[FPSPACE] Soviet underwater EVA training preceding Star City Hydrolab?

[Charles, John B. (JSC-SA2)]

-----Original Message-----
From: fpspace-bounces at friends-partners.org
[mailto:fpspace-bounces at friends-partners.org] On Behalf Of Mark Wade
... I can find no mention of any water training for Voskhod, Soyuz 1/2
or 4/5 or 6/7/8 or 10/11...

Mark, many thanks!  This is very illuminating.

I now agree that the footage shown in "Astrospies" purporting to be of
cosmonaut EVA training for military OPS missions in the mid-1970s was
actually procedures development--or even crew training--for cosmonaut
tending of the unmanned Almaz radar satellites launched starting in 1986
(Almaz info from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaz). 

But apparently there were smaller water tanks for specialized purposes
like water survival training, space suit qualification and testing,
etc., as described in "Russian Space Suits."  These could have permitted
earlier EVA procedures development, although (as Mark pointed out)
apparently not cosmonaut training.  I hope our sources can provide
further information on those.

Wasn't one of the arguments against the very first space walk, by Leonov
on Voskhod 2, that some of the released footage looked like it was shot
underwater?  I even recall reading that, although the EVA was real, the
supporting footage was a compilation of inflight and simulated EVA
scenes.  Do I recall correctly?

John Charles 
Houston, Texas