About the fate and developments of the outstanding aircraft designer who founded and headed the plant number 51, which later became the Sukhoi Design Bureau.

June 8 marks 123 years since the birth of Nikolai Polikarpov, the creator of the first domestic fighter.
The death sentence and two Stalin Prizes, the universal recognition of his aircraft and the refusal to mass-produce them - the fate and work of Polikarpov were quite typical for their time, but at the same time surprising.
"Enemy of the people"
Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov was born on June 8, 1892 in the village of Georgievsky, Oryol province. His father and grandfather were priests. Continuing the family tradition, Nikolai entered a religious school. However, upon graduation, he did not continue his studies at the seminary, but, contrary to the will of his father, applied for the mechanical department of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute. Here he became interested in aviation.
After graduating from the institute, Polikarpov got a job in the aviation department of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works. Igor Sikorsky himself was his direct supervisor. Under his leadership, Polikarpov participated in the creation of the legendary Ilya Muromets aircraft.
In 1918 Sikorsky was forced to emigrate. According to biographers, he offered Polikarpov to run away together, but the latter, to his misfortune, refused. A few years later, in 1929, Polikarpov was arrested, accused of "counter-revolutionary sabotage" and - without trial - sentenced to death.
For two months, the aircraft designer waited for the execution of the sentence in the cell. Then he was transferred to a "sharashka" - a closed design bureau, organized directly in the Butyrka prison, and offered to "make amends" by hard work for the good of the motherland. Here, in prison, together with the designer Dmitry Grigorovich and a number of other "pests", they created, for example, the I-5 aircraft, which became the main fighter of the Red Army Air Force and was used until 1943.


Aircraft I-5

Polikarpov's death sentence remained in effect for two years. Only in 1931, the OGPU replaced it with 10 years in the camps, and after Stalin's resolution, which approved the I-5, made the punishment conditional.
The stigma of "enemy of the people" remained on Polikarpov throughout his life. Many years later, his contemporaries told how they dispersed the Design Bureau headed by Polikarpov and forced its employees to move to another team: “They said to those who had doubts: Polikarpov is a finished man, he is a priest, wears a cross, he will be shot soon anyway. Who will protect you then?
The case against Nikolai Polikarpov was closed only in 1956 - 12 years after the death of the designer.
"King of Fighters"
Surprisingly, in such an environment, Polikarpov managed not only to work, but also to create the best machines for his time. In just over twenty years, the designer has developed almost fifty reliable fighters, powerful bombers and torpedo bombers.
Thanks to these aircraft, the designer entered the history of aviation forever. Among colleagues, Nikolai Polikarpov was called the "king of fighters."
But his best car still was not put into mass production. The reason for this, according to most historians, was the intrigue and struggle for power in the highest party circles of the USSR.

R-1 aircraft

Before the war, aircraft were given letter designations corresponding to their purpose: training - U, reconnaissance - R, heavy bomber - TB, fighter - I. In the 20s, Polikarpov created the first domestic fighter I-1, reconnaissance R-1, who participated in the rescue Chelyuskintsev, the I-3 fighter, the R-5 reconnaissance aircraft and, of course, the famous U-2 (later renamed Po-2).
Creator of the "heavenly slug"
This training aircraft, which appeared in 1928, became Polikarpov's most famous masterpiece. The biplane turned out to be quite light (660 kg) and cheap to manufacture. It really did not differ in speed qualities (maximum - 150 km / h), but there were legends about its stability. For example, this one: once, in order to fly between two closely standing birches, Valery Chkalov turned the U-2 almost 90 degrees.

Aircraft Po-2

The U-2 has become one of the most popular aircraft in the world: it was produced in the amount of about 35 thousand copies. During the war, it was used as a night bomber, attack aircraft, and ambulance aircraft.
In a web of intrigue
By 1939, Polikarpov had already become a well-known designer. In a few years, he went from deputy head of the brigade of the Sukhoi Central Design Bureau to the chief designer of plant No. 1. He was even sent on a business trip to Germany.
Polikarpov was absent for only a month. But during this time, his design bureau was actually disbanded. The best designers of Polikarpov were transferred to the new unit, under the leadership of Artem Mikoyan, and they also transferred the project of the I-200 fighter (the future MiG-1), created by Nikolai Nikolayevich just before the trip.
Returning, the designer received at his disposal only the old hangar on the outskirts of Khodynka, referred to on paper as "State Plant No. 51". But even in this, virtually empty, place, Polikarpov managed to create a full-fledged design bureau, which later became an experimental plant named after. ON. Sukhoi.
It was here that the ITP, TIS aircraft, the combat landing glider (BDP, MP), the NB night bomber, as well as the best experienced fighters of the Second World War - I-180 and I-185, were developed.
It is believed that serial production of the I-180 was not started due to the death of its test pilot Valery Chkalov in the first flight. However, the facts indicate that the crash did not occur at all due to the design flaws of the aircraft.
According to the task, Chkalov should be able to make only one circle over the airfield. But he decided to make the second one, flying out of the field at the same time. At this point, the engine stalled. The plane only a few meters did not reach the runway, besides, it caught on the wires. Chkalov died from a blow to his head on the armature, which turned out to be at the site of the crash.
Unfair competition
The I-185 fighter, the last project of Polikarpov, created in 1941, surpassed all serial Soviet and foreign piston aircraft of those years in terms of the sum of its characteristics. His tests showed that the I-185 was the fastest and most power-equipped, the fastest climbing and most stable, the most maneuverable and armed, the most high-altitude and high-tech, the most convenient in production and repair.

Aircraft I-185

However, completely different cars went into the series. Polikarpov, in the promotion of his aircraft, was actively opposed. At first, for a year they were not given the opportunity to equip the car with the necessary engine. Then for another two years they interfered with the testing. And finally, in 1943, they simply misinformed Stalin, who had to make the final decision regarding the fate of this aircraft. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief was informed that the I-185 had allegedly not been tested for flight range.
As a result, the Yak-9 became the most serial fighter. And Polikarpov, as a consolation, was given a second Stalin Prize for the I-185.
On takeoff
A year later, on July 30, 1944, Nikolai Nikolaevich died of stomach cancer. He was 52 years old.

Nikolai Polikarpov (center) with employees

Until the very last days, Polikarpov continued to lead the design bureau. Knowing about the imminent end, he asked to keep the team after his departure, to let the employees finish the development they had begun. But soon after the death of the designer, his design bureau was disbanded, the projects were closed.
Subsequently, OKB-51 became a branch of OKB-155. Then its territory was determined as a base for the restored OKB P.O. Dry, which is still located on it. In February 1954, OKB P.O. Sukhoi and the pilot plant were again received in the USSR MAP system No. 51.

In aviation circles, Nikolai Polikarpov was called the “king of fighters”: for almost 10 years, Soviet fighter aircraft were armed exclusively with his machines.

Russian and Soviet aircraft designer Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov - head of OKB-51 (later - Sukhoi Design Bureau), twice Stalin Prize winner, Hero of Socialist Labor, N. Polikarpov is one of the founders of the Soviet school of aircraft construction. The U-2 (Po-2) and R-5 multi-purpose aircraft created under his leadership became one of the best in their class, and the I-15 bis, I-153 Chaika, I-16 formed the basis of the USSR fighter aircraft fleet 1934- 1940s, for which the designer earned the reputation of the "king of fighters".

Nikolay Polikarpov was born on May 28 (June 9), 1892 in the settlements 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). The father came from a family of hereditary clergymen. In addition to church ministry, he taught at a number of schools in the Livensky district; in February 1914, "as a reward for twenty-five years of particularly diligent performance of teaching duties in public schools," he was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree. In 1888, Nikolai Petrovich married the daughter of a wealthy priest, Alexandra Sergeevna Arakina (she died of typhus in 1920), whose mother, Maria Borisovna, nee Preobrazhenskaya (1837-1892), in her early years lived in Spasskoye-Lutovinovo - the estate of the writer Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev; her father, deacon Boris Preobrazhensky, according to some researchers, could serve as the prototype of Bazarov from Turgenev's novel Fathers and Sons. From June 1890, Nikolai Petrovich Polikarpov began to serve in the church of the village of Georgievskoye, Livensky district. He was repeatedly elected as a deputy to congresses of the clergy. Since 1902, he was the dean in the district, in 1913 he was transferred to Oryol, where he chaired the Committee for the Management of the Candle Factory, and was a member of the diocesan council. He paid much attention to helping the poor, orphans, victims of fire, during the Russo-Japanese and First World Wars he donated funds to the needs of the Red Cross Society and to help the wounded. In 1920, after the death of his wife, he joined the Renovation movement, in 1923 he was ordained bishop of Klin, vicar of the Moscow diocese, and since 1926 - bishop of Bryansk. In 1927 he was elevated to the rank of archbishop. From 1928 to 1937 he was Archbishop of Akhtyrsky, Tver, Mogilev, Tulchinsky; from July 22, 1936 - Archbishop of Vinnitsa. On December 14, 1937, he was dismissed from the state by age. He died on the way home, in January 1938, having given away all his property and money.

In the Polikarpov family, besides Nikolai, there were six more children: Lydia (born 1890), Nina (born 1894), Vladimir (born 1896), Olga (born 1898), Sergey (born 1901), Alexandra (born 1894). 1903).

The future aircraft designer Nikolai Polikarpov had a good memory since childhood, he loved to build, draw, at the age of 5 he learned to read on his own. At the age of nine, he was sent to the Livny Theological School, which he graduated in June 1907 "in the first category", having received the right to be transferred to the first class of the Theological Seminary without entrance exams. At the Oryol Theological Seminary, he was also among the best students, however, not thinking about a spiritual career, he decided to enter the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute. The decision was serious, since the institute charged a high tuition fee, in addition, it was necessary to pay for the completed course of the theological seminary, where Polikarpov studied for free. Students of theological seminaries were not admitted to the institute, and Nikolai Polikarpov, having passed the exams as an external student at the 1st Oryol Gymnasium, on June 22, 1911, filed a petition to enroll him in the number of students.

In the photo - the building of the Oryol Theological Seminary, now here is the Railway College (Oryol Railway College is a branch of the state educational institution of higher professional education "Moscow State University of Railway Engineering" (MIIT)

Having passed the competition of certificates at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, Nikolai Polikarpov became a student in the shipbuilding department of the institute in 1911, later, in 1914, choosing the specialization "mechanical engineer for steam turbines, internal combustion engines, heating and ventilation systems." At the same time, being carried away by aviation, in 1913 he entered the "Courses of aviation and aeronautics" at the shipbuilding department of the institute.

In the Polikarpov family, 6 children were studying at the same time and financial difficulties forced Nikolai to work hard. He spent his summer practice in 1912 in the Livensky Zemstvo, working as a technician on the repair of a highway and a bridge in the village. Gerino. In 1913 - assistant foreman at the construction of a bridge in the village. Kazinki. In 1914 at the Nikolaev shipbuilding plant (Nikolaev) in the diesel building department. In 1915, at the Aviation Plant V. A. Lebedev (Petrograd), as an engineer. In 1914-1915, in parallel with studying at two departments of the institute, he worked as an engineer on orders at the Petrograd branch of the Moscow Dux plant, where, at that time, an attempt was made to organize a design bureau and develop a seaplane of his own design, Nikolai Polikarpov also participated in work as an engineer on orders, but the result was not achieved and the design bureau was closed.

On January 26, 1916, Polikarpov successfully defended his graduation project on the topic “Diesel“ marine type ”with a capacity of 1000 hp. With." and received the title of "mechanical engineer of the I degree." He graduated from the Aviation and Aeronautics courses at the end of 1916, but he failed to defend his graduation project on the topic “twin-engine transport aircraft”, probably due to the difficult situation in the country and the heavy workload at work.

I.I. Sikorsky (Russian [and American aircraft designer, scientist, inventor, philosopher, creator of the first in the world: the four-engine aircraft "Russian Knight" (1913), the heavy four-engine bomber and passenger aircraft "Ilya Muromets" (1914), the transatlantic hydroplane, the serial helicopter single-screw scheme (USA, 1942)). Sikorsky sent a nominal application for him to the Directorate of the Air Force of the Russian Empire. Nikolai Polikarpov, immediately after the institute, on wartime labor mobilization, begins to work at the RBVZ as the head of production of S-16 fighters, later being involved in the modernization of S-16, Ilya Muromets and in the design of new ones: S-18, S-19, S -twenty. 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. The aircraft designer I. I. Sikorsky, not finding a common language with the new government, emigrated abroad in February 1918. Nikolai Polikarpov refused to emigrate and left the plant in March 1918, going to work in the All-Russian Collegium for the Management of the Workers 'and Peasants' Air Fleet.

In March 1918, in connection with the transfer of the capital, all the governing bodies of the RSFSR, including the All-Russian Collegium for the Management of the Workers 'and Peasants' Air Fleet, moved to Moscow. Soon, the All-Russian Collegium for the Management of the Workers' and Peasants' Air Fleet was reorganized into the Main Directorate of the Workers' and Peasants' Air Fleet (GUVF, Glavvozdukhflot). N. N. Polikarpov holds the position of head of the 8th department, in charge of supply, planning and construction of aircraft factories. After August 1918, he goes to work at the Duks plant, continuing to carry out separate instructions from the GUVF until 1920.

On August 15, 1918, Polikarpov began working at the Dux plant as the head of the technical department. On February 6, 1923, he was transferred as the responsible designer of the plant and at the same time as deputy head of the design department of Glavkoavia, to the place of D. P. Grigorovich. The first work was to ensure the production and modernization of the manufactured aircraft Nieuport-17, Nieuport-21, Nieuport-23, Farman-30, Ilya Muromets, etc.

In August 1922, the plant was given the task of mastering the production of Airco DH.9 aircraft. Polikarpov makes a complete recalculation of the design and makes significant structural changes to it, a year later creating the R-1 reconnaissance aircraft, which became the first mass-produced Soviet aircraft. At the same time, Polikarpov, together with I. M. Kostkin and A. A. Popov, on his own initiative develops and builds the world's first fighter - a cantilever low-wing aircraft of the original design IL-400 (I-1) (1923) as well as a reconnaissance aircraft (RL- 400) and an attack aircraft (OL-1 "Boevik") based on it. The project was bold for its time, but the lack of experience and lack of design led to the fact that the aircraft was built only in a small series of 33 copies.

From August 1924 to January 1925 N.N. Polikarpov holds the position of head of production of GAZ No. 1. In the period from January 1925 to October 1926, he was the head of the experimental department of GAZ No. 1, from October 1926 to January 1928, he was the head of the Land Aircraft Building Department (OSS) of the Central Design Bureau of Aviatrest. During this period, Polikarpov did a lot to organize experimental aircraft construction in the USSR, based on the division of design stages, he developed the first methods for designing, building and testing experimental machines, performing static tests, calculating strength and longitudinal static stability, and studied the spin properties of aircraft.

In 1927, the Polikarpov U-2 training aircraft (since 1944 Po-2) was developed, which won recognition as a very successful design of a light and cheap multi-purpose and training aircraft. The Po-2 played an important role in the training of 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 half-plane 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 put into service after the I- 2 Grigorovich. At the same time, the Polikarpov Design Bureau moved 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 the state aircraft factory No. 25. The core of the Polikarpov Design Bureau (OSS - Land Aircraft Building Department) in the period 1926-1932 consisted of 28 designers, mostly young, starting their way in aircraft building. Organizationally, employees were divided into groups of aerodynamics, strength, general views, fuselage, wing, propeller installation, armament and production support. V. M. Olkhovsky worked as the deputy of the department, S. A. Kocherigin and A. A. Krylov were leading the aircraft.

In September 1928, the R-5 multi-purpose aircraft (reconnaissance aircraft) was developed, which turned out to be one of the best in its class. The aircraft went into production from the beginning of 1930 and soon became the "workhorse" of the Red Army aviation. In the same year, the R-5 took 1st place at the International Reconnaissance Vehicle Competition in Iran, ahead of the aircraft of Great Britain, Holland and France, and in 1934 it performed well as a rescue vehicle in the crash of the Chelyuskin icebreaker. In Aeroflot, it was also operated after the Great Patriotic War under the P-5 brand.

In September 1928, the Design Bureau began designing the I-6 fighter. After the arrest of Polikarpov 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, unable to compete with the similar I-5 fighter developed in the prison design bureau by N. N. Polikarpov and D. P. Grigorovich, it was not accepted for serial construction. In addition to the I-6, the work plans of the Polikarpov Design Bureau for the period 1929-31 provided for the development of the I-7 fighter, the D-2 two-seat fighter and the IK-1 heavy escort fighter. Since 1927, the heavy twin-engine bomber TB-2 (L-2) was also under development.

Arrest and work in TsKB-39 OGPU

On October 24, 1929, Polikarpov was arrested by the OGPU at his home. He was charged with “participation in a counter-revolutionary sabotage organization”, sabotage and disruption of experimental work, for the manifestation of which facts of errors and shortcomings in design activities in recent years were given out, as well as a previous conflict with the Air Force Scientific and Technical Committee, during which Polikarpov accused the customer of putting up an impossible high requirements for the designed aircraft. Other designers and workers in the aviation industry were also arrested. The background was the aggravation of the internal political situation in the country, associated with the struggle of moderate and radical movements in the CPSU (b) (Stalin - Trotsky), as well as a sharp aggravation of the international situation after the USSR supported the national liberation movements in Afghanistan, Iran and China, to which England, whose colonial interests were oppressed, responded with a rupture of diplomatic relations, an attempt to organize anti-Soviet forces and support for the radical part of the White émigré movement. The former “boss” of Polikarpov, Igor Sikorsky, also played an active role in the white emigration. In 1927, he developed a project “On a Raid in the USSR of a Squadron of 25 Ships”, in which he proposed to overthrow the power of the Bolsheviks by an unexpected airborne assault using an S-38 transport aircraft of his own design, and the Tsar of Bulgaria agreed to place an S-38 squadron in Varna under the guise of a civilian airlines.

Polikarpov did not plead guilty, after a short investigation he was transferred to the Butyrka prison, where all the imprisoned aviation specialists were gathered, and "as a socially alien element" without trial they were sentenced to death, but the sentence was not carried out.

On November 30, 1929, Ya.I. Alksnis. Referring to the complexity of the international situation, he urged them "to give their mind and strength to the creation in the shortest possible time of a fighter that would surpass the machines of potential enemies." In December, a “Special Design Bureau” was organized in Butyrskaya prison under the unofficial technical leadership of D.P. Grigorovich, N.N. Polikarpov became his deputy, and employees of the economic department of the OGPU took administrative posts. In January 1930, the OKB was transferred to the territory of the Moscow Aircraft Plant No. 39 named after V.R. Menzhinsky, where the prisoners began to live and work in a special hangar, called the "inner prison", and the OKB was renamed the "Central Design Bureau" - TsKB- 39, which in March 1930 was strengthened by civilian specialists.

As a result of hard work, TsKB-39 created a light, maneuverable biplane fighter VT-11, later renamed the I-5. The fighter first took to the skies on April 29, 1930, was put into service and produced in large series, having served in the Red Army Air Force for about 9 years. The I-5 has proven itself in operation, its further development was the Polikarpov fighters of the I-15 and I-153 biplane scheme. 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.

In February 1931, while in prison, Polikarpov was appointed head of the design team No. 3, given the task of designing the I-11 fighter. On March 18, 1931, the OGPU board sentenced Polikarpov to 10 years in camps and confiscation of property, accusing him of espionage, counter-revolutionary activities and undermining industry (Articles 58-6, 58-7, 58-11).

On June 6, 1931, 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 presented the I-5 fighter from the Central Design Bureau, piloted by V.P. Chkalov and A.F. Anisimov, the show was successful. On June 28, the collegium of the OGPU decided to consider the sentence against Polikarpov suspended, and on July 7, 1931, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR decided on an amnesty and the release of 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 Collegium of the OGPU and dismissed the case against Polikarpov.

After the amnesty and release, N. N. Polikarpov remained to work in his former position.

Creation of I-15 and I-16 fighters

August 27, 1931 TsKB-39 was introduced into TsAGI. N. E. Paufler, a protege of the OGPU, 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 had known 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 according to recommendations of S. V. Ilyushin were appointed deputies of P. O. Sukhoi.

By the middle of 1933, the joint brigade was supposed to release for testing the I-14 (ANT-31) monoplane fighter with the M-38 air-cooled engine and the I-13 half-plane fighter with the M-32 liquid-cooled engine. ON. During this period, Sukhoi concentrated his efforts on the development of the I-14 (ANT-31) cannon-monoplane fighter with a retractable landing gear and a maximum speed of up to 380 km / h, and G. I. Bertosh - on the development of the I-13 based on the Tupolev I fighter -eight. Polikarpov did not participate in these works.

In July 1932 N.N. Polikarpov received from S. V. Ilyushin the task of developing an I-14a semi-plane fighter with an air-cooled engine. The I-14a was designed on the basis of the I-13, which Polikarpov worked on even before he was removed from his post, and continued the line of I-5 and I-6 biplane fighters. The highly maneuverable biplane I-14a was supposed to tactically complement the high-speed monoplane I-14 (ANT-31) P.O. Sukhoi. In addition, with a possible delay in the development of the I-14, due to the presence of a significant number of innovations, Polikarpov's I-14a could serve as a certain insurance for obtaining a new fighter. In parallel with the I-14a biplane, Polikarpov, on his own initiative, is making the first sketches of his version of a high-speed monoplane fighter, planning to make a significant jump in speed, reaching the milestone of 400 km / h.

P. O. Sukhoi gave N. N. Polikarpov a full opportunity to engage in his developments, and Polikarpov, in turn, did not interfere in any way with the developments of P. O. Sukhoi. In December 1932, the I-14a project was renamed I-15, and Polikarpov's design team was deployed into a separate brigade No. 5 of the Central Design Bureau of TsAGI. On February 13, 1933, by order of the Main Directorate of the Aviation Industry, at Plant No. 39 named after. Menzhinsky, the Central Design Bureau was again created, organizationally independent of TsAGI. Officially, it was called the Central Design Bureau for Experimental Aircraft Construction of Light Aircraft and Military Series. S. V. Ilyushin was appointed head of the new Central Design Bureau and deputy director of plant No. 39 for the design part. Brigade No. 5 N. N. Polikarpov moved to the new Central Design Bureau in full force and became known as Brigade No. 2 TsKB-39 (for fighters).

From February 1933 to July 1936, Polikarpov worked as the head of brigade No. 2 of the Central Design Bureau on the basis of aircraft plant No. 39. In the middle of 1933, due to difficulties in fine-tuning the I-14 (ANT-31) P.O. on 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 being activated. I-14 P. O. Sukhoi 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), piloted by test pilot of plant No. 39 Valery Chkalov. The Air Force leadership preferred the I-16 Polikarpov as cheaper and more technologically advanced (wood-metal, the so-called mixed design against the all-metal I-14) with somewhat higher flight characteristics, the prospects for fine-tuning and development in production. The I-15 and I-16 entered mass production and into service with the army, and the I-16, having shown a combination of high speed and maneuverability, became one of the most advanced fighters of its time, standing in service with the Red Army Air Force until 1944.

In the photo, pilot Valery Chkalov, I.V. Stalin and K. Voroshilov

Piloting on the I-16 was demonstrated by the Red Five group and individually by Valery Chkalov at the May Day parade of 1935 and the subsequent review of aviation technology, which was held at the Central Aerodrome. 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, with the wording: “for outstanding services in the creation of new high-quality aircraft designs,” was awarded the Order of Lenin, Valery Chkalov, who actually became the leading test pilot of the Polikarpov Design Bureau, was 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, attention from Stalin and work in the design bureau, already well-known, test pilot Chkalov meant a lot to the designer.

on the photo - I-16 aircraft

In the Soviet Air Force, the I-15 biplane (and its further development I-15bis, I-153) was a concept of a highly maneuverable air combat fighter, the I-16 monoplane tactically supplemented it as a high-speed interceptor fighter. Thus, the aircraft developed by Polikarpov again formed the basis of the Air Force fighter fleet of 1934-1940, and the designer himself earned the reputation of the “king of fighters”.

Experimental fighter I-17

The project of the I-17 high-speed fighter with an in-line V-shaped liquid-cooled engine began to be worked out by Polikarpov in 1933. Structurally, it was similar to the I-16 and had a mixed design. In total, 3 copies were made: TsKB-15 (September 1934), TsKB-19 (September 16, 1935) and TsKB-19bis (November 1936). On the plane, it was planned to reach the speed limit of 500 km / h, which, according to various sources, was either overcome or managed to come close to it. Despite the lag in technology, initially the project was in line with advanced aircraft construction, the I-17 was created at the same time, had a similar layout and comparable flight characteristics with the first models of the German Bf 109 and the English Spitfire. The French Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs engine was soon replaced with a licensed domestic M-100. On the TsKB-19bis, the ShVAK motor gun (20 mm), firing through the hollow propeller shaft, was successfully tested. The I-17 had good maneuverability and much better stability in flight compared to the I-16, among the shortcomings was a cramped uncomfortable cockpit with poor visibility during landing, a weak landing gear (TsKB-15). On May 1, 1936, the aircraft was demonstrated at the May Day parade, in 1937, as a sports one, without weapons, at aviation exhibitions in Paris and Milan. One of the I-17s has survived to this day in the museum of V.P. Chkalov. Although the machine did not go into series, for the first time in the USSR, the aerodynamic scheme of a fighter with a liquid-cooled engine and the installation of a ShVAK motor gun in the collapse of the cylinder block was worked out and implemented on it.

Work on the project continued until the beginning of 1939. It was planned to install the M-103 and M-105 engines on the I-17 (options I-172 and I-173). In addition to those named in the mid-30s, a whole family of I-17 variants was developed. They were not implemented due to a number of factors, including the relocation of the Polikarpov design bureau from plant to plant, work simultaneously at several plants, loading the design bureau with serial production and modernization of I-15, I-16, temporary departure from Chkalov's design bureau, which participated in record flights, problems with the creation of domestic liquid-cooled engines. The experience of creating the I-17 was used by Polikarpov in the development of the I-200 project, the construction of ITP and VP.

In November 1935, after completing a course at the flying club at plant number 39, Polikarpov received a 4th class civilian pilot certificate. In 1936, Polikarpov organizes a conference of aircraft designers of the USSR for a live exchange of experience at which he openly acquaints everyone with the work of his design bureau, but this initiative was not supported by his colleagues. In the Polikarpov Design Bureau, initiative work began on a twin-engine three-seat multi-purpose aircraft. The main idea of ​​the project was that the aircraft had several different payload schemes and, depending on the intended purpose (VT air tank, short-range bomber, SVT air combat aircraft, MPI multi-seat cannon fighter), could be quickly re-equipped in the field. Subsequently, the project was renamed VIT-1 air tank destroyer (lead designer ZI Zhurbina). The projects of the I-164 and I-165 fighters were completed, which were a modernization of the I-16 with a new M-62 engine and, according to calculations, could cross the line of 500 km / h.

On August 11, 1936, Polikarpov was appointed chief designer of two plants at once: No. 84 in Khimki and No. 21 in Gorky. Polikarpov's design bureau (104 people) was relocated to plant number 84. Working conditions deteriorated, a lot of effort had to be spent on restoring order and arranging pilot production.

On December 12, 1937, Polikarpov was elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 1st convocation (1937-1946) to the Council of Nationalities from the ASSR of the Volga Germans (in the Engels rural constituency No. 442). From February 1938 - Polikarpov chief designer, and then technical director of aircraft plant No. 156. From February 1939 - chief designer of plant No. 1. From September 1940 until his death - director and chief designer of plant No. 51 of the NKAP of the USSR, deputy of the USSR Armed Forces 1st convocation.

Creation of the I-180 fighter. The death of Valery Chkalov.

In August-September 1937, after a thorough analysis of the development of aviation and the experience of fighting in Spain and China, Nikolai Polikarpov came to the conclusion that the modernization of the I-16 was coming to an end and a new fighter was needed with a speed of at least 550 km/h. In November 1937, he completed the I-165 project, which later became the basis for the creation of the I-180 fighter. The fundamental difference was the rate on the two-row radial engine M-88 of the Zaporozhye plant No. 29, which was still being tested, and the variable-pitch propeller.

However, the conditions for work became more difficult, a wave of repressions in the Red Army, caused by a sharp deterioration in relations between the USSR and Germany, led to the fact that many leaders of the Air Force were engaged in the search for the guilty and mutual accusations; , the work was carried out in many respects on an initiative basis. In December 1937, the design bureau was transferred to experimental plant No. 156, Polikarpov was appointed to the place of the repressed A. N. Tupolev (according to the plan of M. M. Kaganovich to eradicate "Tupolevism" and "Petlyakovism"). A conflict arose between the plant and the design bureau, the designers were not allowed into the plant, their tasks were sabotaged. On May 28, 1938, Polikarpov was appointed technical director of the plant, which further distracted from work, squabbles began about clamping down on the production of P. O. Sukhoi's cars in his favor.

The first I-180 was built at the end of 1938, the work was supervised by Polikarpov's deputy, Dmitry Lyudvigovich Tomashevich. The car was planned to be lifted into the air before the end of 1938, which caused haste and nervousness, the development of the new M-88 engine was not yet completed. On December 15, 1938, an accident occurred in the first flight on the I-180, the plane crashed on the landing course, not reaching the airfield after a normally completed flight, the pilot Valery Chkalov died. By this time, Chkalov was no longer just a test pilot, but a well-known person in the country, an active public figure, a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The commission investigating the incident came to the conclusion that the cause was the failure of the engine at low altitude and the negligent attitude to the preparation of the flight (the plane went flying with numerous imperfections). Leading designer D. L. Tomashevich and a number of other persons were repressed, Polikarpov was not blamed.

The death of Chkalov was a severe blow for Polikarpov, his work was paralyzed for almost 2 months, on February 5, 1939 he was relieved of the post of technical director of plant No. 156 and appointed chief designer of plant No. 1, the design bureau was also transferred there, which included three structural divisions : KB-1 (maneuverable fighters), KB-2 (high-speed monoplane fighters), KB-3 (bombers and multipurpose aircraft).

On April 27, 1939, test pilot S.P. Suprun took off the second I-180-2, flight tests of the I-180 passed without serious remarks. The aircraft was demonstrated at the May Day parade of 1939, however, the release of the I-180 military series was delayed, plant No. other people's projects. On September 5, 1939, in the 53rd flight, under unclear circumstances, the second copy of the I-180-2 crashed, test pilot T.P. Suzi died. The 3rd copy was built in February 1940 at factory No. 1. In April, factory No. 21 produced the first 3 serial I-180s, their factory tests continued until July 4, 1940. On July 5, in a test flight, another I-180 crashed -180, the pilot Afanasy Proshakov could not get out of the spin and left the car on a parachute. The attitude towards the aircraft was difficult, its spin characteristics were questionable, interest in fighters with air-cooled engines was falling, many began to consider them outdated and unpromising at speeds of more than 500 km / h. The leading test pilot E. G. Ulyakhin gave the following assessment to the machine: “In terms of maneuver, the aircraft is very close to the I-16, but it is more stable and better in turns, landing and stability in flight”, the aircraft was superior in speed and maneuverability to the main fighter of the German Air Force Bf-109E, it was not difficult for pilots to retrain from the I-16 to the I-180, but soon, due to defects, the production of the M-88 engines was stopped and in August the serial construction of the I-180 was stopped, and at the end of 1940 a decision was made about the complete removal of the aircraft from production. In October 1940, by decision of the NKAP, Plant No. 21 began preparations for the production of the LaGG-3 designed by the Lavochkin Design Bureau with a completely different technology, by this time Polikarpov was already working on the further development of the I-185 air-cooled fighter.

In 1939 N.N. Polikarpov was sent on a business trip to Germany. In his absence, plant director P. A. Voronin and chief engineer P. V. Dementiev separated some of the departments and the best designers from the design bureau (including M. I. Gurevich) and organized a new experimental design department, and in fact - a new design bureau , under the direction of Artyom Mikoyan. At the same time, Mikoyan was given the project of a new I-200 fighter (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 TsAGI OELID, a new state plant No. 51 was created for Polikarpov, which did not have any production base of its own 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, as well as in difficult evacuation conditions, I-185, ITP, TIS fighters (each in several versions), a combat landing glider (BDP, MP), a NB night bomber were created and a whole a series of projects not completed due to the death of Polikarpov.

In the act 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 called "the best modern fighter." For this aircraft in March 1943, Polikarpov was awarded the Stalin Prize of the 1st degree. After the death of Polikarpov, his design bureau was headed by V.N. Chelomei, who was entrusted with the development of cruise missiles. In aviation circles, Polikarpov was called the "king of fighters": for almost 10 years, Soviet fighter aircraft were armed exclusively with his machines.

Since 1943, simultaneously with work in the design bureau of N.N. Polikarpov is a professor and head of the aircraft design department at the Moscow Aviation Institute.

Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov died on July 30, 1944 from stomach cancer. He was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy Cemetery (plot No. 1).

N.N. Polikarpov for his outstanding work was awarded the Order of the Red Star (1937), two Orders of Lenin (1935, 1940), was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor (October 2, 1940), in 1941 the Stalin Prize of the first degree for the development of aircraft design, in 1943 Stalin Prize of the first degree for the creation of a new type of combat aircraft (I-185).

The memory of the outstanding aircraft designer lives on today. A memorial dedicated to Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov was created on the territory of the Sukhoi Design Bureau, where a monument was erected to him. On the house where Polikarpov lived (Small Patriarchal Lane, 5), and on the building of the Moscow Aviation Institute, memorial plaques were installed. In the homeland of the designer in Orel, a monument was erected, where Polikarpov sits on a stool and holds a model of an aircraft in his hand, drawings of an aircraft lie under the stool. The monument was installed in the square of the same name, located next to the Technological Institute of the State University. Monuments to Polikarpov were also installed in Moscow and Livny, Oryol region. In the village of Kalinino (former Georgievskoye) in the Oryol region, a memorial and museum of Polikarpov was created. The Technological Institute GU-UNPK (the former engineering college at the Polytechnic Institute) was named after Polikarpov (there is a monument to the aircraft designer right next to it). A peak in the Pamirs, a square and a street in Orel, streets in Moscow (Polikarpova Street, since 1967) and Livny, an alley in St. Petersburg, in the Primorsky district, are named after him. In 1978, an artistic stamped envelope dedicated to the designer was published. The memorial plaque is located in the Main Building of the St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University

Monument to N.N. Polikarpov in Orel.

Planes of Polikarpov

The aviation industry of the USSR grew from the R-1 aircraft. Until 1930, the R-1 was the most massive aircraft produced in the USSR. In 1928, under the leadership of Polikarpov, the U-2 training aircraft was created, which later became one of the most massive and longest used aircraft in the world. He supervised the creation of the Polikarpov I-15 (1933), I-16 (1933), I-153 (Seagull, 1939) fighters, which formed the basis of domestic fighter aviation in the prewar years. Under the leadership of Polikarpov in 1938-1944, experimental military aircraft I-180, I-185, ITP, I-190, TIS and others were designed. A number of long-distance flights were made on Polikarpov's planes, a world altitude record was set.

Among the designers and engineers who worked under his leadership are V.K. Tairov, D.L. Tomashevich, A.I. Mikoyan, M.I. Gurevich, M.K. Yangel, A.V. Potopalov, N.G. Zyrin, N. Z. Matyuk, M. R. Bisnovat, V. P. Yatsenko.

aircraft R-1

aircraft Po-2

aircraft I-185 (M-71)

aircraft I-16

aircraft I-15 (Ramenskoye)

THE HISTORY OF HOMELAND

TWO SKYS 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 is 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 time he was not afraid to go to the Orthodox Church, he wore a cross. That's all, perhaps.

Meanwhile, colleagues and pilots called him the king of fighters. It was Polikarpov who created the legendary I-16 - a donkey on which our aviators fought in the skies of Spain. On it, they also met the Great Patriotic War. But it was only one of the 80 (!) Machines designed by Nikolai Nikolaevich. Polikarpov can be safely called the founder of the Soviet fighter aircraft - all subsequent designers, up to the advent of jet aircraft, used the backlog he created.

The aircraft designer was born in the family of a priest, in the village of Georgievsky (now Kalinino) near the city of Livny, Oryol province. He graduated from a theological school and a seminary, throughout his life he was Orthodox not only by the fact of baptism, but a prayer book who openly confessed his faith. Among the people whose names the whole country knew, only two, it seems, allowed themselves to do this - Academician Ivan Pavlov and Nikolai Polikarpov.

He began to engage 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. His letter full of pain and anxiety for the family, written on death row to his wife Alexandra and daughter Marianna Mirochka, has been preserved:

“I am constantly worried about how you live, how your health is, how you are experiencing our common misfortune. It's not worth even remembering, I'm completely killed by this grief. Occasionally, at night or early in the morning, I hear the sounds of life: a tram, a bus, a car, a bell for morning, but otherwise my life flows monotonously, depressingly ... I am very, very afraid if 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 as yet my letters do not reach you. This is the fourth letter... I remember you all the time, mentally travel to you, mentally experience my whole life with you and Mirochka. How I would like to see Mirochka. Probably running around with a sled and a shovel now?.. How is your money? Buy Mirochka a book from me, and arrange a Christmas tree for her by Christmas. Do you play the pianola? How nice it would be to play... Pray for me St. 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 Soviet fighters of the 30s. 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. On such a machine, the pilot Boris Safonov won most of his twenty victories. Already at 3.30 am on June 22, a German plane was shot down by I-16 over Brest. In total, the Germans lost about three hundred vehicles that day, most of which were destroyed by the pilots who fought on Polikarpov's fighters.

Another plane of Nikolai Nikolayevich - U-2, colloquially referred to as "corn", we all know from the films "Heavenly slug", "Only old men go to battle", "In the sky" Night witches "". The machine, created in 1927 as a training aircraft, was produced until 1959, breaking all records of longevity in aviation. On the U-2, which after the death of Polikarpov received his name - Po-2, before the war all our pilots, without exception, managed to fly. This plane opened the way to the sky for them in aviation clubs and schools. The car was so reliable, economical and easy to operate that it was used both as a passenger car 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 "coffee grinder" or "sewing machine" because several thousand U-2s bombed their positions almost continuously and with great accuracy. During the night, the plane made five or six sorties, sometimes more. Silently, with the engine turned off, he sneaked up to the enemy trenches, railway stations, columns on the march and dropped a quarter ton of explosives and steel on the heads of the Nazis. Very often, the pilots were girls who fought in the women's air regiments. Twenty-three of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Of course, the designer understood before the war that aviation was not standing still, new, modern machines were needed, but from the end of the 30s he again fell into disgrace. 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 has already gained fame as the MiG-1, our only aircraft on which not a single accident occurred during the tests. Reliability was a unique feature of all the machines of Polikarpov, 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 creator of the aircraft.

This unique design talent was accompanied by a deep, sincere faith in God. This life is instructive for our contemporaries. You will learn a lot 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 an aircraft designer - Vladimir Petrovich Ivanov. In the next one, read our conversation with the grandson of Nikolai Polikarpov, 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 BRING MY CROSS IN LIFE"

“He was supposed to become a priest - but he devoted his life to aviation. He knew incredible rises, all-Union glory, power, honor - and terrible falls, “prison and bag”. 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 he reached the Victory, barely exchanging his sixth decade. No wonder historians dubbed Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov the most tragic figure in the history of Soviet aviation ”(from the annotation to the book by V.P. Ivanov“ Unknown Polikarpov ”).

Our correspondent spoke with Vladimir Petrovich Ivanov, the author of five books about Nikolai Polikarpov, the largest 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. The origin again let us down 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 1930s, but the sentence was not overturned. They replaced the execution with imprisonment in the camps, but Polikarpov was needed all the time. And there was such a situation: the deputy of the Supreme Council, the Hero of Socialist Labor could be seized at any time and executed without trial or investigation. 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 my father - pilots, 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 a book by Mikhail Saulovich Arlazorov about aircraft designers fell into the hands, where Polikarpov was literally mixed with mud. It was 1969. I went to the library to collect arguments for a refutation, and found that a lot has been written about Polikarpov, but little reliable. As such, I decided to take on the job myself. That was thirty-one years ago. He began to meet with the then still living employees of the designer - Polikarpov, wrote down their memories. Then, at the turn of the 80s, access to many materials on Nikolai Nikolayevich was opened. They were removed from the regular archives after his arrest and kept under wraps for half a century. And then suddenly they returned, I began to study them. And today I have collected extracts and copies from almost 13 thousand documents. I know about many days of the life of Nikolai Nikolaevich literally by the hour. But, unfortunately, not everything is known yet.

- Have you managed to tell a lot in books?

- As they say, as much as possible. The last book - "Unknown Polikarpov", it 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 it was possible to bring the volume to 864 pages, but much still did not enter.

"Pray for them"

Who told you the most about him?

- A little bit of each. In addition, in the 1920s, transcripts of meetings were constantly kept, there are a lot of them, and there he speaks lively. There were many donations.

- Who wrote them?

Everyone wrote. It is easier to say who did not 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.

- Tupolev and Polikarpov were 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 factory during the First World War. Tupolev was the chief designer there, he tried to create machines for naval aviation, but did not achieve much success - the sailors refused his planes. Then the director of the plant, Julius von Meller, who changed his unsuitable German surname to the sonorous Russian Brezhnev after the start of the war, called Tupolev and asked what was happening. He said that his team creates excellent projects, and engineer Polikarpov does not bother to provide them with orders.

They called Polikarpov. “What are the projects, such are the orders,” Nikolai Nikolaevich calmly replied. Thus began their war with Tupolev, whom Meller kicked out of the factory.

Tupolev wrote later that he himself left, was offended and “took away his drawings” (well, not quite his own, they were prepared by a whole team). From that moment on, he did not miss the opportunity to trip Nikolai Nikolayevich. For the sake of the cause, as it seemed to Tupolev.

“It was common back then.

- Yes, but Polikarpov never did that. When Tupolev was arrested with a large group of his employees, Chkalov, joyful, ran to Nikolai Nikolayevich and announced: “Have you heard? Oak felled! (meaning the arrest of Tupolev, whom Chkalov did not like). And Polikarpov answered quietly: “Yes, it’s hard for them now, you need to pray for them.”

Did he help a lot?

- When his deputy Tomashevich was imprisoned, Polikarpov provided his family with money and food. After the release of Dmitry Lyudvigovich, 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 once the NKVD received a denunciation of Yangel - then still a boy who worked 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 a vacation and sent him to Siberia to collect documents about his father's innocence.

Yangel himself was a man of a slightly different stock. During the war, he left his family in evacuation without a livelihood, leaving for Moscow. And once, his wife Irina Strazheva later recalled, they and their children had neither bread nor money left. In the courtyard of 1941. Suddenly there is a knock at the door. “I open it,” Irina said, “and there is a beast-like woman standing there, saying: “Polikarpov found out that you are having a bad life, he sent a bag of potatoes. Sign for receipt."

This is one of many stories. What can I say, a man with a capital letter ...

When our wonderful aircraft designer Grigorovich was dying, Polikarpov was the only one of his colleagues who visited him. They had 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 in the General Directorate of the Aviation Industry. The girl, Alexandra Fedorovna, preferred Polikarpov, becoming his wife. Grigorovich was a noisy, harsh man and could yell at anyone, but not at Polikarpov. They kept their respect for each other for the rest of their lives.

Genus Polikarpov

- Was Nikolai Nikolayevich'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.” Such a legend was 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 came to Chernigov, to the Seversk land, “from the Greeks”. He asked the prince for permission to baptize the Vyatichi, who lived in dense forests on the territory of the Bryansk, Oryol, Tula, Kaluga and Lipetsk regions.

To help the monk, the prince gave several Russian priests. One of them, who took as a surname the name of a teacher, 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, had numerous relatives in neighboring dioceses. In the lists of graduates of the Oryol Theological School for 1790, one can read the name of the ancestor of the aircraft designer - Mikhail Polikarpov - and his brother Matvey. As a regimental priest, Fr. Michael participated 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 - the date: "1812". The Polikarpovs served Russia for centuries, Nikolai Nikolaevich simply continued this tradition.

- And speaking 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. Long-term acquaintance connected them 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 the dying, got infected and died. His daughter Maria, the grandmother of an aircraft designer, was brought up in the Turgenev family after the death of her father. As a wedding gift, the writer gave her a silver casket, a silver mirror and a necklace, an expensive Italian-made chest of drawers and a certain amount of money, which became the basis of the funds with which Maria Borisovna later bought the estate.

Alexandra Sergeevna, the mother of Nikolai Nikolaevich, was well educated, according to the then concepts. Father - Nikolai Petrovich - was, according to reviews, an excellent Orthodox teacher, for which he was awarded the Order of St. Anna, and was elected a delegate to diocesan congresses many times. He served in the village of Georgievsky near the town of Livny, Oryol region.

The atmosphere in the family reigned the most creative. It was an interesting combination. Father Nikolai and his sons, in addition to spiritual work, had to personally engage in peasant labor: breed horses, mow hay, and plow the land. But at the same time there was time for music, painting.

Years of study

- I know that Nikolai Nikolaevich liked to draw. Was it instilled in him as a child?

- Here is what Polikarpova's older sister, Lidia Nikolaevna, said (I will read from my book “Unknown Polikarpov”): “We built houses, towers, fortresses from bricks and cubes, Kolya was especially fond of this. He was terribly fond of building and drawing (usually we drew on slate boards). Kolya was good at sculpting animals and milk jugs from blue clay, he built cellars, he even made a shop where he sold dishes to us. For purchases, we paid with colored glass or "kopeechnik" plants. We usually made toys in winter by summer. Kolya made boats, which he then launched into the water, harrows, plows, carts and arcs ... "

But “at the age of nine,” Nikolai Nikolayevich recalled, “my childhood ended for me.” This was due to his admission to the Livny Theological School. He studied there very well, willingly helping weak students.

– Is there anything known about his years of study at the seminary?

- Yes, after the school there was a seminary, on the occasion of the end of which Nikolai Nikolayevich donated funds for the construction of a new iconostasis of the seminary church. He later spoke very favorably of the seminary. He wrote: “She brought up in me a memory that has not yet been lost, a sense of responsibility and duty, ability to work, simplicity of lifestyle, accommodating and a sense of camaraderie ...”

But already at the time when he was receiving a spiritual education, Polikarpov had a dream of becoming a sailor. He even let go of his mustache so that he could cut it in a "nautical" manner. In 1911 he entered the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, hoping to subsequently engage in the creation of engines for ships. He did not say goodbye to this dream right away - he still managed to build aircraft for naval aviation.

- Spiritual education for some reason 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 never refuse his father-priest?

- Never. In general, he did not hide his views very much, especially before he was sentenced to death.

- I read at the 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. It must be assumed that many sensed the enemy in Polikarpov.

“He belonged to the old Russian world. For example, his successor at baptism was the Cossack Yesaul Pyotr Tatonov, who was married to Polikarpov's aunt. One of his sons - Grigory Tatonov - commanded a Cossack hundred guarding the emperor. Another son, George, was a colonel of the General Staff, a member of the White movement literally from the moment of its inception. In 1920, when the Reds broke through the front near Kakhovka, there was a critical situation for the Russian army. What did Tatonov do? He gathered all the non-combatants, cooks, clerks and planned the counterattack so competently that the enemy was thrown back beyond the Dnieper. Arriving Wrangel was so amazed that he took off his general shoulder straps and handed them to Georgy Petrovich. Nikolai Nikolaevich Grigory and Georgy Tatonov were second cousins.

- Did the Soviet authorities know about this relationship?

No, no one knew that.

- What was the reason for the arrest of Polikarpov in 1929? By that time, he had created his magnificent U-2, the best training aircraft, later a night bomber. He was a serious figure in the aircraft industry.

- The clouds over Polikarpov's head have been gathering for a long time. He was remembered a lot: 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 an independent, independent position in matters of aircraft design.

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

“The love of freedom does wonders. But such breakthroughs are possible in exceptional cases, not as a system.

- The aircraft designer Yakovlev wrote about sharagas: "The organization was crowded and stupid, the costs were high, and the return was weak." The GPU did not understand that quantity does not always translate into quality - intimidate do not intimidate, and one cannot do without the correct organization of labor. In addition to the whip, however, the gingerbread was also used. For relatives, for his daughter, Polikarpov bought oranges and tangerines in the prison shop, 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 fame to Polikarpov. Once in favor, the "king of fighters" has not changed?

- Not. 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 had seven seats. Stalin is on the back sofa, the driver and security are in front, the aircraft designers are seated on folding seats. The leader says complacently, puffing on his pipe: “Here, Nikolai Nikolayevich, do you know what we have in common?” “I don’t know,” Polikarpov replies. “It's very simple: you studied at the seminary, and I studied at the seminary - that's what we have in common. Do you know what makes us different?" “No,” Polikarpov responds. “You graduated from seminary, but I didn’t.” Another puff of smoke. Polikarpov imperturbably blurts: "It is visible, Iosif Vissarionovich." Stalin frowned, threatened with a pipe: they say, know your place.

This is how Polikarpov remained to the end. He was a very calm person, never swearing, but he knew how to cut. Tarasov said that when you swear, you let it go past your ears, and when Nikolai Nikolayevich says something, then 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 Nikolayevich was a distinctly Russian, Orthodox man. The only one of the designers who regularly visited the church was the church of the Apostle Philip on the Arbat. Hero of the Soviet Union Ignatiev recalled that Polikarpov blessed the pilots before the tests, told them: “God bless!”

The Kaganoviches especially hated him. They called him a "crusader" because he wore a pectoral cross. One of the Kaganoviches - Lazar - was a member of the Central Committee, he could do great harm, the other - Mikhail - served as the people's commissar of the aviation industry, they had to deal with him especially often. But God was merciful.

Another thing is that they harmed as best they could. MiG-1 - one of our best fighters - was created by Nikolai Nikolaevich. But while he traveled to Germany to get acquainted with fascist aviation, the factory was expropriated from him, many designers were taken away. Nevertheless, the Stalin Prize for this aircraft was given.

Things got 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 interrupted Polikarpov's work on the creation of the first Soviet jet aircraft.

How did he die?

- He died of stomach cancer. In the 43rd, severe pains began, then a diagnosis was made. With great difficulty, he was placed in the Kremlin hospital, but no one wanted to do the operation. Relatives began to persuade Professor Sergei Sergeevich Yudin - he was a luminary of surgery, he worked in the Sklifosovsky hospital. He set the condition that he would do 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 over his shirt, he turned to his relatives and said: "We will operate." Unfortunately, the operation did not help. On July 30, 1944, Nikolai Nikolayevich died.

This cross was the main family heirloom of the Polikarpovs. When the ancestor of Nikolai Nikolaevich - Fr. Mikhail - returned from the war after the defeat of Napoleon, then 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 transferred to the eldest in the family. So when Nikolai Nikolaevich sometimes repeated: “I proudly carry my cross through life,” it was true, both literally and figuratively.

Interviewed by Vladimir GRIGORYAN

Nikolai Polikarpov was born on July 8, 1892 in the village of Georgievskoye, Oryol province. He received his initial education at the Oryol Seminary, and in 1911 he entered the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute.

After graduating from the institute and aviation courses, Nikolai worked at the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works, where, under the guidance of I.I. Sikorsky participated in the construction of the Ilya Muromets aircraft and the design of RBVZ fighters.

From 1918, Polikarpov worked at the Duks plant, where until 1923 he headed the technical department. In the spring of 1923, Polikarpov created the first Soviet I-1 fighter, which became the world's first free-carrying monoplane fighter. A little later, under the leadership of Nikolai Nikolaevich, the R-1 reconnaissance aircraft was created.

In January 1925, Polikarpov achieved the organization of an experimental department and became its head. In February 1926, Polikarpov was appointed head of the land aircraft construction department of the Aviatrest Central Design Bureau.

In 1927, he created the I-3 fighter, in 1928 - the R-5 reconnaissance aircraft, as well as the U-2 initial training aircraft, renamed the Po-2 after the death of the designer. U-2 was built until 1959. During this time, more than 40 thousand machines were produced, more than 100 thousand pilots were trained on them. During the Great Patriotic War, U-2s were successfully used as reconnaissance and night bombers.

In 1929, Polikarpov was arrested on charges of "participation in a counter-revolutionary wrecking organization" and sent to work in a prison design bureau. Here he created the I-5 fighter, after a demonstration flight of which the designer was amnestied before Stalin.

After his release in 1931, he was appointed deputy head of the brigade in the Central Design Bureau P.O. Sukhoi, and in 1933 - the head of the design team No. 2 of the Central Design Bureau, which was headed by S.V. Ilyushin.

In the 1930s, he created the I-15, I-16, I-153 Chaika fighters, which formed the basis of our country's fighter aviation of those years, and on which several world records were set. The famous Po-2 In May 1939, Polikarpov took the post of technical director and chief designer of the State Aviation Plant No. 1, continuing to work on the creation of new aircraft.

However, when in the same year he went on a business trip to Germany, during his absence, a new design bureau was allocated from his design bureau, to which the best personnel and Polikarpov's production facilities were transferred. In addition, most of the projects were taken away from him ... Upon his return, Nikolai Nikolayevich was appointed chief designer of the new state plant No. 51 and head of OKB-51, where he had to recruit new employees and create a production base from scratch. But Polikarpov did not give up, he had excellent experience, new ideas were born.

In the 1940s, he got aircraft head and shoulders above his competitors - I-185, TIS, VIT, ITP, NB and a number of others. The pilots gave excellent feedback on front-line tests of the I-185. Simultaneously with his work at the Design Bureau, Polikarpov since 1943 was a professor and head of the aircraft design department at the Moscow Aviation Institute, and was also a deputy of the Supreme Council of the 1st convocation. He was awarded many state awards.

Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov died in Moscow on July 30, 1944 from stomach cancer, was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery of the capital. It is a pity that this talented person did not manage to do everything he planned. But the memory of the great designer lives in the hearts of all true aviation enthusiasts.

The design office was in Moscow, where is today plant named after P.O. Sukhoi ( see article "Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi") passed difficult the path of an aircraft designer. Once he was arrested, disaster aircraft on trials. But despite he managed everything construct several types fighters With outstanding technical specifications . Russia gave a lot talented and famous aircraft designers, including designers fighters, but only one of them — colleagues awarded the title "king of fighters".

Was born July 10, 1892 years in the village Georgievskoe, Orlovskoy provinces. His father was rural a priest. Genus Polikarpov was ancient for 9 centuries starting out from the 12th century, by birth priests. Family Polikarpov was large, astal 9th child in family.

When it's time to study, given that the family there was no money a clergy children taught in spiritual establishments is free, aged 9 years Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov given to spiritual city ​​school Livny. Polikarpov's mother worked in library. She brought inquisitive son bales books he quickly swallowed. V 1905 year he entered Oryol Seminary. Later he remembered : « In seminary I learned painting, lot helping to me when designing, as the plane volumetric building visible from all sides the laws of air coincide with the laws of aesthetic taste. Across 4 incomplete years of study at the seminary decided, what religious activity - it not for him and left the seminary, cutting off ancient kind of priests.

At that time in general spirit was present rapid development technology, a especially aviation, so in early 20th century, many aviation enthusiasts!!! V 1911 year entered Petersburg Polytechnic institute per department engines. Being student Polikarpov, also enrolled in courses aviation and aeronautics" at the faculty Shipbuilding Polytechnic institute. Studied and passed exams for two academic items.

After graduation received invitation to work to the design office already known Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky. There he was instructed to first design light airplane « S-16", then modification Ilya Muromets. In the words of Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov he studied with Sikorsky working methods. At the beginning 1917 years, the young designer was entrusted with work on fighter "S-20". Experienced aircraft instance passed the test but for him did not have production is established engines, That's why S-20 in a series did not go. By this time he became Design Bureau Sikorsky Deputy on production and if Sikorsky went on a business trip, Polikarpov signed for him documentation, including financial.

V October 1917 years in Russia happened revolution, a at the beginning of 1918 of the year I.I. Sikorsky left from Russia v USA forever. Sikorsky suggested Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov leave together to America, but Polikarpov refused referring to the fact that family does not want move. Polikarpov became, forced start working with new power and he was instructed monitor aviation activities factories. In charge Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov included inspection and organization production. Parallel with this activity taught lectures on aeronautics in Academy Zhukovsky and as head of technical department at the factory "Dux" was engaged removing drawings from trophy aircraft.

Aviation the park Red Army was strong obsolete and shabby That's why URGENTLY required new aircraft. own developments in the newly emerged Soviet state did not have. For this reason, we decided COPY foreign cars. First of such copied became an airplane English "De Haviland-4". He was on that moment already not most the best by plane.

Next copied became de Haviland 9 – it was already one of the latest aircraft. For copy Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov had to completely recalculate design, adapt it to Russian technologies and yet, again create some nodes. The result is an aircraft "R-1". Letter "R" in the aircraft name means "scout".

V May 1923 testing began R-1. They showed that R-1 has characteristics better than the original accordingly adopted! R-1, Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov became first massive Soviet by plane. For success stories in the aircraft industry the USSR undertook an international flight Moscow-Beijing-Tokyo. First urgent need for aircraft armies and fleet was satisfied with the advent universal aircraft Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov, R-1.

The situation in the country fighters was to say the least deplorable. While material for the manufacture of fighters served tree and the cloth, which are enough quickly fell into disrepair. In the end civil wars Red Army succeeded capture german the plane fighter monoplane " Junkers-D1".

It was made entirely made of metal bearing elements from steel pipes, and lining from duralumin. Junkers-D1 was First in the world fully METAL airplane ! took up the design of his fighter based German Junkers-D1. The result is a fighter monoplane "IL-400" ( not to be confused with airplanes Ilyushin "Il"). Letters "IL" mean the following: "AND" - it fighter, a "L" from Liberty - it surname of the engine designer, "400" - it power engine 400 HP

V late July 1923 year plane Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov was ready. test pilot appointed by that time famous pilot Konstantin Konstantinovich Artseulov. V first same flight happened catastrophe. Straightaway after the break from the ground the plane abruptly turned up his nose respectively lost speed and collapsed to the ground. This can only happen when incorrect "CENTERING" aircraft. Pilot fortunately stayed alive, just broke his arm and leg !

To construction second aircraft in KB Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov came over thoroughly. Model IL-400 blew in TsAGI wind tunnel. There she began literally tumble. The result was established, that the plane really turned out to be terribly "rear centering" - v 2 plus times more than allowed. On the second airplane this shortcoming eliminated.

V October 1924 year two IL-400 Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov began to pass flight tests. The plane showed speed 280 km/h – it high speed at the time. V serial fighter production went under the name "I-1". Truth in serial samples IL-400 Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov turned out to be again somewhat overestimated "rear centering". She came from unskilled workers personnel at the factory. population qualified workforce much decreased due to civil war. The factory recruited 90 % youth from the villages which needed a long time to study??? While often personnel were selected by ideological affiliation, a NOT from professionals. This is what happened in the factory. Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov.

Aircraft manufacturing - it high-tech industry that requires highest quality and the latest technology, so here « bullshit" will not work! In addition to this, aviation went to new speeds flights that revealed new Problems, With which before never did not encounter.

In the next probationary flight in June 1927 of the year Mikhail Mikhailovich Gromov on the I-1 didn't come out of corkscrew ( see article "Mikhail Mikhailovich Gromov"). On the 23rd turn he took advantage parachute. Per reason catastrophes have taken the new kind corkscrew - "flat corkscrew". This aircraft type Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov I-1 was sensitive to control and had such negative feature, he Did NOT come out of a spin. After second disaster due to not exiting I-1 from a spin, aircraft production stopped.

V 1924 year in the USSR was announced program construction Red Air Fleet. Appeared acute problem - what to teach flight business recruits. air force announced competition to create educational aircraft biplane With power motor 100 HP Biplane - is an aircraft with two pairs wings. took an active part in the competition.

Summer 1927 was ready the first Soviet serial engine « M-11". A few days after the disaster I-1, Mikhail Gromov June 17, 1927 of the year raised a new car into the air.

The car turned out to be a tester unexpectedly successful. After first flight Mikhail Gromov said : « I did on it everything, that only can was to do !» Already in September Air Force approved launch of a new training aircraft in serial production, but he himself did not agree with this. He found out during testing, that the machine has several excess weight. On the second copy weight was brought into norm, as well as improved aerodynamics. The result is training airplane « U-2", which the FORGIVED beginners up to to BAD mistakes.

U-2 became one of the most massive aircraft in the world. They were released over 30,000 pieces during 25 years. U-2, Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov turned out to be MULTI-PURPOSE by plane.

It has been used in various ways: pollinator fields, medical ambulance, geological scout, ice scout, fireman observer. agricultural option "pollinator" fields in vulgar got a nickname "corncob".

V 1926 was given the task of designing an airplane scout biplane. V September 1928 of the year Mikhail Gromov proceeded to trials new aircraft with the name « R-5". The aircraft showed a combination excellent flying qualities, high reliability, simplicity v piloting and technical service.

V 1934 year R-5 got world fame when Chukotka sea ​​suffered crash Soviet ship "Chelyuskin". On the ice it turned out 104 person. Big part "Chelyuskintsev" taken out the best pilots airplanes R-5!

V 20s years 20th century KB Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov worked very well actively. During this time it has been developed about 100 types aircraft ! However, attitude towards Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov by the then authorities negative. The fact is that Polikarpov was not only non-party, but also believers man, and he did not hide. On top of that, the character independent and independent, including in designing aircraft. This is for many didn't like it.

V 1929 one of the planes Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov crashed. It served FORMAL reason for arrest Polikarpov. In those times wording accusations UNPLEASANT people often was standard and often without trial and consequences - "HARMING". On this charge sentence was alone - shooting. This cause catastrophe was low qualification of workers employed in production. guilty yourself naturally did not acknowledge.

Situation in the country was extremely tense. At that moment in the country thundered so-called "Shakhty" case engineers "saboteurs". Under repression hit and aviation industry. Aircraft designers were arrested Dmitry PavlovichGrigorovich and Natashkevich, engine designer Boris SergeevichStechkin, friend Polikarpova, Anatoly Alekseevich Bessonov. At this time was pending bringing the verdict into execution.

Across a month and a half imprisonment in the cell general regime Polikarpova transferred to interior yard Butyrskaya prisons. There was the so-called "sharashka", special aviation design bureau led by Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich This bureau was charged with just 4 months construct fighter « I-5", which before that TsAGI could not design 3 years. happened hot dispute between Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov and Grigorovich about layout aircraft. Option offered Polikarpov was similar to the fighter « I-6", factory built N25 before as Polikarpov was arrested. Somehow I could convince D.P. Grigorovich accept his choice.

The new plane made first flight April 29, 1930 of the year. The aircraft was flown by a test pilot Benedict Buchholz. On the tail fighter was listed abbreviation "BT" meaning "inner prison". In the same year in September airplane Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov launched in production entitled I-5. Thereafter regime rigidity content in the so-called "Sharashka" was reduced, a salary and soldering added! V "Sharashka" prisoners even gave oranges, while in Moscow oranges in free sale did not have!

V June 1931 year on Khodynsky field held demonstration flying new aircraft technicians for the government country. On a fighter I-5 Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov flew Valery Pavlovich Chkalov ( see article " Valery Pavlovich Chkalov). He showed all possibilities this new aircraft in the sky ! As a result viewing new aircraft of all prisoners of the prison design bureau across 3 weeks released.

Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov together with his design team transferred at the Central Clinical Hospital of Andrey Nikolaevich Tupolev ( see article "Andrey Nikolaevich Tupolev"). There, Tupolev proposed Polikarpov quit doing your plane and do a project Tupolev. Polikarpov refused and between them happened cutting talk. After this conversation Tupolev said : « I AM wean create it aircraft!" As a result Polikarpova transferred to a position normative controller.

A life Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov changed six months later, after being at the head CDB became Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin ( see article "Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin"). To avoid conflict with Tupolev, Ilyushin sent Polikarpov as deputy to the brigade Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi ( see article "Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi"). At that time Dry developed fighter monoplane "I-14". brigade Sukhoi dragged on with the release of the fighter I-14. Then Ilyushin gave a task Polikarpov construct mine fighter.

Decided to build 2 fighter. The fact is that early 30s years 20th century the idea prevailed joint use of fighters 2nd concepts - HIGH-SPEED and MANEUVERABLE. High-speed were supposed to be catch up enemy and tie up with him the fight, then maneuverable via Benefits in maneuverability should have finish off enemy.

creates 2nd cars. "I-16" high-speed monoplane, and "I-15"maneuverable biplane. Blueprints I-15 were ready in December 1932 of the year. Even according to drawings it became clear that pretty lucky fighter with powerful weapons. Thanks to creation I-15 Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov make it possible to have its own separate KB. As a result KB Polikarpov divided into 2nd parts. One factory part N84 v Khimki.

Second part was on 21st factory in the city Gorky. Polikarpov had to ply between 2nd these KB. Once upon a trip to Gorky on the car it so happened that Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov broke a rib, but to the hospital didn't lie. His bandaged wife, and he continued work !

V 1933 year October 23rd Valery Pavlovich Chkalov lifted the first I-15. V november the plane was shown leadership of the Red Army, who approved it serial production. I-15 according to specifications excelled all BI-PLANES then existing at all in the world.

V December 1935 year test pilot Vladimir Konstantinovich Kokkinaki ( see article "Vladimir Konstantinovich Kokkinaki") installed on I-15 World record for height flight – 14 575 meters. I-15 adopted, but soon from military parts began to arrive complaints. Big some of the complaints were poor quality assembly at the factory.

To solve the problem Stalin called Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov for a personal conversation. As a result conversations Stalin ordered, already leave the existing I-15 armed, but further aircraft production stop. Then Polikarpov made certain changes into the design I-15, which resulted in "I-15 BIS". On this model instead of wings "seagulls" appeared direct wing. Thereafter number of complaints from military units decreased.

Together with I-15BIS, Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov designed high-speed fighter monoplane I-16.

For achievement high speed on the I-16 wing was made small footprint, retractable landing gear and myself fighter had small dimensions. material from which they were made I-16, was glued tree. First Flight to I-16, December 30, 1933 carried out Valery Pavlovich Chkalov ( see article "Valery Pavlovich Chkalov"). Flight quality aircraft Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov turned out to be wonderful! I-16 could gain height 7 200 meters and accelerate to 430 km/h . On the that moment These were the best indicators in the world.

Inspired by flight Chkalova, Stalin even ordered to create aerobatic group "Red Five". The next day on Khodynka field carried out aviation review. On it, Stalin spoke with Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov about him future works ! V 1934 year May 3, Polikarpova and Chkalova awarded Orders of Lenin and donated to car! I-16 became main fighter in USSR.

For the first time fighter I-16 in combat was applied in Spain v July 1936 of the year . At the beginning of the Spanish war fighter I-16 excelled flight performance and Francoist fighters and German "Me-109". But the welfare of the fighter Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov did not last long. Across one and a half of the year a new Me-109 modification, which surpassed I-16 on everyone articles. At the same time and biplane I-15 turned out to be out of business. He came to replace "I-153".

On the I-153 again returned wing shape "gull", made retractable chassis, improved aerodynamics. For the first time an airplane took off in May 1938 of the year. Maximum speed aircraft amounted to 445 km/h! In aviation history I-153 Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov stayed most high-speed serial biplane production ! On this plane for the first time new weapons were used - REACTIVE SHELLS. Later reactive shells were installed on almost every IL-2.

Even while working on aircraft I-15, I-16 conceived high-speed jet fighter liquid cooling. This motor had smaller diameter accordingly, he sharply reduced drag air. Besides between rows of cylinders could have been placed cannon. The first sketches of this aircraft were made back in 1933 year, but work on I-16 occupied most time.

Therefore, the development "I-17",Polikarpov was engaged snatches, a first sample the plane just took off in May 1935 of the year.

For demonstration achievements Soviet aircraft technicians sent to the exhibition in Paris 1937 of the year sports modification I-17. Form aircraft attracted attention all visitors of the exhibition ! subsequently recalled : « What Beautiful in our opinion, it turns out advantageous in terms of flight, It has minimum resistance etc. Moreover, it is known that on a beautiful airplane more willing fly, beautiful plane more cherish, better for him care!" I-17 participated in chasing records. In this pursuit of records it was a lot of time wasted. To the moment graduation fine-tuning, I-17 already outdated and his serial production recognized not expedient. But namely I-17 Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov served design example and aerodynamic design for next generation fighters.

At the beginning 1938 year at Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov a new project has arrived "I-180". When the military learned about technical characteristics future aircraft, they started rush Polikarpova with construction experienced instance. First instance I-180 was built in a factory N156, who specialized in all-metal airplanes. I-180 Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov had mixed design, so the plane came out with many defects. For the first time experienced sample lifted into the air Valery Pavlovich Chkalov December 15, 1938 of the year. It turned out that first flight for aircraft turned out to be last flight for Valery Pavlovich Chkalov! Before the plane takes off in the maintenance log was recorded 49 remarks on technical condition aircraft. In spite of this departure aircraft took place! Commission on investigation disaster made conclusions, that the plane crashed for a reason criminal negligence of employees factory N156. Management factory received long terms conclusions. too expected arrest.

After death Chkalova, Polikarpov 2 days didn't go to work until he personally didn't call Stalin and didn't say that Nikolai Nikolaevich You not with anything not guilty, You tired. At that time, really a few years was not on vacation. Go on vacation rest and keep going work. work on I-180 continued but she walked with big problems. Several accidents, and fighter I-180 was NOT put into production production.

In the end 1930s years of war in Spain showed that Soviet aircraft outdated. Summer 1939 year began to design a fighter with a motor liquid cooling, who was named "I-200". Finish work on I-200 to Polikarpov Not allowed. V October 1939 year he was sent from group aviation specialists to Germany for acquaintance With aviation industry Germany.

The delegation visited several aircraft factories and design bureaus of various aviation firms. Impression from this trip Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov and others Soviet specialists left sad because it became clear how much german aviation industry went ahead by level technologies, materials and production ( see article "German Fighters of the Second World War")! Also the delegation figured out what german aviation industry surpasses the Soviet not only by quality, but also by quantitative parameters. Germany could produce about 4 times more aircraft than THE USSR! After a trip in my report indicated that it was necessary cardinal perestroika aviation industry THE USSR.

While he was on a business trip, in his KB one thing happened important the change. From composition his KB separated part employees in independent design bureau under the direction of Artyom Ivanovich Mikoyan and Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich ( see article "Artyom Ivanovich Mikoyan"). This new KB just and continued work on a new fighter I-200, which in serial production was named "MiG-1". Before separation KB Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov the government thought so : « At Polikarpova projects anyway. lot, he will do more. New Separate KB Mikoyan and Gurevich will take care of the fighter I-200, a Polikarpov will take care of others projects ».

After that, he began to develop new fighter that could develop speed 700 km/h. Prototype new aircraft became I-180. But work on this car was going on, neither shaky nor roll! Aircraft manufacturing plant at separation KB Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov handed over and submitted KB Mikoyan. Engines for the new plane too didn't give. Room at Polikarpova remains only in the old hangar.

However, he still designed his fighter "I-185".

V October 1940 of the year Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov among first awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor! V January 9th, 1941 test pilot Ulekhin lifted the first I-185. The tests were hard and for a long time due to "raw" motor. TIME It was MISSED. started The Great Patriotic War. TO the beginning of the war Soviet aviation fleet primarily consisted of obsolete aircraft Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov fighters I-16 and I-153, training U-2, scouts R-5.

V SOME cases when applying certain tactics of MANEUVERABLE fighter jet battles I-16 and I-153 still managed to beat Me-109, but there have been cases RARE! Soviet pilots tried to impose MANEUVERABLE fight in which sometimes managed to achieve success ! It has been a significant help setting at the beginning war on I-153 GUNS! Thereafter German pilots became avoid head-on fighter attacks Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov I-153. Same way I-153 used and how attack aircraft. training aircraft U-2 as lung bomber was used in most cases only at night. indispensable U-2 turned out to be like sanitary aircraft for transportation wounded And How transport aircraft for transfer cargo across the front line.

In the autumn of 1941 of the year KB Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov evacuated to Novosibirsk. Big part of the staff was assigned for other KBs. This was motivated by the need urgently finalize aircraft Yakovlev and Lavochkin. Despite these problems, Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov managed to bring I-185. At the beginning 1942 years of testing I-185 showed speed 680 km/h . For the fighters of that time such a speed became ordinary only closer to 1945 year. Same way I-185 was easy to manage and had powerful weapons. It even got rid of "baby" illness, respectively, he was ready to launch in serial production. place production I-185 Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov identified plant in Gorky, where folded fighter production "LaGG-3". Fighter LaGG-3 jointly designed 3 aircraft designer – Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin ( see article "Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin"),Mikhail Ivanovich Gudkov and Vladimir Petrovich Gorbunov.

but Lavochkin proposed YOUR new fighter "La-5", which the didn't need to be rebuilt assembly line production. I-185 Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov was absolutely new car and required a serious perestroika production. In spite of much more high specifications I-185, MANAGEMENT country CALCULATED what STOPPING the conveyor to rebuild during the war NOT ACCEPTABLE. For this reason I-185 NOT accepted into armament.

However, for the creation of this machine Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov honored Stalin Prize 1st degree! It must be said that many aircraft Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov With superior characteristics were built only in THE ONLY EXPERIENCED copy and NOT were launched v serial production. cutting edge ideas Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov already used following him aircraft designers. For example, he first v the USSR installed on fighter gun v ROOM between CYLINDERS engine in hollow shaft screw. A applied this is an innovation later Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev ( see article "Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev") and Lavochkin on the their airplanes.

Managed to create more landing glider, and night bomber, and fighter long-range tracking. At Polikarpova was developed project even missile interceptor "Malyutka". All these aircraft remained only in EXPERIMENTAL.

In the spring of 1944 year at Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov discovered CRAYFISH. He came to his office last times on July 11th. Across 2 weeks he was gone. After his death, the plane U-2 renamed in honor Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov v "Po-2". This THE ONLY car wearing HIS NAME!

Across 50 years v Novosibirsk several aircraft were built Polikarpova I-16 and I-153. They perform on air show, causing Delight viewers by TO THE WORLD!