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S-25
SA-1 GUILD - History

In 1950, Stalin, preoccupied with the American plans to strike a nuclear strike on the USSR, instructs L.P. Beria to create an anti-aircraft missile shield around Moscow, capable of withstanding the raid of 1200 bombers. The USSR Council of Ministers issued a decree on August 9, 1950 for the launch of a huge anti-aircraft missile system for covering Moscow.

This required an anti-aircraft missile system, and L.P. Beria entrusts the development of this system to two general designers working together (a unique case) - to his son Sergo Beria and the talented inventor P.N. Kuksenko. True, by this time, both designers had already worked together to create an anti-ship missile "Comet", so that the task on the anti-aircraft missile was given to them in the load. It is interesting that Stalin found time to summon Kuksenko and personally set him the task of creating air defense in Moscow, and then several more times, getting acquainted with the current progress of affairs.

The system was classified even from the Ministry of Defense. The draft resolution was endorsed by Defense Minister AM Vasilevsky, bypassing all instances subordinate to him. On this the military's acquaintance with the project ended. The newly created Third Central Administration (TSU) under the USSR Council of Ministers was identified as the customer of the system being created. To do this, the TSU created its own military acceptance, its anti-aircraft missile range near the town of Kapustin Yar, and as the system's facilities were being created, subordinate military units for the combat operation of these facilities.

The duet of general designers got a team, in this connection, G. Kisunko is transferred to the service in Moscow in their design bureau (KB-1), and Kisunko starts developing radar equipment for the created anti-aircraft complex, called Berkut, and after the murder L.P. Beria and the arrest of his son Sergo - P-25. (According to the common opinion, the complex was named in honor of Laurence and Sergo Beria - "Ber" and Kuksenko - "Ku"). Some time after the murder of L.P.Beria, the arrest of his son Sergo Beria and the removal of Kuksenko (as a "member of the Beria gang"), Kisunko led a team of designers and engineers in 1000 people, leading up to the deployment of the S-25. And that's why Kisunko finished the work of S. Beria and P. Kuksenko.

The fact is that the main intellectual problem in the air together of the enemy aircraft and the rocket flying to it lay not on the missile but on the locator radars. The locators of those times had a low angular accuracy in determining the position of the target.Conditional example: On the radar screen, that he was flying over, say, the village of Ivanovka, after which his fighter flew there and the mark of his plane was combined on the screen with the mark of the enemy, and it seemed on the screen that they were both over Ivanovka. the enemy could be a kilometer to the west of Ivanovka, and his own - a kilometer to the east.

But when an airplane is aimed at the target, the fighter pilot will find the enemy aircraft even aside from this point, but how can you get into the enemy's plane with a missile at such accuracy? Therefore, the main responsibility for the development of air defense systems equipped with missiles was placed on radars - to increase their accuracy, and the main creative load was laid on G. Kisunko and his team. It was G. Kisunko who headed the creative team of designers and engineers dedicated to the finalization of the now-former Berkut, and now the S-25, two rings of stationary radar and missile installations around Moscow. Creation of the mobile complex S-75 was assigned to the enemy of Kisunko, designer A. Raspletin, who already had by then the Stalin Prize for the creation of radars." According to the original plan, the Berkut system should consist of the following subsystems and objects:

• two rings (near and far) of the radar detection system on the basis of a 10-cm radar (code "A-100", chief designer LV Leonov);
• two rings (near and far) of the anti-aircraft missile radar (the radar cipher is a product of the B-200, the main designers are PN Kuksenko and SL Beria);
• placed at the stations B-200 and functionally connected with them launchers ZUR (cipher missile - B-300, the general designer SA Lavochkin, the main designers: the rocket engine - AM Isaev, combat units - Zhidkikh, Sukhikh, KI Kozorezov, radio interrupter - Rastorguev, on-board power sources - NS Lidorenko, transport and launch equipment - in L. Barmin);
• interceptors armed with air-to-air missiles, which barrage in the areas of sight of A-100 radar stations (G-400 cipher). Subsequently, the development of these facilities as part of the Berkut system was discontinued, that is, the fire systems of the system were identified as part of two echelons (outer and inner ring boundaries) of the B-200-B-300 surface-to-air missile systems.

Much of the documentation on the system itself and the history of its creation is still secret, which, apparently, is connected not only with bureaucracy, but also with the fact that the air defense system around Moscow has been constantly improved and existed until recently.

According to open publications, the Berkut system was a qualitative leap in the technology and tactics of the ZUR application and had nothing in common with the development of German guided air defense missiles. It is curious that several publications speak in more detail about the design of missile guidance and guidance systems, and there is almost no information on the history of the creation of S-25 air defense missiles.

The most detailed information about missile guidance and control systems is given in the book "Secret Zone" by Gregory Kisunko {50}. Frankly, the book is very interesting, because Kisunko himself was an active participant in the creation of the Berkut complex. But, alas, the main goal of the author was not an objective and detailed story about the world's most unique and best air defense system, and balancing accounts with their enemies, as well as praising friends and themselves dearly.

Kisunko casually mentions that in 1950-1951 there were big disagreements with the guidance system (cabin A), and then they were rescued by German specialists from department No. 38. According to Kisunko, Sergo Beria at the SB-1 senior management meeting stated: "A group of German specialists working on our task with Pavel Nikolaevich [Kuksenko] was given a very successful method of aiming anti-aircraft missiles, and for the implementation of this method suggested the construction of coordinate and counting-solving devices completely on electronic circuits. That's why now all professionals involved in the B-200 videotrack on the technical assignments of Alexander Andreevich Raspletin must immediately begin studying the scientific and technical materials of German specialists and their fastest implementation in the B-200 station. Theorists - to get acquainted with the method "C" proposed by German experts and to reorient to this method all further development of the control loop for surface-to-air missiles".

The S-25 tests at the Kapustin Yar training ground began in September 1952, and on November 2, the first successful launch of the rocket was carried out. On April 25, 1953, a Tu-4 bomber flying at an altitude of 7 thousand meters was shot down during tests. This date was the birthday of a new type of air defense weapon that can effectively combat aircraft and other aerodynamic attack means in any weather conditions. "... A picture appeared in the sky, as if two fairy-tale snakes were approaching each other, spreading huge silver-scaly tails behind them. When the snakes clasped their foreheads, the faster one flew further, and at the second the head fell off its tail and began to fall, licked in flames, to fall apart into smoky and burning pieces, ”wrote in his book “ Secret Zone. Confession of the General Designer ”, one of the creators of the S-25, Lieutenant General Grigory Kisunko.

At the end of 1953 - 1954, the Germans were suspended from work on the S-25 complex - that was how the Berkut was renamed after the arrest of L.P. Beria. Khrushchevites suspected that the name "Berkut" consists of the names of Beria-Kuksenko, the creators of guidance and control systems of the anti-aircraft complex. Undoubtedly, KB-1 (SB-1) was the main organization and played the main role in the creation of air defense in Moscow, but the guidance and control systems meant nothing without a missile.

By decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of August 9, 1950, the main developer of the S-25 missile was the plant No. 301 (Khimki near Moscow), and S.A. Lavochkin. On June 25, 1951, the first launch of the S-25 surface-to-air missile took place at the Kapustin Yar test site. So, only 9 months after the start of work - the first launch, even without guidance systems.

How could such a miracle happen? But Lavochkin, his KB, and plant No. 301 had never had anything to do with either anti-aircraft guided missiles or missiles in general, but were engaged in aircraft construction. There is also no information that Lavochkin was assisted in the creation of ZUR by any Soviet design bureau. But Werner Albing writes that on the island of Gorodoml the German specialists in 1950-1951. developed a long-range anti-aircraft missile project. It could only be the C-25 or, at least, its prototype.

Officially, the S-25 complex was commissioned on May 7, 1955. 56 divisions of the complex (regiments) became part of the 1st Special Forces Army Air Defense Forces. July 15, 1955, this army, which included 4 corps, was part of the Moscow Air Defense District.

For the first time, the V-300 missile of the S-25 system was openly shown at a military parade on November 7, 1960.