Popularization of Scientific and Technical Knowledge, Aviation, Military and Political Issues Conceptualized in the Literary Works of Nikolai Nikolaevich Shpanov (1896-1961)

Bocharov Aleksei Alekseevich PhD in History Associate Professor, The Department of Social Sciences, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University 194064, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Politechnicheskaya str., 29 bocharov_aa@spbstu.ru Mikhailov Andrei Aleksandrovich Doctor of History Professor, Researcher, Research Department (Military History of the North-Western Region of the Russian Federation), Research Institute (Military History) of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Federation Armed Forces 191055, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Dvortsovaya Pl., 10 dragun66@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Fisheva Anastasiya Aleksandrovna PhD in History Associate Professor, The Department of State and Municipal Administration, The North-West Institute of Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration 199178, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Sredny prospekt, 57/43 ana-f@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

The Soviet science fiction writer, publicist and popularizer of scientific knowledge Nikolai Nikolaevich Shpanov (1896-1961) left a very extensive creative legacy, the assessments of which by literary critics are contradictory ^[1]. In the 1930s and 40s, N.N. Shpanov enjoyed great popularity, but then the enthusiastic reviews of critics and readers were replaced by negative assessments. The writer gained a reputation as the author of official works, the subject matter of which was dictated by the requirements of state ideology.

However, regardless of literary assessments, the works of N.N. Shpanov deserve attention from the point of view of the history of science and technology, as well as public consciousness in the Soviet Union in the 1920-50s. The writer, being a professional pilot, was well versed in aviation, closely followed its novelties, participated in several air expeditions himself. In his popular science and fiction works, many important trends in the development of technical thought, projects (including unrealized ones) of the first half of the twentieth century associated with them public hopes and anxieties found a vivid, often very original reflection.

Nikolai Shpanov was born in the city of Nikolsk-Ussuriysky (now Ussuriysk), in the family of a railway employee ^{[2, 3]}. After graduating from the gymnasium in Vladivostok, Shpanov entered the shipbuilding faculty of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute and completed two of its courses ^[4]. During the First World War, he joined the army, studied at the accelerated courses of the Nikolaev Engineering School. In 1916 he graduated from the Officers' Theoretical Aviation Courses at the Petrograd Polytechnic Institute and the Officers' Aeronautical School in Gatchina. As an observer pilot, N.N. Shpanov participated in military operations on the Southwestern Front, in 1917 he was shell-shocked.

In 1918, N. Shpanov voluntarily joined the Red Army, during the Civil War he served in engineering and aviation units. In 1921, he was appointed head of the flight and technical part of the Aerophotogrammetric Research and Experimental Institute of the Red Air Fleet of the Republic.

In 1923, N.N. Shpanov began working in the Society of Friends of the Air Fleet (ODVF) and took the position of head of the editorial office of the magazine "Airplane". In January 1925, he published a science fiction story "Ice and Wings" on the pages of this magazine ^[5]. The aspiring writer spoke under the pseudonym "K. Kraspink", which stood for "Kolya - Red Pinkerton". This pseudonym clearly contained a reference to N.I. Bukharin's speech at the V All-Russian Congress of the RKSM in 1922, in which a call was made to provide the Soviet youth with fascinating books with "correct" ideological assessments, to create images of "red pinkertons" in contrast to the "bourgeois" literature about detective Nat Pinkerton.

At the beginning of the story "Ice and Wings" vividly describes the flight over the Arctic territories of the giant passenger airship "RA-34", following from Montreal to London ^{[5, p. 18]}. Among the passengers of the airship are Soviet envoy Stepan Krasnykh, whose image is clearly inspired by the prominent Soviet figure L.B. Krasin, and pilot Andrei Morozov. They are closely following the information about the voyage of the Soviet cargo steamer Krasnaya Zvezda, which belongs to the Soviet-British joint stock company and is capable of transporting the heaviest cargo.

Further, as dictated by the laws of the adventure genre, villains appear in the story - opponents of cooperation between the USSR and the USA. A group of American businessmen sends a saboteur to the Soviet polar station, who must give a false radio telegram about the death of the Red Star and thereby disrupt the planned contracts. However, the station's commander manages to neutralize the enemy agent at the cost of his own life. The story ends with a scene of an air battle of a Soviet plane with an airplane that delivered a saboteur to the station. The Soviet crew wins and shoots down the enemy. An American mechanic is captured, who is found to have a membership card of the fascist party.

The story was undoubtedly written for the "spite of the day", since at that time the Soviet Union was quite actively trying to establish economic cooperation with the United States.

In addition, in 1924, the USSR actively discussed the project of the Transarctic air route, developed by the German engineer G. Bruns (1889-1955). Articles about him, including those written by prominent scientists, have been published by many scientific and popular science journals ^{[6, 7, 8]}. The flight of the airship over the Arctic in Shpanov's story was clearly reminiscent of this project.

In the same 1925, the popular magazine "World Pathfinder" published a science fiction story by N.N. Shpanov "Mysterious Explosion", also related to aviation ^[9]. According to the plot, the Polish military prepared the bombing of Moscow with the help of a new powerful six-engine biplane. However, a crew member, a supporter of the Soviet government and the Bolsheviks, was able to prevent the attack at the cost of his own life. It is worth noting that the story, uncomplicated in its plot, is distinguished by a detailed and vivid description of the design, flight and piloting of an airplane.

Along with his works of art, N.N. Shpanov in 1925 published popular science brochures "Airplane as a means of communication" ^[10] and "What the air promises us" ^[11]. These works were distinguished by a bright and accessible presentation of the material, they were able to arouse interest in aviation technology even from an unprepared reader. In the same year, in the magazine "Airplane", he published an essay "Over night Moscow", in which he described his impressions of two night flights made together with military pilot V.M. Remezyuk ^[12]. The same journal published a note by N.N. Shpanov about the importance of meteorological research for aviation ^[13].

At the beginning of 1926, Shpanov published an article "Threat from the air" in the magazine "Young Guard", it was devoted to the use of aviation for military purposes ^[14].

In May of the same year, the transarctic flight of the airship "Norway" took place from Svalbard to Alaska through the North Pole under the control of R. Amundsen and U. Nobile. Before being sent to Svalbard, the airship made an additional stop on the territory of the USSR in Gatchina. The Soviet press covered the expedition in detail and N. Shpanov could not ignore it in silence. Already at the end of May, he published an article in the magazine "Airplane" in which he talked about the purpose of the flight of the airship "Norway" ^[15]. Shpanov reminded readers about the Bruns project, stressed that laying an air route through the Arctic would significantly strengthen the economic and political positions of the country that would implement it. The writer associated the expedition of Amundsen and Nobil precisely with the desire to find points for basing airships.

N. Shpanov's reasoning fully corresponded to the views of many Soviet scientists, military and statesmen of that time ^[16]. In the mid-1920s, the Arctic states actively delimited their possessions, and the prospect of laying air routes over them played the role of a strong catalyst in this process ^[17].

In September 1926, N.N. Shpanov took part in 2 All-Union aeronautical competitions. Together with M.N. Kanishchev (a teacher at the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy), he flew on the Soyuz Aviakhim of the USSR balloon. According to the plan, the balloonists had to start from Moscow and reach Ust-Sysolsk. (now Syktyvkar). However, the balloon got caught in a strong wind, Shpanov and Kanishchev had to make an emergency landing in the deserted forests between Solvychegodsky, Yarensky and Ust-Sysolsky. Then for five days they walked to places inhabited by people.

N.N. Shpanov reflected his flight and subsequent events in the essay "Lost in the Woods. Adventures of Russian balloonists" ^[18] and the brochure "Our flight into the wilds of the forest" ^[19]. The preface to the brochure was written by I.A. Feldman (later the head of the "Dirigiblestroy"), who proved the great importance of balloons for scientific research. 

In 1927, N.N. Shpanov became an employee of the newly created special aviation magazine "Technology of the Air Fleet", took the position of technical editor in it and headed the department "Scientific and Technical Reviews and scientific and Technical Chronicle". The responsible editor of this publication was N.M. Kharlamov (later head of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute), the editorial board included prominent designers V.L. Alexandrov, N.R. Briling, V.Y. Gittis, etc.

N. Shpanov successfully combined his editorial work with journalism and educational activities. In 1927-1928, at the Osoaviakhim publishing house, he published at least six brochures on the use of aviation and aeronautics for military and peaceful purposes ^[20], on the designs of aircraft engines ^[21], etc. At the same time, Shpanov made essays and articles about aviation in the magazines "Krasnaya Niva", "Aviation and Chemistry", "Airplane". The writer has also prepared several publications (brochures and articles) on a topic related to aviation: about aerial sleds and gliders ^{[22, 23, 24, 25]}.

Together with V.A. Zarzar and I.F. Glukhov, Shpanov developed programs and methodological manuals for Osoaviakhim circles ^[26]. He continued in 1926-1927 also publishing works of fiction in the adventure and fantasy genres, and, as a rule, they were associated with aviation.

In the issue of the magazine "Airplane", where an article about the flight of "Norway" was published, Punks (under the pseudonym "K. Kraspink") published the story "The Mystery of the Arctic" ^[27]. This work was also dedicated to the air expedition of R. Amundsen and U. Nobile, but along with real events included elements of fiction. The main (fictional) hero Olaf Olsen plunged directly from the airship in a special "basket" into a giant whirlpool (in the spirit of E. Poe's story "The Overthrow to Malmstrom"). In the water funnel, he saw the wreckage of ships with the inscriptions "Terror" and "Jeannette" - the traces of the lost polar expeditions of J. Franklin and J. Delonga. At the end of the story, however, it turned out that Olsen had only dreamed of descending into the whirlpool. 

At the beginning of 1926, the magazine "Smena" published a story by N.N. Shpanov "Schwartz" about the collision of brothers, red and white pilots, during the Civil War ^[28]. In the magazine "Red Panorama", Punks published the story "Under the yellow Sky" ^[29]. This time the events unfolded in the Far East, the main character was the White Guard pilot von Focht, who settled in Harbin. The plot revolved around emigrants' attempts to harm the Soviet Union and its Chinese supporters.

In 1927, the World Pathfinder magazine published Shpanov's story "The Price of a Record", about the flight of a balloon ^[30].

Sometimes the writer did not shy away from self-plagiarism. So, in the same 1927, he published in the magazine "Around the World" (Leningrad, publishing house "Krasnaya Gazeta) the story "Anke's Note" ^[31], which was a shallow revision of the story "Mysterious Explosion" (1925). Readers and editors of the magazine, however, quickly established the similarity of the two publications, and Punks received a sharp reprimand ^[32].

With a penchant for adventurous (and not always original) plots, poster images of characters, Punks, as a rule, vividly described airplanes, gave the reader a variety of information about aviation technology. At the same time, the exact technical characteristics were obtained both by real air vehicles (for example, the Breguet-19 light bomber in the story "Under the Yellow Sky" ^[33]) and fictional ones ("Bleriot-147" in the story "Anke's Note").

In the summer of 1928, N. Shpanov, as a correspondent of the newspaper Izvestia, took part in the expedition of the icebreaker Krasin in order to rescue the crew of the airship Italy, which had an accident in the sky over the Arctic Ocean. These events gave him material for many publications.

In the "hot pursuit" of the voyage at the end of 1928, Shpanov published a series of essays in the magazines "World Pathfinder" ^{[34, 35]}. They describe in detail the campaign of the Krasin from Leningrad to Svalbard and the search for the crew of the airship, painted colorful images of the expedition participants, correspondents of Soviet and foreign newspapers and magazines. Shpanov was one of the first to talk with the rescued Italian, the navigator of the airship F. Zappi and heard from him a story about the death of the "Italy", the misadventures of her team on the ice floe, the attempt of F. Zappi, A. Mariano and F. Malmgren reach Svalbard. The author paid special attention to the Soviet pilot B.G. Chukhnovsky (1898-1975), his flight on an airplane, selfless behavior during the rescue of Italian aeronauts.

In the same year, Shpanov published an essay about the Krasin campaign in the Ogonyok magazine ^[36], in the Moscow magazine "Around the World" - a story dedicated to the participation in the events of the Swedish pilot E. Lundborg ^[37].

In 1929, the publishing house "Molodaya Gvardiya" published a collection of Shpanov's essays "Into the Ice for "Italy"" ^[38]. The introductory article to this publication was written by B.G. Chukhnovsky ^{[38, pp. 9-11]}. N. Shpanov also published three brochures on polar research addressed to children (1929-1930). The first, entitled "To the Land of eternal Ice" ^[39], told about the geography and nature of the Arctic, its study, with special emphasis on the use of aeronautics and aviation for Arctic research. In conclusion, he wrote: "You need to know every piece of land that can serve as a station for the great northern air route. It is necessary to study the climate of the Arctic Ocean in order to know when and in which direction it is possible to fly over it" ^{[39, p. 20]}. Two other pamphlets issued by different publishers were dedicated to the Krasin expedition to rescue the crew of the Italia ^{[40, 41]}.

At the end of 1929, N. Shpanov described in the pages of the World Pathfinder magazine a notable achievement of the USSR aviation – the flight from Moscow to New York of a large passenger aircraft "ANT-24 Country of the Soviets" ^[42].

He himself, at this time, also took part in expeditions, though not aviation ones. In 1929, Shpanov, together with cinematographer V.I. Bluvstein, visited Kolguev Island and Novaya Zemlya on a sailboat, got acquainted with the nature of the Arctic region and the life of the Nenets. The journey gave the writer the material for the book of essays "The Edge of the Earth" (1930) ^[43].

In 1930, Shpanov happened to become a participant in a car race in the Ussuri Region, organized by the Central Council of the Avtodor Society. The expedition on three Ford passenger cars was supposed to make a "reconnaissance" of future work on the construction of a full-fledged road network in the Far East. The run lasted only a few days and was interrupted due to difficult weather conditions. The writer's travel impressions were reflected in a small essay published in the appendix to the magazine "Behind the Wheel" ^[44].

In addition, in 1930, Shpanov achieved notable success in the preparation of educational literature. He published the textbook "Fundamentals of Air Communications", which the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR recommended for use in higher technical educational institutions ^[45]. In the preparation of the publication, N. Shpanov was assisted by prominent aviation experts G.S. Frenkel and V.L. Alexandrov.

In the textbook, N. Shpanov emphasized the extreme importance for the USSR of creating numerous air routes (airship and airplane). He wrote: "The USSR played the role of the holder of the main European-Asian transit routes, the only ones ensuring the proper development of air communications for more than half of the globe. Our task is to use this provision most correctly" ^{[45, C. 353]}.

Interestingly, comparing the prospects of using airplanes and airships as air transport, Shpanov noted many advantages of the latter. Among other things, he pointed out the possibility of creating airship routes without expensive airfields. "Modern aeronautical technology," the textbook says, already provides an opportunity to completely abandon the construction of any airfields and permanent shelters at those points where the airship has a short stay. There it is quite possible now to confine ourselves to the creation of so-called mooring masts" ^{[45, p. 194]}. In the same 1930, Shpanov published a popular scientific brochure "The Airship at war" ^[46].

In November 1931, N.N. Shpanov took part in the preparation of the scientific reference publication "Modern Aircraft engines". Its co-authors were engineers M.L. Dzigan and L.G. Sheremetev ^[47]. In 1933, Shpanov's work on the development of the aviation industry in the USSR was published ^[48].

In his artistic works, N. Shpanov continued to use the theme of aviation and aeronautics in one way or another. The plots were, as a rule, adventurous, the author described in the most detail everything that was connected with the design of airplanes and airships, aerobatics, air battles, etc.

In 1929, Shpanov's story "Sensational Information" appeared in the Moscow magazine "Around the World" ^[49]. It tells the story of an American pilot who is forced by his employers to fly an airplane, being ill, in order to deliver documents to the editorial office of the magazine.

In the story "The Number will not pass", published in 1930 by the magazine "Struggle of the Worlds", Shpanov again turns to the topic of provocations of Poland against the USSR ^[50]. According to his story, the Polish military deceives their pilot on a Soviet plane to bomb a Polish airfield in order to accuse the USSR of aggression.

The fantastic story "The Land of Inaccessibility" (1930) ^[51] and its revised version "Ice and Tailcoats" (1932) ^[52] are devoted to the struggle of the USA, Norway and Germany for coal deposits and air routes in the Arctic. All these works contain a lot of information about technology, especially aviation. For example, in the story "Ice and Tailcoats", Americans deliver geologists to the North Pole on a high-speed Penguin plane, and their Norwegian competitors organize an expedition on a German-built airship "Count Tsepellin" with Maybach engines ^{[52, C. 103]}. It is worth noting that in July 1931, the real German airship "Count Tsepellin" (LZ-127) flew over the Soviet Arctic territories. Punks could have seen him during the stops in Moscow and Leningrad.

In the story "Ice and Tailcoats" N. Shpanov used an interesting technique. Many characters have names that are only slightly modified names of real, modern readers, scientists, travelers, pilots. The airship is operated by Fridtjof Hansen, in whom it is not difficult to recognize the outstanding Norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930). The captain of the submarine is Hubert Bilkins – this is Hubert Wilkins (1888-1958), a British traveler who really tried to make his way to the Arctic on the Nautilus submarine. One of the main characters of the story, Associate Professor Suhl, is the Norwegian geologist Adolf Gul (1879-1964). Punks met him on the icebreaker Krasin.

In 1930 and 1931 . Shpanov published collections of short stories "The Mystery of the Arctic" ^[53] and "Arctic Foxes" ^[54], which included works from different years, mainly also about aviation.

In the mid– second half of the 1930s, the history of science became the leading topic in the work of N.N. Shpanov for some time. He has published several books about famous scientists and inventors. Among them: "The Birth of the motor" (about physicist D. Papin, engineers J.J. Lenoir and N.A. Otto) ^[55]. "The Story of a great loser" (about D. Papen) ^[56], "James Watt" ^[57].

Meanwhile, both in the USSR and abroad in the 1930s, there was a special demand for such a specific genre as military fiction. This was facilitated by the aggravation of the international situation, the growth of armies, and the rapid development of military equipment. Many writers, publicists, film directors, inspired by the ideas of the Italian military theorist J. Douai was given primacy in the wars of the future of aviation ^[58].

In 1932 and 1933, a book by the German military pilot and writer Robert Knauss (Gelders) "The Air War of 1936" was published in the USSR. The destruction of Paris." At the same time, the second edition of this book was provided with a preface by A. Lapchinsky ^[59]. The book aroused great interest of readers and became the subject of discussions ^[60].

Sensitive to changes in literary tastes and public moods, N.N. Shpanov did not stay away from new trends. In 1936, he began publishing a novella (sometimes called a novel) "Twelve Hours of War" in the press. According to the plot, a certain Western power – the Fifth Empire, clearly endowed with the features of Germany, creates military and aviation bases on the territory of the Commonwealth (Poland is easily guessed behind it). Relying on these bases, the Empire attacks the USSR. The Soviet long-range bomber aircraft in response strikes a crushing blow at the airfields and industrial centers of the aggressor. Thanks to its successes, the Red Army breaks through the enemy front, tanks, infantry and cavalry going on the attack overturn the demoralized imperial troops.

The first fragment ("The Death of Safar") it was printed on August 18, 1936 (Aviation Day). It tells how the brave Soviet pilot Safar, sacrificing himself, destroys an enemy underground airfield ^[61]. In the second episode, we are talking about the battle of a Soviet fighter with an enemy airship ^[62].

The materials of the story formed the basis for the script of the movie "Deep Raid" (directed by P.P. Malakhov, Mostekhfilm film Studio), which was released in early 1938. The film has many scenes of aerial battles, shows an enemy airship, anti-aircraft guns, Soviet fighter planes and bombers, a staff plane, etc. The famous pilot A.M. Rafalovich (1898-1971) acted as a consultant for the film.

The filmmakers have already given the enemy a very definite, unambiguous resemblance to Germany. The commander of the Imperial Air Fleet (actor G.V. Muzalevsky) even looks like G. Goering.

The film provoked positive responses. For example, B. Volgin in the newspaper "Cinema" praised him for his patriotic ideas and vivid depiction of the power of Soviet aviation ^[63]. Pravda published a review written by Z. Golovin ^[64]. The author also noted the images of Soviet pilots from the merits, but blamed the creators of the film for the disdainful attitude towards the enemy, who is shown "sometimes weak and excessively confused" ^{[64, p. 6]}.

The success of the film inspired N.N. Shpanov to prepare and publish the full text of the story. However, publishers and editors met the text coldly, repeatedly rejected it ^[65].

The author was actively supported by the chairman of the defense commission of the Union of Soviet Writers, the famous playwright and editor-in-chief of Znamya Vsevolod Vishnevsky (1900-1951) ^[66]. Defending N.N. Shpanov from criticism, he simultaneously gave the writer many recommendations. Among other things, V. Vishnevsky advised to abandon the conditionally "Western" features in the image of the enemy, to write directly about the upcoming war with Germany.  A prominent military theorist and historian, executive editor of the journal "Technique-Youth" E.A. Boltin also took part in the discussion of Shpanov's text. N. Shpanov listened to most of the recommendations of Vishnevsky and Boltin.

In January 1939, the Znamya magazine published a revised text by N.N. Shpanov entitled "The First Blow. The story of the future war" ^[67]. Soon the story was published by four well - known and influential publishing houses of the USSR: "Military Publishing House of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR" ^[68], "Soviet Writer", "Goslitizdat", "Publishing House of Children's literature" ^[69].

In the "First Strike", the enemy of the USSR is not any fictional country, namely Germany. According to the plot, it is her aggressive policy, claims on the territories of Alsace and Lorraine, on the French colonies, that becomes the detonator of the conflict. The USSR expresses its readiness to help France and Germany decides to attack it. 

The story is literally overflowing with technical information mainly about military aviation. The reader, for example, is invited to delve into the prospects of the struggle between fighters and bombers. One of the main characters, the pilot Kosykh, argues: "I think that modern flight speeds have given the high-speed bomber a certain advantage over the fighter. After all, a bomber is not going to attack a fighter. The fighter wants to attack, so he must maneuver. Let the fighter on the opposite course attack the bomber. And let the bomber change course at least ten degrees at the same time. The fighter will immediately lose the opportunity to use the previous tip" ^{[68, p. 4]}. Such a monologue reflected real discussions about the role of bomber aviation at that time ^[70].

The story presents numerous examples of the technique of the future, created by the author's imagination on the basis of real prototypes. There are such types of aircraft as "high-altitude long-range reconnaissance", "high-speed long-range bomber". The enemy is trying to stop the Soviet squadrons with the help of small "mosquito" fighters that take off with the help of "launch rockets". The German airship bomber, which appeared in the film "Deep Raid", reappears on the pages of the story. In 1939, such an aircraft looked less convincing than in the recent past: the crash of the passenger airship Hindenburg (1937) greatly undermined the interest of specialists and society in aeronautics. However, N. Shpanov emphasizes: this is a stratospheric aircraft ^{[68, p. 105]} and its strength lies in its ability to climb to a height unattainable for most aircraft.

Along with fictional machines, the story mentions aircraft that were actually in service with Germany at that time: Messerschmitts, Henschels, Arado fighters ^{[68, p. 87]}.

The names and descriptions of the main characters of the story – Soviet pilots have changed little during the processing of the text. One of the central characters was the brave Lieutenant Safar, a fanatical supporter of the development of bomber aviation. N. Shpanov very vividly describes how Soviet bombers destroy German airfields and military factories. He also mentions the successful actions of other branches of the armed forces. Even the Soviet cavalry "appears" in the text, the landing of the airborne troops is described. But it is the bombers who decide the outcome of the struggle. 

On February 20, 1939, a positive review of the publication of N. Shpanov's story in the Znamya magazine, prepared by I. Gorelik, was published in the Literary Gazette ^[71]. The reviewer noted the need for works about the coming war, praised the author for his interest in aviation. Among the shortcomings, Gorelik noted that Shpanov underestimated the enemy and did not pay enough attention to the interaction of aviation with other branches of the armed forces. The review said: "After all, aviation in general, and the Soviet one in particular, is strong in its interconnection with other types of weapons. In the "First Strike" it acts almost in isolation" ^[71].

A different negative assessment was given to the work of N.N. Shpanov in April 1939 in the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda by A. Krivinov (perhaps this is the pseudonym of the famous journalist A. Y. Krivitsky). He very sharply attacked the story and claimed that the author, describing the technique in detail, was not at all interested in the characters and moral qualities of Soviet pilots ^[72]. As a result, according to the reviewer, Punks could not show the fundamental difference between Soviet pilots and their enemies. "The difference between the opponents," the review said, "the author sees only in the brands of aircraft" ^[72]. It is obvious that in 1939 such an accusation sounded very serious and ominous. By the way, A. Krivinov also criticized Gorelik for a positive review of Shpanov's story.

Soon, however, the situation changed. On May 21, 1939, a new review of the "First Blow" appeared in the same "Red Star". Its author, battalion Commissar A. B. Amelin, expressed regret that Krivinov failed to evaluate a good book and "gave a completely unjustified negative review about it" ^[73]. According to Amelin, Punks convincingly showed both Soviet military equipment and those who control it. The review noted: "Fascinatingly describing all the vicissitudes of the raid, which lasted about twelve hours, the author of the story created a powerful image of our air fleet, its excellent equipment and even more excellent people, highly cultured, initiative and devoted to the core of the Bolshevik Party and their socialist homeland" ^[73].

On the same day as the Red Star, Pravda published a positive review of The First Blow ^[74]. It was prepared by the regimental commissar M.A. Mironov (during the Great Patriotic War he served in the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army). "Shpanov's book," M. Mironov declared, "is realistic, there are no stilted schemes and hat-making battles in it. This is a serious, intelligent and valuable book" ^[74].

Of course, the unanimous approval of Shpanov's story in one day by two leading newspapers of the USSR could not be accidental. It can be assumed that the book caused a positive reaction in the top leadership of the state. By the way, as the researcher L.M. Spirin found out, there was a story "The First Blow" in the library of I.V. Stalin ^[75].

In the second half of 1939, laudatory reviews of Shpanov's story sounded almost constantly. For example, in the magazine "Red Army Soldier" M. Alexandrovich wrote: "When reading a novel, you forget that you are only in front of a fantasy. I want to read it in one gulp without stopping, it captures so much with its deep and plausible content" ^[76]. A detailed, detailed review of Shpanov's story was given by Vs. Vishnevsky in the magazine "Bolshevik". He contrasted it with the "gloomy fantasies" of foreign authors, emphasized the author's knowledge of aviation, its life and activities during the war ^[77].

The beginning of the Great Patriotic War, as you know, turned out to be completely different than N.N. Shpanov described. Victory over Germany was achieved only during a difficult four-year struggle, at the cost of a colossal strain of all the forces of the country. It is not surprising that some participants in the events made harsh accusations against the story ^[78]. Thus, the outstanding aircraft designer A.S. Yakovlev (1906-1989) believed that the "First Strike" not only gave readers an erroneous view of the enemy's forces, but strengthened erroneous positions in military aviation doctrine: exaggeration of the role of bombers and underestimation of fighters. ^[79].

The question of how much a work of art could affect the public mood and military plans of the state is debatable and it is hardly advisable to consider it within the limits of this article ^[80]. In any case, the story of N.N. Shpanov is far from the only work of that time, which spoke about the ability of Soviet aviation to defeat any aggressor. Such novels, short stories, and essays were created not only by writers, but also by professional pilots ^{[81, 82]}. The "first strike" is interesting not so much as an erroneous forecast (there were many of them), but as a kind of expression of a certain mentality in society, its aspirations and expectations, supported by the political leadership of the country.

In August 1939, Germany and the USSR signed a non-aggression treaty, which led to changes in ideological attitudes. The topic of a possible clash with the Reich became taboo for a while. The "First Strike" disappeared from bookstores. The planned radio play based on the story of Shpanov was canceled ^[83].

However, 1939 turned out to be very eventful for the writer. In the summer, as a correspondent for the newspaper "Stalin's Falcon", he visited the area of military operations of the Soviet-Japanese conflict on the Khalkhin-Gol river. The materials collected during this trip became the basis for essays published in 1940 in the magazines "Znamya" ^[84] and "Zvezda" ^[85].

In October 1939, N. Shpanov was admitted to the Union of Writers of the USSR. At the end of the year, as a correspondent for the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, he made a trip to Western Ukraine, which had just become part of the USSR. It is interesting to note that in the summer of 1939 N. Shpanov wrote a review of one of the most famous fantastic works about aviation of that time – A. Belyaev's novel "Fighter 2Z". The review appeared in the children's magazine "Pioneer" and was of a very benevolent nature ^[86].

N. Shpanov himself, just a few months before the start of the war, also decided to turn to the topic of fighter aviation. In March 1941, a fragment of his story appeared in the magazine "Airplane", which was called "Fighters" ^[87]. The story is written in a realistic manner, the action develops somewhere in the East, in the steppes. The enemy is not named, but its appearance resembles the Japanese ^{[87, p. 30]}. Most likely, the story is inspired by the events on Khalkhin-Gol. Its full text has not been published.

The script of the film "Sea Hawk" (directed by V.A. Brown), written by Shpanov in 1941 in collaboration with the then famous screenwriter A.P. Mikhailovsky, is associated with the alarming pre-war time. According to the plot, Soviet sailors are hunting for a German submarine. Filming began in 1941 at the Odessa Film Studio and ended in 1942 in Tashkent.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, N. Shpanov was drafted into the army, he became an employee of the editorial office of the newspaper "Stalin's Falcon, as a war correspondent he repeatedly went to the front. The war gave new impressions, reflected in a number of works, including those devoted to aviation.

In 1941, a separate brochure published N. Shpanov's story about the Soviet pilot "Major Koshevoy" ^[88]. He was also published quite often in the press. An interesting story is "Dispute" (aka "Dispute that remained unresolved"), which at the beginning of 1942 appeared simultaneously in the magazines Krasnoflotets ^[89] and Ogonyok ^[90] and tells about the joint service of British and Soviet pilots in the Arctic. The main "spring" of the plot is connected with the ramming of an enemy ship by an airplane.

Some stories about pilots and aviation on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War were compiled by N. Shpanov in the collection "Hot Heart" (1942) ^[91], in most of them there is one main character – a fighter pilot named Prokhor.

N. Shpanov also did not stop creative work in the adventure and science fiction genre. In 1942, the publication of fragments of his novel "The Secret of Professor Burago" began in the magazine "Red Army Man". In 1943-1944, this work was published in six issues by the publishing house "Molodaya Gvardiya") ^[92]. The action of the novel begins during the Civil War and continues until the Second World War inclusive. The plot is based on the struggle of Soviet citizens (scientists, pilots, sailors) and German intelligence over the invention of Professor Burago - a special "protective coating" that makes ships and planes invisible.

 The chapters of the same novel were published in January-May 1944 in the magazine Ogonyok under the title "The Invisible War" ^[93].

Of the books published by N.N. Shpanov after the Great Patriotic War, the most famous novels are "Arsonists" (1949) ^[94] and "Conspirators" (1951) ^[95]. They reflected the ideological situation of the Cold War in an artistic form. The blame for the outbreak of the Second World War on the financial oligarchy and the ruling circles of the United States and Great Britain. The analysis of these novels is undoubtedly interesting from the point of view of the analysis of ideology in the USSR of the 1950s, but these issues lie outside the topic of this article.

The theme of aviation is reflected in the works of N. Shpanov about the Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot N.F. Gastello (1907-1941) ^[96]. It also sounded in a revised version of the fantasy novel "The War of the Invisible".  In 1961, Shpanov published another fantastic novel - "Hurricane" ^[97]. In it, Soviet scientists create a supersonic MAC aircraft, which, of course, foreign spies immediately begin hunting for. As in most of his "aviation" works, in "Hurricane" the writer pays great attention to technical details, describes in detail the appearance of the "rocket plane".

At about the same time, N. Shpanov took part as a screenwriter in the creation of the film "The General and the Daisies" (directed by M. Chiaureli). The plot of this film clearly resembles the stories "The Mysterious Explosion" (1925) and "The Number will not pass" (1930). A group of Western military led by American General Donald and World War II survivors, German Nazis, is going to bomb a military base in Scotland to provoke a war with the Soviet Union. However, in accordance with the new political realities, a nuclear bombing is planned. Provocation is prevented at the cost of his own life by an unemployed Polish pilot, Lechovsky, who was tricked into an adventure. The film was released in 1963 after the death of N.N. Shpanov.

In the 1950s, N. Shpanov actively worked in the detective genre. He created a whole series of works (novels and short stories) about the investigator of the Moscow police Nile Kruchinin. This character appeared in the writer's work back in 1945, when the stories dedicated to him appeared on the pages of the magazines "Red Army Man" ^[98] and "Ogonyok" ^[99]. Then the stories about Kruchinin were repeatedly published in separate editions ^[100]. The scientific and technical excursions characteristic of the author are almost absent in these works.

After the death of I.V. Stalin (1953), the subsequent changes in the political climate of the country, the interest of publishers and readers in the work of N.N. Shpanov began to decline. On October 2, 1961, Nikolai Nikolaevich Shpanov died in Moscow.

In the scientific and memoir literature, one can find various assessments of Shpanov's work: from purely derogatory to restrainedly positive, at least in relation to some works. Science fiction writer Kir Bulychev (I.V. Mozheyko) in his memoirs gave Shpanov the following very expressive characteristic: "Shpanov as a science fiction writer, in my opinion, surpassed all Massolitov writers. He seemed to me like a man to whom fate had given a nugget. So he pulled this nugget out of the taiga - his talent - and began, fussing, pinching, beating, chipping off pieces of it until he squandered the whole nugget" ^{[101, p. 87]}.

Perhaps from the point of view of the history of literary creativity, this assessment is correct. But there is another side to the matter. N.N. Shpanov has been actively engaged in the popularization of science and aviation technology for a long time. His work reflected almost the entire history of aviation in the first half of the twentieth century . If in the early stories and novellas of N.N. Shpanov the sky is ploughed by huge airships, then in the later works we are talking about supersonic aircraft. His works were also influenced by large-scale historical events and military-technical concepts (including those that did not justify themselves, but were once very popular). All this makes the analysis of N. Shpanov's works interesting from the point of view of the history of science, aviation, as well as the history of public consciousness in the USSR.

Many of his works are interesting for identifying and analyzing trends in the development of technical thought, aviation history, and scientific events of his time.

The study was carried out with the financial support of the RFBR and the FDNH No. 21-59-22004.