Lev Vaksman

First Lieutenant Lev Vaksman was a radio operator in the Soviet Red Air Force during World War III. He was assigned to the Tu-4 piloted by Boris Gribkov in January, 1952. For his part, Gribkov was nervous about having the Jewish Vaksman in his crew. The crew began training for mid-air refueling, using a technique based on one the Germans had actually attempted to use to refuel their submarines.