The German plane landed on Red Square. How a German pilot “took down” the top of the Soviet Army. It’s impossible to shoot down, it’s impossible to plant

In the morning May 28, 1987 At Maalme Airport, near Helsinki, Matthias Rust prepared for departure his Cessna-172R monoplane, on which he had flown in from Hamburg the day before. In the flight documents, the final destination of the route was Stockholm.

IN 13.10 Having received permission, Mathias took off and headed along the planned route. After 20 minutes of flight, Rust reported to the dispatcher that there was order on board and said his traditional goodbyes. After which, turning off the on-board radio, the plane turned sharply towards the Gulf of Finland and began descending to an altitude of 80-100 m. This planned maneuver was supposed to ensure a reliable exit of the plane from the control radar surveillance zone and hide the true flight route. At this altitude, Mathias headed to the calculated point of the Gulf of Finland near the Helsinki-Moscow air route. Having turned the plane towards the first landmark on the coast of the Soviet Union (the Kohtla-Jarve oil shale plant with its smoke, which is visible 100 kilometers away) and checking the radio compass readings with the calculated ones, Mathias set off on the “combat course”. The weather on this part of the flight was favorable: cloudiness - stratocumulus, 4-5 points; wind - northwest, 5-10 meters per second; visibility - at least 15-20 kilometers. Thus began the first phase of the state border violator’s flight.

IN 14.10 Over the territorial waters of the Soviet Union, the radar company on duty (radar P-15) near the Estonian village of Loksa discovered an unidentified light aircraft approaching the coastline. According to the instructions, the air object was assigned another number and the sign “flight violation”, since at that time there were no applications for small aircraft flights in this area. The plane's course practically coincided with the direction of the busy Helsinki-Moscow air route, where several aircraft were in the upper echelons of the airspace.

The crew of the command post of the 14th Air Defense Division began to clarify and analyze the air situation. It was decided not to release information “upstream” until the situation is fully clarified. At that moment there were at least 10 light aircraft of various departmental affiliations over the territory of Estonia. None of them were equipped with a state identification system. Reinforcement changes were called to the command posts of units and duty units of the 14th Division.

Already at this stage, the consequences of the dismemberment of the unified control system of the country's Air Defense Forces began to appear. Previously, a prerequisite for the functioning of an air defense system was the presence of direct and reliable communication channels with civilian air traffic control system controllers. Information on targets was provided to higher command posts almost from the first sighting. Now, instead of direct communication channels, there was a network of switches, which literally “ate up” precious time. The “sacred principle of the border” was also violated: the immediate release of information on the target until the situation is clarified.

This is evidence that during the five years of the 14th Air Defense Division (KP - Tallinn) being part of the PribVO, the necessary knowledge and skills of crews in extreme conditions, which were developed over years of constant study and training, were lost. And in this moment(28.5.1987) the level of training of the crews did not correspond to the conditions of the developing air situation. This sad fact subsequently gave rise to a chain reaction of serious mistakes at other levels of management.

For 19 minutes, the crew unsuccessfully tried to understand the emerging air situation, while Rust's plane was approaching Lake Peipsi. IN 14.27 The commander of the 656th Fighter Aviation Regiment (Tapa), having assessed the situation, made his decision to lift into the air the duty pair of MiG-23 fighters with the task of one of them to block the border, the other to visually identify the violator of the flight regime. And here it took time to coordinate with air traffic controllers the admission of the fighter to the search area, since the actions of the air defense forces on duty were carried out in the air route area.

IN 14.28 It finally turns out that there are no civil small aircraft in this area. IN 14.29 The operational duty officer of the command post of the 14th air defense division made a decision to assign the violator a “combat number” 8255, to issue information “to the top” and to declare readiness No. 1.

So on command post The 6th Air Defense Army received information about target 8255. The commander of the 6th Air Defense Army, General German Kromin, transferred all formations and units of the 54th to air defense readiness number 1. The commanders of three anti-aircraft missile battalions of the 204th air defense brigade (Kerstovo), located on the Rust flight route, reported that the target is observed and ready to launch missiles.

Meanwhile, due to the unexpected disappearance of the aircraft mark from the control radar screen of Maalme Airport, the dispatcher tried to contact Matthias Rust. After several unsuccessful attempts, the plane was declared in distress and rescuers were sent to the suspected crash area. The search continued for several hours. Later, Matthias will be charged about $100,000 for “services rendered.”

At 14.30 along the Cessna-172R flight route, the weather sharply deteriorated. The wind increased, the lower edge of continuous cloudiness dropped to 70-100 meters, visibility dropped to 600-700 meters, and it began to drizzle in places. Mathias decided to descend under the lower edge of the clouds and change course to the area of ​​​​an alternate landmark: the railway junction of st. Bottom. Visibility was better in this direction.

During this maneuver, in 14.30 (just a minute after receiving the first target data) at the command post of the 6th Air Defense Army the target was lost. However, the route continued to exist in the automated system. In accordance with the technical characteristics, the system supports the track, its number and all driving parameters for almost two minutes. And if at least one report about a target arrives in this time interval, target tracking is not interrupted. This is the result of many years of work by designers, military scientists and ACS testers. Initially, the idea was to avoid accidental loss of air routes.

The loss of radar contact with Rust's plane occurred at the junction of the boundaries of responsibility of two air defense formations - the 14th Air Defense Division and the 54th Air Defense Division, where the coherence of command post crews plays an important, if not decisive, role. IN 14.31 the target again appeared on the radar screens of one of the radar companies, but already 20 km west of the previous route of target 8255 at the extreme low altitude. This made it difficult for her to observe steadily. They decided not to give out information on it, so as not to interfere with the already complex situation. Moreover, the target left the detection zone of the radar company and entered the area of ​​​​responsibility of the neighboring formation.

Ten minutes earlier, at 14.21, in the area of ​​Lake Peipus, a mark with the direction of movement appeared on the screens of duty radars: Gdov-Malaya Vishera. At 14.24 information on this target began to be given out “to the top”. From 14.25 the mark began to become unstable, and at 14.28 the aircraft escort was stopped. At 2:31 p.m., the same unit detects a target with the same parameters, but is issued “upward,” as expected, with a different number.

And now all this devilry is combined in time and space. Even a trained person, looking at the plan diagram - the result of a detailed multi-day analysis - can find it difficult to understand what happened then, 18 years ago (2005 article), in the sky and on the ground.

And the following happened. IN 14.31 As a result of a quick analysis of the situation, it is decided that target 8255 has changed course by 60°. By entering complex corrections into the computer, the calculation made the “machine” believe it. The divisions received new target designations, but target 8255 was never discovered. From that moment on, as it later became clear during the investigation, instead of target 8255, the system was accompanied by a long-lived meteorological object (or a dense group of them).

Some clarification is required here. In the mid-1970s, when powerful high-potential locators began to enter service with RTV air defense systems, already during their field tests, marks with movement parameters commensurate with the characteristics of light-engine aircraft began to be discovered. They were jokingly dubbed "echo angels." This phenomenon has caused serious difficulties in automated information processing. Even if the operator can’t distinguish them well, how can he teach the machine to work without errors? There was no time for laughter anymore.

In the course of serious research and a lot of experiments, it was found that radars, due to their high emitting potential, can observe specific meteorological objects. These are vortex formations that are formed from vertical updrafts air, especially with a noticeable temperature difference at the boundary of the earth and water surfaces. This phenomenon is very typical for the spring period in mid-latitudes and during the movement of a powerful warm front. The physics of the energy sources of such vortices (during their long-term existence in the atmosphere) is still not fully understood. Additionally, the seasonal migration of dense flocks of birds creates a very similar effect.

Radar operators needed help in recognizing objects of this class. Detailed methods and instructions were developed for the control bodies of the Air Defense Forces.

The newly tracked target 8255 had an altitude of 1200 m and an average speed of 85 km/h. Significant changes in target parameters within just one minute did not alert the crew and remained without due attention. It is obvious that in this episode the operators clearly lacked qualifications. It was, rather, not their fault, but a misfortune of the system. After all, crews admitted to combat duty take appropriate tests and exams. This means that someone did not learn them properly at the time. Perhaps, here too we can see the consequences of the loss of professional personnel during the reform of the country’s Air Defense Forces in 1978.

IN 14.36 MiG-23 fighter pilot Senior Lieutenant Puchnin (Tapa airfield) discovered Matthias Rust’s plane and reported: “In the breaks in the clouds I see a sports plane of the Yak-12 type with a dark stripe on board.” Visual contact was brief due to dense cloud cover. It was not possible to detect Matthias' plane again. During the investigation, Rust was asked the question: “Did you see the fighter?” Matthias replied: “Yes, I saw him and even greeted him, but he (the fighter) did not give me any signals, and my radio station was turned off.” The report of the MiG-23 pilot was accepted, but remained unheeded. It was believed that the discovered plane belonged to one of the local flying clubs, where scheduled flights were carried out at that time.

IN 15.00 By decision of the commander of the 6th Air Defense Army, a pair of fighters on duty was scrambled from the Gromovo airfield with the task of establishing the type and nationality of target 8255. The weather along the target’s flight route was not favorable. The warm front was moving southeast. Continuous cloud cover, rain in places, the lower edge of the clouds is 200-400 meters, the upper edge is 2500-3000 meters. The search was carried out within 30 minutes. Fighters were forbidden to descend into the clouds; it was too dangerous. Anti-aircraft missile divisions began to receive reports that according to the new target designations, target 8255 had not been detected. IN 15.31 the army commander decided - target 8255 is a dense flock of birds. This was reported to the Central Command Center of the Air Defense Forces.

However, the current methods and instructions contained the necessary information about what types of birds and at what time of day can fly in fog and clouds, as well as under what circumstances a dense flock can change the direction of flight. If we were to follow these recommendations, then Rust’s plane could not be identified with a flock of birds.

TO 15.00 Mathias approached the railway junction of the station. Bottom. The weather had improved by this time. Above the intersection point railways Matthias changed course again and now did not change it until Moscow.

IN 15.05 Rust's airplane was already within the boundaries of responsibility of the air defense unit of the Moscow Air Defense District - the 2nd Air Defense Corps (Rzhev). His route passed through the aerobatic zones of the Air Force aviation regiment, where scheduled flights were taking place. There were up to 12 fighters in the air at the same time. At 15.00, in accordance with the schedule, the code of the state identification system changed. Since this process (technically just switching a toggle switch) is carried out by crews in the air and crews on the ground, this procedure takes some time. As a rule, no more than one or two minutes.

In this case (with IAP fighters of the Air Force), the process dragged on for an unacceptably long time. The higher command post demanded that the situation be immediately dealt with, since five of the twelve fighters began to be accompanied by a system without the “I am my plane” identification signal. In this case, the system gives recommendations on changing the current numbers to “combat” ones and prepares data for target designation of anti-aircraft missile divisions and aviation guidance points. The crew of the command post of the air defense formation tried to contact the IAP flight director to give the command to the enthusiastic young pilots to change the code. Due to the lack of direct communication channels, this was done only after 16 minutes.

In the Moscow Air Defense District at this time, commanders and personnel were awaiting a scheduled inspection of the forces on duty with the participation of control targets. The essence of such a check is as follows. According to a pre-developed and agreed upon plan, on one of the aircraft in the air, the state identification system is turned off upon command. The head of the inspection declares this goal a control goal. It is assigned a “combat” number and all the necessary actions of the forces on duty are carried out with analysis and assessment based on objective control materials.

In order not to bring additional confusion into the air situation, the operational duty officer of the formation command post gave the command to the head of the unit's automation system calculation: “Assign to all fighters the attribute “I am my plane.” When the officer objects that such instructions contradict the instructions, he is removed from duty. combat duty. Ultimately, the young lieutenant carries out the command. Matthias's plane is also assigned the attribute "I am my plane." Thus, in 15.10 Rust, without suspecting it, temporarily received legal registration in the airspace of the USSR.

TO 16.00 , near the city of Ostashkov, Matias’s plane entered the detection zone of the RTV unit following the flight route and lost its temporary registration. Information about the plane was again given without the sign “I am my plane.” Again, a long clarification of the situation and again the assignment of the necessary attribute and further legalization of the flight.

Matthias was 40 kilometers away at that time west of the city Torzhok, where the plane crash occurred the day before. Two planes collided in the air - Tu-22 and MiG-25. Several groups of rescuers and incident investigation specialists worked at the site where the car fragments fell. People and cargo were delivered to the site of the disaster by helicopters from the aviation unit in the area of ​​​​Torzhok. One of the helicopters was in the air as a communications relay. IN 16.30 Mathias's plane was identified with a rotorcraft. Therefore, Rust did not cause any concern to anyone during this part of the flight.

The air situation in the detection zone of the next unit, where Matthias’s plane entered, was also tense. Here they fought with the notorious long-lived meteorological objects. They were observed on the radar indicator screens for 40 minutes (and several objects at the same time). All objects were moving to the southeast. Here Rust again fell “under amnesty” - he was removed from support as a meteorological object. This was already at the exit from the unit’s detection zone.

However, at the command post they noticed a difference in course between this route and the airborne objects previously dropped from escort. IN 16.48 By decision of the commander of the 2nd Air Defense Corps, two fighters on duty were raised from the Rzhev airfield with the task of searching for small aircraft or other aircraft southeast of the city of Staritsa. It was believed that caution during a scheduled inspection would not be superfluous. The search did not return any results.

IN 17.40 Mathias's plane fell within the radar coverage of the Moscow air hub. This seriously threatened the safety of air traffic in the Moscow aviation zone. The plane was not listed in the plan; it was flying in violation of flight rules in the zone; there was no communication with the crew. Until the situation is clarified, the administration of Sheremetyevo Airport has stopped receiving and sending passenger airliners. This fact means mass media at that time, for some reason, some kind of mystery was attributed, up to a preliminary conspiracy between Sheremetyevo and Rust.

When agreeing on a joint action plan with the command of the Moscow Air Defense District, it was decided that the civil aviation administration itself would deal with the violator of the flight regime. But when they discovered that the intruder was already in the Moscow city area, where flights are generally prohibited, it was too late to say or do anything.

IN 18.30 Matthias's plane appeared over Khodynka Field and continued its flight to the city center. Having decided that it was impossible to land on the Kremlin’s Ivanovskaya Square, Mathias made three unsuccessful attempts to land on Red Square. The size of the latter allowed this to be done, but there were many people on the paving stones. And, as Matthias himself said during the investigation, “although I signaled, turning on the landing lights and shaking my wings, the tourists in the square did not understand me.”

After this, Rust made a risky decision - to land on the Moskvoretsky Bridge. Turning around over the Rossiya Hotel, Matias began descending over Bolshaya Ordynka Street, turning on the landing lights. To avoid an accident on the bridge, the traffic police turned on the red traffic light. Matthias performed the landing on the bridge masterfully, considering that he had to sniper into the area between the adjacent transverse cables of the overhead trolleybus network. This happened in 18.55 . Taxiing to the Intercession Cathedral and turning off the engine, Matthias got out of the plane in a brand new red jumpsuit, put chocks under the landing gear and began signing autographs.

It is impossible not to shed light on two more myths that arose at that time. One of the amateur researchers, applying a ruler to the map, wondered: why did Matthias cover a route of 850 kilometers with an average aircraft speed of 220 km/h in 5 hours and 50 minutes? Therefore, he should have landed 1 hour 30 minutes earlier. A version immediately appeared that Rust had landed somewhere, and maybe even more than one. Someone remembered that they saw him at the Helsinki airport before taking off in jeans and a green shirt, and he got off his plane in Moscow in a red jumpsuit. Consequently, I changed clothes during landing.

In fact, everything was much simpler and more prosaic. The distance that Mathias covered on his Cessna-172R was 1220 kilometers, the average flight speed, taking into account the variable altitude profile, was 210 km/h. The result is 5 hours 50 minutes. This is in strict accordance with objective control materials. By the way, after landing, the fuel in the Rust plane’s tanks remained for another two hours of flight. So Mathias didn't care about fuel economy.

It's even easier with a red jumpsuit. While preparing the plane for departure to Helsinki, neat Mathias was afraid of getting the new overalls specially purchased for this flight dirty. Rust put on jeans and a shirt over it, which he had taken off before the flight. He carried out the flight in a new beautiful overalls. After all, he (in his opinion) was flying to Moscow as a messenger of peace.

During Rust's flight, all sorts of random events and their most bizarre overlap occurred. Any of them could lead to the termination of the flight or a change in its purpose. Just one example - a dangerous thunderstorm front at the beginning of Rust's flight could have radically changed everything. However, this did not happen - the flight planned by Matthias ended successfully.

CONSEQUENCES

Among the reasons for Matthias Rust's flight, two versions dominated at one time. The first was that the flight was planned by the West to help Mikhail Gorbachev carry out personnel reform in the highest echelons of the USSR Armed Forces and remove the conservative army leadership led by Marshal Sokolov from power. The second version qualified Rust's flight as a reconnaissance flight. Both versions are too good to be true. The second one immediately disappeared during the investigation.

What else emerged during the investigation? A serious imperfection became apparent legal basis for the actions of the duty forces of the country's Air Defense Forces. In fact, the DS became hostages of serious miscalculations of politicians and senior officials of the Ministry of Defense. Insurmountable contradictions arose between the tasks assigned to the Air Defense Forces and the limited rights of the leadership in the use of forces and means. Among other things, there were no criteria for assessing the actions of friendly troops in extreme situations. In many ways, the troubles are rooted in the ill-conceived and unprofessional reorganization of the Air Defense Forces in 1978. One can rightfully say that if 1978 had not happened, then the events of May 28, 1987 would not have happened.

After Rust's flight, the culprits were found almost immediately. Three marshals of the Soviet Union and about three hundred generals and officers were removed from their posts. Two of them were convicted. The army has not seen such a personnel pogrom since 1937. People who came to the leadership of the Armed Forces and branches of the Armed Forces were an order of magnitude (or even two) inferior in their professional, business and moral qualities to the removed marshals and generals. According to many experts, the degradation of the USSR Armed Forces began precisely after the Rust overflight. This was largely due to the qualities of the new appointees.

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Photo from the newspaper La Reppublica.

20 years ago, a 19-year-old boy from Germany landed his small plane one step away from the Kremlin.
"I was 19 years old, the world was divided by the Cold War. With the help of a small Cessna plane, I decided to fulfill a dream: to fly from the West directly to Red Square. As a gesture of peace: flying as a symbolic bridge between two worlds. I am Matthias Rust, the one who 20 years ago I landed on a single-engine plane one step from the Kremlin. I would repeat it again: sometimes a little bit of youthful spontaneity can wake up the world and benefit reality.”
Two decades is a long time, but he has hardly changed: the same searching look, the friendly smile of a teenager who loves adventure novels. I sit with him on the terrace of a café overlooking wealthy Hamburg, and his story brings back the picture of those years.
It happened 20 years ago: while flying on a rented pleasure plane, Matthias Rust managed to invade the Soviet air space, fly over a dozen top-secret air force and missile bases and land on Red Square. Gorbachev at that time was going through a difficult moment in the dialogue with Reagan and in the confrontation with the orthodoxies within the country, but he wanted disarmament and reform. And so the youthful frivolity of this young man, carried away by the stories of Karl May, violated reality. More than any Pentagon statistics about the economic disaster in the USSR or the war in Afghanistan, more than any accusations of dissidents or criticism of the five-year socialist plans by the population, photos and television reports of Rust and his tiny airplane with a German flag on the steering wheel, of the cheering crowd, surrounding him one step from the Kremlin, demonstrated to the world the incapacity and mortal disease of the empire created by Stalin.
- Mr. Rust, some see you as a brave pacifist, others see you as an irresponsible type. How and why did you decide to take this flight?
- Reflecting on this act today, I feel freedom. Then other feelings wandered in my soul. The Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Reykjavik failed, on one side and on the other they feared a new cold snap. I thought of a symbolic gesture. Flight is like an ideal bridge. To tell the leaders of both blocs that people on both sides of the Iron Curtain just want to live in peace. Do you remember Sting's song Russians? Her spirit was just that: Russians love their children too, he sang. I believed in it.
- Was this decision made spontaneously, or did you carefully prepare for it?
- I prepared well. I flew on such a plane over the Atlantic. I wanted to test my nerves: you know, flying over the sea for hours is a severe psychological test. On May 25, three days into the flight, I arrived in Helsinki. I decided that I would not back down.
- While flying from Helsinki to Moscow, flying over dozens of secret military installations, you did not experience fear, one of the most natural human feelings.
- Yes, I asked myself many times whether I was doing the right thing or not. But I was an individualist and was ready to take risks, as happens at the age of 19: yes, I acted frivolously, but at that age you don’t think much about danger and fear. I was only thinking about the distance between Helsinki and Moscow and how to get there on one gas station.
-Did you make false documents?
- I submitted the flight plan to Sweden to the Finnish authorities. I took off in Helsinki and headed West. He flew at an average altitude of 600 meters, and when he found himself above the sea, he changed course. I headed southeast. An hour into the flight I saw the coast of Estonia. I felt a mixed feeling of tension and relief. I was happy: I was flying towards my goal. And with every minute I understood more and more clearly that it was no longer possible to change my mind, to turn back. Almost five hours of flight separated me from Moscow. When I arrived, I still had two hours of fuel left.
- Is it true that you flew very low so as not to be intercepted?
- The average height is 600 meters, not so low. Of course, this is not 15 or 30 meters from the ground, as modern military aircraft fly. I didn't want to hide. A gesture of peace should be visual. I only went lower a couple of times, and then only because the propeller and wings began to ice up. I constantly monitored the compass direction, I had provisions with me, but I did not eat or drink anything. And suddenly, completely unexpectedly, a feeling of fear pierced me.
- What happened?
“I was flying in the clouds, seeing practically nothing below me, when ahead, at a distance of several kilometers, a silvery, fast-moving object appeared, aiming at me. It was a MiG - an air defense aircraft, the feared Soviet air defense system. This was my first meeting with “them”. A blow to the heart. It was very difficult to keep my nerves under control. It only lasted a few minutes, terrible minutes. You know, the memories of the Boeing shot down over Sakhalin during the Andropov era were still fresh. The MiG caught up with me, flew very close, at first it was behind me, then it turned out to be on the side. His speed was greater than mine. I noticed the pilot's gaze under his helmet. He chased me for a short time, then sped up and disappeared into nowhere. A few minutes seemed like an eternity to me. I was again overcome with mixed feelings. Relief, because they didn’t shoot at me, and doubt and anxiety, because now I knew for sure: they knew that I was flying over their territory.
- Did you calm down when you arrived in Moscow?
- Yes. No MiGs, no air defense, no signals from the ground. Below me, under the small wings of the Cessna, there was a huge city, it took my breath away. To get my bearings, I tried to make out the Rossiya Hotel - remember that huge white monolith near Red Square? I saw "Russia" before the Kremlin towers, and dropped the altitude.
- And than?
- The sight of the square increased my fear. From above, she seemed smaller to me than I had imagined. But to land on the Cessna, 200 meters would have been enough for me, I made three attempts and gained altitude again three times: a crowd of curious people gathered below, what was happening was similar to a Fellini film. I was afraid of hurting or running over someone. I saw the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge, a wide, six-lane bridge, and I sat on it. While taxiing, I reached the square itself, drove past the temple and the monument to Minin and Pozharsky and found myself at the entrance to the Spasskaya Tower. Then I turned off the engine and sat in the cockpit for a long time, a whole quarter of an hour.
- Why?
- Because I asked myself whether it was worth taking off again and coming back. It’s too late, Matthias, I answered myself. There won't be enough fuel. I made up my mind, opened the cabin and went down. I was immediately surrounded by a crowd.
-Did you feel afraid?
- No, people didn't look hostile. They were curious and smiled. "Where did you come from?" – they asked me in English. “From Helsinki,” I answered nervously. “But there is a German flag on the plane, not a Finnish one. Are you a comrade from the GDR?” “No, friends, no. I’m from Germany, I came with a gesture of peace,” I answered hesitantly. "ABOUT!" – they exclaimed in surprise. They showed doubt, but not threat. The young woman broke the ice: she, smiling, came to meet me, and handed me bread and salt, greeting me in this way.
- What about the police, the KGB, the military?
- Almost an hour has passed. The black "Chaika" arrived - remember those Russian "Cadillacs"? An officer and several young policemen came out. We spoke English. They were calm and polite. They asked me for my documents and searched the plane. Then the passport was returned. An elderly officer told me: “Young man, I am the chief of the Moscow police. Where is your visa, damn it? Welcome, but where is your visa? You understand, this is a problem.”
- When were you arrested?
- A lot of time passed, I didn’t look at the clock. A black Volga arrived, then a truck with police: the officers set up a barrier and drove away the crowd, although the people did not want to leave my side. “Young man, I’m sorry, but you will have to follow us,” they told me politely. “Sit down, please. At the department we will find out your history with the visa.” I got into the Volga and we arrived at the nearest police station. One of them translated into German. They spoke clearly in my native language: "We are from the State Security Committee." Fortunately, in the German translation I did not recognize the Russian abbreviation KGB, otherwise I would have died of fear.
- How long did the interrogation last?
- Few hours. I explained that I landed on Red Square because I wanted to make a gesture of peace. “In any case, he has no weapons on board,” they noted. They didn't want to believe it, but they didn't know what to think. The police station building was very old. "Let's go, let's continue the conversation for more convenient location, in Lefortovo," they said. I did not know that it was the central prison. They began to ask tougher questions. "If you are hiding the truth, we will find out anyway, but by doing so you are making your situation worse. Admit that the imperialists paid you for this provocation." - “No,” I insisted, “I planned everything myself.” They did not believe it, and the interrogation continued until 4 o’clock in the morning. I had a headache, I was mortally tired, I asked to stop the interrogation “Okay, guy,” they replied. “Eat something, then we’ll take you to bed.” But you understand, we can’t take you to a hotel, no matter how much you want it.”
- Is this how life began in Lefortovo?
- Yes, I was afraid that I wouldn’t get out of there. In a few weeks I lost 10 kg. I was in a double cell. Alexander, my Ukrainian cellmate, was imprisoned in the Astoria Hotel; he calmed me down by reading articles from Pravda. We did not know what was happening behind the walls of the prison: the small window located under the ceiling was made of thick, cloudy glass. Then there was a process. Correct, no violence or threats. Regular contacts with the German embassy. The court sentence turned out to be harsh: 4 years in the camps. I thought this was the end. An elderly uniformed officer came to take me into the cell.
- Who was that?
- Petrenko, head of the prison. He started talking, scolding me like a father. “Boy, listen, when I was as old as you are now, in May 1945, I served in Zhukov’s units that took Berlin. I, along with others, entered the Reichstag, with a red flag and a machine gun in my hands. Don’t you think that Have you Germans already done a lot of things?" “Yes, you are right,” I replied, “I’m sorry, but I was born later, much later. I may have made a mistake, but I was only thinking about a gesture of goodwill.” Since then he began to visit me often. We talked about the war and the present. Then I found out that he was on the verge of retirement. And I asked to postpone his retirement because my case had not yet been settled. He came to the cell to explain this to me. “Boy, you were sentenced to labor camps, but it was decided to leave you in Lefortovo: you are safe with us. After your flight, many military personnel were severely punished, who can guarantee your safety if you are sent to Siberia?”
- 14 months in Lefortovo. How do you remember them?
- It was hard. I don’t hold a grudge against anyone, but inside I was experiencing severe pain, I told myself every day: why did I do this? Why didn’t I choose a normal life, study, career? My parents could visit me once every three months, sometimes officials from the consulate came. I told them: I lost 10 kg, I have anorexia, stomach cramps. Alexander supported me. And month after month, thanks to the articles from Pravda that he translated for me, I saw that the world outside the prison walls was changing: there were reports of changes in the East, of East-West détente, of blocs no longer opposing each other.
- Then amnesty?
- It turned out to be unexpected. 14 months after the verdict. I still remember this day. It was 14:00. The guards arrived. They brought me clothes that I had to wear instead of prison pajamas during meetings with lawyers, parents, and German diplomats. Alexander explained everything to me. “Boy, you seem to be lucky,” he said. “You don’t think that you will be taken to Siberia in these clothes?” My head was spinning as I was led into the meeting room. There was the new head of the prison, Rastvorov, judges Dobrovolsky and Komkov, and Vera Petrovna, she was a translator at my trial. Komkov took out a red folder and opened it. I read out the decree: I was amnestied and had to leave Soviet territory. The decree was signed by Andrei Gromyko, at that time the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. I felt myself come alive. Mr. No signed my release!
- In Germany you were greeted as a hero?
- Well, problems have begun. Siege by the media. Hostile articles that portrayed me as a madman who had endangered the world. I was deprived of my piloting rights, they started an investigation against me with absurd accusations: a threat to peace or treason, then the case was closed. But I don’t regret anything, je ne regrette rien (Edith Piaf’s song “No Regrets.” – Ed.). Was it a frivolous adventure? Perhaps, but I insist: sometimes youthful recklessness is part of the world. A flight marked by fears, worries that you've made a mistake, that it's too late to turn back? Yes. And yet I did the right thing by making my dream come true. Even at that terrible moment when this MiG flew like a red arrow next to me in the cold sky of Russia.

When Matthias Rust approached the USSR border, the army leadership alerted 3 air defense units. 2 Soviet interceptor fighters took off into the sky. One pilot reported that the unidentified object was very similar to the Soviet Yak-12 (a light multi-role transport aircraft). After this, the management gave up.

The pilots of two other interceptors, who came close to the Cessna plane, did not see the German flag and German registration number on it!
Air defense servicemen who noticed Matthias Rust's plane decided that it was being flown by a trainee who simply forgot to turn on the radar transponder.
Two more Soviet fighters intercepted the Cessna plane a little later, but also left it alone. The commander informed the pilots that flying at such a low altitude was too dangerous.
We noticed a Cessna on radar station, but the operator believed it was a helicopter performing search and rescue work nearby. The leadership of the USSR was shocked when Matthias Rust landed his plane right in the middle of Red Square. The pilot was immediately arrested and sent to jail for 18 months.

Mathias Rust. Aerodrome - Kremlin

28th May 1987 of the year USSR celebrated Border Guard Day. IN 18 hours 43 minutes by Moscow time over RED SQUARE flew by small private controlled airplane Matthias Rust, Cessna-172P. Having done more a couple approaches over the square, the plane turned around and landed on Moskvoretsky Bridge. He came out of the cabin dressed in red overalls 19 year old pilot – citizen Germany, Matthias Rust. When a crowd surrounded him and began to question him, where he arrived, then it turned out that he arrived, a little, a lot because BOUNDARIES. When news of a border trespasser reaches the government of our country, flares up soft speaking , big scandal. This news in the media in total Mira for a long time becomes NEWS NUMBER ONE.

28th May 1987 Soviet year Air defense V 14 hours discovers over Finnish bay several goals. One from goals first went to Soviet border, then turned to north. IN 14 hours 20 minutes again appeared new goal. Anxiety was announced via 15 minutes , when the goal is already over Soviet territory. Mathias Rust crossed the border USSR on ULTRA-LOW altitude near junction of the administrative border of Estonia And RSFSR. Then he began, then abruptly gain altitude That decline. IN 14 hours 48 minutes commander Separate 6th army Air defense, Kromin received a report from duty officer about what's in 14 hours 46 minutes in 25 kilometers west of Narva, near the village Silumäe discovered UNIDENTIFIED target. Airplane Matthias Rust was already discovered on our territory and was accepted NOT behind BORDER violator, and for violator of FLIGHT MODE!? Cromin asserts , What NOT was EVEN TALKS O BORDER TRESPASSER, bye he didn't sit on RED SQUARE!? Later 17 years Mathias Rust said that if he thought about it about seriousness consequences this flight, then I would never on him I haven't decided.

Mathias Rust began its flight from the capital Finland, Helsinki V 13 hours 21 minute by Moscow time . Destination, By plan there was a flight Stockholm. Through 20 minutes after takeoff, spent last radio communication session, turned everything off radio devices, except the radio compass. And sent the plane through Finnish bay to Soviet border. On this day in the area military west of Narva carried out jumping With parachute ( see article "Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov"). Mathias Rust flew with the same speed How "An-2". The military tried to understand that, in the sky ? Maybe, got lost alone from cornmen? IN 14 hours 50 minutes from the airfield Air defense, "Tapa" took off MiG-23 fighter. The fighter pilot was given a task – find out – WHAT, is in the sky ? He found out and radioed that there was altitude 600 meters flies helicopter!? Then MiG-23 did re-entry on target and then said that it was small aircraft type Yak-12. Commanding Separate 6th army Air defense, Kromin gave the command to rise second MiG-23 and previously brought V combat readiness all on duty on the course anti-aircraft missiles troops and additional stations of radio technical troops.

Cessna - 172P

Matthias Rust still taken for OUT OF THE WAY With HELICOPTER COURSE or AIRPLANE??? Mathias Rust chose a plane for my flight exactly "Cessna-172P" because of the big non-stop range flight . On the plane Matthias Rust NOT was NO EXTRA FUEL TANKS. The plane had only SERIAL fuel tanks, located in staff places – V wings Standard capacity fuel tanks on this type of aircraft – more 235 liters . This was enough for more , than on 8 hour flight NO landing. Respectively non-stop range flight on this aircraft is at least 1 500 km . Mathias Rust nowhere along the route NOT landed And NOT refueled. Before departure from Helsinki, Matthias Rust refueled my plane UNDER the most TRAFFIC JAMS. After landing on Red Square he still has fuel more on 2.5 hours flight .

IN 13 hours 58 minutes Finnish air traffic control services lost airplane Matthias Rust on locator screens. Finnish Rescue services went to search for the plane Matthias Rust V proposed location plane crash. In that supposed the crash site on the surface of the sea turned out to be oil stain. After landing Matthias Rust experts carefully examined the plane and gave categorical conclusion about what's on this plane impossible push none barrel, and even more so throw away it from this type of aircraft during flight. Accordingly, it has been walking around the Baltic for a long time oil stain, no had nothing to do with Matthias Rust. After search and rescue operations Finnish rescue services first exhibited Matthias Rust account for $120,000 for carrying out this work. But then, when they began details are known this incident when they heard – WHAT, Matthias Rust spoke in court about motivation their flight then they came to absolute delight And REFUSED from their requirements.

Airplane Rusta continued his flight. Along the way Mathias Rust enough actively maneuvered but mostly according to height And speed flight . In some places it rose to a height of up to 2 km, but mostly he flew to altitudes 100-200 meters , and it also happened below 100 meters . In some places he did some turns, but I tried to stick to it given course. One from fighters approached Matthias Rust on distance 700 meters . The pilot reported that he saw airplane type Yak-12. Then the fighter flew by closer And disappeared. Mathias Rust thought , what's his now will be shot from behind. It's been a while, but it's Did not happen. Then the Soviet fighter approached Matthias Rust more closer, flew by and disappeared completely. Was low clouds, and snuggle up to small, slowly flying the MiG-23 fighter could NOT support the plane.

Cessna 172P. View from the cockpit

All of a sudden the target suddenly disappeared from ground locator screens Air defense And MiGa. Through 3 minutes after disappearing in 14 hours 55 minutes target again appeared on locator screens. Lifted into the air a couple more fighters. New pair of fighters does not see the target. Join with Matthias Rust V radio talks was impossible because he turned off the radios on your plane. Subsequently, he explained this by saying that was afraid what if radio communication will be with him accessible, then he Can not resist pressure from Soviet air defense to land earlier, than he intended. IN 15 hours Mathias Rust flies up to Pskov. IN Pskov areas at this time are passing flight exercises, and a plane Matthias Rust receives designation “OWN”!? Near 1st hour “yours” flies on southeast. IN 16 hours he is already next to Lake Seliger. There is an area of ​​responsibility another air defense unit and a plane Matthias Rust loses the code "mine". The military again had to decide - WHAT, this is for the plane and What with him do?

Here it is necessary to recall an incident that happened 1983 year on Far East(see article « Korean Boeing 1983"). Then there was passenger hit airplane – "South Korean Boeing". After this incident on Far East, for troops air defense, came out HARD ORDER – KNOCK DOWN above our territory, in case of border violation, MILITARY ONLY aircraft. A CIVIL And TRANSPORT airplanes, in case of border violation, ONLY FORCE To LANDING on our territories.

Airplane Matthias Rust moved from one area of ​​responsibility Air defense to another, and nobody so and NOT completed order LAND the intruder plane. IN 16 hours 6 minutes plane Matthias Rust above eastern shore Seliger. At this time on RADAR are highlighted 6 more points – This VORTEX FLOW. The plane is with them Matthias Rust receives designation How – “WET EDUCATION”. Next, near the city Torzhok, Matthias Rust helped more one case. Yesterday there was a crash in this area , from colliding with each other , two military aircraft. There was in the sky many helicopters performing search and rescue work. Airplane Matthias Rust mistaken for , Another one search helicopter. IN 17 hours 11 minutes Mathias Rust falls within the area of ​​responsibility Moscow air defense region . Here he gets designation How – “THE SOVIET HELICOPTER THAT VIOLATED FLIGHT REGULATIONS”??? Another fighter is lifted into the air. Due to the thick cloudiness, same for him NOT manages to get close enough close quarters, to determine - WHAT, behind an object is in the sky.

Cessna 172P. Cockpit

IN 18 hours 30 minutes the object crosses outskirts of Moscow, near Khodynsky field. To this moment Mathias Rust flew by more than 700 km . Flying up to Red Square, Mathias Rust I saw a big one in the square crowd of people. May 28 noted holiday "Border Guard Day". He did a couple of laps above the square and realized that on THE SQUARE ITSELF land him It will NOT work. After that he saw next to Red Square, Moskvoretsky Bridge, determined that he you can land and committed it on him LANDING. After landing on the bridge they remained STRIPS from , struck the tires. Then he rolled down bridge down. traffic cop, standing at the end at the time bridge, seeing landing on bridge airplane, blocked in advance car traffic, then with a rod showed Directions to Matthias Rust, where to turn. Mathias Rust turned to Vasilyevsky Spusk and stopped there.

With this Moskvoretsky Bridge some related Detective story. The point is that at the moment when Mathias Rust landed on Moskvoretsky Bridge, it was just 3 wires, stretched across – V the beginning V middle, and in end of the bridge. He flew over first, then dived under second and landed. When on trial September 4th photographs were shown Moskvoretsky Bridge, it was already on it a lot more wires stretched across. Judge asked Matthias Rust: “How You were able to land the plane between, so thick hanging wires? Mathias Rust answered : « During it landings, on no bridge there were so many wires." Then it turned out that Moscow authorities, after landing Matthias Rust, during 1-2 days V urgently, AT NIGHT bet on this bridge, many pillars and pulled between them wires.

Cessna 172P. Dashboard

People on I didn’t immediately understand the square = WHAT happened. The crowd surrounded the pilot and the plane. At first people thought , What making a MOVIE. Then people started asking questions – Who pilot and where he arrived. Mathias Rust answered to all questions. During interrogation in KGB first question was given to him : « You intentionally arrived in Border Guard Day? Mathias Rust replied that didn't even know about such a holiday. An investigation has begun - WHO, this German young man - scout, provocateur or simply psycho. KGB men started to find out – like, enough young pilot I was able to do this, in general, NOT an easy flight. During the investigation it turned out that Mathias Rust at home Homeland V Germany went very well NOT BAD FLIGHT SCHOOL! He began his flight training in 18 year old age . Instructor, who taught Matthias Rust flying business, noted that he had noticeably, greater abilities in flight training than other cadets! Before his famous flight Matthias Rust has already had quite good piloting qualities and even had quite Serious PILOT EXPERIENCE! For example, he flew completely ON ONE'S OWN V Iceland And back. Let us clarify that the flight to Iceland happens mostly over OCEAN. Above no ocean no ORIENTATIONS – one continuous the same water. The flight is underway only By DEVICES In flight over ocean pilot The pilot's abilities are manifested in to the highest degree!

However, make your flight Matthias Rust helped not only his piloting abilities. During the investigation KGB men found out that in flight Mathias Rust enjoyed TOP SECRET CARD. This map was marked secret military facilities, secret airfields And secret air defense zones - in which to appear in the air Absolutely forbidden. If you appear in the air in this zone That without all sorts of queries - who are you - you get a rocket. Mathias Rust carefully bypassed these areas. When KGB men learned — Where Mathias Rust took this card, then they were, To put it mildly, we were surprised. First they thought what is this card Rustu presented by any of the foreign intelligence, but it turned out that Soviet top secret air defense map Can FREE TO BUY By reasonable price, V USA - in normal POSTAL COMPANY. At first KGB officers did not believe Matthias Rust and thought , What Rust their deceives but then they went to USA according to the specified address and purchased the same map By small price.

Cessna 172P. Lufthansa Airlines. Pilot training school

During the investigation by law enforcement agencies with Matthias Rust, there was also a meeting at the highest leadership of the country. The government of the country wanted find out how such could happen. Reports from senior military leadership were heard. They turned out to be unsure And confused. The government concluded that this was common RUSSIAN SILENCE. May 30th was sent to resignation Minister of Defense of the USSR, Sergei Leonidovich Sokolov, then dismissed Air Defense Commander-in-Chief, Alexander Ivanovich Koldunov and Air Force Commander-in-Chief, Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov. Plus almost more 250 generals And officers. 30 military personnel Air defense was involved in disciplinary liability. They appeared before the court 2 officers who were on that day combat duty. They received 4 And 5 years imprisonment, but less than in 1 their year will be released. These two switchmen imputed NOT ACCEPTANCE solutions to DESTRUCTION violator – Matthias Rust. This case clearly and convincingly showed that the country NOT READY To PROTECT YOURSELF, same as before The Great Patriotic War???

Soon after the flight Matthias Rust something similar happened in Paris. And in 1994 year in Washington on the same plane the pilot tried to land on lawn before White House. Yes, in France and in USA similar cases also happened, but there NOT were Ministers of Defense removed. Americans And French people preferred , first of all, strengthen RADAR SERVICE. IN THE USSR, after this incident, they provided HELICOPTERS For air defense, made a replacement RADIO EQUIPMENT, provided "MiG-29" For air defense aviation.

In Soviet Union Matthias Rust tried By 3m articles . First - illegal violation of the state border. Second - violation of international flight rules ( before 10 years ). Third - malicious hooliganism. Mathias Rust received 4 of the year general regime but, from Lefortovo nowhere didn't move and besides, he had some privileges. For example, he had 2 mattress and 2 pillows. Nutrition he had absolutely not prison. Every day after 16 hours he walked V prison garden. They were allowed to walk far in this garden not everyone inhabitants Lefortovo. Officially he could walk in the garden 1 hour , But really could be in the garden and 2 hours . First glass of water, which he received in prison, it was a glass of tea. Having tried it, Mathias Rust felt strong taste of chlorine And thought that they want him poison, but they explained to him , What Moscow water strongly chlorinated and water in all over Moscow like this .

IN foreign press , At that time, articles often appeared that supposedly above Matthias Rust in prison sophisticated are being bullied. To remove such accusations, the Soviet authorities regularly carried out checks prisoner conditions cell number 34 And All filmed on camera. Extreme this check passed 20th July 1988 of the year . IN Lefortovo Matthias Rust recovered from hay fever, which he was sick. From his experiences he developed gastritis, and he was prescribed medicines. Got rid of allergies. Torn out one tooth. After serving 14 months , August 3, 1988 of the year Mathias Rust was released from prison. Rust went home to Germany. Deprived all FLIGHT LICENSE. CRIMINAL CASE, brought on him on To the Motherland - TERMINATED.

On the morning of May 28, 1987, German amateur aviator Matthias Rust took off in a Cessna 172R monoplane from an airfield near Helsinki, where he had flown in from Hamburg the day before. In the flight documents, the final destination of the route was Stockholm.

At 13.10, having received permission, Rust took his car into the air and headed along the planned route. After 20 minutes of flight, he reported to the dispatcher that there was order on board and said his traditional goodbyes. After which, turning off the on-board radio, the plane turned sharply towards the Gulf of Finland and began descending to an altitude of 80-100 m. This planned

the maneuver was supposed to ensure a reliable exit of the aircraft from the control radar surveillance zone and hide the true flight route.

At this altitude, Mathias headed to the calculated point of the Gulf of Finland near the Helsinki-Moscow air route. Having turned the plane towards the first landmark on the coast of the Soviet Union (the oil shale plant of the city of Kohtla-Jarve with its smoke, which was visible a hundred kilometers away) and checking the radio compass readings with the calculated ones, Rust set off on the “combat course”.

Rust's approximate route from Hamburg to Moscow

Wikipedia/Europe_laea_location_map.svg: Alexrk2/CC BY-SA 3.0

The violator of the USSR state border, spotted on approach, was following the international air route. Information about him was issued to the command post of the radio engineering battalion in the Estonian town of Tapa, the 4th radio engineering brigade and the Intelligence Information Center of the 14th division. In fact, information about the target was already displayed on the screens of automated workstations of the duty combat crew of the division command post as early as 14.31.

The operational duty officer of the brigade command post, Major Krinitsky, did not immediately declare the target a violator of the state border and continued to clarify the characteristics of the object and its affiliation until Rust left the visibility range of the brigade’s radar. Deputy duty officer

Major Chernykh, according to the report, knowing the real situation and the fact that the target was coming from the Gulf of Finland to the coastline, “acted irresponsibly”

and assigned her a number only at 14.37.

The operational duty officer of the division command post, Lieutenant Colonel Karpets, did not demand clear reports and clarification of the type and nature of the target, “thus violating the requirements for the immediate issuance of the target for notification,” as well as the procedure for making decisions on the takeoff of duty crews to identify the target.

In fact, a decision was made: until the situation is fully clarified, information should not be released “upstream.” At that moment there were at least ten light aircraft of various departmental affiliations over the territory of Estonia. None of them were equipped with a state identification system.

At 14.28 it finally becomes clear that there are no civil small aircraft in the area. At 14.29, the operational duty officer of the command post of the 14th Air Defense Division made a decision to assign the “combat number” 8255 to the intruder, to issue information “to the top” and to declare readiness No. 1.

Only at 14.45 the movement was reported to the higher command post of the 6th Separate Air Defense Army.

“Thus, through the fault of the command post of the 14th air defense division, 16 minutes of time were lost, and most importantly, the acuity of perception of the air situation of the army command post disappeared, based on the fact that the target was coming from the Gulf of Finland and entered the borders of the USSR,” it is stated in report.

At the same time, the duty command post of the 656th Fighter Aviation Regiment in the city of Tapa, Lieutenant Filatov, already at 14.33, alerted No. 1 fighters on duty, repeatedly requesting permission to lift them, but the division gave the go-ahead only at 14.47.

Meanwhile, Rust's plane was approaching Lake Peipsi. At 2:30 p.m., along the Cessna 172R flight route, the weather suddenly deteriorated. Rust decided to descend under the lower edge of the clouds and change course to the area of ​​​​an alternate landmark: the railway junction of the Dno station.

On May 28, 1987, at 6:15 p.m., a Cessna civilian plane flew unhindered from Germany to Red Square in the heart of the Soviet Union. In the cockpit: Matthias Rust from Hamburg

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The target had actually already passed the zone of continuous duty radar field at low altitudes and the affected area of ​​duty anti-aircraft missile battalions. Precious time for interception was lost.

Later, the command regarded the delay in the calculations of the 14th division as “cannot be explained by anything other than complete irresponsibility, bordering on a crime.”

The commander of the 14th division, who arrived at the checkpoint at 14.53, was informed that a fighter had been scrambled to clarify the type of target in the area of ​​corridor No. 1 of the Helsinki-Moscow highway. The fact that the target was discovered close to the state border over Gulf of Finland, the duty officer remained silent.

The operational duty officer at the CP of the 6th Army, Colonel Voronkov, having received information about the target, a minute later - at 14.46 - alerted the No. 1 duty forces of the 54th Air Defense Corps and finally allowed the duty pair of fighters of the 656th regiment to rise into the air with the task of one one of them to close the border, the other to identify the violator of the flight regime.

After another five minutes, its commander, General German Kromin, arrived at the army command post and took charge of the forces on duty. He alerted No. 1 to all formations and units of the 54th Air Defense Corps. The commanders of three anti-aircraft missile battalions of the 204th Guards Brigade in Kerstovo, who were on Rust’s flight route, reported that the target was being observed and were ready to launch missiles.

Senior Lieutenant Puchnin's MiG-23, which was lifted into the air, waited until 15.00 for the shift manager of the Regional Center for the Unified Air Traffic Control System of the Leningrad Military District Air Force's area of ​​responsibility, Colonel Timoshin, to give permission to enter the airspace area.

Only at 15.23, while flying from the guidance point of the 54th Air Defense Corps, the pilot was brought to the target to identify it. flew up to the target at an altitude of 2 thousand m in conditions of cloudiness of 10 points with a lower edge of 500-600 and an upper edge of 2.5-2.9 thousand m. Rust was almost 1.5 km lower, right under the clouds - at an altitude 600 m.

On the first approach, Puchnin did not find the target. During the second approach, already at an altitude of 600 m, the pilot visually detected the target 30-50 m below him and at 15.28 he transmitted its description to the guidance point: “A light-engine white aircraft of the Yak-12 type.”

The type of target was reported to the command of the 6th Army, but they did not make any decision, approving the withdrawal of the fighter. At the same time, the MiG had fuel left for one more approach and more accurate identification of the target and, most importantly, determining its nationality.

Span between St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin wall

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“The “Carpet” signal (demand for immediate landing - Gazeta.Ru) was not announced,” the official documents emphasize.

During the investigation, Rust was asked whether he had seen the fighter. The German confirmed and said that he even greeted the Soviet pilot, but did not receive any response signals. The Cessna 172R's radio was turned off.

The report of the MiG-23 pilot was ignored, since it was believed that the discovered aircraft belonged to one of the local flying clubs, where scheduled flights were taking place at that time.

At this time, the rescue search for Rust by the Finnish side had been going on for almost two hours. Due to the unexpected disappearance of the mark from the plane taking off from the airport control radar screen, the dispatcher tried to contact Matthias Rust. After several unsuccessful attempts, the plane was declared in distress, and rescuers were sent to the suspected crash area.

The search continued for several hours. Later, Rust will be charged about $100 thousand for “services rendered.”

At 15.31 a second fighter was lifted from Tapa airfield. The previous guidance procedure was repeated with a delay in front of the area of ​​​​responsibility of the Air Force of the Leningrad Military District. Only at 15.58 at an altitude of 1.5 thousand m did the Soviet pilot find himself in the target area, but did not visually detect it and returned to the home airfield without results. By that time, Soviet radars had lost the weak signal from the low-flying single-engine aircraft Rust and switched to tracking reflections from meteorological formations that resembled him.

Some clarification is required here. In the mid-70s, when powerful high-potential locators began to enter service with RTV air defense systems, already during their field tests, marks with movement parameters commensurate with the characteristics of light-engine aircraft began to be discovered. They were jokingly dubbed echo angels. This phenomenon has caused serious difficulties in automated information processing. Even if the operator can’t distinguish them well, how can he teach the machine to work without errors?

In the course of serious research and a lot of experiments, it was found that radars, due to their high emitting potential, can observe specific meteorological objects. This phenomenon is typical for the spring period in mid-latitudes and during the movement of a powerful warm front. In addition, the seasonal migration of dense flocks of birds creates a very similar effect. Radar operators needed help in recognizing objects of this class. Detailed methods and instructions were developed for the control bodies of the Air Defense Forces.

Significant changes in the target parameters that occurred at a certain moment within just one minute did not alert the crew and remained without due attention. The operators clearly lacked qualifications. In addition, the loss of radar contact with Rust’s plane occurred at the junction of the boundaries of responsibility of two air defense formations - the 14th division and the 54th corps, where the coherence of command post crews plays an important, if not decisive, role.

The fighters that subsequently took off sequentially at 15.54 and 16.25 from the Lodeynoye Pole airfield in the Leningrad region already approached false targets.

At this time, along the Rust route, a warm air front was moving to the southeast. There was continuous cloud cover, rain in places, the lower edge of the clouds was 200-400 m, the upper edge was 2.5-3 thousand m. The search was carried out for 30 minutes. Fighters were forbidden to descend into the clouds; it was too dangerous.

Only at 16.30 the commander of the 6th Army personally informed the duty officer at the command post of the Moscow Air Defense District about the current situation, concluding that target 8255 was a dense flock of birds. At the same time, the current methods and instructions contained the necessary information about what types of birds and at what time of day can fly in fog and clouds, as well as under what circumstances a dense flock can change the direction of flight.

After receiving information from the 6th Army, the Moscow Air Defense District turned on the radar of the 2266th Radio Engineering Battalion in the city at 16.32 Staraya Russa Novgorod region, and duty crews at the Tver airfields Andreapol and Khotilovo were transferred to readiness number 1. The rise of two fighters from there did not lead to the detection of the target: the pilots continued to be directed towards ghostly meteorological formations.

In court, Matthias Rust had to answer for violating the Soviet state border, violating international rules flights and serious hooliganism

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As it turned out later, the lost intruder aircraft was discovered at 16.16 by the radar on duty of the 1074th separate radar company of the 3rd radio engineering brigade of the 2nd air defense corps in the Tver region. Until 16.47, these targets were automatically issued to the command post of a higher-level radio engineering battalion.

At the command post of the 2nd Air Defense Corps, using special Proton-2 equipment, data was later found on the tracking of the intruder aircraft from 16.18 to 16.28, but due to the low preparedness of the relevant calculations, the information was not used.

Matias at that time was 40 km west of the city of Torzhok, where the plane crash had occurred the day before.

Two planes collided in the air - Tu-22 and MiG-25. Several groups of rescuers and incident investigation specialists worked at the site where the car fragments fell. People and cargo were delivered to the scene of the disaster by helicopters from the aviation unit in the area of ​​​​the city of Torzhok. One of the helicopters was in the air as a communications relay. At 16.30 Rust’s plane was identified with a helicopter, so it did not cause any concern to anyone during this part of the flight.

The air situation in the detection zone of the next unit, where Matthias’s plane entered, was also tense. Here they fought with the notorious long-lived meteorological objects. They were observed on the radar indicator screens for 40 minutes (and several at a time). All objects were moving to the southeast. Here Rust again fell “under amnesty” - he was removed from support as a meteorological object. This happened already at the exit from the unit’s detection zone.

Nevertheless, at the command post they noticed the course difference between this route and the airborne objects previously dropped from escort. At 16.48, by the decision of the commander of the 2nd Air Defense Corps, two fighters on duty were scrambled from the Rzhev airfield with the task of searching for small aircraft or other aircraft southeast of the city of Staritsa. The search did not return any results.

By 17.36, the deputy commander of the Moscow Air Defense District, Lieutenant General Brazhnikov, appeared at the command post of the Moscow Air Defense District, who, having assessed the situation, within a few minutes set the task of alerting No. 1 duty forces of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the 2nd Air Defense Corps and ordered to search for the target with illumination radars targets of the S-200 complexes. This also did not bring results, since by this time Rust had passed the border of responsibility of the above-mentioned corps. The tasks of the 1st Special Air Defense Army covering Moscow were not assigned.

At 17.40, Matthias’s plane fell within the coverage area of ​​the civilian radars of the Moscow air hub. The plane was not listed in the plan, the flight was carried out in violation of the rules, there was no communication with the crew. This seriously threatened the safety of air traffic in the Moscow aviation zone. Until the situation is clarified, the administration has stopped receiving and sending passenger planes.

When agreeing on a joint action plan with the command of the Moscow Air Defense District, it was decided that civilian specialists themselves would deal with the violator of the flight regime.

When it was discovered that the intruder was already above the urban development of Moscow, where flights are generally prohibited, it was too late to do anything.

At 18.30, Rust’s plane appeared over Khodynka Field and continued its flight to the city center. Deciding that landing on the Kremlin's Ivanovo Square was impossible, Mathias made three unsuccessful attempts to land on Red Square. The size of the latter allowed this to be done, but there were many people on the paving stones.

After this, the German made a risky decision - to land on the Moskvoretsky Bridge. Turning around over the Rossiya Hotel, he began descending over Bolshaya Ordynka Street, turning on the landing lights. To avoid an accident on the bridge, the guard turned on the red traffic light.

Rust performed the landing masterfully, considering that he had to sniper into the area between the guy wires of the overhead trolleybus network.

This happened at 18.55. Having taxied to the Intercession Cathedral and turning off the engine, Matthias got out of the plane in a brand new red jumpsuit, put chocks under the landing gear and began signing autographs.

Cessna on the edge of Red Square

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Already at the first stage, the consequences of the reform began to appear - the dismemberment of the unified management system of the country's Air Defense Forces between military districts in 1978.

The air defense forces of the USSR in the second half of the 70s developed at such an active pace that the West recognized their superiority over similar systems in other countries of the world.

The re-equipment of the Air Defense Forces with the latest weapons and military equipment at that time was completed. The country's air defense system during this period was a single automated organizational and technical complex, which was in constant combat readiness and was continuously improved.

Air frontiers of the USSR in the years " cold war» were constantly subjected to strength tests. By the way,

back in the mid-70s, the real scourge of the USSR air defense system in the North-West region was violations of the state border by light aircraft (such as Cessna, Beechcraft, Piper, etc.) from Finland.

As a rule, the cause of such incidents was loss of orientation by amateur pilots.

However, this was not the end of the matter. On April 20, 1978, in the area of ​​the Kola Peninsula, a Boeing 707 passenger plane of the South Korean airline KAL crossed the state border. After unsuccessful attempts to force the plane to land, the commander of the 10th Air Defense Army decided to use weapons. A Su-15 air defense fighter opened fire and damaged the left wing of the airliner. He committed forced landing on the ice of Lake Kolpiyarvi near the city of Kem. Two passengers were killed and several people were injured. The actions of the air defense command were subsequently recognized as correct, and all participants in the interception were presented with state awards.

By that time, an influential group of senior leaders had conceived a reform of the USSR's air defense, which included the transfer of the largest, best and most combat-ready part of the Air Defense Forces to the border military districts. The Commander-in-Chief of the country's Air Defense Forces, Marshal of the Soviet Union Pavel Batitsky, strongly opposed this.

In the summer of 1978, a harmful decision was made. Air defense corps and divisions were placed at the disposal of administrative and economic structures, which in practice were military districts. The reform took place in unjustified fuss. A few years later, a decision was finally made to return the troops to their original state, but the damage in the air defense is still remembered.

Meanwhile, tensions in the field of border protection did not subside. In the Far East alone, in the early 80s, operators of radio technical troops accompanied on radar screens near borders more than three thousand air objects annually.

Matthias Rust participates in a talk show, 2012

Picture Alliance/Jazzarchiv

Air defense officers became hostages of political decisions. And the procedure for forcing the imprisonment of such state border violators has not yet been clearly defined.

During Rust’s approach to the territory of the USSR, the “sacred principle of the border” was also violated - the immediate release of information on the target until the situation was clarified. However, instead of a rational analysis of the failure that occurred, a search began for the culprits, who were revealed almost immediately.

The country's leadership removed three marshals of the Soviet Union and about three hundred generals and officers from their posts. The army has not seen such a personnel pogrom since 1937.

As a result, people came to the leadership of the Armed Forces and branches of the Armed Forces who were an order of magnitude (or even two) inferior in their professional, business and moral qualities to the removed marshals and generals.

On August 3, 1988, an unusual prisoner was released early from a Soviet prison. He was the German amateur pilot Matthias Rust, who a year earlier became famous throughout the world for landing a plane on Red Square. Then this event caused a lot of noise: how did a 19-year-old guy manage to discredit the Soviet air defense system, why did he need to commit this crazy act, and what punishment did the brave man suffer?

German amateur pilot Matthias Rust

One day, 18-year-old Matthias Rust was watching TV and the news was talking about how negotiations between the American and Soviet governments in Reykjavik had reached a dead end. The young man decided that he should help the USSR and the West improve relations. At least, this is how he explained his motives at trial: “I thought I could use the plane to build an imaginary bridge between the West and the East, to show how many people in Europe want to improve relations with the USSR.”

Rust flight map

At that time, Matthias Rust had the right to fly the plane, and he had already spent about 50 hours in the air. On May 13, 1987, he informed his parents that he intended to travel by plane Northern Europe in order to fly the required number of hours to obtain a professional pilot's license. On May 25, Mathias arrived in Helsinki; on May 28, he told dispatchers that he was heading to Stockholm. But Rust was moving in the wrong direction, and later disappeared from the radar altogether.

A search and rescue operation immediately began in the area of ​​the Finnish coast. A large oil slick was noticed on the surface of the sea, and it was then assumed that the plane had crashed. While they were searching for the pilot at sea, he crossed the Soviet border over Estonia. Of course, the radars immediately detected him, and soon a MiG fighter was next to him. He accompanied him for some time, but no order for further action was received, and the MiG soon disappeared.

*Peace mission* or provocation?

The fact is that in 1984, the Soviet military shot down a passenger plane South Korea, which violated the airspace of the USSR. As a result, people died, and after that it was prohibited to shoot at civilian and sports aircraft. When Matias was flying in the Pskov area, the local air regiment was conducting training flights. Some planes were taking off, others were landing. At 15:00, all pilots were supposed to change code at the same time, but due to inexperience, many did not do this. Due to the confusion that arose, all aircraft were assigned the “me-us” attribute, including Rust’s plane, which was among them. When he flew over Torzhok, rescue work was carried out there after a plane crash, and Rust’s plane was mistaken for a Soviet search helicopter.

Matthias Rust's plane on Red Square

On the evening of May 28, a German Cessna plane landed on the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge and drove to St. Basil's Cathedral. The pilot climbed out of the cockpit and began signing autographs to surprised passers-by and tourists. He was arrested a few minutes later. The next morning, all the newspapers reported a sensation: “The country is in shock! The German sports pilot dishonored the huge defense arsenal of the USSR on Border Guard Day.”

*Peace mission* or provocation?

There were several versions about the reasons for Mathias’s action: he was trying to win a bet, he wanted to impress his girlfriend, he was carrying out an assignment from foreign intelligence services, he made a spectacular marketing move in support of his father’s business - he was selling Cessna airplanes in Western Europe, and the news that this was the only aircraft to defeat the Soviet air defense system could help revive demand.

Matthias Rust's plane on Red Square

Matthias Rust was arrested and tried for hooliganism and illegal border crossing. He was sentenced to 4 years in prison, but a year later he was released early. The head of the air defense forces, the minister of defense and about 300 officers lost their positions. And people began to call Red Square “Sheremetyevo-3” and write jokes on this topic.

Matthias Rust in the courtroom

Upon returning to his homeland, Rust was deprived of his piloting rights as a “mentally unbalanced” person. Soon, he ended up behind bars again: while working as a nurse in a hospital, he rushed with a knife at a nurse who refused his advances. In 2001, he was tried again - this time for stealing a pullover. Apparently, he really couldn’t be called mentally stable.

Mathias Rust

Rust’s “peace mission” is still called into question: there are too many inconsistencies and large-scale consequences: after that, mass purges were carried out in the Soviet army - as if they were waiting for the right occasion. Therefore, many call Rust’s flight a carefully planned provocation, of which there were many during that period

 

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