Alexander Vasilyevich
Belyakov
1897-1982
Alexander Vasilyevich Belyakov was a Soviet aviation navigator, flag navigator of the Red Army Air Force, participant of record-breaking air flights in the 1930s and the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant General of Aviation (1943). He was born in the Guslitsky village of Bezzubovo (now it is the part of the Orekhovo-Zuevsky city district of the Moscow region) in the family of a teacher. He graduated from the Moscow Aerial Photogrammetric School in 1921. He was an assistant to the head of the educational department since 1927. At the same time, in 1924, he graduated from the Moscow Forestry Institute without leaving the service. He has flown a lot as an observer pilot since 1925. He completed his first long-distance flight in 1929. In 1930-1935 he was a teacher of air navigation and since April 1935 he was a head of the Department of Navigation Service of the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy. He participated in a flight from Moscow to the Far East as a squadron navigator in 1933. In 1934, together with G. F. Baidukov, he performed a group flight on TB-3 aircraft on the route Moscow — Warsaw — Paris — Lyon — Prague — Moscow. In 1935 he was seconded from the academy to prepare for the Transarctic flight. In December 1935, he graduated from the 1st Military School of pilots named after A. F. Myasnikov. On July 20-22, 1936, on an ANT-25 aircraft as a navigator (commander – V.P. Chkalov, co—pilot – G.F. Baidukov), he made a record ultra-long non-stop flight from Moscow to Udd Island (now it is Chkalov Island) across the Arctic Ocean and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky with a length of 9374 km. On July 24, 1936, Belyakov Alexander Vasilyevich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin for the non–stop flight Moscow – Udd Island and the courage and heroism shown at the same time. On June 18-20, 1937, on an ANT-25 aircraft, as a navigator in the same crew, for the first time in the world, he made a non-stop flight Moscow–North Pole – Vancouver (USA) with a length of 8504 km. Since April 1940 he was a Deputy Chief of the Air Force Academy (Monino), since September 1940 he was a Head of the 1st Ryazan Higher School of Navigators of the Air Force. During the Great Patriotic War, he continued to lead the 1st Ryazan Higher School of Navigators of the Air Force. In March 1942 he was appointed to the Higher School of Navigators and Pilots of Long-range Aviation established on its basis, which operated in the evacuation in the city of Karshi of the Uzbek SSR and since April 1943 – in the city of Troitsk of the Chelyabinsk region. Since 1944 he was a Head of the 1st Ryazan Higher Officer School of Night Crews of the ADD. During the war, he trained 307 night crews and over 800 aviation navigators. In 1945, he was sent to the active army twice to undergo combat training and gain combat experience. From February to March 1945 he was Deputy Commander of the 2nd Air Army on the 1st Ukrainian Front, from April to May 1945 – chief navigator of the 16th Air Army on the 1st Belorussian Front. He took part in the Lower Silesian, Upper Silesian and Berlin offensive operations. Since June 1945 – Head of the Navigation Faculty of the Air Force Academy (Monino). Since January 1961 he was a Vice-rector for Scientific and Educational Work of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, since September 1961 he was a head of the military department of this Institute, from March 1969 to the end of his life he was a professor of this department.
Address: Moscow, Luzhnetskiy ave., 2
