Aksel Berg: Difference between revisions

'''Aksel Ivanovich Berg''' ([[Orenburg]] 1893 – [[Moscow]] 1979) was a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] scientist and Navy Admiral (in Engineering).

 

Berg's father was General Johan (Ivan) Berg, of [[Swedish-speaking Finns|Finland-Swedish]] origin, and his mother was [[Italy|Italian]]. Aksel was 11 when his father died, and Aksel was matriculated to [[Saint Petersburg]] navy school. Berg joined the Imperial Russian Navy in 1914 and served as junior navigating officer on the [[Russian battleship Tsesarevich]] and as liaison officer on the British submarine [[HMS E8]], which was [[British submarine flotilla in the Baltic|operating in the Baltic in alliance with Russia]]. After the revolution Berg served in the [[Red Navy]] 1918–22. In 1919 he was navigating officer on the submarine ''Pantera'' when it sank the British destroyer [[HMS Vittoria (1917)|HMS ''Vittoria'']]. He subsequently commanded the [[Bars class submarine (1915)|submarines ''Rys'', ''Volk'' and ''Zmeya'']]. From 1925 Berg was based onshore and completed his education at the [[Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University]]. From 1927 he was assigned to the navy radio electronics department and from 1932 to 1937 he headed the Navy Communications Research Institute.

 

During [[Great Purge|Stalin's purges]], Berg was imprisoned for three years, but was freed and rehabilitated in 1940, when Stalin became interested in developing radar. Berg was immediately appointed as minister of electronic technology of the USSR. He developed the Redut-K air-warning radar which was placed aboard the light cruiser ''[[Soviet cruiser Molotov|Molotov]]'' in April 1941.<ref>Watson, Raymond C. (2009).''Radar Origins Worldwide''. Trafford Publishing, p. 306. ISBN 1426921101</ref> ''Molotov''´s device enabled her to play a key role in the air defense of [[Sevastopol]] in the first stages of [[Operation Barbarossa]].<ref>Yakubov, Vladimir; Worth, Richard (2009). "The Soviet Light Cruisers of the Kirov Class". In Jordan, John. Warship 2009. London: Conway. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-84486-089-0</ref>

 

After the war Berg directed the Radioelectronics Institute 1947–57 and was a Deputy Minister of Defence 1953–57. Then in 1958 he founded the [[Scientific Council of Complex Problem Cybernetics]] of which he became head.<ref name="CyberHeroes">{{cite web | url=http://wvegter.hivemind.net/abacus/CyberHeroes/Berg.htm | title=Axel Ivanovich Berg | publisher=Wobbe Vegter | accessdate=November 17, 2012 | author=Vegter, Wobbe}}</ref> His main interests were [[radio communication]]s, [[microelectronic]]s and [[cybernetic]]s (i.e. [[computer science]] and [[engineering]]).