Georgy Baydukov | |
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| Birth name | Georgy Filippovich Baydukov |
| Born | 13 May 1907[1] |
| Died | 28 December 1994(1994-12-28) (aged 87) |
| Allegiance |  Soviet Union |
| Branch |  Soviet Air Force |
| Years of service | 1926–1988 |
| Rank | Colonel-general of Aviation |
| Other work | Writer |
Georgy Filippovich Baydukov (Russian:Гео́ргий Фили́ппович Байдуко́в; May 13 [O.S. May 26] 1907 – 28 December 1994) was aSoviet test pilot,Hero of the Soviet Union (1936), writer and hunter.[2]
Baydukov was born at theTaryshta railway station in theTomsk Governorate of theRussian Empire (nowNovosibirsk Oblast,Russia)[3] in family of a railway worker.[1][4][5] He became an orphan at the age of 9 and was homeless for some time. Baydukov was taken to an orphanage and worked in railway construction for some time.
In March 1926 he enlisted in theRed Army[4][5] as a volunteer.[1] In 1926 he graduated from the Leningrad Air Force School.[3]
In 1928[1][4] he graduated from theKacha school for military pilots[6][5][3] and served as a fighter pilot from 1928 to 1931.
Georgy Baydukov was transferred to the Air Force's Testing institute and became an aircrafttest pilot in 1931.[4][5] He tested a number of fighter planes from 1931 to 1934 and was instrumental in developinginstrument flight rules for the Soviet Air Force.
Georgy Baydukov became a student at the Air Force Academy in 1934. During that time, he became involved with a number of ultra-long-distance flights conducted by the Soviet Union.
He tried to reachSan Francisco flying fromMoscow via theNorth Pole in August 1935 as a member ofLevanevsky's crew, flying theANT-25. The flight was terminated because of technical problems.[7][6] Baydukov continued to participate in the testing of the ANT-25 from 1935 to 1936.
He was a member of the Communist Party from 1936.[5][8]
Valery Chkalov, Georgy Baydukov and Alexander Belyakov flew an improved ANT-25 via theNorth Pole toUdd Island, in theSea of Okhotsk (distance 9,374 km, flight time 56 h 20 min) from July 20, 1936, to July 22, 1936.[3] Georgy Baydukov was awarded the title ofHero of the Soviet Union for this deed on July 24, 1936.[7][5][8]
The same crewpiloted [ru] an ANT-25 fromMoscow toVancouver, Washington via theNorth Pole[4] from June 18, 1937, to June 20, 1937 (distance 8,504 km).[6][5][3]
Georgy Baydukov resumed his work as a test pilot in 1937. He testedPE-2 andSB bombers, and also participated in tests of the DB-A bomber.
In 1939–1940, Baydukov participated in theSoviet-Finnish War.[1][4][5][3] He served in the 85th Bomber Regiment.
In August 1941, Baydukov was sent to meet withUS presidentFranklin D. Roosevelt to secure the purchase of warplanes.[7] He managed to arrange the sale of severalP-39 Airacobra fighter planes to the Soviet Union.[9] He returned to the front lines in January 1942.
Baydukov served as deputy commander of the31st Mixed Aviation Division from December 1941. In February, he assumed command of the division. In March 1942, he became commander of the Air Force of the4th Shock Army. In May 1942, Baydukov was appointed commander of the211th Mixed Aviation Division. In June 1942, he became commander of the212th Assault Aviation Division. In May 1943, the division became the4th Guards Assault Aviation Division. In January 1944, Baydukov became commander of the4th Assault Aviation Corps.[10]
In December 1945, Baydukov became deputy commander of the13th Air Army. In July 1946, he became deputy head of theState Red Banner Air Force Research and Testing Institute for flight testing. Baydukov participated in theTupolev Tu-70 tests in fall 1947.
From December 1947 until December 1949, he was a head of the Main Department of theCivil Air Fleet (GVF).[1][4][7][5][6]
In September 1949, Baydukov entered theHigher Military Academy, graduating in December 1951.[4][5][10]
Baydukov was a colonel-general of aviation from May 1961.[1][4][5]
In the 1980s, he was a consultant of the Ministry of Defense.[7][6]
Georgy Baydukov served with the Soviet Air Force in various capacities until May 1988, when he retired with the rank ofcolonel general.
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