Soon after the end of the civil war and the defeat of the intervention, despite the devastation and famine, the question of the need for the rapid development of the national air fleet was raised in our country. It was necessary to create its own aviation industry, build airfields and hangars, and train flight personnel. All this required considerable sums that the Soviet government could not allocate from the state budget at that time. On March 1, 1923, Ryl's Izvestia published an article entitled "Urgent Undertaking", which raised the question of creating a Society for promoting the Development of the Air Fleet in order to popularize the ideas of aeronautics among the broad masses, to mobilize all forces ready to work in this field, and to collect the necessary material resources.

For many days Izvestia published a proclamation in every issue at that time: "Our air fleet must be worthy of the Soviet Republic. Its service is diverse. We need it in peacetime, in order to establish rapid communication between individual points of our vast republic, and in wartime, in order to protect the interests and rights of the Russian people, We call on all conscientious citizens of the Soviet Federation to exert all their strength and sacrifice for the creation of a powerful Red Air Fleet. We appeal to the party organizations, Soviet institutions, commercial and industrial institutions, public organizations, and all citizens, firmly convinced that our appeal will not be in vain and that by common efforts we will help build air squadrons that will plow the sky and defend our land." Every day the newspaper published a list of organizations and individuals who donated money for the construction of aircraft.

The newspaper's call to create an organization to promote the development of the air fleet did not go unnoticed. On March 8, a meeting dedicated to the establishment of the Society of Friends of the Air Fleet (ODVF) was held in the premises of the Higher Military School of Communications. At the meeting, the Board of the company was elected, and a few days later - its presidium. The latter included V. A. Antonov-Ovseenko, Head of the Political Department of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, S. S. Kamenev, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic, A. A. Znamensky, Head of the Main Directorate of the Air Fleet of the Republic, A. M. Krasnoshchekoe, Chairman of the Industrial Bank, N. I. Podvoysky, head of Vsevobuch, S. A. Chaplygin, Scientific director of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, and others. A few days after the creation of the ADF, a meeting of representatives of the central trusts and syndicates of Moscow was convened. It laid the foundation for the joint-stock company Voluntary Air Fleet (Dobrolet). This organization was supposed to be engaged in the development of regular air services in the USSR.

The EFA decided to work closely with Dobrolet. The Company's management found it expedient to support the activities of Dobrolet, and the latter, in turn, decided to transfer all donations received to him to the disposal of the EFA. In order to agitate for aviation, various light industry products with "aerial pictures"were produced at that time. The society attached great importance to this and called for better use of consumer goods for this purpose. In the magazine "Airplane", which was an organ of the ADF, there were calls to promote the development of aviation. Here is one of them: "Be ashamed, your name is not yet on the list of shareholders of Dobrolet. The whole country is following this list." And here is another characteristic inscription in the magazine of those years: "Every honest citizen of the USSR should have an ADF badge on his chest."

The society quickly gained popularity. His organizations appeared in all of them

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districts of our country. On March 12, 1923, the Society of Aviation and Aeronautics in Ukraine was founded. Soon it merged with a similar Crimean society and became known as the Society of Aviation and Aeronautics of Ukraine and Crimea (OAVUK). Then the ADF of Belarus and the Union of Transcaucasian Republics were created. In the provinces and uyezds of the Soviet Union, branches of the Society began to operate. At the end of April, in Moscow, in the Column Hall of the House of Unions, a solemn meeting of the Council of the ADF was held together with delegates of the XII Congress of the RCP (b). At the meeting, M. V. Frunze, S. S. Kamenev, N. I. Podvoysky and others called for creating their own, Soviet aircraft industry and catching up with capitalist countries in this matter.

In May 1923, the British Foreign Secretary Curzon sent, as is well known. An ultimatum to the Soviet government containing a number of slanderous accusations and provocative demands. There was a real threat of a new intervention against the USSR. During these days, the Soviet people rallied even more closely around the party and the Government. Thousands of people held rallies and demonstrations of protest everywhere in the country. The working people of the Land of Soviets responded to the imperialist ultimatum by raising funds for the construction of military aircraft. Enterprises and institutions, workers and peasants, employees and students made voluntary donations to strengthen the defense of the socialist Fatherland. They made what they could. Some - money, others-bread, others-building materials. As a result of this nationwide movement, already on November 11, 1923, a solemn transfer of aircraft to the Red Air Fleet took place in Moscow, which made up the Ultimatum squadron of 9 combat vehicles, each of which received its own name: "Moscow Textile worker", "Railway worker", "Ultimatum of Moscow workers", "Workers ' Dictatorship", "Serpukhov worker", "Nizhny Novgorod Ultimatum", "Abkhazian Ultimatum", "Red Baku" and "Ultimatum 26" 1 .

The ADF, which launched a broad campaign for the creation of the Soviet air fleet, provided material support to aircraft factories and scientific institutions. The Company allocated 1 million rubles in gold for the reconstruction of the ODWF aviation plant (formerly Duks), the largest in the country at that time, and allocated significant amounts for the construction and equipment of laboratories of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), the Zhukovsky Air Fleet Academy, and other facilities. The Society of Friends of the Air Fleet came to the aid of the state in the construction of many airfields. When the Council of People's Commissars of the Tatar Autonomous Republic decided to build an airfield in Kazan and the lack of necessary funds prevented the timely completion of its equipment, the workers of the republic came to the rescue. In April 1923, the Society for Assistance to the Red Air Fleet (later renamed the Society of Friends of the Air Fleet of Tatarstan) was founded in Kazan. It raised funds among the population to complete the construction of the airfield.

The first dozens of Komsomol members, many of whom received financial assistance from the Society, were sent to aviation schools on the basis of ODWF permits. It took patronage over the Zhukovsky Air Fleet Academy, the 2nd Higher School of Red Helicopters, and the Ultimatum air squadron. The ODWF held competitions for projects for single-seat, two-seat aircraft, and low-power engines. Especially acute was then the problem of creating your own, Soviet engine. This was eloquently expressed by the slogans: "You give the engine!", " Your engine on your plane!". On October 5, 1924, the first Soviet serial aircraft engine was released. And, no doubt, the Society of Friends of the Air Fleet had a considerable share of credit for this important task. As a defense-patriotic organization of working people, it did everything possible to promote the construction of an air fleet in domestic factories from its own materials, according to the drawings of our engineers, and to help create a cadre of pilots capable of flying Soviet aircraft.

In November 1923, the Society organized the first All-Union glider tests in the Crimea, near Feodosia. It was hard to expect good results on them. The glider fleet was too imperfect at that time, and there were no experienced pilots. Nevertheless, the campaign significance of this event was great. As noted by the press, in the minds of the broad masses, a conviction was born in the need to change the situation.-

1 "Airplane", 1923, N 1, p. 41.

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development of this type of defense sport. Only 10 of the 20 cars scheduled for the competition were delivered to Crimea at that time. Among them was the Mostyazhart glider, built by S. V. Ilyushin, who was at that time a student of the Air Fleet Academy.

On June 1, 1924, at the Central Moscow Airfield, a joint solemn meeting of delegates of the XIII Congress of the RCP (b) and the Council of the ODVF of the USSR was held, dedicated to the transfer of the Lenin squadron to the Congress. About 120 thousand people gathered at the airfield and the nearby Oktyabrsky field. S. S. Kamenev handed over 19 aircraft built at one of the Soviet factories with funds raised by the workers to the party Congress on behalf of the ODVF of the USSR. The resolution adopted at this meeting noted the successful activities of the society to strengthen the Red Air Fleet. "With particular satisfaction," the document said, " the congress notes the creation of the Lenin air squadron by members of the ODWF and, together with tens of thousands of workers in Moscow and representatives of the ODWF of the USSR, handing over registered aircraft. Expresses confidence that this squadron will bear with honor and glory the name of the great leader and teacher of the working class - Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. " 2 In one of the resolutions of the XIII Congress of the RCP (b), it was noted that "a healthy initiative in the creation of voluntary workers' societies should be supported, " including the Society of Friends of the Air Fleet.

It was decided to celebrate the first anniversary of the foundation of the ODF on the Day of the Air Fleet-July 14. On this day, the newspapers wrote, when the workers of France celebrate their victory over absolutism-the capture of the Bastille, the Soviet people will demonstrate their will and their success in the struggle for the capture of the air Bastille, the victory over which will strengthen the defense of the USSR from the cannons and casemates of the Bastille of world capitalism. On July 14, reports and talks were held in many districts and cities of the country, meetings and solemn meetings were organized, at which new commitments were made. Two weeks of assistance to the air fleet was announced in Minsk. The ADF handed over an airfield equipped at its own expense to the state. In Tambov, at an extended meeting of the Society and representatives of other organizations, a resolution was adopted on the construction of two aircraft for the new Lenin squadron.

On the day of its first anniversary, the Society received many greetings and congratulations. "Where the sense of danger is felt by the masses, where the protection of the state is taken up by millions of people, as the year of the successful work of the CDF of the USSR showed," wrote Mikhail Kalinin, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the USSR, " confidence in security, confidence in one's own strength increases enormously. Let this feeling expand more and more widely, deepen more and more deeply into the masses of the workers and peasants, and let the U.S.S.R. CDF strengthen and grow." And here is what K. Zetkin, a prominent activist of the international labor movement, wrote to the hero of the day:: "Dear comrades, I cordially greet your Society for the brilliant display of its activity: 19 aircraft, which, on the occasion of the Congress of the Communist Party, it hands over to it for the service of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. This fact is not only an eloquent proof of the energy and consciousness of your Society, of the self-sacrifice of the broadest working masses, but also of the firm confidence in the party under whose leadership the Union was formed and defended itself against enemies and privations. The expansion of the U.S.S.R. Air Fleet under the sign of communism means an unwavering will to protect the security, freedom and prosperity of your great state organism ... " 4
The EFA organized mass practical work among the population. Thanks to the efforts of its local employees, aero clubs and aviaholks, gliding circles began to be created. Great importance was given to aircraft modeling. So, one of the slogans of the ADF read:: "Modelism - working in air sports circles to build models of aircraft - is the best school for training and identifying young active aviarabotniks from among the working youth-future red engineers of our Union Air Fleet." The society organized competitions of aircraft modelers, which attracted a lot of participants.-

2 "Airplane", 1924, N 6-7, pp. 3-4.

3 "The CPSU in resolutions and decisions of rvzdov, conferences and plenums of the Central Committee". 3. 8th ed., p. 48.

4 "Airplane". 1924, N 6-7, p. 4-5.

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kov and viewers. For the first time such competitions were held on July 5, 1924 by the EFA of Georgia. Ten days later, the competition of aircraft modelers was held in Krasnodar, and in September - the Moscow competition of flying models. Then similar events followed in Tashkent, Tambov, Astrakhan, Ulyanovsk and other cities of the country. Gliding sports have become increasingly popular. In Ukraine, it mainly captured students of technical educational institutions. In September 1924, the ODWF conducted the second All-Union glider test in the Crimea. In total, 48 gliders were delivered there, of which 39 participated in flights. The number of organizations that sent their cars to competitions has expanded. Most of the gliders were sent by Moscow (25) and Ukraine (11). Other gliders arrived from Kazan, Krasnodar, Penza, Saratov and other cities. The Chairman of the competition Committee was S. V. Ilyushin. The good design of a number of gliders was noted, including the AVF-10 glider, designed by the then very young A. S. Yakovlev. October 12, 1924 In Moscow, at the stadium of physical culture, with a large crowd of spectators, the first All-Union aeronautical tests organized by the ODWF took place. They were attended by 8 balloons and balloonists N. D. Anoshchenko, M. N. Kanishchev, P. F. Fedoseenko and others representing the ODVF, OAVUK, the Air Fleet Academy and the Aero Club of the North-Western region.

As early as the end of 1923, the Society began an agitation campaign in the village, which continued the following year. Party, Komsomol, trade union, and cooperative city organizations, as well as military units, sent special groups of agitator instructors to the villages. The Dalbyuro of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) was particularly successful in this direction, issuing proclamations and using its instructors to work in the villages. In the Middle Volga region, Red Army units that operated under the slogan "Every Red Army soldier must attract five friends of the air fleet from among the peasants"took a large part in attracting peasants to join the ODF. In the Tambov province, competitions were held for the best cell of the Society with the name "Red Plane"assigned to it. The peasantry of some districts volunteered to raise funds for the strengthening of the Red Army and its air fleet. However, despite the well-known successes achieved during this campaign, rural work continued to be a weak link in the Society's activities. Therefore, in the autumn of 1924, the ADF Presidium decided to launch a new campaign among the peasants, the success of which was largely facilitated by sending propaganda planes to the village. This became possible after the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR made a decision in December 1923, on the basis of which the Main Air Fleet was granted the right to transfer aircraft withdrawn from service to the ODF. Commenting on this resolution, the press noted that "the full and expedient use of all the aircraft transferred to them will lay the first stone in the penetration of aviation into the very bowels of the country, in the process of introducing the peasantry of the USSR to the fulfillment of the great task facing the ADF - the task of providing the greatest assistance to the cause of air defense of the country" 5 .

During the transfer of the Lenin squadron to the XIII Congress of the RCP(b), representatives of local organizations of the ADF undertook to create another squadron under the same name. They kept their word. January 25, 1925 The Company transferred the second Lenin squadron of 16 aircraft to the Air Force. The Dzerzhinsky Air Squadron and other combat vehicle detachments also joined the defense of the country. Over the course of two years, the country's aviation factories used the funds raised by the ODWF to build 130 aircraft, and about 50 aircraft were in production in 1925. Friends of the air Fleet patronized air squadrons, flight schools, aircraft and engine factories. And the whole Society was the collective workers 'and peasants' chief of the Red Army. In two years of activity, the EFA grew into a powerful organization with 2,500 thousand members. Its governing body, the Council of the ODDF of the USSR, included many prominent party, military and state figures: P. I. Baranov, A. S. Bubnov, K. E. Voroshilov, M. I. Kalinin, S. S. Kamenev, A. I. Mikoyan, G. K. Ordzhonikidze, I. V. Stalin, I. S. Unshlikht, M. V. Frunze, V. Y. Chubar and others.

The Society of Friends of the Air Fleet was one of the first voluntary masos-

5 "Airplane", 1924, N 1, p. 30.

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organizations of Soviet people. It was a pioneer in creating a new form of association of workers to promote the construction of socialism and strengthen the country's defense capability. The exceptionally rapid growth of the ranks of the ADF and its active activity encouraged the Soviet public to develop amateur activities in other areas of life. Voluntary organizations "Down with Illiteracy", Dobrozhim, etc. began to appear and develop. On the day of the Society's two-year anniversary, M. I. Kalinin wrote: "The ODWF was a model organization for all our voluntary Societies. Other organizations are also being built along its lines to mobilize workers 'and peasants' energy around the tasks put forward by the party and the Soviet Authorities. " 6 Later, the ODWF merged with another voluntary organization of Soviet workers - Aviakhim. And in 1927. Together with the Defense Assistance Society, they formed the unified military-patriotic society of the USSR - Osoaviakhim.

L. P. Borisov

6 "Airplane", 1925, N 6-7, p. 5.

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