Eight anti-aircraft missiles were fired during the destruction of a Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.
Today, few people know that the fate of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the war could befall any of the cities of the USSR, including Moscow. In the United States, a plan called "Dropshot" was developed, which provided for the delivery of nuclear strikes on large industrial centers of the Soviet Union.
Meanwhile, American reconnaissance aircraft flew through the airspace of our country with impunity. Alas, they flew at high altitudes, where Soviet fighter-interceptors could not reach them at that time. It is not known how the events would develop, if the USSR did not find a worthy response to atomic blackmail … Among the measures taken was the creation in the shortest possible time of the newest anti-aircraft missile weapon of the air defense system - the S-75 air defense system, which on May 1, 1960, suppressed F. Powers' reconnaissance flight … The real events that took place then in the sky over the Sverdlovsk region and on the Ural land, for a long time were not subject to the slightest publicity. And some of the details of the enacted drama became known only very recently.
SHOOTING UP
On that day, an American Lockheed U-2 aircraft took off early in the morning from a Pakistani airfield near Peshawar. The car was piloted by Senior Lieutenant Francis Harry Powers. At 5:36 a.m. the high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft crossed the USSR border in the Kirovabad region (now the city of Pyanj, Tajikistan). The flight route ran over secret Soviet objects located from the Pamirs to the Kola Peninsula. Lockheed U-2 was supposed to open the air defense grouping, as well as take pictures of the nuclear industry located in the Chelyabinsk region.
Initially, they tried to intercept the spy plane using the latest domestic air defense fighter Su-9 for that time. Captain I. Mentyukov was ordered to overtake the plane from the factory airfield in Novosibirsk to the airfield in the city of Baranovichi, making an intermediate landing at the Koltsovo airfield near Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg). The mission was not a combat mission, and the Su-9 did not have air-to-air missiles (guns were not installed on interceptor fighters at that time). The flight was planned at medium altitudes, so the pilot did not have a pressure helmet and a high-altitude compensating suit.
Despite this, the pilot Mentyukov was ordered to ram the spy plane. Su-9 could climb only 17-19 thousand meters. To destroy the airspace violator, it was necessary to disperse the fighter and "jump" to a 20-kilometer height. However, due to an error in targeting, the Su-9 "emerged" in front of Powers' car. For a new attempt at ramming, it was required to make a U-turn, which the interceptor could not make because of the thin air at a 20-kilometer altitude. In addition, the high speed of the Su-9 interfered: it significantly exceeded the speed of the U-2. And there was only fuel left in the plane for landing, and not for a go-around.
In this situation, the command of the country's Air Defense Forces decided to destroy the Lockheed U-2 using the S-75 anti-aircraft missile systems deployed near Sverdlovsk. But the situation was complicated by the lack of time, since the target was already leaving the affected area.
The order to open fire was received by the division under the command of Major M. Voronov. The shooting was carried out in pursuit. Of the three missiles on which the "Start" command passed, only one missiles came off the launchers. According to the official version, the installations stood at a ban angle (Lockheed U-2 was in line with the antenna post cabin and launchers), as a result of which the rocket could damage the CHP antennas after launch. According to the unofficial version, due to the excitement, the targeting officer forgot to unlock the "Start" button.
The launch of only one missile instead of three (as required by the Firing Rules) saved the life of the American pilot. The rocket destroyed the wing, tail unit and engine of the reconnaissance aircraft, after which it began to fall from a 20-kilometer height, tumbling. Powers managed to get out of the car by rolling over the side of the cockpit.
MISCLEANING IN THE AIR
After landing, the American was detained by local residents (at first, however, they mistook him for a Soviet cosmonaut). He did not use the vial of poison, as required by the CIA instructions, but chose to surrender. Francis Harry Powers was convicted of espionage and then exchanged for a Soviet spy, Rudolph Abel (William Fischer), who was arrested in the United States and sentenced to 32 years in prison.
But the story of the downed and pilotless Lockheed U-2 aircraft did not end there. When the unguided vehicle reached a height of ten kilometers, it entered the engagement zone of another missile division, commanded by Captain N. Sheludko. The S-75 air defense system was not so long ago adopted for service, and the calculations did not have sufficient experience to accurately determine by the indicators: whether the target was hit or not.
The rocketeers decided that there was a target on the screens that had put passive interference. Therefore, the division of Captain Sheludko opened fire. The falling spy plane and the wreckage of the first missile overtook three more missiles. Thus, a total of four missiles were fired (one - in pursuit by the battalion of Major M. Voronov, and three more - by the battalion of Captain N. Sheludko at the wreckage).
In addition, due to the lack of interaction with fighter aircraft, two MiG-19 aircraft were fired upon, which, in spite of the "Carpet" command (a command for the immediate landing of all military and civilian aircraft), raised an American reconnaissance officer to intercept.
A pair of MiG-19 on duty took off from the Bolshoye Savino airfield (Perm region). At the Koltsovo airfield, the planes sat down for refueling. However, on the personal instructions of the commander of the fighter aircraft, the Air Defense Forces of the country, Marshal of Aviation E. Savitsky, the MiGs took off again. The commander really wanted the violator to be shot down by his subordinates, and not by the anti-aircraft missile forces. Despite the fact that the MiG-19 interceptors could not rise 20 km above the ground (their maximum ceiling is 15,000 m), the pilots were assigned a combat mission: to destroy the American reconnaissance aircraft. To do this, just like before the Su-9, they had to literally "jump" to an altitude of 17 km at high speed at high speed, have time to aim and fire missiles at Lockheed U-2.
At that time, there was a rule: when the “friend or foe” responder was turned on on the master's plane, it should be turned off on the slave's car. This was done in order not to overload the screen of indicators of ground radars with unnecessary information. At maximum altitude in thin air, the MiG pair could not stay in close formation - the wingman's fighter fell behind.
In pursuit of the target, the MiG entered the zone of destruction of the battalion under the command of Major A. Shugaev. The defendant worked for the leading captain Ayvazyan, and he was identified as “his own”. The aircraft of the led senior lieutenant S. Safronov with the defendant turned off was mistaken for the enemy, fired at with three missiles and shot down. Senior Lieutenant Safronov was killed.
Thus, a total of seven missiles were fired at Lockheed U-2 and two MiGs. Another (eighth) missile was fired by an anti-aircraft missile division of a neighboring regiment under the command of Colonel F. Savinov. This happened after Captain Mentyukov, in his Su-9, inadvertently flew into the launch zone. Fortunately, the pilot managed to quickly assess the situation and went beyond the far border of the battalion's engagement zone.
According to the official version, the reason for the bombardment of the Su-9 was the untimely change of the codes of the "friend or foe" identification system. The high-altitude interceptor was temporarily at the Koltsovo airfield and the appropriate team was not brought to it. In this regard, after the Soviet fighter took off again, its respondent did not respond to the RTV request. As for the S-75 air defense system, the ground-based radio requestor (NRZ) was not installed on the first modifications of the complex.
Another reason for the confusion in the skies over the Urals is due to the so-called manual air combat control mode. At that time, the command post (CP) of the 4th separate air defense army was not equipped with an automated control system "Air-1", which was only recently adopted. When working in "manual mode", the delay time for the passage of information about the air situation from the radar company to the command post of the army was 3-5 minutes.
The first research exercise, which worked out the issues of close interaction of the three branches of the country's air defense forces - ZRV, RTV and IA, was held only in August 1959 and, based on its results, the Air-1 automated control system had just begun to enter the border districts.
The tactical and technical characteristics of the Lockheed U-2 aircraft (created in 1956) were also of great importance. It was specially designed for stratospheric reconnaissance. The engine installed on the car allowed it to fly for a long time at an altitude of 20-24 km at a speed of 600-750 km / h. The plane had a very low reflective surface for those times, which made it difficult to observe it on the radar indicators. Thanks to all this, since 1956, the Americans have been able to carry out espionage flights with impunity, including in the areas of Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, the Baikonur training ground, over other especially important cities and facilities of the USSR.
To increase survivability, the Lockheed U-2 was equipped with an automatic Ranger active jamming device that operated in the X-band. However, due to an error of American intelligence, the Ranger equipment had a frequency range different from the S-75 air defense system (6 and 10 centimeters in the H-band) and therefore did not affect the operation of the CHP and the missile.
AWARDS AND CONCLUSIONS
The officers who distinguished themselves in the destruction of the American spy plane were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Among them are the commanders of the anti-aircraft missile battalions M. Voronov and N. Sheludko, as well as the pilot, senior lieutenant S. Safronov (posthumously). The decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on awarding Senior Lieutenant Safronov was not published, all information about the downed Soviet plane was classified as "Secret" for many years.
Of course, the military-political leadership of the USSR drew appropriate conclusions from everything that happened. Specialists of the Soviet defense industry studied the wreckage of the latest American aircraft, after which our defense industry made a powerful leap: new aircraft engines were developed, the production of traveling wave lamps began, high-tech materials appeared.
As a result of the actions of air defense units to destroy Lockheed U-2, in accordance with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces of the country, from September 6 to September 19, 1960, an anti-aircraft missile barrier was created from 55 C-75 divisions with a length of 1340 km from Stalingrad to Orsk and the Sary-Shagan training ground. By the beginning of 1962, according to the decision of the military council of the country's Air Defense Forces, a second anti-aircraft missile line was formed from Krasnovodsk to Ayaguz with a length of 2875 km. In addition, the Riga - Kaliningrad - Kaunas line is emerging as part of 20 C-75 divisions and 25 C-125 divisions, and 48 divisions are deployed along the Black Sea coast: Poti - Kerch - Evpatoria - Odessa.
These were the demands and laws of the Cold War. Let us recall in this connection that in 1962 the United States possessed 5,000 nuclear weapons, and the USSR - 300. There were 229 ICBMs in the United States, and only 44 in the Soviet Union (of which only 20 ICBMs were on alert). The American Air Force was armed with 1,500 bombers capable of delivering nuclear weapons, and the Soviet Air Force had no more than 150 aircraft of this type.
The tense situation of that time is best characterized by the catchphrases of the first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, NS Khrushchev: "If you" Leave ", then we will get away with you!" (referring to the U-2 spy plane, from the first letter of which came "hoot"), as well as the phrase he said in New York at the UN General Assembly. Speaking there, Nikita Sergeevich threatened: "We will show you Kuzka's mother!" It was about a 50-megaton hydrogen bomb, which our developers unofficially called "Kuz'kina's mother." True, they say, the translators could not then accurately convey the meaning of this mysterious expression of the Soviet leader.
