Grigorovich Dmitry Pavlovich (1883-1938) went down in history as a talented, educated aircraft designer and engineer. The first domestic aircraft were designed by his mind, however, he was not spared the harsh repression machine ...
Biography of Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich
Dmitry Pavlovich was born on January 25, 1883. Born in an intelligent family. His family boasts famous male writers. My father worked at a sugar factory, after which he began to serve in the military department. Yadviga Konstantinovna - the mother of the future engineer - was the daughter of a Zemstvo doctor. After graduating from college, Dmitry entered the Kiev Polytechnic Institute. In 1911 he left for St. Petersburg, where he began to engage in journalism, publishing a technical-oriented journal, Aeronautical Bulletin. He graduated from these two educational institutions with honors and went to gain experience in Europe.
Love of design
The twentieth century was a turning point in the history of the world. The scientific and technological breakthrough gave impetus to the development of new industries. Young intelligent people of the early twentieth century was fond of aviation, this hobby appeared in Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich. According to the recollections of his first wife, in 1909 Dmitry graduated from the Kiev Polytechnic Institute, then began to get involved in aviation, luring her into this area. It was then that he got excited about the idea of creating an airplane of his own design. Near his institute, he rents a small room and remodels it into a workshop.
Inventions of Grigorovich Dmitry Pavlovich
Interesting Facts:
- Dmitry created the first aircraft from bamboo. According to his wife, their room and workshop were littered with bamboo, motors and other details. The name of the plane did not have.
- In 1909, a small sports biplane G-1 with a capacity of 25 horsepower was designed. A successful test took place on January 10, 1910 in Kiev.
- The young engineer dreamed of creating a seaplane. This desire had a rationale. Russia was rich in water resources and needed a plane that could land on water. In 1913, the world's first "flying boat M-1" was designed
- After a short period of time, an improved version of the M-1 was created, and then the M-2 and M-4
- In 1915, the "flying boat M-5" was designed and assembled, which in many ways surpassed foreign analogues.
- In the hottest years of the First World War, the young designer Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich created the world's first seaplane fighter M-11, the cockpit of which was lined with armor.
USSR takes experience from Western countries
In the late 1920s, the Soviet government curtailed a new economic policy and embarked on the rails of industrialization. The difficult economic and technical situation forced Stalin to resort to various, not even the most humane means.
In January 1928, the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR reviewed the report of the Air Force Chief Pyotr Baranov on the state of aviation. After reviewing it, the Revolutionary Military Council decided that the technical condition of aviation is at a decent level, with the exception of its fighter unit. Navy reconnaissance aircraft also ran counter to their tasks, which did not satisfy the leadership.
The Soviet government decided to create an American-style design bureau. The United States housed its engineers in luxury hotels, which created the best conditions for their lives and work. However, along with such a standard of living, strict discipline was introduced with temporary isolation from the outside world. The Americans concluded that only in such circumstances are secret developments and designs the most effective and protected from enemy counterintelligence.
Arrest and Detention
It would seem, for what could a brilliant engineer, who presented not only his native country, but also the world brilliant aircraft models, get behind bars? Why was arrested Grigorovich Dmitry Pavlovich?
In the Soviet Union, the American experience was only partially used. The difference was in the living conditions of the engineers. Instead of comfortable rooms, scientists received prison cells. This was explained by the desire of the authorities to organize the most stringent and strict discipline. Legally, this was framed as imprisonment under article.
Arriving in conclusion, the designers designed various versions of the future fighter. The aircraft was given the code VT-13 (internal prison - the 13th option). OGPU dominated over all the engineers who were assembled in the design bureau. After the first significant results, prisoners were allowed to see relatives.
After a couple of months, the prisoners had a pleasant surprise. They were brought to the factory workshop at number 39. Inside the hangar were relatively comfortable beds and a large table with a stack of newspapers and magazines that engineers could read. They were allowed to accommodate at their discretion and provided some freedom. The arrested were given large portions for lunch, after a while they were given a hairdresser, and they started taking them to the bathhouse on buses.
In such conditions, the great engineers of the Stalin era worked, which, according to management, gave a phenomenal result. In 1991, Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich was rehabilitated.