Acknowledgements

The compilation of this book would not have been possible without the cordial cooperation of the International Commercial Department of Aeroflot, under the direction of Vladimir Tikhonov, and with the supervision of Vladimir Masenkov, who assembled a team to provide data essential for the work. The team consisted of Vadim Suvarov, veteran pilot of the Great Patriotic War; Boris Urenovsky, Professor of the Civil Aviation Institute in Moscow; and Tatiana Vinogradova, once a senior flight attendant (she flew on the Tupolev Tu-114 to Havana and to Tokyo). Together the team helped to ensure that errors in early drafts were corrected and accuracy ensured.

Much of the Russian documentation was translated by Alex Kampf, an enthusiastic student of Aeroflot history. In Moscow, I received great support from my good friend Yuri Salnikov, television director of aviation documentaries and author of magazine articles on famous Soviet airmen. He introduced me to Vladimir Samoroukov, who examined my credentials and first approved the book project.

Vasily Karpy, editor of Vozduzhny Transport, proof-read the text and gave valuable advice. He also introduced me to Boris Vdovienko, photographer par excellence, from whose magnificent collection I was able to draw. Veteran pioneer pilot, General Georgy Baidukov, Valery Chkalov’s right hand on his epic 1937 polar crossing, gave me a personal insight into the workings of the old Aeroflot, and a first-hand account of the historic meeting with Josef Stalin in 1936.

I received generous help from many others. In Leningrad/St Petersburg, I was hosted by the Academy of Civil Aviation, where Professor-Director Georgy Kryzhanovsky, Deputy Director Anatoly Khvostovsky, Nina Nekrasovich, Irene Volkova, Vitaly Khalikov, and the Academy’s librarian, Natella Safronova, were most helpful. In Novgorod, thanks to the Chief of the Sub-Region, Anatoli Golovanov, and Deputy Chief Vladimir Bolovsky, I was able to sample the crop-spraying ver­satility of the remarkable Antonov An-2. In Khabarovsk, the

Vozduzhny Transport correspondent, Oleg Borisov, has been a catalyst for some thrilling research. Through the courtesy of Vladimir Skripnik, Director of the Far Eastern Region of Aeroflot, I learned much about the airline’s provincial opera­tions, including a demonstration of the acrobatic prowess of the An-2. At Nikolayevsk-na-Amure, Valery Dolmatov, Head of the Nikolayevsk station and also a deputy to the Russian Parliament in Moscow, afforded me the extraordinary privilege of making a helicopter pilgrimage to the dignified monument on Chkalov (formerly Udd) Island; and I met Vadim Romanuk, local helicopter mechanic and historian, who inspired the erection of the monument. Later, Leonid Nagorny, who succeeded Skripnik in 1991 (and whose 50th birthday party I shall long remember), Vladimir Lenuk, Aleksander Glushko, and Vladimir Kuznetzov, also gave me much assistance. In Tyumen, Director Vladimir Illarionov and especially Mikhail Ponomarev opened my eyes to the heli­copter capital of the world. At Krasnoyarsk, Deputy Director Boris Kovchenkov was most hospitable, as was Nikolei Klimenko at Yeneseisk. At Irkutsk, Vladimir Sokolnikov and Peter Osharov were generous hosts, and my guide to the excel­lent museum there was Professor-Doctor Yvgeny Altunin, aviation historian and author from Irkutsk University. Similarly, at Yakutsk, General Director, Vitaly Pinaev, Mikhail Vasilev and others introduced me to the special problems of operations in Yakutia, and to aviation historians Ivan Nygenblya and Vladimir Pesterev.

Back in Moscow, I was able to meet Genrikh Novozhilov, Igor Katyrev, Aleksander Shakhnovich, and Georgy Sheremetev, of the Ilyushin Design Bureau; Yuri Popov, Gleb Mahetkin, and Sergei Agavilyan, of Tupolev; and Aleksander Domdukov and Evegeny Tarassov, of Yakovlev. I interviewed veteran Aeroflot pilots such as Constantin Sepulkin and Aleksander Vitkovsky. Tatiana Vinogradova, Vasily Karpy, Yuri Salnikov, and Viktor Temichev arranged the programs of visits — no easy task during often-congested traveling schedules.

I must not forget the eminent British writers who have contributed so much to the annals of Soviet aviation history during times when information was most difficult to obtain. Veteran author and authority John Stroud, airline chroni­cler Klaus Vomhof, and technical specialist Bill Gunston have all produced pioneering works that have become stan­dard references (see bibliography) for latterday writers such as myself. Bob Ruffle, stalwart of Air-Britain’s Russian Aviation Research Group, generously supplied pre-war fleet data and scrutinized the text. Carl Bobrow and Harry Woodman provided expertise on the Il’ya Muromets and Paul Duffy’s camera work and information bulletins on post-U. S.S. R. developments (not to mention his scoop in ascertaining the Lisunov Li-2 production total) have been invaluable.