Mikhail Mikhailovich Gromov (russian: link=no, Михаи́л Миха́йлович Гро́мов; – 22 January 1985) was a Russian and Soviet military aviator,

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

, and

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

Early life

Gromov's father, Mikhail Konstantinovich Gromov, was of noble

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...

and served as military medic. His mother, Lyubov Ignatyevna Andreeva, was from peasant family and received training as an obstetrician. Gromov spent his childhood in Kaluga, Rzhev, Myza-Raevo (near Moscow). He graduated from Voskresensky Real School in Moscow, and went on to study at the IMTS from 1916 to 1917. In 1917, Gromov graduated from aviation theoretical courses at IMTS and started his army service.

Career

Institutional positions

Upon graduation, Gromov served as a

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

and military

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

. In 1923, he won the Soviet championship in weightlifting. In 1925, he started working as a

for the Air Force Research Institute testing the planes designed by

Andrei Tupolev Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev (russian: Андрей Николаевич Туполев; – 23 December 1972) was a Russian and later Soviet aeronautical engineer known for his pioneering aircraft designs as Director of the Tupolev Design ...

and

Nikolai Polikarpov Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov (russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Полика́рпов; – 30 July 1944) was a Soviet aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer, known as the "King of Fighters". He designed the I-15 series of ...

. From 1930 to 1941, Gromov then worked at the

Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (also (Zhukovsky) Central Institute of Aerodynamics, russian: Центра́льный аэрогидродинами́ческий институ́т, ЦАГИ, Tsentral'nyy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut, ...

and became chief-pilot. From March to August 1941, Gromov was the first director of the Flight Research Institute, a flight research and testing centre in Zhukovsky. The name of M. M. Gromov was awarded to the institute in 1991 to celebrate the Institute's 50th anniversary. After the war, Gromov was deputy commander of the

Long-Range Aviation Long-Range Aviation ( rus, Авиация Дальнего Действия, r=Aviatsiya dal'nego deystviya, abbr. to AДД, or ADD, and literally ''Aviation of Distant Action'') is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces responsible for deliv ...

from 1946 to 1949. Later, till 1955, he was head of Department of flight service of Ministry of Aviation Industry. In 1955 he was discharged. From 1937 to 1946, Gromov was 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 ...

(1st convocation). In late 1940, he initiated the establishment of the

Fedotov Test Pilot School The Fedotov Test Pilot School or FTPS (''russian: link=no, Школа лётчиков-испытателей имени А. В. Федотова or russian: link=no, ШЛИ'') is one of two test pilot schools in Russia (the other one ...

Testing history

Gromov was involved in extensive testing and promotion of Russian airplanes throughout Europe and Asia. For example, from June to September 1925, Gromov flew the

Polikarpov R-1 The Airco DH.9A was a British single-engined light bomber designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. It was a development of the unsuccessful Airco DH.9 bomber, featuring a strengthened structure and, crucially, repl ...

in the long-haul group flight of nine aeroplanes on the route

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 ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. A year later, in 1926, Gromov completed a European promotional flight in a

Tupolev ANT-3 The ANT-3 was a Soviet all-metal aircraft designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau. Tupolev acquired much experience in building his first two aircraft, later using his experience to construct the ANT-3. By this time, Soviet Air Force leaders were c ...

on the route

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. Notably, on 25 April 1927, he made the first Soviet

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

jump out of a

Polikarpov I-1 The Polikarpov I-1 was the first indigenous Soviet monoplane fighter. It had to be redesigned after the crash of the first prototype, and was eventually ordered into production in small numbers, but it was never accepted for service with the Sov ...

in a testing that involved the plane having entered into an unrecoverable spin. From 10 to 12 September 1934, Gromov, A. I. Filin, and I. T. Spirin made a record closed-circle non-stop flight on the route

Ryazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census ...

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

in a

Tupolev ANT-25 The Tupolev ANT-25 was a Soviet long-range experimental aircraft which was also tried as a bomber. First constructed in 1933, it was used by the Soviet Union for a number of record-breaking flights. Development The ANT-25 was designed as the r ...

, flying in 75 hours. Gromov was subsequently awarded the title of

for this feat. In July 1937, Gromov,

Andrey Yumashev Andrey Borisovich Yumashev (russian: Андрей Борисович Юмашев; 20 May 1988) was the co-pilot of the historic Moscow-North Pole-San Jacinto flight, for which he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union in 1937. Before t ...

, and Sergey Danilin a new non-stop flight distance record of from Moscow to San Jacinto, California, via the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

in a

Service in World War II

During

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 ...

, Gromov took command of several units: * From December 1941 to February 1942, Gromov was commander of 31st Mixed Aviation Division (

Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front of World War II, named for the city of Kalinin. It was formally established by Stavka directive on 17 October 1941 and allocated three armies: 22nd, 29th Army a ...

). *From February to May 1942, he was commander of the Air Force of Kalinin Front. *From May 1942 to May 1943, he took command of the 3rd Air Army. *From May 1943 to June 1944, he was commander of the 1st Air Army. *From 1944 to 1946, Gromov was head of the Main Department of combat training of frontline aviation of the Air Force.

Miscellaneous

From 1959 to 1961, Gromov headed the Weightlifting Federation of USSR. Gromov used his influence and renown to attain reconsideration of

Sergei Korolev Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (russian: Сергей Павлович Королёв, Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov, sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ kərɐˈlʲɵf, Ru-Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.ogg; ukr, Сергій Павлович Корольов, ...

's case, which resulted in Korolev's transfer from the prison camp at

Kolyma Kolyma (russian: Колыма́, ) is a region located in the Russian Far East. It is bounded to the north by the East Siberian Sea and the Arctic Ocean, and by the Sea of Okhotsk to the south. The region gets its name from the Kolyma River an ...

to TsKB-29. Gromov lived in Moscow. Gromov's wife, Nina Georgievna Gromova (1922–2019), was an

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

sportswoman. Gromov died on January 22 1985 in Moscow. He is buried at Novodevichy Cemetery.

Commemorations

Monuments

File:Бюст М.М. Громова, п. Чкаловский.jpg, Monument in

Shchyolkovo Shchyolkovo ( rus, Щёлково, p=ˈɕːɵlkəvə) is a city and the administrative center of Shchyolkovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River ( Oka's tributary), northeast of Moscow. Population: 112,865 ( 200 ...

near Chkalovsky, Russia File:Hangar 1 + Gromov.jpg, Mikhail Gromov

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 ...

on the

Gromov Flight Research Institute The Gromov Flight Research Institute or GFRI for short (russian: link=no, Лётно-исследовательский институт имени М. М. Громова, russian: link=no, ЛИИ) is an important Russian State Researc ...

hangar 1

In philately

File:1938 CPA 599-601.jpg, Danilin, Gromov and Yumashev on the USSR postage stamps (1937) File:Russian post cover on M. M. Gromov 100-years anniversary in 1999.jpg, Russian post envelope with commemorative stamp on M. M. Gromov 100-years anniversary (1999)

In phaleristics

The Gromov Medal was established in March 2011 by the

as a highest corporate award in memory of the founder of the institute. File:Gromov Medal.png, Obverse File:Медаль Громова - Gromov Medal 2.jpg, Reverse

References

External links

Biography
on the old and frozen LII website * Громов, Михаил Михайлович // Большая Советская Энциклопедия. / под ред. А. М. Прохорова. 3-е изд. том 7. М., «Советская энциклопедия», 1972 * S. P. Korolev. Encyclopedia of life and creativity / Editor C. A. Lopota, RSC Energia, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gromov, Mikhail 1899 births 1985 deaths Russian aviators Soviet World War II pilots Heroes of the Soviet Union Soviet colonel generals Soviet Air Force generals Soviet test pilots Russian aviation record holders Soviet aviation record holders Flight distance record holders Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Gromov Flight Research Institute employees Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute employees People from Tver People from Tver Governorate Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery