The KGBs Genius of Illusion

By Craig Harris

The space race started just after World War 11. It was to be an epic battle between the Soviet Union and the United States of America.  World dominance and superiority was the coveted prize.

Espionage was rife. 

Soviet Dimitri Azorov infiltrated into the USA. He mingled into society and influential circles w

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charris Publishing
• Release date: Oct 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9780645379600

Craig Harris

Craig Harris has taught, written about, photographed, and played music for more than four decades. His most recent book is Bluegrass, Newgrass, Old-Time, and Americana Music. He hosts The Craig Harris Show, a weekly radio show out of Washington, DC.

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ONE

Moscow October 1952

Dimitri Azorov was infuriated that he had been summoned to Moscow. He felt sure that he was about to be arrested and placed in a Gulag. Being an agent working for the Ministry for State Security (MGB) was a tough form of employment during the Cold War. In recent times his contacts had not supplied much or accurate information about the upcoming American National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) projects. The overnight train trip from Orenburg, near the Kazakhstan border, to Moscow had added tiredness and little sleep increased his anxiety.

Born of middle-class parents, his father was employed as an electrical engineer at the small power station of his home town. Dimitri grew up getting a good education. His father, Aleksey, felt that after the war it would not be long before English would be the only language used in the world. He undertook self-education in English so he could teach Dimitri and his younger sister, Tatyana. By the time the siblings were in their early teens they were proficient in both oral and written English. For fun, they started to copy British and American accents and for Dimitri this was to become a valuable life skill.

Not overly handsome, however for some reason, his blond hair and blue eyes brought admiration from women of all ages admiring his beauty. Demure in character, he was able to blend into any group of people from politicians, and scientists to factory workers. He gained their trust leading to easy information garnering. Dimitri had just celebrated his 28th birthday on assignment in Saint Petersburg. He always missed his family on family birthdays and festive occasions.

Today, dressed as a business man he was blending into the crowd like many others, on their way to work. He walked the short distance from the Lubyanka Metro Station to the Lubyanka building in the Meshchanksky district and reported to the security station. He could not admit to anyone, even the security staff that he worked for the MGB, as they did. After a short overzealous interrogation from an overly officious security officer he took a seat and waited for Grisha Dragunov to summon him to his office. Dragunov was head of the Security Counter Intelligence Service of the MGB as well as being a director of the prestigious Cosmonautic program. It was through counter espionage that he was successful in forcefully recruiting scientists and gathering resources from the Third Reich after World War II. The knowledge and equipment gained allowed the Soviet space and missile program to prosper during the early 1950s.

Dimitri had heard rumours within various circles that the MGB was about to change into a new organisation and this added to the stress of worrying about his future.

He felt a drop of sweat run down his temple. He wiped it off and told himself to concentrate and not allow his fear to show. Dragunov walked over to his seat and, with a simple gesture, indicated for Dimitri to follow him. He was quite the opposite in appearance to Dimitri. He was in his late forties, quite short with a waistline that showed he enjoyed the finer delicacies of life. His receding hairline joined the greying hair. His slightly puffed rosy cheeks were highlighted by a short pitch-black moustache worn in a style comparable to Adolf Hitler’s.

They entered a large stark office, with little furniture, where he was offered a seat. Grisha asked him about his family. He answered feeling deep concerns for their safety. Grisha followed up with a few general questions about his recent spy activities. This did not feel like an interrogation. Dragunov walked over to the window and, as he looked into the distance, gave Dimitri an order that he was to travel to the US to increase observations. He would head a team of three other spies.

Dimitri’s anxiety had transformed into excitement with the promotion and he dared not ask if a salary adjustment was applicable. Dragunov went on to explain some of the high-level details about the mission and stated that the information was required urgently and they were to leave at the end of the week. For the rest of the day he was briefed by many advisors, all being important and wanting their own particular pieces of information.

The next morning, he again reported to the same security station where the same security officer now had a completely different attitude and was most helpful in escorting him to an office set up for his use. An hour later Dragunov arrived and introduced him to the three agents he was to lead. They were Fedor Pavienko, Oleg Yazov and Ivan Loskutov. Dimitri had worked with Oleg briefly during a small mission in the Uzbekistan region where they were trying to seek out a group of nomadic activists. Typical of the organisation the details of the mission were extremely detailed in many minor areas whilst other important facets had been overlooked. During their planning they were surprised to learn that they would only be in the US for ten days and to attend several meetings set up for them.

They were to pose as company representatives of the Seattle Forging Company trying to get lucrative contracts in the space industry. The foundry was equipped to manufacture a variety of different metal products. Founded in 1920, the Seattle Forging Company was set up in the industrial district of Seattle on the banks of Duwamish waterway. One of its early customers was the nearby Boeing factory to which it supplied castings and metal products. The Company was manufacturing components for the B-47 Stratojet and the B-52 Stratofortress whilst working with Boeing engineers developing new components for the new 367-80 jet airliner. Other big customers included the Vigor Shipyards and Sicks Rainier Brewing Company. The MGB had deep connections with the SFC and it was easy to utilise its promotional literature, metallurgy reports, and forging techniques. The MGB assisted financially, ensuring the SFC’s pricing structure was certain to attract the attention of the scientists and procurement managers. It was vital that Dimitri and his team obtained critical Piping and Instrumentation Drawings of the solid fuel system that would allow an accurate pricing for the forging and development of components.

Ivan Loskutov was given a Belgium passport with the name of Adrien Mertens who had been a production supervisor at the Polish explosives company Dynamitaktiengesellschaft’s plant just outside the small city of Bydgoszcz. His parents had perished in the concentration camps during the war. Fedor Pavienko and Oleg Yazov were given German passports in the names of Franz Kruger and Henrik Schneider as their slight Russian accent could, hopefully, be mistaken for the German dialect. Fedor was a metallurgist having worked at the Volklinger Ironworks. He was experienced with steel castings used for armour protection of military tanks. They had been using steel thicknesses of between 8 mm and 250 mm to stop the penetration of projectiles. Gauging steel thickness was a balancing act as thin steel did not prevent piercing and thick steel was too heavy, reducing speed and manoeuvrability of the tanks. The Germans were trying to develop an alloy of steel that had superior strength and lightness in their tank manufacturing. Oleg, highly qualified, had worked as a process engineer. He had worked in several German plants, starting his career in oil refining and, towards the end of World War II, was one of the lead engineers in the development of the V-2 rocket. His input into the project was the design and manufacture of the launching skids. The aim of his project was to produce a portable launch site that was not damaged by the rocket take-off and was able to be used straightaway.

After an intense week in the MGB, Grisha Dragunov generously gave the new group three days of furlough. Four days later they met at the Moscow-Passazhirskaya Railway Station. They travelled for almost two days. The route took them through Smolensk, Warsaw, Berlin, Cologne and Brussels before boarding the ferry to cross the English Channel. They hoped and prayed that their clever ‘cover’ stories would not be infiltrated when they posed as employees of the SFC. They spent many hours on the train journey practising English and perfecting their background falsehoods. On October 28, 1952 they left London on the HAL Maasdam, crossing the Atlantic to New York. The voyage was scheduled to take seven days but took nine as the ship passed through a huge storm with enormous roller-coaster waves. Many of the passengers suffered mal de mer including both Oleg and Ivan. They saved the ship’s stores as they did not eat for several days.

After arriving in New York, they proceeded to the Capitol Greyhound Bus Terminal in West 50th Street for the trip to Virginia. They received the news that on November 1 1952, the United States announced it had successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb. The test occurred on the Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands as part of Operation Ivy. Several days later, on November 4 a large magnitude 9.0 earthquake occurred in east Russia. The resultant tsunami caused widespread damage on the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands creating a death toll as high as 15,000. Senior members of the MGB believed this was triggered from the American test. As they were in advanced stages of their nuclear program, they did not denounce the US or put retaliation measures in place.

President of Seattle Forging Company, James Corley, along with accountant Henry Wilson Jr., travelled from Seattle and met the Soviets at the Chamberlin Hotel in Hampton, Virginia. Over a convivial dinner they discussed the tactics for the meeting with NACA officials the next day. They had bought several metal samples from Seattle for the NACA scientists to evaluate. They arrived at the Langley Research Center (LaRC) after the short drive from Hampton where they met with Assistant Director of Research, Floyd Ames, who was heading up the appraisal team. Other members present for the day’s meeting were Albert Woods, a professor of metallurgy and Paul Lyons, the contracts and procurement manager.

The meeting progressed well, where the products and capabilities of the SFC were spruiked. Prior to Floyd Ames detailing the scope of works and areas that SFC could quote on, The Russians were given an induction in security. Chief of Security, Chuck Rhinestone, provided a stern briefing on the consequences of ‘being loose’ with confidential documents and drawings. ‘Treason,’ he said, ‘if found guilty, allows you to be the next person to sit on death row.’ He then handed out forms for the SFC group to sign, acknowledging they were briefed and understood the confidentiality clauses.

The SFC group left the LaRC with a bundle of papers. They had mixed emotions. They felt that they had presented well and had impressed the panel. The tender documents and drawings were requesting costings for simple castings for mounting brackets and fixtures. The information gathered was of no significant value in helping the Soviet space program. James Corley commented, ‘We have to be patient and gain their trust before we earn their business. We now have to deliver on our promises.’ Back at the Chamberlin, Dimitri sent a coded message via several other agents to Grisha Dragunov, at the MGB. He stated that all had progressed well and the future looked promising if they remained patient. He requested that they settle into work life in Seattle to foster the illusion.

That evening Dimitri received a coded reply ordering him to stay in Seattle but two others had to return to Moscow. Dimitri was ecstatic with the decision as he was enjoying the life and living conditions in America and was beginning to learn they had different attitudes to life — a far cry from living within the Communist regime. Dimitri discussed the situation with the others stating that Ivan Loskutov and Oleg Yazov were to return home. His reasoning was that Fedor Pavienko being a metallurgist showed his merit during the meeting at Langley. It surprised Dimitri that Oleg tried to bribe him to stay. Dimitri told him, ‘I will pretend that I did not hear your suggestion but will act strongly if I hear anything like this in the future.’

Whilst on the arduous 3000-mile train crossing of America to Seattle, Dimitri and Fedor discussed the new employment situation with James Corley. James and accountant Henry Wilson Jr. had worked out the costing of the new castings by calculating the volume of steel and the other alloys and had discussed the cost of production with Dimitri. Dimitri said, ‘Our tender price will be ten percent below cost price,’ he said, further adding that, ‘SFC will receive a substantial lump sum from Moscow on a successful delivery.’

Although the trial shipment was small, by the time it was carefully packed it had a weight of two tons. It was now a waiting game for the LaRC, to respond to the proposal. During this time, Fedor and Dimitri settled into a small apartment in Fauntleroy where they had a partial view of Lincoln Park and Puget Sound. The daily cycle ride to the Foundry was less than three miles. Fedor settled into the work life with the resident metallurgist whilst Dimitri had a steep learning curve understanding the management of the company.

A week before Christmas, the SFC received a wire requesting a quote on different components with a different composition of steel alloy. Being a small batch, the quote was generated and returned the next day offering a short despatch period. The quote was immediately accepted along with a pleasant surprise. It requested that a delegation return to LaRC for further discussions on high heat alloy components to be used in the new rocket motors. The invitation was for the first week in January of 1953.

All the information relating to the drawings and specifications of the steel alloys were dispatched back to Moscow. The engineers and scientists scrutinised every aspect reporting that the alloy technology was not yet equal to theirs. They were unsure of what the items were, which excited them. They offered their congratulations to the team in Seattle for their early results.

With its impressive display of American grit, the Seattle Forging Company had made a strong impression on Floyd Ames. The trial drawings they had supplied to SFC were not related to any experimental project but were hardware for the new filtration unit in the reticulated water supply at Langley. This gave the metallurgists the ability to take samples from non-load bearing parts and analyse them in the laboratory. In reality, it was a covert test of the quality of the castings and the capacity of SFC to deliver within the time schedule. Other quotes from Quaker City Foundry and Castings and the Detroit Casting Company could not match the quality and the incredibly cheap price SFC had tendered. The only small issue that Floyd had with the SFC was the vast distance between Seattle and Virginia.

SFC president James Corley, Fedor Pavienko and Dimitri Azorov arrived at the security gate of LaRC just before 8 am. The security officer arranged for them to be escorted to a meeting room adjacent to the main lobby of the administration block. When they entered the room, the only familiar faces were Assistant Director of Research Floyd Ames and professor Albert Woods. The visitors were offered tea and coffee and introduced to the other eight persons present.

Floyd opened the meeting stating to the visitors, ‘Welcome, gentlemen and thank you for attending. We were very impressed with your deliverability of the product we requested. We are now in a position to offer you a contract, a part of which will see your metallurgists work closely with ours in developing a range of strong and lightweight alloys.’ He added that the project they were developing was the fuselage for the third evolution of the Douglas Skyrocket designated D-558-3. The fuselage was to be developed using magnesium alloys that could see a significant cut in the weight along with increased strength.

Floyd continued, ‘It is well known that magnesium has significant weight reducing qualities. The side effects were the easy combustibility of the metal and poor galvanic resistance. The use of sheet aluminium as the body and wing covering was proving to be problematic. The proposal is to start experimenting with various percentages of aluminium, zinc, zirconium, nickel and iron. The production should be easy to produce in small batches. Foundry techniques will also be analysed looking at either adding pure oxygen or using inert gases such as argon or nitrogen.’

For the rest of the day the group worked in small teams pouring over drawings, terms and conditions of the contract and required milestones. Albert and Fedor along with another scientist were deep in conversation. It bothered Dimitri that it did not appear to be as amicable as it should. Both had, at times, strained looks on their faces and the body language was negative. He could not understand as he felt James and he and were developing a healthy rapport with Floyd.

Despite this, Dimitri could not believe what he had heard through the day and could barely conceal his excitement. He felt he should receive the prestigious Order of the Red Banner for his outstanding contribution and successful infiltration of the American research facility at Langley. Receiving this award would guarantee a rapid promotion and salary increase.

At the end of the day, Dimitri said to Floyd that it was possible SFC would be willing to expand into more Research and Development. This could result in building a new state of the art facility nearby in Hampton where some of the Langley scientists could work alongside SFC staff in the development of new products. Floyd answered, ‘It is indeed my lucky day as I need a new R&D center and haven’t a capital budget large enough from NACA to build it. I cannot authorise this level of commitment but, as usual, I expect my opinion will be valued.’

Trying hard to contain his excitement, Dimitri glanced at James who gave a slight nod. Dimitri stated, ‘I did not expect a reply like this but the SFC would be proud to build this facility and would value your input into the design and functionality of the facility.’

It was agreed that both parties needed to look at various approvals and funding requirements before a contract could be finalised. As a parting gesture Floyd stated, ‘We need this facility to be fast-tracked as we need to beat the Ruskies!’ Dimitri was slightly taken aback at the slur against his country but realised his cover was working well.

That night over dinner Dimitri asked Fedor what the issue was between the American scientist and himself. Fedor replied, ‘I do not know. I was asking lots of questions and Albert asked "Are you a commie asking all these questions?’ and from that point, things seemed a little strained. James tried to reassure both Fedor and Dimitri that it was probably a bit of American humour.

Next day they arrived at the railway station, bright and early, for the long journey back to Seattle. The morning was clear, brisk and a chilly 25 degrees with a hoar frost covering the grasses and forming frozen droplets of ice on fence wires that glistened in the early sunlight.

For the next two days on the train they discussed the new alloy testing regime, the new and exciting facility at Hampton and the funding that Dimitri was going to acquire from the MGB. Dimitri wired a précis of the recent successful trip to Hampton alerting the MGB of his recent success. He suggested that the Soviets could control their own research facility, albeit located in the USA. After the initial set up contribution of about two million dollars, the proposed R&D facility would be manned by the best scientists in the world and Russia would benefit from the technology at no cost. They would have the ability to see the results of various experiments and then tamper with the reports preventing the US from developing components. He added that they would need to relocate a few senior scientists to work at Hampton.

All the information relating to the drawings and specifications of the steel alloys were dispatched back to Moscow. The engineers and scientists scrutinised every aspect reporting the alloy technology was not yet equal to theirs. They were unsure of what the castings were meant for, which excited them. They offered their congratulations to the team in Seattle for their early results.

In the meantime, Floyd Ames travelled to Washington DC to lobby for the proposed R&D center. He had not told SFC he wanted a joint venture. He wanted a greater say, and control of the facility. He met with the Director of NACA, Blake Riggs, along with Jesse P. Wolcott, the Chairman of the Banking and Currency Joint Committee, seeking a capital grant of one and a half million dollars.

As the new 83rd Congress had only just formed, Floyd was asked to be patient as he may need to wait a few months before the request would be debated in Congress. Jesse P. Wolcott was very sympathetic to the concept and stated he would begin lobbying congressmen and, if an opportunity arose, he would mention it to president-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower. General Eisenhower had been the Supreme Allied Commander until his retirement from the military to enter politics. It was anticipated he was likely to be interested in the grant application.

The US and allied forces were at war in Korea, with no sight in end. This provided justification to accelerate the development of missiles, rockets and supersonic aircraft. In recent times, the war was festering into a stalemate situation with neither side gaining much territory. The US had refrained from using nuclear weapons. The Soviets feared the large US arsenal of atomic weapons and the speed at which they could be deployed into the Soviet heartland.

TWO

It took several months for the application to be tabled in Congress. Simultaneously, from an unknown source, President Eisenhower became aware of the proposal. Blake Riggs, alone, was called to the Oval Office to present the concept. Given fifteen minutes to meet with the President to ‘sell’ his idea was daunting. He felt time was short to put forward all the information. He had to break down the information into a seven-minute speech that allowed eight minutes for questions and discussion.

Washington DC provided a typical March morning, sunny and fine, with the temperature climbing from an overnight in the low forties. Blake arrived early for his appointment at the White House. After the arrival formalities, he was ushered into the office of one of the personal secretaries and offered a seat. He pulled out his briefing papers for one last rehearsal when Dwight D Eisenhower opened the door from the Oval office and walked over to him with an outstretched hand, ‘Welcome to the White House Blake, come on in.’

Blake started his spiel but was soon interrupted by a question that led to discussion. Back on track, he continued with the proposal and Eisenhower again posed several questions. Feeling frustrated that his fifteen minutes would elapse before he finished with the proposal, Blake said ‘With all due respect, Sir, I feel I am not going to finish in my allotted time and ....’

Eisenhower interrupted, ‘I am extremely interested, and it will take as long as it does and you need to relax.’ They spent the next forty minutes perusing the proposal where Eisenhower was extremely impressed and offered his complete assistance. ‘However my support is conditional,’ Eisenhower added sternly. ‘The Research Center is to be named the Blake Riggs Rocket Research Center.’ Blake was starting to protest as Eisenhower finished, ‘You deserve this as recognition for your time and effort with the NACA and my answer is final and I will announce it – end of story.’ It was decided to keep the meeting quiet and the announcement would be made at a meeting the President would call in the near future. They shook hands, whereupon Blake departed, feeling elated at the success of this proposal and a little chuffed at his name being on the front gate of the new Center.

Two weeks later Eisenhower summoned a meeting that included Jesse P. Wolcott, senior members of the Joints of Staff, his close advisers, and Blake Riggs. President Eisenhower started, ‘I am announcing that the Blake Riggs Rocket Research Center is going to be built as part of Langley.’ He then outlined the proposal and asked the group for comments. It was considered a good idea to partner with SFC as the impression would show it was a good opportunity for private enterprise. Eisenhower ordered, ‘The facility needs security as tight as a fish’s arse – water tight’! Eisenhower deferred to his senior advisor and asked him to draft an Executive Order that he would immediately sign. He then stated to the group that, ‘This is of upmost importance and all efforts are required to fasttrack the building and I wish to cut the ribbon by year’s end.’

In the meantime SFC had been lobbying to acquire capital out of Russia to build the entire facility. This was proving to be quite a challenge. Grisha Dragunov was enthusiastic and motivated with the concept as he visualised further promotions for himself. He actively lobbied his immediate superiors with a diverse range of support. Decisionmaking within Russia was in disarray as the Premier of the Soviet