The story is believed to be REAL. But the photo has been widely discussed, and while some think it is also real, the consensus is that it is a Soviet propaganda picture, done with airbrushing and other ancient technologies that pre-dated Photoshop.
This image purportedly shows Soviet pilot Valentin Privalov flying a MiG-17 under the central span of the Communal Bridge over the River Ob in Novosibirsk on June 4, 1965 at roughly 700 KPH (435 MPH.)
The story goes (as much as I can piece it together) that Privalov did this on his own initiative, as a stunt. The shore of the river was filled with vacationers, among whom were officers from the district headquarters, when suddenly the MiG came roaring out of the sky. Afterwards the crowd spontaneously started to applaud, but Privalov’s superiors weren’t happy, and they suspended him. He was threatened with disciplinary action, but Secretary of Defense Marshal Malinovsky (perhaps swayed by positive public reaction to the stunt) allowed him to return to service. Legend has it that he was reassigned to one of the two Soviet squadrons equivalent to our Blue Angels, and eventually became a Deputy Minister somewhere in the Soviet bureaucracy. It is not known whether he is still alive. The Soviets only used the story internally as a morale booster.
The picture is amazing. The height of the center arch is about 30 meters and the span between pillars is about 120 meters.
http://2013hoaxblog.s3.amazonaws.com/1965privalov01.jpg
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