Viktor Nikolayevich Belyaev (28 March 1896 — 25 July 1953) was a Soviet aircraft designer, former head of the OKB-4, and the founder of the science of the strength of aircraft structures in the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
.Frolov V.M. 90 years since the birth of V.N. Belyaev // From the history of aviation and astronautics. M., 1986. Ed. 64. P.26.
Biography
Viktor Belyaev was born in the family of Nikolai Vasilievich Belyaev, an engineer and founder of the Upper Volga railway.Savelov L.M. Pedigree book of the nobility of the Moscow province. Vol.1. Moscow, 1913. P.208. Before the
revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
, he studied mathematics at the
Moscow State University
Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...
. After the revolution, he managed to continue his studies for short periods of time at the Moscow Polytechnic Institute (1920-1922) and at the 1st Moscow State University (1922-1923).Frolov V.M. 90 years since the birth of V.N. Belyaev // From the history of aviation and astronautics. M., 1986. Ed. 64. P.20.
He began his career in 1918. For some time he worked at a number of enterprises, including the railway and teaching, but in 1925 he began to work in the aviation industry as a strength engineer in the design bureau of Dmitry Grigorovich.
In 1926 he transferred to
TsAGI
The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (also (Zhukovsky) Central Institute of Aerodynamics, , TsAGI) is a Russian national research centre for aviation. It was founded in Moscow by Russian aviation pioneer Nikolai Yegorovich Zhukovsky on Decemb ...
, to the design office of
Andrei Tupolev
Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev (; – 23 December 1972) was a Russian and later Soviet aeronautical engineer known for his pioneering aircraft designs as the director of the Tupolev Design Bureau.
Tupolev was an early pioneer of aeronautics i ...
in the brigade of
Vladimir Petlyakov
Vladimir Mikhailovich Petlyakov (; 15 June 1891 – 12 January 1942) was a Soviet aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer.
Petlyakov was born in 1891 in Sambek, Don Host Oblast, Russian Empire (now Neklinovsky District, Rostov Oblast), wher ...
, where he participated in the strength calculations of the
ANT-6
The Tupolev TB-3, OKB designation ANT-6, was a monoplane heavy bomber deployed by the Soviet Air Force in the 1930s and used during the early years of World War II. It was one of the world's first Cantilever#Aircraft, cantilever wing four-engin ...
ANT-20
The Tupolev ANT-20 ''Maxim Gorky'' (, sometimes romanized as ''Maksim Gorki'') was a Soviet eight-engine aircraft, the largest in the world during the 1930s. Its wingspan was similar to that of a modern Boeing 747, and was not exceeded until the ...
aircraft. Soon the Petlyakov team was transformed into a separate design bureau from 1931 where Belyaev took the post of chief of the settlement brigade. In 1930, Viktor Belyaev began to work part-time as a researcher in the strength department of TsAGI. In the early 1930s, Belyaev created the BP-2 (TsAGI-2) glider, a prototype of an unusual aircraft he had conceived. In August 1934, on a glider rally in
Koktebel
Koktebel ( Ukrainian and , , in 1945–1992 known as ''Planerskoye'', ) is an urban-type settlement and one of the most popular resort townlets in southeastern Crimea. Koktebel is situated on the shore of the Black Sea about halfway between Feo ...
, the flights of this glider showed excellent flight qualities.
In 1935, Viktor Nikolaevich consolidated his success by creating a record-breaking glider BP-3, which made its first flight on June 18, 1935. The aerodynamic quality of the glider was very high at 33 units. There is unconfirmed information about the construction of several BP-3 in the workshops of the school of sea pilots in the city of
Yeysk
Yeysk () is a port and a resort town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the shore of the Taganrog Gulf of the Sea of Azov. The town is built primarily on the Yeysk Spit, which separates the Yeya River from the Sea of Azov. Population:
...
.
In 1935, a competition for high-speed transport aircraft was announced by the Aviation All-Union Scientific Engineering and Technical Society (AviaVNITO) and the newspaper “At the Wheel”. Viktor Belyaev's design team introduced a model of a twin-engine and two-body aircraft with an interesting pattern, called AviaVNITO-3. The project sparked great interest, and was among the winners of the competition and was recommended for construction, but in the end, none of the competing aircraft were built. In 1937, the design team began developing a bomber on the basis of the AviaVNITO-3 project. In 1939, Viktor Belyaev was appointed one of the chief designers of the TsAGI plant. In July 1940, he was awarded the degree of chief designer of the third category, together with the aircraft designers
Artem Mikoyan
Artem (Artyom) Ivanovich Mikoyan (; ; – 9 December 1970) was a Soviet Armenian aircraft designer, who cofounded the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau along with Mikhail Gurevich.
Early life and career
Mikoyan was born in the village of Sana ...
, Mikhail Gurevich, Nikolai Kamov et al.
After returning from evacuation in 1943 and until his death, Viktor Belyaev worked at TsAGI. In 1940, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences without defending a thesis, and in 1946 the title of professor.
Awards
*
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...
(1931, 1945)
Aircraft
* BP-2 (TsAGI-2)BP-2 (TsAGI-2) http://www.airwar.ru/enc/glider/bp2.html
* BP-3
Record glider of a tailless scheme with a backward swept wing with a central part in the form of a “seagull”. The first flight was made on July 18, 1935. According to unconfirmed data, several BP-3s were built in the workshops of the school of sea pilots in the town of Yeisk.
BP-3 characteristics:
• Crew — 2 people.
• Wingspan — 20 m.
• Empty weight — 400 kg.
• Aerodynamic quality — 33:1.
* UK-1А
Experimental aircraft with "flex wing".
* EON
Experimental single fighter.
* DB-LK
Long-range bomber - flying wing.
The Beljajew DB-LK was built and flew satisfactorily in 1939 and in 1940 it was presented to the public during the Moscow parade over the
Red Square
Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...
. Only one was built, and it was destroyed by the Soviet authorities due to the WWII.
Family
His father, Nikolai Vasilievich Belyaev was the founder and chairman of the Society of the Upper Volga Railway. His mother, Alexandra Alexandrovna,, came from the Alekseev, which was a family of merchants. She ended up emigrating to Nice. His older brothers and sister also emigrated after the revolution: Alexander (1891-1977) to
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, Nikolay (1892-1969) to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and Ksenia (1894-1985) to
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million (brothers Alexey (1897 -?), Lev (1899 -?), David (1901-?) remained in the
USSR
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
Soviet Air Forces
The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...
Bibliography
* Aviation and time, No. 4, 2008. Article of M. Maslov, Professor Belyaev's Mechanical Birds. http://www.k2x2.info/transport_i_aviacija/aviacija_i_vremja_2008_04/p9.php (ru)
* Encyclopedia "Aviation". - M .:The Great Russian Encyclopedia. Svishchev G. G. 1998. (ru)
* Yelenevsky G.S. V.N. Belyaev (1896–1953) // Strength of aircraft. M., 1967. P. 3–11. (ru)
* Kutyinov V.F., Lyakhovenko I.A. To the 100th anniversary of the birth of V.N. Belyaev // Air fleet equipment. 1996. No. 5-6. Pp. 59–62. (ru)
* Frolov V.M. 90 years since the birth of V.N. Belyaev // From the history of aviation and astronautics. M., 1986. Ed. 64. pp. 20–28. (ru)
* Beljajew BP-3 scale 1:2 Belyaev Viktor Nikolayevich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX8aDmfMT3k
* Beljajew BP-3 Bau https://vimeo.com/167866848
* Beljajew BP2 Erstflug https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rRUuYoNBFc
* Scratchbuilt 1/72 Belyaiev BP-2 1934 http://www.internetmodeler.com/scalemodels/aviation/Scratchbuilt_1_72_Belyaiev_BP-2_1934.php
* BP-2 (TsAGI-2) http://www.airwar.ru/enc/glider/bp2.html (ru)
* Yudenok V. Soviet aircraft of the Second World War.
* Le Fana de l'Aviation. Pierre Gaillard, Victor Kulikov. L'etrange, mais Veritable DB-LK.
* Le Fana de l'Aviation. Mikhail Maslov. Le professeur Belyaev et ses etranges ailes.
* Beljajew BP-3 Flug mit on.board: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX8aDmfMT3k