The legend of Soviet aviation is Semyon Lavochkin. Aircraft designer Semyon Lavochkin - creator of legendary fighters

Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich (Aizikovich) - chief designer of OKB-301 of the People's Commissariat/Ministry of Aviation Industry of the USSR, major general of the aviation engineering service.

Born on August 29 (September 11), 1900 in Smolensk (some documents indicate a different place of birth - the town of Petrovichi, Roslavl district, Smolensk province). Son of a high school teacher. Jew. He graduated from the city school in the city of Roslavl and the gymnasium in Kursk.

Since 1918 - in the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. He fought as a Red Army soldier in the Civil War, and in 1920 he served in the border guard. At the end of 1920 he was demobilized and sent to study in Moscow. Graduated from the Moscow Higher Technical School. N.E. Bauman in 1927. He completed his pre-graduation internship at the design bureau of A.N. Tupolev, participating in the development of the first Soviet bomber ANT-4 (TB-1).

Since 1927, he worked in a number of aviation design bureaus (since 1927 - designer of the design bureau at plant No. 22 of the Main Directorate of Aviation Industry of the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry of the USSR; since 1928 - head of the design section at plants No. 28 and 22 of the Main Directorate of Aviation Industry, and then at the plant No. 39 named after V.R. Menzhinsky OGPU USSR; since 1933 - design engineer of the design bureau of plant No. 33 of the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry of the USSR). In 1935 - 1938 - chief designer of the LL fighter project (did not go into production). In 1936 - 1938 he worked as a senior engineer in the 1st Main Directorate of the People's Commissariat of Defense Industry.

Since 1939, chief aircraft designer, head of the design bureau at aircraft plant No. 301 in the city of Khimki, Moscow region. Under his leadership, the LaGG-3 fighter was created there (together with M.I. Gudkov and V.P. Gorbunov). Since 1940 - chief designer of the design bureau at aircraft plant No. 21 in the city of Gorky. During the Great Patriotic War, the LaGG-3 was significantly redesigned, which initially had a high accident rate and insufficient flight characteristics (it replaced the engine and significantly strengthened the wing plane, which sharply increased the combat capabilities of the aircraft). At the same time he created 10 serial and experimental fighters, including La-5, La-5F, La-5FN, La-7, which were widely used in battles. When developing them, Lavochkin rationally combined the wooden structure of the airframe (using a particularly durable material - delta wood) with a reliable engine that had high technical characteristics over a wide range of flight altitudes. The layout of the La-5 and La-7 aircraft provided reliable protection for the pilot in the forward hemisphere of fire. On fighters designed by I.N. Lavochkin. Kozhedub shot down 62 German aircraft. In total, 22,500 Lavochkin aircraft were built between 1941 and 1945, which played a huge role in the conquest of air supremacy by Soviet aviation. Since 1943, Lavochkin fighters with jet boosters installed on them have been tested.

For outstanding services in the creation of aviation equipment in difficult wartime conditions by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 21, 1943 Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal.

Since 1945 - chief designer and responsible manager of aircraft factories No. 81 in Moscow and No. 801 in Khimki. In the first post-war years, Lavochkin's design bureau created his last piston fighters - the all-metal La-9 aircraft, the La-180 trainer and the La-11 long-range fighter. Then the Lavochkin Design Bureau was transferred to the creation of serial and experimental jet fighters, although it began to work closely on the problems of jet engines and their use in aviation since 1944. In 1947, the La-160 was developed - the first domestic aircraft with a swept wing, the La-15. In December 1948, on the La-176 with a wing sweep of 45 degrees, for the first time in the USSR, a flight speed equal to the speed of sound was achieved. The designer created the supersonic fighter La-190, an all-weather two-seat fighter with a powerful radar on board the La-200.

Under Lavochkin’s leadership, a number of rocket technology samples were created. In 1950, OKB S.A. Lavochkin was instructed to design, build, test and introduce into series the latest models of surface-to-air missiles, and the tactical and technical data were set to extremely high levels, not achieved in any country in the world. On the initiative of I.V. Stalin, who realized the danger of a very real nuclear strike on the industrial centers of the country in those years, decided to create the first domestic air defense system (S-25 air defense) with anti-aircraft guided missiles (SAM) in service. In the shortest possible time, the path was covered from the formulation of the very idea of ​​​​an air defense system to the creation of the system.

Since 1951 - chief designer and responsible manager of plant No. 301. In 1951 - 1955, under the leadership of S.A. Lavochkin developed and tested ground-based missiles-205 and missiles-215, as well as air-to-air missiles. In 1955, the famous protective “rings” appeared around Moscow - the Berkut air defense system. Rockets designed by S.A. Lavochkin were on combat duty until the early 80s (these were SAM-217M and SAM-218). Member of the CPSU since 1953.

For the creation of models of jet weapons for the S-25 air defense system by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 20, 1956 Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich re-awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the presentation of the second gold medal “Hammer and Sickle”.

In parallel with the missile theme, S.A. Lavochkin in 1950 - 1954 developed an unmanned target aircraft La-17, which was produced for almost 40 years - until 1993. In addition, its reconnaissance version was created and used as an unmanned front-line photo reconnaissance vehicle (the prototype of modern unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicles).

Since 1956 S.A. Lavochkin is the general designer of the OKB. In this post, he completed two major works: firstly, the creation of the Burya intercontinental supersonic cruise missile and, secondly, the design of the new Dal anti-aircraft air defense system, which was based on long-range surface-to-air missiles (up to 500 km) for hitting high-speed air targets.

At the completion of the Buri tests on June 9, 1960, S.A. Lavochkin died of a heart attack at the Sary-Shagan training ground in the area of ​​Lake Balkhash (Kazakh SSR). He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.

Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1958). Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 3-5 convocations (since 1950).

Winner of four USSR Stalin Prizes (1941, 1943, 1946, 1948).

Major General of the Aviation Engineering Service (08/19/1944). Awarded 3 orders of Lenin (10/31/1941, 06/21/1943, 08/30/1950), orders of the Red Banner (07/02/1945), Suvorov 1st (09/16/1945) and 2nd (08/19/1944) degrees, medals, including “For Military Merit” (11/5/1944).

The research and production association formed on the basis of the Design Bureau, which he led, bears Lavochkin’s name. Bronze busts of the Hero were installed in the Hero’s homeland in the hero city of Smolensk, as well as in Moscow.

Streets in Moscow, Smolensk, and Khimki in the Moscow region are named after him. In Moscow, memorial plaques are installed on the houses where he lived and worked.

Perhaps one of the most attractive exhibits of the Air Force Museum, located in Monino, near Moscow, is rightfully considered the fighter aircraft of three times Hero of the Soviet Union I.N. Kozhedub. This legendary car, created under the direct supervision of S.A. Lavochkin, there are rows of red stars, each of which means victory over the enemy. The La-7, in terms of its flight characteristics and armament, is rightfully considered one of the best fighters of the Second World War. But few people realize that from the designer’s first plans to the creation of the La-7 fighter there is a distance of five years.

Against this background, attention is drawn to the creation of the unmanned radio-controlled target La-17 and, on its basis, a front-line reconnaissance aircraft, which became the first remote-controlled aircraft of the Soviet Army.
For services to the state on June 21, 1943, Lavochkin was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the award
Gold medal "Hammer and Sickle" and the Order of Lenin. On April 20, 1956, Semyon Alekseevich was awarded the second Gold Medal “Hammer and Sickle”. Since 1956 S.A. Lavochkin is the general designer of OKB-301. Two years later, Lavochkin was elected a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Semyon Alekseevich was elected deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR three times (3rd-5th convocations). Winner of four USSR Stalin Prizes. Awarded three Orders of Lenin, Orders of the Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov 1st and 2nd degrees, medals, including “For Military Merit.”
Lavochkin’s name is given to a research and production association in the town of Khimki near Moscow, formed on the basis of the design bureau, which he led. Streets in Moscow and Smolensk are named after him, and bronze busts are installed there.

Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin was born on September 11 (August 29, old style) 1900 into a Jewish family in Smolensk (according to other sources, in the village of Petrovichi, Smolensk province).
In 1917 he graduated from high school with a gold medal and was drafted into the army. Since 1918 - in the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and then in the border troops. In 1920 he entered the Moscow Higher Technical School (now Bauman Moscow State Technical University) and after graduation received the qualification of an aeromechanical engineer.
Lavochkin began his career in the summer of 1927 at the aircraft plant in Fili. At that time, the enterprise was mastering mass production of the first domestic all-metal heavy bomber, which was very opportune, since the topic of Lavochkin’s graduation project was a bomber.
Two years flew by unnoticed, and in 1929 Semyon Alekseevich crossed the threshold of the newly created design bureau of the French engineer Richard. The reason for the appearance of the “Varangian” in the USSR is quite simple. Until the end of the 1920s, domestic industry was still unable to create a seaplane for naval aviation, and the eyes of the country's leadership turned to the West. But the open sea torpedo bomber TOM-1, designed with the participation of the head of the strength section Lavochkin, remained in a single copy. By the time of its first flight, the domestic industry had already mastered the serial production of a float version of the TB-1 for a similar purpose.
Richard's team disbanded, and under the leadership of his deputy Henri Laville, the Bureau of New Designs (BNK) began the development of a two-seat fighter DI-4. Having mastered aerodynamic and strength calculations from Richard, at BNK Lavochkin, taking up the design and layout of the aircraft, took another step, becoming a leading designer. Since then, fighter aircraft have become the main focus in the work of aircraft designer Lavochkin.
But there are exceptions in life. After BNK, Lavochkin had to work for a short time at the Bureau of Special Designs (BOK) under V.A. Chizhevsky over the experimental stratospheric aircraft BOK-1 and in parallel with the professor of the Air Force Academy named after N.E. Zhukovsky S.G. Kozlov - over a giant transport plane. The constant search for a more advanced structure of the aviation industry led to the emergence of new enterprises and the liquidation of old enterprises. This was especially reflected in the creativity of designers, who often moved from one team to another. Lavochkin was no exception. This leapfrog continued until 1939.
After the transfer of BOK to Smolensk, Lavochkin ended up with D.P. Grigorovich, and then, in 1935, in Podlipki near Moscow “under the wing” of the creator of dynamo-reactive guns L.V. Kurchevsky. This period of Lavochkin’s activity should be described in more detail, since for the first time he became the chief designer of plant No. 38, but not of aviation, but... of artillery.

Seven years spent on creating dynamo-reactive guns were not crowned with success. Not a single aircraft equipped with these guns was ever accepted into service. This put Leonid Vasilyevich Kurchevsky in an awkward position - the money had been spent, but there were no guns suitable for use. But, deeply convinced of the correctness of his idea, Kurchevsky invited aircraft designers S.A. to the plant. Lavochkina, S.N. Lyushina, B.I. Cheranovsky and V.B. Shavrova. Each of them began to develop their own direction.
One of the main parameters of a fighter of those years was speed. The higher it is, the faster (of course, in combination with high maneuverability and powerful weapons) you can defeat the enemy. With limited engine choice, speed can only be increased by reducing drag. But how to do that? First of all, Lavochkin and Lyushin, who knew each other from working together with Richard and Laville, used a retractable landing gear. This gave a noticeable increase in speed, and then they proposed a completely unexpected solution - to hide the pilot's canopy in the fuselage. This, of course, will also increase the speed, but will also worsen the view from the cockpit. And an airplane with poor visibility is a good target. Then they decided to make the pilot's seat lowerable along with the canopy.
And today designers sometimes follow a similar path. Remember the supersonic passenger airliners Tu-144, the Anglo-French Concorde and the multi-purpose T-4 (product “100”) P.O. Sukhoi. True, the canopy of these machines does not retract anywhere, but the forward part of the fuselage is lowered and raised, but even here they and Lavochkin had the same goal - to reduce aerodynamic drag. And yet, despite the progressiveness of the technical solutions incorporated into the LL fighter (Lavochkin and Lyushin), the lowered seat was very uncomfortable. Air Force Commander Ya.I. Alksnis and chief engineer of the Main Directorate of Aviation Industry (GUAP) of the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry (NKTP) of the USSR A.N. Tupolev, who visited the Directorate of Special Works on January 12, 1936 (which included Plant No. 38), did not approve of this project.
In the same year, Kurchevsky was removed from his post, and Tupolev soon offered Lavochkin a position in the Main Directorate of the NKTP, on the basis of which the People's Commissariat of the Aviation Industry (NKAP) was created in 1938. So, by the will of fate, the aircraft designer renounced his favorite job, but not for long. While working in the People's Commissariat, Lavochkin tried to maintain his design skills. He had to do everything in this field, even the creation in 1936-1937 of the Arctic gliders “Sevmorput”, intended to connect the icebreaker with the shore, while overcoming polynyas and ice floes. But still, aviation attracted more strongly.

The emergence of the Second World War aircraft generation was primarily facilitated by the Spanish Civil War. This country, located on the Iberian Peninsula, became a kind of testing ground where military equipment of many countries, including Germany and the Soviet Union, was tested and tested. Even subsequent armed conflicts at Khalkhin Gol and Finland did not have such an impact on military equipment and equipment as the war in Spain.
Conclusions about the need to improve, in particular, aviation technology were made quickly, and the creation of new aircraft dragged on for several years, despite all the efforts of the leadership of the Soviet Union. There is a long distance from the plans to the embodiment of the car in “metal”, and everything rested primarily on the power plant. And this is the Achilles heel of Soviet aircraft manufacturing. The only thing that domestic aircraft designers could really count on was the M-103 engines and the M-88, which was still being designed. The first of them had clearly insufficient power. This was the impetus for the appearance of such an aircraft as the “C” V.F. Bolkhovitinov with a tandem pair of M-103 engines - a descendant of the licensed Hispano-Suiza.

The M-88 looked much more attractive in 1938, but it appeared late, and the first I-180 N.N. Polikarpova, I-28 V.P. Yatsenko and I-220 “IS” (“Joseph Stalin”) A.V. Silvansky was supplied with less suitable M-87s. But even with this already proven engine, fortune turned against the aircraft manufacturers. He died on the first of these planes in December 1938. The second, which took off in April of the following year, although generally successful, required improvements, but the stubborn nature of Vladimir Panfilovich ruined a good idea. Silvansky’s “Joseph Stalin” also did not take wing.
The situation changed in 1939, after the appearance of the 1100-horsepower M-105 engine and the 1350-horsepower AM-35. And immediately young personnel entered the “battle”:
, mass media. Gurevich, M.M. Pashinin, D.L. Tomashevich and V.P. Gorbunov with S.A. Lavochkin. There were, of course, other, talented creators of new technology in their own way, but, being captive of outdated concepts, they proposed either semi-fantastic projects or outdated combat biplanes. For example, A.A. Borovkov and I.F. Florov designed the biplane “7221” (later I-207) with cantilever wings and an air-cooled engine, and engineer G.I. Bakshaev - fighter monobiplane of the Republic of Kazakhstan with a sliding wing. An equally exotic project was the IS (folding fighter), born from the collaboration of pilot V.V. Shevchenko and designer V.V. Nikitina. This plane in the air turned from a biplane to a monoplane and vice versa.

Of the variety of projects, only five turned out to be real: I-200 with an AM-35 engine (first flight on April 5, 1940), I-26 (first flight on January 13, 1940), I-301, I-21 (IP-21 ) with M-105P and I-110 engines. The last of them, created in the prison design bureau TsKB-29, was based on the M-107 engine and was flight tested at the very height of the war. The I-21, which took off in June 1940, was distinguished by an unsuccessful aerodynamic wing configuration. Its development took a long time, and the outbreak of war forced it to stop working on it.
Each of the first three fighters had its own advantages and disadvantages, but together they seemed to complement and to some extent protect each other. At the same time, the I-26 (Yak-1 prototype) and I-301 (future LaGG-3) became competitors in the fight on the fighter aircraft market.
The designer was always in search, modernizing and creating new aircraft. As a result, aircraft and La-7, along with machines from other designers, made a great contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany. In one of his publications, Lavochkin wrote: “At one time, the crossbow replaced the bow, but it was not the bow that radically changed the combat effectiveness of the army. This required gunpowder... Rationalization, improvement of existing structures and machines, of course, is a necessary matter, and I am by no means an opponent of rationalization, but the time has come to more boldly break away from accepted schemes, from hackneyed techniques - it is necessary to combine evolutionary paths of technology development with genuine revolutionary disruption "

The time for a revolutionary path came after the war with the advent of turbojet engines. Unfortunately, at this stage of aircraft development, OKB-301 was engaged in the creation of only prototype aircraft. One of them, the La-160, equipped for the first time in domestic practice with a swept wing, paved the way for the famous fighter, the appearance of which during the Korean War contributed to the rapid end of the armed conflict.
There were very high chances of the Air Force adopting the La-200 loitering interceptor. But the successful completion of its tests coincided with the creation of the Yak-25 aircraft with small-sized AM-5 engines, which led to a change in the views of the military.
“Wherever I was, whatever I did, I always thought about the plane,” Lavochkin wrote. - Not about the one that is already flying, but about the one that is not yet, which should still be. Sometimes you sit, watch a performance and suddenly catch yourself thinking about an airplane. The performance has moved somewhere far away, and the plane is in front of my eyes again...
I don't know yet what it will be like. Individual details are still emerging vaguely. I think. Another person might say: it’s a rather strange task to pace your office from morning to evening. Is this a job? But everyone works differently. So, as I walk, I change my mind and refine my idea. This is work. It's tedious, hard work.
And when it finally becomes clear to me what this new machine should be like, I call my workmates to join me. “Here’s what I came up with,” I tell them, “how do you like it?” They listen carefully, write something down, and draw something. The discussion begins. Sometimes I feel like they like my idea too much and I can't help myself.
- Criticize, damn it! - I shout to them. They get excited, and there is such a noise in the office that visitors sitting in the reception area might think that sworn enemies have gathered here. But our common cause is dear to all of us, that’s why we all get so excited and lose our temper. The discussion ends. We are glad. Now, at least, it is clear to each of us what he is right and what he is wrong. Now we can begin.
And now the first line appears on the drawings. Dozens of people are working on the future aircraft. My slender machine seems to fall apart into separate parts: a motor, a propeller group, weapons - specialists are working on each part. And everyone is in a hurry - quickly, quickly!”
The last manned OKB-301 aircraft was the La-250 interceptor. The machine was very complex and was a bundle of advanced technical solutions. But the experience of its creation was not in vain, and the results of many years of research and flight tests contributed to the development of new types of combat aircraft in other design teams.

Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich (1900-1960).

Semyon Alekseevich was born on August 29 (September 11), 1900 in the family of a simple teacher. At that time they lived in Smolensk and Semyon went to school here. In 1908, the parents moved to the city of Roslavl. Life was not easy, the family's well-being relied on personal farming - a cow, a vegetable garden and an old orchard - which provided more income than the father's modest earnings. But the parents did not lose heart: there was little money in the Lavochkin family, but there were plenty of smiles and jokes. Usually the tone was set by the father, who loved to tell funny stories at dinner, when the whole family - his wife and three children - gathered.

At that time, there was a rule according to which the number of Jewish schoolchildren should not exceed five percent. To become one of the “five percenters” required exceptional hard work and extraordinary talent. Lavochkin had both. In 1917, he graduated from the gymnasium in Kursk with a gold medal and dreamed of continuing his studies at the institute. But I had to abandon the idea of ​​higher education for now.

Seventeen-year-old Lavochkin volunteered for the Red Army. In 1920, all students and persons eligible to enter higher education institutions were demobilized. Among yesterday's Red Army soldiers who gathered in the classrooms of the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School was Lavochkin.

The house where he settled was not far from the house where Professor Zhukovsky lived. In the mornings, heading to school, the professor and student met each other more than once. And soon Lavochkin became a student of Zhukovsky, after he joined the “wind blowers” ​​- as those who dared to choose an aerodynamic specialty were called at the Moscow Higher Technical School.
Lavochkin completed his theoretical course of study in 1927. But before starting his graduation project, the young engineer had to work in production and gain experience for competent design. For pre-graduation practice, Lavochkin chose the famous Tupolev Design Bureau. One of the reasons for this choice was the enormous respect with which Lavochkin treated the famous designer and which he carried throughout his life.

In 1929, Lavochkin defended his diploma and received the title of engineer, after which he was sent to work in the design bureau, which was headed by the French engineer Paul Aimé Richard. Then S.P. Korolev, N.I. Kamov, M.I. Gurevich and other future famous designers worked there. After two or three months, Lavochkin not only learned to translate technical texts fluently, but also spoke quite confidently with his French colleagues. In the evenings, covered with special dictionaries and reference books, he plunged into the world of formulas, graphs, calculation diagrams, design solutions, carefully selected and analyzed all the best that the world aircraft industry had accumulated.

Soon Lavochkin was transferred to the Central Design Bureau under the leadership of A.A. Chizhevsky, and a year later he ended up in the Grigorovich Design Bureau, where he came close to the design of a fighter. At the very beginning of the 1930s, Lavochkin was given the opportunity to independently design a fighter - Ordzhonikidze himself gave the go-ahead for this. At the beginning of 1940, testing of LaGG-1 began. Then, at the request of the military, Lavochkin managed to successfully solve the problem of almost doubling the flight range - thus the LaGG-3 was born. By government decision, LaGG-3 was put into mass production at five factories.
Together with V.P. Gorbunov and M.I. Gudkov, for the creation of the LaGG-3 fighter, S.A. Lavochkin was awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree.

In 1943, he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor and became a laureate of the Stalin Prize, first degree, for the creation of the La-5 fighter.
In October 1945, after returning from the city of Gorky, he was appointed head of OKB-301 in the city of Khimki, Moscow Region (now the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Research and Production Association named after S.A. Lavochkin").
In 1946, for the creation of the La-7 fighter, he was awarded the Stalin Prize of the second degree.
In 1948, he was awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree for the creation of new types of aircraft.
After the war, Semyon Alekseevich worked on the creation of jet aircraft. In his OKB-301, the serial La-15 and many experimental jet fighters were developed.
While working on fighters, Lavochkin dreamed of creating a peaceful machine - a passenger aircraft at supersonic speeds. "Over time, - he told his colleagues - You and I will make a passenger car. Such that people will fly to America in two hours.”

In 1954, Lavochkin began work on the intercontinental supersonic cruise missile "Storm" (work manager - N.S. Chernyakov).
In 1956, he was awarded the official title of General Designer for Aircraft Engineering.
Since 1942, Lavochkin has been a major general in the engineering and technical service, and since 1958, a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Lavochkin was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor twice (1943, 1956), the Stalin Prize was awarded four times (1941, 1943, 1946, 1948), and he was awarded many orders and medals.

He died from the consequences of acute heart failure at the Sary-Shagan training ground (Karaganda region of the Kazakh SSR) on June 9, 1960 while testing the Dal air defense system. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Awards:
- twice Hero of Socialist Labor (medal No. 33 1943, medal No. 54 1956);
-three Orders of Lenin;
-Order of the Red Banner of Labor;
-Order of Suvorov, 1st degree;
-Order of Suvorov II degree;
-medal “For Military Merit”;
-Stalin Prize, first degree, four times (1941, 1943, 1946, 1948).

In his hometown of Smolensk, in Lipetsk (see Lavochkin Street), in Krasnodar, in Khimki and in Moscow there are streets named after Lavochkin.
In Moscow, at house number 19 on Tverskaya Street, where Semyon Alekseevich lived, a memorial plaque was installed.
In Akhtubinsk, Astrakhan region, on Agurin Street, a memorial plaque was erected to S.A. Lavochkin.
In Nizhny Novgorod (from 1932 to 1990 - Gorky) on Chaadaeva Street 16, where S.A. Lavochkin lived in 1940-1944, heading OKB-21, a memorial plaque was installed.
In the city of Hadera (Israel) there is Lavochkin Street.

Aircraft designer S.A. Lavochkin with the La-5FN fighter.

General designers S.A. Lavochkin, A.S. Yakovlev and A.I. Mikoyan.

List of sources:
A.N. Ponomarev. Soviet aviation designers.
N.V. Yakubovich. Unknown Lavochkin.

The name of Semyon Lavochkin is inextricably linked with the history of domestic aviation. Lavochkin made his first contribution to the development of the Soviet aviation industry as a student at the Moscow Higher Technical School. Under the leadership of Andrei Tupolev, he...

The name of Semyon Lavochkin is inextricably linked with the history of domestic aviation. Lavochkin made his first contribution to the development of the Soviet aviation industry as a student at the Moscow Higher Technical School. Under the leadership of Andrei Tupolev, he took part in preparations for serial production of the ANT-4 bomber.

After graduating from the institute, Lavochkin worked in various design bureaus: in the design bureau of the French aircraft designer Paul Richard, in the Bureau of New Designs, the Main Directorate of the Aviation Industry, OKB-301.

A designer “doesn’t need an office, he needs a factory. It is not enough for him to have paper and ink, he needs people, tools, raw materials, materials,” said Lavochkin, and the government spared no expense for the development of military aviation. The Soviet Union needed combat aircraft; war with Hitler was inevitable.

The Spanish Civil War, in which Soviet pilots and domestic aircraft experienced their baptism of fire, showed the serious advantage of the German Messerschmitt-109 fighter over the main Red Army fighter I-16.

The task to develop a new fighter that would replace the “donkey”, as the military called the I-16, was received by several design bureaus at once.

Three new fighters were presented to the government commission: the Yak-1 (designer Yakovlev), MiG-1 (designers Mikoyan and Gurevich) and LaGG-1 (designers Lavochkin, Gorbunov and Gudkov). All aircraft were accepted into production.

The design of the LaGG, developed by three designers, consisted entirely of wood, which was both the main advantage and the main disadvantage of the machine. The wooden structure allowed LaGG to become the most popular domestic fighter of 1941-1942. But thanks to the same wooden structure, the LaGG was heavier than all domestic and enemy fighters. Therefore, despite its high speed, in terms of its main characteristics it was inferior not only to the German Messerschmitts, but also to its domestic competitor, the Yak.

During the war, production of LaGGs was discontinued. But Lavochkin’s design thought did not stand still, he decided to experiment and replaced the water-cooled engine with an air-cooled engine, the ASh-85, having previously changed the design of the aircraft.

The fighter's flight characteristics have increased dramatically. This is how the new La-5 fighter appeared. The first batches of La-5 took part in the Battle of Stalingrad and contributed to the success of this major operation.

Almost immediately, its modification La-5FN was developed, and then the La-7. It was these two fighters that surpassed the enemy Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs of the latest modifications in many respects.

“La-5, especially La-5FN, and La-7 have become machines of a qualitatively different level. At operating altitudes, they could fight on equal terms with Messers and Fokkers, noted Soviet pilots.

Three times Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Kozhedub shot down 62 enemy aircraft using aircraft designed by Lavochkin. By the end of the war, another three times Hero of the Soviet Union, Alexander Pokryshkin, moved to La.

After the war, Lavochkin’s design bureau created jet aircraft and developed intercontinental missiles, but he went down in Russian history as the designer of Pobeda, the creator of the famous La-5 and La-7 fighters.

Semyon Alekseevich died of acute heart failure in June 1960 while testing the Dal air defense system.

Soviet aircraft designer. 1900–1960

Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin (Shlyoma Aizikovich Magaziner) was born on September 11, 1900 in Smolensk into a Jewish family. His father was a melamed (teacher).

In 1917 he became a gold medalist, then joined the army. Until 1920 he served in the border division as a private.

In 1920, from the ranks of the Red Army he was sent to the Moscow Higher Technical School, from which he graduated in 1929. (now Bauman Moscow State Technical University). Upon completion, he qualified as an aeromechanical engineer. Since 1927 he has been working in the aviation industry. Starting as an ordinary designer, he becomes the head of the design of a number of aircraft.

In the 1930s, under the leadership of Lavochkin, work began on the creation of one of the first Soviet modern fighter aircraft. In 1939–1940, under the leadership of V.P. Gorbunov. in the design bureau in the Moscow region, he was one of the initiators and participants in the creation of the Soviet modern fighter aircraft LaGG-3 from delta wood. Together with Gorbunov V.P. and Gudkov M.I. in 1939 he received the official title of chief aircraft designer. This work on the creation of aircraft was carried out by Lavochkin as the head of OKB-21 in the city of Gorky. Lavochkin was awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree in 1941 together with V.P. Gorbunov. and Gudkov M.I. for the creation of the LaGG-3 fighter based on the results of 1940.

From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, aircraft designed by Lavochkin took part in battles and showed high combat and flight-tactical qualities. On fighters designed by Lavochkin three times Hero of the Soviet Union I.N. Kozhedub shot down 62 fascist planes.

La-5 is a single-engine fighter created by OKB-21 under the leadership of S.A. Lavochkin in 1942 in the city of Gorky. The aircraft was a single-seat monoplane, with a closed cockpit, a wooden frame with fabric covering and wooden wing spars. At the end of the 30s, all production fighters in the Soviet Union were based on a mixed design. Despite all the disadvantages of using wood (mainly the greater weight of structures with the required rigidity), the creation of “delta wood” led to the emergence of a modern fighter aircraft of that time, all-wood construction. Wood products required very highly skilled workers. The entire fuselage of the aircraft was assembled using glue, which required strict compliance with the requirements for temperature, humidity and dust in the workshop. Any wooden part is unique, since there are no two identical trees, most of the work is done by hand, and the quality directly depends on the qualifications and experience of the worker. Therefore, in serial production the aircraft was slightly different than in testing, and required constant modernization. It had a number of design flaws and was difficult to fly, but the pilots respected this aircraft, recognizing that piloting it was not an easy task and required some training. In battles, the LaGG proved to be a tenacious vehicle, capable of returning to its home airfield with a fuselage resembling a “sieve.”

But at the beginning of 1942, LaGG could no longer fight on equal terms with new modifications of German fighters. The main problem was the 1050 hp engine. With. This power was not enough for a heavy machine of all-wood construction. The new Klimov engine (a distant descendant of the French Hispano-Suiza engine, purchased under license) developed a take-off power of 1,400 hp. s., and at an altitude of 5 km - 1300 liters. With. In this regard, two design bureaus - Lavochkin and Yakovlev - were tasked with developing fighters based on this engine.

Taking advantage of his position, Yakovlev (who was also Stalin’s personal assistant on aviation) took the experimental engines for himself. Lavochkin had to urgently look for a new engine, and his design bureau decided to replace the water-cooled engine with an air-cooled engine. It was impossible to install such an engine on the existing aircraft frame without significant modifications and, accordingly, wasting time. In connection with the decision of the State Defense Committee to remove the LaGG from production and transfer the factories where it was produced to the Yakovlev Design Bureau and organize the production of Yak fighters there, the situation for the Lavochkin Design Bureau became critical. Deputy Lavochkin S.M. Alekseev managed to make a prototype of the aircraft at an incredible pace, without calculations or drawings. On March 21, 1942, a few days before the Lavochkin design bureau was sent to Tbilisi, test pilot Vasily Yakovlevich Mishchenko took the future La-5 into the air. The new engine provided such a heavy structure with the required power of 1700 hp. With. Compared to the basic LaGG, the new aircraft was significantly better, in particular, the speed and rate of climb increased sharply, but there were plenty of problems.

At this time, an order came from the State Defense Committee: load the design bureau and the plane into trains and immediately depart for Tbilisi. April 22–23 test pilots A.P. Yakimov and A.G. Kubyshkin continued testing. For flights, they used a strip filled with melt water ten kilometers from the plant. During testing, many parts of the prototype aircraft broke down, defects were corrected right on the airfield under the light of car headlights, but fate was very kind to the pilots and no one died during such “tests.” A total of 26 test flights were carried out. The test report was sent to Moscow. The report stated that the aircraft passed most of the tests, but the problem with engine overheating was not resolved. Moscow thought and gave 10 days to fix the problems. On May 6, 1942, spin tests were carried out. Without wind tunnel tests and careful calculations, this is an almost guaranteed accident and death. But this time the tests were successful. On May 20, it was decided to begin mass production of the LaGG-3 with the M-82 engine under the designation LaGG-5 at plant No. 21 in Gorky.

The first production cars did not reach the speed stated in the certificate, on the basis of which I.V. Stalin made the decision to launch the aircraft into production. The cause of the loss of speed was determined to be poor sealing of the hood. Work was carried out to seal the hood, as a result of which the aircraft reached the declared speed. The first production aircraft began rolling off the assembly line in July 1942. If we compare the LaGG-5 with similar aircraft from Germany, Great Britain or the USA, it may seem that technically it was significantly inferior to them. However, in terms of its flight qualities, it fully met the requirements of the time. In addition, its simple design, lack of need for complex maintenance and undemanding take-off fields made it ideal for the conditions in which Soviet Air Force units had to operate. During 1942, 1,129 LaGG-5 fighters were manufactured. On September 8, 1942, the LaGG-5 fighters were renamed La-5.

Designer S.A. Lavochkin was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor in 1943 and became a laureate of the Stalin Prize of the first degree for the creation of the La-5 fighter. Since 1942, Lavochkin has been a major general in the engineering and technical service.

In October 1945, after returning from the city of Gorky, Lavochkin was appointed head of OKB-301 in the city of Khimki, Moscow Region (now the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Research and Production Association named after S.A. Lavochkin"). In 1946, for La-7 he was awarded the Stalin Prize of the second degree. In 1948, he was awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree for the creation of new types of aircraft.

After the war, Semyon Alekseevich worked on the creation of jet aircraft. His design bureau developed serial jet fighters. The aircraft he created was the first in the USSR to reach the speed of sound in flight.

S.A. Lavochkin in 1950–1954 developed the La-17 unmanned target aircraft, which was produced for almost 40 years - until 1993. In addition, its reconnaissance version was created and used as an unmanned front-line photo reconnaissance vehicle (the prototype of modern unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicles).

Since 1958 - Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Lavochkin was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor twice (1943, 1956), the Stalin Prize was awarded four times (1941, 1943, 1946, 1948), and he was awarded many orders and medals. Lavochkin was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the third – fifth convocations (in 1950–1958).

In 1954, Lavochkin began work on the Burya intercontinental supersonic cruise missile. In 1956, he was awarded the title of General Aircraft Designer. Lavochkin contrasted the R-7 intercontinental missile of General Designer Korolev with the Burya projectile (cruise missile) with high characteristics for those times - a speed of over 3,000 km per hour at an altitude of 20 km. The deviation of the "Storm" from the target was no more than 1 km at a distance of 8000 km, which is insignificant for a nuclear charge. However, the bulky, unreliable and insanely expensive R-7 went into service, instead of the economical “Storm” system. On May 1, 1960, Powers' reconnaissance plane was shot down by a missile created specifically at the Lavochkin Design Bureau. Lavochkin missiles were then used in the S-25 and S-75 systems of two rings of the all-round air defense of Moscow. Rockets designed by S.A. Lavochkin were on combat duty until the early 80s.

Since 1956 S.A. Lavochkin – General Designer of the OKB. In this post, he was also involved in the design of the new Dal anti-aircraft air defense system, which was based on long-range surface-to-air missiles (up to 500 km) for hitting high-speed air targets.

While testing the Dal air defense system on June 9, 1960, Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin died of a heart attack at the Sary-Shagan training ground in the area of ​​Lake Balkhash. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.