Soviet Medal WWII Order of the Red Star NUCLEAR TESTING ENGINEER RDS-6 / JOE-4

Description: Soviet Russian USSR medal Order of the Red Star with serial number in the 3 million range, researched, awarded in 1953 to Engineer-Major Pyotr Gusev, Section Chief in the Technical Department of the 71st Testing Range, a nuclear weapon testing center! Gusev had previously served as a weapons officer in strike aviation units during WWII. He earned a Bravery Medal and Order of the Red Star during the war. He received the present Red Star as a 15 year long service award. At the time the decoration was formally authorized, in April 1953, he was a student at the Riga "Red-Banner" Higher Military Aviation Engineering School. By the time the award was physically presented, he had moved on to the 71st Testing Range (i.e. Military Unit 93851). In all likelihood, his stint at the engineering academy was in preparation for his involvement with nuclear weapons. The 71st Testing Range focused on the development of aircraft-baed weapon delivery systems and bombing techniques. At approximately the same time that Gusev would have been physically presented this Red Star, the 71st Testing Range was involved in the test of the RDS-6 (aka "Joe-4"), the first Soviet thermonuclear weapon. Gusev's name appears in the memoirs of nuclear testing officer Serafim Kulikov. He is mentioned as suffering a radiation dose greater than 25 rontgens during the Joe-4 test and being subject to special medical protocols. Extremely rare award related to nuclear testing! Condition is outstanding, as seen in the images! The serial number of the award is authentic and matches the serial number shown in the archival documents, obviously! If you require confirmation in advance, please send me a message, and I will gladly provide images. Over time, I have found that redacting award serial numbers in certain listings (particularly of researched awards) has acted a simple and effective filter to sort good customers from troublesome eBay hooligans. Reasonable, rational collectors who are genuinely interested in the history represented by an award will make the effort to reach out and will quickly find that everything is in order. Winner will be provided with archival research (minimum 2 pages – Award Record Card) in electronic format, unredacted, in color, plus an archival portrait of Gusev, also in electronic format. Kulikov's memoirs will also be provided in digital format. Professional English translation of the Record Card and the relevant paragraph of the memoir is available if requested before receipt of item. ...Gusev's WWII award records are freely available online in archival portals. There should be somewhere from 4 to 20 pages of related documents. At the time of listing, I have not yet collated those documents. No returns. All questions in advance. I will answer all coherent, respectful inquiries to the best of my ability. INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING AVAILABLE only through eBay’s Global Shipping Program (GSP). With this program: once the item is delivered to the address to which eBay directs me to ship, all responsibility for final safe delivery of the item to the buyer becomes eBay’s. I am categorically not responsible for any problems that arise once the item is in eBay’s possession. Note: combined shipping is not available through the GSP. If you wish to combine shipping, you must contact me in advance to make arrangements. Buyers from any country in the exclusion list must always contact me in advance of purchase. I will not accept purchases from buyers with shipping addresses in these countries without advance notice. If you contact me, as I am requesting of you, you will likely find your purchase approved. Shipping will then be through the GSP. Please see my other listings. Lots of excellent Soviet medals! Many additional high quality pieces available that are not yet listed. Please inquire. Thank you!

Price: 900 USD

Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey

End Time: 2025-01-23T16:44:22.000Z

Shipping Cost: 10 USD