Alexander Emmanuilovich Nudelman ( rus, Александр Эммануилович Нудельман; 21 August 1912 in
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
– 2 August 1996 in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
) 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, ...
weapon
A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...
designer and researcher. Numerous weapon systems were created under his direction. Nudelman made special contributions to the development of aircraft-mounted weapons as well as unguided
rockets
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
and anti-tank guided
missile
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...
s. He was awarded the
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 ...
twice.
Life and career
Alexander Nudelman was born on August 21 (
O.S. August 8), 1912 in
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
model carpenter, Emmanuil Abramovich Nudelman (1877-1945), head of a local mechanical shop, and Ester Isaakovny Nudelman (née Steinman, 1879-1960). After graduating from technical college in
1929
This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
, he worked in the designer's office and at the Odessa Industrial Institute/Odessa Polytechnic Institute, then at the
OKB-16
The JSC Precision Engineering Design Bureau named after A. E. Nudelman (russian: Конструкторское бюро точного машиностроения им. А. Э. Нудельмана, Konstruktorskoye Byuro Tochnogo Mashinostroeni ...
design bureau under
Yakov Taubin
Yakov Grigoryevich Taubin (russian: Яков Григорьевич Таубин; 1900 – 28 October 1941) was a Soviet weapons designer. He is best known for creating the first successful automatic grenade launcher. He also designed a prototype ...
. He became director and main designer of the OKB in 1942, consultant to the Ministry of Corporate Defense of the USSR in 1987, and research consultant in
KB Tochmash
The JSC Precision Engineering Design Bureau named after A. E. Nudelman (russian: Конструкторское бюро точного машиностроения им. А. Э. Нудельмана, Konstruktorskoye Byuro Tochnogo Mashinostroeni ...
in 1991. In 1962, he defended his
thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
in which he developed principles of construction of, and design solutions to, a new generation of
autocannons
An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...
.
Nudelman closely worked with Professor Leonid Linnik, head of the laboratory of optical quantum generators of the
Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy
The Filatov Institute is a research institute and a large ophthalmology (eye) hospital in Odesa, Ukraine. It was founded by Vladimir Filatov, an academic ophthalmologist. Its mission is the study of eye diseases and injuries, the training of opht ...
, where experimental and clinical approbation of the first laser devices of the USSR, developed at OKB-16, took place. With the collaboration, the first medical laser treatment was carried out by Linnik in 1963.
After retiring in 1987, Nudelman continued to work as a consultant to KB Tochmash, becoming a consultant to the Ministry of Corporate Defense of the USSR at that time.
Nudelman worked and lived in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, died on August 2, 1996, and was buried with military honours in the
Kuntsevo Cemetery
The Kuntsevo Cemetery (russian: Ку́нцевское кла́дбище, kúntsevkoye kládbishche) is a cemetery servicing Kuntsevo, Moscow. It is located on the bank of the Setun River, to the south of the Mozhaisk Highway (the continuation o ...
.
Some weapons Nudelman designed include the
NS-37
The Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 (russian: Нудельман - Суранов НС-37) was a aircraft cannon, which replaced the unreliable Shpitalny Sh-37 gun. Large caliber was planned to allow destruction of both ground targets (including armoure ...
,
NS-23,
N-37,
NS-45
The Nudelman-Suranov NS-45 was an enlarged version of the Soviet Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 aircraft autocannon. It was evaluated for service on 44 Yakovlev Yak-9K aircraft during World War II, but proved to stress the airframes too much. The NS-45 w ...
, N-57, NS-76,
NR-23
The Nudelman-Richter NR-23 is a Soviet autocannon widely used in military aircraft of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact. It was designed by A. E. Nudelman and A. A. Richter to replace the wartime Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 and Volkov-Yartsev VYa-23, ...
,
NR-30
The Nudelman-Rikhter NR-30 was a Soviet autocannon widely used in military aircraft of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact. It was designed by A.E. Nudelman and A. A. Rikhter, entering service in 1954.
Description
Prior to the introduction of the ...
autocannons,
S-5,
S-8,
S-25 rockets, the
3M11 Falanga
The 3M11 ''Fleyta'' (flute, NATO reporting name AT-2 ''Swatter'') is a Soviet MCLOS radio command anti-tank missile. Various improved versions were designated 9M17 ''Falanga''
Development
The missile was developed by the Nudelman OKB-16 design ...
missile and its variants, the
9K112 Kobra
The 9K112 Kobra (NATO reporting name: AT-8 Songster) is a SACLOS anti-tank missile system of the Soviet Union. It is fired from the 125 mm main guns of the T-64 and T-80 series of tanks. A newer design based on the same concept is the 9M119 ( ...
, the
Strela-1,
9K35 Strela-10
The 9K35 ''Strela-10'' (russian: 9К35 «Стрела-10»; en, arrow) is a Soviet highly mobile, short-range surface-to-air missile system. It is visually aimed, and utilizes optical/ infrared-guidance. The system is primarily intended to engag ...
, the OK-1 and OK-2 medical lasers, among others.
External links
Борьба за превосходство в воздухе — Журнал «Братишка»
Люди, Конструкторы оружия, НУДЕЛЬМАН Александр Эммануилович
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nudelman, Alexander
1912 births
1996 deaths
Firearm designers
Russian Jews
Soviet inventors
Soviet engineers
Stalin Prize winners
Weapons scientists and engineers
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Soviet Jews
Heroes of Socialist Labour