Неизвестное оружие РККА: собаки и птицы

Abstract

The Red Army command sought to use for military purposes not only scientific discoveries and technical achievements of Soviet inventors and scientists but also trained dogs and pigeons as an effective and cheap means of solving military problems. The decision to use animals and birds was born after rethinking the results of their combat application on the fields of the First World War, where they were mainly employed to maintain communications, search for the wounded, and protect military facilities. In the Red Army, dogs and birds began to be trained in order to expand the capabilities of troops during the organization of communications, supply of ammunition, sanitary evacuation of the wounded from the battlefield, chemical and biological reconnaissance, combating enemy armored vehicles, and carrying out sabotage actions. In a short time, breeding and training kennels and pigeon stations were established in the Soviet Union. Efforts to popularize dog and pigeon breeding among the civilian population were made. The article presents the views of the Red Army command on the use of animals and birds trained to destroy enemy manpower, military equipment, and communications. The author shows unknown aspects of preparing dogs and pigeons for sabotage operations in the prewar period and during the Great Patriotic War at military training grounds and facilities. Some cases of testing the destructive agents intended for use by trained birds and animals are presented. Assuming that the enemy would use similar weapons (dogs and pigeons), the Red Army command took measures to develop means and methods of protecting its equipment and personnel. The article examines the means of protecting military equipment from damage by dogs developed by scientific institutions. The author touches upon the issue of training dogs to organize the sanitary evacuation of wounded soldiers from the battlefield. As the experience of the Great Patriotic War showed, dog sanitary carts turned out to be indispensable in a number of cases and saved tens of thousands of wounded soldiers.