OKB Polikarpov (1924-29)
TsKB-39 (December 1929-31)
OKB-84 (1936-37)
OKB-156 (from January 1938-39)
OKB-1 (May 1939-40)
OKB-51 (1940-44)
POLIKARPOV Nikolai Nikolaevich (07/9/1892-07/30/1944) - Soviet aircraft designer, Doctor of Technical Sciences (1940), Hero of Socialist Labor (1940).
Born on June 9 (May 28), 1892 in the village of Georgievskoye, Livensky district, Oryol province, in the family of a rural priest. Having graduated from the Livensky Theological School, he studied at the Oryol Seminary, which, however, did not finish: having passed the exams for the gymnasium course as an external student, in 1911 he entered the mechanical department of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, and since 1914, having become interested in aviation, he has been taking aeronautical courses at shipbuilding department of the institute.
In 1916, after defending his diploma project, Nikolai Nikolaevich received a referral to the aviation department of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works (RBVZ), where until 1918 he worked as production manager under the leadership of the outstanding Russian designer I.I. Sikorsky. Participates in the construction of the Ilya Muromets aircraft and the design of RBVZ fighters.
After the revolution, Sikorsky emigrated, inviting Polikarpov with him. But he refuses...
From 1918 he worked at the Dux plant (aircraft plant No. 1), where until 1923 he headed the technical department.
In the spring of 1923, Polikarpov created the first Soviet fighter I-1 (IL-400), which became the world's first fighter - a cantilever monoplane. In 1923, under the leadership of Polikarpov, the R-1 reconnaissance aircraft was created. In January 1925 N.N.P. (after D.P. Grigorovich left for Leningrad) achieved organization at GAZ 1 named after. Aviakhim experimental department and became its head. In February 1926, N.N. Polikarpov was appointed head of the land aircraft manufacturing department (LOA) of the Aviatrest Central Design Bureau. In 1927 he created the I-3 fighter, in 1928 - the R-5 reconnaissance aircraft (became widely known in connection with the rescue of the expedition of the Chelyuskin steamship), the initial training aircraft U-2, which gained worldwide fame and was renamed Po-2 after the death of the designer ). The U-2 (Po-2) was built until 1959. During this time, more than 40 thousand vehicles were produced, and more than 100 thousand pilots were trained for them. During the Great Patriotic War, U-2s were successfully used as reconnaissance aircraft and night bombers.
Polikarpov was unreasonably repressed. In October 1929, he was arrested on a standard charge - “participation in a counter-revolutionary sabotage organization” - and without trial he was sentenced to capital punishment. For more than two months, Polikarpov was awaiting execution. In December of the same year (without canceling or changing the sentence) he was sent to the “Special Design Bureau” (TsKB-39 OGPU), organized in Butyrka prison, and then transferred to the Moscow Aviation Plant No. 39 named after. V.R. Menzhinsky. Here, together with D. Grigorovich, in 1930 he developed the I-5 fighter, which was in service for 9 years. In 1931, the OGPU board sentenced Polikarpov to ten years in the camps. But after a successful demonstration of the I-5 aircraft, piloted by Chkalov and Anisimov, to Stalin, Voroshilov, and Ordzhonikidze, it was decided to consider the sentence against Polikarpov suspended. In July of the same year, the Presidium of the USSR Central Executive Committee decided to grant an amnesty to a group of people, including Polikarpov. Only in 1956 - 12 years after the death of the designer - the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR overturned the previous decision of the OGPU Collegium and dismissed the case against Polikarpov.
In the 30s he created the I-15, I-16, I-153 “Chaika” fighters, which formed the basis of Soviet fighter aviation in the pre-war years. On November 21, 1935, pilot V.K. Kokkinaki set a world altitude record on the I-15 - 14575 km.
After the arrest of A.N. Tupolev, N. Polikarpov was appointed Chief Designer of aircraft plant No. 156 (ZOK TsAGI). At the beginning of January 1938, his design bureau moved here from plant No. 84. By the end of 1938, the I-180 fighter was built - a development of the I-16 with the M-87 engine. But the death of V.P. Chkalov on it in the first test flight again plunged Polikarpov into disgrace. His deputy, lead designer D. Tomashevich, director of plant No. 156 Usachev and others were arrested. Polikarpov himself was saved from arrest only by the fact that he refused to sign the certificate of readiness of the aircraft for the first flight and Baidukov’s petition. In May 1939, work on the I-180 was transferred to State Aviation Plant No. 1. The design bureau was also transferred here, and Polikarpov became the technical director and chief designer of the plant. In parallel with the high-speed I-180, Polikarpov continued the line of maneuverable biplanes - I-190 (1939), I-195 (project 1940).
In 1939, Polikarpov went on a business trip to Germany. In his absence, plant director Pavel Voronin and chief engineer Pyotr Dementyev (future minister of aviation industry) separated from the design bureau some of the divisions and the best designers (including Mikhail Gurevich) and organized a new Experimental Design Department, and in fact a new design bureau, under the leadership of Artem Mikoyan.
At the same time, Mikoyan was given a project for a new I-200 fighter (the future MiG-1), which Polikarpov sent to the People's Commissariat of Aviation Industry (NKAP) for approval before his trip to Germany. Polikarpov, as a consolation, received a prize for designing the I-200 fighter and... was left without many experienced design personnel, without his own premises and, moreover, without a production base. At first, he was sheltered by the TsAGI test hangar. Then, under Polikarpov, in an old hangar on the outskirts of Khodynka, a new state plant No. 51 was created, which did not have any of its own production base or even a building to house the design bureau. On the territory of this plant there is currently an experimental design bureau and a pilot plant named after. P. Sukhoi.
In 1938-44, Polikarpov designed a number of experimental military aircraft: TIS, VIT, SPB, NB, etc. On January 11, 1941, the I-185 took off - the first domestic fighter according to the requirements of 1940 with an air-cooled engine. In 1942, it passed state tests and military tests on the Kalinin Front. According to the Air Force Research Institute, the aircraft was superior to all domestic and German production fighters. The lack of development of the M-71 engine, the accident in which test pilot V.A. Stepanchonok died, and the lack of a plant did not allow the aircraft to be put into production.
An unhealthy atmosphere developed around Polikarpov. The designer was persecuted, work was slowed down, and he was accused of conservatism. This continued until 1942, when Stalin took Polikarpov under his protection. But in 1944 he died (stomach cancer).
One of his last works was the project of the Malyutka rocket fighter.
In total, Polikarpov developed over 80 aircraft of various types. For the period 1923-1940. at plant No. 1, on the territory of which the machine-building plant named after. P.V. Voronin, 15,951 aircraft were built (and taking into account modifications of experimental ones and those built in small series - 16,698 aircraft), mainly designed by Polikarpov. Among them are reconnaissance aircraft R-1 (1914 aircraft), R-5 (4548 aircraft), such famous fighters as I-3 (399 aircraft), I-5 (803), I-15 (674 aircraft; in total - 3083), I-153 (3437), I-16 (in serial production from 1934 to 1941; a total of 9450 vehicles were built), UTI-4 fighter trainer (1639 vehicles). A number of long-distance flights were made on Polikarpov’s planes.
Polikarpov was one of the first to break down aircraft design into specialized parts. A.I. Mikoyan, M.K. Yangel, A.V. Potopalov, V.K. Tairov, V.V. Nikitin and other specialists who later became prominent designers of aviation and rocket and space technology worked under the leadership of Polikarpov.
Since 1943 Polikarpov has been a professor at the Moscow Aviation Institute. Member of the USSR Supreme Council since 1937. USSR State Prize (1941, 1943). Awarded 2 Orders of Lenin, Order of the Red Star. Monuments to Polikarpov were erected in Moscow, Orel, and Livny. The Polikarpov Museum was opened in the village of Kalinin, Oryol region. A peak in the Pamirs is named after him.
On May 5, 2000, on the eve of Victory Day, a memorial dedicated to Nikolai Nikolayevich Polikarpov was inaugurated on the territory of the Sukhoi Design Bureau. At the edge of a small park, next to the historical hangar, in memory of this remarkable aircraft designer, his bust and a small stele with a modest war worker, the I-153 fighter, were installed.
One of the pioneers of Soviet military aviation, Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov, went through a rather long and difficult path, from an engineer to the chief designer of his design bureau.
It was not for nothing that he was nicknamed the “King of Fighters”; it was on his planes that our aces first took to the skies: Pokryshkin, Kozhedub and Rechkalov. Polikarpov’s fighters under the letter “I” fought in the skies of Spain, China and Finland, and later held the defense on the borders of our country.
From heaven to earth
Born in the Oryol region near the village of Georgievskoye (now Kalinino) in the Liven zemstvo on June 9, 1892 in a family of hereditary clergy. Mother was from a family of wealthy priests.
In her early years, his grandmother lived on the estate of I. S. Turgenev; her father, great-grandfather Kolya, according to evidence of that time, could serve as a prototype of the stern Bazarov from Turgenev’s work “Fathers and Sons.”
Nikolai's father was a participant in charitable events and organizations. He served in the rank of archbishop in several provinces. By 1903, the seventh child was born into the Polikarpov family.
Censer or motor
Kolya Polikarpov’s childhood passed quickly; the boy loved to design and draw, and read a lot. At the age of 9 he was sent to study at the Livensky Theological School. At the age of fifteen he entered the seminary of the city of Orel. But fortunately N.N. Polikarpov was not interested in the boring life of a parish priest, but in the roar of engines and turbines; perhaps even then the sky beckoned him.
In 1911, having abandoned his spiritual studies and not thinking about his family vocation as a priest, he passed the exams and entered the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute.
Nikolai Polikarpov entered the mechanical department of the shipbuilding faculty. At the age of 20 (1912) he began his internship in Livensky district, working as an engineer in the construction of highways and bridges. At the age of 21, he became interested in aviation and attended relevant courses at the faculty, while simultaneously starting his studies at the second faculty of aviation.
At the age of 24 he defends his diploma “Marine Diesel 1000 hp.” and received the title “mechanical engineer of the 1st degree,” but failed to defend his diploma on a twin-engine aircraft.
At the time of entering the institute, Nikolai had six more brothers and sisters, and besides, tuition had to be paid. The father-priest's budget was limited. Therefore, the future aircraft designer, simultaneously with his training, worked as an assistant engineer in the workshops of the shipbuilding department of the plant, and later in the aircraft manufacturing department.
The beginning and rise of a career
After studying, he worked as a production manager at the Russo-Balta aviation department, which was the name of the multi-profile Russian-Baltic Carriage Plant at that time.
Nikolai became the leader and mentor, who drew attention to the talented student during his studies.
Polikarpov took part in the giant bomber project, a revolutionary project at that time. He created projects for new fighters for the revived air units of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet and at the same time was engaged in the modernization of old ones.
In 1918, the plant collapsed due to the difficult economic situation after the First World War and the revolution. I.I. Sikorsky did not find mutual understanding with the Bolsheviks in the new situation, and decided to emigrate. Not forgetting about his best student, he invited Polikarpov with him, promising better conditions for growth, but he refused.
Dedication to the Union
That same year, Nikolai began working in Moscow in the management of the Main Air Fleet, in one of the positions in the construction of aircraft factories.
In 1918, he was sent to Moscow, to the Dux plant. As deputy head of the design department, he studied foreign aircraft and modernized domestic aircraft.
On his own initiative, with his team, he developed the first Soviet monoplane fighter. Serial production of the bold but unfinished IL-400 project was limited to 33 vehicles.
From 1924 to 1928 he changed several main leadership positions. During this time, he became the first Soviet person to develop methods for creating and testing aircraft. He streamlined the approach and science of aircraft construction, by which other designers were guided and aligned before the era of jet aviation.
In 1927, Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov created a winged legend.
The U-2 training aircraft, weighing about 700 kg, was the desk of hundreds and thousands of pilots and for a long time won the reputation of the most successful and simple aircraft of the USSR. During its life, this aircraft has changed hundreds of guises: a training and communications aircraft, a limousine, a sprayer, etc.
The machine, which trained about one hundred thousand pilots, was produced for a record long time - until 1954. This was facilitated by both the simplicity of the design and the low cost of the material: wood, canvas and plywood. In memory of him, the plane was renamed Po-2.
In February 1928, Polikarpov's design bureau moved to aircraft factory No. 25, where it completed the development of a new aircraft by September. The R-5 aircraft became one of the best all-purpose aircraft of the 30s.
An attack aircraft, a bomber, a carrier of chemical weapons, a reconnaissance aircraft and a transport aircraft, in whatever conditions it performed its tasks. One thing remained unchanged - high reliability and simplicity of design.
One step away from execution
On October 24, 1929, Nikolai Polikarpov was arrested by state security agencies, charging him with articles on counter-revolutionary activities and undermining industry. Nikolai's design errors and competition among aircraft manufacturers largely influenced the decision to arrest.
The political situation and the activation of the opposition aggravated the designer’s situation.
One of the opponents of the Soviet regime abroad was I.I. Sikorsky, Polikarpov’s former mentor, who proposed a plan to overthrow the government through an airborne assault from aircraft of his own production.
After waiting for two months, they decided to postpone the sentence indefinitely. He was saved by the need for talented aircraft designers in a difficult global situation.
In December, an aviation design bureau, the so-called “sharashka,” was created in the prison. Such bureaus at that time were the concentration of the scientific potential of the USSR. Polikarpov performed the duties of Deputy D.P. Grigorovich.
In 1930, several fighters were developed, including the I-5, which went on combat duty in the Air Force, where it served until the 40s. In the spring of 1930, Polikarpov had his charges reduced and sentenced to 10 years in a camp.
But everything changed in June 1931, when the I-5 was presented to the commission of the People's Commissariat of Defense and Armaments, headed by Stalin. The demonstration was successful and a month later Nikolai Nikolaevich was given amnesty along with other specialists, and his prison term was reclassified as suspended.
Conquering new heights before a serene sunset
After his release, Polikarpov moved to TsAGI. In 1933, they were created within the framework of the concept of interaction between a maneuverable and high-speed fighter. The I-15 line was later developed in the form of the I-15-2 and I-15-3 fighters.
The I-16 also did not stand still and was constantly modernized; the last model of the I-16 type 29 was released in 1941. For this purpose, the best specialists and production facilities were gathered in our own design bureau.
The I-16 became one of the best cars to come out of Polikarpov's design bureau.
The frontal, maneuverable monoplane, assembled mostly from plywood, showed excellent results in China and Spain, where it was not inferior to the first modifications of its future enemy. To the planes of Willy Messerschmitt. This technique was used to set a world altitude record in 1935.
It was these vehicles that were the first to meet the enemy in the sky over Brest on June 22, 1941 and served until 1945. One of the last I-16s flew in Spain until the mid-50s!
In 1939, Nikolai Nikolaevich was sent to Germany. The task of the commission, which included Polikarpov, was to collect information about Luftwaffe aircraft and factories in Germany, which at that time was already considered a future enemy. While the aircraft designer was abroad, his design bureau was disbanded, specialists and projects were transferred to other designers.
So the project of Polikarpov’s high-altitude high-speed fighter was finalized and brought to series at the Mikoyan and Gurevich design bureau, it entered service as the MiG-1 fighter. Upon his return, Polikarpov put everything back together, while simultaneously working on other projects with a shortage of resources.
An old hangar without the necessary conditions for work was allocated as the site of the new design bureau.
At the beginning of the war, one of the best aircraft of its time was developed in this hangar, thanks to which the number of dead Soviet pilots could be reduced significantly. in terms of performance characteristics, it was an order of magnitude superior to all German aircraft. But the flawed design of the engine, and to some extent Yakovlev’s intrigues, led to the oblivion of this fighter.
Although even with the M-82 engine, the I-185 was somewhat superior to its competitor La-5 in flight performance, not to mention armament, only the La-7 modification, produced in a small series at the end of the war, had 3 air cannons.
Nikolai Nikolaevich continued to lead the design bureau after doctors made a fatal diagnosis. Polikarpov's aircraft were in service for decades and were recognized as the best in their class on the world stage. By 1943 he had the highest state awards and two Stalin Prizes of the first degree. The outstanding figure died on July 30, 1944 from stomach cancer.
Video
THE HISTORY OF HOMELAND
TWO SKIES BY POLIKARPOV
Next year, our aircraft designers, and the whole country, should celebrate the 120th anniversary of Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov. Why "should"? Unfortunately, his name has been forgotten and it is not a fact that they will remember the anniversary. After all, what do we know about Polikarpov? That he designed the famous “plywood” Po-2. Some have also heard that in Stalin’s times he was not afraid to go to the Orthodox Church and wore a cross. That's all, I guess.
Meanwhile, his colleagues and pilots called him the king of fighters. It was Polikarpov who created the legendary I-16 - the donkey on which our aviators fought in the skies of Spain. They also met the Great Patriotic War there. But this was only one of 80 (!) machines designed by Nikolai Nikolaevich. Polikarpov can safely be called the founder of Soviet fighter aviation - all subsequent designers, right up to the advent of jet aviation, used the groundwork he created.
The aircraft designer was born into the family of a priest, in the village of Georgievskoye (now Kalinino) near the city of Livny, Oryol province. He graduated from theological school and seminary, throughout his life he was Orthodox, not just by baptism, but a man of prayer who openly professed his faith. Among the people whose names the whole country knew, it seems that only two allowed themselves to do this - academician Ivan Pavlov and Nikolai Polikarpov.
He became involved in aviation even before the revolution. Together with Igor Sikorsky he created the Ilya Muromets - 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 and sentenced to death. A letter of his, full of pain and anxiety for his family, written on death row to his wife Alexandra and daughter Marianna - Mirochka, has been preserved:
“I worry all the time about how you live, how your health is, how you are coping with our common misfortune. It’s not worth even remembering, I’m completely heartbroken by this. Occasionally, at night or early in the morning, I hear the sounds of life: a tram, a bus, a car, the bell for matins, but otherwise my life flows monotonously, depressingly... I am very, very afraid that you or Mirochka are sick, because It's been a week now and there's no transmission from you. Yesterday I saw you in a dream, and today Mirochka. I think that my letters have not yet reached you. This is the fourth letter... I remember you all the time, mentally travel to you, mentally relive my entire life with you and Mirochka. How I would like to see Mirochka. He's probably running around with a sled and a shovel now?.. How's your money? Buy Mirochka a book from me, and arrange a Christmas tree for her for Christmas. Do you play the pianool? How nice it would be to play... St. Pray for me. Nicholas, light a candle and don’t forget about me. Take care of yourself, dress better and eat better.”
But the need for Soviet aviation in Polikarpov was too great - and the execution was canceled. He set to work again, creating almost all of the Soviet fighters of the 1930s. By 1941, the I-16 fighter, created eight years before the start of the war, was, of course, outdated. Nevertheless, he fought very well, especially after Polikarpov armed him with cannons instead of machine guns. With such a machine, pilot Boris Safonov won most of his twenty victories. Already at 3.30 in the morning on June 22, a German plane was shot down on an I-16 over Brest. In total, the Germans lost about three hundred vehicles that day, most of which were destroyed by pilots flying Polikarpov’s fighters.
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Another plane of Nikolai Nikolaevich, the U-2, colloquially called the “corn maker,” we all know from the films “Heavenly Slugger,” “Only Old Men Go to Battle,” “Night Witches in the Sky.” The machine, created in 1927 as a training aircraft, was produced until 1959, breaking all longevity records in aviation. All our pilots, without exception, managed to fly the U-2, which after Polikarpov’s death received his name - Po-2. This plane opened the way to the sky for them in flying clubs and schools. The car was so reliable, economical and easy to operate that it was used both as a passenger and as an ambulance, hanging cabins for the wounded. During the war it was also discovered that the aircraft could be converted into a night bomber. The Germans called it a “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 enemy trenches, railway stations, columns on the march and dropped a quarter of a ton of explosives and steel on the heads of the fascists. Very often the pilots were girls who fought in women's air regiments. Twenty-three of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Of course, the designer understood before the war that aviation was not standing still, new, modern machines were needed, but from the late 30s he fell into disgrace again. His magnificent I-180 and I-185 - at the time of creation the best in the world - never went into production. The I-200 was taken away from the designer; this machine became famous as the Mig-1, our only aircraft on which not a single accident occurred during testing. Reliability was a unique feature of all Polikarpov’s cars, a man for whom the concept of “love for people” was not a set of sounds. If test pilots died on his machines, as happened with Valery Chkalov, the commissions invariably established that this was not the fault of the aircraft’s creator.
This uniqueness of design talent was accompanied by a deep, sincere faith in God. This life is instructive for our contemporaries. You will learn a lot of new things about her from interviews given to our newspaper by two people who know more about Polikarpov than anyone else. In this issue you can get acquainted with the largest researcher of the life and work of the aircraft designer - Vladimir Petrovich Ivanov. Next, read our conversation with Nikolai Polikarpov’s grandson, Andrei Vladimirovich Korshunov.
We express our gratitude to the director of the local history museum of the city of Livny, Oleg Nikolaevich Bulatnikov, the teacher of the village of Kalinino, Natalya Alekseevna Novikova, and everyone who helped us in preparing this publication.
V. GRIGORYAN
“I PROUDLY CARRY MY CROSS IN LIFE”
“He was supposed to become a priest, but he devoted his life to aviation. He experienced incredible ups, all-Union glory, power, honor - and terrible downs, “prison and scrip.” He is rightfully considered one of the greatest aircraft designers of the 20th century, but many of his projects never saw the sky. He created the best fighter of the Great Patriotic War, which was never put into mass production. And he died before reaching the Victory, barely turning sixty. It is not for nothing that historians have dubbed Nikolai Nikolayevich Polikarpov the most tragic figure in the history of Soviet aviation” (from the annotation to the book “The Unknown Polikarpov” by V.P. Ivanov).
Our correspondent talked with Vladimir Petrovich Ivanov, the author of five books about Nikolai Polikarpov, a major researcher of the life and work of the aircraft designer.
Unknown Polikarpov
– Vladimir Petrovich, Polikarpov was an Orthodox man who did not hide his faith. His origin was again disappointing by Soviet standards - the son of a priest, not to mention the fact that he himself was sentenced to death. How did he even survive?
– Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov was a forgiven criminal. He was released in the early 30s, but the sentence was not overturned. They replaced the execution with imprisonment in camps, but Polikarpov was needed all the time. And the following situation arose: a deputy of the Supreme Council, a Hero of Socialist Labor, could be captured at any time and executed without trial. Because the trial and investigation have already taken place. And he continued to make airplanes.
– How did your interest in Polikarpov begin?
– I myself am an aviation engineer, my grandfather worked at an aircraft factory, built the planes on which my father fought. Friends came to visit my father - pilots and aircraft technicians. Some were personally acquainted with Polikarpov. I remember one of these people, a seriously wounded pilot who lost an eye during the war in Spain. I grew up in this atmosphere, and, naturally, I formed a certain opinion about Nikolai Nikolaevich.
And then I came across a book by Mikhail Saulovich Arlazorov about aircraft designers, where Polikarpov was literally mixed with dirt. It was 1969. I went to the library to collect arguments for refutation, and discovered that a lot had been written about Polikarpov, but little that was reliable. If so, I decided to take up the matter myself. That was thirty-one years ago. I began to meet with the then still living employees of the designer - Polikarpovites, and wrote down their memories. Then, at the turn of the 80s, access to many materials on Nikolai Nikolaevich was opened. They were removed from regular archives after his arrest and kept under wraps for half a century. And then suddenly they returned it, I began to study them. And today I have collected extracts and copies of almost 13 thousand documents. I know about many days of Nikolai Nikolaevich’s life literally by the hour. But, unfortunately, not everything is known yet.
– How much did you manage to tell about in books?
– As they say, to the best of our ability. The last book, “The Unknown Polikarpov,” which was recently published and is in stores, was cut in half. The publisher said that otherwise it would be too expensive, 600 pages is the limit. Where by washing, where by rolling we managed to bring the volume to 864 pages, but much was still not included.
“We need to pray for them”
– Who told you the most about him?
- A little bit of each. In addition, in the 20s, transcripts of the meetings were constantly kept, there are a lot of them, and his speech is live there. There were a lot of denunciations.
-Who wrote them?
- Everyone wrote. It’s easier to say who didn’t write. For example, Ilyushin, Polikarpov’s best friend, did not write. Nikolai Nikolaevich made a number of projects for Ilyushin in gratitude, and Ilyushin’s early aircraft bear a strong imprint of Polikarpov’s design ideas. It was Ilyushin who at one time saved Nikolai Nikolaevich from Tupolev.
– Were Tupolev and Polikarpov enemies?
– The history of their relationship was quite complicated. Polikarpov is a designer from God, and Andrei Nikolaevich Tupolev is an outstanding organizer of the design business, but as an inventor he was not very strong.
Fate first brought them together at the Dux plant during the First World War. Tupolev was the chief designer there, tried to create machines for naval aviation, but did not achieve much success - the sailors refused his aircraft. Then the director of the plant, Julius von Möller, who after the start of the war changed his inappropriate German surname to the sonorous Russian Brezhnev, called Tupolev and asked what was happening. He said that his team creates magnificent projects, and engineer Polikarpov does not bother to provide them with orders.
They called Polikarpov. “What are the projects, so are the orders,” Nikolai Nikolaevich answered calmly. Thus began their war with Tupolev, whom Meller kicked out of the factory.
Tupolev later wrote that he left, was offended and “took his drawings” (well, not exactly his own, a whole team prepared them). From that moment on, he did not miss the opportunity to trip Nikolai Nikolaevich. For the sake of business, as it seemed to Tupolev.
“It was a common occurrence back then.”
– Yes, but Polikarpov never acted like that. When Tupolev was arrested with a large group of his employees, Chkalov, joyful, ran to Nikolai Nikolaevich and announced: “Have you heard? They knocked down the oak!” (referring to the arrest of Tupolev, whom Chkalov did not like). And Polikarpov quietly said in response: “Yes, it’s hard for them now, we need to pray for them.”
– Did he help many people?
– When his deputy Tomashevich was imprisoned, Polikarpov provided his family with money and food. After Dmitry Lyudvigovich’s release, he helped him get a job and, already dying, wrote letters to all authorities, to the People’s Commissariat, asking that his design bureau be given to Tomashevich.
And one day the NKVD received a denunciation against Yangel, then still a boy working for Polikarpov. Let me remind you 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 do in Polikarpov’s place at a time when no one trusted anyone? And what did Polikarpov do? He gave the young employee leave and sent him to Siberia to collect documents about his father’s innocence.
Yangel himself was a man of a slightly different type. During the war, he left his family in evacuation without means of subsistence, leaving for Moscow. And one day, his wife Irina Strazheva later recalled, he and his children had neither bread nor money left. It's 1941. Suddenly there is a knock on the door. “I open it,” Irina said, “and there is a beast-like woman standing there, saying: “Polikarpov found out that your life is bad, he sent a bag of potatoes. Sign for receipt."
This is one of many stories. What can I say, a man with a capital M...
When our wonderful aircraft designer Grigorovich was dying, Polikarpov was the only colleague who visited him. They had a history when they were young. Both fell in love with the same girl, who worked, I don’t remember exactly, as a secretary or a typist at the Main Directorate of the Aviation Industry. The girl, Alexandra Fedorovna, chose Polikarpov, becoming his wife. Grigorovich was a noisy, harsh person and could shout at anyone, but not at Polikarpov. They retained respect for each other for the rest of their lives.
Polikarpov family
– Was Nikolai Nikolaevich’s father a priest?
- Yes, a hereditary priest. Once, in a conversation with his daughter, Nikolai Nikolaevich said: “We, the Polikarpovs, come from the Greeks.” There was such a legend in the family, perhaps erroneous. That's what it was based on. The history of the family goes back to the thirteenth century, when, according to the chronicles, the monk Polycarp “from the Greeks” came to Chernigov, to the Seversk land. He asked the prince for permission to baptize the Vyatichi who lived in dense forests in the Bryansk, Oryol, Tula, Kaluga and Lipetsk regions.
The prince gave several Russian priests to help the monk. One of them, who took as his surname the name of a teacher who was later canonized, gave rise to the Polikarpov family. After all, Polycarp himself was a monk and, therefore, could not have a family.
In the Oryol province, the Polikarpovs, together with their relatives, made up at least a quarter of the clergy, and had numerous relatives in neighboring dioceses. In the lists of graduates of the Oryol Theological School for 1790, you can read the name of the aircraft designer’s ancestor, Mikhail Polikarpov, and his brother Matvey. As regimental priest, Fr. Mikhail took part in the defeat of Napoleon's army. The family kept his award cross on the ribbon of the Order of St. Vladimir. On the front side was engraved the inscription: “Not to us, not to us, but to Your name,” and on the back was the date: “1812.” The Polikarpovs served Russia for centuries, Nikolai Nikolaevich simply continued this tradition.
– And if we talk directly about the parents of Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov, how much is known about them?
– His mother Alexandra Sergeevna bore the surname Arakina as a girl. Her grandfather Boris Preobrazhensky became one of the prototypes of Bazarov, the hero of Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons.” They had a long-term acquaintance with Turgenev. In his youth, Boris was a nihilist, but then he repented and took holy orders. During the cholera epidemic in the Oryol diocese, Fr. Boris Preobrazhensky went to confess to the dying, became infected and died. His daughter Maria, the grandmother of an aircraft designer, was raised in the Turgenev family after her father’s death. As a wedding gift, the writer gave her a silver casket, a silver mirror and necklace, an expensive Italian chest of drawers and a certain amount of money, which became the basis of the funds with which Maria Borisovna subsequently bought the estate.
Alexandra Sergeevna, Nikolai Nikolaevich’s mother, was well educated, according to the standards of that time. Father - Nikolai Petrovich - was, according to reviews, an excellent Orthodox teacher, for which he was awarded the Order of St. Anne, and was elected many times as a delegate to diocesan congresses. He served in the village of Georgievskoye near the city of Livny, Oryol region.
The atmosphere in the family was the most creative. It was an interesting combination. Father Nicholas and his sons, in addition to spiritual work, had to personally engage in peasant labor: breeding horses, mowing hay, plowing the land. But at the same time there was time for music and painting.
Years of study
– I know that Nikolai Nikolaevich loved to draw. Was this instilled in him as a child?
– Here’s what Polikarpov’s older sister, Lidia Nikolaevna, said (I’ll read it from my book “The Unknown Polikarpov”): “We built houses, towers, fortresses from bricks and cubes, Kolya was especially fond of this. He loved to build and draw (usually we drew on slates). Kolya was good at sculpting animals and milk jugs from blue clay, building cellars, and even made a shop where he sold us dishes. We paid for purchases with colored pieces of glass or penny plants. We usually made toys in winter for summer. Kolya made boats, which he then launched into the water, harrows, plows, carts and arcs...”
But “at nine years old,” recalled Nikolai Nikolaevich, “childhood ended for me.” This was due to his admission to the Livensky Theological School. He studied there very well, willingly helping weak students.
– Is anything known about his years of study at the seminary?
– Yes, after the school there was a seminary, on the occasion of the graduation of which Nikolai Nikolaevich donated funds for the construction of a new iconostasis of the seminary church. He later spoke very favorably about the seminary. He wrote: “She instilled in me a memory that has not yet been lost, a sense of responsibility and duty, ability to work, a simple way of life, good manners and a sense of camaraderie...”
But already at the time when he was receiving theological education, Polikarpov had a dream of becoming a sailor. He even let his mustache grow so that he could trim it in a “marine” style. In 1911, he entered the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, hoping to later develop engines for ships. He did not immediately say goodbye to this dream - he still managed to build airplanes for naval aviation.
– For some reason, spiritual education awakens a love for the sea. Admiral Rozhdestvensky also studied at the seminary.
– And the Oryol Seminary was proud that the famous Arctic explorer Vladimir Rusanov graduated from it. The death of his expedition inspired the writer Veniamin Kaverin to create the novel “Two Captains”.
Hard time
– Did Nikolai Nikolaevich ever refuse his father-priest?
- Never. In general, he did not hide his views very much, especially before he was sentenced to death.
“I read from Prosecutor Vyshinsky that it is not necessary to have evidence of guilt, the main thing is to smell the enemy, and concocting a case is not a problem. One must assume that many sensed the enemy in Polikarpov.
– He belonged to the old Russian world. For example, his recipient at baptism was the Cossack esaul Pyotr Tatonov, married to Polikarpov’s aunt. One of his sons, Grigory Tatonov, commanded a hundred Cossacks guarding the emperor. Another son, Georgy, was a colonel of the General Staff, a participant in the White movement literally from the moment of its inception. In 1920, when the Reds broke through the front near Kakhovka, a critical situation arose there for the Russian army. What did Tatonov do? He gathered all the non-combatants, cooks, and clerks and planned the counterattack so competently that the enemy was thrown back across the Dnieper. When Wrangel arrived, he was so amazed that he took off his general’s shoulder straps and handed them to Georgy Petrovich. Nikolai Nikolaevich Grigory and Georgy Tatonov were second cousins.
– Did the Soviet government know about this relationship?
- No, no one knew that.
– What was the reason for Polikarpov’s arrest in 1929? By that time he had created his magnificent U-2, the best training aircraft, and later a night bomber. He was a serious figure in the aircraft industry.
– The clouds have been gathering over Polikarpov’s head for a long time. They remembered a lot of things: both the fact that he went to church and the fact that he wore a cross. Many did not like his character, as well as his independent position in matters of aircraft design.
In prison, Polikarpov continued to work. It was there that the VT-11 aircraft was designed. "VT" stands for "internal prison." At that time, it took two years to create an aircraft; this was a worldwide practice. When the prisoners were gathered, they said: you can do it for two years, but you will be released when you do it. They thought and said: “Six months is enough.” Those at the top were surprised: “Oh, do you have internal reserves? Three months for you to do everything.” A month later the plane was ready.
– Love of freedom does wonders. But such breakthroughs are possible in exceptional cases, not as a system.
– Aircraft designer Yakovlev wrote about sharagas: “The organization was crowded and stupid, the costs were high, and the returns were weak.” The GPU did not understand that quantity does not always translate into quality - don’t intimidate, but you can’t do without proper organization of labor. In addition to the stick, however, carrots were also used. For his relatives and his daughter, Polikarpov bought oranges and tangerines in the prison store, which Muscovites had already begun to forget about. This was while he was working in the prison design bureau.
Moment of glory
“Then there was the I-16, our main pre-war fighter, which brought glory to Polikarpov. Having fallen into favor, the “king of fighters” has not changed?
- No. One of his employees, designer Vasily Ivanovich Tarasov, now deceased, recalled. May 1935. Chkalov brilliantly demonstrated the I-16 in front of Stalin. He decided to give Polikarpov and Tarasov a ride home. The car was seven-seater. Stalin was on the back seat, the driver and security were in front, and the aircraft designers were seated on the folding seats. The leader says complacently, puffing on his pipe: “Here, Nikolai Nikolaevich, do you know what we have in common?” “I don’t know,” Polikarpov answers. “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 how we differ?” “No,” Polikarpov responds. - “You graduated from the seminary, but I didn’t.” Another puff of smoke. Polikarpov calmly blurts out: “It’s obvious, Joseph Vissarionovich.” Stalin frowned and shook his pipe: “Know your place.”
This is how Polikarpov remained until the end. He was a very calm person, he never swore, but he knew how to cut things short. Tarasov said that when they swear, you turn a deaf ear, and when Nikolai Nikolaevich says something, you don’t sleep for a week. Relations with the authorities were not built, except that Stalin treated him favorably, this saved him.
And there were many enemies. Nikolai Nikolaevich was a distinctly Russian, Orthodox man. The only one of the designers who regularly attended church was the Church of the Apostle Philip on Arbat. Hero of the Soviet Union Ignatiev recalled that Polikarpov blessed the pilots before the tests and told them: “With God!”
The Kaganovichs especially hated him. He was called a “crusader” because he wore a pectoral cross. One of the Kaganovichs - Lazar - was a member of the Central Committee, he could do a lot of harm, the other - Mikhail - served as the People's Commissar of the Aviation Industry, and we had to deal with him especially often. But God was merciful.
Another thing is that they did as much harm as they could. Mig-1, one of our best fighters, was created by Nikolai Nikolaevich. But while he went to Germany to get acquainted with fascist aviation, his plant was expropriated and many designers were taken away. Nevertheless, they gave the Stalin Prize for this aircraft.
Things were even worse with the I-180 fighter. This was due to the fact that Chkalov crashed on it. But none of the designers were arrested. It was obvious that they were not to blame. Then they slowed down the creation of the I-185, the fastest fighter in the world, superbly armed. In the end, he was also hacked to death, but the author was again given the Stalin Prize. Death cut short Polikarpov's work on the creation of the first Soviet jet aircraft.
- How did he die?
- Died of stomach cancer. In 1943, severe pain began, then a diagnosis was made. With great difficulty, he was admitted to the Kremlin hospital, but no one wanted to perform the operation. Relatives began to persuade Professor Sergei Sergeevich Yudin - he was a luminary of surgery, worked at the Sklifosovsky hospital. He set the condition that he would perform the operation if he liked Polikarpov as a person. With great difficulty, the doctor was led into the clinic, almost through the kitchen. When the professor saw the patient’s large silver cross lying on top of his shirt, he turned to the relatives and said: “We’ll operate.” Unfortunately, the operation did not help. On July 30, 1944, Nikolai Nikolaevich passed away.
This cross was the main family heirloom of the Polikarpovs. When Nikolai Nikolaevich’s ancestor, Fr. Mikhail - returned from the war after the defeat of Napoleon, he collected all the silver that was in the house and took it to the master, explaining what he wanted. According to his will, the cross was passed on to the eldest in the family. So when Nikolai Nikolaevich sometimes repeated: “I proudly carry my cross through life,” this was true, both literally and figuratively.
Interviewed by Vladimir GRIGORYAN
Polikarpov Nikolay Nikolaevich born on May 28 (June 9), 1892 in the settlement of Popovka (where the church and the priest’s house were located) near the village of Georgievskoye (now Kalinino, Livensky district, Oryol region) in the family of the village priest Nikolai Petrovich Polikarpov (1867-1938).
Since childhood, Nikolai Polikarpov had a good memory, loved to build, draw, and at the age of 5 he learned to read on his own. At the age of nine, he was sent to the Livensky Theological School, from which he graduated in June 1907 “in the first category,” receiving the right to transfer to the first class of the theological seminary without entrance exams. At the Oryol Theological Seminary, he was also among the best students, however, without thinking about a spiritual career, he decided to enter the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute. The decision was serious, since the institute charged high tuition fees, in addition, it was necessary to pay for the completed course at the theological seminary, where Polikarpov studied for free. Students of theological seminaries were not accepted into the institute, and Nikolai Polikarpov, having passed the exams as an external student at the 1st Oryol Gymnasium, on June 22, 1911, submitted a request to be enrolled as a student.
Having passed the certificate competition, Nikolai Polikarpov in 1911 became a student in the shipbuilding department of the institute, later, in 1914, choosing the specialization “mechanical engineer for steam turbines, internal combustion engines, heating and ventilation systems.” At the same time, having become interested in aviation, in 1913 he entered the “Aviation and Aeronautics Courses” at the shipbuilding department of the institute.
On January 26, 1916, Polikarpov successfully defended his graduation project on the topic “Marine-type diesel engine with a capacity of 1000 hp.” With." and received the title of “mechanical engineer of the 1st degree”. He completed the Aviation and Aeronautics courses at the end of 1916, but his graduation project on the topic “twin-engine transport aircraft” could not be defended, probably due to the difficult situation in the country and heavy workload.
The talented student was noticed by the chief engineer of the aviation department of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works (RBVZ JSC, Aviabalt) I. I. Sikorsky and sent a personal application for it to the Directorate of the Air Force of the Russian Empire. Nikolai Polikarpov, immediately after graduation, due to wartime labor mobilization, began working at RBVZ as the head of the production of S-16 fighters, later being involved in the modernization of the S-16, "Ilya Muromets" and to the design of new ones: S-18, S-19, S-20.
The economic difficulties of World War I, subsequent strikes and revolutions led to the collapse of industry and the actual shutdown of the Aviabalt plant. Aircraft designer I. I. Sikorsky, not finding a common language with the new government, emigrated abroad at the beginning of 1918. Nikolai Polikarpov refused to emigrate and left the plant in March 1918, going to work at the All-Russian Collegium for the management of the Workers' and Peasants' Air Fleet.
Since August 15, 1918 Polikarpov begins working at the Dux plant as head of the technical department. On February 6, 1923, he was transferred to the responsible designer of the plant and at the same time deputy. head of the design department of Glavkoavia, in place of D.P. Grigorovich. The first work was to ensure the production and modernization of the produced aircraft “Neuport-17”, “Neuport-21”, “Nyuport-23”, “Farman-30”, “Ilya Muromets” and others.
Developed in 1927 Polikarpov U-2 training aircraft(since 1944 Po-2), which won recognition as a very successful design of a light and cheap multi-purpose and training aircraft. Po-2 played a big role in training pilots in flight schools and flying clubs of Osoaviakhim; it was produced until 1954 in various modifications for civil and military use, becoming one of the most popular aircraft in the world.
In February 1928, the Polikarpov I-3 sesquiplane fighter took off for the first time, which was put into service and mass-produced until 1934, becoming the main fighter of the Red Army Air Force of the early 1930s and the second Soviet fighter in history to be put into service after the I-3. 2 Grigorovich. At the same time, the Polikarpov Design Bureau relocated from aircraft plant No. 1 to experimental aircraft plant No. 25, forming the core of its design bureau.
On February 28, 1928, Polikarpov was officially appointed technical director and chief designer of state aircraft plant No. 25. The core of the Polikarpov Design Bureau (OSS - Land Aircraft Engineering Department) in the period 1926-1932 consisted of 28 designers, mostly young, starting their journey in aircraft construction.
In September 1928, the design bureau began designing the I-6 fighter. After Polikarpov’s arrest in October 1929, the creation of the machine was completed by S.A. Kocherigin. The I-6 took to the skies on May 23, 1930, however, it could not withstand the competition with the similar I-5 fighter developed at the prison design bureau N.N. Polikarpov and D.P. Grigorovich, was not accepted for serial construction. In addition to I-6, the work plans of the Polikarpov Design Bureau for the period 1929-31. the development of the I-7 fighter, the two-seat D-2 fighter and the IK-1 heavy escort fighter was envisaged. Since 1927, the heavy twin-engine bomber TB-2 (L-2) was also in development.
October 24, 1929 Polikarpov was arrested at his home by the OGPU. He was charged with “participation in a counter-revolutionary sabotage organization”, sabotage and disruption of experimental work, the manifestation of which was evidence of errors and shortcomings in design activities in recent years, as well as a previous conflict with the Air Force Scientific and Technical Committee, during which Polikarpov accused the customer of setting unrealistically high demands to the designed aircraft. Other designers and aircraft industry workers were also arrested.
Polikarpov did not admit guilt; after a short investigation, he was transferred to Butyrka prison, where all the imprisoned aviation specialists were gathered, and “as a socially alien element” he was sentenced to death without trial, but the sentence was not carried out.
On November 30, 1929, Deputy Head of the Red Army Air Force Directorate Ya.I. met with the prisoners. Alksnis. Referring to the complexity of the international situation, he called on them to “dedicate their minds and strength to creating in the shortest possible time a fighter that would surpass the machines of potential enemies.” In December, a “Special Design Bureau” was organized in Butyrka prison under the unofficial technical leadership of D.P. Grigorovich, N.N. Polikarpov became his deputy, administrative posts were taken by employees of the economic department of the OGPU. In January 1930, the OKB was transferred to the territory of the Moscow Aviation Plant No. 39 named after V. R. Menzhinsky, where prisoners began to live and work in a special hangar, called the “internal prison,” and the OKB was renamed the “Central Design Bureau” - TsKB- 39, which in March 1930 was reinforced by civilian specialists.
As a result of hard work, TsKB-39 created the light, maneuverable biplane fighter VT-11, later renamed I-5. The fighter first took to the skies on April 29, 1930, was put into service and produced in large series, serving in the Red Army Air Force for about 9 years. The I-5 has proven itself well in operation; its further development was the Polikarpov biplane fighters I-15 and I-153. Polikarpov's contribution to the creation of the machine was significant, since the design of the I-5 was based on the developments of the unfinished I-6 project.
June 6, 1931 In 2010, a closed review of aviation equipment was held at the Central Aerodrome, which was attended by I.V. Stalin, K.E. Voroshilov, G.K. Ordzhonikidze. Polikarpov from the Central Design Bureau presented the I-5 fighter, piloted by V.P. Chkalov and A.F. Anisimov, the show was successful. On June 28, the OGPU board decided that the sentence against Polikarpov should be considered suspended., and on July 7, 1931, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR decided to grant an amnesty and release some of the arrested specialists, including Polikarpov. Only in 1956 - 12 years after the death of the designer - the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR overturned the previous decision of the Special Meeting at the OGPU Collegium and dropped the case against Polikarpov.
On August 27, 1931, TsKB-39 was introduced into TsAGI. OGPU protégé N.E. Paufler was appointed head of TsAGI.
In November 1931, after a conflict with the chief engineer of TsAGI A.N. Tupolev, Polikarpov was removed from the post of head of brigade No. 3 and transferred from the Central Design Bureau to TsAGI as an ordinary engineer, the brigade was headed by engineer G.I. Bertosh.
At the end of November 1931, S.V. Ilyushin, who knew Polikarpov since the Civil War, was appointed head of the Central Design Bureau and at the same time deputy head of TsAGI.
On May 4, 1932, when, during the reorganization, the former Polikarpov brigade No. 3 and the design brigade No. 4 of P. O. Sukhoi merged into a single brigade No. 3 under the leadership of P.O. Sukhoi, N.N. Polikarpov and G.I. Bertosh, on the recommendation of S.V. Ilyushin, were appointed deputy P.O. Sukhoi.
From February 1933 to July 1936, Polikarpov worked as the head of brigade No. 2 of the Central Design Bureau at the aircraft plant No. 39.
In mid-1933, due to difficulties in fine-tuning the I-14 (ANT-31) by P. O. Sukhoi, the Air Force leadership drew attention to the initiative project of a high-speed monoplane fighter of the Polikarpov brigade, which was named I-16 (TsKB-12) and work in this direction is intensifying. P. O. Sukhoi’s I-14 made its first flight on May 27, 1933, Polikarpov’s fighters first took to the skies on October 23 (I-15) and December 30 (I-16), the aircraft was piloted by test pilot of plant No. 39 Valery Chkalov. The Air Force leadership gave preference to the Polikarpov I-16, as it is cheaper and more technologically advanced (wood-metal, so-called mixed, design versus the all-metal I-14) with slightly higher flight characteristics, prospects for development and development in production. I-15 and I-16 entered mass production and into service with the army, and the I-16, showing a combination of high speed and maneuverability, became one of the most advanced fighters of its time, remaining in service with the Red Army Air Force until 1944.
Aerobatics on the I-16 was demonstrated by the Red Five group and individually Valery Chkalov at the May Day parade of 1935 and the subsequent review of aviation equipment, which took place at the Central Airfield. Stalin noted the plane and after the flights talked with Polikarpov. People's Commissar Sergo Ordzhonikidze made a presentation to the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in which he described the designer as “one of the most capable workers in our aviation.” On May 5, 1935, Nikolai Polikarpov was awarded the Order of Lenin with the wording: “for outstanding services in the creation of new high-quality aircraft designs,” and Valery Chkalov, who actually became the leading test pilot of the Polikarpov Design Bureau, was also awarded the same Decree. Despite this, the attitude towards Polikarpov from the leadership was difficult, holding a high position, he was not a member of the party, being a believer, he always wore a cross, for which he was called a “crusader.” Against this background, the attention from Stalin and the work in the design bureau of the already famous test pilot Chkalov meant a lot to the designer.
In the Soviet Air Force, the I-15 biplane (and its further development I-15bis, I-153) represented the concept of a highly maneuverable air combat fighter; the I-16 monoplane tactically complemented it as a high-speed fighter-interceptor. Thus, the aircraft developed by Polikarpov again formed the basis of the Air Force fighter fleet of 1934-1940, and the designer himself earned a reputation "king of fighters".
In 1939 he was sent on a business trip to Germany. In his absence, plant director P. A. Voronin and chief engineer P. V. Dementyev separated from the design bureau some of the divisions and the best designers (including M. I. Gurevich) and organized a new experimental design department, and in fact - a new design bureau , under the leadership of Artyom Mikoyan. At the same time, Mikoyan was given a project for a new I-200 fighter (the future MiG-1), which Polikarpov sent to the People's Commissariat of the Aviation Industry for approval before his trip to Germany. Then, in an old hangar on the outskirts of Khodynka on the former territory of OELID TsAGI, a new state plant No. 51 was created for Polikarpov, which did not have any of its own production base and even a building to house the design bureau (currently the Design Bureau and the Sukhoi pilot plant, to which production was transferred in 1953). At this small (compared to the previous) plant, and also in difficult evacuation conditions, the I-185, ITP, TIS fighters (each in several versions), a combat landing glider (BDP, MP), a night bomber NB were created and a whole a series of projects that were not completed due to the death of Polikarpov.
In the act based on the results of state tests of the I-185 M-71 fighter “standard for the series” dated January 29, 1943, approved by the chief engineer of the Red Army Air Force, Lieutenant General A. K. Repin, Polikarpov’s aircraft was named "the best modern fighter". For this plane in March 1943, Polikarpov was
awarded the Stalin Prize, 1st degree
.After Polikarpov’s death, his design bureau was headed by V.N. Chelomey, who was entrusted with the development of cruise missiles.
Since 1943, simultaneously with his work at the Design Bureau, he has been a professor and head of the aircraft design department at the Moscow Aviation Institute.
He died on July 30, 1944 from stomach cancer. He was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy Cemetery (site No. 1).
| Tombstone | ||
| Memorial plaque in Moscow (on the house) | ||
| Annotation board in Moscow | ||
| Monument in Orel | ||
| Monument in Orel (fragment) | ||
| Annotation board in Moscow | ||
| Panel in Moscow | ||
| Annotation board in St. Petersburg | ||
| Memorial plaque in Moscow (on the MAI building) | ||
| Memorial plaque in Orel |
Polikarpov Nikolai Nikolaevich - head of OKB-51 of the People's Commissariat of the Aviation Industry of the USSR, Moscow.
Born on May 28 (June 9)* 1892 in the Georgievskaya settlement, Livensky district, Oryol province, now Livensky district, Oryol region, in the family of a rural priest. Russian. Non-partisan.
He studied at the Livensky Theological School and at the Oryol Theological Seminary, in 1911, as an external student, he passed the exam for a secondary school course at the 1st Oryol Gymnasium and came to the capital for further studies.
He graduated from the Petrograd Polytechnic Institute and aviation and aeronautics courses there in 1916. Since 1916, he worked as an engineer at the Russian-Baltic Carriage Plant in Petrograd, where, under the leadership of I.I. Sikorsky, he participated in the construction of the Ilya Muromets aircraft and the design of fighter aircraft.
From 1918 he worked at the Dux plant in Moscow (future aircraft plant No. 1, currently the TsSKB Progress rocket and space center), and became the head of the technical department.
In January 1925, N.N. Polikarpov organized an experimental design department at the Aviakhim plant and became its head. In February 1926, he was appointed head of the land aircraft manufacturing department (LOA) of the Aviatrest Central Design Bureau.
In the early 1920s, N.N. Polikarpov began designing Soviet aircraft and achieved outstanding success. In the spring of 1923, together with I.M. Kostin and A.A. Popov, he created the first Soviet fighter I-1 (IL-400), which became the world's first fighter - a cantilever monoplane. In 1923, under the leadership of N.N. Polikarpov, the R-1 reconnaissance aircraft, which was very successful by the standards of that time, was created, which became the first mass production Soviet aircraft (1914 aircraft were produced). In 1925, the five-seater PM-1 passenger aircraft was created. In 1926, the two-seat fighter 2I-N1 was created. In 1927 the I-3 fighter was created. In 1928, the R-5 reconnaissance aircraft was created, which was also put into service (4,548 aircraft were built at the Moscow Aviation Plant alone). This aircraft became widely known in connection with the rescue of the Chelyuskin steamship expedition and its successful use in the Arctic, during the development of Siberia and the Far East. The R-5 was used in combat during the armed conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1929, in the conflicts of the 30s and even in the first period of the Great Patriotic War.
In 1928, N.N. Polikarpov created his legendary initial training aircraft U-2, which gained worldwide fame and was renamed Po-2 in honor of the creator after the death of the designer. U-2 (Po-2) was built until 1959. During this time, more than 40 thousand aircraft were produced, and more than 100 thousand pilots were trained for them. During the Great Patriotic War, U-2s were successfully used as reconnaissance aircraft and night bombers.
However, then the designer’s fate takes a sharp turn. On October 24, 1929, N.N. Polikarpov was arrested on a standard charge - “participation in a counter-revolutionary sabotage organization.” After a short farce called the investigation, less than a month later, out of court, by a resolution of the OGPU of the USSR, N.N. Polikarpov was sentenced to capital punishment. He was awaiting execution for more than two months.
In December of the same 1929, without canceling or changing the sentence, the aircraft designer was sent to the “Special Design Bureau” (TsKB-39 OGPU), organized in Butyrka prison, and then transferred to the Moscow Aviation Plant No. 39 named after V.R. Menzhinsky. Here, together with D. Grigorovich, in 1930 he developed the I-5 fighter, which was in service for 9 years. The OGPU Collegium, by its resolution of March 18, 1931, changed the sentence, replacing it with ten years in the camps.
After showing Stalin, Voroshilov, and Ordzhonikidze aerobatics on an I-5 aircraft piloted by pilots Chkalov and Anisimov, the OGPU board issued a new resolution dated June 28, 1931 - to consider the sentence against Polikarpov suspended. On July 7, 1931, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR decided to grant an amnesty to a group of people, including N.N. Polikarpov. The rehabilitation of the outstanding designer occurred posthumously, 12 years after his death: on September 1, 1956, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR overturned the previous decision of the OGPU Collegium and dismissed the case against N.N. Polikarpov.
Upon his release in May 1931, N.N. Polikarpov was appointed deputy head of the brigade at the Central Design Bureau of P.O. Sukhoi. Since 1933, he has been the head of design team No. 2 of the Central Design Bureau based on aircraft plant No. 39, which was headed by S.V. Ilyushin. In the mid-1930s, he was the Chief Designer of the Gorky Aviation Plant No. 21 named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze. In the 1930s, he created the I-15 (1933), I-16 (1934), I-153 “Chaika” (1938) fighters, which formed the basis of Soviet fighter aviation in the pre-war years (674, 9450 and 3437 aircraft were built, respectively ). In the first years after their creation, each of these fighters was one of the best machines of its class in the world. This was successfully proven by the I-15 and I-16 in battles in Spain and China, and by the I-153 at Khalkhin Gol. On November 21, 1935, on the I-15, pilot V.K. Kokkinaki set a world altitude record of 14,575 meters. At the same time, N.N. Polikarpov created experimental dive bombers VIT-1, VIT-2, a single-engine light bomber "Ivanov", and a training fighter UTI-4.
In 1938, after the arrest of A.N. Tupolev, N.N. Polikarpov was appointed Chief Designer of aircraft plant No. 156. By the end of 1938, the I-180 fighter was built - a development of the I-16 with the M-87 engine. But the death of V.P. Chkalov on it in the first test flight again plunged Polikarpov into disgrace. His deputy, leading designer D. Tomashevich, director of plant No. 156 Usachev and others were arrested. N.N. Polikarpov himself was saved from arrest only by the fact that he refused to sign the certificate of readiness of the aircraft for its first flight. In May 1939, N.N. Polikarpov became technical director and chief designer of State Aviation Plant No. 1. In parallel with the high-speed I-180, N.N. Polikarpov continued to work on a series of maneuverable biplanes - I-190 (1939), I-195 (project 1940).
But the work in the new position was short-lived. In 1939, N.N. Polikarpov went on a business trip to Germany, and in his absence, in December of this year, a new design bureau was separated from the design bureau, to which Polikarpov’s best personnel and production facilities were transferred. But most importantly, his designs were taken away from the designer. In fact, he found himself in disgrace.
N.N. Polikarpov was appointed chief designer of the new state plant No. 51 and head of OKB-51. He had to create a production base from scratch and recruit design bureau workers. In 1938-1944 he designed a number of experimental military aircraft: TIS, VIT, SPB, NB and a number of others.
By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 28, 1940, for outstanding achievements in the field of creating new types of weapons that increase the defensive power of the Soviet Union, Polikarpov Nikolai Nikolaevich awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal.
On January 11, 1941, the I-185 fighter was lifted into the sky. In 1942, it passed state tests and military tests on the Kalinin Front. According to the Air Force Research Institute, the aircraft was superior to all domestic and German production fighters. But the lack of development of the M-71 engine and the disaster in which test pilot V.A. Stepanchonok died, as well as the excessive workload of aircraft factories, did not allow the aircraft to be put into production.
Since 1940, the persecution of the designer did not stop, his work was slowed down and remained experimental developments, the country's leadership received proposals to close his design bureau. Only in 1942, at one of the major meetings of aviation industry leaders, Stalin took Polikarpov under his protection. In 1943, N.N. Polikarpov was appointed professor and head of the department of aircraft structures at the Moscow Aviation Institute. The last work of the outstanding designer was the project of a rocket fighter.
Lived in Moscow. He died on July 30, 1944 from stomach cancer. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.
In total, N.N. Polikarpov developed over 80 aircraft of various types. He was one of the first to break down aircraft design into specialized parts. Under the leadership of N.N. Polikarpov, A.I. Mikoyan, M.K. Yangel, A.V. Potopalov, V.K. Tairov, V.V. Nikitin and other specialists worked, who later became prominent designers of aviation and rocket-space technology.
Awarded 2 Orders of Lenin (5/5/1935, 10/28/1940), Order of the Red Star (12/28/1936).
Winner of two Stalin Prizes (1941, 1943).
Monuments to N.N. Polikarpov were erected in Moscow, Orel, Livny, Oryol region. In the village of Kalinin, Oryol region, a museum of N.N. Polikarpov was opened. A peak in the Pamirs, a square and a street in Orel, streets in Moscow and Livny, an alley in St. Petersburg are named after him. In Moscow, memorial plaques were installed on the house in which N.N. Polikarpov lived, as well as on the buildings of the Moscow Aviation Institute and the Polytechnic University in St. Petersburg, in the city of Orel on the building of the former theological seminary.
On May 5, 2000, a memorial dedicated to Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov was inaugurated on the territory of the Sukhoi Design Bureau. At the edge of a small park, next to the historical hangar, there is a bust of him and a stele with an I-153 fighter.