Coastal pilot. Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoi - Biography
Born on April 15, 1921 in the village of Fedorovka, Poltava province of the Ukrainian SSR (now the Karlovsky district of the Poltava region of Ukraine).
After graduation high school in 1938 he began his career at the Enakievsky Metallurgical Plant. In the same year he was drafted into the Red Army. In 1941 he graduated from the Voroshilovograd School of Military Pilots named after the Proletariat of Donbass.
The Great Patriotic War
Member of the Great Patriotic War since June 1942. Pilot, flight commander, squadron commander of the 90th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment (4th Guards Assault Aviation Division, 5th Assault Aviation Corps, 5th Air Army, 2nd Ukrainian Front). During the war years he made 186 sorties. For heroism, courage and bravery shown in air battles of the Great Patriotic War, on October 26, 1944 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Space
After the end of the war in 1948, he graduated from the higher officer courses and test pilot courses. In 1948-1964 he worked as a test pilot. Mastered dozens of types of aircraft. In 1956 he graduated from the Air Force Academy (now named after Yu. A. Gagarin). April 14, 1961 was awarded the title of Honored Test Pilot of the USSR. In 1963, he was enrolled in the detachment of Soviet cosmonauts (1963 Air Force Group No. 2 (additional recruitment). Passed a full course of training for flights on Soyuz-type ships. On October 26 - 30, 1968, he made a space flight on the Soyuz-3 spacecraft. In history, an attempt to dock with an unmanned spacecraft Soyuz-2 in the shadow of the Earth. The flight lasted 3 days 22 hours 50 minutes 45 seconds. For the completion of a space flight on November 1, 1968, he was awarded the second medal " Golden Star» Hero of the Soviet Union.
On January 22, 1969, in the Kremlin, during a solemn meeting of cosmonauts, officer Viktor Ilyin fired at the car in which Beregovoy was driving, mistaking it for Brezhnev's car (the slight resemblance of Beregovoy to Brezhnev also contributed to the mistake). The driver sitting next to Beregovoi was mortally wounded; Beregovoy himself was slightly wounded by fragments of the windshield.
In 1972-1987 he was the head of the Cosmonaut Training Center. In 1987, he retired with the rank of lieutenant general.
Best of the day
In the 1970s, at his request, the case of V.F. Yanukovych was reviewed.
Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 8th - 10th convocations (1974-1989). Laureate of the State Prize of the USSR (1981). He did a lot of social work.
He died on June 30, 1995 during a heart operation. He was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Awards
2 orders of Lenin
2 Orders of the Red Banner
Order of Alexander Nevsky
Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 3rd class
2 Orders of the Red Star
2 Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st class
Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class
Military Merit Medal (1949)
Medal "For the victory over Germany" (1945)
Medal "For the Capture of Budapest" (1945)
Medal "For the Capture of Vienna" (1945)
11th anniversary medals
Hero of Socialist Labor NRB and Order of Georgy Dimitrov (NRB, 1970)
Medal "25 Years of People's Power" (NRB)
Medal "100th Anniversary of the Fall of the Ottoman Yoke" (NRB, 1979)
Medal "100 years since the birth of Georgy Dimitrov" (NRB, 1983)
Order of the State Banner (Hungary, 1985)
Order of the Red Banner with Diamonds (Hungary)
Gold medal "For military cooperation" (Hungary, 1980)
Cross of Grunwald III class (Poland)
Order of Tudor Vladimirescu, 5th class (SRR)
Order of the People's Hero (Yugoslavia)
USSR State Prize (1981)
K. E. Tsiolkovsky Gold Medal of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR
Yu. A. Gagarin Gold Medal (FAI)
Memory
Honorary citizen of the cities of Kaluga (Russia), Lugansk, Enakievo, Vinnitsa (Ukraine), Pleven, Sliven (Bulgaria).
A bronze bust was erected in the city of Yenakiyevo.
A memorial plaque was installed on the house in the village of Chkalovsky (Shchelkovo), in which the Hero lived.
Cosmonaut: Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy (04/15/1921-06/30/1995)
- 12th cosmonaut of the USSR, call sign "Argon"
- Flight duration: 3 days 22 hours 50 minutes 45 seconds (1968)
short biography
Georgy Timofeevich was born on April 15, 1921 in the village. Fedorovka, now Poltava region, Ukraine. Somewhat later, he changed his place of residence to Yenakiyevo, Donetsk region. While still in high school, George began to get involved in aviation sports in the city flying club, as well as aircraft modeling, and became the head of this section. After completing 8 years of schooling, he got a job as a mechanic at a local metallurgical plant. After graduating from the flying club at the age of 17, Georgy went to a 3-year training at the Voroshilovgrad school of military pilots.
Pilot career
In 1942, after completing a military school, the young man was sent to war as a pilot. In the period from 1942 to 1944, he was shot down three times and wounded once in the shin. Conducted 185 combat flights on various vehicles, including the famous Il-2. For the heroism and courage shown in battles, in 1944 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
At the end of the Great Patriotic War, he continued to serve in the Air Force, where he reached the rank of colonel of the guard. After graduating in 1948, the course of test pilots, he was engaged in testing various air equipment. In 1961 he was awarded the title of Honored Test Pilot of the USSR. At the award ceremony, Georgy Beregovoy met with another famous person, surprisingly similar to him in appearance - Leonid Brezhnev.
space training
The 42-year-old war hero, Georgy Beregovoy, twice applied for enrollment in the cosmonaut corps, and, despite passing a medical examination, was not accepted. However, in January 1964, the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force K.A. Vershinin single-handedly decided to enroll G. Beregovoy in the cosmonaut corps.
The test pilot was trained to control the Voskhod-3 spacecraft, but after the program was closed, he was involved in the Soyuz program. While this program faced a number of problems: the first unmanned ship exploded during launch, the other two did not start, the fourth, on board of which was cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov, crashed.
When these problems were presented to Leonid Brezhnev, the Secretary General reminded the leaders of the project that there was an honored test pilot in their cosmonaut corps. In the autumn of 1968, Georgy Timofeevich completed his training as a commander-pilot of the Soyuz-3 spacecraft.
space mission
On October 26, 1968, Georgy Beregovoi took off aboard the Soyuz-3. The pilot's goal was to test the ship of the new model, determine its shortcomings, as well as docking with the Soyuz-2 unmanned vehicle. Previously, the docking was carried out automatically by the devices, but this time the cosmonaut had to perform this maneuver himself.
Soyuz-3 took off without incident from Baikonur and at an altitude of 4,000 km, Georgy Beregovoy switched to manual control. Being at a distance of 200 meters from the Soyuz-2 spacecraft, Georgy Timofeevich began preparations for docking. Since the operation took place in the shadow of the Earth, the orientation of the Soyuz-3 had to take place according to the light signals installed on the unmanned spacecraft. However, the cosmonaut incorrectly determined the position of the ship and tried to dock Soyuz-3 with Soyuz-2 - "upside down". Beregovoi made several more attempts to get closer, which did not lead to anything. The astronaut managed to discover the problem only when both ships left the Earth's shadow. But the fuel supply was not enough for another maneuver, and Georgy Beregovoy had to return to Earth.
Space mission results
Cosmonaut Beregovoy conducted a flight with a total duration of 3 days 22 hours 50 minutes 45 seconds. Georgy Timofeevich also became the oldest person at that time who visited the orbit of our planet.
As a result of the experience gained during the Soyuz-3 mission, two main conclusions were made:
- Do not dock in the shade
- Do not dock on the first orbit around the Earth
Despite a detailed report with many nuances and detailed description shortcomings of the ship, which was carefully compiled by Georgy Beregov, the cosmonaut was not satisfied with his work. Today, the result of the modernization of the ship of this series is obvious, the Soyuz spacecraft carried out 47 flights in order to deliver the crew to the International Space Station.
Future life
For testing the spacecraft and carrying out a complex and dangerous mission, cosmonaut Beregovoy was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the second time.
Due to its outward resemblance to the then General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, in 1969 the car with Georgy Beregov was fired upon by mistake. As a result of the assassination attempt, the driver was seriously injured, and the astronaut received only minor injuries from broken glass.
After finishing space mission Beregovoy continued to work in the astronautics industry, having worked for some time as the head of the Cosmonaut Training Center. Georgy wrote several scientific and artistic books in the field of astronautics.
The life of 74-year-old Georgy Beregovoy was cut short in 1995 during a heart operation. Monuments were erected in honor of the test pilot and cosmonaut, the inscription on the bell in the St. George Church (Yenakiyevo) was dedicated, the streets, the Donetsk planetarium, the Poltava-Moscow train were named, in 2011 a coin of 5 hryvnias was issued, dedicated to him. There are also suggestions that it was Georgy Beregovoy who served as the prototype for the protagonist of V. Vysotsky's "Song of the Test Pilot".
Space kamikaze
45 years ago, the first successful flight of the Soyuz spacecraft with a man on board was carried out.
On October 26, 1968, the ship was piloted by a not quite ordinary cosmonaut - already a Hero of the Soviet Union, Honored Test Pilot of the USSR, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, in particular, the battles on the Kursk Bulge, 47-year-old native of the Donetsk region Georgy Beregovoy. Determining for that extremely dangerous launch in the honorary list of regalia and achievements of Georgy Timofeevich were the words honored test pilot, that is, very experienced.
Until the moment when Beregovoy finally, tangibly returned to Earth, his colleagues considered him a suicide bomber.
Several times this scary word will sound in the wonderful film by Ruslan Bozhko and Alexander Ostrovsky “Space kamikaze. Cosmonaut Beregovoy's angle of attack” (screenwriters A. Ostrovsky and A. Merzhanov). And this is not for a red word. Why was Beregovoy called a suicide bomber knowledgeable people? Because they really knew that another cosmonaut was flying on a doomed ship: before that, four Soyuz had died in a row. The first three are unmanned. One exploded on the launch pad, the other two launches were considered unsuccessful. In the fourth - "Soyuz-1" - in April 1967, Vladimir Komarov rose into space for the second time in his life. During the landing, a failure occurred, and the first charred fragments of the cosmonaut's body were found only an hour after the descent vehicle crashed into the ground; after a while, others were found, so that twice Hero of the Soviet Union V.M. Komarov has two graves: in the Kremlin wall and in the Orenburg steppe ...
There is nothing more dangerous than desolation in something significant and important, which until recently attracted the attention of admiring contemporaries. It was in this position that the space industry found itself, which, as it turned out, rests solely on outstanding personalities - from the Chief Designer to the completely non-ordinary Master at the plant, which produced filigree parts for rockets and ships (about him, about the Master, he once brilliantly wrote publicist Anatoly Agranovsky). But people are mortal. At the beginning of 1966, shortly before the fifth anniversary of the flight of the first cosmonaut of the Earth, Yuri Gagarin, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, the brilliant General Designer, who was also distinguished by incredible rigor, even captiousness, passed away. And the space industry shuddered, became confused and, one might say, gave up. There were failures one after another.
In the film of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company about the space feat of the test pilot Beregovoy, it is said about the subsequent events as follows:
“In the second half of the 60s, after the deafening triumph of the first years, Soviet cosmonautics found itself in a dead end. Then two outwardly very similar people managed to save her. One had power, the other had the talent of a tester ... "
Yes, their names were similar. The first of these two was Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, the second - Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy.
Brezhnev met Beregov in 1961, when he had not yet ascended the communist throne, although he held a significant position in the Soviet top. When presenting the diplomas of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he drew attention to the tall, brave Ukrainian, surprisingly similar to himself (after 8 years, this similarity will unexpectedly save Leonid Ilyich from the bullets of the not quite adequate Leningrader who attempted on him - they mortally wound the driver, and the broken glass will scratch pilot-cosmonaut Beregovoy, who was traveling to the Kremlin for an appointment in the first car of the cortege). And when the General Secretary, who took this post in October 1964, was informed about the ongoing difficulties with the Soyuz, he said: “Well, there you have a test pilot in the detachment ...”
Beregovoy was enrolled in the cosmonaut corps in the same 1964. Younger colleagues greeted him with hostility: "The elderly pet came for fame." They meant that Beregovoy had once served under the leadership of a prominent military leader Nikolai Kamanin, who took care of future cosmonauts.
Yes, only the glory of Beregovoy was not to be occupied. Once he asked the pilot-cosmonaut Zholobov: “Vitalka, what year are you?” “1937,” he replied. “And I have been wearing this headset since the 37th.” After graduating from the Enakievo flying club together with his older brother (Mikhail Timofeevich, now a lieutenant general-engineer, participated in the filming of a film about his younger brother), Georgy became a professional pilot. From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, he participated in air battles. He flew on the Il-2 attack aircraft, which the Germans called the "plague", i.e. "Black Death", literally. The “flying tank” was survivable and, due to this survivability, ubiquitous, and that is why our hero said about the IL-2: “All types of weapons act against it.”
The Beregovoi pilot turned out to be resourceful. Once, seeing the superior forces of the enemy, he ordered the followers to switch to low-level flight mode, and they really dropped to a height of one and a half to two meters (!) Above the sunflower field, so that they completely shaved off the heads of the tallest sunflowers - but the squadron survived! Then his comrades-in-arms told him: “Zhorka, you can live and fight with you.”
He was shot down three times, but he escaped death. At the age of 23 he became a Hero of the Soviet Union.
At the front, Georgy Beregovoy did not part with the book of the American pilot Jimmy Collins "Test Pilot" published in the USSR, and after the end of the war he himself became a test pilot. The first - and extremely serious test of many others was the MiG-15 for him. The plane was followed by an accident. He fell into a tailspin not like the others, quite unexpectedly for the pilots. Beregovoi was the first to guess the nature of a jet fighter and earned the nickname ... Comrade Corkscrew. Since then, all military pilots began to fly according to the Beregovoy science. The teacher of Georgy Timofeevich in astronautics, 13 years younger than him, the famous cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov, said about him in the film: "For him, the wings were an extension of his hands."
So it was not at all for fame that Beregovoy came to astronautics. Now we can say that fate itself led him - who, besides him, would have guessed the nature of the "Union"?
Yuri Gagarin unexpectedly played a tragic mystical role in the fate of Beregovoy himself, and hence the Soyuz, and all our cosmonautics. For some reason, he told Georgy Timofeevich: "As long as I'm alive, you won't fly into space." It is extremely unpleasant to think about this - after all, we all loved the cheerful Gagarin very much and respected the serious Beregovoy very much - but it happened. Pilot-cosmonaut Gagarin died in the spring of 1968, and in the autumn of that year it was decided to send a test pilot Beregovoy into space.
On the photograph shown in the film of Georgy Beregovoy before the start, he is so joyful, so pleased that it is difficult to recognize him. It was as if someone wrote on his face: “You won’t catch up with us!” - although in fact he spoke differently: "That's it, they won't catch me again." That is, they will not be excommunicated from flights, they will not be stopped.
Good start. Entering Earth Orbit. First turn. Approaching the unmanned ship, which is to be docked ... And - failure. It turned out to be impossible to repeat the docking attempt - there was only fuel left for landing.
He did not know that for everyone in the space industry, the Tassov phrase “All the ship’s systems worked normally” was already a victory that this not at all young test pilot with a real military past achieved.
Beregovoy did not immediately understand what had happened in space. And then, by some instinct, I realized that the ship approached the drone upside down - an unusual state of weightlessness at first did not allow the astronaut to orient himself in space. But he made a very detailed report on the flight and possible flaws in the design of the ship.
Later, engineers would call the order to dock on the first orbit stupid, but for Georgy Timofeevich this was little consolation. Until the end of his days, it seemed to him that he "did not complete the task."
Although in fact he overfulfilled it. Major General of the Medical Service Vladimir Ponomarenko said in the film: "He, Beregovoy, was the first cosmonaut who was not afraid to tell the designers this, that, and that which he considered unsuccessful in the design of the spacecraft." He did not make excuses - he was looking for reasons. He found and, in fact, became a co-designer of the Soyuz, which to this day is considered the most reliable spacecraft.
The ship is excellent, and the story of the man who saved its reputation is also excellent. Only one question haunts: why is such a beautifully made, so necessary at least as an example to other, younger people, so that they remember the national significance of astronautics, the film was shown after midnight, five minutes before the performance of the national anthem? No answer…
Tatiana Korsakova
Special for the Centenary
Space kamikaze. Angle of attack astronaut Beregovoy Documentary film by the Roscosmos studio "Space kamikaze. Angle of attack of cosmonaut Beregovoy". "Union". The most reliable ship in the history of space exploration. It was designed to fly to the moon. But he did not fly to her. He refused to fly at all. At the beginning of its history, it suffered accident after accident... He killed an astronaut... And, perhaps, Soyuz owes its current fame to one person who nevertheless tamed the obstinate ship. This man should not have become an astronaut at all. But a series of Soyuz disasters will force the command to send it into orbit. This is a film about the fate of twice Hero of the Soviet Union, USSR pilot-cosmonaut Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy. |
Born on April 15, 1915 in Ukraine, in the village of Fedorovka, now the Karlovsky district of the Poltava region, in the family of an employee. After graduating from high school in 1938, he began his career at the Enakievo Metallurgical Plant. In the same year he joined the Red Army. In 1941 he graduated from the Voroshilovograd School of Military Pilots named after the Proletariat of Donbass.
Member of the Great Patriotic War since June 1942. He was an ordinary pilot, then - a flight commander, deputy squadron commander. He fought on the Kalinin, Voronezh, 1st Ukrainian and other fronts.
By April 1945, the squadron commander of the 90th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment (4th Guards Assault Aviation Division, 5th Assault Aviation Corps, 5th Air Army, 2nd Ukrainian Front) Guard Captain G. T. Beregovoy committed 108 sorties. He bombed and stormed enemy tanks, artillery batteries, river crossings and echelons, was shot down 3 times, burned in an airplane 3 times, but always returned to duty.
For courage and courage shown in battles with enemies, on October 26, 1944 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
In 1945 he graduated from the higher officer courses, and in 1948 he also graduated from the test pilot courses. In 1948 - 1964 he worked as a test pilot. Mastered more than 60 types of aircraft. Without interruption from the main work in 1956 he graduated from the Air Force Academy (now named after Yu. A. Gagarin). April 14, 1961 was awarded the title "Honored Test Pilot of the USSR".
In 1963 he was enlisted in the detachment of Soviet cosmonauts. On October 26 - 30, 1968 he made a space flight on the Soyuz-3 spacecraft. For space flight, on November 1, 1968 he was awarded the second Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1972 - 1987 - Head of the Cosmonaut Training Center. In 1987 he retired with the rank of Lieutenant General of Aviation.
Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 8th - 10th convocations (1974 - 1989). Laureate of the State Prize of the USSR (1981). He did a lot of social work. Author of the books "Earth - Stratosphere - Space", "Space - to Earthlings", "Three Heights", "The Edge of Courage", "The Sky Begins on Earth", "At the Call of the Heart". Died June 30, 1995. Buried in Moscow.
Awarded with Orders: Lenin (twice), Red Banner (twice), Alexander Nevsky, Bogdan Khmelnitsky 3rd class, Red Star (twice), Patriotic War 1st class (twice); medals. He was awarded the gold medal named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, the gold medal named after Yu. A. Gagarin (FAI). Hero of Socialist Labor NRB. He was awarded many foreign orders and medals. Honorary citizen of the cities of Kaluga (Russia), Lugansk, Enakievo, Vinnitsa (Ukraine), Pleven, Sliven (Bulgaria).
* * *186 sorties are listed in the flight book of Georgy Beregovoy. He spent the entire Great Patriotic War at the field airfields of the Western, Kalinin, Central, Steppe, Voronezh and 2nd Ukrainian fronts. He took part in many battles that determined the victorious outcome of the struggle of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders. Participated in the liberation of Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia.
During the war, the pilots of the 90th Guards ShAP were often accompanied by fighter pilots of the 180th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, one of whom, Pyotr Panchenko (now a reserve colonel), became a close friend of Georgy Beregovoy. Recalling those harsh days, he writes:
“At the front airfield near the Dnieper, our regiment was based together with a regiment of attack aircraft. We flew together on combat missions, covered them more than once. There I met Georgy Beregov. Somehow, returning from a mission, we noticed a group of Messers. They fell down from behind the clouds and, like a crow, attacked the "Ila". One of the Me-109 rushed to the leader's car. I instantly sent my plane to the enemy and set it on fire. When we landed at our airfield, Georgy ran up to me and said: " Thank you, Peter!" We embraced brotherly.
In the battles in the Lvov direction, in the Carpathians, in the Carpathians, the attack aircraft of Georgy Beregovoy and a link of my fighters often flew together on combat missions. Our friendship grew stronger every day. Now, many years later, I recall with pride my front-line friend, who soon became famous throughout the country for a feat accomplished already in space ... "
Many assaults and hot battles remained in Beregovoy's memory. On September 30, 1943, in the Rzhishchev area, he delivered a sudden blow and blew up an ammunition depot with a direct hit from bombs. Among many others, I remember the sortie on November 5, 1943 - on the eve of the 26th anniversary of October.
Early in the morning, the pilots and technicians of the Guards Division lined up at the battle banner. The general congratulated the personnel of the unit on the upcoming holiday and set a combat mission - to assist the troops in the liberation of Kyiv from the Nazi invaders. Everyone has an appeal on their lips: "Let's carry out the order of the Motherland - we will rescue Kyiv from the clutches of the Nazis ..."
Aircraft Il-2 of the Guard of Captain G. T. Beregovoy. 90th GvShAP, spring 1945.
The stormtroopers took to the air. Senior Lieutenant Beregovoy noticed Nazi vehicles with fuel and ammunition moving along the road. Despite the strong fire of anti-aircraft artillery and machine guns, he led his Il-2 to an enemy convoy. Several cars burst into flames. Gasoline tanks began to explode. Suddenly, the plane shuddered, began to obey the rudders badly. The projectile tore out a piece of the fuselage, damaged the plane. You could skydive. But this is not in the rules of Beregovoy. With difficulty, but still, he brought the car to his airfield. And then he transferred to another plane to fly again.
The battle did not subside all day. The Nazis couldn't resist. On November 6, a red banner flew over Kyiv. The chest of the Guards Senior Lieutenant Beregovoy was decorated with the 3rd military order - Alexander Nevsky ...
In April 1944, in the presentation to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on G. T. Beregovoy, the commander of the 90th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment of the Guards, Lieutenant Colonel Ishchenko wrote:
"The squadron commander of the 90th Guards ShAP of the Guard, Captain G. T. Beregovoy on the Voronezh and 1st Ukrainian fronts, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Alexander Nevsky for the excellent performance of 39 sorties.
During the period of hostilities on these fronts, the pilots of the squadron made 400 successful sorties to attack enemy manpower and equipment in firing positions. Destroyed: vehicles with troops and cargo - 282, tanks - 71 were shot down, enemy aircraft were shot down in air battles - 3, artillery batteries were suppressed - 11, crossings were destroyed - 2, fires were created - 9, railway cars were destroyed - 20.
On the Voronezh and 1st Ukrainian fronts Comrade. Beregovoi personally flew 92 sorties. He led groups 75 times, in any conditions accurately led them to the target and boldly stormed the enemy’s manpower and equipment.
September 18, 1943 comrade. Beregovoi led a group of 6 "Ils" and, with his skillful and proactive technique, delivered an assault strike on the retreating motorized units at the points of Priluki and Rudovka. 10 carts with ammunition were destroyed, up to a platoon of enemy manpower.
September 30 Comrade. Beregovoy, as part of two crews, went on reconnaissance in the Rzhishchev area. In difficult weather conditions, from a height of 1000 meters, he photographed the results of reconnaissance, at the same time made a sudden blow - he blew up an ammunition depot ...
November 26, 1943 comrade. Beregovoy led a group of 10 "Ils" to deliver an assault strike on the accumulation of enemy tanks in the Kocherovo area. Despite strong anti-aircraft fire, the group, skillfully maneuvering, reached the target area from the rear, delivered a bold assault strike. 6 enemy tanks were set on fire.
The commander of the air squadron of the 90th Guards Assault Starokonstantinovsky Aviation Regiment of the 4th Guards Assault Aviation Kyiv Division, Hero of the Soviet Union Guard Captain Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy, made his last sortie in the Great Patriotic War in May 1945 from the Kopchani airfield near Brno, smashing from the air grouping of German troops, who still continued to lead fighting on the territory of Czechoslovakia.
People come to fame in different ways. Georgy Beregovoy came to her, perhaps, the most difficult road - the road of risk and courage. He gained his glory in battle, as troops take a well-defended fortress: knowledge, military skill and courage that knows no hesitation. In battles with the enemy, he demonstrated his skills, having gone through the crucible of the war on the Kalinin, Voronezh, 1st Ukrainian fronts, and from September 2, 1944 - on the 2nd Ukrainian front, where he fought in the battles for Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia in the famous The 5th Guards Aviation Corps, commanded by the Hero of the Soviet Union, well-known in our country even before the war, Lieutenant General of Aviation Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin.
In 1963, G. T. Beregovoy was enlisted in the detachment of Soviet cosmonauts (additional recruitment). Passed a full course of training for flights on ships of the Soyuz type. On October 26 - 30, 1968 he made a space flight on the Soyuz-3 spacecraft. In flight, the spacecraft was tested under the conditions of a real space flight with an astronaut on board. The flight lasted 3 days 22 hours 50 minutes 45 seconds. For space flight, on November 1, 1968 he was awarded the second Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
In 1972 - 1987 he was the head of the Cosmonaut Training Center. In 1987 he retired with the rank of Lieutenant General of Aviation. Died June 30, 1995. He was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
* * *Three heights of Georgy Beregovoy.
Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy took three heights in his life. Climbing the first of them - a combat pilot - began on June 25, 1941 in a reconnaissance aviation regiment. He was young - only 20 years old. But he fought skillfully beyond his years. And although the bitter days of the retreat filled the heart with hatred, George never lost his head, as if he carried out every task, acted in cold blood in the air. At the end of the year, the regiment, where Georgy served, adopted Il-2 aircraft.
On the Kalinin Front and the Kursk Bulge, over the Dnieper crossings and the long-suffering land of the Right-Bank Ukraine, in the skies of Poland, Romania, Hungary, the combat routes of Il-2 Georgy Beregovoy were laid. Death lay in wait for the pilot both on the ground and in the air. But he didn't give it to her. Lucky? Maybe yes. But not only. The pilot - attack aircraft Beregovoy had a cherished rule: "If you don't think, they will shoot you down!" He taught this to his subordinates, and the word did not disagree with the deed. On IL-2 with tail number "22" Georgy was never shot down. In October 1944, for the courage and heroism of the Guards, Captain Beregovoy was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. And on May 10, 1945, being already a squadron commander, he made his 185th sortie.
After the war, Beregovoy began climbing to the second height, becoming a test pilot. Any test flight is a solution to an equation with many unknowns, in other words, the same combat mission in peacetime. Anything happened: an engine stop in the air, and a control failure, and failure of a vital important systems aircraft. But combat experience and the cherished rule came to the rescue every time. Georgy Timofeevich threw not a single car in the air, did not damage a single one on the ground. And a lot of them passed through his hands - Yak-17, Yak-25, MiG-17PF, MiG-19G1, Su-9, Tu-28. In 1961, Beregovoy was awarded the title "Honored Test Pilot of the USSR".
But manned astronautics has already burst into the history of mankind, and a new peak has appeared on the horizon. In 1964, Georgy Timofeevich achieved admission to the cosmonaut corps and completed a full course of training. And in October 1968, Colonel Beregovoy launched Soyuz-3 into orbit. For his courage in the orbital test flight, he was awarded a second "Gold Star" of Hero. In 1972, Beregovoy headed the Cosmonaut Training Center, carried out active service non-scientific activities, and a few years later defended his thesis for degree candidate of psychological sciences.
So the pilot-attack aircraft, the pilot-test pilot, the pilot-cosmonaut Georgy Beregovoy took three heights in his life, but he still considers the first to be the main one.
All, without exception, people who knew Georgy Beregovoy note: a good, reliable comrade, he knows how to work as much as necessary to solve the task. If he decides to do something, to achieve something, he will do it, he will achieve it. The pilots usually added: he flies superbly, he knows the technique as well as an engineer, he is bold, resourceful.
A vivid biography of Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy. It reflects, like a mirror, the glorious heroic path our people have traveled from the Great October Revolution to the present day, marked by outstanding victories on earth and in space.
Georgy Timofeevich grew up in Enakievo, a city of miners and metallurgists. His childhood coincided with unprecedented events: the first tractors appeared on the fields of collective farms, Magnitka, Dneproges and the metro in Moscow were built, an assault on the stratosphere and the first expeditions to the Arctic were undertaken. It was the time when the mighty wings were created and spread Soviet aviation. In the 1930s, Soviet aviation entered the road of great achievements: the heroic epic of rescuing the Chelyuskinites and the unprecedented flights of the crews of Chkalov and Gromov, the altitude and speed records of Kokkinaki, Alekseev, Nyukhtikov. Thousands of boys wanted to be the same brave and skillful pilots - winners of the air spaces, winged defenders of the sky of the Fatherland. Georgy Beregovoy also dreamed of being like that. About the first Heroes who glorified our Motherland as a great aviation power, Georgy heard a lot from his elder brother Victor, who worked in the 1930s at the Yenakievsky flying club.
The country needed pilots who were in love with the sky, brave, courageous, faithful to duty. She created all the conditions for young people to realize their dreams: a network of children's aircraft modeling circles, glider stations, flying clubs, and flight schools grew.
Georgy fell ill with aviation from the age of 10. He was engaged in aircraft modeling, participated in competitions, and when a children's technical station was opened in Yenakiyevo, he became an instructor, helping his peers to understand the designs of aircraft models. And he was terribly proud of such trust. And he was then 12 years old.
After 8 classes, he went to work as an apprentice electrician at a metallurgical plant. At the age of 15, he managed to persuade his older brother to take him to the airfield with him, where he could touch a real glider. The head of the glider school, Zaryvalov, noticing an indefatigable interest in the apparatus in the boy's eyes, allowed him to sit in his cockpit and work on the rudders. From that day on, Georgy spent all his evenings at the glider school: he helped to pull wonderful birds to the start, repair, wash. He eagerly listened to the leader in theoretical classes.
The gliding school was transformed into an flying club. 4 U-2 planes landed at the airfield. Glider pilots began to prepare and fly them. Beregovoi also prepared. The young mechanic mastered the flying business persistently, stubbornly, selflessly. One of the first he began to perform aerobatics and cope with the role of an instructor. And when a commission arrived in Yenakiyevo to select candidates for the military aviation school, Georgy Beregovoy was among the first candidates. The instructor who checked him in the air stated with satisfaction that this guy would make a good pilot.
The frosty day of December 15, 1938 was mourning in the country - the famous test pilot Valery Chkalov died. The next day, December 16, 1938, Georgy Beregovoy took the first step into big aviation - he became a cadet of the Lugansk Military Aviation School named after the Proletariat of Donbass and, as it were, accepted the banner from the hands of the great pilot. It is easy to learn when you love what you do and know how to work. It is even easier when you are led by knowledgeable and caring caregivers. Georgy Beregovoy enthusiastically studied the theory of flight and the design of machines, aerodynamics and engine design. But the favorites were workshops at the airport. He felt the plane with his whole being. He was always attracted by the boundless sky, height. The instructor and the commander of the detachment understood the young student and generously shared their knowledge and experience with him. Then, as a young man, Georgy Beregovoy thought that he was simply "lucky" with good teachers. Later, he already understood: they, teachers, mentors, like himself, are devoted to their work.
Weeks and months went by quickly. The young pilot plowed the air ocean more and more confidently. In the spring of 1941, state exams began. By June 20, all marks were in Beregovoy's record book. There was only one thing left - an order for appointment to a unit, for an internship. The combat alarm sounded in the early Sunday morning of June 22, and the formidable word "war" made it clear that there would be no prom. With tense faces, young pilots listened to the parting words of the head of the school: "You will undergo military training in the fire of war. The enemy is very strong, but we will break the back of fascism, which has encroached on the freedom and independence of our Motherland."
He was assigned to the Kalinin Front.
Here, - recalls Georgy Timofeevich, - there were names that I first heard back in my boyhood years and fell in love: Gromov and Baidukov. Gromov turned out to be the commander of the 3rd Air Army, in whose ranks I had to fight, and Baidukov commanded one of its divisions. Two famous pilots of the country, two Heroes of the Soviet Union, whose life I decided to take as a model for myself!
Georgy Timofeevich speaks sparingly about his combat activities:
He fought on the Kalinin, Central, Steppe, 1st and 2nd Ukrainian fronts. He spent half of the war with fighting friends in the aviation corps, commanded by Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin. The first flight was made near Rzhev, the last - near the Czech city of Brno. As for the combat work, it was enough for our "Ils": raids on fascist airfields, processing of enemy communications, destruction of artillery and anti-aircraft positions ...
Almost the entire Great Patriotic War, Georgy Beregovoy flew Il-2 attack aircraft. Particularly difficult tests had to be passed in the initial period of the war. There were not enough fighters to cover the Ils, and it was often very difficult for single-seat attack aircraft in air combat. The Ila pilot could only rely on maneuver, fire cover for his neighbor in the ranks and on his courage, stamina, resourcefulness, military cunning, all these qualities were repeatedly shown by Georgy Beregovoy, achieving impeccable performance of the combat missions of the command. Later, having already become the leader of the group, he taught by personal example the followers to fight evil, inventively, not to get lost in a difficult situation.
Having defeated the enemy column on the highway near Bogodukhov, the attack aircraft squadron, led by Beregov, returned to the airfield. Over the steppe, a group of Me-109s caught up with her, apparently taking off from an ambush airfield. The lieutenant understood that the situation was entirely in favor of the enemy: there were no cover fighters, not a cloud in the sky, not a tree below, only a yellow sea of sunflowers. And the enemy is already in the tail of the Ilov. What to do? Coastal sharply led the squadron to the ground. When the Nazis were about to open fire on the attack aircraft, in the sights of the Messers, instead of the greenish silhouettes of the Ils, there was a thick yellowish cloud of sunflower petals. It, like a curtain, hid the stormtroopers. The entire squadron safely returned to the airfield.
The young pilot had someone to learn combat skills from. The division in which he served was commanded by Hero of the Soviet Union Georgy Filippovich Baidukov, and the corps was commanded by Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin. And Beregovoi eagerly absorbed their experience, creatively applied everything new in battle. So, at one of the analyzes, the division commander recalled that when flying at low altitude over a forest and a swamp, the sound of engines is heard worse. Beregovoy immediately took this into account. In preparation for sorties, he carefully studied the terrain and, if possible, plotted a route over forests and wetlands. This more than once helped to achieve complete surprise of the strike, to take off in difficult weather conditions, when the enemy was not waiting for the strike, to find a place to land with minimal visibility.
Once, a group of attack aircraft, led by Beregov, flew out to strike at an enemy column. Light drizzling rain with snow, low cloudiness reliably hid the Ila from enemy observers. The group approached the target so covertly that the Nazis did not have time to make a single aimed shot. The column was destroyed.
The war gradually rolled back from their native land. Together with his regiment, Captain Georgy Beregovoy flew further and further west. He made 186 sorties. The motherland highly appreciated the military work of her faithful son. For courage and combat skills, skillful management of the squadron, he was awarded the orders of Alexander Nevsky and Bogdan Khmelnitsky, two orders of the Red Banner, the Order of the Patriotic War. In 1944, Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
In May 1945, many fellow soldiers of Beregovoy began to wonder what they would do after the Victory. He had no doubts: only to fly, to protect the sky of the Motherland, to train knowledgeable, courageous pilots. And for this you need to study yourself. In the summer of 1945, the squadron commander Beregovoy became a student of flight and tactical courses for the improvement of command personnel. Returning to the regiment, an experienced warrior, who became the flagship navigator, lovingly teaches young pilots and persistently improves his skills.
In 1948, having learned about the test pilot courses, Beregovoy asked to be enrolled as a student, and again he was "lucky": the most skilled test pilots P. M. Stefanovsky and Yu. A. Antipov became mentors. They passed on to the audience their experience of testing aircraft, tactfully, thoughtfully developed in them the qualities necessary for those who first try out new equipment, give it a way to the sky or close it: a high sense of responsibility, composure, prudence, instant reaction and decisive action in a difficult environment , a sense of the new, the ability to analyze the behavior of an aircraft in the air and give an extremely accurate assessment of any phenomenon that the tester encounters in flight.
There are days in the life of a tester when an aircraft, calculated by the designers according to all the rules of science, seemed to suddenly refuse to obey the pilot for no reason. Of course, in such cases there is a way out: straighten up in the seat, press tightly against the armored back, take your feet out of the pedals and, pressing the catapult lever, in a minute you will be under the parachute canopy. But in these moments of the highest emotional tension, the tester does not think about himself. He remembers the great trust of the team of people who created the plane. And the pilot enters the fight against the unknown, straining his will, knowledge, experience, endurance to the limit. This is the unwritten law of the testers.
One day, Colonel Beregovoy took off in a new jet fighter. We had to test it at maximum speed. Everything was going fine. The car easily gained a huge height, where the sky becomes almost black. Then he transferred the fighter to horizontal flight. Passed the sound barrier, and the plane rushes faster and faster. And when before the estimated top speed there was very little left, the control knob shuddered a little. Why?
Decreasing speed, the pilot pulled the handle towards himself. Didn't go. I tried to move it with a light jerk away from myself. The handle shifted a little and froze again. The altimeter needle began its run to zero. Beregovoi tried to pull the handle towards himself again. Unsuccessfully. It became clear that the horizontal rudders had jammed. The fighter, tilting its long sharp nose, rushed to the ground. The height is getting smaller and smaller. Soon it will not be enough for ejection. The pilot sees this, but continues to fight for the life of the aircraft, forgetting about the danger to his life. At a minimum altitude, he managed to transfer the car to level flight and land safely.
During the 16 years of work as a tester, there were many such flights that required the utmost exertion of all spiritual and physical strength from the pilot. Georgy Timofeevich tested 63 types of aircraft. There were both sad and happy times in those years. For this selfless work in the name of strengthening the power of the Motherland, Hero of the Soviet Union G. T. Beregovoy in 1961 received the title of Honored Test Pilot of the USSR.
Special thoughts and feelings, - says Georgy Timofeevich, - of course, caused me those flights that could be the last for some reason. Such flights are encountered in the life of test pilots - this is not a secret ...
But he never allowed himself to be complacent with what he had achieved, to rest on his laurels. The noble desire to give all his strength and abilities to the Motherland led him, the most experienced pilot who went through the crucible of war, over 15 years of test work, to the cosmonaut corps - people who open up the expanses of the Universe for humanity.
When Beregovoy came to the Cosmonaut Training Center, he had 43 years behind him, including 28 years of flight practice. When considering his report, someone was confused by age. All the selected candidates turned out to be 10 or even more years younger... General N. Kamanin also met Beregovoy with the same attitude.
I understand, I understand everything! he said after carefully reading the report. - But I have an order: take no older than 30 years ...
However, Beregovoy could no longer retreat - and achieved his goal. Again study, training, work, work, work. The future cosmonaut turned out to be an assertive man, of extraordinary diligence. With youthful enthusiasm, Georgy Beregovoy again took up textbooks, worked on simulators, studied to the smallest detail the most complicated technique. And again he was "lucky" with teachers and mentors. Everyone - from the famous scientist to the ordinary mechanic in the training laboratory - generously shared their knowledge with him. True, a lot of Beregovoy was already familiar. After all, aviation and astronautics are close relatives. Relatives, but not twins. In space, there are different, their own laws, not quite the same and not at all the ones that he took into account when flying in the atmosphere. The accumulated experience had to be refracted, passed through the prism of new knowledge. And Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy managed to do it. He entered the family of cosmonauts as quickly, simply, naturally, as he had once entered the family of attack aircraft of the combat regiment, and then the glorified unit of test pilots.
Theoretical classes, the study of the material part, physical training, training to the limit fill the working day of astronauts. Georgy Beregovoy, despite his experience and age, is engaged on a par with the youth, and sometimes a little bit more. This allowed him to catch up with younger and older cosmonauts in terms of length of service, and become one of the candidates for the next space flight.
Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy also spent many hours on simulators. Each lesson brought him closer to the day that everyone in the cosmonaut corps was waiting for - the day of the main test. And they are all ready for him, and the commission gave him the go-ahead. For the commander of the Soyuz-3 spacecraft, he came on October 26, 1968. Four days spent at the forefront of the struggle of mankind for the knowledge of the Universe, numerous scientific and technical experiments, perfectly performed at a great height at a speed of about 8 kilometers per second, confirmed that the pilot Beregovoy perfectly prepared for the main exam and passed it brilliantly. He conducted a number of new scientific experiments and research needed for further space exploration. The Soviet people warmly greeted him as a hero, as a winner. The motherland awarded her brave son for the feat on the Soyuz-3 ship the Order of Lenin and the second Golden Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Honored test pilot of the USSR became a pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR, Major General of Aviation.
Then, for 15 years, Beregovoy led the Yu. A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. A skilled organizer and educator, a man wise with great life and professional experience, he continued to explore space - this time with the help of his pets. In the manned space flights carried out over the years, in the extensive program carried out in the course of their research, testing and experiments, a considerable share of work and the Coastal ...
Georgy Beregovoy was born on April 15, 1921 in the village of Fedorovka, now the Karlovsky district of the Poltava region of Ukraine. In 1937 he graduated from eight classes of a secondary school in the city of Enakievo. In 1937 he studied at the flying club in the city of Yenakiyevo.
Since December 12, 1938 in the Red Army. On June 13, 1941 he graduated from the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation School named after the proletariat of Donbass. Since June 13, 1941, the pilot of the 314th reconnaissance aviation regiment of the 28th aviation division of the Central Front. Since October 3, 1941, the pilot of the 15th reserve aviation regiment of the Volga Military District. From February 1942 he was a pilot of the 150th short-range bomber aviation regiment of the Volga Military District. This aviation regiment was later renamed the 451st Assault Aviation Regiment. Before being sent to the active army, Georgy Beregovoy flew the Yak-4 and R-6 aircraft.
Member of the Great Patriotic War since August 1942. From August 15, 1942 he served as a flight commander of the 451st Assault Aviation Regiment. Since November 18, 1942, Georgy Beregovoy was a flight commander of the 235th Assault Aviation Regiment. Member of the CPSU (b) / CPSU since 1943. From December 1942 to March 25, 1943 he was trained in the 5th training aviation regiment.
By July 1944, Guards Captain Beregovoy made 108 sorties on Po-2, R-5, SB, and Il-2 aircraft, 75 of them leading a group of attack aircraft. In one of the battles he received a slight bullet wound in the shin of his left leg.
By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 26, 1944, for the exemplary performance of the combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the German invaders and the courage and heroism of the guards shown, Captain Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal .
By Victory, he completed 185 sorties. Member of the Rzhev-Sychevsk and Rzhev-Vyazemsky operations, the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of the Dnieper, the Belgorod-Kharkov, Zhytomyr-Berdichev, Proskurov-Chernivtsi, Lvov-Sandomierz, Debrecen, Bucharest and Vienna offensive operations.
In January 1964, by decision of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Beregovoy was enlisted in the cosmonaut corps. From January 25, 1964 to January 23, 1965, he underwent general space training. From March 1965 he was engaged in the combat use of spacecraft. From May 3, 1965 to January 1966, he was trained as the commander of the second crew of the Voskhod-3 spacecraft for a flight under a scientific program lasting 10-15 days. In January 1966, the flight program of the Voskhod-3 spacecraft and the composition of the crews were changed. From January to May 1966, he was trained as the commander of the second crew of the Voskhod-3 spacecraft for a flight under a military program lasting up to 20 days.
The training program was completed, complex training was successfully completed, but in May 1966 the flight was canceled due to the closure of the Voskhod program. From December 1966 to May 1968, he was trained as the commander of the active Soyuz spacecraft under the in-orbit docking program, first as part of the third crew, and from June 1967 in the first crew. The flight with the docking of 2 manned spacecraft was postponed. From August to October 1968, he was trained as a commander-pilot of the Soyuz-3 spacecraft, under the docking program with the Soyuz-2 unmanned spacecraft.
From October 26 to October 30, 1968, Colonel Beregovoy flew on the Soyuz-3 spacecraft, during which the spacecraft was repeatedly maneuvered in orbit and rendezvoused with the unmanned Soyuz-2 spacecraft, a number of technical experiments were carried out on development of systems and equipment of the Soyuz spacecraft, as well as observations for the purpose of studying near-Earth outer space. Flight duration: 3 days 22 hours 50 minutes 45 seconds.
For the successful completion of the orbital flight and the courage and heroism shown at the same time, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 1, 1968, Major General of Aviation Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy was awarded the Order of Lenin and the second Gold Star medal.
Since April 9, 1969, G.T. Onshore Deputy Head, and from June 26, 1972 Head of the Cosmonaut Training Center named after Yu.A. Gagarin. On January 3, 1987, he was dismissed.
He lived in the village of Chkalovsky, Moscow Region, then in Star City. Died June 30, 1995. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
He was awarded 2 Orders of Lenin, 2 Orders of the Red Banner, Orders of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 3rd class, Alexander Nevsky, 2 Orders of the Red Star, 2 Orders of the Patriotic War 1st class, Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd class, medals "For Military Merit", "For the Victory over Germany", "For the Capture of Budapest", "For the Capture of Vienna" and 11th anniversary medals, foreign awards: "Gold Star" of the Hero of Socialist Labor, the Order of Georgy Dimitrov, the medal "25 Years of People's Power", the medal "100th Anniversary of the Fall of the Ottoman Yoke", the Order of the Red Banner with diamonds, the Gold Medal "For Combat Commonwealth", "People's Hero of Yugoslavia" 2nd degree.
He was also awarded the Yu.A. Gagarin gold medal, the de Lavoe medal, and the K.E. Tsiolkovsky Prize of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Laureate of the USSR State Prize for training crews for flights under the Intercosmos program. Honorary citizen of the cities of Kaluga, Lugansk, Enakievo, Vinnitsa, Pleven, Sliven.
In school-gymnasium No. 37 of the city of Enakievo in the museum public education a department dedicated to the Hero was opened. In the same place, in Yenakiyevo, a bronze bust and a memorial stele were erected to him on the Alley of Heroes. In the village of Chkalovsky, a memorial plaque was installed on the house in which the Hero lived. In 2011, the Southern Railway named train No. 91/92 "Poltava-Moscow" after G.T. Beregovoy.