Bakhchivandzhi pilot. Grigory Bakhchivandzhi

Grigory Bakhchivandzhi was born on February 7, 1908 in the village of Brinkovskaya, now the Primorsko-Akhtarsky district of the Krasnodar Territory. He began his working life in 1925, working in a foundry. Then he was an assistant driver on a steam locomotive at the Primorsko-Akhtarsky depot in the Krasnodar Territory. Then he built a factory in Mariupol, and worked as a mechanic there. In 1931 he was drafted into the Red Army, and then became interested in aviation. In 1933, he received the specialty of aviation weapons technician, but Grigory had another goal - to become a pilot. And he became one - among the best cadets, he graduated from the Orenburg Military Aviation Pilot School.

Since 1935, Grigory Yakovlevich worked at the Air Force Research Institute, where he came immediately after graduating from flight school, and after 5 years he became one of the most famous and experienced pilots in the country. At first, Bakhchivandzhi worked on reconnaissance aircraft, then on fighter aircraft. After some time, he was tasked with testing new aircraft engines in flight, a delicate matter and far from safe.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War at the front, he took part in the defense of Moscow. He served as part of the 402nd Special Forces Fighter Regiment, where he showed his flying talent in all its brilliance.

On July 4 he won his first aerial victories - he personally destroyed 2 Do-215 reconnaissance aircraft. It happened like this.

Having received the order for the entire regiment to fly out, the commander of the 402nd IAP ON P.M. Stefanovsky left Bakhchivandzhi at the airfield to cover our fighters when returning from a combat mission. Less than 10 minutes after our planes took off, a Do-215 appeared over the airfield. Bakhchivandzhi's MiG rushed into the air straight from the parking lot. He got behind the enemy and opened fire from about 50 meters away. An enemy plane, engulfed in flames, crashed on the outskirts of the airfield.

At this time, another Dornier fell out of the clouds. Noticing his collapsed brother, he rushed away. Bakhchivanzhdi, having made a combat turn and forced the engine speed, quickly overtook the enemy and opened fire. Thick black smoke came out of the right engine of the Do-215, then a flame broke out. Turning over the wing, the enemy plane rushed to the ground... Further events are described in detail by Stefanovsky:

"... Our joy disappeared as if by hand. Even from the ground it was clear that the MiG's propeller had stopped. Now a spin would follow and... But this did not happen. A masterful turn followed. The plane with the engine not working began to land. The landing gear was extended , flaps, the machine is gliding. Is this a MiG-3 gliding? Yes, it is gliding and lands in a classic manner. Everyone who was at the airfield runs to the plane.

From a distance I see the hot face of the pilot, his white silk muffler is holed by a bullet, and there is a burn on his neck. Grigory is squeezed in a friendly embrace - not everyone is destined to win 2 brilliant victories on their very first combat mission. Then we inspect his plane. The engine, both radiators, wing spars, even the tires of the wheels are riddled with bullets. Indeed, only a tester was capable of landing such a “dead” car..."

In the following days, Bakhchivandzhi scored several more air victories: for example, on July 6, in the area of ​​​​the city of Nevel, together with Captain A.G. Proshakov, he destroyed a Ju-88 bomber. On July 10, in the same area, together with Lieutenant K.F. Kozhevnikov, he shot down an Hs-126 spotter. He also has victories over Me-110 and Me-109 fighters. In total, during the period from July 1 to August 10, 1941, the senior pilot of the 402nd Fighter Aviation Regiment (57th Mixed Aviation Division, 6th Air Army, Northwestern Front) Captain G. Ya. Bakhchivandzhi flew about 70 combat sorties, destroyed 7 enemy aircraft in air battles [some sources also give other numbers: 5 + 5 and 5 + 10; M. Yu. Bykov in his research points to 2 personal and 3 group victories. ]

In mid-August, Grigory Yakovlevich was recalled from the front to test the experimental BI-1 rocket aircraft. This is the description with which the personal file of Captain G. Ya. Bakhchivandzhi was sent to Sverdlovsk:

“He showed himself on the front of the fight against German fascism as a courageous, fearless fighter pilot. When performing combat missions, he showed exceptional initiative and valor... While at the front, by August 1941, he made 65 combat missions and flew 45 hours 05 minutes ". Conducted 26 air battles, destroyed 5 enemy aircraft personally and in a group. A strong-willed and demanding commander. Confidently flies aircraft in clouds and difficult weather conditions. As a pilot, he is balanced, calm, strictly observes flight discipline, flies willingly."

The right to the first test flights was granted to Bakhchivandzhi. (Later, the commander of the 402nd IAP ON, K. A. Gruzdev, also joined this work.) The appointment turned out to be extremely successful. This man happily combined such character traits as courage and shyness, simplicity and charm, love of life and fearlessness, and most importantly, an active life position. It manifested itself in him back in the Civil War, when, as a 9-year-old boy, for several days he hid his father and 5 sailors of the Sevastopol flotilla under the terrace of his house from the White Guards. He brought them food, told them about the situation in the city, and carried out his father’s instructions to communicate with his comrades.

When executions began in the city, he found the right fisherman, and he transported the sailors and Yakov Ivanovich to Mariupol at night. But there they fell into the hands of the whites. Then Bakhchivandzhi also moved to Mariupol and in one of the transfers managed to give his father 2 hacksaws. After waiting until the head of security left for a nearby station, Grisha’s father and his comrades sawed through the prison bars. The escape was a success. Thus, a 9-year-old boy saved his father and sailors from imminent death...

Work on the new machine was difficult and quite dangerous, since both the pilot and the engineers had to constantly discover something new, still unknown. Anything happened. So, on February 20, 1942, when starting the engine on the test bench, despite the competent actions of Bakhchivandzhi, ... an explosion occurred. A stream of nitric acid under pressure doused the face and clothes of engineer Arvid Pallo. During the explosion, the engine head broke off its mounts, flew between the nitric acid tanks, hit the armored backrest of the pilot's seat and tore off the mounting bolts. Bakhchivandzhi hit his head on the instrument board and cut his forehead. But he did not refuse to continue the tests, and, after returning from the hospital, he got involved in the work with even greater persistence.

On May 15, 1942, Grigory Yakovlevich performed the first flight on the BI-1, thereby opening a new era of jet aviation (for a detailed story about this flight, read the article “A Leap into the Unknown...”). Flights on this plane were fraught with special difficulties. They consisted not only of the unusual engine and aerodynamics of the car, but also of the great imperfection of design solutions. As a rule, it was necessary to land on the BI-1 after the fuel had been completely exhausted; it was unpleasant to be in the vicinity of nitric acid, which was under high pressure and sometimes burst out through the walls of the tubes and tanks. These damages constantly had to be repaired. But the main difficulty was that at that time there were no wind tunnels with high-speed purging of the aircraft. And therefore the experienced BI-1 took off “with many unknowns.”

Grigory Yakovlevich understood perfectly well what difficulties he had to overcome. So, at one of the parties, in response to congratulations from friends on a successful flight, he uttered unusual words that caused amazement and controversy among all those present: “My friends, thank you for everything, for your work, for your wishes for health. But I know that I will crash.” on this plane! I am in a sober mind and I am aware of my words. We are at the forefront of a technical battle, and we still cannot do without casualties. I am going to this with a full sense of duty." Unfortunately, he turned out to be right in his premonitions...

Bakhchivandzhi lifted the plane for safe flights 4 more times. These were the 2nd and 3rd copies of the machine, equipped with skis (the first BI, damaged during landing on its first flight, was already written off). The second flight was made only on January 10, 1943, that is, with a break of almost 8 months, caused by the difficulties of building a second copy of the aircraft and engine, as well as the need to install a ski landing gear on the machine.

The third flight, on January 12, 1943, was performed by Lieutenant Colonel K. A. Gruzdev. In this flight, a speed of 630 km/h was reached, but when the landing gear was extended before landing, one ski came off. Gruzdev, showing restraint, managed to safely land the plane on one right ski, without even damaging the experimental machine.

Answering the question of his comrades, what feelings he experienced during the flight, Konstantin Afanasyevich answered like this: “...And fast, and scary, and the fire is behind... In a word, you fly like the devil on a broom!..”

The next 3 flights were performed by Grigory Yakovlevich on March 11, 14 and 21, 1943. The flight on March 27 was Bakhchivandzhi’s last. While completing a mission to achieve a maximum flight speed of 800 km/h, at an altitude of about 2000 meters, the plane suddenly went into a dive at an angle of about 50 degrees. The car and its pilot fell 6 km south of the airfield.

At first it was decided that when the engine was stopped at full thrust under the influence of the resulting overload directed forward, Bakhchivandzhi hit his head on the optical sight and lost consciousness...

Another reason was the possibility of spontaneous release of one of the skis in flight, which disrupted the controllability of the car. The true cause of the disaster became known only after the construction of a new wind tunnel at TsAGI, which made it possible to conduct research in high-speed air flows. It was found that on an airplane with a straight wing, such as the BI-1, at transonic speeds a huge diving moment arises, which is almost impossible for the pilot to cope with...

After the tragic death of G. Ya. Bakhchivandzhi, the oldest test pilot of the country, Boris Nikolaevich Kudrin, flew on the BI-6 aircraft of an improved design in January - May 1945, and a little later, the rather famous pilot Matvey Karpovich Baikalov.

In 1946, test pilot Alexey Konstantinovich Pakhomov joined the tests of the modified BI-1bis.

However, it soon became clear that, despite the advantage in speed, the BI aircraft as a fighter-interceptor could not be adopted for service due to its short flight duration (engine operating time did not exceed several minutes) and operational difficulties.

Grigory Bakhchivandzhi is buried in the cemetery of the village of Maly Istok, located near Koltsovo airport. His BI-1 test partner Konstantin Gruzdev, who died in February 1943 on the Airacobra, and Trofim Chigarev, who died in October 1941, are buried next to him. Only in February 1963, representatives of the Civil Aviation Research Institute of the Air Force installed an obelisk on the grave of Bakhchivandzhi, which had been unnamed until then.

In the village of Brynkovskaya, Krasnodar Territory, in the homeland of Grigory Bakhchivandzhi, a majestic memorial to their fellow countryman, the Hero, was opened; at the Sverdlovsk Koltsovo airfield, at the site of the BI-1 crash, a memorial stone was laid; one of the craters of the volcano on the Moon, one of the railway stations of the Yaroslavl road and one of the streets of the village in which the tester spent the last years of his life are named after him; There is now a memorial plaque on the house where Grigory Bakhchivandzhi lived.

Many years after the death of Bakhchivandzhi, in 1962, when his flights were studied in more detail, the question arose about worthy perpetuation of the memory of the pilot, about awarding him the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But a solution to this had to wait for many years. An obstacle to this was the fact that on October 17, 1942, for testing the world's first combat fighter with a rocket engine, G. Ya. Bakhchivandzhi was already awarded the Order of Lenin...

However, many prominent statesmen and military leaders continued to insist on their own. Finally, on April 28, 1973, Grigory Yakovlevich Bakhchivandzhi was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union, posthumously, for the courage and heroism shown in the development of new jet technology and in battles with enemies during the Great Patriotic War. He was awarded the Order of Lenin (twice) and medals.

Grigory Yakovlevich Bakhchivandzhi

1909-1943

Soviet test pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, captain.

Biography

Born on February 7 (February 20, new style) 1908 or 1909 in the village of Brinkovskaya, Primorsko-Akhtarsky district, Krasnodar Territory, where he graduated from seven classes of school. Gagauz of Bulgarian origin.

He began his career in 1925, in the city of Primorsko-Akhtarsk, where he worked in a foundry, then as an assistant locomotive driver at the Akhtari station depot.

In 1927, he moved to the city of Mariupol, Donetsk region, Ukrainian SSR, where he participated in the construction of the Ilyich Plant and subsequently worked there as a pipe-roller in the open-hearth shop. In 1931, the IX Komsomol Congress accepted patronage over the Air Force of the Red Army and Komsomol member Grigory Bakhchivandzhi, fulfilling the decision of the congress, voluntarily asked to join the aviation.

Since 1931, in the ranks of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA). Member of the CPSU(b) since 1932. In 1933 he graduated from the Aviation Technical School, and in 1934 from the Orenburg Pilot School. In 1935, Grigory Yakovlevich, after graduating from the Orenburg pilot school, arrived in the regiment. He demonstrates excellent piloting technique, shows deep knowledge of the aircraft, and high physical fitness. For an exemplary demonstration of piloting technique and in-depth knowledge of aviation technology, the pilot is sent to the Research Institute of the Red Army Air Force (VVS Research Institute) for flight test work. At first the pilot worked on reconnaissance aircraft, then on fighters. After some time, he was assigned to test new aircraft engines in flight.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, in 1941, the pilot voluntarily went to the front as part of the 402nd IAP, formed on the basis of the Air Force Research Institute, as a fighter pilot. Participated in the defense of Moscow. He made sixty-five combat missions on a MiG-3 aircraft and fought 26 air battles. I personally shot down 2 enemy aircraft and 3 in the group.

In August 1941, the pilot was awarded the military rank of “captain” and he was sent to the Air Force Research Institute base in the city of Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) to test the first jet fighter BI-1.

On October 17, 1942, for courage and heroism shown at the front, Bakhchivandzhi was awarded the first Order of Lenin.

On February 20, 1942, during a test launch of the BI-1 engine, an explosion occurred at the stand. A jet of nitric acid under pressure hit the lead engineer Arvid Vladimirovich Pallo in the face, the engine head broke off its mounts, flew between the tanks with nitric acid and hit the armored back of the pilot's seat, tearing off the mounting bolts. Grigory Bakhchivandzhi hit the dashboard and cut his forehead, but despite what happened, he did not refuse to continue the tests and, upon returning from the hospital, became more actively involved in the work.

Already on May 15, 1942, the pilot performed the first flight on a BI-1 with a working liquid-propellant rocket engine (LPRE). The flight took place from Koltsovo airport in Sverdlovsk.

Bakhchivandzhi died on March 27, 1943 during another test flight. The pilot's assignment for his last flight included bringing the speed of horizontal flight to 800 km/h at an altitude of 2000 meters. According to observation from the ground, the flight proceeded normally until the end of engine operation at the 78th second. After the engine stopped running, the fighter, in horizontal flight, at a speed of over 900 km/h, smoothly entered a dive and hit the ground at an angle of 50º. The car crashed six kilometers south of the airfield. The decision to build 30-40 prototypes was canceled, although test pilot Boris Kudrin continued testing the missile interceptor for some time.

The mystery of Bakhchivandzhi’s death was revealed only a few years later. When testing models in a wind tunnel at high speeds, the phenomenon of the aircraft being pulled into a dive was revealed, which they did not know how to combat at that time. It was studied in practice by pilot engineer A. G. Kochetkov and other testers.

Grigory Bakhchivandzhi was buried near the city of Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) - in the cemetery of the village of Maly Istok, located near the Koltsovo airport. In February 1963, an obelisk was erected on the grave.

In 1987, a 41 km platform on the chord section of the Yaroslavl direction of the Moscow Railway, near the Chkalovsky military airport and Star City, was named in honor of G. Ya. Bakhchivandzhi.

Awards

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 28, 1973, Captain Bakhchivandzhi Grigory Yakovlevich was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Medal "Gold Star"

The order of Lenin

The order of Lenin

Memory

The village at the Chkalovsky airfield (Moscow region) is named in honor of Grigory Bakhchivandzhi, as well as the Bakhchivandzhi platform for commuter traffic along the Yaroslavl direction of the Moscow Railway;

Monuments to Bakhchivanzhdi were installed:

in the village of Maly Istok (at the hero’s grave);

in the city of Yekaterinburg (a monument near the Koltsovo international airport and a bust on Bakhchivandzhi Street);

in the village of Brinkovskaya, in the pilot’s homeland;

in the village of Patrushi (an obelisk near the crash site of the BI-1 plane).

The name Bakhchivanzhdi was given to the following streets:

in the city of Yekaterinburg (leading to Koltsovo International Airport);

in the city of Orenburg;

in the city of Mariupol (Ukraine);

in the city of Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Territory;

in the city of Aramil, Sverdlovsk region;

in the city of Akhtubinsk, Astrakhan region;

in the city of Shchelkovo, Moscow region (in the Shchelkovo-3 microdistrict);

in the city of Pervouralsk, Sverdlovsk region (in the Bilimbay microdistrict);

in the city of Krasnodar;

in the village of Brinkovskaya, in the pilot’s homeland.

The following are also named after Bakhchivandzhi:

school No. 60 in Yekaterinburg;

the square in front of the Yekaterinburg international airport - “Koltsovo”;

secondary school at the Air Force Research Institute in Yekaterinburg;

crater on the far side of the Moon.

On May 15, 1942, Grigory Yakovlevich performed the first flight on the BI-1, thereby opening a new era of jet aviation.

Born on February 20, 1909 in the village of Brinkovskaya, now Primorsko-Akhtarsky district, Krasnodar region. Since 1925 he worked in a foundry. Then he was an assistant driver on a steam locomotive at the Primorsko-Akhtarsky depot in the Krasnodar Territory. Then he built a factory in Mariupol and worked there as a mechanic.

Since 1931 in the Soviet Army. He graduated from the Orenburg Military Flight School in 1934, having 2 military specialties: weapons technician and pilot.

Since 1935, on flight test work at the Air Force Research Institute. At first, Bakhchivandzhi worked on reconnaissance aircraft, then on fighters. After some time, he was assigned to test new aircraft engines in flight.

In 1941, he participated in the Great Patriotic War as part of the 402nd Special Fighter Aviation Regiment, formed on the basis of the Air Force Research Institute. He fought on the MiG-3 fighter, which he tested the day before. From July 1 to August 10, 1941, he made about 70 combat missions and shot down 6 (5) enemy aircraft during the defense of Moscow.

In mid-August 1941, he was recalled from the front to the Air Force Research Institute to test the first rocket fighter BI-1. On February 20, 1942, when starting the engine on the test bench, despite the competent actions of Bakhchivandzhi, ... an explosion occurred. A stream of nitric acid under pressure doused Arvid Pallo's face and clothes. During the explosion, the engine head broke off its mounts, flew between the nitric acid tanks, hit the armored backrest of the pilot's seat and tore off the mounting bolts. Bakhchivandzhi hit his head on the instrument board and cut his forehead. But he did not refuse to continue the tests, and, after returning from the hospital, he got involved in the work with even greater persistence.

The pilot's assignment for the seventh flight, which took place on March 27, 1943, provided for bringing the aircraft's horizontal flight speed to 750 - 800 km/h according to the instrument at an altitude of 2000 m. According to observations from the ground, the seventh flight, right up to the end of engine operation at the 78th second , proceeded normally. After the engine stopped running, the plane, which was in horizontal flight, lowered its nose, went into a dive and hit the ground at an angle of about 50°. The car and its pilot fell 6 km south of the airfield. The reason for the straight-wing aircraft being pulled into a dive at speeds above 900 km/h was clarified later.

He was buried in the cemetery of the village of Maly Istok, located near Koltsovo airport. His partner in BI testing, Konstantin Gruzdev, who died in February 1943 on the Airacobra, and Trofim Chigarev, who died in October 1941, are buried next to him. Only in February 1963, representatives of the Civil Aviation Research Institute of the Air Force erected an obelisk on the grave of Bakhchivandzhi, which had been unnamed until then.

Awarded the Order of Lenin (twice) and medals.

On April 28, 1973, G.Ya. Bakhchivandzhi was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The fond memory of him and his flights into the unknown is reflected:

In the name of the platform "Bakhchivandzhi" of suburban traffic on the Yaroslavl railway;

The installation of a monument in the village of Brinkovskaya (in the pilot’s homeland) and in Koltsovo (Air Force Research Institute, Sverdlovsk Region), where the name of Bakhchivandzhi was given to the school;

A crater on the far side of the Moon is named after Bakhchivandzhi

Yuri Gagarin’s words are well known: “Without the flights of Grigory Bakhchivandzhi, April 12, 1961 might not have happened.”