Mikhail Leontyevich Mil (russian: Михаи́л Лео́нтьевич Миль; 22 November 1909 – 31 January 1970) was a Russian

aerospace engineer 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 s ...

and

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosop ...

. He was the founder and general designer of the

Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant (russian: Московский вертолётный завод им. М.Л. Миля) is a Soviet, and later a Russian designer and producer of helicopters headquartered in Tomilino. It is a subsidiary of Russian Heli ...

.Central Museum of the Military Air Forces of the Russian Federation
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Biography

Born to a Russian family in

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is the 25th-larges ...

. His father was an employee of the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...

, and his mother was a dentist. His grandfather was a

cantonist Cantonists (Russian language: кантонисты; more properly: военные кантонисты, "military cantonists") were underage sons of conscripts in the Russian Empire. From 1721 on they were educated in special "canton schools" (К ...

who had been drafted from Libava (today

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-f ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, and who settled in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...

after 25 years in the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

. At age 12 Mil won the first prize in a model glider competition. In 1926 he entered the Siberian Technological Institute in

Tomsk Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a n ...

; however, since there was no curriculum for

aeronautical engineering 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 decided to transfer in 1928 to the Don Polytechnical Institute in

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as ...

, where he was able to specialise in aviation. He married a fellow student, P.G. Rudenko, in 1932 and 4 daughters and a son followed. After graduating from the institute in 1931, Mil began his career at

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

, too late to work under its original founder,

Nikolay Yegorovich Zhukovsky Nikolay Yegorovich Zhukovsky ( rus, Никола́й Его́рович Жуко́вский, p=ʐʊˈkofskʲɪj; – March 17, 1921) was a Russian scientist, mathematician and engineer, and a founding father of modern aero- and hydrodyna ...

. He specialised in the design of

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...

s, and was an assistant to his future rival,

Nikolay Kamov Nikolai Ilyich Kamov (russian: Никола́й Ильи́ч Ка́мов; 24 November 1973) was a Soviet aerospace engineer, a pioneer in the design of helicopters, and founder of the Kamov helicopter design bureau. Biography Kamov was bo ...

. With the start of

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Mil was drafted into the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

and fought on the Eastern Front in 1941 near

Yelnya Yelnya (russian: Ельня) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities * Yelnya, Yelninsky District, Smolensk Oblast, a town in Yelninsky District of Smolensk Oblast; administratively incorporated as Yelninskoye Ur ...

. In 1943 he was called back to continue

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

in improving the stability and control of combat aircraft. He completed his dissertations ("Candidate", 1943,

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

, 1945) and in 1947 headed the Helicopter Lab at TsAGI, which was later turned into the Moscow Helicopter Plant. Mil Mi-12 aug 2008 2

Mil's creations won many domestic and international awards and set 69 world records. Most notably, the

Mil Mi-4 The Mil Mi-4 (USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 36", NATO reporting name "Hound") is a Soviet transport helicopter that served in both military and civilian roles. Design and development The Mi-4 was designed in response to the American H-19 Chick ...

won a gold medal in the Brussels International Exhibition in 1958. In 1971, after his death, his

Mil Mi-12 The Mil V-12 (NATO reporting name: Homer), given the project number ''Izdeliye 65'' ("Item 65"), is the largest helicopter ever built. The designation "Mi-12" would have been the name for the production helicopter and was not applied to the V-12 ...

(production name of V-12 prototype) won the

Sikorsky Prize The Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition was established in 1980 by the American Helicopter Society (AHS) International. The award, the AHS Sikorsky Prize, was given for the first human powered helicopter (HPH) to meet a set of ...

as the most powerful helicopter in the world. Unlike his Soviet counterpart, Nikolai Kamov, Mil enjoyed great prestige due to his single-rotor helicopters, as Kamov used the co-axial rotor layout, which was more controversial. He died in 1970 in Moscow and was buried in Yudinskoe Cemetery in the outskirts of Moscow.

Awards and honors

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 ...

(three times) (incl. 28 July 1966) *

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

- for outstanding contributions to the development of Soviet aviation, Mikhail Leontyevich Mil was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labour and the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle Gold Medal * Lenin Prize (1958) *

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

(1968) *

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 ...

, 2nd class *

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievemen ...

, 5th class (Poland)

References

*Pederson, Jay. ''International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 24'', St James Press (1998) *Bull, Stephan. ''Encyclopedia of Military Technology and Innovation'', Greenwood (2004) *Gordon, Yefim. ''Soviet Air Power in World War II''. Midland Publishing (2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mil, Mikhail 1909 births 1970 deaths People from Irkutsk People from Irkutsk Governorate Soviet aerospace engineers Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order of Lenin Lenin Prize winners Recipients of the USSR State Prize Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Tomsk Polytechnic University alumni Russian people of Latvian descent