Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:01what, with his help, could
00:00:04have been known
00:00:08to the enemy about our forces, in
00:00:11particular my operational
00:00:14means, as we call it, all
00:00:17of this, of course,
00:00:18caused damage.
00:00:25The investigators meticulously reconstructed Ilyinsky's map
00:00:28of residence in post-war... in the Soviet Union, and here's what
00:00:32an interesting picture emerged. A year in
00:00:35Gorky, 6 months in
00:00:38Muram, a year in Kherson, 4
00:00:41months in Artsyz near Odessa, 6 months in
00:00:45Yaroslavl, 2 months in Molotov, now
00:00:48Perm, 8 months in Ufa,
00:00:526 months in Chkalov, now Orenburg, 6
00:00:55months in Kuibyshev, now Samara, 6 months in...
00:01:09What connects these cities? The answer came very
00:01:12quickly. In all places of Ilyinsky's long-term
00:01:15stay, by strange coincidence, centers
00:01:19of atomic defense production of the atomic
00:01:21industry were located. Except
00:01:23for Kherson.
00:01:27This was one of the cities where the retreating German intelligence...
00:02:30from
00:02:30his sister,
00:02:37whether Ilyinsky was involved in secret operations of American
00:02:41or German intelligence after the victory, and here everything may
00:02:44not be so
00:02:45simple.
00:02:51It is quite probable that there were also questions
00:02:55that were not included in the criminal case.
00:02:58Nevertheless, we were able to find one document that
00:03:02proves Ilyinsky was indeed a deeply
00:03:05undercover agent who actively
00:03:09worked against the USSR even after the war.
00:03:12From the resolution on filing charges. Ilyinsky
00:03:16is sufficiently exposed in that he caused enormous damage to the might of the USSR in the fight against
00:03:20fascist invaders and their satellites during
00:03:23the Patriotic War. In subsequent years, being an official
00:03:26employee, an agent of foreign intelligence agencies, pro...
00:03:35On March 3, 1953,
00:03:37the military tribunal of the Moscow Military District, at a
00:03:40closed session, after reviewing all
00:03:43the circumstances of the case, sentenced Ilyinsky-
00:03:46Lazarev, also known as Sidorov Boris Nikolaevich, on the basis of article
00:03:50581 B of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR,
00:03:53to be subjected to the highest measure of
00:03:56punishment - execution by firing squad. And at this point, one could have put
00:04:00a full stop, were it not for the unexpected continuation:
00:04:03by resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of
00:04:06June 5, 1953, the petition for
00:04:10clemency was satisfied, the execution by firing squad
00:04:13was replaced by 25 years in labor camps, and this also
00:04:16raises questions. There was no general amnesty for
00:04:20traitors in 1953,
00:04:23especially of such a high level, Soviet courts were
00:04:26merciless. Nevertheless, Ilyinsky was lucky.
00:04:30It is quite possible that he was of interest as a carrier of some
00:04:33valuable information, for the effective use of which
00:04:36he was needed alive, but in history he
00:04:40remained a traitor forever.
00:05:40Results of the first day of the war.
00:06:12aircraft with improved
00:06:13characteristics.
00:06:17On the eve of the war, the Soviet air fleet had
00:06:21aircraft capable of fighting German machines.
00:06:24But new models Il-2, Yak-1,
00:06:28MiG-3, LaGG-3, Pe-2, and
00:06:30Pe-8, by the time of Germany's attack on
00:06:33the USSR, they had not been fully
00:06:36tested. The aircraft needed to be brought to combat readiness
00:06:40in a short time, and this was entrusted to the young
00:06:43Flight Research Institute, established only in March
00:06:461941. The order was extremely
00:06:50concise: complete tests and
00:06:53prepare all documentation for their serial
00:06:56production.
00:07:03Moscow
00:07:04speaking.
00:07:20The morning of June 22, 1941,
00:07:23at the Flight Research Institute began with
00:07:27an emergency meeting; on this day all
00:07:30test flights were canceled, for the first time in the Institute's
00:07:33history, but this time none of the pilots asked questions,
00:07:37war. All employees were ready
00:07:40and awaited further instructions.
00:07:43The head of the Institute, Mikhail Gromov, acted
00:07:46decisively; he was one of the few Soviet
00:07:49leaders who clearly knew what needed
00:07:52to be done now. The events at the front instantly switched
00:07:56me from peaceful work to front-line work. On the very first day
00:07:59of the war, my deputies, the heads of laboratories, received
00:08:02instructions on organizational measures
00:08:05and further work plans. It was necessary to make their
00:08:09contribution to the fight against the aggressor as quickly as possible.
00:08:14Mikhail Gromov began testing aircraft back in
00:08:171924, and soon after, he could
00:08:20no longer imagine his life without
00:08:22flying.
00:08:24He participated in testing almost all new
00:08:27Soviet aviation machines and even set a world record
00:08:31for non-stop flight range. On the
00:08:33An-25, he covered over 12,000 km in just
00:08:37over 70 hours. For exemplary
00:08:40performance of flight assignments, in 1934
00:08:44he became a Hero of the Soviet
00:08:46Union. The highest certification
00:08:50commission awarded Gromov another title -
00:08:53Professor of Technical Operation of Aircraft
00:08:56Engines. He was one of the first to develop a methodology
00:08:59for blind and night flights. It is not surprising that
00:09:02he was entrusted with creating the Flight Test
00:09:06Institute. It was organized not
00:09:09just quickly, but one might say rapidly.
00:09:12So much so that at first, they overlooked a somewhat unusual
00:09:16abbreviation. It sounded like
00:09:19I-L-I, Institute of Flight
00:09:21Research. They had to rearrange the initial
00:09:25letters to get LII, and
00:09:29the Flight Research Institute, with which it entered
00:09:33the history of aviation
00:09:35science.
00:09:37In the institute, the first tests of all new
00:09:40aircraft were carried out. It was here that the actual flight
00:09:44characteristics were determined, first of all, the piloting qualities
00:09:48and reliability of the onboard systems.
00:09:51The LII also developed methods and algorithms for making
00:09:55decisions during flight, which helped significantly
00:09:58minimize pilot errors.
00:10:01In a short time, the Flight Research
00:10:03Institute formed the subsequently famous school
00:10:07of Soviet aviation ergonomics, the science of
00:10:10effective and safe use.
00:10:12of aircraft,
00:10:18but with the outbreak of the war, all fundamental research
00:10:21had to be suspended.
00:10:25The war demanded concentrating all efforts on launching
00:10:28new combat aircraft into production, by the design
00:10:32bureaus of Alexander Yakovlev, Semyon Lavochkin, Artyom
00:10:35Mikoyan, Vladimir Petlyakov, Nikolai
00:10:38Polikarpov, and Sergei
00:10:40Ilyushin.
00:10:43Designed but not yet fully tested models stood in
00:10:46hangars, while the enemy at this time dominated
00:10:49the air across the entire front.
00:10:52They had to go to extreme measures. New
00:10:55bombers, fighters, and attack aircraft were tested directly in
00:10:59combat.
00:11:01All levers of the government and military
00:11:05apparatus immediately went into action. Commanders manned the regiments,
00:11:08then immediately distributed them to squadrons and
00:11:11flights. Engineers and technicians taught pilots to
00:11:14independently service the aircraft. Armament specialists
00:11:18prepared ammunition. Headquarters were inundated with maps,
00:11:21lists, all sorts of regulations and instructions.
00:11:27A few days after the start of the war, air regiments of
00:11:30the best Moscow pilots, which included LII specialists,
00:11:34were fully formed. Experienced
00:11:37pilots not only had to conduct combat tests
00:11:40of aircraft and train flight personnel to operate new
00:11:43machines, they also had to fight
00:11:46in the sky.
00:11:50Once we were returning from the People's Commissariat by car. Approaching
00:11:54the institute.
00:13:25A small team remained at Zhukovsky airfield, which submitted proposals based on data
00:13:28received directly during air operations.
00:13:31test pilots examined
00:13:33aircraft directly in combat, and Moscow
00:13:37technicians and engineers analyzed the flight and combat
00:13:40characteristics of new aircraft, repaired
00:13:43breakdowns, and gained invaluable experience in
00:13:46operation. A very important problem during
00:13:49the war was this:
00:13:53the explosion of fuel tanks,
00:13:57gas tanks when hit by
00:13:59even small shells.
00:14:03It was impossible to fight this; the machine
00:14:06was lost, and the pilots either died or
00:14:09were injured. They came up with a solution:
00:14:12it wasn't gasoline that exploded, but
00:14:16gasoline vapors mixed with air, which was
00:14:19above the surface of the gasoline in the tank. So, they introduced
00:14:22into the upper part of the tanks...
00:14:25tubes through which gas from the exhaust
00:14:29pipes flowed after combustion; there was no
00:14:32oxygen left there. Of course, there were explosions,
00:14:35but their frequency significantly decreased, and
00:14:39combat losses quite significantly
00:14:41decreased.
00:14:43by the time the flight...
00:14:53He himself returned to the work he
00:15:09knew best and truly loved, to test
00:15:13flights. He completed his last assignment as
00:15:16a leader in the USA, where he tested
00:15:20American bombers that were supplied through...
00:15:23On December 1,
00:15:281941, Mikhail Gromov returned
00:15:31to Moscow and personally appealed to Stalin with
00:15:34a request to send him to the front.
00:15:38A week later, he received his appointment and took
00:15:41command of the 31st Air Division
00:15:44of the Kalinin
00:15:45Front.
00:15:48The pace of aircraft production at aviation factories
00:15:50increased.
00:15:54The volume of work increased with each passing month. Already by
00:15:581942, fighters and
00:16:00bombers received more powerful engines.
00:16:04Improved by specialists of the Flight
00:16:08Research Institute, the engines significantly improved the flight
00:16:11characteristics of the Yak-1, Yak-7, and
00:16:14LaGG-3 fighters. Now these aircraft practically did not
00:16:18concede to the Messerschmitts. The Il-2 attack aircraft,
00:16:22which often returned to base literally riddled with bullets,
00:16:26became fully armored, including the gunner's cockpit.
00:16:30The LII quickly solved
00:16:32another problem that only became apparent during combat
00:16:36operations. In winter conditions, aircraft engines
00:16:39were difficult to start. To warm them up, such
00:16:42heaters were usually used, in which
00:16:45gasoline was burned, and
00:16:48the air was heated, and
00:16:52through these fabric hoses,
00:16:55it was supplied to various parts of the
00:16:58engine, covered with
00:17:00cotton blankets.
00:17:04The heating process took 30-40 minutes.
00:17:07When a squadron took off,
00:17:10then it needed nine such heaters, or one
00:17:14after another. But this problem, of course, was not
00:17:18very flashy, but extremely difficult.
00:17:22LII specialists suggested that after a day of flying,
00:17:25a little gasoline be poured into the oil tank each time and the engine
00:17:29run at low rpm for 10 minutes so that the oil
00:17:32would thin out. In the morning, the engines started without
00:17:36problems. The bumps encountered in the first year of the war
00:17:40later turned into invaluable experience. Hundreds
00:17:43of defects were eliminated from aircraft designs,
00:17:46which would have taken years in peacetime.
00:17:49The fleet of combat aviation
00:17:52also rapidly expanded. Based on improved
00:17:56Yak and LaGG aircraft, their modifications
00:17:58were created. Prototype models of new machines
00:18:01were immediately sent to the front. In
00:18:051943, Mikhail Gromov already commanded
00:18:09the First Air Army, which operated in the interests
00:18:12of the Western and Third Belorussian Fronts.
00:18:15The aviation of the First Air Army mainly worked
00:18:18to ensure the defeat of the enemy's front line
00:18:22and operated quite successfully. I remember
00:18:25one of the offensive operations to capture Smolensk
00:18:29with particularly great satisfaction, as my creative
00:18:32success.
00:18:35Then in the battles for Smolensk.
00:19:20In this case, the enemy might think, since they are returning, the bombs have already been dropped, there can be no
00:19:23danger.
00:19:25The operation was so successful that the Soviet
00:19:29formation landed at its airfield without losses,
00:19:32while at the German airfield, almost all
00:19:36aircraft, buildings, and fuel
00:19:38tanks were burning.
00:19:42By the spring of 1943, the LII returned from
00:19:45evacuation to its home airfield
00:19:48Zhukovsky. The amount of work for Moscow
00:19:51test pilots continued to increase with the growing
00:19:54number of new aircraft
00:19:56models. We already had
00:20:00remarkable domestic machines. Soviet
00:20:03aircraft manufacturers honorably coped with an incredibly
00:20:06difficult task.
00:20:37radio communication, though it, like any novelty,
00:20:41needed testing, at first it often deteriorated during
00:20:45flight, and in some places it disappeared altogether, well,
00:20:48then it turned out... the matter was quite
00:20:52technically simple: moving parts of the aircraft
00:20:55are connected by such flexible wires so that
00:20:59static electricity does not flow
00:21:02between the aircraft parts and does not cause these
00:21:05interferences. On this aircraft
00:21:08model, everything was restored as it should be, as per the drawings,
00:21:11and everything stopped. It turned out that
00:21:14the communication range was better than the norm
00:21:16established at that time for
00:21:20this aircraft.
00:21:26the quality during the war, pilots knew
00:21:30well that equipment failures in the air during test
00:21:33flights were frequent, and
00:21:36therefore they were especially grateful to the developers for
00:21:39every improvement.
00:21:42During one of the test flights, Arseniy
00:21:45Mironov also had an accident. After the injuries he received,
00:21:48the medical commission forbade
00:22:20during the war, they discovered gliders as a special type
00:22:24of combat aviation. Some of them were so
00:22:27large that they could even transport military vehicles,
00:22:30artillery, light and medium tanks.
00:22:34Since they were absolutely silent, they were actively
00:22:37used in airborne operations to supply
00:22:40partisan detachments and drop reconnaissance and sabotage
00:22:44groups.
00:22:48Thanks to the developments of Fley's engineers.
00:22:50gliders were already produced with dual controls,
00:22:53landing ski cushioning, and the
00:22:56designs themselves became much
00:22:58stronger.
00:23:01By the end of 1943, German aviation had almost completely
00:23:05lost its dominance in
00:23:06the air.
00:23:09And in early 1944, the clear advantage in the sky
00:23:13was already on the side of the USSR. By this time,
00:23:16the Soviet Union began to produce fighters.
00:23:20Yak-3 and Yak-9U,
00:23:23aircraft that at combat altitudes surpassed
00:23:27the best models of the Luftwaffe.
00:23:31The Soviet Union managed to mobilize all its forces
00:23:34in just a few years and made a real breakthrough in combat
00:23:38aviation. By the beginning of 1945,
00:23:42the Soviet Air Force had
00:23:45more than 15 thousand new combat
00:23:47aircraft, which fully covered
00:23:52After the Victory Parade, for exemplary performance of government
00:23:56assignments in aircraft testing, the entire staff of the
00:24:00Flight Research Institute was awarded
00:24:03the Order of the Red Banner of Combat, the institute
00:24:06deserved it by right, because during the war alone, more than
00:24:09500 combat
00:24:12aircraft were tested at the Zhukovsky airfield.
00:24:15LII specialists
00:24:20collaborated closely with design bureaus of the
00:24:23aviation industry throughout the war, supervised
00:24:26production and immediately provided a full package
00:24:30of recommendations for all new models. On April
00:24:3426, 1986,
00:24:36the institute was named after its first
00:24:39head, Hero of the Soviet Union, Mikhail
00:24:43Mikhailovich Gromov. In
00:24:45his honor, a square
00:24:49in Zhukovsky, a city where even today, but already for
00:24:52peaceful purposes, the Flight Test
00:24:56Institute continues its research
00:24:59work.