Draft:1964 Avala plane crash

On October 19, 1964, the plane crash on Avala was the crash of the Soviet Ilyushin Il-18, which crashed on Avala, killing all 18 people on board. Among the dead was a seven-member Delegation of the Soviet Army, led by Marshal Sergey Biryuzov, who went to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade. A monument was erected at the site of the tragedy in 1965.

Departure of the delegation
In mid-October 1964, Belgrade was preparing for the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of liberation in World War II in October 1944. A delegation of the Soviet Army, whose units participated in the Belgrade Operation, was invited to this celebration. A seven-member military delegation, consisting of:


 * 1) Sergei Semyonovich Biryuzov, Marshal of the Soviet Union, member of the CPSU, deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR and First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, hero of the Soviet Union
 * 2) Nikolai Romanovich Mironov, Major General, member of the Central Audit Commission of the CPSU, Deputy of the Supreme Soviet and Head of the Department in the CPSU
 * 3) Vladimir Ivanovich Zhdanov, Lieutenant General of tank units, head of the Military Academy of Tank Units, hero of the Soviet Union and people's hero of Yugoslavia
 * 4) Nikolai Nikolaevich Skodonovich, Lieutenant General, Deputy Head of the Military Academy "M. V. Frunze"
 * 5) Ivan Kondratevich Kravtsov, retired general, hero of the Soviet Union
 * 6) Leonid Porfirevich Bocharov, retired major general
 * 7) Grigory Timofeyevich Sheludko, Lieutenant Colonel, Senior Adjutant of the Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR Marshal Sergei Biryuzov

The crew members of the aircraft were:


 * 1) Mikhail Petrovich Sisuyev, major, commander of the aircraft
 * 2) Gennady Andreyevich Belsev, major, second pilot
 * 3) Gennady Nikolaevich Kurishev, third pilot
 * 4) Alexei Vladimirovich Afimov, navigator
 * 5) Vladimir Dmitrievich Ishchenko, Major of Technical Service, engineer
 * 6) Oleg Sergeyevich Molin, captain of the technical service, technician
 * 7) Valentin Vasilyevich Chernenko, Senior Lieutenant, technician
 * 8) Evgeny Vasilyevich Yermanov, Sergeant, signaller
 * 9) Nikolai Andreyevich Žebelev, Senior Petty Officer
 * 10) Valentin Fedorovich Kachalkin, junior sergeant
 * 11) Tamara Sergeyevna Kuzmina, junior sergeant, flight attendant

On October 19, 1964, a delegation of the Soviet Army, accompanied by 11 crew members, departed from Vnukovo Airport in Moscow by an Ilyushin Il-18 aircraft.On departure, the delegation was escorted to the Airport by Marshal Andrei Grechko, Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR; Marshal Ivan Bagramyan, Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR for the background; military liaison marshal Alexei Leonov; marshal of tank units Pavel Polubajarov; Army General Vladimir Ivanov; First Deputy Chief of The General Staff of the Military Armed Units of the Soviet Union; as well as the Ambassador of the SFRY to the USSR Cvijetin Mijatović and the Military Attaché of the JNA to the USSR Colonel Rade Erceg.

Plane crash
The arrival of the Ilyushin Il-18 aircraft with the Soviet delegation at Belgrade Airport in Surcin was originally expected at 9:30, but the arrival time was delayed by about two hours and was expected around 11:45. Around 11:30 a.m., everything was ready for a welcoming ceremony at the Belgrade airport, and an honorary company of JNA members and military music took their places. At the airport there was a welcoming delegation led by Jovan Veselinov, secretary of the CK SK Serbia, and next to him in the welcoming delegation were — Jakov Blažević, a member of the Federal Executive Council; Lieutenant General Rade Hamovic, Chief of the JNA General Staff; Lieutenant General Otmar Kreacic, Deputy State Secretary for National Defence; Dragi Stamenkovic, Secretary of the City Committee of SK Beograd; Branko Pesic, President of the SSRN City Board; Milan Rajacic, Vice President of the Belgrade City Assembly; Životije Savić, Chief of the SUP of Belgrade: Colonel Viktor Tarasevich, military attaché of the USSR to the SFRY and others.. The plane was last seen on an Air Traffic Control radar screen at 11:34 a.m. and then disappeared. From the docking building, it was immediately reported that a short-term flame and then smoke were seen in the distance towards Avala. Immediately after receiving the sad news, the entire delegation headed to Avala, and Branko Pesic informed all competent services — ambulance, militia and firefighters to direct their teams to Avala. Air traffic control last had contact with an aircraft when it was at an altitude of about 5,000 feet.. The crew then sought permission from air traffic control to descend to about 3,000 feet to prepare the landing. Air traffic control approved this, as the highest peak of Avala is located at an altitude of about 1,700 feet. Due to the most likely faulty navigation device, the plane lost altitude and, due to heavy fog, crashed into the slope of Avala, about 200 meters from the Monument to the Unknown Hero. When it fell, the plane tore trees 100 meters wide and fell about 300 meters long and eventually hit a hill and exploded. The plane was completely destroyed, and instead of the fuselage, only a blackened pile of aluminum could be seen.

Shortly after the crash, emergency crews, militias and firefighters arrived at the scene. Since the plane was still on fire, firefighters started shutting down, while there was no work for the ambulance because all 18 passengers – 7 members of the delegation and 11 crew members at the scene were killed. Teams of the Secretariat of Internal Affairs, the Secretariat for National Defense and the Directorate for Civil Air Navigation immediately began conducting inspections at the scene of the accident. As the bodies of all the victims were charred, it was difficult to establish their identities. Only the identity of Marshal Biryuzov was immediately established, who was recognized on the basis of a part of the Marshal's uniform that had been partially burned. During the day from the Ministry of Defense of the USSR received an official list of all members of the delegation and crew members.

Immediately after the news of the death of the Soviet delegation, the Belgrade City Assembly declared two days of mourning on October 19 and cancelled all events and events related to the celebration of the 20th anniversary of liberation. On the same day, decorative decorations were removed from the main streets, with which the city was decorated for the holidays, and a Committee for organizing funerals of the victims was formed, headed by army general Ivan Gošnjak, and its members were also Jovan Veselinov, Mijalko Todorović, Jakov Blažević, Rade Hamović, Dr. President of the SFRY and Secretary General of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito sent telegrams of condolences to Anastas Mikoyan, President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and Leonid Brezhnev, first secretary of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. In addition to Tito, telegrams of condolences were sent by other Yugoslav officials, including Edvard Kardelj, president of the Federal Assembly; Petar Stambolic, President of the Federal Executive Council; Ivan Gošnjak, State Secretary for the People's Defense; Koča Popović, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs; Svetozar Vukmanović, president of the Union of Trade Unions of Yugoslavia; Rade Hamović, Chief of General Staff of the JNA and others.

Liberation Day
The next day, October 20, 1964, on the Day of liberation of Belgrade, a plane landed at the airport in Surčin, carrying two new delegations from the Soviet Union. — a delegation that came to mark the Liberation Day and a delegation for the reception and send-off of mortal remains killed in a plane crash. At the head of the new delegation to mark the Day of Liberation was The Marshal of the Air Force of the Soviet Union Vladimir Alexandrovich Sudets, commander-in-chief of the air defense units and deputy defense minister of the USSR; And besides him in the delegation were army General Afanasy Pavlantyevich Beloborodov, commander of the Moscow military district and Lieutenant General Vasily Ivanovich Davidenko. At the head of the delegation for the reception of mortal remains was Army General Alexei Alekseevich Jepysev, head of the Main Political Directorate of the Soviet Army and Navy; and in addition to him in the delegation were Lieutenant General Nikolai Ivanovich Savivkin, Deputy Head of Department at the CK KPSS and V. A. Likhachev, Deputy Head of the Fifth European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. Both delegations waited at belgrade airport — Jovan Veselinov, secretary of the CK SK Serbia; Jakov Blažević and Janez Vitopnik, members of the Federal Executive Council; Lieutenant General Otmar Kreacic, Deputy State Secretary for National Defence; Dragi Stamenković, Secretary of the City Committee of sk Beograd; Milan Rajacic, Vice President of the Belgrade City Assembly; Branko Pešić, President of the SSRN City Board and others. Immediately after the arrival of the delegation for the reception of mortal remains, accompanied by Dragi Stamenković and JNA Lieutenant General Zdenko Ulepič and Jefta Šašić, went to the scene of the accident at Avala, while the delegation for the celebration went to the Cemetery of the Liberators of Belgrade and the ceremonial session of the City Assembly. Since all events and events on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of liberation were cancelled, the Day of Liberation of Belgrade on October 20, 1964 was marked only by laying wreaths at the Memorial Cemetery of nor fighters at the New Cemetery and the Tomb of People's Heroes at Kalemegdan, in the early morning hours and the Cemetery of the Liberators of Belgrade in 1944, at 11 a.m. On the same day, a solemn session of the City Assembly was held, which instead of the "solemn" had a commemorative character, and the Memorial Park in Jajinci was opened.

The ceremonial session of the Belgrade City Assembly was held at Kolarac People's University and had a commemorative character, and the fallen members of the Soviet delegation were reminded of the seven empty seats in the front rows, which were intended for them. attendees were — President of the Republic Josip Broz Tito, Vice President of the Republic Aleksandar Rankovic, President of the Federal Assembly Edvard Kardelj, President of the Federal Executive Council Petar Stambolic, State Secretary for National Defense General of the Army Ivan Gošnjak, Secretary of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia Jovan Veselinov, President of the Executive Council of SR Serbia Slobodan Penezić Krcun, as well as other prominent federal, republic and city officials, among whom were – Veljko Vlahović, Blažo Jovanović, Milentije Popović, Lazar Koliševski, Koča Popović, Mijalko Todorović, Rodoljub Čolaković, Dragi Stamenković, Branko Pešić and others. The meeting was also attended by members of both Soviet delegations, led by Marshal Sudec and General Yepishev. At the session, they spoke about the People's Liberation Struggle in Belgrade, the liberation of Belgrade and fallen Soviet veterans – Army General Ivan Gosnjak, Marshal Vladimir Sudets and Branko Pesic.

On the occasion of the Day of Liberation of Belgrade, the President of the Republic Josip Broz Tito posthumously decorated the fallen members of the delegation, who were participants in the struggle for the liberation of Belgrade and Yugoslavia, in October 1944:


 * Marshal Biryuzov, who was chief of staff of the Third Ukrainian Front in 1944, was posthumously awarded the Order of the People's Hero
 * General Zhdanov, who was commander of the Fourth Guards Mechanized Corps in 1944, was posthumously awarded the Order of the War Banner.
 * General Skodunovich, who commanded the 68th Rifle Corps in 1944, was posthumously awarded the Order of the People's Army with a laurel wreath
 * General Bocharov, who was a member of the Military Council of the 57th Army in 1944, was posthumously awarded the Order of the People's Army with a laurel wreath
 * General Kravtsov, who commanded the 64th Rifle Corps in 1944, was posthumously awarded the Order of the People's Army with a laurel wreath
 * General Mironov, posthumously awarded the Order of the People's Army with a laurel wreath
 * Lieutenant Colonel Sheludko was posthumously awarded the Order of Military Merit

Also, on the same occasion, the heads of the other two delegations were awarded — Marshal Sudec was awarded the Order of national hero, and General Jepisev was awarded the Order of the War Flag.

Funeral
The remains of members of the Soviet military delegation were exhibited on October 21, 1964, in the period from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the JNA House in Braće Jugovića Street, during which time a large number of Belgrade citizens paid their respects in a parade. . At 1:30 p.m., the remains were taken out in front of the JNA Home building, where Dragi Stamenković and General Alexei Yapisev gave farewell speeches. Then their remains were laid on military trucks and headed for the military airport in Batajnica. Due to the short period for paying tribute to the fallen members of the Soviet military delegation, many citizens of Belgrade, as well as citizens of Zemun, Batajnica and surrounding places took to the streets and along the entire way from the JNA House to the military airport paid tribute to the fallen veterans. The column with the remains moved along the route — Republic Square, Branko's Bridge, Belgrade Road, through Zemun, Batajnica Road and through Batajnica. Throughout this route, about 25 kilometers long, there were a large number of citizens, and the column arrived at the airport around 3:20 p.m.

The next day, October 22, at 8 a.m., the last funeral of the remains was held, which were then loaded onto the plane and taken to Moscow. General Otmar Kreačić and General Alexei Japisev spoke at this last send-off, and the funeral was attended by a delegation consisting of — Ivan Gošnjak, Jovan Veselinov, Zvonko Brkić, Veljko Zeković, Svetislav Stefanović, Jakov Blažević, Zoran Polič, Risto Džunov, Vilko Winterhalter, Dragi Stamenković, Mirko Tepavac, as well as generals – Milan Kuprešanin, Veljko Kovačević, Zdenko Ulepič, Mate Jerković, Kosta Nađ, Ljubo Vučković, Miloje Milojević, Bogdan Oreščanin, Srećko Manola, Đoko Jovanić, Jefto Šašić, Radojica Nenezić and Rajko Tanasković. Together with the remains and the Soviet delegation accompanying them, the Yugoslav delegation consisting of Rade Hamović, Jože Ingolič and Branko Pešić travelled to Moscow for the funeral, joined by Ambassador Cvijetin Mijatović upon arrival in Moscow.

The funeral of the remains of members of the Soviet military delegation was held on October 22, 1964 in Moscow. Marshal Sergei Biryuzov's urn is buried in the Kremlin Necropolis. It was placed in the walls of the Kremlin, behind Lenin's mausoleum, where the highest socio-political figures of the Soviet Union were buried. Marshal Biryuzov's funeral was attended by top leaders of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union — Leonid Brezhnev, Alexei Kosygin, Anastas Mikoyan and others, as well as members of the Yugoslav delegation. The remains of the other members of the delegation, as well as the crew of the aircraft, were buried in a common grave at Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery, where a monument was erected for them. On the pedestal of the common grave there is an inscription — to the Soviet military delegation and the crew of il-18 aircraft tragically killed in the plane disaster in Yugoslavia on October 19, 1964. On the same day, a commemorative rally was held in Moscow on Red Square, at which the first secretary of the City Committee of the CPSU Yegorichev, The Minister of Defense of the USSR Marshal Rodion Malinovsky and General Rade Hamovic spoke.