Alexander Vasilyevich Belyakov
Encyclopedia
Alexander Vasilyevich Belyakov was a Soviet
flight navigator
who, together with command pilot Valery Chkalov
and co-pilot Georgy Baydukov, set a record for the longest uninterrupted flight in 1936 and made the first non-stop flight across the North Pole
, flying from Moscow
to Vancouver, Washington
.
He was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and served as a lieutenant-general of the Soviet Air Force
.
(now Moscow Oblast
) and grew up in Ryazan
. He studied forestry
in 1915-1916 after finishing his gymnasium studies
and began serving in the infantry of the Imperial Russian Army
in 1916.
He fought in the Soviet Russian
Red Army
's 25th Rifle Division
during the Russian Civil War
. He graduated from the Moscow Aerophotogrammetry School of the Red Air Fleet in 1921 and subsequently taught there and at the A. E. Zhukovsky Air Force Academy until 1935.
He graduated from the Kachinskoye Military Aviation School for Pilots and joined the Communist Party
in 1936.
and co-pilot Georgy Baydukov to navigate a Tupolev ANT-25
plane on a non-stop flight from Moscow to Udd Island (now Chkalov Island
) off the coast of Kamchatka in a 56-hour flight on 20–22 July 1936. Their flight, covering more than 9,374 kilometers across nearly the entire width of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, set a record for the longest non-stop flight, preparing the way for a flight across the North Pole
.
The three aviation heroes were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union
and decorated with the Order of Lenin
for the record-breaking flight.
, crossing the North Pole and landing in Vancouver, Washington
.
The fliers set another record by performing the first non-stop polar flight and establishing a new route from the Soviet Union to the United States.
Alexander Belyakov was appointed head of the Ryazan Supreme School of Navigators of the Soviet Air Force in the 1940s and took part in the fighting against Nazi Germany
as the 16th Air Army's chief navigator during the Battle of Berlin
. Promoted to lieutenant-general during the war, he continued to serve in the Air Force and became a professor at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology upon his retirement from the service in 1960.
He joined Georgy Baydukov to attend the unveiling of a Vancouver monument commemorating their transpolar flight in 1975.
Belyakov died in Moscow on 28 November 1982 and was interred at Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery
.
awarded together with the title Hero of the Soviet Union
on 24 July 1936 (subsequently Gold Star № 9 was also added), Belyakov was awarded another Lenin Order and was a recipient of three Orders of the Red Banner
, an Order of the Patriotic War
(1st class), Order of the Red Banner of Labour
twice, three Orders of the Red Star
, and additional medals.
He was awarded the title of Doctor of Geography in 1938.
An island off Kamchatka in the Sea of Okhotsk
was given the name Belyakov Island (Ostrov Belyakova) in honor of Alexander Belyakov.
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....
flight navigator
Flight officer
The title flight officer was a military rank used by the United States Armed Forces where it was an air force warrant officer rank. It was also an air force rank in several Commonwealth nations where it was used for female officers and was equivalent to the rank of flight lieutenant...
who, together with command pilot Valery Chkalov
Valery Chkalov
Valery Pavlovich Chkalov was a Russian aircraft test pilot and a Hero of the Soviet Union .-Early life:...
and co-pilot Georgy Baydukov, set a record for the longest uninterrupted flight in 1936 and made the first non-stop flight across 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...
, flying 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...
.
He was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and served as a lieutenant-general of the Soviet Air Force
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
.
Early life and training
Alexander Belyakov was born in 1897 in the village of Bezzubovo, Moscow GovernorateMoscow Governorate
Moscow Governorate , or Government of Moscow, was an administrative division of the Russian Empire, which existed in 1708–1929....
(now Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
) and grew up in Ryazan
Ryazan
Ryazan is a city and the administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Oka River southeast of Moscow. Population: The strategic bomber base Dyagilevo is just west of the city, and the air base of Alexandrovo is to the southeast as is the Ryazan Turlatovo Airport...
. He studied forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
in 1915-1916 after finishing his gymnasium studies
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
and began serving in the infantry of the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
in 1916.
He fought in the Soviet Russian
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
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...
's 25th Rifle Division
25th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 25th Rifle Division 'Chapayevskaya was a Russian, and later Soviet, Red Army formation formed during the Russian Civil War. It was named after its civil war commander, Vasily Chapayev...
during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. He graduated from the Moscow Aerophotogrammetry School of the Red Air Fleet in 1921 and subsequently taught there and at the A. E. Zhukovsky Air Force Academy until 1935.
He graduated from the Kachinskoye Military Aviation School for Pilots and joined the Communist Party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
in 1936.
Flight to Udd Island
Belyakov joined commanding pilot Valery ChkalovValery Chkalov
Valery Pavlovich Chkalov was a Russian aircraft test pilot and a Hero of the Soviet Union .-Early life:...
and co-pilot Georgy Baydukov to navigate a Tupolev 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:...
plane on a non-stop flight from Moscow to Udd Island (now Chkalov Island
Chkalov Island
Chkalov Island , formerly Udd Island , is a coastal island in the southern end of the Sea of Okhotsk. It is located off Schastya Bay, between the shorebound lagoon and the sea. Baydukov Island lies only 2 km off its ESE tip.Chkalov Island is long and narrow...
) off the coast of Kamchatka in a 56-hour flight on 20–22 July 1936. Their flight, covering more than 9,374 kilometers across nearly the entire width of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, set a record for the longest non-stop flight, preparing the way for a flight across 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...
.
The three aviation heroes were awarded the title 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:...
and decorated with the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
for the record-breaking flight.
Across the North Pole to America
Flying the same ANT-25 plane, Chkalov, Baydukov, and Belyakov completed an 8,504-kilometer flight from Moscow to to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, crossing the North Pole and landing in 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...
.
The fliers set another record by performing the first non-stop polar flight and establishing a new route from the Soviet Union to the United States.
Later career
The domestic and international press coverage of the Trans-Polar flight immediately catapulted to worldwide fame and ultimate acclaim for the three aviators, who had already been regarded as Soviet heroes after their successful flight to Udd Island in 1936. The aviators' portraits were featured on a postage stamp issued to commemorate the flight. The three were elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union in 1937.Alexander Belyakov was appointed head of the Ryazan Supreme School of Navigators of the Soviet Air Force in the 1940s and took part in the fighting against Nazi Germany
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
as the 16th Air Army's chief navigator during the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
. Promoted to lieutenant-general during the war, he continued to serve in the Air Force and became a professor at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology upon his retirement from the service in 1960.
He joined Georgy Baydukov to attend the unveiling of a Vancouver monument commemorating their transpolar flight in 1975.
Belyakov died in Moscow on 28 November 1982 and was interred at Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia. It is next to the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. It should not be confused with the Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg....
.
Honors and legacy
Aside from the Order of LeninOrder of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
awarded together with the title 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:...
on 24 July 1936 (subsequently Gold Star № 9 was also added), Belyakov was awarded another Lenin Order and was a recipient of three Orders of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
, an Order of the Patriotic War
Order of the Patriotic War
The Order of the Patriotic War is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans for heroic deeds during the German-Soviet War, known by the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.- History :The Order was...
(1st class), Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...
twice, three Orders of the Red Star
Order of the Red Star
Established on 6 April 1930, the Order of the Red Star was an order of the Soviet Union, given to Red Army and Soviet Navy personnel for "exceptional service in the cause of the defense of the Soviet Union in both war and peace". It was established by Resolution of the Presidium of the CEC of the...
, and additional medals.
He was awarded the title of Doctor of Geography in 1938.
An island off Kamchatka 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...
was given the name Belyakov Island (Ostrov Belyakova) in honor of Alexander Belyakov.
External links
- The Chkalov Transpolar Flight Marker at Pearson Field in Vancouver, Washington (The Historical Marker Database).