Unknown feat
DATE September 23, 1941 is included in all history textbooks - on this day, our troops stopped the Germans at the Pulkovo Heights. But in reality, the battle for Leningrad began two days earlier. Before the land offensive, the Nazis threw their aviation to destroy the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, based in Kronstadt. Without the fire shield of long-range naval artillery, our city could not hold out for long. The plans of the Hitlerite generals were thwarted by the senior operator of the Redut-3 radar station, 19-year-old Grigory Gelfenstein: he “saw” enemy aircraft many kilometers from their intended target and warned the air defense command posts about the insidious enemy raid.
The enemy's rebus snapped like nuts
At eight in the morning on September 21, 1941, the senior operator of the Redut-3 radar, Grigory Gelfenstein, took up another watch. Despite his young age, Gregory's position was very responsible: there were only three such stations on the Leningrad front at that time. The one on which Gelfenstein served was located on the Oranienbaum patch, in the village of Bolshaya Izhora, not far from Kronstadt. This station guarded the island itself, and Leningrad, and the ships of the Baltic Fleet.
The radar at that time was a bulky device. The round indicators, known to everyone from modern films, on which dots-airplanes are brightly highlighted, did not exist at that time. The picture of the air situation on the display screen vaguely resembled a cardiogram.
Based on the frequency of the pulsating bursts, the senior operator had to calculate the coordinates of all targets in the viewing area, the direction of their movement and the number of aircraft in groups. It was a very difficult puzzle. But Grigory Gelfenstein loved to unravel the plans of the enemy - this saved Leningrad.
They're flying to bomb Kronstadt
On that September morning, Grigory was able to decipher a terrible picture on the "Reduta" indicator: about 230 fascist bombers were flying towards Leningrad! The enemy has never undertaken such a powerful air attack.
Radar operator Gelfenstein noticed the planes when they were still far away - 200 kilometers from Leningrad. Using the railroad as a reference point, the powerful Junkers moved in groups in the direction from Luga, from the railway station Dno and from Novgorod to Gatchina and Siverskaya. There they formed a circle and reorganized into three shock columns.
Everything seemed obvious: the Germans were flying to bomb the northern capital! And suddenly the pulsating "cardiogram" showed something unusual: one of the columns headed west, not towards Leningrad. And the other two drums began to move towards the Gulf of Finland. And Grigory understood: they were flying to bomb Kronstadt! The Nazis want to destroy the artillery of the Baltic Fleet!
The count went into seconds: without doubting his guess, Gelfenstein ordered his assistant to transmit an encrypted report to the air defense command post of the Leningrad Front, to Kronstadt and to the air defense command post of the Baltic Fleet.
Call the alarm urgently
Hearing how calmly the operator in Kronstadt accepts the digits of the encoded message, Grigory got scared: what if he won’t believe it? He had reasons for concern: the radar equipment at that time was classified, nothing was known about it in the navy. Therefore, they did not trust the data obtained with its help.
Grigory snatched the telephone receiver from the assistant and said to the Kronstadt officer without any encryption:
- Two hundred and fifty are flying at you - do you hear? - two hundred and fifty bombers! Call the alarm urgently! In 12-15 minutes they will already be over Kronstadt! - He deliberately slightly exaggerated the number of aircraft, his voice was trembling.
It worked. A few seconds later, air-raid sirens began to sound in Kronstadt. The Nazi attack was repulsed, although our sailors still suffered losses.
The raids were repeated on 22 and 23 September. But if the first time this number did not work for the Fritzes, then the second and third attacks did not succeed, and even more so!
Tributs promised a Star of the Hero
Violation of instructions and broadcasting in plain text could literally cost the senior operator Gelfenstein his head. On September 23, the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral Tributs, arrived at the radar station. And immediately he summoned Grigory Gelfenstein. He walked to the authorities on wadded feet.
- Do you know what you did ?! the admiral asked the operator sternly, frightening him even more. - No, you are still too young and you yourself do not understand what you did! Well, you will understand later. You will receive the Star of the Hero and you will understand. This is a feat! You saved both Kronstadt and Leningrad!
After these words, Tributs embraced the soldier and kissed him.
On the same day, German tanks and infantry attacked the defenders of Leningrad from the Pulkovo Heights. This attack was met with heavy fire from 470 barrels of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, which did not suffer in the least from enemy raids, and was drowned.
Life as a reward for a feat
The senior operator of "Reduta-3" never received the Hero's drive. But Grigory Ilyich no longer regrets it. He is offended by something else:
- Why does everyone know about the tragedy in Pearl Harbor, which happened three months later, and they are still silent about the Battle of Kronstadt? The Japanese clearly showed what could have happened to our fleet if I hadn’t guessed the enemy’s plan in time and had not warned the command about it in time! According to my calculations, Japanese bombers unexpectedly dropped bombs weighing 300 tons on the American fleet and practically destroyed it. The ships of the Baltic Fleet in three days of battle should have fallen at least 1000 tons! But our anti-aircraft artillery forced German planes to drop their deadly cargo into the waters of the Gulf of Finland. We won, and I want people to know about it!
The glorious station "Redut-3" determined the entire future life of the senior operator: after the war, he continued to engage in radar and received more than 20 copyright certificates for inventions in this area. Now Grigory Ilyich is 86 years old.
“I am sure,” says the veteran, “that a long life was given to me precisely for what I did in those September days for Leningrad and for Russia.
