The designers of Soviet combat aircraft were. The designers of the first Soviet aircraft

The series tells about outstanding aircraft designers who have made an invaluable contribution to the history of the development of domestic aviation. Previously, dedicated to military aircraft designers have already been posted, in this cycle the remaining 5 series.

An excellent selection of chronicles and facts, little-known details of the development of aviation technology, it will be interesting to see even those who are not fond of aviation.

Outstanding aircraft designers: Oleg Antonov

He was an unusually bright and attractive personality. He wrote books on gliding and children's stories, was fond of painting and played tennis skillfully. He liked to communicate with young people and was not afraid to argue with those in power.
Designer Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov lived an incredible life rich life. She was as versatile as his outstanding talent.

Outstanding aircraft designers: Nikolai Polikarpov

Russia has given the world many outstanding aircraft designers. But only one of the domestic aircraft designers was given the royal title of “king of fighters” by colleagues. It was Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov. However, the "king of fighters" tested on his life path dramas and tragedies, no less than Shakespeare's King Lear.
Only one plane bore his name - Po-2. But the famous I-15 and I-16, created by Nikolai Polikarpov before the Second World War, brought glory to our aviation in numerous military conflicts - in Spain, the Winter War, Khasan Lake, Khalkhin Gol.

Outstanding aircraft designers: Georgy Beriev

Glory to domestic aviation was brought by world-famous brands: "Tu", "Il", "MiG", "Su", "Yak" ... In this series, the brand "Be" stands apart - it rightfully bears the title of "leader of hydroaviation". "Be" is an abbreviation for the name of the famous aircraft designer Georgy Beriev.
All of his aircraft, one way or another, became milestones in the development of world hydroaviation, starting with his first flying boat MBR-2. And to this day, the A-40 and Be-200 amphibious aircraft, created in the design bureau that bears his name, are unsurpassed in many of their characteristics.

Outstanding aircraft designers: Vladimir Myasishchev

Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev. This Soviet aircraft designer became famous general public in the 50s of the twentieth century. It was then that his planes were first shown at the parade. Machines created by Myasishchev for a long time were one of the security guarantors of the Soviet Union in the Cold War.
Vladimir Mikhailovich passed a big creative way: from a simple draftsman to a general designer. He devoted his whole life to aviation, not for a second doubting his choice.

Outstanding aircraft designers: Mikhail Mil

In January 1970, Mikhail Leontievich Mil died at the age of 60. He devoted his whole life to work. His famous helicopters are known all over the world.
Mi-1, Mi-2, Mi-4, Mi-8, Mi-6, V-1 and other rotorcraft appeared thanks to his genius. And even though he did not manage to complete much of what he had planned. Most importantly, Mil left the school of like-minded people who continued his work.
Mil's students completed the Mi-24 project. Mil's concept of "helicopter - attack aircraft" was embodied in the Mi-28, today known as the "night hunter". The glorious line of training and sports Mi-1 and Mi-2 was continued by the Mi-34. And in the class of heavy helicopters in the 70s, the Mil Design Bureau created the Mi-26, which still has no analogues.

Outstanding aircraft designers: Nikolai Kamov

The word "helicopter" has firmly entered our lexicon and replaced the outdated concept of "helicopter". This word was coined by aircraft designer Nikolai Ilyich Kamov. He is rightfully considered a pioneer in the field of domestic rotary-wing technology. It was Kamov who was the first in the Soviet Union to fly on a main rotor.
Nikolai Kamov devoted his entire life to the creation of rotorcraft. His activities as general designer bore pronounced features of innovation, courage, daring ... Created by him in the late forties design department still remains a recognized leader in the development of helicopters.

Outstanding aircraft designers: Semyon Lavochkin

Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin became the first in many areas of aviation and rocket technology. The first domestic swept-wing aircraft, the first flight at the speed of sound, the first intercontinental cruise and anti-aircraft missiles. He had the talent to see the future, he knew how to find solutions that made it possible to make a genuine breakthrough into the future. And at the same time, he understood well what was needed today.
Semen Alekseevich was remembered by his colleagues not only as a talented, but also a truly sympathetic person. Such a personality among great people is really a rarity.

Outstanding aircraft designers: Alexander Yakovlev

The name of Alexander Yakovlev is included in the list of the most famous figures in world aviation. He created more than 200 types and modifications of beautiful, reliable and easy-to-operate machines. Yakovlev was an unsurpassed master in the creation of light aircraft. But his powerful intellect could solve design problems in any class of machines: from helicopters to bombers. Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev truly lived in aviation. He was one of those who put all his strength, time, knowledge, talent into it. The creation of aircraft was his passion and the main goal of life.
He once wrote a book about this, which has become a desktop for several generations of people in love with the sky.

In September 1939, the Second World War began, in which aviation was used on an unprecedented scale. Today we will remember several famous creators of World War II aircraft and talk about their creations.

"It can be seen"

Soviet aircraft designer, Doctor of Technical Sciences (1940), Hero of Socialist Labor (1940) Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov was born in the Oryol province and, following the example of his father, who was a priest, graduated from a religious school and entered the seminary. However, he never became a father, but graduated from the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and, under the guidance of the famous designer Igor Sikorsky, participated in the creation of the Ilya Muromets bomber. It was at that time the most powerful aircraft in the world. Later, his I-1 became the world's first monoplane fighter - an aircraft with one rather than two rows of wings.

In 1929, the designer was arrested on a denunciation and sentenced to death on the standard charge of "participation in a counter-revolutionary wrecking organization." For more than two months, Polikarpov was awaiting execution. In December of the same year (without the abolition or change of the sentence), he was sent to the "Special Design Bureau", organized in the Butyrka prison, and then transferred to the Moscow Aviation Plant No. 39 named after V.R. Menzhinsky. Here, together with D.P. Grigorovich in 1930, he developed the I-5 fighter.

In the same place, in conclusion, he designed the VT-11 aircraft. "VT" stands for "inner prison". Then the creation of the aircraft took two years, it was a worldwide practice. When the prisoners were gathered, they were told: “You can do two years, but you will be released when you do it.” They thought, said: "Six months is enough." They were surprised at the top: “Oh, so you have internal reserves? Three months for you to do everything about everything. A month later the plane was ready.

In 1931, the collegium of the OGPU canceled the execution and sentenced Polikarpov to ten years in the camps. But after a successful show to Stalin, Voroshilov, Ordzhonikidze of the I-5 aircraft, piloted by Chkalov and Anisimov, it was decided to consider the sentence against Polikarpov suspended ...

May 1935. Chkalov brilliantly demonstrated the I-16 to Stalin. He decided to give Polikarpov a lift home. The car had seven seats. Stalin is on the back sofa, the driver and security are in front, the aircraft designers are seated on folding seats. The leader says complacently, puffing on his pipe: “Here, Nikolai Nikolayevich, do you know what we have in common?” “I don’t know,” Polikarpov replies. “It's very simple: you studied at the seminary, and I studied at the seminary - that's what we have in common. Do you know what makes us different?" “No,” Polikarpov responds. "You graduated from seminary, but I didn't." Another puff of smoke. Polikarpov imperturbably blurts: "It is visible, Iosif Vissarionovich." Stalin frowned, shook his pipe and managed only to squeeze out: "You know your place there."

And once the NKVD received a denunciation of Yangel, then still a boy who worked for Polikarpov. Recall that Yangel, along with Korolev, Chelomey and Glushko, is the father of Soviet cosmonautics and rocket science. So, he was accused of being the son of a kulak, and his father was hiding in the taiga ... What would almost anyone at that time do in Polikarpov's place? And what did Polikarpov do? He gave the young employee a vacation and sent him to Siberia to collect documents about his father's innocence.

No less famous is another Polikarpov aircraft - the U-2 initial training aircraft (renamed Po-2 after the death of the designer). Po-2 was built until 1959. The car broke all records of longevity in aviation. During this time, more than 40 thousand cars were produced, more than 100 thousand pilots were trained on them. Before the war, all our pilots managed to fly the U-2, without exception. During the Great Patriotic War U-2s were successfully used as scouts and night bombers. The car was so reliable, economical and easy to drive that it was used both as a passenger and as an ambulance. It was also discovered during the war that the aircraft could be converted into a night bomber. The Germans called it "coffee grinder" or "sewing machine" because several thousand U-2s bombed their positions almost continuously and with great accuracy. During the night, the plane made five or six sorties, sometimes more. Silently, with the engine turned off, he sneaked up to the enemy trenches, railway stations, columns on the march and dropped a quarter ton of explosives and steel on the heads of the Nazis. Very often, the pilots were girls who fought in the women's air regiments. Twenty-three of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Polikarpov's work was interrupted by his death on July 30, 1944, at the age of 52. At that moment, Polikarpov was working on the creation of the first Soviet jet aircraft. Only in 1956, 12 years after the death of the designer, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR closed the case against Polikarpov ...

After the death of the designer, the territory of OKB-51 passed to Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi, another famous engineer who created more than 50 machine designs during his career. Today, the Sukhoi Design Bureau is one of the leading Russian airlines, whose combat aircraft (for example, the Su-27 and Su-30 multirole fighters) are in service in dozens of countries.

The legendary Messerschmitt

Without a doubt, Wilhelm Emil Messerschmitt was one of the most talented designers in the history of world aviation. Many original projects came out from under his hand, which were embodied in metal, but only two brought him worldwide fame - Bf-109 and Me-262.

In 1909, during the summer holidays, he visited the International Aviation Exhibition with his father. There, the boy saw airplanes for the first time and fell ill with aviation for the rest of his life.

One of the most significant developments of the designer was the Messerschmitt Bf-109 all-metal escort fighter. In 1934, the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (Bavarian Aircraft Factory) began to produce a steel car with a predatory profile that terrified the whole of Europe, hence the name. In 1939, the Me-109 set a world speed record. This fighter became the mainstay of German aviation during World War II. During the hostilities, both the French and the British managed to get samples of the latest German fighter. But if the first was already useless, then the British delivered the Bf-109E-3 to their Boscombe Down test center. The tests carried out showed that the leading English Hurricane fighter at that time was inferior to the German in all respects.

The Messerschmitts accounted for most of the 322 Soviet aircraft shot down on the first day of the war.

Creator of the Black Death

The son of a poor peasant from the Vologda province, Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin, began working at the age of 15, and during the First World War he became an airfield minder. Then he graduated from the soldier's pilot school of the All-Russian Imperial Aero Club and in the summer of 1917 received a pilot's license. Since then, his life has been forever connected with aviation.

When the October Revolution broke out, Ilyushin did not think long about which side to take. In 1918 he joined the Bolshevik Party, and in 1919 he became a soldier in the Red Army.

In 1921, Ilyushin asked the command to allow him to enter the Institute of Engineers of the Red Air Fleet. Many doubted - what kind of higher education is there? Ilyushin by that time was already 27 years old, and behind him were only three classes of the school. But Ilyushin was distinguished by incredible perseverance and hard work. Where there was a lack of knowledge, the experience of a mechanic helped. By the end of the 30s, he was already heading the TsAGI design bureau. The main creation of Sergei Vladimirovich is the most massive combat aircraft in history, the famous Il-2 attack aircraft.

"Flying Cobra"

In 1912, aircraft mechanic Lawrence Bell nearly did away with airplanes for good when his older brother, stunt pilot Gruver Bell, died in a crash. But friends persuaded Lawrence not to bury his talent in the ground, and in 1928, Bell Aircraft appeared, creating the most famous American fighter of World War II, the P-39 Airacobra.

An interesting fact: thanks to deliveries to the USSR and Great Britain and the exploits of the aces of these countries, the Airacobra has the highest individual victory rate of all American aircraft ever created.

Airacobra - Airacobra (but usually just Airacobra). This aircraft cannot be confused with any other. The motor in the middle of the fuselage, the car-like cab door, the futuristic-looking three-wheeled chassis with a disproportionately long front strut - in fact, all these unusual design solutions had their reasons, they were aimed at increasing the combat and operational efficiency of the vehicle. As already mentioned, the engine was located behind the cockpit. Due to the rear shift of the center of gravity, the fighter was very maneuverable. The P-39 Airacobra fighter became the most massive and most famous of those supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease - the same symbol of Western Allied help as the Studebaker truck, Dodge Three-quarters and a can of American stew. "Cobra" was very popular with Soviet pilots, she was appreciated and loved. Many "Stalin's falcons" won the lion's share of victories on the Aerocobra.

Breakthrough "Prototype"

Jiro Horikoshi is a Japanese aircraft designer. He is best known as the designer of the A6M Zero, a very successful World War II fighter.

Jiro Horikoshi was born in 1903 in the village of Fujioka. Studied at Fujioka high school. AT school years became interested in aircraft engineering by reading newspaper reports of World War I aerial combat in Europe. Subsequently, Horikoshi entered the Technology Department of the University of Tokyo in the direction of aeronautical engineering. His fellow university students were such well-known Japanese aircraft designers as Hidemasa Kimura and Takeo Doi. After completing his university education, in 1926 Horikoshi got a job as an engineer in the internal combustion engine division of Mitsubishi. The company owned an aircraft factory in Nagoya, where Horikoshi ended up.

In 1937, Horikoshi began work on the Prototype 12, which went into production in 1940 as the A6M Zero. The Zero was a carrier-based single-wing fighter. Until 1942, the Zero surpassed the aircraft of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition in terms of maneuverability, speed and flight range, and until the end of World War II remained the basis of Japanese naval aviation.

MUSEUM OF HEROES AS LUCKY TEACHERS

V. A. Slesarev - the name of this man says little to our contemporaries.

He passed away early ... and because of this, today his name is not in one

along with such aircraft designers as, for example, Sikorsky ... Tupolev ...

But it was he who was Sikorsky's main competitor at the dawn of aviation ...

Vasily Adrianovich Slesarev was born on August 5 (17), 1884 in the village of Slednev, Markhotkinsky volost, Elninsky district, Smolensk province, in the family of a local merchant Adrian Petrovich Slesarev. Adrian Petrovich was not strong in literacy, but he knew its value and was able to imbue a deep respect for enlightenment. He did not spare money for books, subscribed to newspapers and magazines, liked to see his sons and daughters reading and managed to give four of them a higher education.

Vasily Slesarev learned to read early. The magazines "Nature and People", "Knowledge for All", "World of Adventures", novels by Jules Verne awakened and nourished the boy's imagination. He dreamed of penetrating into the depths of the ocean, of flying on swift airships, of mastering the still unknown forces of nature. He saw the key to the realization of these dreams only in technology. All day long he was making something, planing, sawing, adjusting, creating components and parts of fantastic machines, devices, devices.

Adrian Petrovich was sympathetic to his son's hobbies and, when Vasily was 14 years old, he took him to Moscow and assigned him to the Komisarovsky technical school. Vasily Slesarev studied with greed and perseverance. In the certificate he received at the end of the school, in all 18 subjects there were only fives.

Slesarev studied at the Komisarovsky Technical School for six years. Arriving in Slednevo for the holidays, Vasily settled in the mezzanine room, towering over the roof of his father's house. With each of his visits, the lighthouse became more and more like a kind of laboratory. What was not in it - a camera, and a magic lantern, and a spyglass, and even an old phonograph corrected by Vasily. The lighthouse was illuminated by an electric light bulb, powered by a homemade galvanic battery, which also fed the bell alarm. One of the first works done here by the young researcher was to determine the composition of the glaze for finishing pottery. Mixing various components with lead, Slesarev created his own special recipe for the preparation of glaze and, applying it to the “gorlachi” (this is how Smolensk people call clay mouthful milk jars to this day), subjected them to firing at the stake.

Vasily also made a lathe, which was powered by a wind turbine mounted on the roof. Slesarev made the turbine stator and its rotor from a canvas stretched over frames, and the speed of its rotation was regulated by levers directly from the firebox.

In 1904, Vasily Slesarev entered the first year of the St. Petersburg Electrotechnical Institute.

Due to the active role played by the students in the revolutionary struggle of 1905, the authorities temporarily stopped classes in a number of higher educational institutions in the capital. A participant in student performances, Slesarev was forced to leave St. Petersburg for Slednevo. And soon he moved to Germany and entered the Darmstadt Higher Technical School.

For the holidays, he still came to Slednevo and settled in his laboratory-svetelka. However, now the scientific profile of this laboratory began to noticeably change, since the student Slesarev was strongly impressed by the successes of the nascent aviation. True, these successes were still very modest, and they were often achieved at the cost of human sacrifice. According to Slesarev, this happened because many aviation enthusiasts replaced the lack of theoretical knowledge with selfless daring and courage. Slesarev bowed to the pioneers of aviation, but at the same time he understood that heroism alone was not enough. He believed that a person can create reliable flying machines only when he deeply learns the laws of nature. Of course, this view was not original. The idea that the path to the creation of flying machines should lie through the study of the flight of flying creatures was expressed by Leonardo da Vinci in the middle of the 15th century.

In the 18th century, this idea was developed by the Peruvian de Cardonas, who proposed to build wings for humans, similar to the wings of the condors, the flight of which he observed.

In the 70s of the last century, the Russian doctor N. A. Arendt developed the theory of glider flight. He created this theory thanks to numerous experiments with birds. Arendt outlined the results of his research in a number of articles, and in 1888 he published a brochure "On aeronautics based on the principle of soaring birds."

Also widely known are the works of the French physiologist E. Marey (1830-1904), who studied the flight of birds and insects for many years.

In the 90s of the 19th century, the French engineer K. Ader tried to build flying machines, based on the data of his observations of the flight of birds and bats.

The German engineer Otto Lilienthal, “the first martyr of aviation,” as Herbert Wells called him, followed the same path.

The great Russian scientist N. E. Zhukovsky, the founder of modern aerodynamic science, also did a lot of work on the study of bird flight. In October 1891, he spoke at a meeting of the Moscow Mathematical Society with the report "On the Soaring of Birds", which included a critical scientific review and generalization of everything that had been done by that time in the field of flight theory.

It is difficult now to say whether the student Slesarev was familiar with the work of his predecessors in the field of studying the flight of representatives of the animal world, or whether he independently came to the idea of ​​the need for such studies. In any case, he was firmly convinced of the importance of this work.

Settling for the holidays in Slednev, Slesarev often left home with a gun. He returned with the carcasses of dead crows, hawks, swallows, swifts. He carefully weighed, dissected the birds, measured the size of their body, the length of the wings and tail, studied the structure and arrangement of feathers, etc.

Slesarev studied insects with the same tenacity. A neophyte entomologist, he could spend hours watching the flight of butterflies, beetles, bees, flies, dragonflies. He had a whole collection of flying insects in the room. He compiled comparative tables of their weights, wing measurements, etc.

And then something completely unusual began: the experimenter, armed with scissors, either shortened the wings of large blue-green flies, then made them narrower, then glued prostheses from the wings of dead flies to his victims and carefully observed how one or another operation reflected on the character flight of insects.

By gluing dandelion hairs to the body of the flies, Slesarev fixed the position of their abdomen, forcing the insects to fly at his discretion in a completely unusual way - either vertically up, then up and back, then up and forward, etc.

However, Slesarev soon became convinced that direct visual perception limits the possibility of a comprehensive knowledge of the flight of insects, that he needed special, the finest measuring and recording equipment. He designed and manufactured original devices that automatically record the amount of energy expended by experimental insects harnessed by him to a rotary machine built from light straws (microdynamometer) and loaded with the thinnest strips of tissue paper. From glass threads, which he obtained by melting glass tubes over a candle flame, Slesarev made the thinnest aerodynamic balances. These instruments enabled the experimenter to determine the power of flying insects and to measure the energy expended by them in flight. So, for example, Slesarev found that a large blue-green fly is capable of developing an energy of about 1 erg in flight, and the highest speed of this fly reaches 20 meters per second.

It turned out to be more difficult to identify the mechanism of insect flight. Slesareva's sister, the Tashkent doctor P. A. Slesareva, recalls how, as a girl, she was present more than once during her brother's experiments. On his instructions, she glued the thinnest straws to the wings of flies and dragonflies, after which the body of the experimental insect was fixed in a tripod, and the experimenter slowly held out a smoked paper tape near the flapping wings. Straws glued to the wings scratched out traces on the tape, according to which Slesarev studied the nature of the movement of the insect's wings. However, such experiments gave only an approximate and insufficiently accurate picture of the phenomenon under study.

Slesarev set out to arrange his experiment in such a way that he could see with his own eyes the mechanics of the flight of insects, see what the sequence of movement of their wings and body is in various stages of flight, in what plane and at what speed their wings move, etc. This required cinematographic equipment. And so Slesarev invented and independently manufactured an ingenious impulse filming installation, which made it possible to capture the movement of insect wings on a continuously moving film at a speed of 10 thousand or more shots per second. The shooting was carried out in the light received from a series of spark discharges of a battery of static capacitors (Leiden cans) made from wine bottles.

With the enrichment of the equipment of the Slednev laboratory with home-made rapid filming equipment, the study of insect flight immediately advanced, and Slesarev was able to come to a number of interesting conclusions that were of great scientific, theoretical and applied importance. So, for example, Aya drew attention to the fact that the principle of insect flight "can serve as a model for constructing a machine that would immediately rise into the air, without any run-up."

Using his equipment, Slesarev showed: that all insects flap their wings in a strictly defined plane, oriented relative to the central part of the body; that the insect's flight is controlled by moving the insect's center of gravity under the influence of contraction or extension of the abdomen; that the leading edge of the insect's wings is the leading one, and with each stroke the wing turns around it by 180 degrees; that the speed at the ends of the wings of all insects is almost constant (about 8 meters per second), and the number of wing beats is inversely proportional to their length 2.

Slesarev demonstrated the equipment he created for studying the flight of insects in 1909 at an aeronautical exhibition in Frankfurt. This equipment and the results obtained with its help aroused great interest among German engineers and scientists, and a year after the exhibition, Slesarev received a patent in Germany for his film installation.

At the beginning of 1909, Vasily Slesarev graduated from the Darmstadt Higher Technical School, having received a diploma of the 1st degree, and upon returning to Russia, wanting to have a Russian engineering diploma, he entered the last year of the Moscow Higher Technical School. Selecting this educational institution was not random. In those years, the Moscow Higher Technical School was the center of a young aviation science, which was created under the guidance of the "father of Russian aviation" - Professor Nikolai Yegorovich Zhukovsky.

Advanced student youth grouped around Zhukovsky. From this student aeronautical circle came such subsequently famous pilots, aircraft designers and figures of aviation science as B. I. Rossiysky, A. N. Tupolev, D. P. Grigorovich, G. M. Musinyants, A. A. Arkhangelsky, V. P. Vetchinkin, B. S. Stechkin, B. N. Yuryev and others. The student Slesarev also became an active member of this circle. He did a lot to equip the aerodynamic laboratory of the circle with equipment and carried out a number of interesting studies in it related to the operation of propellers. Slesarev's report, devoted to these studies, as well as to studies of the flight of insects in the Moscow Society of Natural Science Lovers, was a very remarkable event.

N. E. Zhukovsky saw in Slesarev “one of the most talented Russian young people, wholly devoted to the study of aeronautics”4. Particularly attractive in Slesarev was the ability not only to intuitively suggest one or another original solution to the problem, but also to explore it theoretically and experimentally, independently find the appropriate constructive form for this solution, equip it with accurate calculations and drawings, and, if necessary, embody the idea in the material with his own hands. .

One day, Nikolai Yegorovich showed Slesarev a letter from the dean of the shipbuilding department of the St. base for research work on aerodynamics. At the end of the letter, Boklevsky asked if Nikolai Yegorovich could recommend to him one of his pupils who could take care of the laboratory.

How would you, Vasily Adrianovich, look at if I recommend you to my colleague Boklevsky? It seems that you will fruitfully cooperate with Konstantin Petrovich. I'm the only one left at a loss. But ... what can you do: the interests of our common cause are more important than personal sympathies. Is not it?..

And already in the summer of 1910, Slesarev moved from Moscow to the capital.

In the same year, the building reserved for the aerodynamic laboratory was rebuilt under the direction of Slesarev. Then he energetically set about equipping the laboratory with the latest measuring equipment, high-precision aerodynamic balances, etc. Slesarev designed and built for the laboratory a large wind tunnel with a diameter of 2 meters, in which the air flow speed reached 20 meters per second. To straighten the vortices in the pipe, a grating of thin iron strips was installed and a chamber was built in to slow down the air flow. It was the largest, fastest and most advanced wind tunnel in its design.

Slesarev also made a small wind tunnel with a diameter of 30 centimeters for the laboratory. In this pipe, with the help of a suction fan installed at the end of the working channel, the air flow moved at a speed of up to 50 meters per second.

The laboratory created by Slesarev in its size, richness and perfection of equipment far exceeded the best aerodynamic laboratory of the famous French engineer Eiffel at the Champ de Mars in Paris at that time.

In addition to classes with students, Slesarev supervised the research carried out in the laboratory on the drag of parts of an airplane during flight. He proposed the so-called spark observation method, in which an aluminum candle was placed in a wind tunnel in the path of the air flow, giving a sheaf of sparks that moved along with the flow. It turned out that the outer wires and braces, which were widely used in the then aircraft construction, cause very high air resistance in flight and that, in connection with this, the struts of airplanes must have a "fish-shaped" section. Slesarev also devotes a lot of effort to improving the hull of an airplane and an airship, researches various designs of propellers, creates his own method for determining the absolute speed of a flying airplane, and solves a number of issues of aeroballistics.

Slesarev fruitfully works in related branches of aviation science. As you know, lightness and strength are two warring principles, the reconciliation of which is one of the main tasks of designers. Pioneer aircraft designers, in search of the optimal ratios of these warring principles, were often forced to grope, which often led to fatal consequences. This prompted Slesarev to take up the development of the foundations of aviation materials science. In 1912, he published the first scientific course in aviation materials science in Russian. A number of provisions put forward by Slesarov have not lost their significance today.

In an effort to make the results of his work available to the wide circles of the scientific and technical community, Slesarev publishes articles in special periodicals, makes public reports and reports at meetings of St. Petersburg and Moscow aeronautical organizations. Of particular interest are Slesarev's reports made by him at the All-Russian Aeronautical Congresses held in 1911, 1912 and 1914 under the leadership of N. E. Zhukovsky. So, for example, in April 1914, at the III All-Russian Aeronautical Congress, Slesarev reported on how the world's first four-engine airship Ilya Muromets and its predecessor, the Russian Knight, were designed and built. All aerodynamic experiments and verification calculations for the creation of these aircraft were carried out under the direction of Slesarev in the aerodynamic laboratory of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute.

In the summer of 1913, Slesarev was sent abroad. The results of the trip are set out by Slesarev in his report " Current state aeronautics in Germany and France with scientific, technical and military points vision”, read on October 23, 1913 at a meeting of the VII department of the Russian Technical Society.

Getting acquainted with the various designs of German, French and Russian airplanes, Slesarev clearly saw them weak spots. In some designs, the good awareness of the inventors in matters of aerodynamics was clearly visible, but the situation was not very good with the solution of issues of a purely design nature; in other airplanes, the handwriting of an experienced designer was noticeable, but the solution to the problems associated with aerodynamics looked very doubtful. All this led Slesarev to the idea of ​​​​creating such an airplane, the design of which would harmoniously combine the sum of all the latest achievements of the then aviation science and technology. Such a bold idea could only be carried out by a person who was at the forefront of the scientific and technical ideas of his time. Slesarev was just such an advanced engineer, scientist and designer.

What followed after Vasily Adrianovich announced his desire to create an ultra-modern airplane cannot but arouse astonishment: in just a year, Slesarev, without leaving his official duties at the Polytechnic Institute, independently, without anyone's help, developed the project of a giant airship, while completing a colossal amount of experimental, theoretical and graphic work, which would be more than enough for an entire design organization.

On the advice of his mother, Slesarev named the giant plane he had conceived "Svyatogor".

"Svyatogor" - a biplane combat airship with a deck for a rapid-fire gun, was supposed to rise to a height of 2500 meters, have a speed of over 100 kilometers per hour. According to calculations, the duration of continuous flight new car reached 30 hours (it is appropriate to recall that the best foreign aircraft of that time, Far-man, could take fuel for only 4 hours, and the Ilya Muromets aircraft for 6 hours of flight). The flight weight of the Svyatogor reached 6,500 kilograms according to the project, including 3,200 kilograms of payload (the flight weight of the Ilya Muromets was 5,000 kilograms, the payload was 1,500 kilograms). To get an idea of ​​the size of the Svyatogor, it is enough to say that its design parameters were as follows: length - 21 meters, upper wingspan - 36 meters. "Svyatogor" favorably differed from other aircraft by the graceful shape of the wings, resembling in cross section the wings of such a beautiful flyer as a swift. Special attention Slesarev drew on the streamlining of the outer struts and the careful "licking" of all the protrusions, which later became one of the indispensable requirements for aircraft designs. In this regard, as Academician S. A. Chaplygin and Professor V. P. Vetchinkin noted, Slesarev was "far ahead of his time."

Vasily Adrianovich skillfully designed for "Svyatogor" hollow tubular structures bent from plywood, which still remain unsurpassed in terms of the optimal ratio of their strength and lightness. For the wooden parts of the airplane, Slesarev preferred to use spruce, as the material that gives the least weight for a given strength.

The project provided for the installation of two Mercedes engines, 300 horsepower each, on the Svyatogora, with their location for the convenience of simultaneous maintenance in the common engine room of the fuselage, close to the center of gravity of the aircraft (the idea of ​​“such an arrangement of engines was subsequently used by German aircraft designers when building in 1915 twin-engine Siemens-Schuckert aircraft).

Slesarev, while still working in his Slednev laboratory, noticed that the number of flaps of an insect's wings during flight is inversely proportional to their length. Designing "Svyatogor", Slesarev took advantage of these findings. He designed huge propellers with a diameter of 5.5 meters, giving their blades a shape close to the shape of the wings of a dragonfly, and the speed of rotation of the propellers was not to exceed 300 revolutions per minute.

Slesarev's project was carefully studied by the technical commission of the special committee of the Aeronautical Department of the Main Engineering Directorate. All the designer's calculations were considered convincing, and the committee unanimously recommended that the construction of Svyatogor be started.

The outbreak of the First World War, it would seem, should have accelerated the implementation of Slesarev's project. After all, the possession of such airplanes as the Svyatogor promised the Russian military air fleet huge "advantages over military aviation Germany. Petersburg Aviation Plant V. A. Lebedev undertook to build the first airship "Svyatogor" in three months. This meant that in a short time Russia could be armed with a whole squadron of formidable air heroes.

However, time passed, and the Slesarev project lay without movement, since the military ministry (headed by General V: A. Sukhomlinov, one of the shareholders of the Russian-Baltic Plant, where the Ilya Muromets aircraft were being built at that time, bringing huge profits to shareholders ) evaded the appropriation of 100 thousand rubles for the construction of Svyatogora.

Only after the aviator M. E. Malynsky (a wealthy Polish landowner), “wishing to serve the motherland in the difficult time of her struggle against the Austro-Germans,” offered to pay all the costs of building the Svyatogor, the military department was forced to transfer the order Lebedev plant. The construction of Svyatogor was extremely slow, as the plant was overloaded with other military orders.

"Svyatogor" was assembled only by June 22, 1915. Its weight turned out to be one and a half tons more than the design one, since representatives of the military department demanded that the plant provide a 10-fold (!) Safety margin for all critical units of Svyatogor.

But the main trouble was waiting for Slesarev ahead. Since the outbreak of war ruled out the possibility of receiving two Mercedes engines from hostile Germany, the military department officials did not come up with anything better than to offer Slesar-vu Maybach engines from the downed German airship Graf Zeppelin. Nothing came out of this venture, and it could not have happened, since the motors were too badly damaged.

Only after "fruitless fuss with the Maybach engines" did the military authorities decide to order engines for the Svyatogor to the French company Renault. forces and much heavier than expected.

Trials of the Svyatogor began in March 1916. At the very first 200-meter run of the aircraft along the airfield, the right engine failed. In addition, it turned out that since the assembly of the aircraft, some of its parts have dilapidated and need to be replaced. To bring the engine and aircraft in order, it was necessary to find an additional 10 thousand rubles. But a specially created commission recognized that "the cost of completing the construction of this apparatus, even the most insignificant government sum, is unacceptable."

Slesarev vigorously protested against such a conclusion and, with the support of Professor Boklevsky, insisted on the appointment of a new commission chaired by N. E. Zhukovsky himself, who, having familiarized himself with Slesarev’s aircraft, wrote in its protocol dated May 11, 1916: “The commission unanimously concluded that the flight of Slesarev's airplane with a full load of 6.5 tons at a speed of 114 km / h is possible, and therefore the completion of the construction of Slesarev's apparatus is desirable "6.

Following that, at the meeting held on June 19, 1916, the Zhukovsky commission not only fully confirmed its conclusion of May 11, but also came to the conclusion that when installing on the Svyatogor two motors provided by the designer with a total capacity of 600 horsepower, the aircraft will be able at full load of 6.5 tons to show significantly higher flight performance than envisaged by the project, namely: fly at speeds up to 139 kilometers per hour, climb 500 meters in 4.5 minutes and climb to the “ceiling” of 3200 meters 7 .

Zhukovsky's support allowed Slesarev to resume the preparation of Svyatogor for testing. However, the work was carried out in a poorly equipped handicraft workshop, as all factories were overloaded with military orders. This greatly affected the quality of the manufactured parts, which, when the Svyatogor was re-run at the airfield, caused minor breakdowns. In addition, it should be remembered that airfields in the modern sense of the word did not exist at that time, and the Svyatogor was tested on a poorly leveled field. As a result, during one of the runs across the field, the Svyatogor wheel, due to an unsuccessful sharp turn, fell into a deep drainage ditch, which led to damage to the aircraft. Opponents of Slesarev again undertook active actions. Vasily Adrianovich, nevertheless, this time managed to insist on the need to complete the tests of his offspring. However, in the conditions of the intensified devastation of wartime, the case again dragged on for a long time. In addition, the military department did not give money, and Slesarev's personal funds were already completely exhausted by him8. The revolutionary events that broke out in February 1917 removed the question of the fate of Svyatogor from the agenda for a long time.

young Soviet Russia, bleeding, waged an unequal heroic battle with hunger, devastation, counter-revolutionaries and interventionists. In the atmosphere of those days, all Slesarev’s attempts to attract government and government interest in Svyatogor public organizations were obviously doomed to failure. And when he managed to get a reception from influential people, they listened to him attentively, sympathized:

Wait, Comrade Slesarev. The time will come... And now, you will agree with us, it's not up to Svyatogor.

And Slesarev patiently waited.

In January 1921, the Council of Labor and Defense, at the direction of V. I. Lenin, created a commission to develop a program for the development of Soviet aviation and aeronautics. Despite the difficulties experienced by the country associated with the restoration of the destroyed national economy, the Soviet government allocated 3 million rubles in gold.

In May 1921, Slesarev was instructed to prepare materials for the resumption of the construction of Svyatogor. . Slesarev left for Petrograd. His imagination already drew the outlines of a new air battleship, even more powerful, grandiose and more perfect than the Svyatogor. However, these dreams were not destined to come true: on July 10, 1921, a killer's bullet cut short the life of this remarkable man on the threshold of new glorious deeds in the name of a beautiful future.

(1895-1985)

Soviet designer of aircraft engines, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1943), Major General-Engineer (1944), Hero of Socialist Labor (1940). He studied at Moscow Higher Technical School, a student of N.E. Zhukovsky. From 1923 he worked at the Scientific Automotive Institute (since 1925 as chief designer), from 1930 at TsIAM, from 1936 at the aircraft engine plant. M.V. Frunze. In 1935-55. taught at Moscow Higher Technical School and VVIA. In the early 30s. under the leadership of Mikulin, the first Soviet liquid-cooled aircraft engine M-34 was created, on the basis of which a number of engines of various power and purpose were later built. The M-34 (AM-34) type engines were used to power the record-breaking ANT-25 aircraft, TB-3 bombers, and many other aircraft. The AM-35A engine was installed on the MiG-1, MiG-3 fighters, TB-7 (Pe-8) bombers. During the war, Mikulin supervised the creation of boosting the AM-38F and AM-42 engines for the Il-2 and Il-10 attack aircraft. In 1943-55. Mikulin is the chief designer of the Experimental Aircraft Engine Plant No. 30 in Moscow.

(1892 – 1962)

Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the State Prize of the USSR, engineer major general.

V.Ya. Klimov studied at the laboratory of automobile engines, which was headed by Academician E.A. Chukadov.

From 1918 to 1924, he was the head of the laboratory of light engines at the NAMI NTO of the USSR, taught at the Moscow Higher Technical School, the Lomonosov Institute and the Academy of the Air Force.

In 1924, he was sent to Germany for the purchase and acceptance of the BMW-4 engine (in licensed production of the M-17).

From 1928 to 1930 he is on a business trip to France, where he is also engaged in the purchase of the Gnome-Ron Jupiter-7 engine (in licensed production of M-22).

From 1931 to 1935, Vladimir Yakovlevich headed the department of gasoline engines of the newly created IAM (later VIAM) and headed the engine design department of the MAI. In 1935, as the Chief Designer of Plant No. 26 in Rybinsk, he was sent to France to negotiate the acquisition of a license for the production of a 12-cylinder V-engine Hispano-Suiza 12 Ybrs, which in the USSR received the designation M-100. The development of this engine - the VK-103, VK-105PF and VK-107A engines during the war years were installed on all Yakovlev fighters and on the Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber. At the end of the war, Klimov developed the VK-108 engine, but it never went into mass production.

(1892 - 1953)

Soviet designer of aircraft engines, doctor of technical sciences, (1940), lieutenant general of the engineering service (1948).

Born on 12 (24) 01/1892, in the village. Lower Sergi, now the Sverdlovsk region. In 1921 he graduated from Moscow Higher Technical School.

In 1925–1926, in collaboration with metallurgist N.V. Okromeshko, he created the M-11 five-cylinder star-shaped aircraft engine, which, according to test results, won the competition for an engine for training aircraft and became the first domestic serial air-cooled aircraft engine.

In 1934 he was appointed Chief Designer of the Perm Engine Plant (1934).

In the period from 1934 to 1953, under the leadership of A.D. Shvetsov, a family of air-cooled piston engines was created, covering the entire era of the development of this type of engine, from the five-cylinder M-25 with a power of 625 hp. up to 28-cylinder ASh-2TK with a power of 4500 hp. The engines of this family were installed on Tupolev, Ilyushin, Lavochkin, Polikarpov, Yakovlev aircraft, which made a decisive contribution to the cause of gaining air supremacy in the Great Patriotic War. Engines with the ASh brand (Arkady Shvetsov) served with great benefit and still serve in peacetime.

In the 30s. under the leadership of Shvetsov, the M-22, M-25, M-62, M-63 engines were created for the I-15, I-16 fighters, etc.; in the 40s. - a number of piston star-shaped air-cooled engines of successively increasing capacities of the ASh family: ASh-62IR (for transport aircraft Li-2, An-2), ASh-82, ASh-82FN (for La-5, La-7 fighters, Tu- 2, passenger aircraft Il-12, Il-14), engines for the M.L. Mil Mi-4 helicopter, etc. Shvetsov created a school of air-cooled engine designers.

Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 2nd-3rd convocations. Hero of Socialist Labor (1942). Laureate of the Stalin Prizes (1942, 1943, 1946, 1948). Awarded 5 orders of Lenin, 3 other orders, and medals. Gold medal "Hammer and Sickle", five Orders of Lenin, Order of Suvorov 2nd class, Order of Kutuzov 1st class, Order of the Red Banner of Labor, medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945".

From the very beginning of the existence of the Soviet state, the Party and the government took every possible care of the creation of the air fleet of the Land of Soviets. Aviation development issues were at the center of attention of Soviet party and state bodies and were repeatedly considered at party congresses, special meetings and conferences with the participation of top Soviet party and government officials.

Domestic aircraft construction in the early twenties was based on the modernization and serial production of the best examples of foreign aircraft. In parallel, work was underway to create their own designs.

One of the first aircraft built in Soviet time, was a modernized version of the English machine DN-9. Its development was entrusted to N.N. Polikarpov, and the aircraft in various modifications had the name R-1. At the same time, on the basis of the English Avro machine, the two-seat training aircraft U-1, intended for flight schools, was produced.

Of the domestic aircraft of the original design, created in the twenties, the AK-1 passenger aircraft of V. L. Aleksandrov and V. V. Kalinin should be noted. Pilot V. O. Pisarenko designed two aircraft and built them in the workshops of the Sevastopol pilot school, where he was an instructor. The design teams led by D. P. Grigorovich and N. N. Polikarpov, who worked on the creation of flying boats, passenger aircraft, and fighters, were very famous.

During this period, in the domestic aircraft industry, there was a transition to the creation of aircraft from metal. In 1925, the design bureau AGOS (aviation, hydroaviation and experimental construction) was created at TsAGI, headed by A.N. Tupolev. The topics of work of the AGOS were very diverse, and brigades were formed as part of the bureau. The engineers who led them later became well-known designers.

Many of the aircraft created in the bureau participated in international exhibitions and long distance flights. For example, ANT-3 (P-3) aircraft were used for flights to European capitals and a Far Eastern flight from Moscow to Tokyo. Heavy metal aircraft TB-1 (ANT-4) in 1929 flew Moscow New York. Aircraft of this type were built in series and were used only in long-range bomber aviation, but also in Arctic expeditions. The technical manager of the TB-1 project was the designer V. M. Petlyakov. AGOS also designed the ANT-9 passenger aircraft, which made a long-range flight with a length of 9037 km.

At the same time, the Land Aircraft Building Department (OSS), under the leadership of N. N. Polikarpov, built I-3, DI-2 fighter aircraft. In the same period, the well-known U-2 (Po-2) aircraft was built, which served for about 35 years. One of the most successful was the R-5 machine, created by the Land Aircraft Building Department, which was subsequently produced in various versions - as a reconnaissance aircraft, attack aircraft, and even as a light bomber.

The department of naval aircraft construction, led by D. P. Grigorovich, built naval aircraft, mostly scouts.

Along with combat and passenger vehicles, airplanes and light aircraft were designed by order of sports organizations, among them the first aircraft of A. S. Yakovlev, called AIR.

At the beginning of the thirties, the aircraft had the old forms - a biplane scheme and a landing gear that did not retract in flight. The skin of metal aircraft was corrugated. At the same time, a reorganization was taking place in the pilot aircraft industry, and brigades were created at the Aviarabotnik plant according to the types of aircraft.

At first, the task for the development of the I-5 aircraft was given to A.N. Tupolev, and later N.N. Polikarpov and D.P. Grigorovich were engaged in its creation. This aircraft in various modifications was in service for almost ten years, and the I-15, I-153, I-16 fighters even participated in the hostilities of the initial period of the Great Patriotic War.

The brigade of I. I. Pogossky designed seaplanes, in particular the MDR-3 marine long-range reconnaissance aircraft (later its team was headed by G. M. Beriev, who built seaplanes for the Navy aviation until the seventies).

A team of long-range bombers led by S. V. Ilyushin designed the DB-3 aircraft a little later, and then the well-known Il-2 attack aircraft. For several years, the team of S. A. Kocherigin was engaged in the design of an attack aircraft, which, however, was not used. Under the leadership of A. N. Tupolev, heavy bombers, including TB-3 one of the best and most famous aircraft of this type.

Design bureaus, led by A. I. Putilov and R. L. Bartini, worked on the creation of all-metal steel aircraft.

The successes achieved in aircraft construction, and especially in engine design, made it possible to start creating an aircraft with a record-breaking flight range ANT-25. This aircraft, powered by the M-34R engine designed by A. A. Mikulin, went down in history after it flew from Moscow over the North Pole to the United States.

By the beginning of the forties, in accordance with the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars "On the reconstruction of existing and construction of new aircraft factories", several aircraft factories were put into operation, which were intended for the production of the latest aircraft. In the same period, a competition was announced for the best design of a fighter aircraft. Talented design engineers S. A. Lavochkin, V. P. Gorbunov, M. I. Gudkov, A. I. Mikoyan, M. I. Gurevich, M. M. Pashinyan, V. M. Petlyakov, N. N. Polikarpov, P. O. Sukhoi, V. K. Tairov, I. F. Florov, V. V. Shevchenko, A. S. Yakovlev, V. P. Yatsenko. As a result of the competition in 1941, LaGG, MiG and Yak aircraft, well-known fighters of the period of the Great Patriotic War, began to enter service.

An important role during the war years was played by Pe-2 dive bombers designed by V. M. Petlyakov. In 1939 under the leadership of V. M. Petlyakov, the ANT-42 (TB-7) aircraft, built at TsAGI in 1936 and renamed after the death of Petlyakov (1942) into Pe-8, was modified. This aircraft, along with the Su-2 bombers designed by P. O. Sukhoi and Yer-2 designed by V. G. Ermolaev R. L. Bartini, was used in long-range aviation. The Yer-2 aircraft had a long flight range, especially with the installation of heavy fuel engines (diesels) designed by A. D. Charomsky.

The words of K. E. Tsiolkovsky that the era of jet airplanes will come after the era of propeller airplanes turned out to be prophetic. The era of jet aircraft practically began in the forties. At the initiative of the prominent Soviet military leader M. N. Tukhachevsky, who at that time was the Deputy People's Commissar for Armaments, many research institutions were created that worked in the field of rocket technology.

However, it should be said that the achievements in the development of Soviet jet aviation did not come suddenly, by themselves.

Theoretical developments and research conducted at the end of the twenties made it possible to come close to the creation of a rocket plane. Such a glider was built by B. I. Cheranovsky for the GIRD, and in 1932 the glider was modified for an experimental engine of one of the founders of Russian rocket science, engineer F. A. Tsander.

In April 1935, S.P. Korolev announced his intention to build a cruise missile laboratory for human flights at low altitudes using air-rocket engines.

An important role was played by tests carried out in 1939 1940, when a liquid-propellant rocket engine (LRE) with adjustable thrust was created, mounted on a glider developed by S.P. Korolev, later an academician, twice Hero of Socialist Labor. On February 28, 1940, pilot V.P. Fedorov at an altitude of 2000 m separated from the towing aircraft in a rocket plane, turned on the rocket engine, flew with the engine running and, after running out of fuel, landed at the airfield.

Security top speed aircraft was the dream of every designer. Therefore, jet accelerators began to be installed on piston-engine aircraft. An example is the Yak-7 VRD aircraft, under the wing of which two ramjet engines were suspended. When they were turned on, the speed increased by 60 90 kit/h. On the La-7R aircraft, a liquid-propellant rocket engine was used as an accelerator. The increase in speed due to the thrust of the rocket engine was 85 km / h. Powder boosters were also used to increase the flight speed and reduce the takeoff distance during the takeoff run of the aircraft.

A lot of work was done on the creation of a special fighter aircraft with a liquid-propellant rocket engine, which the Dodges had to have a high rate of climb and speed with a significant duration of flight.

Young designers A. Ya. Bereznyak and L. M. Isaev, under the leadership of V. F. Bolkhovitinov, began designing in August 1941 combat aircraft with a rocket engine designed to intercept enemy fighters in the airfield area, on May 15, 1942, the pilot of the State Scientific and Testing Institute of the Air Force G. Ya. Bakhchivandzhi, in the presence of designers and a commission, made a successful flight on this jet aircraft.

In the post-war period, new models of fighter aircraft with rocket engines were created and tested in the country. For example, one of these models was controlled by a pilot who was in a car in a supine position.

During the Great Patriotic War, significant work was carried out to improve flight performance Pe-2 aircraft using liquid-propellant rocket engines that had adjustable thrust.

However, neither fighters with piston engines and boosters installed on them, nor airplanes with rocket engines have found application in the practice of combat aviation.

In 1944, in order to increase speeds, it was decided to install a motor-compressor engine on the aircraft of A. I. Mikoyan and P. O. Sukhoi, which would combine the features of piston and jet engines. In 1945, the I-250 (Mikoyan) and Su-5 (Sukhoi) aircraft reached speeds of 814 825 km/h.

In accordance with the instructions of the State Defense Committee, a decision was made to create and build jet aircraft. This work was entrusted to Lavochkin, Mikoyan, Sukhoi and Yakovlev.

As you know, on April 24, 1946, on the same day, Yak-15 and MiG-9 aircraft took off, which had as power plants insufficiently advanced turbojet engines, and the machines themselves did not fully meet the requirements for aviation. Later, the La-160 was built, the first swept-wing jet aircraft in our country. Its appearance played a significant role in increasing the speed of fighters, but it was still far from the speed of sound.

The second generation of domestic jet aircraft was more advanced, faster, more reliable machines, including the Yak-23, La-15 and especially the MiG-15. As you know, the latter had a powerful engine, three guns and a swept wing, under which, if necessary, additional fuel tanks were suspended. The plane fully justified the hopes placed on it. As the experience of military operations in Korea showed, it was superior to the American Saber fighter. The training version of this machine also served well, which for a number of years was the main training fighter of our aviation.

For the first time in the USSR, the speed of sound in flight with a decrease was achieved under the new one, in 1949, on an experimental aircraft of S. A. Lavochkin La-176 by pilot O. V. Sokolovsky. And in 1950, already in level flight, the MiG-17, Yak-50 aircraft passed the “sound barrier” and, with a decrease, reached speeds that were much higher than the sound ones. In September November 1952, the MiG-19 developed a speed 1.5 times greater than the speed of sound, and surpassed the Super Saber in its main characteristics, which by that time was the main US Air Force fighter.

Having overcome the "sound barrier", aviation continued to master ever-higher speeds and flight altitudes. The speed has already reached such values ​​at which, to further increase it, new solutions to the problem of stability and controllability were required. In addition, aviation came close to the so-called "thermal barrier" (when flying at supersonic speed, the air temperature in front of the aircraft rises sharply as a result of strong compression, this heating is transferred to the machine itself). The problem of thermal protection required an urgent solution.

On May 28, 1960, on the T-405 aircraft of General Designer P. O. Sukhoi, pilot B. Adrianov set an absolute world flight speed record of 2092 km / h along a closed route of 100 km.

As a result, our aviation received an aircraft capable of flying for about 30 minutes at a speed of approximately 3,000 km/h. Flights on these aircraft also showed that, thanks to the use of heat-resistant materials and powerful cooling systems, the problem of the "thermal barrier" for these flight speeds was basically solved.

During the post-war years, excellent passenger and transport aircraft were created in the USSR. Back in 1956, the Tu-104 aircraft began operating on Aeroflot lines, which for the first time in the world began regular passenger transportation, Il-18, Tu-124, Tu-134, An-10 and Yak-40 advanced our Civil Air Fleet by one from the leading places in the world.

New domestic passenger aircraft An-24, Tu-154M, Il-62M and Yak-42 carry out mass air transportation within the country and abroad. At the end of the seventies, the Tu-144 supersonic passenger aircraft was created. A new qualitative and quantitative level of passenger transportation was achieved with the commissioning of the Il-86 airbus. Military transport aviation received An-22 and Il-76T aircraft used to transport military and civilian cargo. In 1984, the operation of the giant aircraft An-124, and later An-225, began.

Helicopters, which only after the Second World War became operational and economically viable vehicle are now widely used. Soviet aviation designers created reliable rotorcraft for various purposes - light Mi-2 and Ka-26, medium Mi-6 and Ka-32 and heavy Mi-26 and others for military and civil aviation.

The successes of the Soviet aviation industry in creating combat aircraft were demonstrated in 1988 at the international aviation exhibition in Farnborough (England), where the MiG-29 air superiority fighter was demonstrated; the same aircraft, the Buran and the Su-27 were demonstrated in Paris in 1989. Military Literature website: militera.lib.ru
Edition: Ponomarev A. N. Soviet aviation designers. - M.: Military Publishing, 1990.