Vladimir Petlyakov
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Mikhailovich Petlyakov (15 June 1891 – 12 January 1942) was a Soviet
aeronautical engineer.
Petlyakov was born in Sambek (Don Voisko Oblast, Russian Empire
) in 1891 (currently part of the coty of Novoshakhtinsk
, Rostov Oblast
), where his father was a local official. After he and graduated from the Technical College in Taganrog
(today the "Taganrog Petlyakov Aviation College", :ru:Таганрогский авиационный колледж им. В. М. Петлякова) in 1910. he travelled to Moscow
, where he was accepted into the Moscow State Technical University; however, due to financial difficulties he was unable to complete his studies. After the Russian Revolution, he was hired to work as a technician in the aerodynamics laboratory at Moscow State Technical University under the guidance of Nikolai Zhukovsky, while resuming his studies. He gained experience as a laboratory assistant on wind tunnel
s and calculations for aircraft design. In 1922, he graduated from the same university.
In 1921-1936, Petlyakov worked at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute under the guidance of Andrei Tupolev
, where he was involved in wing design and the development of glider
s. In 1936, he became a chief aircraft designer at an aviation plant. Petlyakov was directly involved in organization and development of Soviet metal aircraft construction. In particular, Petlyakov (together with an engineer Nikolai Belyaev) elaborated methods of calculating durability of materials
and theory on designing metal wings with multiple spar
s. Petlyakov assisted in designing the first Soviet heavy bomber
s TB-1
, TB-3
(1930-1935), and a long-range high-altitude four-engine bomber, the Pe-8
(1935-1937).
However, on October 21, 1937, Petlyakov was arrested together with Tupolev and the entire directorate of the TsAGI
on trumped up charges of sabotage, espionage and of aiding the Russian Fascist Party
. Many of his colleagues were executed. In 1939, he was moved from a prison to an NKVD
sharashka
for aircraft designers near Moscow, where many ex-TsAGI people had already been sent to work. Petlyakov was tasked with designing a high-altitude fighter, which he successfully accomplished. However, operational experience in the Soviet-Finnish War
showed that this was not what the Soviet Air Force
needed, and Lavrentiy Beria
, head of the NKVD and of the sharashka told that the fighter was to be redesigned as a dive bomber
, with the promise that he and his colleagues would be released on its successful completion.
The resulting aircraft, the Pe-2
, which went into serial production
at the Kazan
Aviation Plant, proved to be one of the most successful designs of World War II
. Petlyakov was released in 1940, and was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1941. However, at Kazan, Petlyyakov faced increasing difficulties, with so many of his trained technicians and machinists conscripte dnito the Soviet military and sent to the front lines, which adversely affected the quality of production aircraft. He protested to Soviet senior leadership, and was on his way to Moscow in January 1942 (flying in a Pe-2), when he died in an air crash near Arzamas
. His grave is at the Arskoe Cemetery in Kazan.
Vladimir Petlyakov received the State Award of the USSR (1941) and was awarded two Orders of Lenin
and an Order of the Red Star
.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
aeronautical engineer.
Petlyakov was born in Sambek (Don Voisko Oblast, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
) in 1891 (currently part of the coty of Novoshakhtinsk
Novoshakhtinsk
Novoshakhtinsk is a mining city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the border with Ukraine. Population:...
, Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Southern Federal District. Rostov Oblast has an area of and a population of making it the sixth most populous federal subject in Russia...
), where his father was a local official. After he and graduated from the Technical College in Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
(today the "Taganrog Petlyakov Aviation College", :ru:Таганрогский авиационный колледж им. В. М. Петлякова) in 1910. he travelled to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where he was accepted into the Moscow State Technical University; however, due to financial difficulties he was unable to complete his studies. After the Russian Revolution, he was hired to work as a technician in the aerodynamics laboratory at Moscow State Technical University under the guidance of Nikolai Zhukovsky, while resuming his studies. He gained experience as a laboratory assistant on wind tunnel
Wind tunnel
A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
s and calculations for aircraft design. In 1922, he graduated from the same university.
In 1921-1936, Petlyakov worked at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute under the guidance of Andrei Tupolev
Andrei Tupolev
Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev was a pioneering Soviet aircraft designer.During his career, he designed and oversaw the design of more than 100 types of aircraft, some of which set 78 world records...
, where he was involved in wing design and the development of glider
Glider
Unpowered aircraft are a group of aerial vehicles that can fly without onboard propulsion. They can be classified as gliders, balloons and kites. In this instance, 'flight' means a trajectory that is not merely a vertical descent such as a parachute. In the case of kites, the flight is obtained by...
s. In 1936, he became a chief aircraft designer at an aviation plant. Petlyakov was directly involved in organization and development of Soviet metal aircraft construction. In particular, Petlyakov (together with an engineer Nikolai Belyaev) elaborated methods of calculating durability of materials
Metal Fatigue
Metal Fatigue , is a futuristic science fiction, real-time strategy computer game developed by Zono Incorporated and published by Psygnosis and TalonSoft .-Plot:...
and theory on designing metal wings with multiple spar
Spar (aviation)
In a fixed-wing aircraft, the spar is often the main structural member of the wing, running spanwise at right angles to the fuselage. The spar carries flight loads and the weight of the wings whilst on the ground...
s. Petlyakov assisted in designing the first Soviet heavy bomber
Heavy bomber
A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size and load carrying capacity, and usually the longest range.In New START, the term "heavy bomber" is used for two types of bombers:*one with a range greater than 8,000 kilometers...
s TB-1
Tupolev TB-1
-See also:-References:* Duffy, Paul and Andrei Kandalov. Tupolev: The Man and His Aircraft. Shrewsbury, UK:Airlife Publishing, 1996. ISBN 1 85310 728 X....
, TB-3
Tupolev TB-3
The Tupolev TB-3 was a heavy bomber aircraft which was deployed by the Soviet Air Force in the 1930s and during World War II. It was the world's first cantilever wing four-engine heavy bomber. Despite obsolescence and being officially withdrawn from service in 1939, TB-3 performed bomber and...
(1930-1935), and a long-range high-altitude four-engine bomber, the Pe-8
Petlyakov Pe-8
The Petlyakov Pe-8 was a Soviet heavy bomber designed before World War II, and the only four-engine bomber the USSR built during the war. Produced in limited numbers, it was used to bomb Berlin in August 1941. It was also used for so-called "morale raids" designed to raise the spirit of the Soviet...
(1935-1937).
However, on October 21, 1937, Petlyakov was arrested together with Tupolev and the entire directorate of the TsAGI
TsAGI
TsAGI is a transliteration of the Russian abbreviation for Центра́льный аэрогидродинами́ческий институ́т or "Tsentralniy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut", the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute....
on trumped up charges of sabotage, espionage and of aiding the Russian Fascist Party
Russian Fascist Party
The Russian Fascist Party , sometimes called the All-Russian Fascist Party, was a minor Russian emigre movement that was based in Manchukuo during the 1930s and 1940s....
. Many of his colleagues were executed. In 1939, he was moved from a prison to an NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
sharashka
Sharashka
Sharashka was an informal name for secret research and development laboratories in the Soviet Gulag labor camp system...
for aircraft designers near Moscow, where many ex-TsAGI people had already been sent to work. Petlyakov was tasked with designing a high-altitude fighter, which he successfully accomplished. However, operational experience in the Soviet-Finnish War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
showed that this was not what the Soviet Air Force
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
needed, and Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria was a Georgian Soviet politician and state security administrator, chief of the Soviet security and secret police apparatus under Joseph Stalin during World War II, and Deputy Premier in the postwar years ....
, head of the NKVD and of the sharashka told that the fighter was to be redesigned as a dive bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
, with the promise that he and his colleagues would be released on its successful completion.
The resulting aircraft, the Pe-2
Petlyakov Pe-2
The Petlyakov Pe-2 was a Soviet dive bomber aircraft used during World War II. It was regarded as one of the best ground attack aircraft of the war and it was extremely successful in the roles of heavy fighter, reconnaissance and night fighter...
, which went into serial production
Mass production
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
at the Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
Aviation Plant, proved to be one of the most successful designs of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Petlyakov was released in 1940, and was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1941. However, at Kazan, Petlyyakov faced increasing difficulties, with so many of his trained technicians and machinists conscripte dnito the Soviet military and sent to the front lines, which adversely affected the quality of production aircraft. He protested to Soviet senior leadership, and was on his way to Moscow in January 1942 (flying in a Pe-2), when he died in an air crash near Arzamas
Arzamas
Arzamas is a city in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Tyosha River , east of Moscow. Population: -History:Arzamas was founded in 1578 by Ivan the Terrible in the lands populated at the time by the Mordvin people...
. His grave is at the Arskoe Cemetery in Kazan.
Vladimir Petlyakov received the State Award of the USSR (1941) and was awarded two Orders of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
and an Order of the Red Star
Order of the Red Star
Established on 6 April 1930, the Order of the Red Star was an order of the Soviet Union, given to Red Army and Soviet Navy personnel for "exceptional service in the cause of the defense of the Soviet Union in both war and peace". It was established by Resolution of the Presidium of the CEC of the...
.