. Any member of the post-revolutionary generation can hardly picture
to himself the railroad traffic of that period. Transportation had been demolished:
there was a shortage of locomotives, coaches, and fuel; the journal boxes were burning,
and the locomotive mechanisms breaking down. Trains moved irregularly, without
any schedules, stopped frequently en route, and no one knew when a train would. go on.
One should. not be surprised, therefore, that, just as in the movies, one obstacle after
another arose in our train b path. But I had. been ordered. to move it forward with every
means at my disposal, and move it I did. However, in spite of all my efforts, we ad-
vanced very slowly, and it was only towards the end of the second night that the train
approached its destination ? the Zhdanka Station.
Dawn had started to break. I reported our arrival to Bratolyubov and I received
the order to put our detachment on the alert. The unloading of aircraft began, and in
a few hours we were already flying to the field airdrome.
From that moment on, in spite of the danger of being captured. by the stray Cos-
sack mounted patrols of Mamontov, our aircraft started to work from forward area
fields or landing strips, far from our "base on wheels". The necessity for this and the
risk involved were due to the performance capabilities of the aircraft which we were fly-
ing.
After we had flown over to the Politovo airfield and inspected and. checked our air-
craft and engines, preparing them for next day's work, the commander assembled every-
body, explained the situation, which we plotted on our maps; then he assigned us a gen-
eral mission: that of finding the main forces of Mamontov's corps, determining its nu-
merical strength, its composition, and. direction of march, and, after spotting it, not
to lose sight of it for even a minute but to attack it incessantly as it marched or biv-
ouacked.
Our aircraft took off at dawn the next day, but spotted nothing important. During
subsequent flights, we began to run into stray mounted. patrols and small cavalry detach-
ments. Even though they did not solve the main problem, these encounters nevertheless
gave us a goo-a deal of eYcperience.
I "stumbled upon" the first detachment that I encountered. (it had. a force of about
100 sabres) while flying at an altitude of 200-300 meters with a visibility of approximate-
ly 3 kilometers. Leaving the road, the cavalry-men rushed full gallop into the field
toward.s a copse which could be seen not far away. In order not to lose them, in view
of such limited. visibility, I made a sharp vertical bank to the left, at high speed. with a
180 turn, and, coming down, fired a long burst at them. The position for firing dur-
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90
B. N. Kudrin
ing such a maneuver proved to be very awkward. I don't think my fire caused. any
severe losses, but when, as I continued to fire, I approached the detachment to a dis-
tance of ten meters, an incredible picture appeared before my eyes: the panic-stricken
horses were rearing up on their hind legs, throwing their riders, and were falling,
crushing the cavalrymen. Everything was in a state of confusion. Both the men and
the horses were seized with terror. Upon seeing this, I started. to make steep vertical
banks over the very ground, almost over the very heads of the riders. Here is where
my aerobatics came in handy: I had to shoot only rarely but not a trace remained of
the cavalry detachment. My fuel was giving out and I put an end to the "hunt". Tak-
ing a final glance at its results ?men and horses lying on the ground and the individ-
ual riders rushing in various directions ?I flew back "home".
What conclusion did I reach as a result of this flight? First of all, that not a
single shot had been fired at me from a detachment numbering approximately 100 men
(a Cossack sotnya). I knew nothing at the time about V.I Lenin's words that...cavalry is
helpless against a low-flying aircraft. Through my personal experience, I became con-
vinced that this was absolutely true. There remains for me only to add that approxi-
mately the same thing happened with Bratolyubov and Gerasimov.
Some time later we shifted our base to Yefremov, where we were able to utilize
the race track as an airfield. We started to encounter individual cavalry detachments
of the enemy more frequently and in greater strength and we bombed. them from our
fighters.
The point of my memoirs is to tell our youth, our young pilots, who now fly in
such splendid aircraft, how selflessly pilots risked their lives to achieve even very mod-
est results, impelled only by the single thought that it was necessary for the cause of
the Revolution.
First of all the bombs which we employed at that time were ten-pun:1 high-explo-
sive bombs, and a single-place fighter could take on a maximum of only two such bombs.
In order to drop the bomb, the pilot had to take it out of a bag, place it on his lap, and
"unlock" it, i. e., by means of a screwdriver or pliers, bend back the forked locking
plate which secured the arming vane of the firing pin.
The bomb had to be dropped with an unlocked, but not unscrewed, arming vane,
for otherwise the ex-plosion of the bomb might have occurred on the pilot's lap. The
pilot was able to carry out all the operations for dropping the bomb over the side of the
aircraft with one hand only, because his other hand was occupied with the controls,
which, due to the instability of aircraft at that time, the pilot could not leave for even
a second. And yet, more than once, covered with cold sweat, you nevertheless drop
the controls and with the other hand you seize the arming vane which you have neglect-
ed during all these manipulations and which before your eyes is beginning to-"Iniscrew
with violent speed. And after dropping the bombs and returning from the combat flight
alive, you begin to speculate as to how many turns of the arming vane screw stood to-
day between you and death.
In spite of the fact that dropping a bomb "by hand" from a single-place fighter
was almost a heroic exploit for the pilot, what losses could he inflict upon the enemy?
Kill a few horsemen galloping about in various directions, with a ten-pound high explo-
sive bomb?
Fortunately, the enemy didn't have the slightest idea of our mishaps with the
bombs and of their effectiveness. But the psychological and moral effect produced by
In a Special Assignment Air Detachment 91
aircraft flying low and dropping bombs was tremendous and even more powerful than
the fiercest bombardment from high altitudes. It was for good reason that in some
places, instead of bombs being dropped from the aircraft, small and large cans with
perforations were used, sowing panic among the enemies merely with their whistle
and screech.
And now we regretted bitterly that we found, ourselves in fighter aircraft. We
had not been sent to the front to chase after stray detachments. We had,to find Ma-
montov's main forces and smash them. ,The enemy had no air force and there was
no one to fight with in the air. We needed aircraft for extensive reconnaissance, air-
craft of a kind which could take a considerable supply of bombs on board for bombing.
This was completely feasible and Bratolyubov reached a decision swiftly. In-
forming Moscow that two-place reconnaissance aircraft of the "Sopwith" type should
be made ready for us, our commander sent me to receive the first machine.
By the next day I was already back in Yefremov again, but in a "Sopwith" instead
of my "Nieuport". Communist Kari, a student-pilot at our school, had been assigned
to me as an observer. After me, Gerasimov carried out the same sort of operation,
and communist and student-pilot Gorelov was assigned to him as an observer.
I still remember very well one of the flights that we made from Yefremov, be-
cause it was during this flight that I made my first landings on terrain which, according
to reports, was occupied by the enemy.
During a flight by Andreyev, who was the commander of a fighter air detachment
of our group, and who had taken off for a creconnaissance sortie, the motor failed. He
made a forced landing and, leaving his aircraft, made his way back to our side without
falling into the hands of the Cossacks. Next day, Truskov together with observer
Blolchin, and I with observer Minin, while leaving to carry out a regular mission, re-
ceived a supplementary one from Bratolyubov: to spot Andreyev's aircraft from the air,
to determine if that area was occupied by the Cossacks, and also if they had occupied
Yelets, in the vicinity of which all this was going on.
Flying in a pair, Truskov and I found the aircraft, carefully examined the entire
terrain all around, but spotted no Whites, However, I wanted to make absolutely and
exactly sure about this, and I started to land my aircraft not far from the village to
which the aircraft had been dragged. Truskov decided that my motor was failing and
that I had started to make a forced landing, and he started to land to comp to my assist-
ance. Jumping out of the machine, Minin questioned first some boys and then some
peasants who had come out of the village. It turnied out that Cossack detachments had
actually been here but it was already about two or three days since they had left.
In exactly the same way, after landing once more near Yelets, I found out that it
had already been abandoned by the White Cossacks two days since. Upon our return,
we reported the situation to Bratolyubov. He at once dispatched from Yefremov a
group armed with machine guns, under the command of Military Pilot A.A. Levin, and
it was this group that brought Andreyev's aircraft to our airfield..
Our troops now started a swift forward movement. We flew over to Yelets,
where Bratolyubov too arrived in a ,third "Sopwith" which had also been received from
Moscow.
Scarcely had we joined our "base on wheels" again, when we had. to fly still fur-
ther south, to the small town of ,Kurbatovo in a district of the Voronezh-Kursk Railroad.
Before takeoff, Bratolyubov Called us all together in the coach and aid that we
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B. N. Kudrin
must change our sweep method. He proposed conducting reconnaissance with land-
ings on enemy territory and interrogation of local inhabitants. Since this was a very
dangerous mission, he considered it expedient to assign it to one aircraft for the time
being; and as to precisely which pilot, that would be decided by lot. The lot fell to
Gerasimov. I was very chagrined and envied him.
Then, drawing our attention to the fact that with the flight to Kurbatovo we were
approaching the front line in real earnest, taking a map out of his map-case, he re-
quired us to transfer from it to our own maps the location of our units and those of the
enemy. When this had been done, Bratolyubov said: "And now, comrades, I would
like to find out your opinion about the following question. The decisive moment is ap-
proaching. We shall be attacking the spotted enemy columns together, with all our
aircraft. If, during such an engagement, one of our aircraft becomes disabled and
makes a forced landing, I feel that the other two aircraft must land with it and take
the crew of the disabled craft on board their own. These aircraft must land under any
conditions, not stopping at any risk whatsoever. I personally, independently of your
answer, will always land with a plane that has been knocked down, for I cannot allow the
enemy to capture anyone of you before my very eyes."
The danger that this proposal spelled for each of us was obvious. Landings would
have to be made, not on an airfield, but on a completely fortuitous surface which the pi-
lot would not even have time to reconnoiter from the air. Furthermore we were flying
antiquated English aircraft dating back to the beginning of the imperialist war. There
were many instances in our flying experience of motors stopping at idling speed during
a landing. Consequently the danger of breaking the aircraft while landing on an unfa-
miliar surface could be aggravated still further by a simple stopping of the motor.
However, since we had boundless faith in our commander we accepted his proposal un-
conditionally and gave each other our solemn word to land in order to assist each other
under any conditions.
"But what's to be done, if not three, but two aircraft are flying", asked Gerasi-
mov, "as happened, for example, with Kudrin and Truskov? In this case the aircraft
which lands to give assistance can take only one man on board. Which of the two should
it take?"
- And here something took place which I cannot recall without emotion even now. The
detachment commissar, Sergey Kurnikov, stood up and said that there could be no dis-
cussion here of any choice whatsoever, but there must be a firm decision made by the
Communists. He said that the detachment pilots, who had sided with the Soviet Govern-
ment and were defending it with weapons in hand, all experienced and skilled men, ca-
pable of training hundreds of young Communist pilots in the future, were of tremendous
value to the state at the present time. Consequently there should be no doubts, no
choice whatsoever: the aircraft which lands to help another must take the pilot on board.
"I myself shall be flying with you as an observer", said the commissar, "and if I meet
with an accident, I'll not let myself be caught by tile Cossacks alive but I'll keep the last
bullet in my revolver for myself". Both Minin, Bratolyubov's observer, and Kari, my
observer, said the same thing. Deeply moved, Bratolyubov embraced and kissed each
of us.
We flew to Kurbatovo and here circumstances shaped up in such a way that Gera-
simov and I went out on reconnaissance in one of the aircraft, the former in the capacity
of observer.
In a Special Assignment Air Detachment 93
It was a calm day. Visibility was good. To obtain a better view, we climbed
to an altitude of 600 meters, holding a southerly course. After flying for about 30
minutes and not spotting anything, I selected a place for landing. A flock of sheep,
near which we noticed two shepherds, was grazing on a level field. There was no one
around. After reconnoitering a landing area alongside the flock, I motioned with my
hand to Gerasimov that I was landing. Smiling, he nodded his head at me approvingly.
Scarcely had the aircraft stopped, when Gerasimov jumped out, grasped the aircraft
by the wing and helped me turn it around in the opposite direction, so that in case of
necessity we could take off immediately the way we came. Then, taking a carbine out
of the aircraft, he headed towards the shepherds, while I remained in the plane, main-
taining and regulating the operation of the engine at idling speed.
I saw Gerasimov approach the shepherds, holding the carbine in his hands. Then,
after a short conversation, they started to point something out to him, and he studied
his map. He soon returned and informed me that two days previously very many troops
had passed through here with cannon and armored cars.
I took off and set my course in the direction indicated by Gerasimov. About 20
minutes more went by. We found nothing. Again we decided to land. A few women
and children, who were walking towards a village which could be seen not far off, point-
ed out to us the direction in which the troops were moving. We flew still further to the
southeast. Now everywhere we kept running into mounted patrols and rather large
cavalry detachments. And again we had to land, but this time in a very dangerous sit-
uation. All around there were Cossacks, and we were landing almost within sight of
them. Again we landed near a flock. I taxied up to the shepherds in order not to let
Gerasimov go far away from the aircraft. This time, without saying even a word he
jumped back into the aircraft and indicated the direction with his hand.
Not even 10 minutes had gone by since our takeoff., when we noticed a column of
enemy transports stretching out over 5-6 kilometers, and ahead. of them along the road
moved an entire division, several thousand men in strength. These were White Guards
Cossack units. Our mission had been fulfilled. Mamontov's large-scale troop concen-
trations had been spotted. We could go back.
After listening to our report and asking several questions which pinpointed the loca-
tion of the enemy, Bratolyubov ordered Gerasimov to take off again with Gorelov as ob-
server and to follow the movement of the enemy columns. Returning from their recon-
naissance, Gerasimov and Gorelov brought even more valuable information: about 15
kilometers west of the place where we had left the enemy, they had spotted an even more
important concentration of enemy troops. There remained no doubt whatsoever that
Mamontov's corps was concentrated in this region.
After taking the maximum load of bombs on board, our three "Sopwiths" started
off to bomb the enemy's large-scale forces. Before takeoff, Bratolyubov assembled
all the pilots and observers and said: "We shall bomb the troops that we've spotted from
an altitude of 800-900 meters". This was, of course, correct. Small-arms fire was
ineffective at such an altitude, and. we could drop our bombs safely on columns which
were capable of producing powerful volley fire.
In about an hour we had drawn near the target. Bratolyubov pulled out ahead and.
led us over the very middle of the column; I noticed observer Minin drop the first bomb
from Bratolyubov's aircraft. After it, our bombs too rained down thick and fast. Bra-
tolyubov made a turn and took a return course. I followed after him. After swinging
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94 B. N. Kudrin
around, I noticed the results of our attack: all the bombs had blanketed the target.
This was a real bomb strike on a concentration of enemy troops.
Upon our return to the airfield in Kurbatovo, Truskov's aircraft was-grounded.
During the bombing, his elevator control cable had been broken by an enemy bullet, but
he had nevertheless flown safely as far as his airfield. Here, however, over the very
airfield, the rod of his engine valve rocker arm broke and the cowling was sheared off.
He made a safe landing but his aircraft proved to be totally useless. I, too, barely
lasted till Kurbatovo with engine trouble and an oil tank which had begun to leak.
The takeoff for the next regular bombing of the enemy cavalry by our three "Sop-
withs" had been scheduled for dawn. After the bombing, we were to fly directly to
Yelets without landing in Kurbatovo. But matters did not work out that way. The
mechanics worked all night on my aircraft without rest, but were not able to have it
ready by dawn. In spite of my requests that they wait a while, Bratolyubov decided
to go with Gerasimov and he ordered me to take off immediately as soon as-my aircraft
was ready and to drop my bombs alone. After their flight, Bratolyubov and. Gerasi-
mov were to land in Kurbatovo and wait for me, and then we would all fly to Yelets to-
gether.
Two hours went by. By my reckoning, it was already time for the two aircraft
which had taken off to have returned, but they had not yet appeared.
My aircraft was finally ready and I took off. After approaching the enemy, Kari
and I noticed that the enemy had moved considerably further to the west and had dis-
persed. Now he was no longer moving in a solid column along the road, but in separate
detachments off the roads, in dispersed fashion. Kari led me to the largest concentra-
S.
tion of enemy troops and we successfully dropped our bombs from an altitude-of 900 me-
terI hurried back. I wanted to join Bratolyubov and Gerasimov as soon as possible.
However, upon arriving in Kurbatovo, I did not see their aircraft. They had not re-
turned even by nightfall.
Meanwhile the military situation in the region of Kurbatovo had taken a sharp turn
for the worse, and we had to return to Yelets in a hurry.
We got to Telets just in time. If we had been a day later, we would not have
found our base in Yelets, for the kulak uprisings which had flared up in the Yelets dis-
trict had necessitated it's being moved still further to the north, to Tula. There was
no news at all about Bratolyubov and Gerasimov.
Before leaving Yelets, we decided to exchange our supply of matches, salt, kero-
sene, etc. for produce, making use of the few hours which remained before our depar-
ture. Having loaded all this in the detachment passenger car ? a "Packard", Dellos
the driver, Zaytsev the cook, and.I left Yelets along the highway to Zadonsk.
About 10-12 kilometers from Yelets our car was fired upon and when we rushed
back after turning around, on the highway, we also met with fire by a large armed detach-
ment. We found ourselves completely surrounded.
During the first minute, a brutal crowd of kulaks started to beat us unmer-cifully.
They did not beat us to death only because their leaders decided, to hand us over -to Ma-
montov's men in order to "drag very important information out of us".
Driving us from one village to another and leading us further and further away
from Yelets towards Zadonsk, they tortured us, beat us, and subjected us to bru-tal
mockery and torture. At dawn on the third day, the village that we had been bought to
-
In a Special Assignment Air Detachment 95
the day before was surrounded and unexpectedly attacked by the Yelets detachment of
Red Army men. As the battle was getting under way, I was led out to be shot. Tak-
ing advantage of the panic which had arisen in the village, I managed to hide and then to
run over to the abandoned park of a landowner's estate 'near the barn which I had just
been led out of. When the shooting in the village had stopped and the battle had moved
further on towards the Don, I left my asylum in the park and, very cautiously, on all
fours, made my way back to the barn, looked out from behind a corner and.., saw a
group of men headed by a sailor with a cartridge belt and a Mauser at his side. Our
red stars gleamed on the service caps and the sailor caps ... This sailor, whom I
knew well, was the commandant of Yelets.
My appearance was so unexpected that it frightened them, and some of them went
for their weapons. "Friend: Friend:" I cried out, "L'vov, don't you really recognize
me? I'm a pilot from your detachment, Kudrin:" But even after that, he didn't recog-
nize me at once. However, his answer amazed me no less than my appearance amazed
him. "Kudrin, is it really you? But we buried you in Yelets!"
It turned out that almost at the same time and at the same place my car was cap-
tured, the kulak bands had seized a truck going from Zadonsk to Yelets. On it were
riding a group of pilots and mechanics with two machine guns. When they had been
surrounded, they put up desperate resistance, but they were seized, killed and brutal-
ly disfigured. Evidently someone had taken me for one of the slain men. This was
reported to the detachment, the Air Force group, and to Moscow, in Air Fleet Head-
quarters.
Informing L'vov that another comrade of ours was here, I rushed into the barn.
Zaytsev was there, alive and conscious. In the panic that had arisen, the guard had
abandoned him and fled.
Not having the strength to get up from the ground, he started to embrace the feet
of the soldiers who had surrounded him. They picked him up and carried him out of
the barn.
That same day Zaytsev and I were taken to Yelets, but we no longer found our de-
tachment there. "On 30 September, the Special Moscow Detachment left Yelets for
Tula", reads one of the archive documents. But the head of the Air Force group re-
ported by direct wire: "The Moscow Detachment worked well but suffered great losses.
Gerasimov and Bratolyubov, together with Minin and Gorelov, did not return from re-
connaissance. Comrade Kudrin was shot near Yelets. Fire engine mechanics of the
First Detachment and Military Pilots Satunin and Gurtyn' were shot together with him.
The Moscow Detachment has been sent to Moscow ... "
I found my train in Tula on one of the tracks of the junction which was choked with
trains. The news of my return spread instantly throughout the train, and almost the
entire detachment gathered in and around the coach. Everyone wanted, to embrace me -
or shake my hand; everyone wanted to see with his own eyes the "corpse that had return-
ed from the dead". That same day, the head, of the Air Force group reported to Avia-
darm [Air Force C. in C.] by direct wire: "Military pilot Kudrin of the Mo?'cow Detach-
ment, together with Forager Zaytsev returned alive but badly beaten up."
That day, 4 October 1919, has remained in my memory as one of the happiest
days of my life. However, I did not know then that this very day was the last one for
Bratolyubov and Gerasimov. After my return, many began to hope that they would re-
turn just as I had. But they did not return. They perished. As was found out later,
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96 B. N. Kudrin
their death, according to the statements of Minin and Gorelov, who had survived, at
that time, took place under the following circumstances.
During the bombing of the cavalry, some stray bullet had managed somehow to
hit Bratolyubov's aircraft and broken one of the engine valve control rods. This rod,
loosened and dangling, hit the cowling and sheared it away, and the propeller broke in-
to little bits. However, the aircraft still remained aloft and Bratolyubov did not lose
control. All he could do in such a situation was to try to glide at the most advantageous
angle as far as possible from the troops which he had jus t been bombing. And that's
just what he did. And Gerasimov? That twenty-year old youth, faithful to the word
we had given each other, did, not falter, did not hesitate even for one instant. He did
not abandon his comrade and commander, he did not fall even one step behind him.
But from all sides the Cossacks rushed up at full gallop to these two descending air-
craft. Bratolyubov landed safely. Almost at the same time, almost simultaneously
but without selecting a landing area ? for the question of a life was being decided in
split seconds ? Gerasimov started to land in order to take Bratolyubov on board. And
he would have done it! His aircraft was almost coming to a stop next to Bratolyubov's,
but at the very last moment one of his wheels hit a small rut. That was the end! The
wheel was bent, broke, and the aircraft stopped. It could never take off again.
All four were captured; and on 4 October 1919, after being taken off to Khar'kov
and jailed in the Khar'kov hard labor prison, Bratolyubov and Gerasimov were shot.
Thus perished one of our glorious military pilots, a remarkable man, loyal to the cause
of the Revolution, the intrepid Bratolyubov.
Soviet Russia is now reaching its fortieth year, I would like in this connection to
call to mind the events and the men of the period who translated Lenin's ideas into reali-
ty and who gave their lives for that purpose. We know that they did not perish-in vain,
but that their memory lives on in our hearts, and their heroic spirit of friendship,
staunchness, and selflessness lives on in the Soviet People.
THE ALL-RUSSIAN AVIATION COLLEGIUM
An all-Russian Collegium for the Administration of the Military Air Fleet- of the
RSFSR was formed by General Order No. 4 of the Army and Navy, dated 20 December,
1917 (published in the "The Army and Navy of Worker and Peasant Russia" gazette,
No. 26, dated 21 December,1917). The Collegium consisted of 9 men.
The Collegium was charged with the general direction of the activity of the Air
Fleet, with the mustering and retention of Air Force detachments and equipment, and
with the formation of Air Force units.
On 29 January, 1918, the All-Russian Collegium sent a telegram to all Air Force
units, in which the suggestion was made that immediate consideration be given-to the
question of "an organized transfer of the Air Force into the ranks of the Workers and
Peasants Red Army". It was suggested that the commanders of Air Force units and
the soldier committees bring the Air Force detachments into combat readiness-and
train personnel and prepare equipment for imminent combat operations for defending
the conquests of the October Revolution.
In the middle of March, 1918, the Collegium moved to Moscow, and in Petrograd
a District Collegium was organized to administer the Air Fleet of the Petrograd district.
In a Special Assignment Air Detachment 97
The intensification of military events necessitated a change in the forms of ad-
ministration of the Air Force, and a shift from collegiurn administration to the estab-
lishment of a single command.
On 17 May, 1918, there was a conference in Moscow of representatives of the
central and district Air Force administrations, of the combat Air Force units of the
Air Force Council and the Aeronautical Council, on the reorganization of the higher
Air Force agencies. The Conference subjected the Air Fleet Collegium to sharp crit
icism, pointing to the lack of correspondence between its work methods and the con-
crete situation of a civil war which was beginning.
By an order of the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs, dated 24 May
1918, the Chief Administration of the Workers and Peasants Red Military Air Fleet
was established. At its head was placed a three-man Council: the Head of the Chief
Administration and two Commissars. All of the functions of the All-Russian Collegium
for the Administration of the Military Air Fleet, which was disbanded, were transferred.
to the Council.
In matters of administration, the Chief Administration was subordinate to the All-
Russian General Staff, and in matters of supply, to the Chief Director of Supply.
Corresponding to this, in local areas as well, the district collegiums for admin-
istration of the Air Fleet were disbanded and in their stead, councils of the Moscow,
Yaroslav, and other district administrations were formed.
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FROM THE EDITOR'S MAIL
WE NEED A TECHNICIAN'S HANDBOOK
We have already grown accustomed to hearing a technician in the Air Force
called an "aircraft boss". And this is quite justified. His duties include not only
preflight servicing of the body and engine, but supervising the work of specialists of
all the services: electricians, armorers, radiomen, etc.
Obviously, with the present level of development of aviation technology one man
cannot possess universal knowledge. But, being the man who is directly responsible
for the condition of the aircraft, the technician must know a great deal.
In his work, the aircraft technician comes across problems which he can solve
only either in cooperation with comrades with more advanced training or with the aid
of special literature. For instance, for technical operation of the aircraft he must
know the types of fuel in use, lubricants, special liquids and gases, as well as the
rate of their consumption.
To understand the phenomena involved in the operation of some assembly, to
analyze the cause of its faulty operation, and to find the defect in the system from ex-
ternal symptoms ? all require a knowledge of mechanics, physics, the basic theory
of machine components and of mechanisms.
In our opinion, it is desirable to collect all of this information in a special hand-
book for the aircraft technician.
The handbook should be small in volume, convenient to use, and contain basic
information on mathematics, physics, electricity, strength of materials, machine parts,
mechanical drawing, aircraft materiology, fuels, oils, lubricants, special liquids and
gases. It must contain the basic principles of aerodynamics and the essential data on
maintenance.
Such reference literature for engineers and technicians of different specialties
is published by many houses. There are handbooks for construction engineers, rail-
way engineers, repairmen, etc.
We, the aircraft technicians, need a similar handbook. This will not only make
our work easier and broaden our knowledge, but will also augment our technical educa-
tion.
Engineer Lt. V. Ya. Fishelev, Technician Lt. Yu. V.
Skyor_tsov, _Technician Lt.?A.A. Zavrazhnyy
From the Editor's Mail
99
TIGHTENING CONTROL OF AIRCRAFT TOOLS
In the process of technical operation of aviation equipment, air engineering
service specialists use dozens of different types of wrenches, screwdrivers, gadgets,
etc. Let us take as an example the tools used by the aircraft technician on a fighter
aircraft. Packed in two tool bags, the tools
number over one hundred items. Different
kinds of pockets, clasps and flaps in the tool
bag are very inconvenient. Checking and pack-
ing the tools takes 50 minutes, and as a result
the technical personnel never has the time to
check them against inventory lists or tool book-
lets. Aircraft engineers and technicians take
different precautions not to leave the tools in the
aircraft after a job. One of these is to mark
the tools, which enables us to increase the spe-
cialists' responsibility and to tighten control
over the condition in which the workplace is
left after work has been completed on the air-
craft. This, no doubt, has definitely improv-
ed the situation, but has not solved the problem
completely.
The solution, in our opinion, lies in creat-
ing conditions under which the aircraft specialist can check the tools rapidly and easily,
without recourse to the inventory list.
During preflight and postflight servicing, as well as during starting-line inspec-
tions, the specialists do not use all the tools. contained in the engine and aircraft tool
bags. In order to avoid opening the aircraft bags every time,we have removed from
them the needed tools and made notes of this in the inyentory lists and tool booklets.
The selected tools are packed in a special box-suitcasle in which recesses have been
made corresponding in shape to each tool. The diMenIsions of the suitcaselare 40.5
x 29.5 x 9.5 cm (see Fig.). It is made of boards 11 Mm thick and construction ply-
wood. Inside the box, plywood inserts (panels) are Mounted in the bottom and top
with cutouts in the shape of the tools. The inserts are painted black, and the inner
surface is painted red. It is very noticeable if some tool is missing from its slot.
The inserts in the top and bottom of the suitcase are 4stened by special latches and
can be easily removed when necessary. The suitcasel has a fastener and a 'convenient
carrying handle. Its weight with a set of tools is 6. 3,kg.
The tool boxes contain a list, which shows the designation, size, and nomen-
clature number from the tool booklet of the very bag from which the tool has been re-
moved. This enables the technical personnel to make an easy check of all the tools
charged out to an aircraft. The aircraft specialist splends no more than 2-3 minutes
for packing the toolsi after the aircraft is ready and can make sure on the spot that
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?
106 From the Editor's Mail
they have indeed been removed from the aircraft.
In doing regulation, periodic, and other work, the aircraft specialists, in ad-
dition to the tool box, also open the engine and aircraft tool bags so as to have all the
necessary tools and gadgets. Upon completion of the work, the technical personnel
under the supervision of the flight technicians check the tools, check them against the
list or tool booklet of the aircraft tool bags, and pack them in their appropriate plac-
es.
We had our boxes made by the specialists of the air maintenance shops, but it
would be advisable to obtain them (of standard type) from the industry, together with
aviation equipment and tool bags.
Of course, the use of tool boxes does not eliminate the necessity of checking the
cockpit of the aircraft, the airducts in the fuselage, the nozzle fitting, etc, before
flight; but it will make the control of the aircraft tools easier in many respects.
Engineer Col. B. M. Ravicher
?
I SOLVED . . .
SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS APPEARING
IN ISSUES 1, 2, AND 4 OF THE PERIODICAL, 1957
HOW DOES THE ATTACK-LINE DISTANCE CHANGE?
To solve the problem, let us derive the expression for the change in distance be-
tween the attack line and the object to be defended as a function of the change in the
fighters' bank angle on the turn.
From the diagram (see the terms of the problem in "Herald of the Air Fleet",
No. 1) it can be seen that the following equations hold for the simultaneous arrival of
the fighters and the target at point A:
where
St Sf
;
Vt Vf
tt
- t ?
f
(1)
Sf = CK + ; (2)
CK
Sinit St
1/4.JCA = TrR.
Let us substitute in formula (2) the values of CK and LiCA:
Sf
= Sinit - St + TT R.
We substitute the value of Sf in formula (1):
St
Sinit - St + riFt
vt Vf
St = Vt (Sinit - St + rrR).
Vf
Let n equal the ratio Vt ; then
Vf
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'
102 I Solved...
St = nSinit - n St + n IT R;
St n St = n Sinit + n rr R;
St(l+n) = n (Sinit + Ti R);
St = n (St + rr R).
1+n
This equation allows us to compute the attack-line distance, i. e., the value St,
and then Sc:
Sc = Sinit - St
The turning radius is found from the relation:
R = Vf
g ? tan /3
The values of Sc depend on the aircraft bank angle
on the turn (see table).
The graph of the attack-line distance as a function
of the bank angle of the fighters on the turn (see graph)
is plotted for Sc.
Let us mark every 50 of bank along the y-axis at equal intervals, and let us plot
along the x-axis the intervals (in kilometers) corresponding to A S for every 50 of
change of the fighter bank angle on the turn.
The data obtained for the turning radius with a 600 bank corresponds to zero value
on the graph.
Thus for every bank (55, 50,450, etc.) A S is plotted along the x-axis, equal to
the difference 5c60 - Sc65 = 162 161 = 1 km.
For a 50? bank Sc60 -Sc50H 162 - 159.5 = 2.5 km, and so on.
Let us draw vertical lines through the
end points of the intervals we obtained, to the
point of intersection with the horizontal lines
of the corresponding bank angles. The re- 10 -
/3?
S, ;$ Km
-
60
.162
55
161
50
159,5
45
158
40
156,4
35
154,4
30
152
25
148
20
143
15
134
10
118
salting points will be connected by a smooth
curve.
It can be seen from the graph, that a 5?
error in the bank angle of the fighter (with large
bank angle on the turn) has no significant in- 4,9
fluence on the distance of the attack line. The
same error with a small bank angle On the turn
has a great influence on the distance of the at- 55
tack line.
If the target must be attacked at a great
distance from the defended object, the fighter
15
?11??? .0. Oda. ailm.
?????????
/4
Change in attack-line distance
44
I Solved... 103
? must bank sharply.
The most advisable bank angle on turns under bad weather conditions and at night
are banks of 30-45?.
A. M. Kostromin, V. I. Minchenko, K. L. Supon'ko,
A. F. Khvorov, A. I. Ryadovskiy, G. Leymarm, V.
Leybiger, and others.
COMPUTE THE INTERCEPT. MANEUVER
In solving the pursuit problem, let us find EF and the pursuit time from the
point D:
EF = 540 x 6 = 18 km ;
720 - 540
24000 m = 2 min.
tpurs =
200 m/sec
Thus the fighter will come out in a straight line at 15:30, i. e., the time spent in
maneuvering is equal to 5 minutes.
Henc,e
Sman = 720 ? 5 =, 60 km.
60
We find that BE = 540 ? 5 = 45 km and BD =1 45- 6 = 39 km.
60
Let us draw additional lines (see Filg.). F
Hence the arc
UR = arc cos R + R ? sin
om the triangle 001 G the turn angle
20? = 47?511;
?..) NA = 70? - 47?51' =
R
2209 I
Further, we can find the length of the circumference
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?????
ws,
104 I Solved...
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Scirc = 60 km ? 360? = 55. 95 km
360 - NA + ND?
and its radius is
R = 55.95 = 8.9 km.
2 Tr
This yields the bank angle on the turn:
p = arc tan V2 = 24?. 6.
9. 8 R
We find that
PD = OG = 2R ? sin UR = 13. 2 lczn.
CA = ZR ? cos 20? = 16.7 km.
Now we determine that
more, that
AD = PD -PA = 2R? sin UR - R ? cos 20? = 4.8 km and, further-
BC = BD - (CA + AD) = 39 - (16.7 + 4.8) 17. 5 km.
G. A. Shustikov, A. F. Khvor ov, L. A. Lushnichenko,
N. I. Leleko, A. I. Ryadovskiy, E. N. Vladimir ov,
I. A. Zhorin.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE AIRCRAFT?
In issue No. 2, 1957, the following problem was published: "What will happen to
the aircraft if the wind velocity drops to zero suddenly when ground speed W equals zero?
The readers of the journal A. M. Kostromin, R. K. Belyayev, and others,. have dis-
agreed with the conclusion of the student. Officer 0.D. Khlopotov believes that the stu-
dent is right.
Let us give a detailed solution to this problem.
The established no-wind flight regime of the aircraft is characterized by equality
of the thrust and drag, weight and lift. The conditions of flight with wind blowing hori-
zontally at a constant velocity are the same, since the flight conditions are determined
only by the motion of the aircraft with respect to the air medium. With a headwind the
ground speed will equal the difference between the airspeed and the wind velocity. And
the groundspeed equals zero, as the student reasoned'correctly, if the airspeed and wind
velocity vectors are equal.
The aircraft in this case "hangs motionless" because the flight takes place in the
air medium which itself moves with respect to the d ur race of the earth with a velocity
equal and opposite to the air velocity.
The disappearance of the wind means that the aircraft has come out of the area
4,11101r-
--
?
I Solved...
105
of moving air mass; its airspeed will change correspondingly and the established flight
conditions will be disrupted. This will be followed by turbulence, in the course of
which the aircraft will either return to the initial regime, or will enter a new regime ?
for instance, a nose spin. If, at the moment of cessation of the wind "motionless sus-
pension" occurred, this means that as soon as the wind ceases, the lift and the drag
will disappear: the aircraft will be subject to the forces of thrust and gravity.
Under the influence of gravity and thrust it will be accelerated: by the force of
gravity, vertically downward; and by thrust, horizontally forward. If the airplane is
longitudinally stable and does not tend to heel over, it will drop its nose and begin to
pick up speed, rapidly losing altitude. The increase in speed will be accompanied by
zecovery of the lift, under the action of which the aircraft will begin moving on a curve,
coming out of the dive under considerable acceleration force. Having described some
undulating trajectory, it will return to horizontal flight with the initial speed and at the
initial altitude. With a definite angle of attack and engine regime, the conditions for
horizontal flight depend not only on flight speed, but also on air density.
If the velocity of the headwind is less than the airspeed, its disappearance will
cause disruption of the flight regime and, in the process of turbulence, the aircraft
will describe an undulating trajectory with loss of altitude and nosing down. in the ini-
tial stage. When airspeed, after the disappearance of the wind, becomes less than
that necessary for maneuvering, one should not go by the readings of the gyrohorizon
and keep the aircraft from dropping its nose, since this may place the aircraft at the
critical angle of attack. Even if the angle of attack does not reach the critical value,
nevertheless an excessively large angle of attack hinders the recovery of speed.
The phenomena of disappearance or sudden increase of wind are encountered in
flight ? especially at high altitudes ? in the vicinity of storm clouds and jet streams.
M.R.Fedorov
LOXODROMY AND ORTHODROMY
According to the statement of the problem, the difference in longitude is 180?,
while oif.)A = q0B. Consequently, the loxodrome between A and B is a parallel; the ortho-
drome, on the other hand, will obviously, pass through the north geographic pole (since
it is an arc of a great circle and its plane must pass through points A,B and the earth's
center).
The length of the loxodrome is
Slox = 2 TT R ?
360?
and that of the orthodrome is
cos (ID ? 180? =
1TR ? cos (ps ,
Sorth = 2 ? TTR ? 2(90 -4) ) TTR(90 - 431-) ?
360- 90?
This yields the relative increase in the length of the loxodrome, equal to
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106
I Solved...
AS = S lox -S orth = S lox - 1 =
?S-c;;th Sorth -(S7r-T---1
= rtR ? cos 0 - 1 = 90? ' cos 0 ? - 1 .
rTR(90u- (f) ) 9 0 - (i)
900
Dividing the numerator and the denominator on the righthand side of the equation
by 90?, we get:
A S =
Sorth 1 -
cos 4)0
1
90?
and after substitution of 4;10 = 70? we get:
AS = cos 700 1 0. 342
Sorth 1 - 70
?t7
90
Thus, the loxodrome is 55% longer than the orthodrome.
1 - 0. 78 ?
0.55.
L. M. Vorob'yev, A. V. Selivanov, A. I. Zelenov,
N. P. Sviridov
WHAT IS THE FLIGHT COMMANDER'S SOLUTION?
After evaluating the existing situation, the flight commander decided not to en-
gage the bombers in an aerial combat, but to attack the enemy's tanks and infantry to
which the flight was revectored. In order to carry out this mission, he dropped dowz
to 2000 m, since the enemy fighters were covering their bombers and could not attack
our fighters. The first run on the target was made by the pilot from a dive parallel to
the front line with a subsequent left turn towards his own territory, where he set up the
maneuver for the next attack from the same direction.
16?
Ye. I. Dement'yev
1?????????
3
6
REVIEW AND PUBLICATIONS
OUR COUNTRY ? THE BIRTHPLACE OF AVIATION AND AERONAUTICS
"Aeronautics and Aviation in Russia Prior to 1907." A collection
of documents and materials. Oborongiz [State Publishing House of the De-
fense Ministry]. Moscow, 1956, 952 p. Price: 42 rubles, 65 kopeks.
The literature on the history of aeronautics and aviation in our country has been
supplemented by a new book which represents a significant contribution to the elucida-
tion of our people's struggle to conquer the air. In the published collection of docu-
ments and materials, entitled "Aeronautics and Aviation in Russia Prior to 1907", the
documents describing the status of aviation and aeronautics in Russia before 1907 have
been presented more extensively and thoroughly than in books published heretofore.
Both the archive documents (there are more than 700 of them) and the literary
testimonies in the collection (some of the latter are being published for the first time)
provide rich material for teachers in departments of military history and the history
of technology, and for researchers and students in institutions of learning.
The collection opens with documents on the first attempts at flying in Russia
which tell how Russians built the first flying contrivances in an attempt to ascend into
the sky in them.
One's attention is attracted by a photocopy from the records of A. I. Sulakadzev,
which attests to the fact that in 1731 Kryalcutnoy, a Ryazan' scribe, made a balloon
and rose into the air in it. This was the first ascent in history made by man in a bal-
loon.
The years went by. In spite of the hostile attitude on the part of the authorities
and the church towards attempts at constructing aeronautical apparatus, interest in
them grew.
From the beginning of the 19th century foreign balloonists would, for the sake of
profit, quite frequently arrange ascents and flights in balloons as novel attractions for
entertaining the public in Petersburg and Moscow. In March 1804, the Russian Aca-
demy of Sciences, at the suggestion of Academician Lovits, decided to carry out a
flight in a balloon for scientific purposes.
On 30 June 1804, Academician Ya. D. Zakharov,who replaced the ailing Lovits, to-
gether with the balloonist, Professor Robertson, carried out a flight in a balloon which
lasted for 3 hours and.,N) minutQapt The balloon landed 60 versts from the place where
it had taken off.
Very interesting historical documents have been placed in the collection, concern-
ing the construction near Moscow of an aerostat which was supposed to be used in com-
bat operations against Napoleon's troops who had invaded Russia. The great Russian
general, M. I. Kutuzov, who knew about the construction of the aerostat, inquired in
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Review and Publications
one of his letters to F. V.Rostopchin: "Please tell me if it will be possible to make
use of it (the balloon. - Edit.), and how to put it to use most advantageously (p.48)".
The work of constructing the aerostat ended in failure, but many researchers both
in Russia as well as abroad continued to work during the following years-on solving
the problem of utilizing a dirigible aerostat and aeronautical apparatus for military
purposes.
Many Russian scientists and inventors displayed, in their work, a remarkable
gift for scientific and technical foresight. Casting a daring glance into the future,
many of them advanced bold ideas which only subsequent generations of scientists
and inventors were successful in working out definitively and putting into actual prac-
tice, in view of a level of technology which had
grown immeasurably in comparison with their
time.
. ?
-41A744-zrodSt..= cxypeux4
*11;s:;44 gaNG -k,fr
? et-0
tem4.- /au
AA. 4.4e. rf?w-
e.A.
(4,
rip ? ,10.4 20 7-
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44.'4 ? ?
5;.? ? k"2"::" ...444> 41c. trA Ate
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54 1- :tad0
A, Tv
and with proposals by
military purposes.
The second chapter of the collection, dealing With documents that cover 1863 -
1890, is devoted to the events of an important period in the field of the history of avia-
tion and aeronautics in the Fatherland. It was precisely at this time that the founda-
tion of the age of aviation was laid through the invention, in Russia, of the first aircraft
in the world.
In the second chapter, readers will find materials on the aerodynamic experi-
ments of M. A.Rykachev, and a description of the works on aeronautics by the great
Russian scientist, D. I. Mendeleyev. Excerpts have been published here from the
work of M.A.Rykachev, "Initial Experiments on the Lift of a Propeller Rotating in the
Air", and excerpts from his report "Historical Essay on Aeronautics Daring the Past
Century", given at a conference of members of Russian technical, geographical, and
physico-chemical societies. In this report, M.A.Rykachev cites the data of scientif-
ic observations made by him during a flight in a balloon 2 May 1873.
Along with other Russian scientists, D.I.Mendeleyev also concerned himself
with problems of aeronautics. In the collection an excerpt is cited from the minutes
of a meeting of the Physics Society of the University of Petersburg at which a report
Patriotism and the ardent aspiration to bring
benefit to the Motherland through their work char-
acterized prominent Russian scientists. The doc-
uments on the work of the Russian inventor I.I.
Treteskiy are interesting in that respect. All the
works of I.I. Treteskiy are permeated with thought
for the good of the Fatherland.
A special commission, which had examined
the proposals of I. I. Treteskiy, observed that "for
their novelty and for their many very cleverly de-
vised methods" they "deserve special attention
and detailed consideration" (p.65).
In the first chapter of the collection, materi-
als have been printed which deal with I. I. Tretes-
kiy's invention and with proje-crsr-rargiftbEe-i:SgM -
loons by R. Chernosvitov and Ye. A. Vitgenshteyn,
I. M. Matsnev and A. A. Sablukov for the utilization-of balloons for
Review and Publications 109
by D.I.Me_ndeleyev was heard concerning an investigation of the upper layers of the
atmosphere with a balloon having a hermetically sealed cabin. A letter to the chair-
man of the Commission on Aeronautics was also read.
In the second chapter there are many documents concerning the creative activity
of A.F.Mozhayskiy, creator of the first aircraft in the world.
One of the documents gives an account of how a special commission ? including
Professor D.I.Mendeleyev; Lt. Gen. Zverev, member of the technical committee;
professor at the Engineering Academy Col. Petrov; member of the Technical Commit-
tee of the Naval Ministry Col. Bogoslovskiy; and Struve, a military engineer ? exam-
ined a project by A.F.Mozhayskiy and in its conclusion indicated".., the Commission
find that Mr. Mozhayskiy has accepted as the basis of his project principles which are
now acknowledged as the most reliable, and capable of leading to ultimately favorable
results. In view of the important consequences expected from realization of the aero-
nautical project, and in view of the tremendous benefit that it can be to science and to
the state in many respects, the Commission deems it useful to render assistance to
Mr. Mozhayskiy for the continuation of his experiments on the model and parts making
up his machine..." (p. 192).
In accordance with the decision of the Commission, A.F.Mozhayskiy set up a
schedule of experiments with the models of his flying machine. The experiments
with the models proceeded successfully. Information about A.F.Mozhayskiy's work
soon started to penetrate into the press. The collection includes an article which
appeared 10 June 1877 in the newspaper "St. Petersburg Gazette" concerning A.F.
Mozhayskiy's work on an aircraft. Besides other information about the work of the
inventor, the correspondent of the newspaper described a test run on the aircraft mod-
el, of which he was an eyewitness. "The test was carried out in my presence," he
wrote, "in a large room on a small model which ran and flew about quite freely and
landed very smoothly; the model kept flying even when a poniard was placed on it which
presented a load of relatively great magnitude." (p.198).
But naturally tests on models could not give the exhaustive data needed by the
inventor. He decided to obtain these data by constructing a full-size aircraft and run-
ning tests on it. In a memorandum addressed to the Minister of War, A.F.Mozhays-
kiy points out that he".... has become convinced that it is necessary to change the
method of conducting the research and that the data necessary for the solution of the
problem can be obtained only on a machine of such dimensions that in it a man would
be able to control the force and the direction of the contrivance" (p.200). Attaching
to his memorandum an estimate of the necessary expenditures, A.F.Mozhayskiy an-
nounced his decision to construct a full-size aircraft.
But Mozhayskiy's intention ran up against a solid wall of bureaucracy and incre-
dulity on the part of the apparatus of tsarist officialdom towards the work of Russian
inventors. A new Commission, headed by General G.E.Pauker, was formed to ex-
amine the inventor's work and to supervise it.
Documents included in the collection show how the tsarist officials, who were
refined in chicanery, kept hampering the development of A. F. Mozhayskiy' s invention.
The inventor's protests against the ignorant and unjust conclusions of the Pauker Com-
mission, his requests for the grant of necessary funds for continuing the project, re-
mained unanswered, and Mozhayskiy had to build the aircraft mainly at his own ex-
pense. In spite of the obstacles placed in his way, he persistently continued working
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on his invention. On 4 June 1880 he applied to the Department of Commerce and
Manufacturing requesting the issuance of a five year license for his aircraft. In the
collection the full text of the license, issued on 3 November 1881, is cited and a sketch
of the aircraft attached to it is also given.
The progressive elements in Russian society of the time followed with unabated
interest the course of the work on the creation of the first aircraft in the world. This
is attested to by newspaper and periodical articles devoted to Mozhayskiy's invention.
The documents cited in the collection make it possible to understand also how the
Commission, under the chairmanship of General G.E.Pauker, upon examination of
Mozhayskiy's proposal, tried to discredit his machine, and, by references to foreign
"authorities", to prove the impracticability of a Russian inventor's carrying out the
idea of creating a flying contrivance heavier than air. The negative conclusion of
this Commission was then stubbornly repeated in official documents even when it was
no longer possible to pass over in silence the fact that A.F. Mozhayskiy had built the
aircraft and begun tests on it. In this connection, A. F. Mozhayskiy wrote:"All these
opinions (the conclusions of the Pauker Commission - Edit.), which prove utter lack
of familiarity with the really practical present-day state of technology, tend, as I can
conclude, to kill in me at one blow confidence in the feasibility of my project...
"The situation in which I have leen placed ? the facts of which I can prove ? can-
not encourage a man in the path of intellectual work on behalf of his Fatherland, nor
serve as an encouraging example for other Russians. On the other hand, dependence
for inventions on foreigners has proved to be ;not completely favorable for us..."
(pp. 214, 217).
In the collection there is also source-literature testifying to the construction and
tests of A.F.Mozhayskiy's aircraft. i However, contradictions are encountered in them
in the indication of the date on which the construction of the machine was completed
and on which the tests run on it began. The 'original archive documents cited in the
collection (documents Nr. 169, 187, 199) and;also the source-literature (documents
Nr. 233, 347, and others) patently confirm the fact that the aircraft was completed
and tests begun in 1882. Marking the services of A. F. Mozhayskiy in the development
of aviation science and technology, the Soviet Government decided in March 1955, in
connection with the 130th arniiversaryi of his birth, to set up a bronze bust of Aleksandr
Fedorovich Mozhayskiy in Krasnoye Selo neall Leningrad, where, in the summer of
1882, the first aircraft in the world Was constructed and tests on it were begun, during
which the machine rose into the air. I
In the collection there are a nuinber of documents which discuss the inventor's
continued work on his aircraft and the tests that he ran on it during subsequent years.
Mozhayskiy constructed the aircraft at his own expense, against a background of utter
indifference to his inventive activity on the part of the official-bureaucratic apparatus
of the tsarist government. This apparatus not only did not help the inventoribut in a
number of instant-e-gaered successful continuation of the work. After the inventor's
death, work on the aircraft he had created ceased.
In tsarist Russia, no recognition was given to the project for a flying rocket ma-
chine developed by N. I. Kibal'chich, a student and member of "The Will of the People"
who was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress by the tsarist government for partic-
ipation in the assassination of Tsar Aleksandr II. The principle underlying N.I.Ki-
baltchich's project was the idea of propelling a flying machine by using the force of
Review and Publications 111
reaction of the gas exhaust formed by the combustion of small regulated explosive
charges.
Numerous proposals for the utilization of balloons for military purposes, work
in this field in the armies of foreign states, compelled the War Ministry of tsarist
Russia to set about organizing more resolutely aeronautics in the Russian Army.
On 5 December 1869, the Minister of War, D.A.Milyutin, received a memoran-
dum on the necessity of forming a special commission to consider questions on the
utilization of aeronautics for military purposes. Such a commission actually was
organized under the chairmanship of General E. I. Totleben. In 1884 a commission
was formed, under the chairmanship of General M. M. Boreskov, for the utilization
of aeronautics, carrier pigeon mail, and guard towers for military purposes. It
was made up of representatives of the Engineer .Corps, the General Staff, and the
Artillery. In 1885, a regular army command of aeronauts was formed, renamed in
April 1887 as the Regular Army Aeronautical Training Pool. Documents are present-
ed in the collection concerning experimental ascents of balloons; the flight of Lieuten-
ants Kovan'ko and Trofimov in a balloon from Petersburg to Novgorod; the participa-
tion of military balloonists in military maneuvers; work on the creation of photographic
apparatus especially intended for taking aerial photos; and also plans for the regulations
and the staffs of aeronautical pools.
The third chapter of the collection sheds light on the period from 1890-1903.
After prolonged discussions and correspondence lasting for more than three years, the
War Department finally decided to ratify the Statute for an aeronautical unit and to set
up an aeronautical training pool as well as aeronautical detachments assigned to for-
tress areas. In the "Statute for an Aeronautical Unit" confirmed 27 April 1890,
its missions and personnel were defined as follows:
"1. The Aeronautical Unit has as its purpose the study and application to mili-
tary requirements of discoveries and inventions in the field of aeronautics.
"2. All the installations of the Aeronautical Unit belong to the engineer troops.
"3. The Aeronautical Unit consists of: a) an aeronautical training pool; b) for-
tress area aeronautical detachments formed in peacetime.. ; and c) field aeronautical
detachments formed in wartime" (p.456).
In the Statute the aims of the Aeronautical Training Pool were also outlined; They
amounted to the theoretical and practical training of officers and soldiers for aeronau-
tical service, for carrying out experiments and testing the discoveries and inventions
in the field of aeronautics, for the servicing and storage of materiel of the aeronauti-
cal detachments, and for the formation during wartime of field aeronautical detach-
ments and the replacement of their personnel and materiel.
In the section of the Statute "Concerning the Fortress Area Aeronautical Detach-
ments", it was observed that they "belong to the personnel of the military establish-
ments, directly intended for the combat requirements of the fortress area. By means
of these units, reconnaissance of the fortress area is conduck.--X: uring wartime and in
case of necessity free flights are carried out from the fjTs area" (p.458).
In August 1890, the Aeronautical training Po
Narva-Krasnoye Selo maneuvers, during which
the "enemy" troops and carried out a free,
siderable number of documents has b Air
experiments carried out in the A
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c-
in a
1:51166ns and
t in the large-scale
conducted observation of
In the collection a con-
g all possible kinds of
rning the participation of
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112 Review and Publications
the aeronauts in military maneuvers.
It must be observed that Russian military aeronauts rendered great assistance
in carrying out scientific research and observations. This is attested to, for example,
13}sr, among other documents, the "Considerations concerning the participation of mili-
tary aeronautical units in an international scientific undertaking for research into at-
mospheric currents", composed by Lt. Gen. Boreskov.
Many documents of the collection are devoted to the fruitful activity of Russian
scientists who made a truly invaluable contribution to the development of aviation
science. Here is the letter of K. E. Tsiolkovskiy, dated 23 September 1890, which he
sent to the Russian Technical Society together with his work "On the possibility of con-
structing a metal aerostat, capable of changing its volume and even of being folded
flat.." The scientist asked that a small sum of money be allotted him for construc-
tion of a model of the metal aerostat, but Department 7 of the Society refused to grant
him a subsidy on the absurd grounds that "in Europe and in America several attempts
have been made to construct metal aerostats, which have led to no results whatsoever"
(p. 476).
K. E. Tsiolkovskiy's attempts to gain recognition for his brilliant inventions and
research from official persons and state in'stitutions of tsarist Russia were futile. The
projects and works which he presented for a decision, as well as the work of many
Russian inventors, kept meeting with an unsympathetic, at times even outright hostile,
attitude in all kinds of committees and sections of the state institutions of tsarist Rus-
sia. Frequently ignorant decisions were made regarding the work of the brilliant
scientist: the critique of his research amounted in a number of instances to petty
faultfinding.
In connection with one such decision concerning a project for an iron dirigible
aerostat, K. E. Tsiolkovskiy wrote: "With what then has the greatly esteemed Depart-
ment 7 of the Technical Society reproached me? In the first place, with incomplete-
ness; this reproach is just, but everything cannot be done at once; give me time. Even
when this work is published, I will not dare to consider my work as being either per-
fect or complete. In the second place, as for an insufficient familiarity with the per-
tinent literature, with this I readily agree; but I would like to know to what errors this
lack of familiarity has led me, what conclusions of mine are incorrect because of it?
I may have incorrect premises (the basic formulas of air resistance, the data on the
strength of materials, on wind velocity, etc.), perhaps my analysis is wrong, and
there may be simple errors in arithmetical operations.
"But the members of Department 7 have not deigned to point out even one such
error to me."
The brilliant work of the renowned Russian scientist received ,every kind of sup-
port and general recognition only with the advent of the Soviet Government.
In Chapter 3, as in the preceding ones, there are documents concerning the most
intrkesting projects for flying machines.
A considerable part of the materials of Chapter 4 of the collection deals with
participation by aeronautical units of the Russian Army in the Russo-Japanese War of
1904-1905. In 1904, aeronautical companies of the Russian Army in the Far East
were deployed in field aeronautical battalions of two-company strength. The first
experiments by the Russian Army to use balloons in combat during the war yielded
positive results. Maj. Gen. Myaskovskiy, the deputy to the chief inspector of the en-
Review and Publications 113
gineering unit assigned to the Commander-in-Chief, reports in a letter that "the ac-
tivity of the balloons was so gratifying that now not only the headquarters of all three
armies, but also corps headquarters, are begging us to send them balloons".
On the basis of the experimental participation of aeronauts in combat operations,
special instructions were worked out for the utilization of aeronautical units among
field troops. These instructions provided for the utilization under field conditions
only of captive and signal balloons. The function of the captive balloons was recon-
naissance from the air of the forward area of the location of defense points, of arti-
ficial obstacles, of approach roads to the enemy rear positions, observation of the
movement and concentration both of our own as well as of enemy troops, and of artil-
lery spotting.
In the collection,war diary excerpts have been reproduced concerning military
operations of the Siberian Aeronautical Company, of the First and Second East Sibe-
rian Field Aeronautical Battalions, an account of the activity of the First Company of
the First East Siberian Field Aeronautical Battalion, and other documents containing
detailed data about the participation of aeronautical units in combat operations.
In December 1907? the year of D. I. Mendeleyev' s death? the first Mendeley-
ev Congress on general and applied chemistry took place in Petersburg. The follow-
ing items have been included in the collection: a speech of N. Ye. Zhukovskiy at a
grand meeting of this congress, "concerning the work of Dmitriy Ivanovich Mendeleyev
on the resistance of liquids and on aeronautics"; excerpts from the speech of Professor
A.I.Voyeykov on the work of D.I.Mendeleyev in meteorology; and excerpts from the
article by Ye. S.Fedorov, the chairman of Department 7 of the Russian Technical So-
ciety, on the contributions of D.I.Mendeleyev to the field of aeronautics.
The materials of the collection testify convincingly to the fact that our country
is the birthplace of aeronautics and aviation, that Russian inventors, scientists, and
designers, made a valuable contribution to the history of aeronautics and aviation, and
laid the first foundations for modern aviation science.
The compilers, N. I. Shaurov and M. A. Sidorov, the Institute for the History of
Natural Science and Technology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, the Central
State Archives of the USSR for Military History, and the State Publishing House for the
Defense Industry, have performed an important and necessary service in preparing
this collection for printing and in publishing it. This collection is the first systematic
publication of documents on the history of the Air Fleet of the Fatherland, on aero-
nautical and aviation technology, and on basic thinking in science and design.
Our researchers, archives, and scientific organizations are faced with an ur-
gent task of tremendous importance ? to continue the publication of archive documents
on the history of aviation in our Fatherland. These collections of documents must be
issued in considerably larger quantities. Incidentally, the edition of the collection en-
titled "Aeronautics anri Aviation in Russia Prior to 1907" (1750 copies) is very small
and in no way whatsoever does it meet the demand of our readers for literature on the
history of aviation.
The entire Soviet People is now preparing for the celebration of the 40th Anni-
versary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. The 40th Anniversary of the Soviet
Army and Navy is drawing near. It would be gratifying,if by these historical dates,
the Central State Archives of the Red Army were to publish collections of documents
on the formation of the Red Air Fleet and its combat operations during the years of the
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114
Civil War and on the development of Soviet aviation during the period between the
two wars. The publication of such books would be an important contribution to the
literature of the history of aviation, and would broaden the opportunities for studying
the rich heroic past of our Air Force.
Review and Publications
?
120 THOUSAND KILOMETERS ON THE AIRCRAFT TU-104
Military Pilot First Class Lt. Col.A. K. Starikov
2. THE FLIGHT TO ENGLAND
In March of last year our crew was assigned a very important mission: to carry
out a flight to London. At that time preparations were being made for the forthcom-
ing visit of N. S.Khrushchev and N. A. Bulganin to England, and the honor of carrying
out several preparatory tasks connected with this historic event fell to the lot of our
outfit. However, in addition to these circumstances, our flight had several other spe-
cial features as well. With regard to these, our unit commander put it well when he
said: "You'll carry the glory of new Russia to England". The commander was not
exaggerating. At that time, not a single country in the world, including America, had
jet passenger aircraft. Such aircraft presented a technical problem, on the solution
of which many aviation designers had been working persistently. We were to carry
out the first flight on an international route in a jet passenger aircraft designed and
manufactured in our Fatherland.
The route lay over the cities of Vilnius, Berlin, Osnabrueck, Amsterdam, and
the Strait of Dover. A favorable aspect of the route was the fact that it crossed thick-
ly settled areas, large cities with modern airfields. The large number of homing ra-
dio facilities and typical radar check points facilitated air navigation under any weather
conditions. We were to make the approach to London from the side of the mouth of the
Thames ? the place where the river disembogues into the North Sea.
Incidentally I cannot help but make mention of the exceptional persistence and dili-
gence with which all the members of our crew prepared for the flight to London. With
the help of topographers the necessary maps were selected. The homing facilities and
radar check points along the route were mastered. A particularly painstaking study
was made of the London Airport, its location, the length of its runways, and their direc-
tion. We did not fail to give our attention to the question of alternate airfields as well.
The day for the takeoff arrived-22 March 1956. It's 1130 hours. The crew
are in their places. The turbines are running evenly and almost soundlessly. Through
the windows of the cockpit we glimpse those who are seeing us off. Among them are
service comrades, commanders, chiefs. They are no less excited than we are. Men-
tally I can picture how they will all be following our flight. And this comradely partici-
pation, this feeling of team spirit, inherent in the Soviet people, gives us new strength,
energy, and confidence in the success of thp forthcoming mission.
At 1135 the aircraft lifts off from the runway. We gain altitude en route. This
method for gaining altitude is advantageous for our aircraft, as indeed it is for all jet
craft. The faster the craft reaches the prescribed altitude (level) the more fuel will
be saved.
For a moment the sun broke through openings in the storm clouds; I glanced down
and, against a background of snowy fields, I caught sight of the cigar-shaped silhouette
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116 Review and Ptblications
of our aircraft. "In a craft like this" ? the thought occurred to me involuntarily ?
"we don't have to be ashamed of flying even over London".
With the gain in altitude, the clouds become thicker and blacker. Both turbo-
jet engines run steadily and evenly. Together with Co-pilot N. Yakovlev, I select the
most advantageous climbing regime. The thrust reserve is very great. While still
in the process of levelling off, we switch the turbines to a rated number of rpm and
are now satisfied that a highter rate is not needed for gaining altitude.
At an altitude of 4000 meters, we switch on the autopilot. I look at the instru.-
ment ?the altitude is increasing with exceptional speed. We reached the prescribed
altitude ?that is, 10, 000 meters ? at the moment when the Rzhev-Vyazima Railroad
lay beneath the aircraft.
Strong turbulence set in. From previous flights we know that this is the first
evidence that the aircraft has entered the tropopause. One gets the impression that
in this region the troposphere and the stratosphere tare ,carrying on ceaseless warfare.
Currents of air collide here with tremendous force Invisible anabatic and catabolic
currents of air clash, creating chaotic winds. No matter how large and powerful it
may be, an aircraft is tossed about from side to
side. We always try to pass this comparatively
small layer of air as quickly as possible. .A.few
minutes of flying and we again find ourselves in
an environment of a calm air mass. The aircraft
seems to be hanging motionless in space. Actual-1
ly it is flying with ever-increasing speed. And the ,
higher the altitude and the calmer and more rare-
fied the air, the less fuel the engines consume.
Our radioman, Nikolay Belyayev reports
to the dispatcher of the Moscow RDS [air traffic
control] that we have reached an altitude of
10, 500 meters and are flying at a speed of 800
kilometers per hour.
Having leveled off, we select a cruising re-
gime, trim the aircraft by means of the trim tabs,
and again cut in the autopilot ? which we had had
to switch off during the flight through the tropo-
pause. A perfectly reliable apparatus takesIover
the operation for us. The autopilot is equipped
with a powerful gyroscope which reacts sensitive-
ly to the slightest deviations on the part of the air-
craft and which, by means of servo-motors con- A. K. Starikov atithe controls
nected to the rudders, makes the necessary cor-
rections. The fuel system too is controlled automatically. Special mechanisms mon-
itor the consumption of fuel and, at necesbary mornents, switch the feeding of the en-
gines from one group of tanks to another.
Beyond Vilnius the weather began to, deteriorate sharply. A strong head- and
crosswind rose. We lost groundspeed. There wais danger that we Would deviate from
our-course. Nayigator Ivan Kirillovich Bagrich measured the angle Of drift and gave
us a course 'correction.
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Review and. Publications 117
The layer of clouds becomes, even denser. We put to full use the excellent elec-
tronic facilities for air navigation'which are at our disposal. Now and then we hear
the reports of the navigator: "Gdan'sk on the beam", "Approaching Berlin", "I've tun-
ed in on the Amsterdam homing station".
The swiftness of the flight excited every passenger and crew member. Owing
to the thickness of the clouds, the cities over which we were flying could not be seen,
but mentally we pictured to our selves how entire regions and even states were being
left behind. While we were flying over Western Germany, Nikolay Belyayev unex-
pectedly established contact with a radio operator in Brussels. The latter started to
transmit in Russian the weather conditions in Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, and Lon-
don. Upon signing off, he said: "Happy journey dear friends!" This episode was very
pleasant and touching for us.' The friendly participation by the unknown man ? a ci-
tizen of a country which we had never been in and about which we know but little ?
raised our morale which was, good in any case.
The closer we got to the shores of Great Britain, the worse became the weather
and the more difficult it became to orient ourselves. ' Our fears were being confirmed
that we would run afoul of unexpected "caprices" of the weather over the expanse of the
North Sea and that we would experience strong winds and air currents. Meanwhile we
maintained a very high speed and did everything possible to maintain it. Under these
adverse conditions our navigator had to work very hard. He made computations and
gave course and speed corrections with exceptional dispatch and exactness. Hardly
would Ivan Kirillovich manage to tune the radio compass to one radio homing station,
when he had to switch over to another.
I did not keep any records of the weather ? there was no time for that ? but I
did observe attentively all its changes 'en route and tried as much as possible to keep
everything in mind. I was especially interested in the winds and currents of air mas-
ses. I noticed that on our route, at an altitude of 10 - 11 thousand meters, the winds,
just like ocean currents , also blow from west to east. They blow constantly, direct-
ly head-on, with a speed of 150 - 160 kilometers per hour. Here and there streams
of cross currents are encountered; but as we found out, in subsequent flights, they are
not constant with respect to speed, although, to all intents and purposes, they are con-
stant with respect to direction.
The third hour of flight was drawing to an end. According to our calculations,
the shores of Great Britain should appear soon. The clouds thinned out and we vigi-
lantly peered into the distance.
"England ahead!" reported the co-pilot spotting a thin strip of land before the
others did. At the same time large gaps appeared in the clouds and we caught sight of
the sparkling waters of the Strait of Dover. Directly in front of us lay North Foreland.
But now the clouds closed in on the aircraft again and a familiar gray mass crept by the
windows. We are now maintaining contact with the London RDS. It authorized us to
descend to the Epsom control point.
The_dispatcher informed us tha+ there was a bad weather situation at-the airfield:- -
there was a pouring rain, and visibjlit,r was extremely limited. Nature had not been
kind to us. But the greater the number of difficulties, the more composed did the crew
become, and the more efficiently did the work proceed. "We must land the craft in an
excellent manner, we inns:. land it in such a Way that the Londoners will say: 'There's
an aircraft! That's a landing for you!' " That's what I was thinking and that's what ev-
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/05/24: CIA-RDP81-01043R002000080005-2
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/05/24: CIA-RDP81-01043R002000080005-2
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118
Review and Publications
At the London Central Airport.
cry member of our crew was thinking.
We pass Epsom at an altitude of 1200 meters with a course angle of 2900, exact-
ly as we were being ordered from the ground. We head towards the airfield. The
rain is becoming heavier and heavier. Streams of water, as though from a hose, lash
against the aircraft, and pour against the glass of the cabin. Nevertheless we manag-
ed to spot the airfield, which, according to the dispatcher's instructions, we were
crossing at an altitude of 600 meters. For a minute concrete strips and large build-
ings in the center of the field appear out of the fog. I notice chains of yellow lights ex-
tendink straight along the landing strips.
The most critical stage of the flight begins ? the approach-for a landing and the
landing itself.
With a right turn we bring the aircraft onto a landing course-of 150.
Before the moment of touchdown I am possessed by one thought: Land the machine
neatly and reduce the length of the run to a minimum. Out of the -corner of my eye I
see a large collection of automobiles around the airfield. I conclude that in spite of the
rain many people had come to welcome the guests from the Soviet-Union. This inspires
me even more to make an excellent landing.
The aircraft descends headlong. One hundred ... fifty twenty meters are
left till the ground. The landing strip rushes straight up towards us. We bring the
craft up to the touchdown line, and gently contact the concrete with our main wheels.
And counting on the fact that high angles of attack shorten the length of the run, we try,
during the first half, not to bring the craft down on the front pair of wheels. This is
accomplished successfully. In this-two-point position we applied the brakes as well.
As a result, we completed the run very quickly ? so quickly that the British, as
we found out later, were literally astonished at such qualities in the Soviet TU-104 air-
craft. We found out, only after we had taxied into the place assigned us by the air-
field administration, how many eyes had been directed at our aii:Craft.
Hardly had we landed, when people started welcoming us and showering us with
A
41
4.
Review and Publications 119
questions. Most of the questions were very concrete and this led us to the conclusion
that many of our interlocutors were experienced specialists in the business of aviation.
One, for example, an aviation engineer by profession, examined the front landing gear
strut and pair of wheels and then asked us how such good maneuverability of the air-
craft was achieved during taxiing. I explained that in the cockpit there is a control
wheel with which the front strut of the landing gear is directed. He pointed to the front
wheels of an automobile standing close by and turned an imaginary steering wheel with
his hands; upon receiving confirmation from me that it was precisely according to that
principle that the control of the forward landing gear of our aircraft had been construct-
ed, he stepped aside and started to write down some notes.
Our press reported on the impression that pur jet passenger aircraft made on the
people of London. We shall cite only a few excerpts from the English newspapers of
the time. Here, for example, is what the London newspaper, the "Daily Mail" wrote
on 23 March 1956: "Gentlemen, you can whistle ? the excellent streamlined aircraft
TU-104 has arrived ... It landed slowly and gently, and it maneuvered over the recep-
tion area of the London Airport with the noise characteristic of a 'Comet' ... Civilian
and military experts, having gathered to have a look at it, were at first taken aback
with silent amazement and then, in astonishment, they whistled".
And further: "The shock of the British and American experts was caused by the
fact that this aircraft is ready for exploitation and gives Russia a leading position in
civil aviation. It is generally acknowledged that England would be in the same ranks or
ahead, if the 'Comet' had not had accidents. But it did have. And we cannot return a
jet passenger aircraft to service before 1959, while the Americans cannot obtain such
an aircraft before 1960 or even later".
On the same day, another London newspaper, the "Daily Express" informed its
readers: "Yesterday a new Soviet jet aircraft arrived in London, which has quashed any
notion that Russia is lagging behind in the struggle for supremacy in the field of aviation".
There were many similar statements.
The London Airport has six concrete runways, each of them in constant use. The
presence of six runways makes it possible to take off and land in accordance with the
direction of the wind. Moreover, such an airfield makes it possible for the airfield to
receive and dispatch a large number of aircraft.
The British completed the London Airport quite recently, only a few years ago.
The primary facility for insuring landing both by day and by night is a radar landing sys-
tem. We can here note some of the special features of the landing facilities. As is
well known, we have two beacons: the outer and the inner. They have one homing sta- ?
tion. It stands in line with the runway at a distance of up to 8 kilometers from its edge.
Markers are located between the homing station and landing strip; they do not give the
direction of flight but fix the moment of passage over each of them and at the same time
indicate the distance remaining to the runway. The system of marker stations is deter-
mined by the "fact that radar guides the aircraft up to the moment of touchdown.
. .
The provision of illumination for flights has been set ii in a?u-nique-faShibn-at-the
London Airport. The approach lights are on both at night and, during adverse weather
conditions, in the daytime as well. They begin two kilometers from the runway. The
central line of lights is located on a line with the runway. At definite intervals, trans-
verse lines of lights stretch out from the central line; in the event that the aircraft de-
viates from the course while approaching for a landing, these transverse "horizons"
_
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/05/24: CIA-RDP81-01043R002000080005-2
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/05/24: CIA-RDP81-01043R002000080005-2
118 Review and Publications
At the London Central Airport.
cry member of our crew was thinking.
We pass Epsom at an altitude of 1200 meters with a course angle of 2900, exact-
ly as we were being ordered from the ground. We head towards the airfield. The
rain is becoming heavier and heavier. Streams of water, as though from a hose, lash
against the aircraft, and pour against the glass of the cabin. Nevertheless we manag-
ed to spot the airfield, which, according to the dispatcher's instructions, we were
crossing at an altitude of 600 meters. For a minute concrete strips and large build-
ings in the center of the field appear out of the fog. I notice chains of yellow lights ex-
tending straight along the landing strips.
The most critical stage of the flight begins ? the approach for a landing and the
landing itself.
With a right turn we bring the aircraft onto a landing course of 150.
Before the moment of touchdown I am possessed by one thought: Land the machine
neatly and reduce the length of the run to a minimum. Out of the corner of my eye I
see a large collection of automobiles around the airfield. I conclude that in spite of the
rain many people had come to welcome the guests from the Soviet Union. This inspires
me even more to make an excellent landing.
The aircraft descends headlong. One hundred ... fifty ... twenty meters are
left till the ground. The landing strip rushes straight up towards us. We bring the
craft up to the touchdown line, and gently contact the concrete with our main wheels.
And counting on the fact that high angles of attack shorten the length of the run, we try,
during the first half, not to bring the craft down on the front pair of wheels. This is
accomplished successfully. In this two-point position we applied the brakes as well.
As a result, we completed the run very quickly ? so quickly that the British, as
we found out later, were literally astonished at such qualities in the Soviet TU-104 air-
craft. We found out, only after we had taxied into the place assigned us by the air-
field administration, how many eyes had been directed at our aircraft.
Hardly had we landed, when people started welcoming us and showering us with
?
4
6
Review and Publications 119
questions. Most of the questions were very concrete and this led us to the conclusion
that many of our interlocutors were experienced specialists in the business of aviation.
One, for example, an aviation engineer by profession, examined the front landing gear
strut and pair of wheels and then asked us how such good maneuverability of the air-
craft was achieved during taxiing. I explairked that in the cockpit there is a control
wheel with which the front strut of the landing gear is directed. He pointed to the front
wheels of an automobile standing close by and turned an imaginary steering wheel with
his hands; upon receiving confirmation from me that it was precisely according to that
principle that the control of the forward landing gear of our aircraft had been construct-
ed, he stepped aside and started to write down some notes.
Our press reported on the impression that our jet passenger aircraft made on the
people of London. We shall cite only a few excerpts from the English newspapers of
the time. Here, for example, is what the London newspaper, the "Daily Mail" wrote
on 23 March 1956: "Gentlemen, you can whistle ? the excellent streamlined aircraft
TU-104 has arrived ... It landed slowly and gently, and it maneuvered over the recep-
tion area of the London Airport with the noise characteristic of a 'Comet' ... Civilian
and military experts., having gathered to have a look at it, were at first taken aback
with silent amazement and then, in astonishment, they whistled".
And further: "The shock of the British and American experts was caused by the
fact that this aircraft is ready for exploitation and gives Russia a leading position in
civil aviation. It is generally acknowledged that England would be in the same ranks or
ahead, if the 'Comet' had not had accidents. But it did have. And we cannot return a
jet passenger aircraft to service before 1959, while the Americans cannot obtain such
an aircraft before 1960 or even later".
On the same day, another London newspaper, the "Daily Express" informed its
readers: "Yesterday a new Soviet jet aircraft arrived in London, which has quashed any
notion that Russia is lagging behind in the struggle for supremacy in the field of aviation".
There were many similar statements.
The London Airport has six concrete runways, each of them in constant use. The
presence of six runways makes it possible to take off and land in accordance with the
direction of the wind. Moreover, such an airfield makes it possible for the airfield to
receive and dispatch a large number of aircraft.
The British completed the London Airport quite recently, only a few years ago.
The primary facility for insuring landing both by day and by night is a radar landing sys-
tem. We can here note some of the special features of the landing facilities. As is
well known, we have two beacons: the outer and the inner. They have one homing sta-
tion. It stands in line with the runway at a distance of up to 8 kilometers from its edge.
Markers are located between the homing station and landing strip; they do not give the
direction of flight but fix the moment of passage over each of them and at the same time
indicate the distance remaining to the runway. The system of marker stations is deter-
mined by the 'fact that radar guides the aircraft up to the moment of touchdown.
The provision of illumination for flights has been set up in a uniqu-elt.shion--at the --
London Airport. The approach lights are on both at night and, during adverse weather
conditions, in the daytime as well. They begin two kilometers from the runway. The
central line of lights is located on a line with the runway. At definite intervals, trans-
verse lines of lights stretch out from the central line; in the event that the aircraft de-
viates from the course while approaching for a landing, these transverse "horizons"
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/05/24: CIA-RDP81-01043R002000080005-2
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/05/24: CIA-RDP81-01043R002000080005-2
120 Review and. Publications
help guide the aircraft to the center of the landing runway. As we have already indicat-
ed, their approach lights are yellow and are sunk in the ground flush with the surface of
the runway.
From the windows ? or rather we shall call them glass walls ? of the tower, all
the aircraft arriving at the airport were visible. Even earlier we had heard a great
deal about the British jet passenger aircraft "Comet". This craft had been operated
for some time on the air lines, where, indeed, its negative features had come to light;
but we were interested in it nonetheless. At that time we did not manage to spend any
time inside the "Comet" and to become acquainted with it closer at hand; but later, dur-
ing the air show in Moscow, the British granted us such an opportunity. They had
brought the British delegation in a "Comet" to the celebratiOn of USSR Air Fleet Day.
The crew of the "Comet - 2" consisted of two pilots, la navigator, a radioman,
and an engineer. The crew was provided with considerably less space than the crew
on the TU-104. Visibility from the cockpit was a little worse than on our aircraft, par-
ticularly towards the sides. The windshields have mechanical window-wipers. The
side panes of the canopy can be opened, and this facilitates landing.
The pilots' instrument panel has three -sections. The central section is occupied,
on the whole, by control instruments for the power plants. The instruments for the
left-hand and right-hand pilots are distributed in identical order.
The engines are started up in accordance with instructions. The pilot, the engi-
neer, and a technician take part in starting them-. They read an item in the instructions,
switch on some mechanism, read another item, and carry out the next action in turn.
With such a system they sometimes spend up to 5 minutes getting an engine started. The
Englishmen themselves poke fun at their system for starting the engines, but the system
is fixed and no one has the right to deviate from it.
We inspected the "Comet" during the period that the aircraft was being serviced
for the flight over Moscow. We spent 40 minutes in the aircraft, but the pilots never
did manage to start the engines. The ship commander then came out and apologized for
the fact that the flight would not take place. The next day, this plane left for London
and in its stead, the English sent another one The proposal was made to me that I act
as a pilot in this plane during the flight over our territory. I sat in the seat of the right-
hand pilot, and Col. Bagrich and Sgt. Belyayev at the posts of the navigator and radioman.
That is our impression of the "Comet". this aircraft did not pass its tests and
was not allowed to be exploited by the transportation and passenger aviation companies
of England.
Upon our return to the Motherland, we soon found out that our crew was to fly to
India and Burma. We were made extremely happy by this news; we started preparing
excitedly for the flights to these friendly countries, and we shall tell about it in the next
article.
r9
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121
COMPLIMENTS OF THE
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE AIR FORCE
TO PARTICIPATING WRITERS OF THE PERIODICAL
For their active wok in improving the caliber of the
periodical,. "Herald of the Air Fleet", the Commander-in-
Chief of the Air Force, Marshal of the Air Force K. A. Ver-
shinin has in an order conveyed his compliments to Lt. Gen.
Of ITS [Enigineerink-Teclimidal Stafi] V. S.Pyshnov and to
Maj. Gen. of the Air Force M. P. Stroyev (ret.); and. to the
following officers: A. D. Alekseyev, Ye. I. Annenkov, V. F.
Bolotnikov, V. A. Bylchal, B. S. V innik, V. A. Galaktionov,
D. F. GoldYrev, A. F. Dubovitskiy, A. I. Zadorozhniy, N. S.
Zatsepa, A. V. Kuznetsov, N. I. Listvin, N. M. Rudnoy, L. I.
Savichev, G. GI Semenko, N. P. Solov' yev, A. P. Fedosov,
L. M. Shisliov.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force has express-
ed his kind wishes to all the writers, consultants, members of
the editorial staff, and contributing correspondents for produc-
tive work in further improving the caliber of the publication.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/05/24: CIA-RDP81-01043R002000080005-2