posted 03-01-2020 03:54 PM               

Space Cover #553: April 7, 1961 cover

When I first learned of the story that test pilot Vladimir Ilyushin might have been the first man in space, the story seemed that it could be real and I started looking for a Soviet cover postmarked on April 7, 1961, the alleged date of his secret flight in which he had been badly injured. I then searched for a photo of the man, and located a signed 4" by 6" photo. I reasoned that if the rumors were true, my cover and photo would a unique inclusion in my exhibit, "Humans in Space." Below is an abridged copy of an article about the rumors about this "phantom cosmonaut and his flight."

Vladimir Ilyushin was the eldest son of leading Soviet aircraft designer Sergei Ilyushin. Ilyushin's father was a favored member of the Soviet establishment. Vladimir's ambition was to be a test pilot of leading-edge, fast aircraft. Over his life he flew 145 different types of aircraft and made a number of important record flights.

The basic details of the first reports that Ilyushin was actually the first man in space were recounted by space historian Kenneth Gatland in 1967: As the historic day of the world's first human spaceflight drew nearer the rigid secrecy that had prevailed in the Soviet Union showed signs of breaking down. It began with a rumor from Moscow that a Russian cosmonaut had been launched in secret on Friday, 7 April 1961.

A message to London at midnight on 11 April quoted unidentified sources as suggesting that the cosmonaut was still undergoing physical examination by Soviet scientists, but that he was suffering from post-flight effects of a nature more emotional than physical. A news story wrote, "It is reported that the astronaut was a professional test pilot and son of a prominent aircraft designer. Russian and foreign journalists are maintaining a round-the-clock vigil, waiting for an official announcement. However, official sources still maintained an absolute silence, neither denying nor confirming the reports."

The originator of the story was Dennis Ogden, Moscow correspondent of the Daily Worker newspaper. He further provided the information that the unidentified cosmonaut had circled Earth three times in his "Rossiya" spacecraft. Gatland continued: "The story was further embellished from the Soviet Union by a French correspondent (Eduard Brobovsky) who suggested that the mystery cosmonaut was none other than Lieutenant-Colonel Vladimir Ilyushin, son of the famous Soviet aircraft designer."

However, on the morning of 12 April 1961 came the big announcement of Gagarin's flight. This flight would seem to have put these pre-launch rumors to rest. Yet, a month later, US News and World Report ran an item echoing the claims of Brobovsky, saying that Gagarin was a fraud. The allegation was made that he had never made a space flight, but was only the healthy substitute for Ilyushin. It was again maintained that Ilyushin had flown into space a few days earlier but was incapacitated and not presentable to the public. The official press organs of the Soviet Union completely denied stories of these and other pre-Gagarin flights.

In the 1960's notoriously inventive occult writer Frank Edwards included an elaborate version of the story in his various flying saucer books. The Guinness Book of World Records gave the phantom cosmonaut credence by including Ilyushin's flight in their 1964 edition. In the early 1990s Isztvan Nemeri published "Gagarin: a Space Lie" in Hungary.

In 1999 the final chapter came in the Ilyushin saga. Dr. Elliott H. Haimoff of Global Science Productions produced a documentary on Ilyushin's flight with the assistance of Moscow stringer Paul Tsarinsky. They spent five years and $500,000 on the film and claimed incontrovertible evidence that the flight had taken place. This documentary was purchased and broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. It was later picked up and broadcast by other networks around the world (including the Discovery Channel, Horizon, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).

The Ilyushin story as synthesized in the documentary is that Ilyushin was launched into space on 7 April, 1961. After three orbits of Earth he lost contact with ground control engineers. He was unable to eject from his Vostok capsule after re-entry and made a hard landing in China. He survived, but was interred by the Chinese. After a year of captivity and convalescence, he was repatriated to the Soviet Union in a secret deal between the countries. The film makers considered it likely that Gagarin was murdered in a planned aircraft crash by the KGB in 1968 because he was becoming uncontrollable and was likely to give the secret away.

(Note: The shown cover is actually for the Venera Venus launch on April 7, 1961.)

posted 04-06-2020 08:14 AM               

It is unlikely, in my opinion, that Russian cosmonauts have been killed, or injured in return, from a space flight feat before Vostok 1 flew.

All known or publicized flights have had recognizable precursor missions, have been matched by advance rumors of impending launches, did require positioning of support tracking ships world-wide, and have sent live television from orbit. among other factors as well.

To accept any speculative stories of an early cosmonaut death(s) from a space flight(s) would require belief of a secret launch program of untried hardware, with no support ships, and with no television from orbit. It just strains credulity in my view.

Anyway, while on the subject of legendary Russian test pilot Vladimir Ilyushin, I received in the mail during the 70's a surprise shipment from the Soviet Union.

Someone from the USSR Academy of Sciences, after seeing a letter of mine that had been forwarded to that institute, mailed to me a signed set of Vladimir Ilyushin signed photo-cards of war-time airplanes that had been designed by his father.

At the top of one of the cards, see below, was written in English by Vladimir Ilyushin (supposedly), "Design of my father, Il-4."

The signatures of the famous test pilot son of Sergei are a bit faded, but still legible, after having them for more than 40 years or so. His signatures do look genuine, however, I am not experienced enough to guarantee that any V. Ilyushin autograph is authentic or not.

If there is any interest out there in cS-land of the signed card set, let me know as I am down sizing a lot of my Russian space collections.

posted 06-13-2020 07:58 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by abgoodies18:
Does anyone know if there is a catalogue or listing of Russian space covers?

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