Sergey Alekseevich Ulyanin (russian: Серге́й Алексе́евич Улья́нин, ( 1871,
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 ...
— 13 October 1921,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
) was a
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
designer 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 ...
, a pioneer of military use of
aerial photography
Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography.
Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing aircra ...
and commander of the Russian Air Force in 1917-1918.
Life
Born into a family of gentry of the
Moscow Governorate
Moscow Governorate (russian: Московская губерния; pre-reform Russian: ), or the Government of Moscow, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR, which ...
. He spoke English, French, German, studied Spanish and Esperanto. Ulyanin graduated from the 2nd Moscow
Cadet Corps
A corps of cadets, also called cadet corps, was originally a kind of military school for boys. Initially such schools admitted only sons of the nobility or gentry, but in time many of the schools were opened also to members of other social classes. ...
named after Nicholas I. In 1894 he finished 3rd Alexander Military school becoming an infantry
podporuchik
''Podporuchik'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, потпоручник, potporučnik, cs, podporučík, pl, podporucznik, russian: подпору́чик, bg, подпоручик, sk, podporučík) is the most Junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, an ...
.
In 1895 he started his aviation career after studying at the Aeronautical Training Park in St. Petersburg and appointment to the aeronautical detachment of the Warsaw fortress, which he went on to command in 1905. In the same year 1895 Ouilanine started designing
man-lifting kite
A man-lifting kite is a kite designed to lift a person from the ground. Historically, man-lifting kites have been used chiefly for reconnaissance. Interest in their development declined with the advent of powered flight at the beginning of the 20 ...
s to be used for military observation. A “kite train” of 7 to 10 conjoined kites of his design could lift four people.
In 1904 Ulyanin started research in remote control of aircraft, ships and land vehicles (in 1910 he patented a technology of remote control and in October 1915 a radio-controlled boat of his construction sailed from
Kronstadt
Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for "crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of ...
to
Peterhof).
In 1908, he was granted a patent for a photo camera for automatic recording of photogrammetric data (in use until 1920s).
In 1909, Ulyanin designed a two-engine airplane with a combination of three planes.
In 1910, Sergey Ulyanin became one of seven Russian officers sent to France to train as an airplane pilot. On 9 August 1910 he was fourth Russian soldier and eighth Russian to obtain a pilot’s license in France (number 181).
In early 1910
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Sergey Ulyanin joins the brothers Vladimir and Alexander Lebedev to create PTA (St. Petersburg Aviation Partnership) which received a government contract to design a "foldable plane" that could be assembled within 2 hours. The reconnaissance plane PTA-1 was completed on 26 January 1911. It was based on
Farman III
The Farman III, also known as the Henry Farman 1909 biplane, was an early French aircraft designed and built by Henry Farman[nacelle
A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...]
for the pilot and the observer. The aircraft received a prize at the St. Petersburg aeronautics exhibition of 1911.
![Биплан ПТА № 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD_%D0%9F%D0%A2%D0%90_%E2%84%96_1.jpeg)
* 1911 — appointed chief of Aviation section of the Officers Aeronautics School.
In 1912 he elaborated the terms of a competition of devices for dropping bombs from airplanes and balloons.
![Ulyanin Sergey Alekseevich (5)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Ulyanin_Sergey_Alekseevich_%285%29.jpg)
* 5 October 1913 — promoted to the rank of
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
.
* 18 August 1914 — first director of the Military aviation school in
Gatchina
The town of Gatchina ( rus, Га́тчина, , ˈɡatːɕɪnə, links=y) serves as the administrative center of the Gatchinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies south-south-west of St. Petersburg, along the E95 highway which ...
.
* 1915 — granted patent for the invention of a
gyroscope
A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rota ...
.
* 1915 — appointed head of Procurement Commission for aviation and aeronautics materiel.
![Ulyanin Sergey Alekseevich (3)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Ulyanin_Sergey_Alekseevich_%283%29.jpg)
* 7 March 1916 — appointed to the position of
Major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
at the Military aviation school.
* 1916 — granted UK patent for high sensibility electric
relay
A relay
Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts
An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off
A relay is an electrically operated switch ...
.
* 22 August 1916 — Deputy Head of the Directorate of Air Force.
* 19 April 1917 — appointed first Chief of the Field Directorate of aviation and aeronautics at the Commander-in-Chief’s headquarters.
* 9 June 1917 — appointed Deputy Head of the Directorate of Air Force responsible for training.
* Autumn 1917 — Head of the Directorate of Air Force.
* March 1918 — sent abroad to liquidate the means of the Procurement Commission and organize a new Aviation Information Mission in UK, Italy and France. Emigration to Britain. His patents were assessed by the
Royal Navy's D.C.B. Section.
He died on 13 October 1921 in London. Buried in
Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries
Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries (also known as Ladywell and Brockley Cemetery) were opened within one month of each other in 1858 and are sited on adjacent plots of previously open land. The two component parts are characteristic examples of the ...
.
Awards
''Russian''
*
Order of Saint Stanislaus (House of Romanov)
pl, Order św. Stanisława
, image =
, caption =
, image2 =
, caption2 = Ribbon of the order
, awarded_by = Head of the House of Romanov
, type = Dynastic order of knighthood
, motto ...
3rd class in 1899
*
Order of Saint Anna
The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hol ...
3rd class in 1905, 2nd class in 1910
*
Order of Saint Vladimir
The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...
(4th class in 1913, 3rd class in 1915)
* His Imperial Majesty’s gratitude for exemplary service and performing special tasks in war circumstances (6 December 1916)
* Medal “In memory of the reign of the Emperor Alexander III”
* Medal “In memory of the 300th Anniversary of Romanov Dynasty, 1613-1913”
''Foreign''
*
Legion of Honour
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.
Family
Son of a land owner in the village of Staraya Sitnya, Moscow Governorate Aleksey Ulyanin (1817—1879). One of his siblings was Nikolay Ulyanin (1850—1907), Engineer Major general, chief of the Central Asian Railway, killed in a terrorist attack during the revolution of 1905-1907.
Sergey Ulyanin was married twice. His first wife (1900) was Maria Mitrofanovna von Meyer (1878—1943), daughter of a nobleman, engineer Mitrofan von Meyer. Two children (Ludmila (1901—1977) and Irina (1906—1945) were born in this marriage. His second wife was Ludmila Mikhaylovna Martynova (1890—1970), daughter of the doctor Mikhail Martynov. The children born in this marriage were:
* Nina (1915—2008) — a designer, married to Henri G. Lejet.
* Marina (1919—2001) — a translator.
* Alexis (1920—2007) — British Army Major
Patents and articles
* Привилегия № 16266 Россия. Фотографический аппарат для автоматической записи фотограмметрических данных // С. А. Ульянин (Россия). — № 35392. Заявл. 31.03.08; Опубл. 30.11.09. 3 с.: илл. Группа V1;
* Привилегия № 19222 Россия. Прибор для вычерчивания кривой линии / С. А. Ульянин (Россия). № 42622; Заявл. 19.02.10; Опубл. 27.09.11. — 5 с.: илл. — Группа V/VI;
* Охранительное свидетельство № 42800 Россия. Складной разборный змей // С. А. Ульянин (Россия). Заявл. 04.03.10;
* Охранительное свидетельство № 42806 Россия. Парусная каретка, служащая для управления с земли или автоматического подъёма и спуска фотографических аппаратов и иных приборов / С. А. Ульянин (Россия). Заявл. 04.03.10;
* Привилегия № 29425 Россия. Гироскоп / С. А. Ульянин (Россия). — № 68091; Заявл. 30.11.15; Опубл. 20.07.17. — 3 с.: илл. — Класс 42с;
* Привилегия № 29275 Россия. Разборная палатка для аэропланов / С. А. Ульянин (Россия). — № 57239; Заявл. 26.03.13; Опубл. 29.04.17. — 2 с.: илл. — Класс 62с;
* Patent 110569. England. MKI. Improvements in or relating to Electric Relays / Serge Ulyanin (Russia);
* HASELNINE Co (England, USA) № 14957/16; Заявл. 20.10.16; Опубл. 22.10.17. — 3 л.: илл;
* Прибор для воображаемой стрельбы при пособии тиражных чисел // Артиллерийский журнал. — 1899. № 7. — СПб. — С. 663—672.: илл. 9.
* Описание фотограмметрического аппарата и таблиц Ульянина — Изд. ГИУ, 1909; Новости по авиации // Записки Императорского Русского Технического Общества. —1912, вып. 10. — С. 344;
* Проект способа оценки аэропланов на военном конкурсе // Техника воздухоплавания. — 1912. № 4. — С. 213—216, 232;
* Метод оценки аэропланов // Записки Императорского Русского Технического Общества. 1913. № 8-9. — С.235 — 236;
* Современный военный флот. — Пг. — Изд. Семёнова, 1914. — 26 с.: илл.
References
* Изобретатель Сергей Ульянин // Естественные и технические Науки, № 4 (7), 2003. — С. 118—123, (История науки и техники).
*
*
* ''Турьян В. А.'' О возможных лётно-технических характеристиках двухмоторного самолёта, изобретённого С. А. Ульяниным в 1909 году // Доклад на заседании секции История авиации и космонавтики Национального комитета РАН по истории науки и техники 21.12.1992.
* ''Турьян В. А.'' Полёты полковника Ульянина // Воздушный флот, 07/2004 (154).
* ''Турьян В. А.'' У истоков практической аэродинамики // Актуальные проблемы современной науки, № 5, 2003.
* ''Ульянин '' Анализ конструкторской деятельности С. А. Ульянина // Из истории авиации и космонавтики. Национальное объединение историков естествознания и техники.
АН СССР. Вып. 60, 1990.
* ''Ульянин Ю. А.'' Организаторская, популяризаторская и просветительская деятельность пионера русской авиации С. А. Ульянина // Из истории авиации и космонавтики. Вып. 65, 1994; Ульянин Ю. А. Ульянин С. А. // Авиация. Энциклопедия. , 1994.
* Секция «История авиации».
* ''Ульянин Ю. А.'' Потомки Московских бояр Ульяниных // Материалы Юбилейной научно-общественной конференции «Первые московские градоначальники и московское боярство: традиции и современность». : «Пресс-Соло», 1998.
* ''Ульянин Ю. А.'' Сергей Алексеевич Ульянин. Труды о жизни и деятельности. : Компания Спутник +, 2005.
* ''Ульянин Ю. А.'' С. А. Ульянин — пионер русской авиации // Труды научных чтений, посвящённых памяти И. И. Сикорского — Moscow-, 25—29 мая 1999. Секция «История авиации».
* ''Ученики С. А. Ульянина'' // Труды научных чтений, посвящённых памяти И. И. Сикорского — Moscow—, 25—29 мая 1999. Секция «История авиации».
* Секция «История авиации».
External links
The day Tsar Nicholas II met Brockley aviatorLet's go fly a kite - and put a camera on it, tooGrave in Ladywell Cemetery*
Conquerors of the Russian skies (in Russian)*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oulianine, Sergey
1871 births
1921 deaths
Engineers from Moscow
People from Moskovsky Uyezd
Russian nobility
Russian aviators
Aircraft designers
Aviation inventors
Aerial reconnaissance pioneers
Russian military personnel of World War I
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom
Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class
Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class
Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class
Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class
Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Military personnel from Moscow