On April 26, 1953, the B-200-B-300 missile system shot down an aerial target for the first time. This is how the legendary Soviet S-25 Berkut air defense system was born.
After the Second World War, due to the appearance of ultra-long-range high-altitude bomber aircraft and nuclear bombs, the need for sky protection at altitudes over 10 kilometers sharply increased. Traditional anti-aircraft artillery could not cope with this task: by the beginning of the 1950s, its guns beat only at 6000 meters. In a short time, guns of increased range were developed, but the increased speed of carrier aircraft also made them ineffective. In addition, a huge number of shells were spent on each target.
In this regard, on August 9, 1950, a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR was adopted on the development of a stationary anti-aircraft missile system for the country's air defense forces. On the title page of the document appeared the resolution of the head of state Joseph Stalin: "We must get a missile for air defense within a year."
The Soviet government understood that it would not be possible to immediately cover the entire USSR with such a system, so first they decided to protect only the capital, Moscow, with rings of missile defense.
The development of the basis of the system - an anti-aircraft missile - was entrusted to the design bureau (OKB-301 MAP) of Semyon Lavochkin. And the creation of a target guidance radar is for the KB-1 team under the leadership of Pavel Kuksenko and Sergo Beria.
Lavochkin's bureau has started designing two types of missiles: the ground-based B-300 and the air-based G-300. A number of institutes and ministries were involved in the development of the system, which later became known as the S-25 Berkut, making the project very large-scale. At the same time, Lavochkin was required to create a basic rocket (B-300) in just eight months. As the designer admitted later, at that time he worked much more intensively than during the war, which affected his health. However, the deadlines were too unrealistic, and the developers did not cope with the task by the scheduled date. In addition, Plant No. 301, which was commissioned to produce the first prototype rocket, also made a number of serious defects due to haste. The director of the enterprise, Yuli Eskin, despite all his previous achievements, was dismissed (they thought he got off lightly - Lavochkin himself was very busy for him) and the best engineering and technical personnel were sent to the plant by the decision of the government.
In the summer of 1951, autonomous tests of a prototype rocket under the code "205" began. Successful launches alternated with unsuccessful ones, which showed that the product is still very "raw".
From 1951 to April 1953, 8 series of launches took place, where the operation of the rocket's equipment, engines, maneuverability, range and speed were checked. As a result, we came to the conclusion that it's time to move on to the final. The decision on this occasion noted: "The results of the tests indicate the normal operation of all the equipment of the complex "B", which gives grounds to proceed to the final stage of testing - shooting to kill target aircraft."
And on April 26, 1953, the complex (then called B-200-B-300) for the first time shot down a Tu-4 bomber, which served as a target. This event can be called quite historic, since the country received anti-aircraft guided weapons.
On August 10, after the completion of the work and the elimination of deficiencies, the SAM, created on the basis of the B-300, was named "System-25" or in an abbreviated version - S-25.
The deployment of the system in the form of several rings of launchers was started in 1953, and completed in 1958. In its final form, it covered several central regions of the country and served for more than 40 years.
The last units armed with the S-25 were disbanded in the 1990s. They were replaced by S-300 divisions.
Oleg Galitsky
