Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev (russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Я́ковлев; 22 August 1989) was a Soviet aeronautical engineer. He designed the Yakovlev military aircraft and founded the Yakovlev Design Bureau. Yakovlev joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

in 1938.

Biography

Yakovlev was born in Moscow, where his father was an employee of the

Nobel Brothers The Petroleum Production Company Nobel Brothers, Limited, or Branobel (short for братьев Нобель "brat'yev Nobel" — "Nobel Brothers" in Russian), was an oil company set up by Ludvig Nobel and Baron Peter von Bilderling. It operated ...

oil company. From 1919 to 1921 he worked as a part-time courier while still in school, and in 1922 he built his first model airplane as part of a school project. In 1924, he built a glider, the AVF-10, which made its first flight on 24 September 1924. The design won an award, and secured him a position as a worker at the Zhukovsky Air Force Military Engineering Academy. However, his repeated attempts to gain admission to the Academy were denied due to his “lack of

proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...

origins”. In 1927, Yakovlev designed the AIR-1 ultralight aircraft. This was the first of a series of ten aircraft he designed between 1927 and 1933. In 1927, Yakovlev finally gained admittance to the Academy, and graduated in 1931. He was then assigned to the Moscow Aviation Plant No. 39, where his first design bureau of lightweight aviation was established in 1932. He became the main designer in 1935, then the chief designer (1956–1984) of aircraft for the Yakovlev Design Bureau. The Yakovlev Design Bureau developed large numbers of fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Air Force during World War II. Particularly well known are the

Yak-1 The Yakovlev Yak-1 (russian: Яковлев Як-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, ...

, Yak-3, Yak-7 and Yak-9 as well as the

Yak-6 The Yakovlev Yak-6 was a Soviet twin-engined utility aircraft, developed and built during World War II. It was used as a short-range light night bomber and a light transport. Development In April 1942, the Yakovlev design bureau was instructed t ...

transport. In 1945 Yakovlev designed one of the first Soviet aircraft with a jet engine, the

Yak-15 The Yakovlev Yak-15 (russian: Яковлев Як-15; NATO reporting name: Feather, USAF/ DOD designation Type 2) was a first-generation Soviet turbojet fighter developed by the Yakovlev design bureau (OKB) immediately after World War II. T ...

. He also designed the first Soviet all-weather interceptor, the Yak-25P, and the first Soviet supersonic bomber, the

Yak-28 The Yakovlev Yak-28 (russian: Яковлев Як-28) is a swept wing, turbojet-powered combat aircraft used by the Soviet Union. Produced initially as a tactical bomber, it was also manufactured in reconnaissance, electronic warfare, intercep ...

. In the post-war period, Yakovlev was best known for the civilian airliner, the

Yak-42 The Yakovlev Yak-42 (russian: Яковлев Як-42; NATO reporting name: "Clobber") is a 100/120-seat three-engined mid-range passenger jet developed in the mid 1970s to replace the technically obsolete Tupolev Tu-134. It was the first airli ...

, a three-engine medium-range aircraft, and numerous models for aerobatics. Yakovlev served under Joseph Stalin as a Vice-Minister of Aviation Industry between 1940 and 1946. Before the start of World War II, he made a number of trips abroad, including Italy, England and Germany, to study aircraft development in those countries. After the start of the war, he helped supervise the evacuation of aircraft factories to the east, and the organization of production, while continuing as head designer of his Bureau. He was also a correspondent-member of the USSR Academy of Science in 1943. In 1946 he was awarded the title "

General-Colonel Colonel general is a Three-star rank, three- or Four-star rank, four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade ...

of Aviation". In 1976 Yakovlev became academician of the USSR Academy of Science. He was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1946–1989). Yakovlev retired 21 August 1984. He was buried in 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.

Awards and honors

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 ...

(1940, 1957) * Lenin Prize (1972) * Stalin Prize (1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1948) * USSR State Prize 1977) * Order of Lenin (10 times) * Order of the October Revolution * Order of the Red Banner (twice) * Order of Suvorov, 1st and 2nd class, *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

of the 1st class (twice) * Order of the Red Banner of Labour *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, Officer (France) * Gold medal of the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...

Biography

Awards and honors

See also

References

Further reading