Article The cold war - Soviet Army

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

The film "On the shoulders of the sky" - About the military exercises of the Airborne Forces (1975) A film about the difficult service and the peculiarities of the combat training of the soldiers of the Airborne Forces, on the example of one of the Airborne Forces units performing its training task - a raid behind the lines of a conditional enemy in the difficult conditions of the high-mountainous area of the Pamirs.

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[Иван Феоктистов]

Film "Physical training of paratroopers", 1973. A clear proof of my words when I said that real terminators served in the airborne troops of the USSR.

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[Иван Феоктистов]

"Training of paratroopers in military operations in the mountains"

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[Иван Феоктистов]

"Parachutists", 1985

The documentary and educational film of the film studio of the USSR Ministry of Defense, filmed in 1985, tells about parachutes, parachute jumping, parachuting, airborne troops.

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[Иван Феоктистов]

At the same time I will tell you about Vasily Filippovich Margelov, commander of the Soviet airborne forces in 1954-1959 and 1961-1979, Hero of the Soviet Union.

During the Soviet-Finnish war (1939-1940) he commanded the Separate Reconnaissance Ski Battalion of the 596th Infantry Regiment of the 122nd Division. During one of the operations, he captured the officers of the Swedish General Staff. After the end of the Soviet-Finnish war, he was appointed assistant commander of the 596th regiment. Since October 1940 - the commander of the 15th separate disciplinary battalion of the Leningrad Military District. At the beginning of World War II, in July 1941, he was appointed commander of the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the 1st Division of the People's Militia of the Leningrad Front. November 21, 1941 - appointed commander of the 1st Special Ski Regiment of the Baltic Fleet sailors. Despite rumors that Margelov would not "take root," the marines accepted the commander, which especially emphasized the appeal to him for the naval equivalent of the rank of "major" - "Comrade Captain 3rd Rank." Margelov, however, sunk into the heart of the boldness of the "brothers". Subsequently, becoming the commander of the Airborne Forces, as a sign that the paratroopers adopted the glorious traditions of their elder brother - the marines and continued them with honor, Margelov made sure that the paratroopers received the right to wear vests, but in order to emphasize their belonging to the sky, they are blue in the paratroopers.

Since July 1942 - commander of the 13th Guards Rifle Regiment, Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the 3rd Guards Rifle Division. After the division commander KA Tsalikov was wounded, the command was transferred to Chief of Staff Vasily Margelov during his treatment. Under the leadership of Margelov, on July 17, 1943, the soldiers of the 3rd Guards Division broke through 2 Nazi defense lines on the Mius Front, captured the village of Stepanovka and provided a foothold for the assault on Saur-Mogila.

Since 1944 - commander of the 49th Guards Rifle Division of the 28th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. He supervised the actions of the division during the crossing of the Dnieper and the liberation of Kherson, for which in March 1944 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Under his command, the 49th Guards Rifle Division participated in the liberation of South-Eastern Europe.

During the war, Commander Margelov was mentioned ten times in the orders of thanks of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. At the Victory Parade in Moscow, Guards Major General Margelov commanded a battalion in the Consolidated Regiment of the 2nd Ukrainian Front.


After the war in command positions. In 1948 he graduated from the Higher Military Academy named after K. E. Voroshilov, and on April 30 of this year he was appointed commander of the 76th Guards Chernigov Red Banner Airborne Division (Pskov). From April 1950 to 1954 - commander of the 37th Guards Svirsky Red Banner Airborne Corps (Far East).

From 1954 to 1959 - Commander of the Airborne Forces. In March 1959, after an emergency in the artillery regiment of the 76th airborne division, he was demoted to 1st deputy commander of the Airborne Forces. From July 1961 to January 1979 - again the commander of the Airborne Forces.

On October 28, 1967 he was awarded the military rank of "General of the Army". Supervised the actions of the Airborne Forces during the entry of troops into Czechoslovakia (Operation Danube).

Since January 1979 - in the group of general inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. He went on business trips to the Airborne Forces, was the chairman of the State Examination Commission at the Ryazan Airborne School. During his service in the Airborne Forces, he made more than sixty jumps, the last of them at the age of 65.

Under more than twenty years of Margelov's leadership, the landing troops became one of the most mobile in the combat structure of the Armed Forces, prestigious service in them, especially revered by the people... The soldiers' photograph of Vasily Filippovich in the demobilization albums was at the highest price - for a set of badges. The competition in the Ryazan Airborne School overlapped the figures of VGIK and GITIS, and applicants who were cut off at the exams for two or three months, before the snow and frost, lived in the forests near Ryazan in the hope that someone could not withstand the loads and it would be possible to take his place... The spirit of the troops soared so high that the rest of the Soviet army took second place in terms of prestige.

In military theory, it was believed that after the immediate use of nuclear strikes and in order to maintain a high rate of offensive, widespread use of airborne assault forces was necessary. In these conditions, the Airborne Forces had to fully comply with the military-strategic goals of the war and meet the military-political goals of the state.

According to Commander Margelov:
“To fulfill their role in modern operations it is necessary that our formations and units be highly maneuverable, covered with armor, have sufficient fire efficiency, are well controlled, capable of landing at any time of the day and quickly switch to active combat operations after landing. This is the ideal we should strive for."

To achieve these goals, under the leadership of Margelov, the concept of the role and place of the Airborne Forces in modern strategic operations in various theaters of military operations was developed. On this topic, Margelov wrote a number of works, and on December 4, 1968 he successfully defended his dissertation (awarded the degree of candidate of military sciences).

Margelov initiated the creation and serial production at the enterprises of the military-industrial complex of landing equipment, heavy parachute platforms, parachute systems and containers for landing cargo, cargo and human parachutes, parachute devices. "You cannot order equipment, therefore, seek the creation of reliable parachutes in the design bureau, industry, during the testing of reliable parachutes, the trouble-free operation of heavy airborne equipment," Margelov said when assigning tasks to his subordinates.


For the paratroopers, modifications of small arms were created that simplified their landing by parachute - less weight, folding butt.

Especially for the needs of the Airborne Forces in the post-war years, new military equipment was developed and modernized: the airborne self-propelled artillery installation ASU-76 (1949), light ASU-57 (1951), amphibious ASU-57P (1954), self-propelled gun ASU-85, tracked combat vehicle Airborne troops BMD-1 (1969). After the arrival of the first batches of BMD-1 in the troops, attempts to land the BMP-1 were stopped, which were unsuccessful. A family of weapons was also developed on its basis: self-propelled artillery guns "Nona", artillery fire control vehicles, command and staff vehicles R-142, long-distance radio stations R-141, anti-tank systems, reconnaissance vehicle. Anti-aircraft units and subunits were also equipped with armored personnel carriers, which housed calculations with portable complexes and ammunition.


By the end of the 1950s, new An-8 and An-12 aircraft were adopted and entered the troops, which had a carrying capacity of up to 10-12 tons and a sufficient flight range, which made it possible to airborne large groups of personnel with standard military equipment and weapons. Later, thanks to the efforts of Margelov, the Airborne Forces received new military transport aircraft - An-22 and Il-76. At the end of the 1950s, parachute platforms PP-127 appeared in service with the troops, designed for parachuting artillery, vehicles, radio stations, engineering equipment and others. Parachute-jet landing gear was created, which, due to the jet thrust created by the engine, made it possible to bring the landing speed of the cargo to zero. Such systems made it possible to significantly reduce the cost of landing by eliminating a large number of domes.

On January 23, 1976, for the first time in world practice, she made a soft landing of BMD-1 on a parachute-jet system in the Reaktavr complex with two crew members on board - Major Alexander Vasilyevich Margelov (son of Vasily Filippovich Margelov) and Lieutenant Colonel Shcherbakov Leonid Ivanovich. Due to the limited internal space of the BMD, it was impossible to find a crew with parachutes in it, so the landing was carried out without individual rescue equipment, which significantly increased the risk. It is known that Vasily Filippovich Margelov, during the landing of his son, was at the command post with a loaded pistol at the ready, in order to shoot himself in case of failure. During this time, he smoked more packs of cigarettes. Twenty years later, for the feat of the seventies, both test officers were awarded the title of Hero of Russia.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[BCNTM]

It seems Google can recognize text from a screenshot. Have you tried this feature? If it doesn’t help, then, of course, I’m ready to tell the plots of the filmstrips in general terms.

Really like seeing them as I like the artwork - it has an accurate naivety - looks like they have taken photos then drawn quickly from them - it conveys a great deal in a very small format

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

I don’t know about the photographs as a primary source. I can say for sure that they painted filmstrips on the Civil Defense in this way, yes, but the technique there is completely different. However, who knows. I will attach some slides and primary sources from one 1965 film strip as an example.
Perhaps it will be interesting to you

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

"Нам нужен мир. Желательно весь!"
Nam nuzhen mir. Zhelatel'no ves'.

A little Russian pun. In Russian, the word "mir" simultaneously means "peace" and "world"
Sorry for the break, colleagues, I will be back to you one of these days.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

View attachment 283755View attachment 283756

Airborne units of the GSVG (Grouping of Soviet Forces in Germany)

Conventionally, all units where airborne training and parachute jumps are carried out can be referred to as airborne units. Depending on the tasks, the units in the GSVG were divided into reconnaissance-deviation (reconnaissance companies, special forces) and airborne assault.
Special Forces companies were deployed to the GSVG immediately after their creation in 1950. In the 80s, five separate companies of the Special Forces were stationed in the GSVG:
1) 603 separate special-purpose company (Dresden) 1 TA military unit para 33811;
2) 527 separate special-purpose company (Ravensbrück) in September 1985 was redeployed to Stendal 2 TA of military unit pn 21734;
3) 792 Separate special-purpose company (Kokshstadt) 3 OA VCh pp 51953;
4) 794 separate special-purpose company (Nora) 8 OA military unit No. 30229;
5) 793 separate special-purpose company 20 OA (Prenzlau) until 1989, since 1989 redeployed to Britz military unit no. 71602.
In 1957, the 26th separate battalion of the Special Forces was formed in the GSVG (commanded by Lieutenant Colonel R.P. Mosolov). In 1966, by the directive of the Commander-in-Chief of the GSVG on the funds of the 26th separate battalion of the Special Forces, with the participation of the personnel of the 27th separate battalion of the Special Forces of the Special Forces, the 48th and 166th separate reconnaissance battalions in the Werder garrison, the 3rd separate guards Warsaw-Berlin Red Banner Order of Suvorov III Art. special purpose brigade. Until 1975, part of the brigade's units were located in Neusterlitz. Later, the city of Neutimen became the location of the brigade.
In the 80s, one of the main tasks of special forces groups was the detection and destruction of enemy missiles. In addition, the SPN collected information for the GRU. The brigade alone could deploy about 48 reconnaissance groups. In addition to scouts, signalmen and sappers were included in the groups (depending on the tasks assigned). The brigade was one of the first in the GSVG to switch to the form of the Airborne Forces (vests and berets).

In 1979, reconnaissance and landing companies (RDR) were organized in the ORB (Separate Reconnaissance Battalion), making jumps. The personnel of the ORB wore the uniform of the divisions, which included. RDR fighters were allowed to wear landing emblems. Airborne training sites were built in the places where the ORB was deployed. The consequence of the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan was the deployment of airborne assault units in Europe. In 1979, an airborne assault brigade (2,500 people) and four separate airborne assault battalions (each up to 500 people each) were deployed on the territory of the GDR.
The 35th Guards Airborne Assault Brigade was formed on the basis of the 111th regiment of the city of Osh in the Kyrgyz SSR, after which it was sent to the Cottbus of the GDR (where its units remained until 1991). The brigade was directly subordinate to the headquarters of the group of forces and could only be used by order of the USSR General Staff. The main tasks of the brigade were to seize enemy airfields and missile bases. In the training center of the Shtakove brigade, a mock missile base was built, on which the paratroopers honed their skills. In almost all exercises, parachute landing at the airfield and its capture were practiced. 35 ODShBr was the first of the units of the DShB in the GSVG disguised in the form of the Airborne Forces (1982). The personnel of the 111th RAP and 35 airborne brigades were also used in the formation of the airborne brigade in the GSVG. ODSB in the GSVG were deployed as follows (near the headquarters of the armies):
899 ODSHB (3rd Guards OA, Burg);
900 ODShB (8th Guards OA, Leipzig);
1044 ODSHB (1st Guards TA, Forst Zinna - Keniksbrück);
1185 ODSHB (2nd Guards TA, Ravensbrück).

It was assumed that the ODSB would be used in the interests of the armies. The exercises also practiced the capture of missile bases. In a combat situation, all airborne assault battalions had to leave to protect the headquarters of their armies. Apparently from there they were supposed to be sent to specific combat missions. Initially, all ODShBs wore red shoulder straps. From 1983 to 1985, they were changed into the uniform of the Airborne Forces, but vests and berets were never given out like that (in Germany). In 1989, the ODSB were withdrawn to the USSR, and by 1991 they were disbanded. In addition, the GDR army had the 40th Willi Sanger airborne assault regiment. In a combat situation, this regiment, apparently, was supposed to be used in conjunction with the landing units of the GSVG.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

Так, емае, что-то аж стыдно перед западными коллегами за мои занятость (и, немного, лень)
На носу Чернобыль, хотел бы по нему еще разное покидать... Но чтоб этим заняться, нужно закончить предыдущую работу, верно?
Пробежимся по-быстрому по другим родам войск, я поделюсь собранными фотографиями по Советской армии и медленно переползем к теме Ликвидации последствий аварии на ЧАЭС. Проклятый сериал наплодил множество мифов об этом в зарубежной среде.

On the nose on April 26, I would like to throw off different things on Chernobyl ... But in order to do this, you need to finish the previous work, right? Let's take a quick run through other types of troops, I will share the collected photographs of the Soviet army and slowly crawl to the topic of Elimination of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident. The damned series has spawned many myths about this in a foreign environment.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

Soviet soldiers on the set of some historical film. In Soviet films of the 70-80s, various mutants based on the T-44 and T-55 tanks were distributed as "extras". In the west, as I know, camouflaged Bulldogs and Pattons were widely used.

One of the advantages of the Soviet system was that the Soviet army actively cooperated with the cinema and soldiers and equipment were massively given out for filming films at no cost. Modern cinema cannot boast of such a thing.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

Experimental self-propelled guns 406-mm 2A3 "Condenser-2P" of special power based on T-10M components and assemblies, April 14, 1962. A total of 4 artillery pieces were manufactured. The ammunition for these installations was called "transformer". In total, a pun came out - "Condenser" fired "Transformer". Our learned gunsmiths have always had a sense of humor.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

Soviet tank T-64B from the district officers' house and the headquarters of the Central Military District, Yekaterinburg.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

Interceptors Yak-25 from the 146th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment at the Vasilkov airfield in the 1960s.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

Soviet soldiers ride a motorcycle "in a village". I myself am a village guy, I witnessed how once a Ural motorcycle was carrying as many as eight people. Sometimes this is due to a lack of alternatives, sometimes "for fun."

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

In the Soviet (and later in the Russian) army there is a special army humor. Most often this is a very specific male humor, incomprehensible to women or people who have not been in men's collectives. For example, when I was attending a military training camp in grade 10, one of the captains instructed an unlucky schoolboy with the following phrase: "Where are you sticking a machine gun shop, idiot? If you give a woman naked, do you even know where to put her dick?". Usually, such aphorisms are accompanied by an explosion of laughter and are remembered for a long time. In view of the enormous wealth of the Russian obscene language, it is simply impossible to translate most of such phrases into other languages, and foreigners themselves perceive such stories rather as chernukha or a sign of the low morale of the army.

In the photo - two Soviet paratroopers against the background of a monumental slogan (above the dining room) - "Cleaner hands - harder feces".