Georgy K. Mosolov



[pic] |GEORGY K. MOSOLOV

Hero of the Soviet Union (5 October 1960)

Honored Test Pilot of the Soviet Union (20 September 1967)

Honored Master of Sports of the Soviet Union (1965)

Colonel, Russian Air Forces | |

Georgy Mosolov was born on May 3, 1926, in Ufa. In 1943 he graduated from the Central Aviation Club in Chkalov. His aeronautical career follows from his educational background, which started after his graduation from the Special Air Forces School:

• 1945—Primary Pilot School

• 1948—Chuguev Aviation Flight Military School, where he was a flight instructor until 1951

• 1953—Test Pilot School of the Ministry of Industrial Aviation

• 1959—Moscow Aviation Institute

Mosolov worked at the Mikhoyan Experimental Design Bureau from May 1953 to September 1962, becoming chief test pilot in 1959. During this period he performed the first flight tests of the first samples of the following Russian military aircraft:

• SN (1953)

• SG-5(1954)

• SI-6 (1954)

• SM-9/2 (1955)

• SM-9\3 (MiG-19С) (1955)

• Е-2 (1955)

• I-3U (1956)

• I-7U (1957)

• I-75 (1958)

• SM-12PM (1958)

• I-75F (1958)

• Е-6\3 (MiG-21) (1958)

• SM-51 (1958)

• Е-152 (1961)

• Е-152А (1961)

• Е-8 (1962)

Mosolov also participated in flight tests of MiG-17 (SDK-5), MiG -17 (SDK -7), MiG -17 (SI-10), MiG -17 (SI-16), Е-2А, SМ-50 (MiG -19PU), Е-4 (1957), Е-6/у (1961), Е-7(1961) and performed flight tests of many first samples of jet engines.

In his day, Mosolov flew higher and faster that any pilot in the world. At one time or another he held six aviation records. Three of them were world absolute records, and three all-Russia absolute records.

• 1959 World Speed Record: 2388 km/hour

• 1961 World Altitude Record: 34714 meters

• 1962 World Speed Record: 2681 km/hour

During supersonic flight testing of the E-8 aircraft in 1962, Mosolov experienced a catastrophic engine failure leading to in flight disintegration of the airplane. During the ejection sequence, he received near fatal injuries of the head and extremities. After a recovery period of approximately one year, he performed flights on piston-engine and jet aircraft but was unable to resume full test pilot duties. Subsequently he served as the chief designer of the MiG Design Bureau.

Mosolov’s post-test pilot career involved social, political, and pedagogical activities. He first served as Chair of the High Young Communist League, then was selected Chief of Hockey Federation in the USSR in the early 1970s. For several years beginning in the late 1970s, Mosolov was a representative abroad of Russian air company Aeroflot.

Georgy Mosolov became the first test pilot available for communication with the press. His popularity as a pilot was wide-ranging. His photo in pressure helmet as the pilot of a top secret fighter occupied the first pages of both domestic and foreign magazines, and was a personification of the courage and progress of the Soviet Union. After his near-fatal supersonic ejection, his life was constantly presented to public. Children’s homes and schools, gold mines, and frontier posts were named after Mosolov. He is the honored citizen of the city of Kharkov and the village of Ermakovkoe.

Georgy Mosolov was awarded various honors and medals. He is the only possessor of three Medals de Lavo (Flight Aviation Institute) received in 1959, 1961, and 1962, as well as three all-Russian gold medals. He was a close friend of Yury Gagarin and other first cosmonauts of the planet, and has maintained lifelong friendships with colleagues from his flight-research and social activities days.

(Information above retrieved from the archive of the “Test Pilots of Mikoyan (MiG) Design Bureau”)

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