![Novozhilov_Genrikh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Novozhilov_Genrikh.JPG)
Genrikh Vasilevich Novozhilov (; 27 October 1925 – 28 April 2019) was a Soviet and Russian
aircraft designer
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...
. He was a key designer of multiple
Ilyushin
The public joint stock company Ilyushin Aviation Complex, operating as Ilyushin (russian: Илью́шин) or as Ilyushin Design Bureau, is a former Soviet and now a Russian aircraft manufacturer and design bureau, founded in 1933 by Sergey Vl ...
passenger aircraft including the
Il-18,
Il-62
The Ilyushin Il-62 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-62; NATO reporting name: Classic) is a Soviet long-range narrow-body jetliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As successor to the popular turboprop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 pas ...
,
Il-76
The Ilyushin Il-76 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-76; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a commer ...
, and
Il-96
The Ilyushin Il-96 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-96) is a Russian quadjet long-haul wide-body airliner designed by Ilyushin in the former Soviet Union and manufactured by the Voronezh Aircraft Production Association in Russia. It is powered b ...
.
Family and early life
Novozhilov was born on 27 October 1925 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 ...
,
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, the son of military engineer Vasily Vasilyevich Sokolov, and his wife Iraida Ivanova Novozhilova, a
servicewoman.
The family lived near
Clean Ponds
The Clean Ponds (russian: Чистые пруды, ''Chistye Prudy''), is a large pond in Moscow, Russia, located in the Basmanny District, on the Boulevard Ring. The pond gives its name to Chistoprudny Boulevard, which runs from Turgenevskaya ...
, where one of his neighbours in the communal apartment worked in civil aviation. His parents divorced in 1937, with Novozhilov raised by his mother and attending School No. 233 V.R. Menzhinsky.
The young Novozhilov aspired to be a pilot, but in September 1939 he suffered a severe leg injury, having to undergo several operations at the .
He later recalled that "They plowed up the leg from the knee to the foot," ending his dreams of being a pilot.
He was also keen on photography, with some of his work exhibited at the 1st All-Union Children's Photo Exhibition in 1939. After the
German invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
in 1941, Novozhilov and his mother were temporarily evacuated to
Penza
Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a population of 517,311, making it the 38th-l ...
. They returned to Moscow in August 1942, where Novozhilov began work at the physics department of 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 ...
, and a year later became a student in the aircraft-construction department.
Here he first met
Sergey Ilyushin
Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin (russian: Серге́й Владимирович Илью́шин; – 9 February 1977) was a Soviet aircraft designer who founded the Ilyushin aircraft design bureau. He designed the Il-2 Shturmovik, which mad ...
when Ilyushin attended the faculty's graduation banquet. Novozhilov would later recall Ilyushin's spontaneity, and his skill at dancing and singing.
Ilyushin designer
![Air-to-air with a Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-62M (retouched)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Air-to-air_with_a_Russian_Air_Force_Ilyushin_Il-62M_%28retouched%29.jpg)
Novozhilov then began an internship at
OKB-240, the
design bureau
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 application ...
overseen by Sergey Ilyushin. He was duly enrolled as a design engineer on 1 July 1948, with a salary of 900 rubles.
He graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute in 1949 and continued to work at the bureau.
He participated in the design of the
Il-14 passenger aircraft, as well as military planes including the attack aircraft
Il-40 and the bombers
Il-46 and
Il-54.
During his early years Novozhilov specialised in fuselage design, under the tutelage of .
The Ilyushin design bureau was often in competition with the designs produced by
Tupolev
Tupolev (russian: Ту́полев, ), officially Joint Stock Company Tupolev, is a Russian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Basmanny District, Moscow.
Tupolev is successor to the Soviet Tupolev Design Bureau (OKB-156, design off ...
design bureau. Ilyushin designs that Novozhilov helped to work on at this time included the
Il-14 passenger aircraft, the two-seater attack jet
Il-40 and the bomber
Il-46.
Eventually Tupolev's rival offering, the
Tu-14, was adopted for the
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
instead of the Il-46. Novozhilov instead worked as lead engineer on the
Il-54.
The Il-54 was also cancelled by the Soviet government in the mid-1950s with only two prototypes built. By the late 1950s, with Soviet interests fixed on the
Space Race
The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the tw ...
, the Ilyushin design bureau faced closure. In 1956 Novozhilov was elected secretary of the bureau's party committee, but returned to engineering in September 1958, being tasked as appointed deputy chief designer of the passenger aircraft
Il-18, and their operation with
Aeroflot
PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
.
Novozhilov attempted to avoid the appointment, arguing that he had not been involved with building the aircraft, nor was he very familiar with their operation. Ilyushin was unconvinced.
Novozhilov therefore had to travel widely in his new capacity, as well as working with emergency commissions after accidents to determine their causes, and develop preventative measures. Novozhilov would later admit that this proved particularly useful experience for him, and was necessary for developing his design interests.
![Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-76TD at Zurich Airport in May 1985](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Aeroflot_Ilyushin_Il-76TD_at_Zurich_Airport_in_May_1985.jpg)
In 1964 Novozhilov was appointed first deputy general designer and tasked with overseeing the development and mass production of the
Il-62
The Ilyushin Il-62 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-62; NATO reporting name: Classic) is a Soviet long-range narrow-body jetliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As successor to the popular turboprop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 pas ...
. His success at this led to the award of the
Lenin Prize in early 1970 to members of the Ilyushin bureau, including Novozhilov.
On 26 April 1971 Novozhilov was awarded the title of
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 ...
after the completion of the state's
eighth five-year plan.
In mid 1970 Sergey Ilyushin, then aged 77, announced his retirement and on 28 July, in the presence of
Aviation Industry Minister , Novozhilov was named as his successor and general designer of the Moscow bureau of the "Strela" works.
On 25 March the following year the
Il-76
The Ilyushin Il-76 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-76; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a commer ...
, a military transport aircraft, began its test flights at
Khodynka Aerodrome
Khodynka (russian: links=no, Ходынский, ''Khodynskiy''), officially Frunze Central Aerodrome, often referred to as Tsentralny (), was an airport in Moscow, Russia, located northwest of the centre of the city.
History
The founding of the ...
, overseen by Novozhilov with Sergei Ilyushin in attendance.
It became the most popular passenger and military transport aircraft of the Soviet Union.
![Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-86](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Aeroflot_Ilyushin_Il-86.jpg)
Since 1969 the design bureau had been developing the first Russian wide-body passenger aircraft, the
Il-86
The Ilyushin Il-86 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-86; NATO reporting name: Camber) is a short- to medium-range wide-body jet airliner that served as the USSR's first wide-bodied aircraft. Designed and tested by the Ilyushin design bureau in th ...
. There was now great demand for long distance high capacity civil aviation, and the government had stipulated a nominal range of 2,400 kilometres.
As Novozhilov was returning from
Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
with Aviation Industry Minister Pyotr Dementyev and the
Minister of Civil Aviation Boris Bugayev
Boris Pavlovich Bugaev (Russian: Борис Павлович Бугаев; 9 July 1923 – 13 January 2007) was a Soviet military pilot and politician.
Biography
Bugaev was born in the village of Mankivka in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Repu ...
, he noted that the bureau was investigating potentially doubling the range of the Il-86. The ministers promptly made him sign to commit the new aircraft to a new stipulated range of 5,000 kilometres.
After considering developments of the IL-62 and IL-76 designs, Novozhilov and his team produced a completely new design capable of such range while carrying 350 passengers. The first testflight of the new IL-86 took place on 22 December 1976. After it was successfully concluded, Novozhilov promptly ordered another the following day, and then three further ones before the New Year.
He co-founded the
MAKS Air Show
MAKS (russian: МАКС, russian: label=short for, Международный авиационно-космический салон, Mezhdunarodnyj aviatsionno-kosmicheskij salon, "International Aviation and Space Show") is an international air ...
, and led the work on the long-haul
IL-96-300 and
Il-114 turboprop
A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller.
A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...
.
Since 2006, Novozhilov served as Chief Science Adviser to Ilyushin.
Honours and awards
![Vladimir Putin at award ceremonies (2016-03-10) 26](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Vladimir_Putin_at_award_ceremonies_%282016-03-10%29_26.JPG)
Novozhilov had been a corresponding member of the
USSR Academy of Sciences
The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...
since 15 March 1979, and on 26 December 1984 he was elected a full member for his work in the separation of mechanics and control processes.
His scientific work was related to "aerodynamic research, the reliability of complex structures, the development of fundamentally new approaches to the so-called manufacturability of the machines and mechanisms being developed".
Novozhilov held some 150 patents on various design innovations, and on 23 June 1981 he was awarded his second Hero of Socialist Labour.
Novozhilov served as a deputy of the
Supreme Soviet of the USSR
The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...
from 1974 to 1989, then as a People's Deputy of the USSR from 1989.
He became a member of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee direct ...
in 1986.
As well as his two Heroes of Socialist Labour, Novozhilov held a number of other state awards. He was awarded the
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 ...
three times, on 10 February 1969, 26 April 1971 and 23 June 1981; the
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 ...
on 27 October 1975; the
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...
on 22 July 1966; the
Order of the Badge of Honour
The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union.
It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...
on 7 December 1957; and the
Order of Friendship of Peoples
The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...
on 29 December 1992.
He also received the
Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow The Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow (russian: Орден святого благоверного князя Даниила Московского) is an award of the Russian Orthodox Church, established in 1988. There are three classes.
Hist ...
Third Class and the
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...
in all three classes.
He had married Lyudmila Ivanovna Lisina, a
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
on 23 April 1966.
The couple had a son, Sergey Genrikhovich, born in 1967, who became an aircraft engineer.
Late in life Genrikh Novozhilov listed his interests as tennis and photography.
Novozhilov died on 28 April 2019 at the age of 93.
He was buried on 7 May at the
Federal Military Memorial Cemetery
The Federal Military Memorial Cemetery (Russian: Федеральное военное мемориальное кладбище) is a national cemetery of Russia, located in Mytishchinsky District, Moscow Oblast, on the north-eastern outskirts o ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novozhilov, Genrikh
1925 births
2019 deaths
Engineers from Moscow
Aircraft designers
Ilyushin
Full Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences
Soviet aerospace engineers
Russian aerospace engineers
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Heroes of Socialist Labour
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 1st class
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class
Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples
Burials at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery