The first Russian general of aviation

5
The first Russian general of aviation


In March 2016, the 160th anniversary of the birth of one of the prominent figures of Russian military aeronautics and aviation, inventor and pilot-aeronaut, head of the Training Aeronautical Park and the Officer Aeronautical School, Lieutenant General Alexander Matveevich Kovanko. This man left a noticeable mark on stories domestic air force fleetwhich should not be forgotten today.

Born Alexander Matveyevich Kovanko 16 March 1856, in St. Petersburg. Descended from hereditary nobles of the Poltava province. His father was an engineer. In those days it was a very prestigious profession. After graduating from the gymnasium in 1875, Alexander entered the Nikolaev Engineering School. And in fact, and other educational institutions attracted the attention of exceptional abilities to technology and languages. Released in 1878-second lieutenant in the 1-th pontoon battalion, as part of which participated in the Russian-Turkish war. After graduation, he completed a course of the Technical Galvanic Facility and was appointed head of the electroplating team of the Life Guard of the Independent Sapper Battalion. Soon he was seconded to the disposal of the mine manager of the ports of the Black Sea.

Having learned that in France they were seriously engaged in the organization of military aeronautics, the Minister of War, General Banking, ordered the establishment of a commission for the use of aeronautics in military affairs under the Chief Engineering Directorate. She began working in December 1884 under the chairmanship of experienced engineering general Mikhail Boreskov. A member and clerk of this commission was appointed as a knowledgeable and loving technician, as well as a lieutenant Kovanko who speaks several foreign languages.

Shortly after his appointment, the general left for France, where he not only studied the work assigned to him well, but managed to purchase two balloons from the Brisson company: the Eagle, one thousand cubic meters in volume and the Falcon, one thousand one hundred. The first with a shell of Chinese silk, the second - from percale. Lieutenant Kovanko, meanwhile, came out with a proposal to form a team of aeronautics. The administration approved the initiative. The team was created, and the initiator was appointed its leader.



Alexander Matveyevich had to create everything from scratch. Reaching everything yourself without any outside help. The lieutenant was not only the commander, but also a training officer. So then called instructors. He differed from the instructors of other branches of the military in that he had to teach his charges to what he himself had never been taught. But it went well. October 16 1885 of the year Alexander Kovanko with two satellites performed his first free balloon flight. The Falcon went up in St. Petersburg and in five hours descended to Nikolskaya Slobodka, not far from Novgorod, covering a distance of more than one hundred and eighty kilometers. On the report on the results of the flight, the Minister of War wrote: “Congratulations on the start and success. God grant that this business develops quickly and well for the benefit of Russia and the glory of our army. ”

High appreciation inspired aeronauts. In the same 1885, they conducted experiments on signaling from balloons using a special block of eighteen multi-colored sixteen watt incandescent bulbs. At the same time, experiments were carried out to illuminate the area with a six thousand watt searchlight designed by the mechanic Alexander Garut. It was proved that from a height of one hundred and eighty meters a square kilometer is illuminated with bright light.

It is worth noting that Garut was a talented craftsman who created a significant amount of equipment and devices that ensure the use of aeronautical equipment in military affairs. Alexander Matveyevich appreciated him very much. They were friends, and when the children became adults, they intermarried: the eldest son of General Kovanko, Alexander, married the daughter of the senior mechanic of the aeronautic school - Helen. This event occurred in May 1912.

The field of activity of the team of aeronautics was rapidly expanding: aerial photography, short-range reconnaissance, adjustment of artillery firing and much more. Therefore, no one was surprised by its reorganization into the Training Aeronautical Park (CIP). It was formed in June 1890 of the year. The park commander was appointed Alexander Matveyevich, by that time he had become one of the most experienced and well-educated Russian balloonists. He was entrusted with the entire responsibility for the development of domestic military aeronautics - the training of aeronautical personnel, the development and testing of methods for the combat use of balloons. Soon aeronauts gained recognition in the army and navy. The “air warriors” began to be regularly attracted to participate in military maneuvers and naval exercises. By 1896, the Russian army already had five serf aeronautic departments: Warsaw, Ivangorod, Kovno, Novo-Georgievsk and Osovetskoe, staffed by personnel trained in the training park.



It is noteworthy that these departments were equipped with equipment made in the workshops of the park. Many interesting experiments were carried out on the use of tethered balloons. These include work on the search for sunken ships. They began with a search for the Rusalka coast guard battleship, who died at sea between Helsingfors and Reval. For this purpose, an office was set up under the command of lieutenant park teacher Vikentiy Semkovsky, consisting of three officers and twenty-five soldiers. The experiment was a success.

Along with the training in the OHR conducted scientific and inventive work on many of the problems of aeronautics. Kovanko personally participated in the study of the upper atmosphere. Scientists of the Main Geophysical Observatory spoke of his activities in this area: “He was the first organizer of aeronautics in Russia, widely used flights on balloons for scientific research of the upper layers of the atmosphere. For this purpose, they were involved in the observatory scientists and organized a number of flights, in which he himself took part as a leader and researcher ... "



Collaboration with scientists has expanded, especially after Russia joined 1896 in the research program of the International Meteorological Congress. Thanks to Alexander Matveyevich, the study of the effect of aerial flights on the human body began. To these works, he drew the military doctor Mount. As a result of flights carried out in the UWP, research has emerged on the effect of lift height on the condition of the aeronaut, which made it possible to judge the suitability of officers and lower ranks for a new form of military service. Similar work at that time abroad has not yet been carried out. Kovanko's great merit was the development and introduction of an alkaline method of producing hydrogen, which, unlike acidic, did not require cumbersome transport with equipment and was more convenient for use in the field. His scientific research has received international recognition. In the 1900 year at the Paris International Exhibition, he was awarded the highest award - the Grand Prix "for the combination of inventions and for the benefit brought by aeronautical science." Four years later, at the world exhibition in the American St. Louis, A.M. Kovanko was also awarded for his inventions.

At the beginning of the 1905 war of the year, Colonel Kovanko was appointed commander of the 1 East Siberian Aeronautical Battalion, formed at his suggestion. He picked up the officer corps from among the best graduates of the OHR. In an order for the aeronautical park of 31 in August 1904, the colonel noted that now "the time has come to work on the war with the balls, for which we have been preparing for so long in peacetime." Colonel Kovanko was then forty-nine. The battalion was always in the army, directly on the front lines. His tasks included: adjusting artillery fire, monitoring the movement of enemy troops in the near rear areas and shooting the terrain - removing detailed plans of enemy positions. All, of course, from the baskets of tethered balloons. Personally, Kovanko, under fire from the Japanese artillery, made a plan of enemy positions in the area of ​​Sandepa-Lamatun, thirty kilometers wide and ten to sixteen deep.

As the battalion fought, one can see from the letter of the colonel to his relatives: “We work well here and fought with honor. And not only worked with the balls, but even strengthened several villages as sappers, then defended them like infantry. In total, the aeronautical battalion deserved fifteen crosses of St. George, all the officers were awarded orders ... "I’ll add that Kovanko himself was awarded the golden St. George in 1906 year weapons with the inscription "For Bravery" and in the same year he was promoted to major general.

After the Russo-Japanese War, the combat experience of the air force was generalized, and on the initiative of Alexander Matveyevich, the formation of serfs and field aeronautic units in the army and navy began. In UVP under his leadership, a group was created for flying on airships and a boathouse was built. The group's officers built in 1908, the first Russian airship "Training" of a soft type, of a thousand two hundred cubic meters, which they successfully flew. According to their projects for the year 1913 was built several ships of soft and semi-rigid schemes. Some of them were transferred to aeronautic companies and later they were used in the First World War. These include the Albatross, the Dove and the Hawk. These were airships of small and medium volumes, from two eight hundred to ten thousand cubic meters. Thanks to the energy and the initiative of General Kovanko, appeared near Gatchina, in the village of Salizi, the base for the training of airship pilots and the testing of controlled balloons. She had two large boathouses. During the war, Alexander Matveyevich presented the original design of a rigid airship without a suspended gondola. Its frame is welded, tubular. Attached to it are trusses like small wings, on which four engines with remote control were installed. The project received the privilege number 25544 from 13 June 1916.



Air kits snake balloons operated successfully. In particular, the 5 squad of second lieutenant Nikolai Anoschenko served a heavy artillery division (four batteries of twelve-inch guns with a firing range of more than twenty kilometers). In the battles of Dvinsk, in the summer of 1917, his aeronautics fictitiously solved artillery reconnaissance and shooting correction tasks. All observers of the squad were awarded military orders.

Air forces had to perform combat missions not only under enemy fire, but also to repel enemy fighter attacks. Observers also possessed only “Winchesters” as weapons. However, in the 1916 and 1917 years, they managed to shoot down fifteen German aircraft. In the same period, the Germans burned fifty-four Russian balloons. Enemy pilots often shot aeronautics fleeing by parachute. There were Germans and pilots who specialized in the fight against kite balloons. So, Lieutenant Zimmerman, in the Ternopil region shot down fifteen balloons, which corrected the fire of Russian artillery. He adapted to attack from above due to cloudiness. The observer was not able to shoot up, since he was covered with a shell. As a result, the balloonists set a trap for him. A snake balloon was equipped, in a basket of which six poods of explosives were placed and an observer dummy was attached. The detonator was connected with a wire to an inductor driven from an earthly post. Raised him to a height of a thousand meters. At the moment when Zimmerman approached the aerostat by fifty meters, the inductor was activated. The balloon exploded, and. "Fokker" with the pilot were destroyed by the blast wave.

When the success of the Americans, the Wright brothers and the French designers Louis Bleriot, Gabriel Voisin, Henri Farman and others, the 7 department of the RTO, as well as many leading Russians, launched widespread propaganda in the press in favor of creating aviation, became widely known. In the same year, the All-Russian Aeroclub was established, to the council of which representatives of the military and maritime ministers, as well as the General Staff, were seconded. Among the first supporters of the development of aviation in Russia was General Kovanko.

At the beginning of 1908, the senior officer of the UNM, Staff Captain Afanasy Shabsky, presented his draft airplane. Alexander Matveyevich supported the designer, and the plane was built in the workshops of the park. But still immature military department did not release funds for the purchase of the engine. However, a few months later, the military department sent two balloonists Nemchenko and Uteshev to France, to familiarize themselves with airplanes. The officers, to the best of their ability, carried out the assignment and were touched by the fact that Wilber Wright gave them a ride on his staff, and agreed with him to purchase ten “Wright” for two hundred thousand rubles. When the general inspector for the engineering part discussed the results of this trip, Kovanko spoke out against the purchase of “Wrights” and suggested building airplanes in the workshops of the park. The offer was accepted. Captain Agapov, staff captains Gebauer, Golubev and Shabsky presented their projects. Airplanes were built, but only the apparatus of Mikhail Agapov flew. True, he began to fly well after the designer brought him closer to the Farman scheme. He was tested by Lieutenant Eugene Rudnev 2 November 1910, and turned out to be better than the "Wright." The documents noted that the device "was easily separated from the ground, well kept in the air."

How did the authorities relate to the results of the experience? Calmly After all, this case took only fourteen thousand rubles of state funds. And for that kind of money you can't buy an airplane in France. The work done, although not crowned with complete success, was not in vain. The school received excellent workshops equipped with everything necessary not only for the repair of aircraft and engines, but also for the construction of new airplanes. It will take a little time, and among the original devices made in Gatchina, there will be cars of the instructor pilots Alexander Kovanko (son of Alexander Matveyevich) and his friend Sergey Modrah.

In the spring of 1910, General Kovanko was allowed to start training pilots in Gatchina. At his direction, Lieutenant Georgy Gorshkov prepared an airfield on a military field in this picturesque town. At the end of May, airplanes were delivered there. After their assembly and testing, the aeronauts Gorshkov and Rudnev began to learn how to fly. They were destined to become the first pilot officers trained in Russia. In October of the same year, Gorshkov began his training in the field of aeronautics. Soon the Aviation Division of the OVSH was formed, led by Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Ulyanin, one of the first Russian pilots. In the autumn of next year, the first graduation of military pilots took place in Gatchina. It includes: captain Wegener, staff captains Danilevsky, Datskevich, Karlov, Sakharov, lieutenants Brodovich, Gavin, Modrakh, Pankratiev, Solovyev, Firsov.



What Alexander Matveyevich could not already do was to learn how to fly an airplane, which he was very sorry about. By this time he was fifty-four years old. Among the students of Gatchina there were many excellent pilots who glorified Russian aviation. It is enough to mention the names of the founder of aerobatics, Peter Nesterov, the first polar pilot Jan Nagursky, the founder of the theory and practice of air combat, Yevgraf Kruten, and “ace aces” Alexander Kazakov.

In his reports and articles, Alexander Matveyevich assured that a powerful military air fleet was vital for Russia. Kovanko argued that it was necessary to create it in a hurry, “in Russia itself, with Russian hands from Russian materials ...” In the meantime: “it’s scary to think - the engines are being ordered from abroad and we all think how to resettle the French or Germans to us worked with us ... ". If this continues, in the event of a declaration of war, we will have to “ask the enemy to wait to fight until the most necessary and most important thing is brought up from abroad.”

Such speeches of the general caused an unfriendly attitude not only of the military officials in charge of placing orders, but also of court circles. Apparently, therefore, in his service record, "all-merciful rescripts and the highest favors" did not appear. Not wanting to part with the usual commission, detractors downplayed the significance of the merits of Alexander Matveyevich and tried to shift responsibility for their mistakes to him. The conservative press and not so conscientious reporters helped them in this. He did not respond to attacks, did not get in touch with corrupt hacks. We know his letter to the editor of “New Time”, in which he accused the editorial board of systematically attacking him and his activities as the head of the training unit. Alexander Matveyevich pointed out to the fact that it is impossible to blame the heads of schools or academies of the maritime or artillery department for not having enough ships or tools of the new type, or medical faculties for not having enough hospitals and clinics equipped with the latest science.

A.M. Kovanko was on the post of chief of the OVSh until December 29 1917. He was then seconded to Uvoflot, and on January 21, 1918 was appointed a member of the Uvoflot Technical Committee. By order of 2 in May of the same year, the seriously ill veteran was dismissed from military service. Summer, he spent with his wife and younger daughters in Gatchina, and in the fall he moved to Odessa for treatment, where he died suddenly from heart failure 20 on April 1919 in a military sanatorium. The funeral was held at the 2 Orthodox cemetery with appropriate military honors. On the grave, two propellers were made crosswise. The beloved work of Alexander Matveyevich Kovanko was continued by both his sons and two sons. All four have become excellent pilots. The eldest of the sons, Alexander, served in the same aviation squadron with PN. Nesterov, and after his death led the squad.



Sources:
King V. Earth and the sky of General A.M. Kovanko. SPb .: Polytechnic, 2004. C. 39-47, 183-218, 273-279.
Vladimirov V. A Word about Kovanko Sr. // Gatchina Truth. 28 August 1985
Lavrenets V. General Kovanko // Civil Aviation. 1993. No.5. C.42-44.
Lashkov A.Yu., Lozychenko Yu.M. The origin of military aeronautics in Russia // Military-Historical Journal. 2002. No.8. C.40-46.
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  1. +3
    11 March 2016 07: 02
    Who does not know his story does not have a future. Article plus.
  2. +2
    11 March 2016 07: 52
    Kovanko argued that it was necessary to create it hastily “in Russia, with Russian hands from Russian materials ...” In the meantime: “it’s scary to think - the engines are written out from abroad and we all think about how to resettle the French or Germans to us, so that they worked with us ... ". If this continues, then in the event of a declaration of war, we will have to "ask the enemy to wait for a fight until the most necessary and most important thing is brought to us from abroad.".. There is no prophet in his own country ... Thank you ..
  3. +1
    11 March 2016 08: 18
    Thanks so much for the article.
  4. +2
    11 March 2016 08: 42
    A wonderful article - thank you to the author! With this article he fills the gap in the historical coverage of the past of Russia, I would like to emphasize that all the same, Russia was not so backward for that period, as it was presented at the time.
  5. +2
    11 March 2016 11: 03
    Let me add that Alexander Matveevich Kovanko was also a gifted outstanding publicist, artist and poet, knew several languages, played the piano. Was published, in particular in the magazine "Ogonyok", painted pictures and medallions.
    In 1913, A. Kovanko received an award - Legion of Honorafter the 2 representative of the French army visited the Balloon Park and were delighted athow efficiently and powerfully the aeronautics business is deployed in Russia

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