In 1953, the future cosmonaut Gherman Titov entered the army. During the first two years, he studied at the 9th Military Air School in Kustanay, Kazakh SSR. His military service began with hard labor. Together with fellow cadets, he made and furnished dugout shelters where they were supposed to reside later. Breaking down under the stress, many cadets were dismissed from the flying school due to medical reasons. On the contrary, Gherman Titov kept digging day after day and waiting for the moment when he would be able to fly high.

However, the first flights of the cadet Titov were hardly successful: he did not manage to land smoothly. After each takeoff, Titov received criticism from his instructor. Some young cadets who studied alongside Titov were already admitted to solo flights, while Gherman, on the other hand, was temporarily barred from flying. During that period, the future cosmonaut often ruminated over his future.

Gherman Titov reminisced that he was sometimes seized with anger and despair,

However, such moments of weakness were rare because the cadet Titov was used to facing difficulties head-on. Somewhat later, after applying himself, he became one of the school’s best students and graduated with flying colors.

The letter of reference that he received from the aviation school, read,

In 1955, Gherman moved to Novosibirsk where the Stalingrad Air Force Pilots Training School was stationed back then. By that time, he had completed over eight hundred flights and many parachute jumps.

In the flying academy, Titov mastered piloting such planes as the Yak and MiG and received the qualification of a military pilot. In the rank of lieutenant, he was sent to serve in the 26th Guards Fighter Regiment of the 41st Air Division, Air Army 76, Leningrad Military District. This is where a cosmonaut team was set up in 1959.