In the city of Novosibirsk is one of the largest Russian aircraft manufacturers, which is called the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant named after V.P. Chkalov. The enterprise begins its legendary and heroic history from the distant 1936.
Factory History
The history of the enterprise begins in the 30s of the twentieth century. The first stone in the foundation of the future aircraft plant was laid in the summer of 1931. Initially, it was planned to build a mining equipment factory on this site, near the central part of the city of Novosibirsk. The name of the plant is Sibmashstroy.
In May 1936, the Council of Labor and Defense of the country decided that this plant would build aircraft.
In the same year, in accordance with the order of the People’s Commissar of Defense K. Voroshilov, more than 300 demobilized servicemen were sent to Novosibirsk. They were identified as aircraft specialists. They became the main component of the future plant staff. A year later, the company employs more than 2,000 people.
First-born of the plant - I-16 fighter
The first aircraft of the Novosibirsk plant was the monoplane of N. N. Polikarpov, he wore the abbreviation I-16. It was built and successfully tested in November 1937. In the period from 1937 to 1944. More than 600 fighters of this type were issued at the plant for the Red Army Air Force. This aircraft was the most massive aircraft of this class for its time. He found wide application in the Spanish war, the armed conflict on Khalkhin Gol. He played his role on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. It was a light and very maneuverable wooden plane. V.P. Chkalov made the first corkscrew on it for the first time in the world.
The first-born of the plant, the I-16 fighter, the people lovingly called "Ishachok." In fact, the plane was made of wood. Most of the fuselage was plywood. He also became famous for becoming the first fighter in world history - a monoplane. With Ishachka, the famous native of Novosibirsk, three times awarded the title of Hero of the USSR, Alexander Pokryshkin began his illustrious career.
The name of another legendary aviator of the USSR V.P. Chkalov is also inextricably linked with the history of the plant. After the pilot died tragically, the plant staff turned to the USSR Armed Forces with a request to perpetuate his name in the name of the enterprise. In January 1939, the workers ’request was granted, and Novosibirsk Plant No. 153 was named after the hero. It became known as the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant. V.P. Chkalov.
LaGG Plant and Aircraft
In the late 30s, the plant actually became the founder of the USSR fighter aircraft . In 1939, the factory team began to build the first high-speed fighter, which had a wooden fuselage structure with elements of the so-called delta wood.
The plane was called LaGG-3, according to the names of the designers (Lavochkin, Gudkov, Gorbunov). However, the manufacture of fighter jets was accompanied by various problems, one of the main difficulties being the purchase of phenolic resins produced only abroad. As a result, with the outbreak of war, the production of these machines began to decline steadily. At the end of 1941, LaGG-3 was actually discontinued. However, by this time the plant had produced nearly 900 machines of this type.
Factory workers are proud of the LaGG fighter. He really made a great contribution to the defense of the USSR in WWII. LaGG aircraft had the nickname "piano" due to the fact that the car was made of wood, subjected to special processing. The fuselage of the aircraft was carefully polished, as a result of which it became similar to a concert instrument - a piano. The delta wood used in the manufacture of the aircraft was not afraid of fire. LaGG was a formidable weapon. Historical chronicles say that Stalin himself decided to manufacture a fighter. Personally tried to set fire to a sample of delta wood. However, neither the matches nor the coals of his pipe could do this. And Stalin, making sure of the durability of the aircraft, gave instructions to begin its construction. You can familiarize yourself with this wood by visiting the factory museum; stair railing and steps are made of it. In the same museum you can read reviews about the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant named after V.P. Chkalova. In its entire 80-year history.
The beginning of the Second World War, new aircraft
After the start of the Second World War, Novosibirsk Aviation Plant named after V.P. Chkalova began to accept the evacuated equipment of aviation enterprises in Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev, as well as aircraft manufacturers from these enterprises. In December 1941, the plant began to produce new aircraft - Yak-7b fighters, designer A. S. Yakovlev. He, as deputy commissar of the aviation industry of the USSR, personally supervised the production of these aircraft. The influx of specialists and production capacities from the European part of the USSR led to the fact that the plant significantly increased their output. The area on which the production of aircraft was carried out increased 5.5 times. And the number of equipment and machinery involved in the aircraft industry is 7 times.
At the end of 1941, the company built the first batch of Yak-7 fighters in the amount of 21 aircraft. In the next year, 1942, 2211 pieces of this type were manufactured. In 1943, the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant named after V.P. Chkalov began to produce Yak-9 aircraft, which became the most massive WWII fighter.
War Results
During the Second World War, the plant produced about 15,500 aircraft modification Yak. This became possible due to the great return of the plant staff. Many workers did not leave the workshops for days, overfulfilling planned tasks, often several tens of times. The world did not know such selfless return. Moreover, more than 70% of the factory workers are women and children aged 12-14 years. The main slogan of the factory employees was "Regiment per day!", And this is about 28 - 30 items per day. To achieve the objectives, the plant organized production lines for the assembly of fighters. By the time the war ended, there were 29 such lines.
About how the children worked at the factory during the war, there are recollections of the founder of one of the factory dynasties Anna Lutkovskaya:
“... I still remember in the war the thin, emaciated faces of girls and boys. Hungry, cold, we lived in workshops, slept at workplaces on the floor. Children were given rubber chuni, which froze at their feet. ”
The factory workers spoke very touching about the visit to the plant by Alexander Pokryshkin. Visiting the workshops, he was very impressed when he saw working overseas children. He talked with each of them, hugged, greeted and constantly repeated:
“You are my children, children. Anyway, the victory will be ours. And it will be very soon. ”
In wartime, factory workers created a fund. It made donations from their modest earnings. During the war years, 250,000 rubles were raised for the needs of families of war veterans. To equip the air squadrons "For Homeland" - 250,000 rubles. 130,000 rubles to the tank column from the factory. For the development of Chkalovets production - 3,410,000 rubles.
During the war years, all aircraft plants of the USSR produced about 36,000 fighter jets families. From these figures it follows that NAZ them. Chkalov produced almost every second plane.
The first post-war time
The post-war period was decisive for the plant. In 1947, the company began to produce MiG-15 fighter jets in a series. And since 1951, it switched to the release of the MiG-17 (fighter aircraft designers Mikoyan and Gurevich). For the enterprise, this time was a breakthrough, full of new scientific and technical developments. During this period, mechanization of labor was high 47%.
In May 1946, a design bureau was created at the plant, led by designer Oleg Antonov. In August 1947, the first legendary An-2 took off here. But the production of civil aircraft of this type did not last long. In 1952, Antonov left for Kiev, and the production of An-2 aircraft was transferred to Ukraine. The plant again began to produce only military products.
In 1954, Novosibirsk Aviation Plant. V.P. Chkalova went on to produce MiG 19 fighter planes, unique for that time. They in their tactical, technical and flight characteristics were much superior to aircraft of a similar class from other world manufacturers. For almost 10 years, the MiG brand produced the plant. They were in service with the USSR Air Force and the Warsaw Pact countries. During this time, the plant became unique enterprises of the Union, which was equipped with the most advanced equipment. The manufacture of aircraft was a complete closed cycle (with the exception of engines, weapons, avionics). During this period, more than 2000 advanced developments in the field of equipment were introduced into the aircraft manufacturing technology, injection molding technologies were mastered. NAZ them. V.P. Chkalova at that time was at the forefront of technical equipment, as well as manufacturability. All these factors made it possible to bring the production of modern jet aircraft to 1,000 units per year.
Beginning of cooperation with Sukhoi Design Bureau
A new milestone in the history of the plant was cooperation with OKB P.O. Sukhoi since the late fifties. It does not stop to date. In 1956, the plant mastered the production of Su-9. This marked the beginning of many years of serial production of aircraft developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau.
Su-brand fighters, namely, Su-9, Su-11, Su-15, Su-15 UT, manufactured by the plant, were the main air defense forces of the USSR. Their flight characteristics, combat capabilities, as well as structural and technological features laid the foundations of domestic aircraft construction.
An important stage in the development of the plant, as well as the aircraft industry of the country as a whole, was the launch of the Su-24 aircraft in a series. The plant began production of this multi-purpose attack aircraft in 1971. At that time, this aircraft far exceeded the aircraft of this class in the world.
Participation in the production of peaceful products
The plant also engaged in the production of peaceful products. So, in the first years after the Second World War, the company mastered the production of lighters made of aircraft aluminum, furniture, cots. Very popular among the population was a bicycle ZICH produced by the Chkalovsky plant.
In the early nineties, with the onset of the crisis, the plant was again forced to produce non-core products. I had to master the production of motor boats, strollers for children, washing machines "Cedar".
During the development of the Su-24 aircraft, the plant was connected to the Buran space program. Its specialists participated in the construction and testing of the spacecraft. However, plans for space exploration for the plant were not implemented in connection with the closure of the program.
In the late nineties, the plant began to implement a conversion program, under which he mastered the production of civilian aircraft. In mid-1994, flights of the An-38-100 aircraft developed by OKB Antonov Design Bureau began at the plant's airfield. It was intended to replace a number of aircraft, by this time recognized obsolete, namely An-2, An-28, L-410. There should be competition for the An-24 and Yak-40.
Currently, the plant is involved in the creation and construction of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSj-100) airliner . Novosibirsk Aviation Plant named after V.P. Chkalov is an aircraft building organization that is directly involved in its production, and the Siberian Research Institute of Aviation carries out its tests.
Present
Since the beginning of the nineties, the plant has been involved in the manufacture of the Su-34 multi-functional fighter. This machine has great potential for modernization, as well as the creation of various modifications on its basis.
The supply of Su-34 multi-purpose attack aircraft began for the Russian Air Force in 2006.
Since the beginning of 2013, the plant has been a branch of Sukhoi Company OJSC and is called the Chkalov Novosibirsk Aviation Plant (NAZ).
A historical review of the V.P. Chkalov Novosibirsk Aviation Plant proves that it is the pride of the Russian aviation industry. Airplanes of the plant showed to the whole world that Russia is a country that is successfully developing the most complicated production.
Address of the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant. V.P. Chkalova: Novosibirsk, Polzunova street, 15.