Aviation nightmare of the 21st century: how do Western countries react to airspace violations? Sovereignty over airspace Strategic intelligence against the Soviets.

To say that the demarche of the young German turned into a huge scandal for the Armed Forces of the USSR is to say nothing. After a special meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, the Minister of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Sokolov, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces, Air Marshal Alexander Koldunov, lost their posts. Dmitry Yazov was appointed to replace Sokolov.
The figure is stated to be from several dozen to three hundred military personnel, from lieutenants to generals, held accountable for the flight and landing of M. Rust at Sheremetevo-3, as Red Square was jokingly called after this incident. Many researchers of this history are inclined to believe that such repressive measures were unjustified: the Soviet air defense system was configured, first of all, to counter enemy combat aircraft and cruise missiles, and not to hooligans on sports aircraft.
Another stable version of what happened: it was a brilliantly planned and carried out action to discredit the USSR and the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union. The Cold War between the West and the USSR continued, and the successful flight of Matthias Rust turned out to be a wonderful occasion to once again sting the “evil empire.”
By the way, shortly after Rust’s flight, a similar story with a light aircraft occurred in France - there an amateur pilot also made an unauthorized flight over the country’s capital, causing the air defense command to worry. And in 1994, a sports Cessna landed near the White House in Washington. The landing then turned out to be unsuccessful - the pilot died.

In neither case was a “cleansing” of the Armed Forces in France and the United States carried out. The radar service was strengthened and the technical side was improved regarding the detection of such objects, tracking them and information exchange.

The incident in the area of ​​the Syrian-Turkish border, where, according to a statement by official Ankara, vividly recalled the times of the Cold War. During that period, the air confrontation between the USSR Air Force and the military aviation of NATO countries repeatedly led to military clashes.

According to incomplete data, in the period from 1950 to 1983, at least 40 cases of the use of weapons by USSR and NATO Air Force aircraft against each other were recorded. These cases do not include combat in Vietnam, Korea and the Middle East.

According to military experts, in reality there were much more military clashes, but many incidents were hushed up by both sides in order to avoid escalation of the situation.

At the same time, the main losses in these battles were suffered by NATO forces, since they were the ones who carried out operations in close proximity to the airspace of the USSR. During the military clashes, NATO forces lost at least 27 aircraft and helicopters and more than 130 military personnel. The losses of the USSR Air Force do not exceed 10 aircraft.

Here are just the largest air incidents of the Cold War.

On April 8, 1950, the PB4Y-2 Privatir bomber aircraft of the 26th Patrol Squadron of the US Navy was shot down by Soviet La-11 fighters over the Baltic Sea in the Latvian region of Liepaja. According to the Soviet pilots, the intruder fired at them and was shot down directly over Latvia, falling into the sea. The US said a private plane was shot down. The crew of the downed plane, numbering 10 people, died.

On October 8, 1950, two F-80 Shooting Star fighter-bombers of the US Air Force, during a combat mission against ground targets in North Korea (during the Korean War), deviated from course, invaded USSR airspace and attacked the Sukhaya Rechka airfield. in the Vladivostok region. As a result of the raid on the ground, 8 P-63 King Cobra aircraft of the USSR Air Force were damaged, one of which was subsequently written off; there were no casualties or injuries. The United States apologized in connection with the incident; the commander of the air group whose planes carried out the raid was removed from command and transferred to headquarters; the pilots were court-martialed.

On June 13, 1952, an RB-29 Superfortress reconnaissance aircraft of the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron of the US Air Force, taking off from the Japanese Yokota Air Base, was shot down by Soviet MiG-15 fighters over the Sea of ​​Japan. According to the pilots, the intruder fired at them. All 12 members of the plane's crew are considered dead.

On July 29, 1953, the RB-50G Superfortress reconnaissance aircraft of the 343rd Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron of the US Air Force was shot down by Soviet MiG-17 fighters in the area of ​​Askold Island over the Sea of ​​Japan. During the interception, the aircraft's tail gunner unsuccessfully fired at Soviet fighters. Of the 17 crew members, 1 survived, picked up by an American ship.

On November 7, 1954, an RB-29 Superfortress reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by Soviet fighters over the Kuril Islands. The crew bailed out, 10 were rescued by American emergency services, and 1 drowned after splashdown. The Soviet side stated that the plane was in USSR airspace and fired at the fighters that intercepted it; the American side rejected these accusations.

On June 22, 1955, a P2V Neptune patrol aircraft of the US Navy Patrol Squadron 9 was attacked by Soviet MiG-15 fighters over the Bering Strait and then crashed on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. There were no deaths among the crew members, but they were all injured. The incident occurred in difficult weather conditions, which makes it difficult to reconstruct the picture of what happened. The USSR agreed to pay financial compensation in connection with the incident.

Soviet aces shot down Turkish planes and captured a Turkish colonel

On September 2, 1958, a C-130A-II Hercules reconnaissance aircraft of the 7406th Combat Support Squadron of the US Air Force, taking off from Adana airfield in Turkey, was shot down by Soviet MiG-17 fighters over Armenia. All 17 crew members died, their remains were returned partly immediately after the incident, partly after search operations 40 years later.

On May 1, 1960, a US CIA U-2C reconnaissance aircraft piloted Francis Powers, shot down by the Soviet air defense system in the Sverdlovsk region during a reconnaissance flight from the Peshawar air base in Pakistan. The plane was shot down by an S-75 anti-aircraft missile system. An anti-aircraft missile also accidentally shot down a Soviet MiG-19 fighter, scrambled to intercept the intruder (pilot Sergei Safronov died). Powers survived, was sentenced to prison by a Soviet court, and was exchanged for a Soviet in 1962. intelligence officer Rudolf Abel.

On October 21, 1970, a light twin-engine U-8 Seminole aircraft of the US Air Force lost its way, violated the airspace of the USSR and landed at the airfield of a military flight unit near the city of Leninakan, Armenian SSR. In addition to the pilot, there were two American generals and a colonel of the Turkish army on board. Realizing his mistake, the plane tried to take off again, but was blocked. After an investigation into the incident, the pilots and passengers were released.

On November 28, 1973, an Iranian Air Force RF-4C Phantom II reconnaissance aircraft invaded Soviet airspace in Transcaucasia. The MiG-21SM fighter that intercepted it unsuccessfully expended its missiles, after which pilot Gennady Eliseev carried out a supersonic air ram. The crew of the Iranian plane (Iranian and American) ejected and were detained by the Soviet military. Pilot Gennady Eliseev died. For intercepting the intruder, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).

On August 24, 1976, a pair of Turkish Air Force F-100 Super Saber fighter-bombers invaded Soviet airspace. One of them was shot down by a Soviet anti-aircraft missile system; the pilot ejected and landed in Turkey.

On September 1, 1983, a Boeing 747 of the South Korean airline Korean Air Lines, flying on the New York-Seoul route, was shot down in the skies over the USSR. During the flight, the airliner entered closed Soviet airspace and flew over several Soviet military installations. As a result, two Su-15 interceptors were lifted into the air.

Military pilots repeatedly tried to establish contact with the intruder, but they never received a signal back. The Korean Boeing continued its flight towards Sakhalin. Having reported this to the operational headquarters, the command decided to shoot down the plane. After 40 minutes, the Su-15 fighter-interceptor under the control of Gennady Osipovich was given an order to shoot down the passenger airliner.

Osipovich fired two missiles at the planes, one of which damaged the Boeing’s tail. After 12 minutes, the plane, spiraling down from a height of 9000 m, fell into the sea near the island of Moneron. The crash killed 246 passengers and 23 crew members; no one survived.

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Last Approach - Downed Korean Boeing

According to an investigation by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the most likely cause of the flight path deviation was that the Boeing 747 pilots did not set the autopilot correctly and then did not perform proper checks to confirm the current position.

The incident caused a serious aggravation of the already difficult relations between the USSR and the USA at that time. The scarcity of information and material evidence at the initial stage of the investigation of the disaster gave rise to alternative versions of the incident. However, the Russian Federation's release of flight recorder recordings from flight KAL 007 confirmed ICAO's original version.

SUPERSONIC RAM

On November 28, 1973, an Iranian Air Force RF-4C Phantom II reconnaissance aircraft invaded Soviet airspace in Transcaucasia. On alert, a Soviet MiG-21SM under the control of Gennady Eliseev was urgently scrambled from the airfield in Vaziani. Ignoring all requests to change course and leave Soviet airspace, the Phantom continued its flight. Then the command allowed Eliseev to shoot down an enemy plane.

The MiG-21 fired two missiles at the intruder, but both of them missed the target. Having used up all the ammunition, the pilot decided to ram the Phantom. This was the third case of a supersonic air ram in the history of aviation. The crew of the Iranian plane (Iranian and American) ejected and were released by the Soviets two weeks later (the Iranian pilot subsequently died in the Iran-Iraq War). Gennady Eliseev was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for his interception.

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Supersonic fighter - interceptor Su-15

SPY PLANE U-2

On May 1, 1960, a U-2C reconnaissance aircraft piloted by Francis Powers invaded Soviet airspace. This was not the first time that high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft had flown over the territory of the Soviet Union.

A U-2C was shot down by Soviet air defenses in the Sverdlovsk region while on a reconnaissance mission from Peshawar Air Base, Pakistan. According to the official version, the plane was shot down by an S-75 anti-aircraft missile system. Powers survived because the missile only damaged the plane's tail. As a result, he was sentenced to prison by a Soviet court and was exchanged in 1962 for the Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel.

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Battle of reconnaissance U-2 stealth aircraft

INCIDENT CL-44

On July 18, 1981, a CL-44 transport aircraft (number LV-JTN, Transporte Aéreo Rioplatense, Argentina), making a secret transport flight on the Tel Aviv-Tehran route, invaded Soviet airspace.

Four Su-15TMs were scrambled from the Vaziani airfield to intercept the intruder, but due to indecisiveness and unskilled actions of the command, the interceptors prematurely consumed fuel and were forced to return to base. Then a similar aircraft, piloted by Valentin Kulyapin, armed with R-98M medium-range air-to-air missiles, was aimed at the target with the task of landing the intruder.

Trying to carry out the order, the interceptor approached the target, which made it impossible to use missiles, while the intruder was approaching the border of USSR airspace. Kulyapin decided to ram the CL-44 and on the second attempt he was able to hit the intruder’s stabilizer from below with the fin and fuselage of his aircraft.

The transport plane lost control and fell several kilometers from the border; 4 crew members on board, including a British citizen, died. Kulyapin successfully ejected and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for the ram. As it turned out, the Argentine plane was transporting weapons for Iran.

INCIDENT WITH SOUTH KOREAN BOOING

The incident with the South Korean Boeing occurred on April 20, 1978 in the airspace of the USSR over Karelia. Due to a compass malfunction, the plane deviated significantly from its route. At 20:54 local time, the Boeing was first detected by Soviet radars. At 21:19 he invaded Soviet airspace in the Kola Peninsula area.

Since the intruder did not respond to requests from air traffic control services, a Su-15 piloted by Captain Alexander Bosov was scrambled to intercept. Approaching the Boeing, Bosov shook his wings. In response to this, the intruder turned around and began to leave towards Finland. Bosov received an order to destroy the intruder.

At 21:42, the interceptor fired an R-98 missile, which exploded near the leftmost engine of the Boeing, tearing off a part of the wing 3-4 m long. In addition, the passenger cabin was depressurized, the plane began a sharp descent and was lost from sight by Bosov.

The Boeing was forced to land on the ice of frozen Lake Korpijärvi. As a result of the hard landing, 2 passengers died: a businessman from South Korea and a tourist from Japan. In total, there were 97 passengers on board (including 26 women and 5 children) and 12 crew members.

LANDING ON RED SQUARE

On the afternoon of May 28, 1987, 18-year-old Matthias Rust took off from Hamburg on a four-seat light Cessna 172B Skyhawk. He made an intermediate landing at Helsinki-Malmi airport to refuel. Rust told airport traffic control that he was flying to Stockholm. At some point, Rust lost contact with Finnish air traffic control and then headed towards the Baltic Sea coastline and disappeared from Finnish airspace near Sipoo. Rescuers discovered an oil slick in the sea and regarded it as evidence of a plane crash. Rust crossed the Soviet border near the city of Kohtla-Jarve and headed for Moscow.

Moving to Moscow, Rust was guided by the Leningrad-Moscow railway. Along the route of its flight, duty units from the Khotilovo and Bezhetsk airfields took off, but the order to shoot down the Cessna was never received.

The automated air defense system of the Moscow Military District was turned off for maintenance work, so tracking of the intruder aircraft had to be done manually and coordinated by telephone. Rust landed on the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge, coasted to St. Basil's Cathedral, got off the plane at 19:10 and began signing autographs. He was soon arrested.

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Mathias Rust on Red Square 1987

Two US Navy F-51 Mustangs were damaged. There was a combat clash with two Soviet La-11 fighters. During the air battle, one F-51 was shot down and one Soviet aircraft was damaged.

On May 1, 1960, an American Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, piloted by pilot Francis Powers, violated the airspace of the USSR and (now Yekaterinburg). The reconnaissance plane was shot down by an S-75 anti-aircraft missile system. The pilot, Francis Powers, survived and was sentenced to ten years in prison. In February 1962, Powers was exchanged in Berlin for Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel.

On July 1, 1960, the air border between Norway and the USSR was grossly violated by an ERB-47H Stratojet aircraft from the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing of the US Air Force. The car that took off from a British airfield was destroyed by a MiG-19 fighter. Of the six crew members, two survived; both pilots were captured and released in January 1961. In addition, the Soviet side returned to the United States the found remains of one of the four dead ERB-47H crew members a month after the incident.

On July 1, 1968, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 of the American Seaboard World Airlines crossed the USSR border in the Kuril Islands area. There were more than 200 American soldiers on board the plane. Air defense fighters were sent to intercept. After conducting an investigation and establishing the circumstances, the plane itself, the soldiers, and the crew were handed over to the American government.

November 28, 1973 Iranian Air Force RF-4C Phantom II reconnaissance aircraft from Turkey via Armenia and Georgia. In the Georgian region, our MiG-21SM fighter flew out to intercept. The Iranian plane was shot down by ramming. The Soviet pilot died. The F-4 crew was ejected by the Soviets and released shortly thereafter.

On September 1, 1983, a Boeing 747 of the South Korean company Korean Air was shot down by a Soviet fighter-interceptor on a flight from New York to Seoul. There were 269 people on board the liner, including 246 passengers. All passengers and crew members died in the crash. The destruction of Boeing became the reason for a worldwide scandal. The United States accused the USSR of deliberately destroying the airliner.

On March 13, 1986, the guided-missile cruiser Yorktown and the US Navy destroyer Caron entered Soviet territorial waters ten kilometers. The ships were sailing with working radio-electronic stations and, obviously, were conducting comprehensive reconnaissance.

On May 28, 1987, German citizen Matthias Rust violated the state border of the USSR on a Cessna sports plane and, having covered 1220 kilometers in 5 hours 50 minutes,... The plane landed on the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge and coasted to St. Basil's Cathedral. The pilot got off the plane and immediately began signing autographs. He was soon arrested. Rust was sentenced to four years in prison; on August 3, 1988, he was pardoned by the Presidium of the Supreme Council and expelled from the territory of the USSR.

In 2014 alone, Turkey violated Greek airspace more than 2.5 thousand times, and the United States more than once provoked the USSR by approaching the country’s air border with nuclear warheads on board. Don't believe me? That's in vain!

When a Russian plane accidentally violated Israeli airspace, the pilot fled the country after being warned. Errors of this kind are acceptable at such speeds, and no one began to bomb the Russian Aerospace Forces. After all, Russia does not pose any threat to the state, which means there is no point in bringing it down.

According to Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, there was a minor incursion, just a mile away. And after communication with the pilot was established, he changed course and returned to Syria. No one considered it necessary to react to this; the Russian Federation does not attack the territory. Actually, there’s nothing to worry about.

However, as practice shows, not everyone is guided by this kind of logic. Türkiye, which clearly pursued certain goals, turned out to be more principled. Although, it would seem that at such a time it is possible to omit this kind of trifles and let people work in peace. But no. During an alleged airspace violation, a Russian Su-24 was shot down in cold blood.

If everything is so serious, and even now, when Russia is actively engaged in destroying the positions of the “Islamic State”, many countries are ready to turn a blind eye to the mistakes of Russian pilots, it is surprising why some countries focus on such mistakes.

But before we return to our sheep, let’s remember, first, how Turkey, for example, collected about 2.5 thousand violations of intrusion into Greek airspace last year alone. 2.5 thousand, Karl! This is not for you to go out into the street for a walk. And did anyone in the West react? Has Athens started full-scale hysteria and threats, they say, let’s do it, then we’ll see how you dance in your Ankara. No, that didn't happen. And so, for reference, on the eve of the tragedy on the Syrian-Turkish border, Turkey invaded the skies of Greece more than 20 times a day.

American planes have also found themselves on foreign territory more than once. For example, in Venezuela. But even then, no one began to shoot down the reconnaissance aircraft of the US Coast Guard. The question is: “Why?” Is the USA really that special, or do they have special privileges (judging by Erdogan’s logic, according to which every plane that violates someone else’s border should be destroyed).

The same notorious NATO planes, yes, the same organization to which Turkey immediately ran after shooting down the Su-24, were seen in several violations of the borders with Belarus. It’s surprising that Father Lukashenko did not fire a lethal shell at them.

And, in order to completely consolidate the material we have covered, let’s remember how our beloved Americans, fighting “for world peace,” several times carried out many operations when alliance and US bombers rushed at incredible speed to the borders of the USSR, loaded with nuclear warheads, so that check the Union's reaction. What will happen? Will he strike back out of fear? Or will it pass? Or will it still be possible to provoke?

But normal countries would not provoke the Third World War. At this stage, it is not very difficult to untie it. You just have to wonder if there is any point in these threats? And who will they ultimately benefit?