On September 25, 1945, the famous parachute jump from the stratosphere of the Soviet test pilot Vasily Romanyuk took place.

He set a new world record for both the height of 13,108.5 m and the duration of the free fall.

Romanyuk was born on January 30, 1910 in the Ukrainian village of Drabov.

Aviation captivated him already in his childhood.

He recalled that in the magazine "Niva", published until 1918, he was most attracted by photographs of famous aviators, which he carefully kept.

However, first, the future tester entered the Ordzhonikidze Infantry School, which he graduated in 1931.

And already three years later he graduated from the Orenburg military school of pilot-observers.

According to Romanyuk himself, the newspapers at that time were full of reports about new world records in parachutism - a discipline that was just emerging in the USSR.

It was they who forced the young man to change his plans and go to the parachute service instructor courses.

But even then, such flights seemed to him something extremely unusual, something that only a select few are capable of.

“It's no surprise that there was a lot of talk among our cadets about skydiving and parachutists.

The latter seemed to us to be people of heroic strength and iron will.

I have asked myself more than once whether such an ordinary guy like me can make a parachute jump, ”Romanyuk recalled in his autobiography“ Notes of a Test Parachutist ”.

The future record holder decided to make a jump at all costs, although the first meeting with a "real" parachutist disappointed him.

The military not only turned out to be not at all a heroic physique, but also said that such an occupation was available to almost any person.

Romanyuk's first jump took place in 1934.

After that, he took up experimental skydiving, including those aimed at developing strategies for flying in emergency situations.

The testers left the plane at low altitude or flying at extreme high speeds, jumped in the dark and descended into the water.

In addition, in parallel, improved models of equipment were developed, which also had to be tested in practice.

All this knowledge was actively used by the Soviet troops during the Great Patriotic War.

During the war period, Vasily continued to engage in experimental jumps, and also oversaw the training of the Red Army personnel.

In total, he trained over 30 thousand fighters.

After the end of the war, the tester did not abandon parachuting and continued to work as an instructor, as well as to perform experimental jumps, including those that included a prolonged free fall without opening the canopy.

Gradually, he began to think about making a leap from the stratosphere.

He was not even deterred by the fact that such experiments sometimes ended in tragedy.

On September 25, 1945, after a long training under the supervision of experienced specialists, Romanyuk ascended into the sky to the level of the stratosphere, starting at an altitude of 11 km above the Earth's surface.

Of course, the sensations of a person at such a height are significantly different from what people feel on board passenger liners.

The inconvenience is caused not only by extremely low temperatures, but also by the fact that too much energy is spent on maintaining vital activity.

Having reached a record mark of 13 108.5 m, Romanyuk jumped out of the plane according to a previously developed scheme.

Here, special attention should be paid to his equipment.

In those years, the Soviet aviation did not have spacesuits, so the athlete had to smear himself with fat and put on an insulated suit with high fur boots.

The first moments of the fall did not go according to plan.

The athlete could not find a "support" that would help him to take the position necessary for the fall, and began to somersault in the air.

By his own admission, a feeling of helplessness seized him for a moment.

“Falling like a meteor in an icy, almost airless space, illuminated by the rays of an unbearably bright sun, I, in fact, was an explorer of an area that was completely unknown to aerial athletes.

After all, not a single skydiver in the world has performed a free fall from such a height! "

- recalled Romanyuk.

However, an experienced tester pulled himself together and realized that it was in thin air.

Then he decided not to spend a lot of energy on stabilization and continued his free fall, "lying" on his back.

The only inconvenience at that time was that my ears were blocked from the pressure.

At an altitude of about six to seven kilometers, he overcame the cloud zone, turned over on his face and began to observe the approaching surface of the earth.

At an altitude of one kilometer, he opened his parachute and smoothly sank onto solid ground.

“A small glade opens up among the pointed peaks of fir trees and golden birches.

I descend onto it.

For a few moments I lie motionless, with pleasure feeling the earth under me, so solid, reliable and infinitely dear, ”Romaniuk described the landing.

Thus, the athlete's free fall lasted 167 seconds, which became a new world record.

During this time, he covered a distance of 12 141 m. 12 years later, the athlete set another achievement by jumping from a height of 13 400 m.

In total, he made 3475 jumps and set 18 world records, including in the group jump from a height of 11 200 m.

Romanyuk was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

He became the first test parachutist to receive this honor. 

For 75 years, technology has gone far ahead, today the record height of a parachute jump is 41 km. She submitted to 57-year-old American Alan Eustace on October 25, 2014. Nevertheless, the achievement of Romanyuk, nicknamed the # 1 Parachutist in aviation circles, will forever remain in the history of sports.