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, 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.

Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin September 11, 1900 (19000911) June 9, 1960 Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin Place of birth ... Wikipedia

Lavochkin, Semyon Alekseevich- Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin. Lavochkin, Semyon Alekseevich LAVOCHKIN Semyon Alekseevich (1900 60), aircraft designer. Fighters (over 15 thousand produced) La 5, La 7 took part in the Great Patriotic War. Under his leadership, ... ... were also created. Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich Encyclopedia "Aviation"

Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich- S. A. Lavochkin Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich (1900–1960) Soviet aircraft designer, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, (1958), major general of the aviation engineering service (1944), twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1943, 1956). Graduated... ... Encyclopedia "Aviation"

Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich- S. A. Lavochkin Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich (1900–1960) Soviet aircraft designer, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, (1958), major general of the aviation engineering service (1944), twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1943, 1956). Graduated... ... Encyclopedia "Aviation"

Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich- S. A. Lavochkin Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich (1900–1960) Soviet aircraft designer, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, (1958), major general of the aviation engineering service (1944), twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1943, 1956). Graduated... ... Encyclopedia "Aviation"

- (I900 1960) Soviet aircraft designer, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, (1958), major general of the aviation engineering service (1944), twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1943, 1956). Graduated from the Moscow Higher Technical School (1927). Worked in a number of... Encyclopedia of technology

- (1900, Smolensk 1960, Moscow), aircraft designer, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1958), major general of the aviation engineering service (1944), Hero of Socialist Labor (1943, 1956). In Moscow since 1920. Graduated from Moscow Higher Technical School (1927). Worked in a number of... Moscow (encyclopedia)

How often do people talk about the merits of the winners of the Great Patriotic War, but have they ever thought about those who stood at the origins of the all-Union victory? One of those who made a tangible contribution to the history of invincible Soviet aviation is aircraft designer Semyon Lavochkin.

It was his work that created the famous line of front-line fighters La-5 and their development La-7. The famous I.N. fought on these planes. Kozhedub, three times awarded the title Hero of the USSR for victories in air battles.

Biography

Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin, was born in the family of melamed Alter Ilyich Lavochkin and housewife Gita Savelyevna on August 29, according to the new style on September 11, 1900. He is an ethnic Jew, a native of Smolensk.

In Roslavl he graduated from the city school, after which he was enrolled in the Kursk gymnasium in 1917, from which he successfully graduated with a gold medal.

In 1918, he joined the Red Army, and in 1920 he became a border guard employee. He was demobilized at the end of 1920 and was sent to study in Moscow.

Already undergoing pre-graduation practice, Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin became part of the history of Soviet aviation, passing it at the Tupolev Design Bureau.

The entire life of the legendary Soviet aviation designer Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin was spent at work. This is reflected in his biography.

After he graduated from the Higher Technical School in Moscow, the aspiring aircraft designer S. Lavochkin worked under the guidance of various designers and engineers, which later determined his view of the aircraft, completely devoid of stereotypes, and therefore not blurred.

• 1929, OPO-4, work under the direction of Paul Richard. Legendary seaplane designer;
• 1930, work at the Bureau of New Designs under the leadership of Henri Laville, one of the engineers of Paul Richard’s team, who by this time had left the USSR, among the projects being developed at that time was the heavy fighter DI-4, in the development of which Lavochkin also took part;
• 1939 OKB-301. Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin, together with Gorbunov and Gudkov, are participating in a competition to create a new fighter to replace the I-16. The I-301 prototype they presented, nicknamed “piano” due to its cherry-colored varnish and varnish, went into mass production in 1940 under the name LaGG-3;
• 1941 OKB-21, work on the modernization of the LaGG-3 fighter; until 1944, 66 series of this aircraft were produced, changing from release to release. Launch of the legendary La-5 into mass production and further work on its modernization;
• 1945 OKB-301. From that moment until the end of his design career, Lavochkin worked in this design bureau.

The great aircraft designer Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin liked to repeat that a true professional does not just need an office, he needs an entire factory. And to create a masterpiece, ink, ink and paper are not enough; you need workers, tools and materials to make an aircraft.

The beginning of the 1930s, Spain is plunged into civil war, the USSR begins supplying weapons and equipment there. Along with combat aircraft, Soviet volunteer pilots also take off into the skies of Spain, who not only performed the work of instructors, but also carried out combat activities.

The battles in the hot skies of Catalonia showed that the I-16, although it does not step, is not yet inferior to the German Bf.109B aircraft that were in service with the Condor air wing. But, nevertheless, it becomes outdated extremely quickly. A competition to re-equip the aviation of the Soviet Union, in which young aircraft builders took part, was called upon to eliminate the backlog:

• Lavochkin, Gudkov and Gorbunov, the LaGG-3 fighter, an aircraft with powerful weapons, an M-105P engine, the basis of the design of which was the massive use of bakelite plywood - delta wood;
• Mikoyan and Gurevich - MiG-1 fighter, AM-35 engine, high-altitude high-speed fighter;
• Yakovlev A.S. with the Yak-1 front-line fighter, M-105P engine, lightweight plywood-canvas construction, armament in the form of a 20 mm motor cannon and two machine guns.

It was these aircraft that subsequently met the first blow of the Third Reich, and their successors knocked out the Luftwaffe personnel, providing the advancing army with complete air superiority.

Merits and awards

Title of Hero of Socialist Labor S.A. Lavochkin received it on June 21, 1943. The Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle medal adorned the chest of the designer for the urgent modernization of the LaGG-3 to a level that allowed them to fight on equal terms with Luftwaffe aircraft.

Considerable merit is that the La-5, like its ancestor LaGG, was created from wood and plywood, this made it possible to organize its production at a difficult time for the country, in conditions of a total shortage of duralumin and other light alloys.

Lavochkin was awarded the next title of Hero in 1956, for his significant contribution to the country's defense capability. The country's air defense was armed with missiles of his design.

In addition to being awarded the Hammer and Sickle gold medals, Lavochkin was a laureate of 4 Stalin Prizes in 1941, 1943, 1946 and 1948.

List of aircraft

During World War II, the Soviet design bureau, led by Semyon Lavochkin, developed a series of fighters, in particular the La-5 and La-7, which made a significant contribution to the Union Victory.

In the post-war period, Lavochkin developed a series of jet aircraft, primarily the La-15, but, unfortunately, it could not withstand the competition with the MiG-15 and lost the palm to it.

But the first was LaGG, already in the post-war period, in the memoirs of some designers it received the sharp nickname “Lacquered Guaranteed Coffin”, although among the troops it was called “piano” or “beauty”.

The aircraft did not have excellent maneuverability or acceleration characteristics, but nevertheless differed favorably from the Yak-1 in its survivability, and was superior to the faster MiGs in weapon power.

Projects

In general, most of the developments of S.A. Lavochkin were successful and passed all flight tests, but they were subject to improvements. So the project of the La-5VI model was created according to the group’s scheme.

In December 1944, they proposed an option to improve the outdated La-5 model using jet boosters. This project was approved and implemented at the end of 1944, today this model is known as La-7R.

last years of life

In 1956, Lavochkin was appointed chief designer of the OKB. This post in his career was marked by two major projects.

1. He designed the world's first supersonic and intercontinental cruise missile, the Burya.
2. He also developed a project to create Dal launch systems intended for air defense.

The great aircraft designer died of a heart attack in June 1960, having honorably fulfilled his civic and labor duty to his Motherland.

He conducted the last tests of the Burya missile at a test site located in the Kazakh SSR near Balkhash, called Sary Shagan.

A memorial plaque has been installed in the house where the honored genius of Soviet aviation lived. And to this day, the USSR Air Force Museum preserves within its walls an entire era of the creation of fighter aircraft, which were the first in history to surpass all Western analogues.

Video

E. KISELEV: This is really the “Our Everything” program and I, its presenter Evgeny Kiselev. I greet everyone who is listening to the Ekho Moskvy radio at this moment. In our program we write the history of our fatherland over the last hundred years. Our starting point is 1905. We are going through the alphabet and have reached the letter L. Let me remind you that for each letter, with the exception of the letter K - for the letter K we had 9 heroes, because there are a lot of surnames in the Russian language starting with the letter K, and in general there are a lot of words starting with the letter K, that’s how our language works. And for all other letters we have 3 heroes. We choose one by voting on the Internet, on the Ekho Moskvy website. By the way, a list of candidates starting with the letter M will appear there soon, follow the publications on the Internet. We choose one hero during a special broadcast from those who are on this list, which is on the Internet, but who does not win in the Internet voting - there is only one, we choose the second, I repeat, by voting live. And finally, I choose the third hero myself. And today we have a hero whom you chose last Sunday, who won the three-round vote and was elected by you, dear radio listeners, as the hero of our program. This is Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin. The “March of the Aviators,” written in 1931, was performed. Semyon Lavochkin is an outstanding aircraft designer. To be honest, I was very pleased that Lavochkin was chosen as the hero of our program. It is possible that if he had not been chosen, I would have chosen him, because in the current project I really wanted there to be at least one program about someone from the brilliant galaxy of Soviet aircraft designers. I'll tell you why a little later. And first, as always, a portrait of our hero, a portrait in the interior of the era.

PORTRAIT IN THE INTERIOR OF THE ERA

People like Semyon Lavochkin were said to be the same age as the century, forgetting that the year of his birth, 1900, was actually the last year of the 19th century. Well, it doesn’t matter – a year more, a year less, but it’s beautiful. The same age as the century in which many people were born in order, as it was sung in the famous march of Stalin’s aviation, “to make a fairy tale come true, to overcome space and space.” Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin was one of them, one of those who, with the power of his mind, created “steel arms-wings”, “fiery engines”, and pushed the flights of Soviet aviation higher and higher. The name of Lavochkin today is perhaps not as well known as the names of other outstanding Soviet aircraft designers. First of all, those that have always been well-known thanks to the civil aviation aircraft they created: ANAM, ILAM, YAKAM and TU - machines designed by Oleg Antonov, Sergei Ilyushin, Andrey Tupolev and Alexander Yakovlev. But there was a time when the name of Semyon Lavochkin thundered. He was twice Hero of Socialist Labor, winner of four Stalin Prizes for the creation of combat aircraft for the Red Army. He had his own design bureau, where the once famous LA-5 and LA-7 fighters were created, which in the final period of the Great Patriotic War, in 44-45, became the main machines in service with the Soviet Air Force fighter aircraft. Most Soviet aces flew them, including three times Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Kozhedub. Lavochkin’s fate turned out very happily in its own way. He avoided the difficult trials that befell, for example, Tupolev, Petlyakov, Myasishchev and other aircraft designers who were arrested during the years of Stalinist repression and created their aircraft while being prisoners of the so-called “sharashkas”. Many believe that Tupolev and his colleagues were saved by the impending war. Stalin was a pragmatist; he punished representatives of the scientific and technical intelligentsia selectively. A very valuable testimony of the second man of the Stalinist regime, Molotov, has been preserved. It is doubly valuable because it was recorded from his words by the Stalinist writer Felix Chuev, who admired Molotov and was unlikely to put into his mouth what he did not say. “Why were Tupolev, Stechkin, Korolev in prison?” Chuev once asked Molotov. “They were all sitting,” answered Vyacheslav Mikhailovich. “We talked a lot too much. They didn't support us. Tupolev and others were at one time a very serious issue for us. For some time they were opponents, and more time was needed to bring them closer to Soviet power. And one cannot ignore the fact that at a difficult moment they can become especially dangerous. You can’t do without this in politics. They will not be able to build communism with their own hands. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov told the students: it’s because of whom our life is bad! And he pointed to portraits of Lenin and Stalin. This open opponent is easy to understand. It was more difficult with people like Tupolev. Tupolev is from that category of intelligentsia that the Soviet state really needs, but at heart they are against it. And through personal connections they carried out dangerous destructive work. And even if they didn’t lead, they breathed it. Yes, they couldn’t do otherwise.” However, with Lavochkin it turned out differently. The prison passed him by, despite the fact that he was not even a party member. And for a military aircraft designer this could already be a circumstance that inspires great suspicion. Lavochkin joined the CPSU only after Stalin’s death, but unlike Tupolev, Ilyushin, Yakovlev, who lived a long life, Lavochkin died early. This happened in 1960, when he was not yet 60. The project to create a suborbital strategic aircraft "Storm", which was led by Lavochkin, was never completed.

E. KISELEV: This was a portrait of our today’s hero Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin. I am really very pleased that we have at least one program dedicated to the outstanding Soviet aircraft designer of that era - the era when Tupolev, Ilyushin, and Yakovlev worked. Because partly this is the story of my own family - my late father and my mother, who is still alive, and I wish her long life and good health, they worked all their lives in aviation, at the All-Union Institute of Aviation Materials in Moscow, at VIAM, and, by the way , when my mother was pregnant with me, she herself told me about this today - I consulted with her as a professional before the transfer - she went on business trips to the Zaporizhstal plant, where they made a special one for the new generation fighters - for the Lavochkin jet fighters a very thin and wide steel sheet from which fuel tanks were made, and when in April 1956 - I was born in June, but in April 1956, just when Lavochkin was awarded a gold star for the second time Hero of Socialist Labor, my mother received the Order of the Badge of Honor for the same work. I hope she can hear us now. And now I will introduce you to our guest today - our guest today is aviation historian Dmitry Borisovich Khazanov, whom many probably already know from his repeated participation in the program of Dmitry Zakharov and Vitaly Dymarsky - non-anniversary notes on the history of the Great Patriotic War - “The Price of Victory " But today we will talk to him about Lavochkin. Please tell me, as I understand from your own words - we had time to talk a little before the broadcast - your main topic is war, World War II, the Great Patriotic War. This is what made Lavochkin’s planes different and why did they become the main weapon of fighter aircraft?

D. KHAZANOV: First of all, good afternoon, good evening. I am very pleased that this topic was chosen as a result of the voting. It seems to me that Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin is an interesting person, a worthy, very gifted designer. And of course, he deserves to be remembered and this program dedicated to him. This is the first. The second thing I wanted to say is that, unlike many people whose names have just been mentioned, the leaders of our aviation and space design bureaus - Tupolev, Korolev, Yakovlev - these were still people, despite the fact that they had different fates, and you you know all this, these were very authoritarian people who stood at the head of their teams, who in the case of certain periods of life could open the doors of the authorities with a kick, relatively speaking, and so on. Semyon Alekseevich was a completely different person - modest, shy, and this definition somehow does not even fit with the concept of chief designer, because everyone understands that he is, first of all, an organizer of production, and nevertheless, the aircraft that he created during the war years and in pre-war times... the chief designer is an organizer, first of all, he is a person who must solve a lot of problems.

E. KISELEV: Sorry, I’ll interrupt now. You and I have agreed - I ask a question, and you answer. Otherwise, the whole transmission will go upside down. I asked you - what kind of planes were they? How were they different from MiGs and Yakovs?

D. KHAZANOV: After this preamble, I am ready to answer.

E. KISELEV: Why, say, did our Soviet aces like Kozhedub prefer to fly La-7 aircraft?

D. KHAZANOV: Well, first of all, we must tell you that a whole chain of aircraft was built during the war years, and they were gradually improved and modernized. After the experimental I-301 aircraft was created before the war, in the series it was already called LaGG-3, after modification, then the La-5 aircraft appeared with a more powerful engine...

D. KHAZANOV: Vladimir Petrovich Gorbunov and Mikhail Ivanovich Gudkov. And an unusual story in the creation of our domestic aircraft industry, when the so-called. the triumvirate made the plane. Then the triumvirate fell apart, Lavochkin became the leader, the main one, but nevertheless the plane was made by three chief designers. Moreover, at the initial stage, when it was just being created, Gorbunov was the leader, the head, as the more experienced, as the head of the department, endowed with certain powers. But later fate put everything in its place. Then there was, as you rightly said, La-5, modernization, La-7, and it is believed that at the final stage of the war these were one of the best not only ours, but also the world’s fighters. I would say here that these aircraft were very suitable for the war that took place on the Soviet-German front, when exceptional range and exceptional altitude were not required from a fighter, because the battles were fought close to the front line - we had the so-called with the Germans . tactical war, battles took place at low altitudes, and these were front-line aircraft. And the La-5 FN, La-7 planes turned out to be very successful, which flew here, and that’s why they were so loved by the pilots.

E. KISELEV: So speed and maneuverability were important to them?

D. KHAZANOV: Yes, they were fast, maneuverable, durable, and to some extent protected the pilot like a frontal shield. The air-cooled engine continued to operate if several cylinders failed and allowed the pilot to return to his territory. They had very good vertical maneuverability. Again, for the war that took place here. And in terms of the complex of flight-tactical data they were not inferior to their opponents - Messerschmitts, Fokewulfs of the same year of manufacture.

E. KISELEV: So this is a legend - that supposedly German fighters were superior, and our pilots prevailed mainly through courage, bravery, and self-sacrifice?

D. KHAZANOV: Well, we need to look at what period. If we are talking about the 44th year, the 45th year, then the Germans did not have an advantage. And in some ways we even surpassed them. Another thing is that we did not have enough well-trained pilots. But in the event that there was a person in the cockpit who knew his job, who was not hastily trained and released into flight, but went through both the school of war and normal training, if he was so lucky, then he had every chance not only of to fight the German aces as equals, but also to win this single combat.

E. KISELEV: And I remember one of the famous aces during the war, later Air Marshal Pokryshkin in the film “The Unknown War,” which was shot jointly by Soviet and American filmmakers in the mid-70s, when there was the first wave of detente in relations between the United States and the USSR, at the time when the first disarmament agreements were signed, when the Soyuz-Apollo flew - in this film Pokryshkin said that he flew on an American plane - the Airacobra. Did the aces have the opportunity to choose what they would fly? Or what they put into service...

D. KHAZANOV: I think that they put it into service. But I think that Alexander Ivanovich simply personally liked this plane, and he used its advantages, he said that he got used to it, in particular in this film in which he performed. But his division fought in Airacobras, and naturally, he. Although he also ended the war on Lavochkin’s La-7 plane, when they had already been re-equipped.

E. KISELEV: That is, American fighters were not superior to Lavochkin’s planes?

D. KHAZANOV: And American fighters were not superior to Lavochkin’s planes.

E. KISELEV: But here is a question that arises very often. You've probably already had to answer this more than once. How many did Kozhedub shoot down - 62 planes, right?

D. KHAZANOV: 59 – officially, according to our historiography.

E. KISELEV: And the best German ace named Hartman shot down how many?

D. KHAZANOV: 352 aircraft.

E. KISELEV: Why such a gap?

D. KHAZANOV: Well...

E. KISELEV: And, in my opinion, it was not only Hartman who was on that list...

D. KHAZANOV: Well, first of all, everything that is recorded on the pilot’s combat account does not mean at all that he shot down. There was little opportunity to control, we understand that an air battle is very fleeting, and even a person who is sincerely confident that he shot down does not mean at all that this is so. The plane could go down and get lost in the background. He was sure that he shot it down, but it flew safely. And a lot of such cases are known.

E. KISELEV: How did it happen? The pilot flies out on a mission, returns and reports that...

D. KHAZANOV: Yes, that he shot down an enemy plane. And who is the witness? Either it was ground troops, or it was someone watching this battle from the ground, or, say, the chairman of a collective farm over the field, as happened in our case. The Germans, since they flew in pairs, required confirmation from their wingmen. In all cases, this is a little arbitrary, and as a rule, in such things as you are asking about, you need evidence from the other side. Let’s say our pilots reported something there, and the enemy’s documents show that during those 24 hours on this section of the front the enemy suffered such and such losses - and it becomes more or less clear how true this is and how much is not. But here is the main answer to your question - I would still focus here not on unreliable reports, but on the very large experience of those people who fought against us. Soviet aviation did not knock out enemy personnel, and the pilots who went through the entire war, many of them survived, lived to see the surrender, in this case of Germany, and were very dangerous opponents. And here is a lot of experience, a large number of battles, plus German tactics, which were very different from ours. Our pilots very often were still tied to covering the area, to covering their aircraft - bombers and attack aircraft. German aces were engaged primarily in free hunting, when nothing limits the pilot, when he himself is free to choose a target and choose behavior. He can attack or, for some reason known to him, withdraw from the battle, and this does not mean that he will be punished in any way disciplinary way.

E. KISELEV: Fundamentally different tactics for conducting air combat and generally using fighter aircraft.

D. KHAZANOV: Yes, that’s why many German aces had such high scores and, so to speak, survived well, in particular on our front.

E. KISELEV: And, accordingly, they avoided battle when they saw that there was the slightest danger.

D. KHAZANOV: Or danger, or when they saw that they were confronted by a well-prepared enemy with excellent command of the machine, a Russian pilot, they could leave the battle, revving up their engines, hide and look for a more suitable victim next time.

E. KISELEV: And, of course, large losses in the initial period of the war?

D. KHAZANOV: Theoretically, yes, but statistics show that in 1943 the losses were even greater than in 1941, oddly enough, also in personnel. Maybe in 1941 we had very heavy losses on the ground, but air battles - the most severe, the most brutal - were precisely in 1943, when...

E. KISELEV: Kursk Bulge.

D. KHAZANOV: Yes, the Kursk Bulge, the battle for the Dnieper, when the outcome of the struggle for air supremacy was decided. And many of our pilots, especially those who did not have time to complete their training properly, who were brought into battle in emergency circumstances, were the ones who suffered the most.

E. KISELEV: Let me remind you that today we are working live, and our radio listeners can send their questions, remarks, comments by phone +7 985 970 45 45 in the form of SMS messages. We have already received a certain amount, and in particular, the widow of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Oleg Nikolaevich Smirnov, writes to us that her husband flew La-5 and La-7 aircraft during the war and spoke very well of them. Well, we have already answered some questions. Here, in particular, a remark came from Yuri that the Germans had about 200 pilots who shot down a hundred or more planes. We just discussed this topic. Dmitry from St. Petersburg asks: “Didn’t Pokryshkin and Kozhedub fly speedfighters? However, this does not detract from the merits of Lavochkin’s aircraft.” Well, I’m not an expert, but as I understand it, about speedfighters, this is what is called an aberration of vision. Indeed, there were Airacobras, a whole division.

D. KHAZANOV: Yes, and Kozhedub always flew only on Lavochkin’s planes.

E. KISELEV: Appreciating their speed qualities. And here’s why... Just a second, someone sent us this remark... Yuri - “It’s not for nothing that they called LaGG - a varnished guaranteed coffin.” Never heard of it?

D. KHAZANOV: Of course, I heard, well, what do you think, how could I not have heard.

E. KISELEV: Why did they call it that?

D. KHAZANOV: I wanted to make a short preamble here...

E. KISELEV: Then we will stop at this point. The LaGG aircraft - this is the predecessor of the La-5 and La-7 - had such a front-line nickname, a front-line nickname - “varnished guaranteed coffin”. Why, we'll talk about this after a break. Because now it’s mid-hour news time on Echo of Moscow. Stay tuned, we'll be back on air in a minute or two.

NEWS

E. KISELEV: We continue our issue, which today is dedicated to Semyon Lavochkin. This is the first of three gears starting with the letter “L”. Let me remind you that we will also have programs about the head of Soviet television during the Brezhnev stagnation, Sergei Lapin, and about the outstanding physicist, Nobel Prize winner Lev Landau. And today we are talking about aircraft designer Lavochkin. Together with me here in the studio is Dmitry Borisovich Khazanov, an aviation historian, whom you probably know from his participation in the program “Anniversary Notes on the History of the Great Patriotic War - The Price of Victory,” hosted by Vitaly Dymarsky and Dmitry Zakharov on Mondays. Let me remind you that today we are working live and our phone number is on +7 985 970 45 45 - you can send your questions to this number in the form of SMS messages. Next, I would like to immediately respond to several of your remarks. For example, Natalya from Moscow is indignant about a quote from the writer Felix Chuev. She writes to me - “What kind of cute baby is giving you introductions?” Well, Natalya, these are different cute little ones, different colleagues of mine voice on air the texts of “Portraits” of our heroes, which I write myself. Just so that not only a male, but also a female voice sounds in the program and it would be pleasant for your ear. Some of these are the secrets of our radium profession. As for the quote from Felix Chuev - well, you know, this is a very valuable quote. You probably didn’t hear or understand or, as they say, didn’t get the meaning of what was said. Molotov did not leave his own memoirs, at least not published ones. But he had an admirer - this same Felix Chuev, who met with him many times and tried to record conversations, long conversations that they had at Molotov’s dacha in Zhukovka. And in fact, there are many terrible things said by Vyacheslav Mikhailovich and then recorded by Felix Chuev. And as a historical source this is a most valuable thing. We just told you how Stalin, Molotov and others like them treated outstanding scientists. They didn't fully trust them, especially some of them. So, according to Molotov’s version, set out by the writer Chuev, Tupolev, Myasishchev, Korolev and many other scientists ended up in places not so remote. And, in general, I understand that indeed among the scientific and technical intelligentsia there were people who, deep down in their souls, did not love either Joseph Vissarionovich or the system he created. Just like that. Well, there are many different other comments here. “Until what year were Lavochkin’s aircraft in service? “Well, obviously, the planes we were talking about were wartime planes; they were in service until jet fighters appeared, including Lavochkin’s designs. By the way, is it true that Maresyev, the famous legless pilot, fought on Lavochkin’s planes?

D. KHAZANOV: Yes, it’s true. After returning to duty, he flew the La-6 FN aircraft in the 63rd Guards Regiment. Evgeniy Alekseevich, you asked a question about the “varnished guaranteed coffin”. Let me answer this matter, at least briefly.

E. KISELEV: Yes, yes, please. Where did this name come from?

D. KHAZANOV: The history of the adoption of the LaGG-3 aircraft was very compressed, very short. On March 30, an experienced fighter piloted by Alexei Ivanovich Nikashin took off for the first time. Factory tests and state tests quickly passed. Everything happened literally with extreme urgency. The aircraft was put into production at five factories. This was generally an unheard of success for the three young chief designers. And we can assume that the merit is both that they made a successful car, and the merit of the test pilot, who was able to identify all its advantages, and also the fact that it was made without metal parts, components, only from wood. In our country, as you understand, there was enough wood, and it was assumed that if something unpleasant, a war, started, we would be provided with fighter aircraft. “We will need a lot of planes,” said Comrade Stalin, whom you mentioned earlier. But the factories where production was taking place also had to do everything very quickly. Some were not ready for this task at all, others had a different technology. In general, all this was very difficult, a painful process. So, the plant in Gorky, which became the main plant, they were going to make some kind of their own machine, Polikarpov’s deputies. And suddenly a complete stranger arrives with his team. They continue to release these old 16s as if nothing had happened, they say that everything needs to be completely different. Therefore, when mass production began, the production cars were very different for the worse from the experimental ones. They turned out to be much heavier, and much less wood was used there than on the experimental machine, and the quality of the finish was worse. And, in addition, Lavochkin was ordered to increase the fighter’s flight range. At the time of transfer, they installed an additional caisson, installed fuel tanks to comply with government regulations. In short, if the experimental aircraft weighed less than 3 tons, 2970 kg, then the production ones weighed 3380, 3300 kg, which is generally very significant. But the engine was still the same - M-105, which, of course, turned out to be too weak for such a machine, and big problems began. The pilots, especially young, poorly trained pilots, could barely cope. This is the first part. The second part is that the strength of the structure for which it was calculated turned out to be insufficient. The landing gear of the plane bent and there were many other problems during aerobatics. There were cases when the plane did not recover from steep dives. This also made the management very nervous and worried. Well, the third point is that Yakovlev’s planes, also not without big problems, nevertheless turned out to be generally successful. And it was decided, especially since Yakovlev is a very active person, he was the deputy people’s commissar at that time...

E. KISELEV: He was Stalin’s favorite...

D. KHAZANOV: Yes, he was a favorite, he was included in the leader’s office. And he made the decision to gradually replace Lavochkin’s aircraft with aircraft of his own design - the Yak-1, then the Yak-7, then the Yak-7 B, and gradually the factories, one after another, came under the jurisdiction of Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev. It was the spring of 1942. Lavochkin was left with a secondary plant, which at that time was evacuated from Taganrog to Tbilisi. Southern people generally had little idea what it was. And yet, they were preparing to release his planes. And the main contingent of his closest employees went there. In Gorky he remained with literally a handful of his closest associates. This is the story of the creation of La-5.

E. KISELEV: But when the La-5 appeared, the competition continued and eventually leaned towards Lavochkin?

D. KHAZANOV: Well, to some extent yes, but to some extent no, because many pilots enjoyed flying and fighting on Yakovlev’s planes until the end of the war. Moreover, he also had many successful projects. The Yak-3 aircraft is considered the lightest fighter, that is, it had unconditional connoisseurs and unconditional advantages. At the end of the war...

E. KISELEV: And there were also MiG fighters, right?

D. KHAZANOV: By that time, Mikoyan and Gurevich had stopped building MiGs in series. Plant number one, after its evacuation from Moscow to Kuibyshev, stopped producing and began making Il-2 attack aircraft. Therefore, Mikoyan temporarily dropped out of the competition, this design bureau was not dissolved - they were engaged in experimental work, high-altitude aircraft, but Mikoyan and his colleagues were not such mass production producers at that time. Lavochkin was the last. But if he had been left with only one plant in Tbilisi - Taganrog 31st, then I think that this too would not have lasted long. But as a result of emergency measures to urgently install an air-cooled glider on your aircraft, which was much more powerful than the M-82, and quickly conduct flight tests...

E. KISELEV: Whose design was this motor?

D. KHAZANOV: Shvetsova. And as a result of the support that Lavochkin was then provided by the secretary of the regional committee, a number of high-ranking comrades who believed in him. And so, he was summoned to the Kremlin, he was given back control of one of the largest plants at the time, Gorky Plant No. 21, and history went as it did. Subsequently, subsequent aircraft of Semyon Alekseevich were created there. By the way, the La-5 was already a purely Lavochkin plane. If LaGG-3 was Lavochkin, Gorbunov, Gudkov, then La-5, La-7, La-9 are purely Lavochkin’s cars.

E. KISELEV: “When Pokryshkin rose into the air, he spoke about it with the words “Akhtung, akhtung!” German signalmen warned their pilots. Did our signalmen warn our pilots that Hartmann and other German aces were in the sky? - a radio listener named Dzauk asks us.

D. KHAZANOV: I think not. And ours learned about Hartman only somewhere at the very end of the war, at best - from the interrogation protocol of captured German pilots. And somehow we weren’t very interested in their last names and first names. Fritz - and that's it.

E. KISELEV: Many people were hurt by this Hartman story. “Why humiliate Hartman? He’s great,” writes Yura from St. Petersburg. Well, Yura, in my opinion, no one tried to humiliate him, we’re just talking about the fact that there were different calculation methods, different tactics...

D. KHAZANOV: Different combat experience. Hartman is great. He used everything that his technique, tactics, and skill gave him.

E. KISELEV: By the way, how did his fate turn out? Did he survive the end of the war?

D. KHAZANOV: He survived. I think there were even special programs dedicated to him. He was extradited by the Americans to our country, received a sentence of 25 years, and spent a fairly long period in prison. Then he was released, returned to Germany, lived there, and died in 1993.

E. KISELEV: In Germany or in the GDR?

D. KHAZANOV: IN GERMANY.

E. KISELEV: This is how Albert appeared, cursing me: “Kiselev, you are an anti-Soviet and a vile person! You are trying to distort history. damn you!" Well, you know, in a sense, I am truly anti-Soviet, because I believe that thank God that the Soviet period of our history is over. But there were a lot of good things during this period. And, in particular, with today’s program I am trying to pay tribute to the bright pages in our history. "You forgot to mention Bountgarten, who shot down 285 planes." Well, you see, today we do not set such a task - to talk in detail about the history of German aces. We simply mentioned Pokryshkin, Kozhedub, three times Hero of the Soviet Union, who shot down 62 aircraft - the most of our aces, according to our calculation method, we repeat. He really flew on Lavochkin's planes. And in this regard, we could not help but... Moreover, we were asked these questions. “What planes did the French from the Normandie-Niemen regiment fly on? – asks Sergei from Moscow.

D. KHAZANOV: On Yakovlev’s planes. First on the Yak-1, Yak-9 planes, but they ended the war on the Yak-3, and these planes were presented to them.

E. KISELEV: My name is Evgeny Alekseevich, not Sergey Alekseevich. This is me turning to Evgenia, whose phone number is 7 962... and the end number is 15. So, Evgenia, you reproach me for spending all my time on the BBC, except for the story about Lavochkin. Well, you know, it seems to me that it would be strange to talk about something else other than aviation and space technology, because this is what Semyon Alekseevich devoted his entire life to. Well, I know that my guest today, Dmitry Borisovich Khazanov, an aviation historian, has some information, including, in my opinion, a biography written by the hand of the late Semyon Alekseevich himself. Please, Dmitry Borisovich.

D. KHAZANOV: If possible, I’ll just say a few words. Well, firstly, it seems to me that it will be interesting for you to hear what Semyon Alekseevich himself wrote. “I was born in Smolensk in 1900. At about the age of 10, our entire family, including me, moved to Roslavl, Smolensk region. My father was a teacher, my mother was a housewife. In the city of Roslavl, I first studied at the city school, then tried to enter the gymnasium. The percentage norm for Jews did not allow me to enter there, and in the year 15 I had to go to the city of Kursk to visit my relatives, where I entered the gymnasium. He graduated from it in the 17th year. Upon graduation, he returned to his family in Roslavl and voluntarily joined the Red Army the following year. First to the Red Guard, then to the Red Army. He was in its ranks almost until the end of the 20th year. In 1920, I was sent to study at the Moscow Higher Technical School. The difficult financial situation quite often distracted me from studying at the school, and I was able to graduate only in 1929. In 1927, my father died, and I got a permanent job at plant No. 22 in Moscow. From then on I started working in the aviation industry. For 16 years (and he wrote this already in 1943), I worked in different positions and in different areas. The government accepted the design of my aircraft, and since then I have continued to work on designing various types of aircraft and their modifications.” And the signature is S.A. Lavochkin. This concerns the official autobiography. He actually held positions and went from copyist to chief designer, working mainly in Moscow at the 22nd, 28th, and 39th plants. Then he was invited to plant No. 31, then the flagship of our aircraft manufacturing. Then he worked as a senior engineer in the First Head Directorate of the People's Commissariat of General Engineering. Then he was appointed chief designer of plant No. 301. And after the LaGG-3 aircraft was accepted, he became the chief designer in Gorky at plant 21 and lived there for quite a long time. Semyon Alekseevich writes that he was married, his wife was a housewife, his father was from the bourgeoisie, he worked as a teacher in Roslavl, and his mother was a housewife, also a bourgeois. He had two more brothers. But he was the eldest, so he had to drag, roughly speaking, the whole family. This concerns his biography. Yes, you said absolutely correctly - he was awarded the Stalin Prize 4 times, noted, and twice Semyon Alekseevich was a Hero of Socialist Labor. In June 1943, he was awarded this title for the success of the La-5 aircraft, and for the second time he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the Hammer and Sickle gold medal in April 1956, this time for space technology.

E. KISELEV: There are several more questions that we received on the Internet. Well, I have already managed to ask my guest today, Dmitry Borisovich Khazanov, an aviation historian, if he could somehow comment on the question that was posed to our program on the Echo of Moscow website. Inna from the Israeli city of Halona sent a question - “Could you tell us in more detail how in February 1953, aircraft designer Lavochkin, along with other prominent Soviet Jews, was forced to sign a letter calling for the resettlement of Soviet Jews to uninhabited Siberian areas as the people responsible for a fabricated conspiracy doctors allegedly committed against Stalin?” Well, you know, there really was such a letter. They were actually preparing to publish it in the Pravda newspaper. By the way, this is described in sufficient detail in Ilya Orenburg’s memoirs “People, Years, Life”, and in some other memoir sources. Yes, indeed, this is a medical fact. The end of the 40s and the beginning of the 50s is the period when, with the blessing of Stalin, an organized anti-Semitic campaign began in the country, and within the framework of this campaign there was the murder of Mikhoels, and the arrest of many prominent Jews, and the trial of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, and then the “case doctors,” and this is the letter that was being prepared. But for some reason, at the last moment, they refused to publish it, and literally a very short time later, Stalin died. The “Doctors' Case” was closed, and a lot has been said about it, there is a whole book by the historian Gennady Kostyrchenko, which, Inna, talks about it in great detail. “At least 55 years later, tell us about this” - this has already been told many times. Yes, Dmitry Borisovich.

D. KHAZANOV: I still wanted to say one thing on this issue. I will refer to the recollection of one of Lavochkin’s deputies, deputy chief designer Chernyakov, who was present at a discussion of missile issues right at the time that you just mentioned, and there was a question that the estimated weight of the missile that was planned was a new anti-aircraft missile , the starting mass is a new, unknown thing, and they thought that all this would be within a ton, but it turned out to be 3.9. The meeting was chaired by Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria, and upon learning that this was the case, he suddenly declared: “We need to urgently deal with this matter - these Jews want to ruin our country.” And the repressions began, since Semyon Alekseevich had deputies, and the director of the pilot plant was also of the wrong nationality. And with great difficulty then Semyon Alekseevich managed to defend his closest colleagues from serious repressions.

E. KISELEV: By the way, our radio listener, who signs the surname “Lavochkina”, perhaps this is a granddaughter or great-granddaughter, or maybe a daughter - sorry, I don’t know anything about Semyon Alekseevich’s relatives, - corrects us - not Yaroslavl, but Roslavl.

D. KHAZANOV: Roslavl - that’s what I said.

E. KISELEV: Very briefly. We literally have three minutes until the end of the program. Lavochkin's supersonic titanium aircraft and the reasons why it did not go into production. Only very briefly.

D. KHAZANOV: At the end of the aircraft-themed stage, Semyon Alekseevich made very good aircraft - La-200 and La-250. But at this time, the series of aircraft had already been transferred to Mikoyan - the MiG-15 - a famous page, the glory and pride of our aviation, and it was decided that these aircraft would remain as prototypes.

E. KISELEV: One more question. Strategic cruise missile, which Lavochkin was engaged in.

D. KHAZANOV: You know, after completing the aviation topic, Semyon Alekseevich focused primarily on anti-aircraft guided missiles. This was a very long period in his activity, very difficult and, unfortunately, very closed. Few people know that the complex that was created, the S-25, was based on the Lavochkin missiles. But literally only now publications began to appear, in particular, a very interesting work in Aerospace Review, which talks about this period - Serov and Fomichev. I point out to everyone that this is worthwhile work, and if you have the opportunity, read it.

E. KISELEV: We received several questions via pager regarding the “Storm” project. In a nutshell, what was this project?

D. KHAZANOV: It was a cruise missile that was supposed to to some extent - in ideas, in design - compete with the R-7 Korolev missile. But, as you know, it was the Korolev missile that was adopted for service, and preference was given to it. But in principle it is a very interesting job.

E. KISELEV: And, in fact, it was unfinished due to the death of Lavochkin, right?

D. KHAZANOV: Yes.

E. KISELEV: Last question. Unfortunately, we don't have any more time. Lavochkin's relationship with Stalin.

D. KHAZANOV: According to my information, they met four times. The first meeting, I watched, was on May 19, when the La-5 aircraft was launched into production. In October 1943, Lavochkin refused Stalin’s proposal to increase the range of the La-5 and La-7 aircraft, and, in general, he was not such a gentle person, since he allowed himself to object and argue. He said this would degrade flight performance. As further showed, he was right. And, in general, many will probably look at this person differently - soft, intelligent. Military testers said that among themselves they called him “Sheep” for such a gentle character. But nevertheless, he could defend his point of view, defend the people with whom he worked and whom he trusted. He was fully responsible for what he proposed. That is, he had exceptional qualities.

E. KISELEV: Dmitry Borisovich, thank you very much. Unfortunately, our time is up. We're already sorting through. Let me remind you that aviation historian Dmitry Borisovich Khazanov was our guest today. Today we talked about the history of our aviation, especially during the war, we talked about Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin. It was the program “Our Everything” and its host, Evgeny Kiselev. See you next Sunday.

D. KHAZANOV: Thank you, all the best.