Aleksandr Davidovich Nadiradze ( ka, ალექსანდრე ნადირაძე, russian: Александр Давидович Надирадзе 20 August 1914 – 3 September 1987) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
of
Georgian ethnicity who was instrumental in former Soviet Union's aerospace and defense technology. He developed various missiles, bombs, shells and is considered "father" of the mobile
ICBM
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
s, having created the
RT-21 Temp 2S
The RT-21 Temp 2S was a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was assigned the NATO reporting name SS-16 Sinner and carried the industry designation 15Zh42.
The RT-21 was the first mobile ...
(SS-16),
RSD-10 Pioneer
The RSD-10 ''Pioneer'' (russian: ракета средней дальности (РСД) «Пионер» Wikipedia:Romanization of Russian, tr.: ''raketa sredney dalnosti (RSD) "Pioner"''; en, Medium-Range Missile "Pioneer") was an intermedia ...
(SS-20) and the
RT-2PM Topol
The RT-2PM Topol (russian: РТ-2ПМ Тополь ("Poplar"); NATO reporting name SS-25 Sickle; GRAU designation: 15Ж58 ("15Zh58"); START I designation: RS-12M Topol) is a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile designed in the Soviet Union a ...
(SS-25). More modern weapons such as the
RT-2PM2 Topol-M
The RT-2PM2 «Topol-M» (russian: РТ-2ПМ2 «Тополь-М», NATO reporting name: SS-27 "Sickle B", other designations: SS-27 Mod 1, RS-12M1, RS-12M2, formerly incorrectly RT-2UTTKh) is one of the most recent intercontinental ballistic missi ...
and
RS-24
The RS-24 Yars (РС-24 Ярс– ракета стратегическая (strategic missile)) - modification 24) also known as RT-24 Yars or Topol'-MR (russian: PC-24 «Ярс», NATO reporting name: SS-29 or SS-27 Mod 2) is a Russian MIRV-e ...
are mostly based on Nadiradze's work as well.
[Дважды Герой Соц.Труда Надирадзе Александр Давидович :: Герои страны](_blank)
In Russian Warheroes.ru. Retrieved on 17 December 2015.
Early life and career
Born on 20 August (or 2 September) in 1914 in the town of
Gori, Georgia, Nadiradze was raised in a teacher's family in
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
. Initially working as an assistant in a small Georgian aerospace faculty, he made his first invention in May 1934. After finishing at the Transcaucasian Industrial Institute in 1936 he moved to Moscow and applied to the
Moscow Aviation Institute
Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University) (MAI; russian: Московский авиационный институт, МАИ) is one of the major engineering institutes in Moscow, Russia. Since its inception MAI has been spearhe ...
. Two years later Nadiradze began working in the
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute
The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (also (Zhukovsky) Central Institute of Aerodynamics, russian: Центра́льный аэрогидродинами́ческий институ́т, ЦАГИ, Tsentral'nyy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut, ...
(TsAGI) in which he led a team of engineers engaged in theoretical and experimental research of aircraft landing gears based on the principles of air cushions. He was also involved in the development of the
Tupolev Tu-2
The Tupolev Tu-2 (development names ANT-58 and 103; NATO reporting name Bat) was a twin-engine Soviet high-speed daylight and frontline (SDB and FB) bomber aircraft of World War II vintage. The Tu-2 was tailored to meet a requirement for a high ...
and early Soviet turbojet fighters. In 1941 he was appointed a chief designer in the Moscow
OKB
OKB is a transliteration of the Russian initials of "" – , meaning 'experiment and design bureau'. During the Soviet era, OKBs were closed institutions working on design and prototyping of advanced technology, usually for military applications. ...
(Experimental Design Bureau) plant 22 (Gorbunov).
Missile technology
At the end of 1941 Nadiradze started his work in the field of rocket design. During the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
he developed five versions of anti-tank shells, one of which had satisfactory results. In 1945 he got appointed chief designer and chief of the bureau of the Faculty of Missile weapons Moscow Mechanical Institute of the People's Commissariat of ammunition, functioning as experienced OKB guide holding lectures on the production and designing of missiles and launchers, while simultaneously conducting research on two-stage rockets and turbojets. In 1948 the
Council of Ministers of the USSR
The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Совет министров СССР, r=Sovet Ministrov SSSR, p=sɐˈvʲet mʲɪˈnʲistrəf ɛsɛsɛˈsɛr; sometimes abbreviated to ''Sovmin'' or referred to as the '' ...
transferred the Moscow OKB institute to CB-2 Minelhozmasha and Nadiradze took command over a division which was developing unguided anti-aircraft missiles and anti-tank rockets. In 1950 he developed the Soviet anti-air missile system "Swift" and a year later the new KB-2 was incorporated into GSNII MSKHM-642, which basically merged diverse design bureaus working on cruise missiles, powder and radio-controlled bombs into one institute. In 1953 Nadiradze took charge of project "Raven". His experience was used to create the world's first high altitude meteorological rocket, development of which technically began back in 1949 at the Central Aerological Observatory Hydrometeorological Service of the USSR. The rocket was designed to deliver "instruments" into stratosphere. His involvement was of high importance since the first Soviet meteorological rocket MR-1 Meteo which was successfully launched in 1951 was also developed by Alexander Nadiradze himself. On 15 October the same year he would be tasked with the development of the so-called "Tshaika" radio-controlled bombs (UB-2000F). Tests were successfully completed in 1955 and the new weapon was accepted for service later that year. In late 1957 Moscow GSNII MSKHM-642 was combined with Reutov OKB-52 Chelomey. Nadiradze was appointed the head of
Chelomey's secret development section and in 1961 took charge of the entire OKB, while remaining a chief designer. By decision of the Soviet government and defense ministry a competition for designing a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile (
ICBM
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
) was organized and Alexander Nadiradze's team won. He became the founder of the Soviet mobile intercontinental ballistic missile forces. On 6 March 1966 the defence ministry gave order to develop a mobile solid fuel ICBM. The project was named "Temp-20" which would then become the
RT-21 Temp 2S
The RT-21 Temp 2S was a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was assigned the NATO reporting name SS-16 Sinner and carried the industry designation 15Zh42.
The RT-21 was the first mobile ...
. On 14 March 1972 testing of "Air-20" started at the state RVSN (
Plesetsk Cosmodrome) in the Arkhangelsk region. Tests were completed in December 1974. This secret launch site was under command of the fellow Georgian Lt.General
Galaktion Alpaidze
russian: Галактио́н Елисе́евич Алпаи́дзе
, birth_date =
, death_date =
, image = Galaktion Alpaidze.jpg
, imagesize =
, caption =
, birth_place = Kursebi, Russian Empire
, death_plac ...
who was in charge of the Soviet missile program and from 1975 was also a deputy director of the
Moscow Institute for Thermal Technology. On 21 February 1976 two missile regiments of Temp-20s started their combat duty in Plesetsk.
![Miss launch veh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Miss_launch_veh.jpg)
Prior to that Nadiradze had already created the
RSD-10 Pioneer
The RSD-10 ''Pioneer'' (russian: ракета средней дальности (РСД) «Пионер» Wikipedia:Romanization of Russian, tr.: ''raketa sredney dalnosti (RSD) "Pioner"''; en, Medium-Range Missile "Pioneer") was an intermedia ...
in 1971 which was based on his earlier works on the Temp-2S. Its flight tests went exceptionally well and were completed on 9 January 1976. The mobile missile complex Pioneer was adopted and started its service from 11 March of the same year. His Pioneer would become the base for the later Topol missile. For his third great achievement in Soviet missile technology Nadiradze was awarded
Hero of Socialist Labour
The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...
(Gold medal with hammer and sickle) and
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...
. He then developed a heavily improved Pioneer-UTTH (NATO's designation SS-20 Mod 2) which would deliver warheads with three 5–50
kt MIRVs. The new system was adopted by Soviet Strategic Missile Forces on 28 April 1981. On 29 December 1981 Nadiradze was elected a full member (academician) of the USSR Academy of Science in the Department of Mechanics and Control Processes (theoretical and applied mechanics, mechanical engineering and engineering science). He was also awarded second Hero of Socialist Labour and fourth Order of Lenin by Presidium of USSR Supreme Soviet. When Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Reagan signed the Intermediate to Short-Range Missiles treaty on 8 December 1987, the USSR had to destroy 728 of its Pioneer missile complexes. The
RT-2PM Topol
The RT-2PM Topol (russian: РТ-2ПМ Тополь ("Poplar"); NATO reporting name SS-25 Sickle; GRAU designation: 15Ж58 ("15Zh58"); START I designation: RS-12M Topol) is a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile designed in the Soviet Union a ...
whose development started by Nadiradze in 1977, was put into active service in 1988, and to this day remains a primary nuclear strike capability of the Russian Federation. The main challenge of the Topol project was to create a suitable battle management system, which was Nadiradze's main focus throughout the entire development. For this last project, Nadiradze received the
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
in 1987. His work was continued after his death by Boris N. Lapygin.
[Topol](_blank)
Astronautix.com. Retrieved on 17 December 2015. This last achievement in mobile ICBMs stemmed from Alexandre Nadiradze's very first inventions. He wrote over 100 articles in scientific journals and registered over 220 inventions and operating guidelines. His work would prove to be vital for subsequent developments. He principally established a scientific base for missile systems which would be used by his followers and successors.
Awards
Lenin Prize (1964)
Four times
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...
(1968, 1974, 1976, 1982)
Doctor of Technical Science (1969)
Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
(1972)
Honoured Inventor of the RSFSR (1973)
Order of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...
(1974)
Two times
Hero of Socialist Labour
The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...
(1976 and 1982)
Order of the October Revolution
The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...
(1984)
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
(1987)
In 1993 the Cosmonautics Federation of Russia and the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering
established a medal named after academician A.D Nadiradze. On the backside of the medal a mobile ICBM launcher is engraved.
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...
s in honor of A.D Nadiradze are installed in front of the main building of the same institutes.
Death
Nadiradze lived and worked in Moscow until his death on 3 September 1987. He is buried at the
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...
in Moscow (section 10). On the tombstone Nadiradze is portrayed holding a sheet of paper in his hands, conveying his zeal for inventions and his dedication to his work.
Дважды Герой Соц. Труда Надирадзе Александр Давидович :: Герои страны
Warheroes.ru. Retrieved on 17 December 2015.
References
External links
Энциклопедия «Космонавтика». Текст Мелуа А. И. 2005
* ttp://nvo.ng.ru/history/2004-09-17/5_temp.html Ударные «Темпы» конструктора Надирадзе
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadiradze, Alexander
Soviet engineers
People from Gori, Georgia
People of World War II from Georgia (country)
Russian aerospace engineers
Aircraft designers from Georgia (country)
Heroes of Socialist Labour
Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences
1987 deaths
1914 births
Russian people of Georgian descent
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute employees
Soviet inventors