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Rockets and People
As the aircraft was being fueled and prepared, Bolkhovitinov, tightly buttoned
into the military uniform of a brigade commander (in modern terms, that corresponds
to major general), was somber, and slowly meandered through the sweetscented
grass of the airfield, lost in thoughts.The demonstration flight was assigned
to Kastanayev. He emerged from the flight mechanics’ hut along with Godovikov.
Serious and unsmiling, both men approached Bolkhovitinov, briefly discussed
something, and then climbed into the aircraft.
After a short takeoff run, Kastanayev lifted off, gained altitude, and then dove to
gain speed toward the village of Mnevniki and made a very steep, banking turn
over the airfield. After deafening us with the roar of the four boosted engines, he
once again climbed steeply upward.The aircraft was empty and fueled only for a
demonstration. It was easy for Kastanayev to execute showy maneuvers that were
not typical for a heavy bomber.
Observing the flight, Levanevskiy was transformed.We never expected such a
wild reaction from our taciturn guest. The airplane had not yet landed, and
Levanevskiy was beaming, radiating delight, and literally throwing himself at
Bolkhovitinov.“You’ve got to, got to give me this plane! We’ve got to show this to
the Americans! They’ve never even dreamed of such a plane!” I was unable to hear
what else was said between Levanevskiy and Bolkhovitinov.
We know that the following day Levanevskiy was at the Kremlin. Next, they
also summoned Bolkhovitinov. A day later in Tarasevich’s office, Bolkhovitinov
gathered a team of designers and informed them that the government had
approved Levanevskiy’s request and was permitting him to fly the Moscow–North
Pole–Alaska route.
We were subsequently called up and mobilized to adapt the DB-A for a transpolar
flight.We were given one-and-a-half months for the entire work.
The assignment was quite an honor. But if Bolkhovitinov was unhappy
because he, the chief designer, was being deprived of his only DB-A aircraft, I
was upset for a completely different reason. Preparation for the Arctic expedition,
and now yet another flight, were depriving me of the opportunity to finish
my third year of studies without taking incompletes. The semester had just
begun, I had four difficult exams ahead of me, and I was at risk of being confined
to barracks. Nevertheless, I hurried to take my exams in philosophy and machine
parts before my total confinement. I still needed to take the electrical engineering
and vector calculus exams. Professors Krug and Shpilreyn, the patriarchs of
electrical engineering and vector analysis respectively, were not lenient with
exams. A profound knowledge of the subject matter was required. Tarasevich
promised me a note of excuse.
Bolkhovitinov and the design unit deputy, Saburov, relocated to the factory. A
rush job was begun to issue the drawings transforming the armed bomber into a
peaceful transport aircraft that would deliver gifts via the shortest route over the
Pole: caviar for President Franklin Roosevelt and expensive furs from the Russian
North for his wife Eleanor.
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