Vladimir Konstantinovich Kokkinaki

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WK Kokkinaki

Vladimir Kokkinaki ( Russian Владимир Константинович Коккинаки , Greek Βλαδίμηρος Κοκκινάκης ; born 12 jul. / 25. June  1904 greg. In Novorossiysk , † 7. January 1985 in Moscow ) was a Soviet test pilot . He tested 40 different aircraft, including the types DB-3 , Il-2 and Il-28 .

Life

Vladimir Kokkinaki (left) and Wassili Blücher , 1938

Kokkinaki comes from a Pontic-Greek family . He joined the Red Army in 1925 and graduated from the Leningrad Aviation School in 1928. He underwent further training at the Borissoglebsk flight school and completed it in 1930. In 1931 he went into active service with the 11th fighter squadron. In 1932 he was appointed commander of an aviation division and in 1935 as a test pilot. His first task was to fly in the new Kotscherigin TSch-3 attack aircraft .

In the 1930s he was a member of the I-16 equipped five-man aerobatic team "Krasnye djawoly" ( Russian Красные дьяволы , Red Devil). Kokkinaki first attracted international attention on November 21, 1935, when he set a new absolute world altitude record for airplanes in a Polikarpow I-15 with 14,575 m, the first record of the USSR to be recognized by the FAI . Kokkinaki completed other record flights, also over long distances. The flight of Kokkinaki and his navigator M. Ch. Gordijenko with the DB-3 "Moskwa" caused an international sensation in 1939. On April 28th they started in Moscow with destination New York . After 8,000 kilometers with the Trondheim, Reykjavík and Cape Farvel stations, a hurricane over Labrador forced them to climb to 9,000 meters. After all of the fuel and the oxygen supply had been used up, Kokkinaki landed on April 29 with retracted landing gear next to the lighthouse on the island of Miscou in New Brunswick , Canada. The DB-3 had been in the air for 22 hours and 56 minutes, which corresponded to an average speed of 348 km / h. In total, Kokkinaki set 22 world records. In 1938 he became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union .

In World War II Kokkinaki further remained a test pilot, was promoted to major general in 1943 the pilot and main inspector of the aviation industry. Until his retirement from active service, he worked as a test pilot. He set his last world record in 1960 when he flew 5018 km with an Ilyushin Il-18 and a 10 ton payload, reaching an average speed of 693 km / h.

In 1961 he became Vice-President and 1966 President of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale .

For his achievements, Kokkinaki was twice (1938 and 1959) honored as Hero of the Soviet Union , the title "Honored Test Pilot" and the Lenin Prize.

Kokkinaki's brother Konstantin was also a test pilot.

literature

  • Heinz Machatscheck: Personalities of Soviet aviation (1): WK Kokkinaki, AS Moskaljow, ML Mil . In: Flieger-Jahrbuch 1982 . Transpress, Berlin 1982.

Web links

Commons : Wladimir Kokkinaki  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary in the New York Times, January 10, 1985 (English), accessed January 2, 2016
  2. ↑ Klaus Wartmann: Ocean flights in the years of 1919 and 1939 - a pioneer of intercontinental air traffic. In: Flieger Jahrbuch 1981. Transpress, Berlin 1981, p. 113.
personal data
SURNAME Kokkinaki, Vladimir Konstantinovich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Коккинаки, Владимир Константинович (Russian); Κοκκινάκης, Βλαδίμηρος (Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Soviet test pilot
DATE OF BIRTH June 25, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Novorossiysk
DATE OF DEATH 7th January 1985
Place of death Moscow