Today celebrate the day of the paratrooper
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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July 26, 1930 a group of Soviet pilots-paratroopers led by B. Mukhortov for the first time under Voronezh made a series of jumps from aircraft. This event marked the beginning of a massive development of parachutism in the USSR.
In honor of this event, on July 26, professionals and amateur parachutists celebrate their professional holiday - Parachutist Day, which is not yet legally approved, but is well known and widely celebrated among parachutists.
By the end of 1931, Soviet paratroopers had performed about 600 training and demonstration jumps. In the same year, young Soviet instructors made a series of jumps on the water, in deep snow, at night from a great height and protracted jumps, which later became widespread.
Parachuting also attracts Soviet women. July 14, 1931 for the first time in the Soviet Union made a jump with a parachute Soviet woman V. Kuleshov. Somewhat later, on August 19, they jumped with parachutes of V. Fedorov and A. Chirkov.
The first parachute was designed, constructed and tested by self-taught technician Gleb Kotelnikov, who was not indifferent to the tragic outcomes in aviation flights. The first parachute was lightweight, packed in a knapsack, always with the pilot. The results of the tests showed that the parachute operated smoothly.
October 27, 1911 Kotelnikov patents his invention "RC-1" (Russian, Kotelnikov first) and appeals to the War Ministry. But the bureaucratic machine did not realize the importance of the invention, and Kotelnikov's proposal was rejected "as superfluous."
Aware of the importance of the case, Kotelnikov continues to work and in 1923 creates a new model of a backpack parachute "RK-2", and later a model of a parachute "RK-3" with a soft knapsack, which was patented on July 4, In the same year 1924 Kotelnikov makes a cargo parachute "RK-4" with a dome 12 meters in diameter. On this parachute it was possible to drop a cargo weighing up to 300 kilograms. In 1926, Kotelnikov passes all his inventions to the Soviet government.
At the end of 1929 by decision of the party and government parachutes became mandatory for aviation and aeronautics.
Now in Ukraine, parachute jumps from airplanes and balloons are estimated at tens of thousands, and jumps from a parachute tower are hundreds of thousands.