Lieutenant Commander Sergey Vasiliev, permanent correspondent of the Northern Fleet magazine" Orientir"

When the rocket men succeed in shooting, the "startmen" consider it a well-deserved matter of universal attention and appropriate honors. In case of failure, there is always someone to refer to: "techies", they say, have screwed up something. The situation is different for the commander of the technical division of the Northern Fleet coastal forces formation, Major Alexander Berezovsky. There was no one behind him. He is like a goal keeper in football: his mistakes - real or only apparent-can not be corrected by anyone. Maybe that's why he doesn't reserve the right to make a mistake.

A year and a half ago, the Northern Fleet missile Division of Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Romanenko participated in competitive shooting for the prize of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. They shot back brilliantly. The rocket in flight gave out such a clear "picture" on the indicators of the control devices that even the well-worn specialists threw up their hands: "Wizard Berezovsky, and that's all." As a result, the North Sea team left their opponents far behind.

But Berezovsky's true moment of glory came when the Northern Fleet was joined by the Caspian Sea people to learn military science in the northern latitudes and watch the missile strike masters. So they followed the Northerners and sent their rocket straight to the target. The Black Sea soldiers who participated in the shooting, may they forgive such a statement, opened their mouths in surprise and looked at the happy envoys of the Caspian flotilla, then at Major Berezovsky, who prepared that rocket for them...

"The best is not the enemy of the good"

The times of reduction of the Armed Forces have come. But there is also some positivity in this. According to the head of the Department of the Northern Fleet Coastal Forces Department, Colonel Nikolai Medvedev, there is a good opportunity to equip the remaining combat units with intelligent professionals. In this regard, the formation of Colonel Sergei Slastikov was lucky. The best people from the disbanded unit wanted to continue serving with him. And, in particular, cool "specialists" came to the technical division. That's how two well-known majors came together in it: local Alexander Berezovsky and" Varyag " Andrey Dorofeev.

Both are creative, searching people who subject everything related to missile weapons to healthy skepticism and believe that the best is not the enemy of the good. They don't look alike, but they have something in common. Each of them at one time graduated from the same higher naval school

- Black Sea named after Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov. More than once in the walls of the alma mater, they heard from experienced teachers:

"Every parameter of the rocket needs to be evaluated realistically." We will return to this postulate later. Because for both of them, it has become a kind of motto in their professional work. In the meantime, I will note that until recently, rocket engineers for the coastal forces of the fleet were trained only at the coastal faculty of PMSMU. It is impossible, of course, to say that the "bravovtsy" surrounded by cadets of the other two ship faculties felt like outcasts, but the fact that future surface and submariners sometimes called them "boots" in their hearts is also not a secret. Therefore, the desire to show and prove that the level of training in the school at the "coastal" faculty is no lower than at others, was among the followers of BRAVO. Of course, in the course of the service, this desire only grew stronger. The specifics of the "coastguards" are such that often many go from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel and even colonel in the same unit. Therefore, according to specialists of the Northern Fleet Aviation Department, there are practically no complaints about the professional training of Colonel Slastikov's subordinates. In improving their skills, the local rocket scientists firmly adhere to the principle "The best is not the enemy of the good".

Judge for yourself. According to the guidelines, even for single firing, it is necessary to prepare a backup rocket ( in case of failure of the main one). But for the past three years, the Northern Fleet's missile units have managed exclusively with the main one, without using a reserve. That is, there are not enough prepared missiles and, as a result, unsuccessful launches were not recorded. And this is entirely up to the people. Therefore, according to the same Colonel Medvedev, the statement that the technical division of the compound, starting with its commander, Major Berezovsky, and ending with the personnel subordinate to him, is professionally prepared, does not cause any doubts in the Northern Fleet (from interested persons).

The current conditions of service are very difficult, and the unit has recently been relocated from one point to another. However, "techies" perform their duties not as God forbid, but qualitatively, and not only from "a" to "z", but also look ahead...

A chain of accidents is already a pattern

For nine years of service, Major Berezovsky saw, as they say, live all the possible malfunctions, deviations from the norm that occurred during the testing and preparation of missiles. He has so much practice that now, in order to classify a particular failure in the operation of onboard equipment, he does not always even pick up special literature. Berezovsky's practical skills are very special. By the way, therefore, in the plans of combat and special training of the technical division, the transfer of the experience of "old-timers" to young fighters, their ability to identify and eliminate all sorts of "possible impossibilities"in blocks, prevails in one form or another. After all, it's one thing to check the rocket, make sure that all its components meet the established parameters, and it's quite another to prepare the product like this. so that it not only responds to test checks, but also clearly executes all commands and the flight program. And here there may be nuances that are subject only to professionals.

Three years ago, when coastal rocket launchers of the Baltic Fleet, Black Sea Fleet and Northern Fleet of Russia were shooting at Rybachy, Berezovsky noticed that he had to meet very similar "flight roughness" when launching missiles at the firing ranges of his unit. It seems that, as they say, a serviceable" one hundred percent " rocket in flight began to fail. And although it was relatively small and in no way indicated a defect in the rocket, it made it difficult for the operators of control devices to work when pointing it at the target. "Such a repeated failure cannot be an accident," Alexander Vladimirovich reflected, recalling all his observations. "There must be a common cause. But where and in what?"

Taking the rocket flight data from the "managers" and adding to this his old records and calculations, he began to analyze, compare, calculate: at what point and on what part of the trajectory the information coming to the operators from the missile homing head began to lag, what were the parameters of the equipment, etc. The work was painstaking, but Berezovsky and Dorofeev together I went into it with my head, realizing that the output should be something like a manual, manual, or manual for additional configuration during the verification process.

The officers spent a lot of time developing their own methods of preparing the product for shooting, where the basic principle is that the parameters remain unchanged throughout the entire duration of inspections (remember how their teachers taught them at the school?). And if at least one block or its constituent sub-block gives the slightest deviation in the current or voltage, then in flight this will lead to a delay in the exchange of information between the rocket and the remote control equipment, as a result of which the operator will not be able to fully aim it at the target. Berezovsky also guarantees that after preparing the rocket according to his and Dorofeev's method, it is able to hit the target assigned to it, which is called exactly the peg.

What was the original impulse for Majors Berezovsky and Dorofeev to start creating their own methodology? What was the objective need for this? The" age " of rockets that have already served the warranty period of operation, which is being extended and extended? Or the fact that the rocket and artillery unit, having relocated from the coast, found itself in a "broken trough" and there are no ideal conditions for storing missiles and equipment, or for preparing them for firing? According to Colonel Medvedev, the primary reason for the rocket scientists ' research speed is that they have gained experience in exercises, and with it-extensive observations and, of course, statistics. Therefore, it is not surprising that there was a desire to improve something and make it better.

And more. If the North Sea people fired at least once a month... And they shoot once a year, and therefore it is not permissible to" fill up " such launches. This is a kind of crown of combat training for the year. You can't afford to take a second exam right now.

Missile "highlight" for the cruiser

Previously, after the final shooting at Rybachy, the results of the school year were usually summed up. But that didn't happen at the end of last year. No sooner had the unit returned to its permanent deployment sites, than a new task was immediately received: to prepare for a field exit to the Teriberka area within a month to perform missile firing in the interests of state tests of the Peter the Great heavy nuclear missile cruiser (TARKR).

On the appointed day, the rocket men were already on their way. Performing rocket firing, they worked out the entire scope of tasks that are solved during the conduct of combat operations: they made multi-kilometer marches with a full "farm", replenished their ammunition twice, and loaded their launchers only at night.

And here, Major Berezovsky's technical division provided a huge help to the missile units in reloading "products". Alexander Vladimirovich personally supervised the crane operations. It didn't seem to be a "technical" case, but the officer didn't think that this was the task of my division, and this, sorry, isn't. Task - general, connections. And by and large, the entire Northern Fleet was behind the rocket men, who were entrusted with state tests of the newest cruiser, the ship of the XXI century. And the "bravovtsy" simply could not, did not have the right to hit their faces in the dirt, let down their fleet.

During the tests of the Peter the Great, the North Sea rocket engineers not only completed all the tasks assigned to them, but also for the first time with the active participation of the same Berezovsky, they implemented a new method of launching their winged candles, which made it possible to fire short-range anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs) of the TARKR self-defense division.

The nuance of the innovation was that to check the SAM system, a small course parameter of the missile's flight relative to the bow or stern of the cruiser was required. But to provide this at a very long firing range is a piece of jewelry, there are no techniques for it. In a word, the task on the shoulders of the" coastguards " fell very difficult. For four days Major Berezovsky pored over his method of preparing rocket weapons for battle. For four days, he and the head of the department of BRAV BV of the Northern Fleet, Colonel Nikolai Medvedev, the commander of the formation, Colonel Sergei Slastikov, the commanders of the launch divisions, the heads of calculations, in short, all the "bright heads" of the rocket men calculated various options, summed up the mathematical base for them, and chose the best shooting methods. And one and only option was still found. It was he who made it possible to perform experimental rocket firing perfectly!

Why do Southerners need the Extreme North?

Previously, it was considered that the main thing for the technical division is that the rocket comes out of the launcher. But Berezovsky doesn't think so. In his understanding, the final result of the technical division's work is much more significant: a reliable defeat of the target! That is, being a missile firing controller in the cockpit of the guidance station, Alexander Vladimirovich is also worried about what kind of" picture " the operator will see on the screen, how timely and clear it will be.

According to Colonels N. Medvedev and S. Slastikov, 70 percent of the shooting success depends on Berezovsky's work. Apparently, this is why the real art of the "tech guy" is to ensure that when launching in the missile division there is no doubt about the quality of rocket preparation. Alexander Vladimirovich did not raise any doubts to the contrary. It is not for nothing that his colleagues call him "Maestro Berezovsky"among themselves.

The new academic year does not promise rocket scientists any relaxation. In addition to further arrangement in the garrison at the new location, "beregoviki" should conduct regular firing. And then-again the camp gathering of the Navy rocket men on Rybachy. The Northern Fleet still remains the base for firing all" bravovtsy " of Russia. It is clear that colleagues from other fleets have a lot to learn from the North Sea Fleet, Major Alexander Berezovsky, who, by the way, was recently introduced to the post of deputy commander of the BV SF missile and artillery unit for armament. In general, there are no deviations from the course taken.

FROM THE EDITORIAL OFFICE. When the material was already typed, our permanent correspondent received a message that the order for the appointment of Major Berezovsky to a higher position had taken place. Congratulations to Alexander Berezovsky.

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