On May 1, 1960, an American high-altitude spy reconnaissance plane was shot down over Soviet airspace. This incident immediately caused huge repercussions around the world and became an important symbol of the Cold War. But there is one fact that has been concealed for 30 years: at the same time that the Soviet missile shot down the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft , a Soviet MiG-19 fighter was mistakenly shot down as an enemy aircraft. The Soviet pilot on board was shot down on the spot. Loss of life. Colonel Voronov, the Soviet commander who commanded the missile force to shoot down the U-2 aircraft, revealed the inside story of this tragedy.
On May 1, 1960, the U.S. U-2 spy reconnaissance plane took off from Pakistan Peshawar Airport. The 30-year-old American pilot Powell's mission was to cross the Soviet airspace from Pamir to the Kersk Peninsula to photograph military and Photos of industrial facilities.
Starting in the autumn of 1959, Colonel Voronov's missile force was equipped with new anti-aircraft missile systems.
On the eve of May 1, 1960, Colonel Voronov approved several officers to go home to visit relatives. On the morning of May 1st, the weather was clear and windy. Colonel Voronov walked out of the barracks, polished his boots, and prepared to celebrate May Day with the soldiers. At this time, a glance report suddenly sounded. Colonel Voronov quickly came to the command post, but as soon as he entered the post, he received instructions from his superiors: An enemy plane has entered the sky over the Urals. Once the enemy plane appears in the airspace where our headquarters is located, immediately Shoot it down.
The enemy plane is currently over the Aralsk Sea, still far away from Colonel Voronov's base. Colonel Voronov asked for permission to let the soldiers eat first, but his superiors only gave him 10 minutes. As soon as the soldiers took their seats, the alarm suddenly sounded again. This time, all systems are required to enter a war-ready state immediately. This order is only issued under very urgent circumstances, which shows that the situation is very serious. All departments were in their positions, holding their breath and making all preparations. They just waited for the enemy plane to arrive and shot it down.
Colonel Voronov admitted that he was very nervous at the time. He didn’t know what kind of plane it was and what it was carrying. Could it be an atomic bomb? During World War II, Colonel Voronov commanded an artillery battalion. has fought German aircraft, but the flying altitude of those aircraft did not exceed 10,000 meters, while the flying altitude of the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was 20,000 meters. Moreover, it was the first time for Colonel Voronov and his comrades to launch missiles in actual combat. Rather than the previous teaching training.
After photographing military installation targets over Lake Irgaas, Powell flew the plane and circled over Sverdlovsk . It was no accident that the holiday was chosen as the day for espionage. Planners expect that the missile force will spend more time seeking instructions from Moscow, and the leaders of Moscow are currently reviewing the ranks of the three armed forces in Red Square.
"Target found!" Sergeant Yakushkin reported. The missile immediately enters launch preparation state. Suddenly, the enemy plane flew over Chelyabinsk, turned left and flew east. Colonel Voronov thought that it would not be their turn to attack this time, but soon the plane entered Colonel Voronov's control area from the southeast, and the target appeared again.
"Let go!" Colonel Voronov ordered. Captain Feldblum, the missile launcher, hesitated for a moment. Obviously, he had never experienced such a scene and was panicked and didn't know what to do. "Hurry up!" Colonel Voronov shouted the launch order decisively, and this time the missile flew towards the target. If the captain had hesitated for a few seconds, the enemy plane would have escaped.
The first missile hit the target, but the second and third missiles were not launched. The automatic control system automatically closed the launcher. The enemy aircraft had flown out of the missile range, and launches were no longer necessary. The first missile hit the tail of the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft and exploded at 8:53 a.m. Moscow time.
At the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow's Red Square, Khrushchev was reviewing the sea, land and air forces. He already knew that an American U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft had invaded Soviet airspace and ordered it to be shot down. When Marshal Bilyusov, commander of the Soviet air defense forces, rushed to Red Square and told him that the U-2 reconnaissance plane had been hit by the first missile and crashed, Khrushchev suddenly beamed.
There are different opinions on the results of the missile hitting the U-2 aircraft. Colonel Voronov clearly saw that the missile and the enemy aircraft target were getting closer and closer on the surveillance screen. When the two overlapped, due to the debris flying after the explosion, The screen was blurry, and Captain Feldbreum thought it was a screen malfunction. Ten minutes later, Colonel Voronov was convinced that the U-2 reconnaissance plane had been shot down. Colonel Voronov walked out of the engine room and saw a parachute slowly descending in the air. Colonel Voronov immediately reported the situation, but the radar surveillance department did not believe it. They said that the enemy plane was still continuing to fly.
It turns out that the radar surveillance department regarded the disappearance of the target on the screen (actually it was shot down) as a temporary disappearance and continued to track the target and report its location. But this was not a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, but a Soviet combat fighter.
The two pilots, Captain Ayvajan and Captain Safonov, received the order at 7:35 and were on standby at Sverdlovsk Airport. A full hour later, they took off in their MiG-19 fighter jets. Intercept enemy aircraft. Soon Ayiwajan discovered that the enemy plane exploded and caught fire, but he thought it was the missile on the enemy plane that exploded on its own.
Major Shugayev of the friendly missile force where Colonel Voronov was working discovered the fighter aircraft and immediately spoke to it: "Are you one of our own?"
But the two pilots did not answer, and they did not know after they took off. Why was the onboard radio communication system not turned on? This negligence led to a tragedy. Two MiG aircraft were regarded as enemy aircraft, and two missiles were fired at them unceremoniously.
Ayiwajan reacted quickly and made a sudden dive. He saved his life, but Captain Safonov died in mysterious circumstances. He was not yet 30 years old when he died. The flying altitude of the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft is 20,000 meters. In comparison, the flying altitude of the MiG-19 can only reach a maximum of 17,000 meters. Safonov's tragedy was an undeserved mistake.
