In memory of Colonel General Ivan Dmitrievich Gaydayenko
Ivan Dmitrievich Gaidaenko
The first war of Ivan Gaydayenko
Surprisingly, the death of a veteran of two wars, test pilot and Colonel General Ivan Dmitrievich Gaydayenko passed by the public. Not a single, even regional TV channel, honored the memory of the hero and remembered his merits. Of course, now in fashion are completely different news and events - you can't make a big cash out of the death of a veteran. But how can one talk about the revival and education of a new Russia, if such examples of selfless service to the Motherland are actually ignored? The question is rhetorical, but let's try to restore justice.
Ivan Dmitrievich Gaidaenko
Home stories Ivan Dmitrievich is no different from hundreds of thousands and millions of his compatriots. Born on March 2 in the village of Peschanoe, Elisavetgrad district, Kherson province in 1919 (now it is the vicinity of the city of Kropyvnytskyi), where he completed seven classes. The family did not live well, his father passed away early, and the future pilot was forced to enter the Kirovograd Engineering College. There, according to Gaidaenko himself, at least they paid a stipend. At the same time, a local flying club happened, which forever turned the life of an eighteen-year-old boy. He almost got into the ranks of pilot-observers - as navigators used to be called, but the experience of flying on a makeshift airplane helped him to be in the group of pilots. For the 20-30s, the aspiration of young people to the sky was quite natural - everyone dreamed of the profession of a pilot. Now the priorities are completely knocked down, and it’s good if one out of a hundred young guys plans to enter a flight school. On his centenary, Ivan Dmitrievich recalled:
“First of all, I want to wish the young generation health, excellent studies, striving for their goals. Take an example from us - the elderly and never lose heart. I always dreamed of flying, and now, I spent my whole life in the air.
Ivan Gaydayenko's first aircraft was the U-2, a universal training desk for many generations of aviators. In 1937, the final choice was made, and young Gaydayenko linked his life forever with the Red Army. Combat skills and acquaintance with serious equipment happened already in the Odessa military aviation school named after Polina Osipenko. The second mastered aircraft in the pilot's career was the P-2 designed by Polikarpov - a machine that is not easy to operate and demanding on the qualifications of the pilot.
Already in 1938, twelve months after the start of training, Gaidaenko wrote a report on the transfer to the Far East - then relations with Japan escalated. But he ended up in the 333rd separate reconnaissance squadron on the P-5 in Leningrad Gatchina. And at the end of 1939, the first war broke out for Ivan Dmitrievich ...
In an interview with I remember, Ivan Dmitrievich says:
“When the Finnish War began in 1939, our squadron was sent north. We were sitting on Lake Kolayärvi, which is to the west of Kandalaksha. The main tasks of our squadron were reconnaissance and bombing. The Finns acted in small detachments. It was possible to find them in the forest only along the abandoned ski track. If their detachments found them in an open place, when crossing frozen lakes, then here we fired at them well and bombed them. We were lucky that we did not have to meet Finnish planes. On the R-5, fighting an enemy aircraft is a hopeless business. What weapons did we have? In front of the PV-1 (the same "Maxim", only aviation), and behind - two coaxial Degtyarev machine guns.
For the Finnish campaign, Gaidaenko personally presented the Order of the Red Star to Kalinin. As the hero himself recalled, for a couple of years the award allowed him to use a soft railway car once a year on vacation.
Photo from the personal archive of Ivan Dmitrievich Gaydayenko
After Finland in 1940 there was work in Estonia during the introduction of Soviet forces. Ivan Gaydayenko provided communication between the advanced columns of troops and the command. As he himself said, in flight from the R-2, a pennant was dropped in front of the leading machine indicating the direction of movement of the troops. It was possible to send a return message from the ground. To do this, a rope was stretched between two high poles, an envelope with documents was attached in the middle, and the R-2 caught the answer in flight with a special cat. Is it necessary to explain that only a real ace could perform such maneuvers on a capricious aircraft in control?
The second war of Ivan Gaydayenko
Ivan Dmitrievich met the Great Patriotic War on a SB bomber as part of the reconnaissance aviation regiment of the Leningrad Military District. It was the last heavy aircraft in Gaidaenko's career - after that the pilot worked mainly on fighters. During the war years, he mastered the I-16, LaGG-3, R-39 Airacobra and R-40 Kittyhawk. He flew over XNUMX sorties.
Photo from the personal archive of Ivan Dmitrievich Gaydayenko
From the memoirs of Ivan Gaydayenko to the publication "I remember":
“The first Cobras came from England. Moreover, the British did not send planes like we did. After all, before sending it, we will wash everything, lick it, and their Cobras were dirty, the earth was on wheels, and they brought them to us by sea on ships like that. Delivered "Cobras" to Afrikanda. The main difficulty was that no instructions were brought with the machines. For example, we could not figure out how their brakes work. We have pneumatic brakes, there was a lever on the handle that had to be clamped, and the Cobra, like a bomber, had hydraulic brakes, and they were squeezed out with the toe of the boot on the pedal. For a long time we were spinning until we figured it out. Another feature: "Cobra" three-point, and our planes are all with a tail wheel. Accordingly, on our plane, the take-off was carried out as follows: the handle to yourself, run, pick up speed, lift the tail, accelerate more, then get the handle and take off. And on the “cobra” there was no need to raise the tail. But we didn’t have instructions, we didn’t know. They took off as it was supposed to according to our standards, as they were used to. Kutakhov was the first to fly on the "cobra". He took the pen. The plane runs, runs, and does not take off at all. Finally, he gained speed, and then the end of the airfield, but still the car took off. Then we realized that the handle should be kept neutral, let the car run until it picks up the speed of lifting the front leg, and then you can tear it off.
Photo from the personal archive of Ivan Dmitrievich Gaydayenko
In one of the air battles, Gaydayenko's close friend Pavel Kutakhov (future air marshal and twice Hero of the Soviet Union) is shot down. Ivan Dmitrievich, so that the Germans could not conduct aimed fire, covers the pilot descending with a parachute. And he himself falls under enemy fire. It seems to be nothing critical, Kutakhov managed to cover, but on the return course the fighter began to smoke and the engine failed. The bullet hit the oil tank. The height did not allow jumping out of the car, and Gaidaenko landed the plane right in the snowy field of the Arctic. This happened at the beginning of 1942, and a few months later he was shot down again, this time with consequences - Ivan Dmitrievich received a spinal injury. After a difficult treatment, Gaydayenko was appointed squadron commander, then a pilot-inspector of an air division. In battles, he personally shot down four German aircraft, as part of a group - 26 enemy aircraft.
Regiment pilots. In the center is the future Marshal and Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Pavel Stepanovich Kutakhov (pictured already with the first Gold Star). Photo from the personal archive of Ivan Dmitrievich Gaydayenko
After the war, Ivan Dmitrievich served literally throughout the Soviet Union. He commanded the Far Eastern Air Army, led the Air Force of the Turkestan Military District, and in 1978 accepted the position of Deputy Chief of the Air Force General Staff. Ivan Dmitrievich also made a significant contribution to military science. In 1973, under the authorship of Ivan Dmitrievich, a textbook "Instruction for pilots of the MiG-21UM (MiG-21US) aircraft" was published. It is very difficult for a non-specialist to understand it, but it is clear that the work is serious and based on the painstaking work of a test pilot. At that time, Ivan Dmitrievich served as commander of military unit 15650 or the State Flight Test Center of the Ministry of Defense named after V.P. Chkalov in Akhtubinsk. Gaidaenko served as the head of the center from 1970 to 1978. For achievements in scientific work he was awarded the degree of candidate of military sciences.
Ivan Dmitrievich Gaidaenko and his front-line friend, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Pavel Stepanovich Kutakhov. Photo from the personal archive of Ivan Dmitrievich Gaydayenko
Photo from the personal archive of Ivan Dmitrievich Gaydayenko
The merits and awards of Ivan Dmitrievich can be listed indefinitely - in the track record and the Order of the Red Banner, and two Orders of the Red Star, and the honorary title of Honored Military Pilot of the USSR. The veteran of two wars made an invaluable contribution to the development of the domestic aircraft industry, which has yet to be assessed. But, perhaps, one of the main achievements of Ivan Gaydayenko was the education of a galaxy of outstanding combat pilots, among whom there are many Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia.
On March 11, 2023, Ivan Dmitrievich Gaydayenko was seen off on his last journey. The hero was buried at the Federal War Memorial "Pantheon of Defenders of the Fatherland". Everlasting memory.
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