Russian Holidays - Navigator Service Day of the Russian Air Force

The First World War showed the advantage of countries with powerful air forces There were practically no means of combating aircraft, which made it possible to inflict enormous damage on the enemy Aerial reconnaissance provided the command with the latest information about the situation at the front The air fort of the Russian Empire did not have the same state support as in the West For this reason, the air navigation service was unable to develop qualitatively Despite this, on March 24, 1916, an order was signed according to which the Central Navigation Station was formed The revolution made its own adjustments to the development of the service By the beginning of the 20s, there were only forty-six aeronavigators in the country, as navigators were called then The emergence of flight schools changed the situation for the better The government decides to allocate positions for air navigators These specialists were trained under observation pilot programs A few months later, air navigators were equated with flight personnel BV Sterligov is considered the founder of the modern navigator service After the historic flight from Moscow to New York, he becomes the Chief Navigator of the Soviet Air Force Under his leadership, which lasted until the end of the forties, the service underwent qualitative changes The compass flight technique he developed began to be studied in flight schools At this time, a barometric altitude meter, a navigation sight and other special instruments appear The beginning of the thirties is considered significant in the development of the Air Force navigation service Specialized publications are published one after another One of them, “Manual on the Air Navigation Service NANS-30,” became a textbook for several years After Sterligov’s appeal to the Air Force command, aeronautical, aerial photography and meteorological services were organized In 1932, the positions of observer pilots were replaced by the positions of navigators The Alsib air route deserves special attention; our pilots used it to transport Lend-Lease planes from Nevada to the populated areas of Yakutia and Chukotka In 1944, Vice President Wallace flew to the USSR along this route The work of this most complex air route is the merit of flag navigator Sterligov Thanks to our navigators, during the Great Patriotic War, aviation carried out unique operations on the front line and behind enemy lines Hundreds of officers were presented with high government awards The professional holiday appeared in 2000 after repeated requests from the navigation service The order was signed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force on August 2, and since 2001, Navigator Service Day began to be celebrated officially The value of service cannot be overstated The navigator is responsible for the use of weapons, reconnaissance equipment, landing, and the use of electronic warfare The specialty of an aviation navigator will be in demand now and in the future Congratulations to all Air Force navigators and service veterans on their professional holiday!