Silver wings of Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev. Nikolai Yakubovich Unknown Yakovlev

Today Russian aviation is one of the most powerful in the world. And once at the origins of its creation were enthusiasts who dreamed of creating airships that will soar easily and quickly in the ocean of the sky. One of these people was Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev, a world-famous aviation designer, whose “hawks” made famous Soviet aviation during the years of World War II.

Biography

Contemporaries and historians call Yakovlev a rather ambiguous person. But at the same time, it is impossible to overestimate the importance of this purposeful dreamer for world aviation.

A family

Alexander Yakovlev was born on the first day of April 1906 in a family of hereditary honorary Moscow citizens. His grandfather - Vasily Afanasyevich - owned a candle shop and supplied his goods to the Bolshoi Theater. Sergei Vasilyevich Yakovlev graduated from the Alexander Commercial School, and then worked in the oil company of the Nobel brothers. Nina Vladimirovna, the mother of the future designer, kept house.

At the age of 5, Alexander successfully passed the entrance exams to one of the best private gymnasiums in Moscow. The boy successfully mastered school subjects, but achieved the greatest success in studying the following disciplines:

• story;
• geography;
• literature;
• drawing.

At the same time, the young man received good marks in technical and natural subjects. In his memoirs, Alexander Sergeevich noted that his mother instilled in him a love of learning.

In 1938, the already established designer married pilot Ekaterina Mednikova. A year before, a girl on a Yakovlevsky AIR-9 aircraft set a speed and altitude record for women's aviation. The couple had two sons, who passed on a passion for aviation. The eldest son, Sergei Aleksandrovich, worked under the guidance of his father, being responsible for the development of sports cars.

Career

Alexander Sergeevich became interested in aviation back in school years. The first aircraft, created by a young man from wooden slats and paper, flew 15 m. In the same years, the future head of the design bureau began to show organizational skills by organizing the Friends of Aviation school circle, which was part of the all-Union society.

The young man dreamed of entering the Air Academy after graduation. But there were two obstacles on the way to his dream:

• only military personnel were admitted to the educational institution;
• the main disadvantage for the selection committee was the non-proletarian origin of the applicant.

In 1924, Alexander Sergeevich achieved his first significant success in aircraft design. The AVF glider designed by him, named after the Air Force Academy, took part in glider competitions in the Crimean Koktebel. The Yakovlevsky project received one of the awards, and then for many years Soviet aviators mastered gliding on this model. After the Crimean success, the young designer enters the service in Soviet army, first performing the duties of a worker, and then a minder at the flight academy. Combining work duties with a passion for aircraft design, he soon developed his first aircraft, the AIR. Yakovlev introduced him in 1927 in Sevastopol. And on May 12, his plane made a fifteen-hour flight to the capital. The illustrious pilot Julian Piontkovsky was sitting at the helm of the aircraft, believing in a talented young man who shared the flight time with him.

A successful test opened the doors of the Air Academy to a young designer with the wrong origin. From 1927 to 1931 Alexander Yakovlev was a student of the country's main aviation university.

At the end of the academy, the young designer, who during his years of study developed one aircraft a year, received the position of engineer at plant 39. An active and talented young man gathered around him the same people who were fond of aviation, together with whom in his free time worked on his designs. The result of the work of this group was AIR-6, which was used in the following capacities:

• campaign model;
• sanitary board;
• passenger ship for local transportation;
• research machine;
• communication board.

In 1935, Yakovlev's group achieves another brilliant result in the development of the domestic aircraft industry. The seventh modification of the AIR surpassed the existing ones in terms of speed Soviet fighters and some foreign models. Thanks to this success, a new design bureau appeared, headed by the twenty-nine-year-old Alexander Sergeevich. But a few months later, in one of the flights, a new plane under the control of Piontkovsky crashed, in which the famous pilot almost died. This event was a test for the young leader. His team was transferred to the building of the former furniture workshop. But thanks to his organizational skills, Yakovlev was able to build a world-famous aircraft factory on this site, which is distinguished by its special accuracy and culture of production. At the end of this year, the young engineer receives the title of chief designer. He held this position for 21 years.

During the difficult war years for the country, A.S. Yakovlev served as deputy people's commissar for the aviation industry, in charge of new equipment. In this role, in the first years of the war, he was involved in the organization of production at aircraft factories evacuated to Siberia.

In 1946, Yakovlev considered that he could no longer combine two responsible positions and submitted a letter of resignation from the post of Deputy Minister of the Aviation Industry. The petition was granted, and the designer was able to devote all his attention to his favorite business - the development of aircraft. Yakovlev headed the design bureau until 1984. The famous designer retired in 1984. After 5 years, he died in his apartment in Moscow and was buried on Novodevichy cemetery.

Aircraft

In the design bureau, which was headed by Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev for 70 years, he developed more than 200 aircraft and their modifications. The most famous of them are:

1. Aircraft from the AIR line - the first development of the designer Yakovlev, named after Alexei Ivanovich Rykov. After the execution of the famous people's commissar, the abbreviation began to be pronounced as an English word meaning air. In total from 1927 to 1940. 20 modifications of this vessel were developed. AIR-1 was built in a single copy. But 50 years after the first flight, a copy was made, which is currently located in the Moscow Museum of Technology near the Arkhangelskoye estate. The first serial vessel of this line was the AIR-6 model, which was used as an air vehicle connecting remote regions of the country with regional centers.
2. UT-1 and UT-2 - aircraft used for training and training flights of Soviet pilots. UT-1, developed on the basis of the AIR-16 model, was used during the war years as a light attack aircraft. The ships, on which machine guns and suspensions designed for 4 bombs were installed, played a big role in the fight against the Nazis in the southern theater of operations. Both modifications were produced from the late 30s to the late 40s.
3. The first combat aircraft developed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau was the I-26, which was called the Yak-1 in serial production. The light board was distinguished by improved speed and maneuverability. The obvious advantage of the Yakovlev fighters was their simple production, which can be easily transferred to any woodworking workshop. The most widespread "hawks" were in the 40s. On the fronts Patriotic War 40,000 machines of the Yak-1, 3 and 9 models fought.
4. In the postwar years, one of the most successful developments of Yakovlev was the Yak-25, capable of patrolling the borders at any weather conditions and detect targets at a distance of 30 km. It was the prototype for military aircraft used for various tactical missions.
5. In the 60s. Yakovlev Design Bureau began work on the development of an aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing. In 1967, the Yak-36 made its first flight at Domodedovo. After 10 years, the improved Yak-38, designed to take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier, entered service with the Allied Air Force. At the end of the 80s. the development of a supersonic VTOL aircraft began, but due to the collapse of the USSR and lack of funding, the project was not completed.
6. In 1951, the designers of the Yakovlevsky bureau developed a passenger helicopter designed for 30-40 passengers. At the time of launching into mass production, the aircraft with the designation Yak-24 was the most powerful helicopter in the world. Its modifications were used both in the military department and in civil aviation. The reliable machine was operated for 10 years, during which there was not a single crash with human casualties.
7. In addition to military vehicles, Yakovlev Design Bureau was developing vehicles for civilian transportation. At the end of the 60s. the first Soviet passenger board appeared, which passed international certification and was used by Western European airlines. The Yak-40 was actively used in local and international transportation until the early 80s. It was replaced by the Yak-42. Both modifications continue to be used by domestic and foreign carriers.

Interesting: during the operation of passenger Yaks, several dozen accidents occurred that claimed the lives of more than a thousand people. One of the most famous accidents of aircraft of this brand was the crash of board 42434 in September 2011 in Yaroslavl. As a result, all members of the local hockey team Lokomotiv were killed.

Modern developments

Today, Yakovlev Design Bureau specialists continue the traditions laid down by the founder of the enterprise. Them latest projects are the following models:

1. In 1993, the development of a new Yak-242 passenger aircraft began. Due to insufficient funding, the project was frozen for a long time. After 20 years, it became the basis for the MS-21 project, which was developed by the Yakovlev design bureau and the Irkut aviation corporation. The new passenger ship made its first flight in 2017. It is planned to launch several modifications into serial production, differing in fuselage length, number of passengers and cabin comfort. One of the main customers of the new aircraft is the Aeroflot company, which ordered 85 aircraft. Due to the action of international batches, the start of serial production was postponed to 2021.
2. Yak-201 is a draft design of VTOL aircraft, in which advanced technical developments were used. The lack of funding prevented the work from continuing. There is an opinion that the design documents of Russian specialists were at the disposal of American designers working on the F-35 project, so this fighter can be considered the embodiment of the Yak-201 project.
3. In 2014, the specialists of the Aviation Bureau named after. Yakovlev began to develop a modern training aircraft used for primary training of military and civilian pilots. Since 2016, air and ground tests prototypes. Its main customers are the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Russian and Belarusian DOSAAF. Tentatively, these structures will receive more than 300 vehicles.

Criticism of activity

The figure of Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev aroused ambiguous opinion both among his contemporaries and today's aviation lovers. The main stream of criticism is connected with the trusting relationship that developed between the young designer and the head of the Soviet state I. V. Stalin. Contemporaries accused Yakovlev of the following events:

1. Arrest in October 1937 of aircraft designer Tupolev. After Stalin's death, thoughts began to appear in memoirs about Yakovlev's involvement in repressions among aviators, based on his denunciations and information from books. It should be noted that the designer's communication with Stalin began in 1939, that is, after Tupolev's arrest. And the designer wrote his autobiographical books, to which critics refer, in the post-war years, so they could not become a source of information for repressions in the late 30s.
2. The reason for criticism was the activities of Alexander Sergeevich as deputy head of the people's commissariat of the aviation industry. Detractors claimed that he impeded the progress of the projects of other designers. Its defenders note that Yakovlev led the experimental direction and could not influence mass production. Significant is the letter of 1943, in which he recommended starting mass production of I-185 machines developed at the Polikarpov Design Bureau. Despite this, it was Yakovlev who was later accused of freezing this project.
3. Modern critics of the aircraft designer's activities speak of the absence of successful projects in his bureau after Stalin's death. At the same time, they ignore the fact that in the post-war years, the Yakovlev Design Bureau coped with tasks that other designers did not undertake. These include the development of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

It should be noted that critics and ill-wishers reflected the position of the new party leaders, who disliked Alexander Sergeevich. This was due to the unwillingness of the aircraft designer to adapt to the existing political situation and the refusal to support criticism of Stalin's policies.

Bibliography

Yakovleva talks about the difficult path of her own development as a personality and an aircraft designer in her autobiographical works. These include the following books:

1. Stories of a designer, published in 1950. This work tells about the events that took place in the life of a designer before the Great Patriotic War.
2. The purpose of life (notes of an aircraft designer) is the main work of Yakovlev, which was repeatedly reprinted and supplemented during the author's lifetime. It reflects important events in the life of the Soviet state and aircraft construction, which the author became eyewitnesses, his thoughts and value judgments about various historical eras and personalities.
3. "50 years of Soviet aircraft construction" is a book that contains a description of the main stages in the development of aviation in the Soviet state.
4. "Soviet Aircraft" is a work that tells about aircraft construction, the traditions of the Soviet school of aircraft designers, the emergence and improvement of jet and supersonic aircraft.

Awards and prizes

The famous aircraft designer was awarded many orders and awards. Among them are the following:

• ten orders of Lenin;
• six Stalin Prizes;
• two Orders of the Hero of Socialist Labor;
• officer Order of the Legion of Honor;
• gold medal International Federation aeronautics.

Memory

The personality of the world famous aircraft designer is immortalized in his projects and literary works. In addition, the following Russian objects bear the name of the famous Soviet aircraft designer:

• experimental design bureau 115, which was headed by Yakovlev for 60 years;
• machine-building plant "Speed", located in the capital of Russia;
• streets in Moscow, Novorossiysk and Ulan-Ude.

Two sculptural portraits of Alexander Sergeevich have been installed in the Russian capital. The bronze bust, located at the main entrance to the Aviators' Park, was installed in 1976. Colonel-General Yakovlev is depicted in military uniform with all the regalia and orders. The second bust is on the grave of the designer buried at the Novodevichy cemetery. The marble portrait is set on a high granite pedestal, on which his name, dates of life and occupation are located.
In 2006, stamps with the image of an aircraft designer were issued.

Progress is driven by passionate people. For Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev, the creation of aircraft was a life's work, a dream, the path to which was long and thorny. But thanks to perseverance and phenomenal performance, Yakovlev created more than 100 aircraft models that elevated Soviet aviation to a new level. Today, the bureau that bears his name continues glorious traditions, formed during the years of active work of the founder.

August 22, 1989

Alexander Yakovlev awards

Lenin Prize (1972)

Memory of Alexander Yakovlev

In Moscow, in the Aviators' Park, a bronze bust of Yakovlev was installed.

Yakovlev's name is worn by:

Experimental Design Bureau 115 (OKB 115)
Moscow Machine-Building Plant "Speed";
Aviakonstruktor Yakovlev Street (former 2nd Usievich Street) in the Airport area (since 2006) in the Northern Administrative District of Moscow;
street in Novorossiysk.
street in Ulan-Ude.

Books

1958 - "Stories of an aircraft designer"
1967 - "The Purpose of Life"
1975 - " Soviet aircraft»

Family of Alexander Yakovlev

Father - Sergey Vasilyevich, graduated from the Moscow Alexander Commercial School. After graduation, he served in the transport department of the oil company "Partnership of the Nobel Brothers."
Mother - Nina Vladimirovna, housewife.

First wife - Lidia Nikolaevna Rudinkina (married from 1934 to 1937), engineer.

Second wife - Ekaterina Matveevna Mednikova (married since 1938), pilot
Sons - Alexander and Sergey.

22.08.1989

Yakovlev Alexander Sergeevich

Russian aircraft designer

Twice Hero of Socialist Labor

Alexander Yakovlev was born on April 1, 1906 in Moscow. The boy was born in the family of an employee. The Yakovlev family comes from the serfs of Count Dmitriev-Mamonov. From 1919, for three years, the young man worked as a courier, continuing to study at school. Since 1922, he built flying model aircraft in a school circle. In the 1920s he became one of the founders of domestic aircraft modeling, gliding and sports aviation.

Alexander Yakovlev built the first aircraft in 1924. They became the AVF-10 glider, which was awarded as one of the best gliders in all-Union competitions. The AVF-10 made its first flight on September 15, 1924. This date is celebrated as the birthday of the Yakovlev Design Bureau. From 1924 to 1927 he worked first as a worker, then as a minder of the flight detachment of the Nikolai Zhukovsky Air Force Academy.

In 1927, Yakovlev built the AIR-1 light aircraft. Further, until 1931 he studied at the Zhukovsky Academy. In 1931 he entered the Menzhinsky Aircraft Plant as an engineer, where in August 1932 he organized a light aviation group. In mid-January 1934, he became the head of the production and design bureau of Spetsaviatrest Aviaprom, where from 1935 he was the chief designer for twenty-one years.

From 1940 to 1946, Alexander Sergeevich simultaneously acted as deputy people's commissar of the aviation industry. From 1956 to 1984 he was the General Designer of the Yakovlev Design Bureau. Under his leadership, fighters were created: Yak-1, Yak-Z, Yak-7, Yak-9; bombers: Yak-4, BB-22, Yak-28; training aircraft: UT-1 and UT-2; jet passenger aircraft: Yak-40 and Yak-42. The Yak-40 model became the world's first short-haul jet passenger aircraft.

Aircraft of the Yakovlev Design Bureau are continuously in large-scale production and operation. In total, more than 70 thousand Yak aircraft were built, including more than 40 thousand aircraft during the Great Patriotic War. Two-thirds of all fighters of the Great Patriotic War were Yakovlev aircraft, which were awarded the Lenin Prize and eight State Prizes and were widely used in our country and abroad. The aircraft designer was awarded orders and medals, including ten orders of Lenin, the FAI Gold Medal, the French Order of the Legion of Honor and the Officer's Cross.

Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev passed away August 22, 1989 in Moscow. The great designer was buried in the tenth section of the Novodevichy cemetery of the capital.

Alexander Yakovlev awards

twice Hero of Socialist Labor (10/28/1940 medal No. 7; 12/7/1957)
ten Orders of Lenin
order October revolution (26.4.1971)
two orders of the Red Banner (11/3/1944; 10/26/1955)
Order of Suvorov, 1st class (16.9.1945)
Order of Suvorov II degree (08/19/1944)
Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class (10.6.1945)
Order of the Red Banner of Labor (17.9.1975)
Order of the Red Star (17.8.1933)
Stalin Prize of the first degree (1941) - for the development of a new aircraft design ("Yak-1")
Stalin Prize of the first degree (1942) - for the development of a new aircraft design
Stalin Prize of the first degree (1943) - for the modification and improvement of combat aircraft
Stalin Prize of the first degree (1946) - for the development of the design of the new Yakovlev-3 fighter aircraft and the fundamental improvement of the Yakovlev-9 fighter
Stalin Prize of the first degree (1947) - for the development of the design of a new type of combat aircraft
Stalin Prize of the first degree (1948) - for the creation of a new type of combat aircraft
Lenin Prize (1972)
USSR State Prize (1977)
Order of the Legion of Honor of the degree "Officer" (fr. Officier de l "Ordre national de la Légion d" Honneur);
FAI Gold Aviation Medal (1967)

Yakovlev Alexander Sergeevich

The ninth admission of students to the Air Force Academy. NOT. Zhukovsky, which took place in 1927, was distinguished by great diversity. Among the newly recruited were political workers with diamonds in their buttonholes, pilots and aviation technicians who wore squares in their buttonholes, and there were also combined arms commanders. Some students went through the civil war, while others barely had time to acquire the seniority necessary for admission to the academy. Obviously, the youngest, without squares in his buttonholes, was Yakovlev. Having a secondary education, he did a little service in the flight squadron of the academy and, feeling an irresistible craving for the creation of aircraft, decided to get an aviation engineering education.

Later, Soviet aircraft designer, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1976; Corresponding Member 1943), Colonel General of Aviation (1946), twice Hero of the Socialist. Labor (1940, 1957) Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev is one of the founders of Soviet aircraft modeling, gliding and sports aviation.

1. Start of the journey

Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev was born on April 1, 1906 in Moscow. Father Sergei Vasilyevich (1879–1939), an accountant by profession, served as the head of the transport department in the oil company "Partnership of the Nobel Brothers" (after nationalization in 1918 - the Moscow office of the Oil Syndicate). Mother Nina Vladimirovna (1880–1970) was a housewife. The parents of Alexander Sergeevich had the title of "hereditary honorary citizens", which was given by imperial decree to representatives of the estates of the bourgeoisie and the clergy.

The Yakovlev family had three children: sons Alexander and Vladimir (b. 1909) and daughter Elena (b. 1907). When Alexander was born, the family lived on 3rd Meshchanskaya Street (now Shchepkina Street), and then moved to 2nd Meshchanskaya Street (now Gilyarovsky Street) in house No. 1/3, apt. fourteen.

In 1914, Alexander, having passed the entrance exams in the Russian language, arithmetic and the law of God, entered the preparatory class of the private male gymnasium N.P. Strakhova on Sadovaya-Spasskaya Street, 6. The gymnasium was one of the best in Moscow, with excellent teachers and well-equipped classrooms. After the October Revolution, it was merged with the women's school, became state and received the name "Unified Labor School of the 2nd stage No. 50" of the Sokolnichesky district of Moscow.

Alexander studied with great enthusiasm, his favorite subjects were history, geography and literature. In these subjects, he had excellent marks, and in mathematics, physics and chemistry, which were more in line with his future specialty, he received mostly fours. He was very fond of drawing, which is so important for a designer. Encouraged by teachers and mother, he achieved great success in drawing.

From the very beginning of his studies, Alexander took an active part in the life of the school: he was the head of the class, then the chairman of the headman - the council of the headmen of the entire school, the chairman of the academic committee - the student committee. At one time he was the editor of a student literary and historical magazine and a member of the drama club. I read a lot. Favorite were the works of Daniel Defoe, Jack London, Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain, Mine Reed, Jules Verne, H. G. Wells. His reading circle included books on the history of Russia, art and, of course, technology.

The future designer showed the most ardent interest in technology and even tried to build a perpetual motion machine; studied in a radio circle and assembled a radio receiver - one of the few in Moscow at that time. Early mastered carpentry; enthusiastically made models of locomotives, wagons, railway bridges and stations, and under the influence of his uncle, a traveler, dreamed of becoming a railway engineer.

In 1921, according to the scheme and description from the book, he built a flying model of a glider with a wingspan of two meters and successfully tested it in the school hall. From that moment, A.S.'s passion was born. Yakovlev to aviation. There were other enthusiasts at the school, and in 1922 Alexander organized an aircraft modeling circle that built one model after another.

The school helped the students to develop natural inclinations and talents well. Dram circle members Nikolai Chaplygin and Anatoly Ktorov later became well-known actors, and many members of technical circles became engineers and scientists. Among them is Georgy Protasov, who worked for many years in the OKB A.S. Yakovlev as the head of the scientific research complex.

It was hard for a family of five with one breadwinner to make ends meet in the hungry post-revolutionary years. Alexander was forced, without leaving school, in 1919-1922. to work in Glavtop, an organization that distributed all types of fuel. There he was a courier, then a student in the archives, secretary to the head of the department. A year before graduation, I had to leave my job so as not to risk my matriculation.

In 1923 the school was finished. Seventeen-year-old Alexander Yakovlev received diverse and extensive knowledge, good labor training, leadership skills, and learned to do a lot with his own hands. He was a talented and hardworking young man, purposeful and inquisitive, persistently looking for his way into aviation.

In August 1923, A. Yakovlev organized the first school cell in Moscow of the Society of Friends of the Air Fleet - ODVF. Aviation enthusiasts, and there were about 60 of them at school No. 50, built models, and then began to manufacture a glider. By that time, the organizer of the circle had graduated from school, built according to the project and under the guidance of N.D. Anoshchenko glider "Macaque" and in the fall of 1923 helped to test it at the First All-Union glider tests in Koktebel. There the final decision came to devote his life to aviation. The idea arose to try to design a real glider myself. A bold decision for yesterday's schoolboy, although he is familiar with various schemes of aircraft! I had to master the theory of design, the calculation of strength - from books, according to the notes of a student of the Air Force Academy (AVF) S.V. Ilyushin, who willingly helped with advice, explained the incomprehensible.

And at the beginning of 1924, the airframe project was ready. (The original sketch of A.S. Yakovlev was preserved by M.K. Tikhonravov and is now exhibited in the museum of N.E. Zhukovsky.) The calculations and drawings were reviewed and approved for the construction of the glider circle of the AVF in the technical bureau. Now you can start manufacturing. In order to get funds to buy the necessary tools and materials, schoolchildren organized a paid student evening for ODVF. Several schoolchildren made a report on the general topic "From the mystery and deification of nature to its enslavement." More than 20 people signed up for the glider circle, created by the ODVF cell of school No. 50, and the work began to boil. Materials were obtained at the aircraft factory, but every last detail was done by ourselves.

And now, in the gymnasium of the school, the frame of the glider began to emerge. The girls covered it with percale. A special commission of the AVF gave a positive conclusion.

Yakovlev and his closest assistants Gushcha and Grishin went with a glider to Koktebel for the All-Union gliding competitions. Subsequently, A. Gushcha became a military pilot. The further fate of the thin, snub-nosed 14-year-old boy, who, despite his young age, called himself "Alexander Pavlovich Grishin", is unknown. Once A.S. Yakovlev told the author of this article that Grishin's real name is Svoboda and he is a Czech by nationality. It was a grandiose competition for those times. From different ends Soviet Union 49 gliders arrived - there were no such number of them in any foreign competitions.

In a short time after the first rally, held only nine months before, with nine gliders, young people managed, with negligible technical capabilities and mostly in a handicraft way, to build a lot of good gliders. The chairman of the testing committee was AVF student S.V. Ilyushin. Before assembly, the details of each airframe were examined by a technical commission headed by Professor V.P. Vetchinkin. Received final approval and the first-born A.S. Yakovleva - a training glider, named AVF-10 (i.e. the 10th glider of the Air Force Academy).

On September 11, 1924, a glider with start number 16 on the keel and an inscription on the fuselage "AVF-10" in an angular font characteristic of that time was delivered to Mount Kara-Oba - a lonely hill 60–70 m high above the surrounding valley, with gentle slopes, convenient for trial and training flights. Pilot V.E. Sergeev strapped himself on, and the starting team released the glider on its first balancing flight. For a glider, such a flight is equivalent to the approach of an airplane. The pilot does not unhook the towline, and the starting team runs next to the glider, holding it by the ropes tied to the ends of the wing and tail. Having established that the apparatus was centered correctly, free flight was allowed. The first free flight of V.E. Sergeev at AVF-10 on September 15 attracted everyone's attention. It turned out to be the record for the duration of all flights from the gentle slope of Kara-Oba - 1 min 46 s. They believed in the glider, and from September 18 it began to fly almost daily not only from Kara-Oba, but also from the northern slopes of Mount Uzun-Syrt.

AVF‑10 was very popular and flew many times. In a report on the competition, pilot Shmelev called it “extremely volatile” and wrote that on it “... a number of pilots, including the author of the report, flew into gliders. With almost complete calm, with the slightest excess of the take-off site over the landing site, this glider managed to cover a distance of up to 600 m in a straight line during one-minute flights. And further: “The whole airframe is extremely successful, in terms of aerodynamic qualities, forms. During the very numerous flights, the glider showed great volatility, the ability to take off with the smallest wind (3 m / s), controllability and stability ... Flying on the AVF-10, you are involuntarily amazed at how such an unpretentious device can take off with an insignificant wind on a small hill, travel a distance many times greater than what you think to go, heading for a flight. In the air, the glider smoothly and stubbornly moves forward, as if drawn by some invisible silent motor, completely obeying the movement of the rudders.

2. Creation of design bureau

The first year of study at the academy was quite difficult. A lot of time was spent on laboratory work and drawings, on passing tests and exams in physics, mathematics and general engineering disciplines. However, by the third year, Yakovlev had already decided as a future aviation designer: on the basis of a voluntary sports aviation organization and the military scientific society of the academy op built light aircraft. After graduating from the academy in 1931, Yakovlev worked for some time as an engineer at a serial plant. But already in 1932, he built the AIR-6 aircraft, which was a monoplane parasol of a mixed design with a closed, rather comfortable cockpit. A feature of this aircraft, like many of Alexander Sergeevich's designs, was a high mass return, and, consequently, a long flight range. In 1933, the official international distance record for seaplanes was exceeded on the AIR-6 aircraft of the float version. A year later, several AIR-6 aircraft made a group flight on the route Moscow - Irkutsk - Moscow, which at that time seemed like a great achievement. Continuing to work on the creation of sports aircraft, A.S. Yakovlev built a two-seat sports aircraft AIR-7 with a landing gear that did not retract, but was placed in fairings. The aircraft had a thin wing and a strut-braced monoplane design. At the end of the summer of 1932, at an altitude of 1000 m, this aircraft reached a maximum flight speed of 332 km/h, while the I-5 fighter aircraft, which had a biplane scheme, developed a speed of only 286 km/h. It became obvious that the monoplane scheme, which gives superiority in speed, is more appropriate for combat aircraft. In 1935, a young design team headed by A.S. Yakovlev, built a single-seat training cantilever monoplane UT-1 with a standard air-cooled engine with a capacity of 100 hp. With. When installing a forced engine with a capacity of 150 liters. With. the maximum speed of the aircraft reached 252 km / h. Several records were set on the UT-1, but it should be noted that this aircraft was strict in piloting, requiring increased attention and high qualifications of the pilot. In the pre-war years, in a large series (7150 units), a two-seat training aircraft UT-2 was produced, which had good flight characteristics, and therefore enjoyed well-deserved popularity among the flight personnel of combat aviation.

3. Military aircraft

Thanks to the experience gained in the design and construction of training aircraft, the design bureau, led by A.S. Yakovlev, was able to move on to the creation of fighters. The first such aircraft was the I-26, which in many respects differed from the machines of this class created in other design bureaus and had a wooden wing, a welded (from pipes) fuselage frame and duralumin plumage. For better flow around the tubular frame of the fuselage, fairings with skin were installed. Like all aircraft A.S. Yakovlev, I-26 had a small mass and thoughtful, one might even say elegant, constructive forms. The aircraft was equipped with a water-cooled engine designed by V.Ya. Klimov, which had small dimensions and a small specific gravity. Its power in forced mode was 1240 hp. - at that time a very large value. This aircraft was mass-produced under the brand name Yak-1. At an altitude of 3400 m, it had a speed of 600 km / h, was armed with a 20 mm cannon and two 7.62 mm machine guns. The creation of the Yak-1 was a great achievement of the domestic aircraft industry. On the basis of this combat vehicle, the UTI-26 aircraft was produced a little later. The Yak-1 and UTI-26 fighters were widely used in combat operations of the Great Patriotic War. A total of 8721 aircraft of this type were produced. Yak-1 was superior throughout the complex flight performance German fighters Me-109E, as well as Me-109 (1941). During the Great Patriotic War, many kind words were said about this aircraft by fighter pilots, including the outstanding pilot twice Hero of the Soviet Union Stepan Suprun. A.S. himself Yakovlev wrote that the staff of the design bureau during this period worked hard to improve the Yak-1 fighter, which had recently been put into mass production. The work was a success. Somewhat earlier, in 1939, the same design bureau designed and built the Yak-4 high-speed bomber with two water-cooled engines. It developed a speed of 567 km / h (the maximum for combat aircraft produced in our country at that time) and had a flight range of up to 1600 km. More than 600 of these bombers were built, and they were used in combat operations before the widespread introduction into serial production of the main high-speed dive bomber of the war Pe-2 and Il-2 attack aircraft. Design Bureau A.S. Yakovlev, like a number of other design bureaus, continued to work on the creation of twin-engine aircraft and in 1942 built and tested the Yak-6 aircraft, which was supposed to be used as a night bomber (NBB), as well as a transport aircraft. The car was completely made of wood, apparently in order to avoid the use of metal, which was scarce during the war period. To protect against enemy fighters, a machine gun was installed on the plane. In the transport version, the aircraft had a compartment for six passengers, which was located in the fuselage, behind the cockpit. As power plant two air-cooled engines M-11F with a capacity of 140 liters were used. With. each. The aircraft was mass-produced and successfully used during the Great Patriotic War, mainly as a staff communications aircraft. A lot of work carried out at the Design Bureau to improve the aerodynamics of the aircraft and rational design made it possible to create a fighter that had a flight weight of 2650 kg and had high speed and maneuverability. They became the Yak-3. The flight range of the aircraft was 900 km. With forced engine V.Ya. Klimov VK-105PF, it developed a speed of 660 km / h, and with the VK-107 engine - up to 720 km / h. In the conclusion on testing an aircraft with this engine, it was indicated that, according to the main flight performance data, in the altitude range from the ground to the practical ceiling, the Yak-3 is the best of the built domestic and foreign fighters. A total of 4848 aircraft of this type were produced. Since 1943, the aircraft began to enter our combat units. It was the lightest and most maneuverable fighter of World War II. Pilots of the French regiment "Normandy-Neman" flew on Yak-3 aircraft. On these planes, after the victory over Nazi Germany, they flew to Paris. To provide reliable cover for the bombers, an escort fighter was needed, which would have heavier weapons and have a greater range than conventional fighters. The Yak-9, armed with a 37 mm cannon and two 12.7 mm machine guns, became such an aircraft. The flight range of the Yak-9 reached 1000 km. During the Great Patriotic War, the Yak-9 fighters used for operations against ground targets (Yak-9T) were armed with 37 mm and even 45 mm caliber guns, and the appearance of the Yak-9D and Yak-9DD aircraft with a flight range of 1400 and 2200 km accordingly, it made it possible to provide support for our troops in the offensive, which was especially characteristic of the final period of the war. One of the variants of the Yak-9 could carry 400 kg of bombs on the internal suspension. A total of 36,000 Yak fighters were built. For comparison, we can point out that the famous fighters S.A. Lavochkin, 22280 were created. Thousands of fighters designed by A.S. Yakovlev took part in the fighting on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, defeating the fascist Messerschmitts and Fockewulfs. At the end of the war in the Design Bureau A.S. Yakovlev, as in other design organizations, attempts were made to install additional power plants on aircraft with piston engines, which could be liquid-propellant or ramjet engines. This was also due to the fact that the Germans had the Me-262A-1 aircraft, which developed a speed of up to 840 km / h. Our pilots, however, have learned to deal with it. A fighter aircraft with a liquid rocket booster was created on the basis of the Yak-3. Due to the fact that a rocket engine was installed in the tail section of the aircraft, its speed increased by 140 km / h. Thus, the modified fighter had a maximum flight speed of 780 km/h. However, it has not received wide distribution. As you know, the government decided to create aircraft with turbojet engines that would provide high speed not for short periods of time, as when installing boosters, but throughout the entire flight. The transition from piston to jet aviation took place sequentially, and, as it seemed then, it was enough to install a turbojet engine on an already mastered aircraft, how the new machine would correspond the right requirements. However, in reality, such a transition turned out to be much more difficult.

4. Post-war period and jet engines

Design Bureau A.S. Yakovlev on the basis of the Yak-3 aircraft developed the Yak-15. In the process of creation, the piston engine was replaced by the RD-10 turbojet engine, in addition, a special heat-resistant steel screen was installed to protect the lower surface of the fuselage from the effects of hot gases emitted from the engine exhaust nozzle. On April 24, 1946, the Yak-15 jet aircraft made its first flight, and in August of the same year, like the MiG-9, it participated in the air parade in Tushino. The following year, aerobatics was demonstrated there for the first time in the world on the Yak-15. The Yak-15 aircraft was tested, put into mass production and mastered in combat units Air force. Despite the shortcomings of the RD-10 jet engine (large specific gravity, insufficient reliability, high fuel consumption), the Yak-15 aircraft played a significant role in the transition of our aviation to jet technology. The use of the Yak-3 aircraft as a prototype of the first jet fighter greatly facilitated the introduction of jet aviation in the Air Force units. A well-known cockpit, excellent visibility during takeoff and landing, familiar flight characteristics - all this made it possible to quickly master the new aircraft.
Test pilots M. Ivanov and P. Stefanovsky were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their success in mastering the Yak‑15 fighter. Thus, the first stage of the development of jet aircraft was successful. Fighter speed increased by 200 km/h. The possibility of performing aerobatics on jet aircraft was proved. Parts of the Air Force have mastered the operation of these machines. It should be noted that the creation of the first jet fighters based on the Yak-3 aircraft also made it possible to successfully solve the problems of rapid deployment of serial production. The increasing requirements of the Air Force put on the agenda the issue of further improvement of jet fighters. The new fighter had to fly at transonic speeds. This required solving new problems of aerodynamics and strength. One of the stages in the creation of an aircraft with a thin wing in the design bureau of A.S. Yakovlev was the Yak-23 aircraft, which had as a power installation easy and a compact RD-500 engine with good performance for that time. According to the design scheme, this aircraft was an all-metal medium wing with an engine installed in the front of the fuselage. The wing already had a relatively thin profile. The aircraft passed state tests and was put into mass production. At one time he was considered one of the best lungs straight wing jet aircraft. Soon, other machines began to be needed for military aviation. Only swept-wing aircraft could meet the increased demands of the Air Force. It was also necessary to create a forced means of rescuing the pilot and a pressurized cabin to ensure the possibility of flying at high altitudes. All these innovations allowed the design bureau of A.S. Yakovlev to design and build an aircraft that had a wing with a sweep angle of 45 ° and reached a speed of 1170 km / h, which exceeded the official world records set on the best aircraft of the late forties and registered in the FAI. The design of a supersonic swept-wing aircraft with new equipment required the restructuring of the work of the design bureau and the improvement of its laboratories. It is widely known that the first aircraft of A.S. Yakovlev were built at the factory, deployed on the basis of the bed workshop. In the post-war years, according to the project of Alexander Sergeevich, a modern pilot production was created and the building of the Design Bureau was built. Design Bureau A.S. Yakovlev can serve as a model of high culture, a clear organization of work and order. Rather, it is an institution where everything is subordinated to the creation latest technology which does not allow inaccuracy and ill-conceived decisions. In the early fifties, OKB A.S. Yakovlev, along with other design bureaus, participated in the creation of an aircraft equipped with fundamentally new equipment - radar station and appropriate weapons designed to detect and destroy enemy aircraft outside the optical visibility of the target. The Yak-25, an all-weather loitering interceptor, became such an aircraft. He passed the state tests, was put into service and for a number of years served in the air defense aviation. The aircraft used the original bicycle chassis scheme, and the engines were located on pylons under the wing on both sides of the fuselage. Like all aircraft A.S. Yakovlev, the Yak-25 had a low flight weight, was easy to manage and operate. Being confident in the constructive prospects of the developed scheme, Alexander Sergeevich based on this machine produced a number of serial Yak-28 supersonic aircraft for various purposes. These were front-line bombers with a high supersonic flight speed, as a result of which their bomber armament was placed not on the external sling, but inside the fuselage, interceptors with a long detection range, as well as reconnaissance aircraft. All of them were in service with our aviation for a number of years. It is well known that in order to achieve supersonic speed on jet aircraft, swept wings with a small profile thickness and low aspect ratios were used. But these wings have poor bearing properties at low flight speeds, which led to an increase in the minimum flight speeds of aircraft with such a wing. Increasing landing speeds, takeoff run and landing run caused an increase in the size of airfields. But in the process of development of aviation, the need arose to create aircraft that did not require airfields. Such aircraft were helicopters with vertical takeoff and landing. True, the helicopter has a serious drawback - its flight speed does not exceed 250-400 km / h, i.e. many times inferior to the speed of modern supersonic aircraft. The idea arose to create such an aircraft that would take off and land vertically like a helicopter, and after takeoff would fly like an airplane. After quite a long discussion, the task of creating a vertically taking off aircraft was entrusted to the Design Bureau A.S. Yakovlev. Soviet aviation specialists were well aware of the difficulties that foreign specialists had to face when creating an aircraft of this type. Alexander Sergeevich also knew about it. First of all, it was necessary to create especially light engines and solve the problem of controlling these devices at very low speeds, when it is not possible to influence them with the help of aerodynamic forces. Nevertheless, such an aircraft was created in our country and in 1967 was demonstrated at the air parade in Domodedovo as a combat jet fighter with vertical takeoff and landing, intended for operation in the Navy. This ship's aircraft was named Yak-38. If a similar French Balzac aircraft has a power plant consisting of eight lifting and one sustainer engines, then engines are installed on the domestic aircraft, the direction of the thrust force of which changes depending on the flight mode (vertically or horizontally). The control of this aircraft at low flight speeds is carried out using jet control, working on air, which is taken from the engine compressor. Vertical takeoff is carried out due to the fact that the engine thrust during takeoff, directed downward, significantly exceeds the gravity of the aircraft. The creation of an aircraft of this type was a great achievement of the domestic aircraft and engine industry.

5. Sports addictions aircraft designer

The activities of the aviation designer A.S. Yakovlev is diverse and multifaceted. But the youthful attraction to aviation sports, which led the young engineer to "big aviation", Alexander Sergeevich remained faithful for many years. As already mentioned, on the first Yakovlev AIR-1 aircraft with the Cirrus engine, created at the Air Force Academy. NOT. Zhukovsky in 1927, the route Moscow - Sevastopol - Moscow was laid. On the plane, there were no usual braces in the wing box. They were replaced with load-bearing struts, which made it easier to adjust the machine. Pilot Yu.I. Piontkovsky, who spent many years testing A.S. Yakovlev, already in the summer of 1927 set two records on AIR-1 and participated in maneuvers in the Odessa military district. Somewhat later, the AIR-3 monoplane was designed, which, under the name "Pionerskaya Pravda", made a non-stop flight from Mineralnye Vody to Moscow in 1929. In 1930, on an AIR-4 aircraft with a 60-horsepower engine, a flight was made in a circle with a length of 3650 km. I must say that during the period of study at the academy, the future designer gave a lot of work, talent and organizational skills to the creation of sports aviation. At the academy, he was supported by two of her listeners - sports pilots Filin and Kovalkov, who set world records for distance (1700 km) and speed (166.8 km / h) flights. After graduating from the academy, Alexander Sergeevich built a three-seat aircraft AIR-6 "limousine" with a domestic engine with a capacity of 100 hp. s., which played an important role in the development of mass aviation sports. This period was characterized by the wide holding of all-Union competitions and flights on training and sports aircraft of various designs. At one of the competitions, the first place was hired by the AIR-10 aircraft, which was subsequently adopted under the name UT-2 as a machine for the initial training of flight personnel. In the early thirties, Yakovlev created a high-speed sports and postal two-seat aircraft AIIP-7, intended for the rapid delivery of newspaper matrices from Moscow to other big cities. Unlike the previous Yakovlev aircraft, it had a low-lying wing with a thin profile. A feature of the car was also the cab, closed by a lantern, and the chassis, closed by fairings. In addition, on the AIR-7, the carrier tapes of the wing braces were attached to the racks. During the tests of this aircraft, the aileron came off due to the vibration of the wing. Thanks to the skill of the pilot Yu.I. Piontkovsky, everything ended happily, and the self-oscillation of the wing when the aircraft reached a certain critical speed, called flutter, attracted the attention of not only designers, but also TsAGI scientists. By the way, this incident happened near the Central Aerodrome in Moscow, where all new aircraft were then tested, and now the facilities of the Central Army Sports Club, as well as the city air terminal and the Aeroflot hotel are located. AT post-war period A.S. Yakovlev created the Yak-18 sports aircraft with a retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpit. The aircraft had an engine with a variable pitch propeller, a modern and at the same time simple set of flight and navigation equipment, including a receiving and transmitting station. Since 1946, for almost 30 years, the Yak-18, as well as its modifications, have been the main domestic sports aircraft. On these planes, our pilots have repeatedly won world championships in aerobatics. Among them was Svetlana Savitskaya, daughter of twice Hero of the Soviet Union Air Marshal E.Ya. Savitsky, who was the leader of the jet group; Yak-15 aircraft at the air parade in Tushino. With the transition to jet aviation, the design bureau of A.S. Yakovlev produced the Yak-30 aircraft (double in the training version and single in the sports and training version). As a power plant, he had a RU-19 engine designed by S.K. Tumansky - classmate of A.S. Yakovlev at the Air Force Academy. NOT. Zhukovsky.

6. Contribution to the development of civil aviation

But the activities of the design bureau of Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev were not limited to the production of only combat and sports aircraft. In the early sixties, the question arose of creating a passenger aircraft to replace the widely used, but outdated machines with piston engines of medium and small passenger capacity. The aircraft intended for local lines had to be operated from unpaved airfields of limited size. When designing such an aircraft, A.S. Yakovlev did not focus on turboprop engines, which were no longer promising, but decided to use dual-circuit engines (subsequently, they successfully replaced both turboprop and turbojet engines on passenger aircraft). In 1966, the Yak-40 aircraft entered flight tests, as the power plant of which three AI-25 turbojet bypass engines with a thrust of 1500 kgf each were used. The Yak-40 developed a cruising speed of 550 - 600 km / h, had flight and navigation equipment sufficient to fly in adverse meteorological conditions, bypassing dangerous zones, and land on limited airfields and in almost any meteorological situation. A.S. Yakovlev put a lot of work into the created aircraft, not only as a designer, but also as an artist, equally paying attention to the external appearance of the machine, which meets modern aerodynamic forms, and its interior decoration, and the layout of the cabins intended for passengers and crew. In an effort to ensure passenger comfort, the designer placed three gas turbine engines in the rear fuselage: two on the sides and one inside the fuselage. Lightweight and efficient bypass engines provided the necessary efficiency and flight range, which is an essential factor in the operation of the aircraft. The Yak-40 is widely used for passenger transportation in our country, and is also increasingly used on the lines of foreign aviation companies, flying not only over Europe and Africa, but also over South America, the Design Bureau, led by A.S. Yakovlev, continued to successfully solve the most difficult technical problems. Evidence of this is the Yak-42 passenger liner, which meets the highest modern requirements for aircraft of this type. The Yak-42 aircraft is designed to carry 120 passengers at a speed of 820 km/h over a distance of 1850 km. The maximum flight range reaches 3000 km. turbojet engines D-36 in combination with the high aerodynamic qualities of the airframe provide the Yak-42 aircraft with excellent flight performance and operational characteristics and elevated level comfort for passengers. After a somewhat protracted period of implementation, Aeroflot began to widely operate this short-haul aircraft. OKB A.S. Yakovlev arose in the process of creating the AIR-1 aircraft as an amateur group of designers and workers not formalized by any order. May 12, 1927, the day the flight tests of the AIR-1 began, is considered to be the date of birth of the Design Bureau. The motherland highly appreciates the merits of the academician, general designer, laureate of the Lenin and six State Prizes, twice Hero of Socialist Labor, Colonel-General of Aviation A.S. Yakovlev. Almost 70,000 Yak combat, passenger, training and sports aircraft have been built by the aviation industry, and A.S. Yakovlev. Today OKB im. A.S. Yakovlev is the only aviation design bureau in Russia that has international experience in joint design, testing and certification of aircraft. OKB im. A.S. Yakovlev remains among the active creators of aviation technology and is open for cooperation with domestic and foreign partners.

Alexander Sergeevich was born in Moscow on March 19, 1906. The Yakovlev family came from the Volga region.

At the age of 9, Alexander entered a private gymnasium. He did best in the humanities, learned to draw well, was the editor of a school literary and historical magazine, but was also interested in technology, studied in a radio circle, an aircraft model, then a glider. After the revolution, the boy first went to school, then worked in the archives, and finally became the secretary of the head of the department. Here they gave out good rations, with which the boy supported his family.

At the age of 17, Yakovlev graduated from high school. He decided to become an aircraft designer, but he failed to get a job at an aviation school. The young man entered on the recommendation of test pilot K.K. Artseulov to the pilot Anoshchenko, who prepared the glider for the first glider competition in the Crimea.

For active work, Alexander was sent to the competition. With the help of students from his native school, he built a glider, which successfully participated in competitions in the Crimea. The young designer received the first award - 200 rubles and certificate of honor.

In March 1924, with the help of Ilyushin, he got a job in the training workshops of the Air Force Academy. After being transferred to a flight detachment at the Khodynka field, Yakovlev kept order in the Angara, then became a junior minder and in practice mastered working with aircraft of that time.

Already in the summer of 1927, Yakovlev and pilot Piontkovsky made a flight from Moscow to Sevastopol on an AIR-1 aircraft.

This flight achieved a distance record for sports aircraft - for the flight distance without landing (1420 km) and for the duration (15 hours 30 minutes). For the flight, they gave out a prize and a certificate of honor, and Alexander Yakovlev was admitted to the Academy of the Air Fleet.

In the first year of the academy, not wanting to break away from his favorite business, Yakovlev designed an AIR-2 on floats that flew from the Moscow River.

In 1929, the tests of AIR-3 were completed. Since the plane was built with funds raised by the pioneers, the plane was called "Pionerskaya Pravda". In the autumn of 1929, Piontkovsky carried out a flight on the AIR-4 to a distance of 3650 km along the route Moscow - Kyiv-Odessa.

He graduated from the Yakovlev Academy in 1931 in the first category. AT Last year During his studies, he designed, and after graduating from the academy, he built a 4-seater AIR-5, which was called the "air car". The young engineer was sent to one of the two centers of aviation design thought - the Central Design Bureau at the Menzhinsky plant. The designer revised the AIR-5 project. This is how AIR-6 appeared. then was built AIR-? Under the domestic engine M-22.

In 1933, on the AIR-6 in the float version, the pilots exceeded the official world distance record for seaplanes. In the meantime, Yakovlev built a sports aircraft AIR-7 with a landing gear placed in fairings.

In 1936, after a successful flight of the link along the route Moscow-Irkutsk - Moscow, Yakovlev was allocated funds for the construction of an assembly shop and a design bureau building.

By this time, production of AIR-6, as well as training aircraft UT-1 and UT-2, had begun at serial factories.

At the show to members of the government, UT-2 pulled ahead and attracted the attention of I.V. Stalin, who talked with Alexander Sergeevich and was interested in which plane was better to train fighter pilots. Everyone confirmed that the UT-2 is better than the U-2 biplane. The UT-2 aircraft was produced from 1936 to 1946, more than 7000 in number. Alexander Sergeevich was awarded a gold watch for the best design of this aircraft.

Yakovlev was not only engaged in design work, but also promoted light sports aviation in articles for newspapers and magazines, calling on young people to aviation.

Thanks to the support of the government in 1937, 19 aircraft participated in the Moscow-Sevastopol-Moscow flight; Yakovlev's cars turned out to be the best in speed.

By 1939, the design bureau had already designed the Yak-4 bomber with two water-cooled engines.

Released about 600 aircraft of this type.

Later it turned out that the twin-engine Yak-4, after being converted into a bomber and installing defensive weapons, lost its advantages and participated only at the beginning of the war, until it was replaced by the Pe-2 dive bomber.

By January 1, 1940, Alexander Sergeevich introduced the new I-26 (Yak-1) fighter. Later, UTI-26 was mass-produced on the basis of this aircraft.

Stalin respected Yakovlev. According to his instructions, the aircraft designer was first installed in a new apartment with an ordinary, and then a Kremlin telephone.

On January 11, 1940, Yakovlev was appointed deputy for science and experimental construction to the new people's commissar for the aviation industry A.I. Shakhurina.

On the initiative of Alexander Sergeevich, the Summer Research Institute (LII) was created, headed by test pilot M.M. Gromov.

In 1940, Yakovlev led an aviation group as part of a trade delegation in Germany.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Alexander Sergeevich organized the transfer of enterprises to the Urals. When the German troops approached Moscow, Yakovlev organized the evacuation of aircraft designers, and then, on Stalin's instructions, he went to the Volga, where the production of the Yak-1 was being established at the plant. Then he was sent to Siberia, where the production of fighters was being prepared at the machine-building plant.

Taking on the duties of a GKO representative, Yakovlev created a single one from four teams of evacuated factories, organized the production of two types of fighters. In January 1942, an instruction was received - to transfer the entire plant for the production of the Yak-1. By February 20, the plant was producing 3 Yak-1s per day. It was a great success, because the production of everything necessary for aviation was just being established beyond the Urals.

In March 1942, for the first time, a report appeared in the newspapers that 7 Soviet pilots on the Yak-1 won the battle with 25 enemy aircraft.

In 1942, the Yak-6 night bomber and transport aircraft were tested. this aircraft was produced during the war years mainly as a staff communications aircraft.

The development of the first fighter made it possible to develop the Yak-3 with a flight weight of 2650 kg with a range of 900 km. Yak-3 is considered the lightest and most maneuverable aircraft of World War II. The Yak-3 was preferred by many pilots, in particular from the Normandie-Niemen squadron.

To provide reliable cover for the bombers, the Yak-9 escort fighter was created.

During the battles for Stalingrad, Yakovlev received information about the heavy losses of Yakov. It turned out that a group of German aces appeared at the front. However, when the regiments of the best Soviet pilots on the Yak-9 were formed, the Messerschmitts already suffered defeat, and the Nazi command had to transfer planes even from Sicily.

When the question arose again of increasing the flight range of fighters due to the need for a rapid offensive Soviet troops, summoned to Stalin along with Lavochkin, Yakovlev promised to double the range to 2000 km when adopting the Yak-9DD. The aircraft designer solved the problem of increasing fuel reserves by placing tanks on the wings.

At the beginning of 1944, a group of Yak-9DD flew without landing from the USSR to Italy through Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, occupied by the enemy.

Until the end of the war, 36,000 yak fighters were built; only Il-2 attack aircraft were produced more.

In 1945, the Yakovlev Design Bureau began to engage in jet aviation.

General information, part 1

In 1945, the Yakovlev Design Bureau began to engage in jet aviation. Initially, a liquid-propellant jet engine was installed on the Yak-3. The speed increased to 800 km per hour. However, the car turned out to be dangerous and died in preparation for the 1945 air parade.

The design bureau led the development of the Yak-15 single-engine fighter.

In April 1946, the Yak-15 successfully completed its first flight.

Factory tests of the Yak-15 ended on June 22. During their flight, the aircraft with a takeoff weight of 2570 kg managed to develop a maximum speed near the ground of 770 km/h, and at an altitude of 5000 m - 800 km/h. With a fuel reserve of 472 kg, the flight range was 575 km. The fighter gained a height of 5 km in 4.1 minutes.

In the summer of 1946, Yakovlev, in a conversation with Stalin, asked to be relieved of his duties as deputy minister in order to devote himself completely to design work. Stalin agreed. On July 9, Yakovlev received documents confirming his promotion to the rank of colonel-general and his release from office with an announcement of gratitude for six years of leadership.

Alexander Sergeevich was fully engaged in designing. During 1946-1949, his design bureau created and put into serial production the Yak-15, Yak-17 jet aircraft, the Yak-14 heavy landing glider, the Yak-11 training fighter, the initial training aircraft, the Yak-23 jet fighter.

The Yak-25 fighter was equipped with swept plumage, retained a straight wing. Despite the successful tests completed in September 1948, the aircraft remained experimental; MiG-15 became the main aircraft.

By the beginning of the 50s, domestic jet engines appeared. One of the first machines was equipped with a double all-weather interceptor Yak-25. the decision on its creation was adopted in August 1951. The first production cars appeared in 1954. Subsequently, on the basis of the Yak-25 scheme, a family of supersonic Yak-28s for various purposes (bombers, fighters, reconnaissance aircraft) with weapons inside the fuselage was created.

Alexander Sergeevich was engaged in the design of light aircraft and helicopters. At the beginning of the winter of 1953, the Yak-24 helicopter was presented for state testing. In 1956, records were set on this helicopter.

Yakovlev did not abandon the design and sports aircraft with which he began. He led the development sports car with retractable landing gear and a closed cockpit Yak-18.

In 1955, a resolution was adopted by the Council of Ministers of the USSR on the creation of supersonic interceptors. Reconnaissance and bomber, who eventually received the indices Yak-27, Yak-27R and Yak-26

A designer from God, Alexander Sergeevich became one of the pioneers in the creation of combat jet aviation in the USSR. However, along with combat aircraft, the Yakovlev Design Bureau was the only one that produced civilian equipment. The flight of the first civil aircraft, the jet Yak-40, became a notable world event. The pride of the USSR, he visited the air shows in Paris, Tokyo, Stockholm, Hannover, performed demonstration flights in 75 countries of the world, the first of the domestic aircraft was certified in the West. At the same time, work was underway at the Yakovlev Design Bureau to create training and sports aircraft, and the short-haul Yak-42 appeared, which is successfully operated today.

Alexander Sergeevich paid much attention to the development of aircraft with short or vertical takeoff and landing. Single page in the history of the Design Bureau is dedicated to these unique machines, according to their technical specifications unparalleled: in 1972, the Yak-38, based on aircraft-carrying cruisers, was adopted by the Soviet Navy.

In total, under the leadership of Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev, more than 200 types of aircraft were created, of which more than 100 are serial, on which different time 86 world records were set. Winner of the Lenin and State Prizes of the USSR, the owner of many medals and diplomas, prizes and titles, he served his Fatherland, and the Fatherland rewards him according to his merits.

Alexander Sergeevich died on August 20, 1989 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery. The monument to the aircraft designer was designed by the sculptor M. Anikushin.

The name of Yakovlev was given to the design bureau he created, whose employees continue to develop aircraft.

Yakovlev Alexander Sergeevich - Soviet designer of aviation equipment, chief designer of Design Bureau No. 115 of the People's Commissariat of the Aviation Industry of the USSR, Moscow; general designer Design Bureau No. 115 of the Ministry of Aviation Industry of the USSR, Moscow.

Born March 19 (April 1), 1906 in Moscow in the family of an employee. Russian. My father served as the head of the transport department in the oil company "Partnership of the Nobel Brothers". Mother was a housewife. In 1914 he entered the preparatory class of the private men's gymnasium N.P.Strakhova. After the October Revolution, the gymnasium was merged with the women's school, became state and received the name "Unified Labor School of the 2nd Stage".

The school showed interest in technology and, in particular, in aviation. In 1921 he built a flying model glider and successfully tested it in the school hall. There were other enthusiasts at the school, and in 1922 Alexander organized an aircraft modeling circle.

Without leaving school, in 1919-1922 he worked as a courier, then as a student in the archive, as a secretary to the head of a department in Glavtop, an organization that distributed all types of fuel. In August 1923, after graduating from school, he organized the first school cell in the city of Moscow of the Society of Friends of the Air Fleet (ODVF). Aviation enthusiasts, and there were about 60 of them at the school, built models, and then proceeded to manufacture the glider.

Since 1924, Yakovlev worked first as a worker, then as a mechanic for the flight squad of the Academy of the Air Fleet (AVF) named after N.E. Zhukovsky. In the same year, he built his first aircraft - the AVF-10 glider. Despite numerous requests and appeals, he was not taken to the academy, due to his “non-proletarian origin”. In 1927, Yakovlev built his first aircraft - AIR-1 (VVA-1). In July 1927, the first Soviet world records were set on this aircraft - the range (1420 km) and the duration (15 hours 30 minutes) of the flight. For these achievements, A.S. Yakovlev was enrolled as a student at the Air Force Academy out of competition. While studying at the Academy, he did not stop building aircraft. In 1927-1931, under his leadership, 8 types of aircraft were created - from AIR-1 to AIR-8, one of which (AIR-6) was built in a large series.

In 1931, after graduating from the academy, he entered the Menzhinsky aircraft factory No. 39 as an engineer, where in August of the following year he organized a light aviation group - his future design bureau. A group of enthusiasts, working under the leadership of A.S. Yakovlev, achieved recognition and in January 1934 was transferred from Osoviahim to the state aircraft industry as an independent design and production bureau, which soon became plant No. 115.

The first aircraft created at the new location, AIR-9, was shown at the Paris Air Show in the fall of 1934. Later, on its basis, the UT-2 aircraft was created for initial training for Air Force flight schools and flying clubs, which was produced in 1938-1948. In 1935, A.S. Yakovlev became the chief designer. In subsequent years, the Design Bureau created several more light sport aircraft: UT-1, AIR-11 and AIR-12.

In 1939, the Design Bureau built its first combat vehicle- twin-engine bomber BB-22 (Yak-2 and Yak-4), the speed of which exceeded the speed best fighters that time. Yak-2 and Yak-4 were mass-produced. In January 1940, he simultaneously worked as Deputy People's Commissar of the Aviation Industry for Experimental Aircraft Building and Science.

On January 13, 1940, the I-26 (Yak-1) fighter took off. The aircraft was highly appreciated, and the chief designer became one of the first Heroes of Socialist Labor.

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 defense power of the Soviet Union Yakovlev Alexander Sergeevich He was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal.

During the Great Patriotic War, on the basis of the Yak-1, the Yak-7 (1941), Yak-9, Yak-3 (1943) and over 30 of them were created. serial variants and modifications - in total more than 30 thousand aircraft. They accounted for two-thirds of the fighters produced during the war. Each "yak" had a number of modifications that differ the best performance. Replacing wood with metal in the structure, improving aerodynamics made it possible to increase the flight speed. The latest modification of the Yak-3 had it up to 720 km / h, it was also the most light fighter Second World War. Armament was strengthened, from 20 mm guns on the Yak-1 to 37 mm and 45 mm on the Yak-9. The flight range was increased, up to 2200 km for the Yak-9DD. Until July 1946, A.S. Yakovlev, heading the design bureau, simultaneously worked as deputy people's commissar of the aviation industry for experimental aircraft construction and science (in 1946 - deputy minister for general issues). Major General of the Aviation Engineering Service (11/10/1942). Lieutenant General of the Aviation Engineering Service (12/27/1943).

From 1956 until his retirement, A.S. Yakovlev was the General Designer of the Design Bureau. In the post-war period, aviation was re-equipped with jet technology. The Yak-15 fighter became the first jet aircraft to enter service in the USSR. It was followed by the Yak-17UTI, Yak-23, Yak-25 - the first Soviet all-weather interceptor, the high-altitude Yak-25RV, the first Yak-27R supersonic reconnaissance aircraft, the Yak-28 family of supersonic aircraft, including the first Soviet supersonic front-line bomber. Landing vehicles entered service - the Yak-14 glider and the Yak-24 helicopter - the most lifting in the world in 1952-1956.

By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 12, 1957, he was awarded the second gold medal "Hammer and Sickle" for outstanding services in the creation of new aviation equipment and the labor heroism shown at the same time. Became twice Hero of Socialist Labor.

Along with combat aircraft, the Yakovlev Design Bureau also produced civilian equipment. A whole generation of light-engine aircraft was created: the Yak-11 and Yak-18 trainers, the multi-purpose Yak-12, the first in the USSR jet training and sports aircraft Yak-30 and Yak-32. Speaking since 1960 on the Yak-18P, Yak-18PM, Yak-18PS and Yak-50, Soviet pilots have repeatedly won first places in the world and European championships in aerobatics.

Since 1968, the Yak-40 has been carrying passengers - the only Soviet aircraft certified according to Western airworthiness standards and purchased by Italy, Germany and other countries. Later, a 120-seat Yak-42 was created, which was distinguished by high efficiency.

In 1967, the first Soviet vertical takeoff and landing aircraft Yak-36 was demonstrated at the Domodedovo parade, and since 1976, the Kyiv-class cruisers were armed with combat aircraft vertical and short takeoff and landing Yak-38 - the world's first carrier-based VTOL aircraft.

On August 21, 1984, A.S. Yakovlev retired at the age of 78. In total, over 200 types of aircraft were created under his leadership, of which more than 100 were serial, on which 86 world records were set at different times.

Lenin Prize (1971). State Prize of the USSR (1977). Six Stalin Prizes (1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1948).

Colonel General of the Aviation Engineering Service (07/09/1946). Awarded 10 Orders of Lenin (04/27/1939; 10/28/1940; 09/06/1942; 05/25/1944; 07/02/1945; 11/15/1950; 03/31/1956; 03/31/1966; 06/23/1981), 08/18/1 04/26/1971), 2 Orders of the Red Banner (11/03/1944; 10/26/1955), Orders of Suvorov 1st (09/16/1945) and 2nd (08/19/1944) degrees, Patriotic War 1st degree (06/10/1945 ), the Red Banner of Labor (09/17/1975), the Red Star (08/17/1933), medals, the Order of the Legion of Honor of the degree of an officer (France). In addition, he was awarded the FAI Aviation Gold Medal.

The bronze bust of the Hero is installed in Moscow. In Moscow, a memorial plaque was opened on the house where he lived. In 2006, a street in the Northern District of Moscow was named after him. In 1990, the name of the aircraft designer A.S. Yakovlev was given to the design bureau, which he led for many years. Aircraft with the Yak brand remain a worthy monument to the designer.