Vasiliev, Alexander Alekseevich

Born in 1882 in the village of Maryevka ( Preobrazhenka ) of the Tambov province ^[1] .

After graduating from the law faculty of Kazan University, he served as secretary in the Kazan Court of Justice, preparing to become an assistant judge. Once he witnessed the flight of an airplane . Shocked by what he saw, the young man "fell ill" with air and left for France to study the profession of an aviator pilot.

Air School

A. A. Vasiliev is a graduate of the Bleriro school, who received a pilot diploma number 225 on September 19, 1910. He flew brilliantly at the school and was even left as an instructor in it. Until now, only the most capable graduates have been honored with this honor. Vasiliev’s instructing activities in France did not last long - he was too drawn home.

At the peak of fame

He returned to Russia with an aviator from the same school, Vissarion Savelyevich Keburia (Keburov), in the past - a road foreman. Alexander Alekseevich Vasiliev became the 17th certified aviator in Russia, who had the right to make public flights. They brought two Bleriot planes from France, with whom they traveled to Russian cities to demonstrate flights (Warsaw, the Volga cities and, finally, Tiflis), popularizing the success of aviation.

The first "show" Vasiliev arranged on September 1, 1910 in Nizhny Novgorod, where he set an all-Russian altitude record - 1 thousand meters. In Kazan, 40 thousand people came to see Vasiliev’s flight (out of 250 thousand inhabitants of the city). It was at a hippodrome in the area of ​​Lake Kaban. The nineteen-minute flight took place under the relentless “Hurray!” And thunder of applause. After landing, the audience fell off the seats, the pilot enthusiastically shook and carried on their hands to the hangar. Later, Alexander Alekseevich was awarded a silver token with the inscription "The First Kazan Aviator" and was elected an honorary member of the Kazan Aeronautics Society.

In the early summer of 1911, a site was set up for installing ground targets at the Khodynsky field, which was under the command of the headquarters of the Moscow military district, where military camps, a shooting range, and an artillery range were located, which later became the aerodrome of the Moscow Aeronautical Society (MOB). The aviation competitions organized by the MOU from May 27 to June 7 ^[3] differed from the rest of the "air rallies" held in Russia, first of all, by the abundance of military contests. At the First Moscow Aviation Week, spectators could see with their own eyes the flights of Russian aviators Efimov, Gaber-Vlynsky, Vasilyev, Maslennikov and others. Although only civilian pilots took part in the competition, following the example of St. Petersburg week, “military exercises” were also carried out: bombing in an armadillo painted on the field, reconnaissance, pursuing a balloon and flying for communication. It is characteristic that one of the pilots, B. S. Maslennikov (with an officer as a passenger) flew on the Farman VII with a machine gun on board. This is the first in Russia the case of installing a machine gun on an airplane. On June 5, Vasiliev received prizes for his height and for the successful throwing of bombs ... He dropped two bombs on an armadillo and successfully hit the side armored turret. On June 4 and 7, along with other pilots, he participated in the prize draw for the pursuit of a balloon.

Aviator Vasilyev is the winner of the famous first Petersburg-Moscow flight, which took place on July 23-24, 1911 (10-11 years old ). Set several aviation records. The flight Petersburg - Moscow A. A. Vasiliev completed in 24 hours 41 minutes. During the flight Petersburg - Moscow A.A. Vasiliev spent 9.5 hours in the air. During the first day of the flight A. A. Vasiliev flew 677 km, thus exceeding the world record of the French aviator Beaumont. The complexity of the flight for the world level of technological development of that time is evident even from the fact that Vasiliev is the only pilot of the nine aircraft participating in the flight who managed to cover the entire distance ^[4] .

As the winner of the flight Petersburg - Moscow, he was lucky to listen to the highest telegram of the following content:

Moscow Governor Dzhunkovsky.

Please convey my sincere congratulations to the aviator Vasiliev on your victory on the flight Petersburg - Moscow and My thanks for his willingness to continue to work for the benefit of domestic aeronautics, the successes and development of which are close to My heart. Nikolay.

Slim, but strong and dexterous, with penetrating, lively eyes, he gives the impression of a man who fell into his own sphere - such a portrait of Vasiliev is found in the February issue of the journal "Aeronautical Bulletin" for one thousand nine hundred and eleven. One of Vasilyev’s brilliant achievements was his flight from Elizavetpol to Tiflis . "Blerio" Vasiliev walked two hundred and four kilometers at an altitude of one thousand five hundred meters in one hour and fifty-five minutes. His car was the first aircraft to be seen in the sky of Georgia. The Tiflis Leaflet reported on its pages that, having learned of this flight of Vasiliev, Bleriot himself sent him an enthusiastic telegram. Congratulating on the success, Blerio announced that he was giving Vasiliev the latest model of his aircraft.

Profession: Pilot

Vasiliev was not only an experienced pilot, but also a brave man. Flying somehow in Kharkov in a strong wind, he fell into a very difficult position: the wind turned his car upside down immediately after takeoff. The pilot was not at a loss and coped with the situation. The public perceived this coup as a unique trick, and Vasiliev, according to his memoirs, counted the last seconds of his life.

From the beginning of 1913, A. A. Vasiliev worked as a test pilot at the St. Petersburg plant of the First Russian Aeronautical Partnership (PRTV). He flew on all types of aircraft manufactured by the plant.

The pilot participated in public speaking. He flew with his friend Kuzminsky ^[5] in Lodz, Warsaw, Vilna, Ekaterinoslav, Rostov-on-Don, Pyatigorsk and other cities. They demonstrated high school aerobatics, including the "dead loop".

In July 1913, Aleksandr Alekseevich made the flight Petersburg – Moscow – Petersburg. Flight time was 10 hours 52 minutes.

World War I

World War I drastically changed the fate of Vasiliev and his friend aviator Kuzminsky. In early August 1914, friends arrived at the headquarters of the Southwestern Front as hunter pilots (volunteers). Aviators were assigned to the ninth army. The first combat flight was the last for Vasiliev. On August 10, 1914, he, along with the observer General Martynov, carried out reconnaissance of Lviv on behalf of the Front Headquarters. But fragments of enemy shrapnel damaged the engine of his "Moran", as a result of which it was necessary to make an emergency landing in the enemy rear, Vasilyev and General Martynov were captured. After three and a half years of heavy captivity, General Martynov returned to Moscow in the summer of 1918 . Vasiliev remained captive throughout the war. He made an escape attempt, after which he was imprisoned in a strict regime camp. Repeated attempts were made to exchange him for captive Austrian officers. In a recent document dated December 31, 1917, the Austrian side reiterated that the captured aviator "was declared incapable of military service and would be sent to Russia with a train of disabled people." But that did not happen. He died in captivity. Nobody knows where his grave is, but the name of the hero is forever inscribed in the history of Russian aviation.

The words spoken by Alexander Alekseevich Vasiliev at the dawn of Russian aviation sound prophetically:

Russian aviation has a bright future. Only experience is needed, practice is needed, so that our natural qualities, enhanced by knowledge, create a powerful air fleet, so that Russian aviation takes an outstanding place among other powers.

• Vasiliev A. A. In the fight against the air element: Flight S. - Petersburg - Moscow in July 1911 - M .: Tipolit. Grossman and Wendelstein, 1912 .-- 55 p.

• Tumansky A.K. Flight through the years - M .: Military Publishing House, 1962.
• Demin A. First Russian General of Aviation // Aviation and Cosmonautics. - 2001. - No. 9.

• Vishnevsky V. Documentary films of pre-revolutionary Russia (1907-1916). - M., 1996 .-- 287 p.
• Kazan Aviation Week (Aviator Flights in Kazan). Chronicle, mtr. unknown Release of the Apollo movie theater: 5 / X 1910. Filming (8-16 / IX) by S. Yu. Eiger of flights of aviators A. A. Vasiliev, V. S. Keburov, Leon Letar and Lafon at the racetrack of the Kazan Society for the Promotion of Horse Breeding (Sine -Fono. - 1910. - No. 2. - P. 17, 26; Kamsko-Volzhskaya speech. - 1910. - No. 578. - 5 / X, 1).

• New information on the history of flights over Ivanovo-Voznesensky in 1912 (inaccessible link)
• Photo subject “Aviator Vasiliev before flight”
• Vladimir VERZHBOVSKY. Airplane over the Hippodrome
• Russian aviation has a bright future
• Flight Petersburg - Moscow (13 photos)
• Walk for fun