Georgiy Baidukov
Encyclopedia
Georgy Filippovich Baydukov was a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 aircraft test pilot and a Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...

 (1936).

Early years

Georgy Baydukov had been born in Taryshta railway station (Novosibirsk Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative and economic center is the city of Novosibirsk. Population: -Overview:...

, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

) to a railway worker. He became an orphan in the age of 9 and had been homeless for some time. Baidukov had been taken to orphanage and worked at railway construction for some time.

Georgy Baydukov enlisted into the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

 in 1926. He graduated Air Force Technical School and Kacha school for the military pilots in 1928 and served as a fighter pilot in 1928-1931.

Test pilot

Georgy Baydukov had been transferred to an Air Force's Testing institute and became an aircraft test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....

 in 1931. He tested number of fighter planes in 1931-1934 and had been instrumental in developing instrument flight rules
Instrument flight rules
Instrument flight rules are one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other are visual flight rules ....

 for the USSR's Air Force.

Ultralong Flights

Georgy Baydukov became a student of Air Force Academy in 1934. During that time he became involved with number of ultralong flights conducted by the Soviet Union. He tried to reach North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 flying from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 through the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

 in August 1935 as a member of Levanevsky
Sigizmund Levanevsky
Sigizmund Aleksandrovich Levanevsky was a Soviet aircraft pilot of Polish origin and a Hero of the Soviet Union .-Life and career:...

's crew, flying the ANT-25
Tupolev ANT-25
The Tupolev ANT-25 was a Soviet long-range experimental aircraft which was also tried as a bomber. First constructed in 1933, it was used by the Soviet Union for a number of record-breaking flights.-History and records:...

. The flight had been terminated because of technical problems. Baydukov continued to participate in ANT-25's testing in 1935-1936.

Valery Chkalov
Valery Chkalov
Valery Pavlovich Chkalov was a Russian aircraft test pilot and a Hero of the Soviet Union .-Early life:...

, Georgiy Baydukov and A. V. Belyakov flew an improved ANT-25 through the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

 to Udd Island
Baydukov Island
Baydukov Island , formerly Langr Island or Bol'shoy Langr Island, is a coastal island in the southern end of the Sea of Okhotsk...

, in the Sea of Okhotsk
Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and...

 (distance 9,374 km, flight time 56 h 20 min) from July 20, 1936 to July 22, 1936. Georgiy Baydukov had been awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...

 for this deed July 24, 1936.

The same crew piloted an ANT-25 from Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 to Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...

 through the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

 from June 18, 1937 to June 20, 1937 (distance 8,504 km).

Georgy Baydukov resumed his work as a test pilot in 1937. He tested PE-2
Petlyakov Pe-2
The Petlyakov Pe-2 was a Soviet dive bomber aircraft used during World War II. It was regarded as one of the best ground attack aircraft of the war and it was extremely successful in the roles of heavy fighter, reconnaissance and night fighter...

 and SB
Tupolev SB
The Tupolev ANT-40, also known by its service name Tupolev SB , and development co-name TsAGI-40, was a high speed twin-engined three-seat monoplane bomber, first flown in 1934....

 bombers, as well as participated in tests of a DB-A bomber.

During the Second World War

Georgy Baydukov participated in the Soviet-Finnish War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...

 in 1939-1940. He served in 85th Bomber Regiment.

Baydukov had been sent to the USA to discuss a purchase of American warplanes in 1941. He returned to the front lines in January 1942.

Baydukov served as a deputy commander of the 31st Air Force Division, commander of the air force of 4th strike army, commander of the 212nd (since May 1943 - the 4th Guard) Air Force Division. Commander of an Air Force Corps since January 1944.

Post-War years

Georgy Baydukov had served with the Soviet Air Force in various capacities until 1988, when he retired with the rank of General Colonel.

See also

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK