Nikolai Kamanin
Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin | |
---|---|
Colonel General | |
Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union |
Other work | Soviet space program, head of cosmonaut training |
Signature |
Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin (
In
From 1960 to 1971, General Kamanin was the program manager of the
Early life
Nikolai Kamanin was born in
According to his son, Lev Kamanin, Nikolai Kamanin was actually born in 1909 and changed it to 1908 to cheat the Army admission staff when he volunteered in 1927.[5] He passed the airforce physical test and completed the pilots' school in Borisoglebsk in 1929, trained by legendary pilot Victor Kholzunov. Kamanin was dispatched to the site of Russo-Chinese railroad conflict in the Far East, arriving one day after ceasefire. There, he joined the legendary Lenin Air Regiment, the first air force unit in Soviet history. Kamanin flew a two-seater reconnaissance airplane, including 11-hour endurance flights over the Sea of Japan. His crewmate, incidentally, was an ethnic Chinese.[6]
Chelyuskin rescue
In February 1934, the steamship
The largest group of seven military and civilian reconnaissance pilots on Polikarpov R-5 biplanes, based in Primorsky Krai, was led by Kamanin (he later grounded one of the pilots for insubordination). The group sailed from Vladivostok 2 March 1934, disembarked at Olyutorka and landed at Vankarem airfield 1 April. Kamanin and Vasily Molokov flew from a temporary base in Vankarem settlement to the ice camp, saving 34 and 39 survivors. On their first flight from the ice camp, R-5 (designed as a two-seater) carried a crew of two, plus two men from Chelyuskin in the hull. The next flights added makeshift wing gondolas, carrying two more men per mission. Other pilots from the Kamanin team hauled them from Vankarem to Providence Bay seaport. The ice camp was completely evacuated 13 April 1934; Kamanin returned with the ship's bosun and eight riding dogs.
The next day, six pilots that flew to the ice camp and back (including Kamanin) and
World War II
Occupation of Iran
In 1939, Kamanin completed training at Zhukovsky Airforce Academy. Prior to his front-line assignments, Colonel Kamanin held a staff role in Central Asia, setting up 17 training facilities and shaping up fresh air force units. On 25 August 1941, in agreement with the United Kingdom, Soviet troops crossed the border with Iran, eventually taking control over the northern part of this country. Kamanin's air brigade provided logistical and reconnaissance support for this operation. On 20 July 1942, Kamanin was summoned to Moscow to organize, train and lead the newly conceived 292nd Ground Attack Air Division (292 штурмовая дивизия, 292 шад).[6]
Division Commander: Rzhev, Demyansk
On 25 July 1942, Kamanin arrived at his new command, only to find orders that the division had to send its fully manned, combat-ready aviation regiments to the front. The division was given new units only in September 1942, including the 800th, 820th and 667th Attack Aviation Regiments equipped with Ilyushin Il-2, and 427th Fighter Aviation Regiment equipped with Yakovlev Yak-1 fighters.
On 16 October 1942, in the days of the
Corps Commander: Kursk
Kamanin, promoted to major general on 18 May 1943, took command of 8th Combined Air Corps. The corps contained two ground attack divisions: 212th, later Fourth Guards (commander Colonel
On 21 May 1943, the corps relocated south, near
Advancing over Ukraine
Throughout 1943, the corps followed advancing troops in Ukraine, but its actions were limited by fuel and ammunition rationing. In the beginning of
In spring 1944, Kamanin obtained permission to fly personal missions in enemy territory and was engaged in deep reconnaissance of the Lviv area with Lieutenant Pyotr Schmigol (Hero of the Soviet Union, 1944). This information paved the road to the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive of July 1944.[6]
Raid on Lviv
Lviv was defended by an estimated force of 700 German aircraft. Shortly before the battle, Ivan Konev prohibited any ground action until the air force provided reliable data on enemy formations. Instead, Kamanin proposed a combination of night-time reconnaissance with a major ground attack by IL-2 units. This plan was originally considered doomed to failure, since the IL-2 was never intended for night flight, and very few Sturmovik pilots had night flight experience. Technicians modified IL-2 exhaust pipes so that exhaust would not blind pilots completely, but otherwise the operation remained a high risk. Thus, Kamanin planned to take off at night, arrive over Lviv airfields early at dusk and return after dusk.
The first group to arrive at Lviv airfield - six Yak fighters - prevented takeoff of German defence fighters. Another group of 12 fighters patrolled along the return route. The first attack unit of eight IL-2's, protected by eight fighters, attacked the German airplanes on the ground in a 1300-meter dive. This was followed by the main force of IL-2 bombers, arriving in groups of four.
The Soviet formation of 34 fighters and 24 attack planes lost 3 airplanes. Kamanin estimated German losses at 30 twin-engined airplanes and one Focke-Wulf Fw 190 (of the 150 aircraft presumed to be on the ground) plus warehouses and other materiel. The same night, similar strikes at three other airfields effectively crippled German resistance in the air.
After completion of Lviv-Sandomierz operation, Kamanin was awarded the Order of Kutuzov.[6]
Budapest to Prague
In September 1944, Romania changed sides and turned against Germany (see
Meanwhile, Kamanin's own force was heavily engaged over Tisza valley, flying 150-200 sorties daily, paving the road to Budapest. In December 1944, his regiments relocated to an extremely dangerous position - airfields only 10-12 kilometers behind the front line. This was, however, the only solution that could enable effective support of ground troops after an all-out offensive was launched 20 December 1944. This day, the corps flew over 1000 sorties. Kamanin's corps operations in the Battle of Budapest were limited mostly by the physical state of dirt airfields (other formations, based farther from the front line, were also limited by long approach distances). The new position happened to be placed directly on the axis of German Operation Konrad, and was key in tying up this counteroffensive.[6]
Arkady Kamanin
Arkady Kamanin, Nikolai's son, was born in 1928. He spent most of his childhood on the airfields and at an early age could identify most of the Soviet military airplanes by the engine's sound alone. After the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, Arkady worked at one of the aircraft plants in Moscow. Later in 1941, he was evacuated to Tashkent with his mother and younger brother Leo, where they lived until the spring of 1943. In the middle of spring of 1943 he arrived at Andreapol airfield (Kalininsky battlefront), where his father's air division was quartering. Formally enlisted at the age of 14, Arkady served as a mechanic at a liaison squadron, where he learned practical flying skills by hitchhiking rides with real pilots, whom he asked to let him steer. After he managed to land a Polikarpov Po-2 by himself when the pilot was wounded by shrapnel, he passed the official examinations for piloting the Po-2, becoming the youngest pilot of World War II at the age of 15. Soon after that he was granted his personal Po-2 with forked lightning painted on fuselage. On one of these flights, Arkady managed to save the wounded Lieutenant Berdnikov, who crash-landed his damaged IL-2 near the front line, while retrieving the plane's reconnaissance film and returning safely to the base. For his excellent service, Arkady Kamanin received two combat Orders of the Red Star, the Order of the Red Banner, the Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945", the Medal "For the Capture of Budapest" and the Medal "For the Capture of Vienna". After the war Arkady decided to enter the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy, wanting to learn to fly new types of aircraft. Arkady Kamanin died of meningitis on April 13, 1947, at the age of 18.
Space program
Kamanin completed the General Staff Academy in 1956 and commanded the air force of Central Asian district for three years. In 1960,
Preparation for crewed flight
Kamanin's diaries, first published in 1995, began on 17 December 1960, and explained the development of the Soviet crewed program and related internal politics. The diaries present at least four sides of his activities prior to Yuri Gagarin's flight, all of which continued until Kamanin's retirement:
Coordination of design bureaus developing life support systems for crewed spaceflight:
Tracking, search and recovery of landed craft, coordination and refinement of
Management of cosmonaut training squad, probably the least time-consuming activity, started with selection of
Commissioner for all other space launches, including the first interplanetary space probes. He was skeptical about the value of these probes: "Venus launch is hardly a sensible endeavor: it delays crewed flight and decreases Rocket Force battle-readiness" ("Пуск на Венеру - затея едва ли разумная: она задерживает полет человека и снижает боеспособность ракетных войск").[13] Indeed, the first Venus mission failed - the Venera spacecraft was trapped in Earth's orbit. The second Venera, launched 12 February 1961, missed its target by 100,000 kilometers, which was a success for 1961 technology.
Gagarin's flight
By 5 April 1961, Kamanin was still indecisive, ranking Gagarin and Titov equally fit for the flight. Three days later, he recommended Gagarin, with Titov as backup. After the final training session (afternoon, 11 April), Kamanin parted with Yuri Gagarin. The next day, Gagarin lifted off in
Public relations
On 14 April, Kamanin accompanied Gagarin on his triumphant ride into Red Square and was the publicity mentor of Soviet cosmonauts until his retirement. In May–September 1961, Gagarin and Kamanin performed a world publicity tour, reaching countries like Iceland and Brazil.
This was followed by a near disaster in Crimea. For the first time, Kamanin reported Gagarin and Titov having serious personal problems, and attempted to repair their discipline and motivation. On 4 October 1961, Gagarin injured his head in a bizarre jump from a balcony, ending up in a hospital and failing to attend the opening of 22nd Communist Party Congress. This was a political blow to the air force, and Kamanin personally;[16] Kamanin had to concentrate on politics to restore his former influence. On 20 October. the United States media, curious why Gagarin missed the Congress, started its own inquiries and speculations; Kamanin was called to intervene. On 24 October, Gagarin, bearing fresh evidence of plastic surgery on his torn eyebrow, made a brief appearance at the Congress; he later explained the scar as a routine tourist accident.[17]
In December 1961, Gagarin and Kamanin flew on another tour, this time to India, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. Later, Kamanin had to persuade Vershinin to let him stay at home and concentrate on real work instead of meeting foreign dignitaries.[18] He, however, appreciated the results of the United States tour (28 April - 12 May 1962), and the practical information released by John Glenn and Alan Shepard.
Another particularly challenging campaign followed the flight of Voskhod 1. Three cosmonauts landed 13 October 1964, the day when Nikita Khrushchev was ousted from power. Their triumphant return was compromised by uncertainty with new Soviet leadership and the accidental death of Marshal Sergey Biryuzov (19 October).
Women in space
Kamanin campaigned for training and launching women cosmonauts since Gagarin's flight, but the subsequent publicity assignments separated him from decision-making. However, on 25 December the Soviet government authorized selection of a second group of 60 trainees, including women. By the end of January 1962, Kamanin collected 58 women's resumes and picked 23 who still had to pass the physical tests. On 12 March, a
The group passed cosmonauts examinations on 28 November 1962 and was put on hold until the end of April 1963. Preparation to the flight was impossible without a firmly set launch date, and nobody in the government dared to give a go-ahead. On 24 April, the government finally ordered a joint flight of two available Vostok spacecraft - the only two craft in stock. Their shelf life was set at 15 June 1963 and could not be extended. Thus, the flight preparation of Valery Bykovsky and Valentina Tereshkova (approved to fly 21 May) was hurried by "use it or lose it" deadline. Kamanin and the cosmonauts relocated to Baikonur 27 May and stayed there until the launch. In fact, Tereshkova lifted off 16 June - one day past her craft's expiration date. Kamanin worked mission control shifts while she was in space and had to wake Tereshkova who, asleep, failed to respond.[20] Both crafts landed safely but overshot the landing target by two degrees. Like Gagarin, Tereshkova bailed from the landing capsule and used her personal parachute.[21] After the flight, Kamanin again was involved in a time-consuming publicity campaign - this time, centered around Tereshkova.
In 1965, after Voskhod 2, Kamanin proposed a flight of female crew on the next Voskhod. Gagarin and other (male) cosmonauts were strongly against it.[22] The case was closed with cancellation of all planned Voskhod launches.
Political failures
Kamanin was engaged in the rivalry between various powers behind Soviet space program - on the air force side. His personal vision of the space program was more than once cut short by this political rivalries.
Establishment of a single space agency. Kamanin realized the need to eradicate friction between the Rocket Force, the Air Force and different industrial groups (Korolyov,
Expansion of
Head of Training Center problems. After demotion of Colonel Karpov, the first head of Cosmonaut Training Center, Kamanin initially supported nomination of General Odintsov. Odintsov was approved 5 April 1963, and in a few weeks proved himself completely incompetent to the task - a view allegedly supported by Korolyov and Marshal Rudenko.[27] 17 July AirForce Military Council dismissed Odintsov; Kamanin campaigned to nominate 29-year-old Yuri Gagarin, but was stonewalled by his superiors Vershinin and Rudenko. However, in September Rodion Malinovsky reinstalled Odintsov; the situation normalized in November 1963 with appointment of General Nikolai Kuznetsov.[28] After the death of Gagarin, Kamanin (himself ultimately responsible for all cosmonaut training) blamed Kuznetsov for a sequence of errors that allowed Gagarin and Seregin to take off on their fatal flight.[29] Replacing Kuznetsov, again, became a long bureaucratic struggle.
Disaster years: 1966-1968
Korolyov. 1966 started with death of
Komarov. Kamanin, as the state commissioner for the
Gagarin and Seryogin. On 27 March 1968, Yuri Gagarin and Colonel Vladimir Seryogin were killed on a routine training flight in a Mig-15UTI jet trainer. Enquiries continued for more than a year and did not produce a clear answer. All cosmonaut flight training was suspended. Kamanin, as the person ultimately responsible for cosmonaut training, received a formal reprimand; without Gagarin and without any prospects of winning the space race, his own influence and influence of the Air Force on the space program deteriorated - while the American lunar program was steadily under way.
Retirement
On November 11, 1969,
In 1970, the Soviet space program re-oriented from lunar travel to orbital stations. In February 1970, Kamanin estimated first Almaz (Chelomei) or DOS-7K (Mishin) to be ready in summer 1971, at best.[35] Selection of cosmonauts for the first orbital station, again, became a tug of war between Mishin and Kamanin,[36] while the Air Force continued recruitment of new military pilots like Vladimir Dzhanibekov.[37] 19 May - 19 June, Kamanin conducted the usual flight preparation and flight control sequence of Soyuz 9; health problems of cosmonauts returning from an 18-day mission caused a major redesign of future flight programs and another clash with Mishin (Mishin insisted on 30-days flights, Kamanin set for no more than 24 days).[38]
Salyut 1 was launched 19 April 1971; initial failures of on-board fans and the scientific equipment bay were not considered a major problem. The crew of Soyuz 10, launched four days later, docked with the stations, but failed to lock the docking gasket firmly. They did not have enough fuel for a second docking and a safe return, nor the spacesuits for an EV transfer, and the mission controller aborted the flight. For the first time in Soviet space program, Soyuz 10 landed at night.
On 21 May 1971, Kamanin arrived at Baikonur for his last mission launch. Soyuz 11 lifted off 6 June, docked with the station, and completed the program, but the crew was killed by decompression on their landing run. Kamanin was at the mission control at Yevpatoria throughout their fatal descent and left his own transcript of conversation and the silence that followed.[39]
Kamanin retired after the accident, replaced by Vladimir Shatalov.
In retirement, Kamanin acted as the leader of the Communist Party committee of his apartment building. He also continued writing books and articles, and giving public talks.[40] He died in 1982 at the age of 74.
Kamanin in media
Arkady and Nikolai Kamanin (played by Alexander Porokhovshchikov) are the characters of a 1978 Soviet film, Then You Will See the Sky ("И ты увидишь небо").[41]
Honours and awards
- Hero of the Soviet Union ("Gold Star", No. 2)
- Three Orders of Lenin(No. 414, ...)
- Order of the October Revolution
- Order of the Red Banner, twice
- Order of Suvorov, 2nd class, twice
- Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class
- Order of the Red Star
- Honorary Citizen of
- Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
- Medal "For the Capture of Vienna"
- Medal "For the Capture of Budapest"
- Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army"
References
- "Bank of the Universe" - edited by Boltenko A. C., Kiev, 2014., publishing house "Phoenix", ISBN 978-966-136-169-9
- Nikolai Kamanin in the family history
- S. P. Korolev. Encyclopedia of life and creativity" - edited by C. A. Lopota, RSC Energia. S. P. Korolev, 2014 ISBN 978-5-906674-04-3
- The official website of the city administration Baikonur - Honorary citizens of Baikonur
Citations
- ^ An abridged concise English version is available online at www.astronautix.com Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 5-93345-002-2; the Russian text is available at line at a number of web sites, such as http://militera.lib.ru/db/kamanin_np/index.html
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 12 November 1965
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 1 April 1964
- ^ Russian: Лев Каманин, "Николай Каманин", www.airbase.ru
- ^ a b c d e f g h This section is based on Kamanin's own memoirs published in 1971: Каманин, Н.П. "Летчики и космонавты", М., 1971
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 30 July 1963
- ^ Kamanin diaries, February 1961
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 21 July 1962
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 10 and 25 October 1965, and later records
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 3 and 4 March 1961
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 17 March 1961
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 20 January 1961
- ^ Landing place is given as in Kamanin's diaries, 12 April 1961. See Vostok 1 for a different description.
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 1 March 1966 - follow up to the crash of Charles Bassett and Elliot See
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 17 October 1961
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 15 November 1961
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 16 January 1962
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 25 June 1962
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 18 June 1963
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 20 June 1963
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 16 April 1965
- ^ Kamanin diaries, November 27, 1963
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 10 April 1964
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 19 June 1964
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 13 April 1964
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 12 June 10 and 11 July
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 27 July to 9 September November 11, 1963
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 11 December 1968
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 7 July 1966
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 2 September 1966
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 28 December 1966
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 9 January 1970 etc.
- ^ Russian: В.Е.Гудилин, Л.И.Слабкий. "Ракетно-космические системы", М, 1996, глава 4.2 www.buran.ru
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 27 February 1970
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 6 and 13 May 1970
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 30 April 1970
- ^ Kamanin diaries, 19 December 1970
- ^ Kamanin diaries, and 6 and 7 July 1971
- ^ Kamanin diaries, entries for 1974
- ^ Russian: film info and original poster www.kino-teatr.ru
Sources
- (in Russian) Heroes of the Soviet Union: Nikolai Kamanin
- "Kamanin (biography)". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
- "Kamanin Diaries". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2013-08-17. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
- "The hidden space" – Nikolai Kamanin, М: "Инфортекс-ИФ, 1995.