Yuri Aleksandrovich Garnaev (russian: Юрий Александрович Гарнаев; 6 August 1967) was a famous Soviet

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

of the

Gromov Flight Research Institute The Gromov Flight Research Institute or GFRI for short (russian: link=no, Лётно-исследовательский институт имени М. М. Громова, russian: link=no, ЛИИ) is an important Russian State Researc ...

who died in a helicopter crash while combating wildfires in France.

Early life

Garnaev was born on in Balashov to a working-class Russian family. Having moved to the village of Lopasnya (located within present-day

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

) in 1934, he went on to complete his third semester at the Podolsk Industrial Technical School in the

Moscow oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

before quitting in 1936 due to financial difficulties. He soon got a job at the Lianozovsky Car Repair factory, where he worked while attending the

Mytishchi Mytishchi ( rus, Мыти́щи, p=mɨˈtʲiɕːɪ) is a city and the administrative center of Mytishchinsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, which lies 19 km northeast of Russia's capital Moscow on the Yauza River and the Moscow–Yarosla ...

aeroclub. On 17 June 1937 he made his first solo flight before being drafted into the military the next year.

Aviation career

After graduating from the Engels Military Aviation School in 1939 he was sent to a fighter aviation unit in

Transbaikalia Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia ( rus, Забайка́лье, r=Zabaykalye, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲjɪ), or Dauria (, ''Dauriya'') is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal in Far Eastern Russia. The steppe and ...

. From 1940 to 1942 he worked as a flight instructor in

Ulan-Ude Ulan-Ude (; bua, Улаан-Үдэ, , ; russian: Улан-Удэ, p=ʊˈlan ʊˈdɛ; mn, Улаан-Үд, , ) is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence wi ...

before returning to a combat regiment. In 1945 he briefly saw combat in the Soviet-Japanese War as a navigator in the 718th Fighter Aviation Regiment, making eleven sorties in a

Yak-9 The Yakovlev Yak-9 (russian: Яковлев Як-9) is a single-engine, single-seat multipurpose fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union and its allies during World War II and the early Cold War. It was a development of the robust and successf ...

during the conflict. Later that year he was sentenced to a prison in

Voroshilov Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov (, uk, Климент Охрімович Ворошилов, ''Klyment Okhrimovyč Vorošylov''), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (russian: link=no, Клим Вороши́лов, ''Klim Vorošilov''; 4 Februa ...

for carelessly handling classified documents, but he was released early in October 1948. He then got a job in 1949 as a technician at the

, where he participated in the development of a mid-air refueling system before he was fired in 1950 because of his past conviction. However, he was soon allowed to return to the institute as a test parachutist in January 1951, which led to the kickstart of the test pilot career in December 1951. He went on to conduct a variety of test flights, flying various experimental aircraft and helicopters. In 1957 he became the first person the fly the Rafaelyants Turbolet, and as part of the training of cosmonauts to handle zero-gravity environments in 1960 he flew a modified

Tu-104 The Tupolev Tu-104 ( NATO reporting name: Camel) is a retired twinjet, medium-range, narrow-body turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling noz ...

with

Amet-khan Sultan Amet-khan Sultan (Crimean Tatar language, Crimean Tatar: Amet-Han Sultan, Амет-Хан Султан, احمدخان سلطان; Russian language, Russian: Амет-Хан Султан; 20 October 1920 – 1 February 1971) was a highly decorated ...

. His life was saved not once but twice by his parachute while conducting test flights, in 1962 during a

Mi-6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence ...

flight and later in 1964 while flying a

Ka-22 The Kamov Ka-22 ''Vintokryl'' (rotor-wing, or literally, (air)screw-wing) (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic:Камов Ка-22 Винтокрыл) (NATO reporting name: Hoop) was a rotorcraft developed by Kamov for the Soviet Air Force. The experimenta ...

. Throughout his career he conducted tests on various aircraft including the An-10, Il-28,

, Mi-3, Mi-4,

, Mi-10,

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...

, Tu-14,

Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberation ...

, and

. Tragically his life was cut short on 6 August 1967; he was killed in the line of duty when piloting an Mi-6PZh helicopter (registration number СССР-06174) over France to fight forest fires. The cause of the crash remains unclear.

Awards and honors

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

(21 August 1964) * Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR (21 August 1964) *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

(21 August 1964) *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

1st class (28 August 1945) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

(12 July 1957)

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garnaev, Yuri 1917 births 1967 deaths Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian aviators Soviet test pilots Flight instructors Soviet Air Force officers Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France People from Balashov Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1967 Gromov Flight Research Institute employees