Nikolai Polikarpov facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov
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| Никола́й Никола́евич Полика́рпов | |
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| Born | 9 June [O.S. 28 May] 1892 Livensky District, Oryol Oblast, Russian Empire
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| Died | 30 July 1944 (aged 52) |
| Nationality | Russian Empire Soviet Union |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Aeronautical engineering |
| Employer(s) | Polikarpov Design Bureau |
| Significant design | Po-2, I-15, I-16 |
Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov (Russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Полика́рпов; born June 9, 1892 – died July 30, 1944) was a famous Soviet engineer. He designed many airplanes. People called him the "King of Fighters" because he created so many important fighter planes.
Some of his most famous designs include the I-15 series and the I-16 fighter. The I-16 was nicknamed "Ishak," which means "donkey" in Russian. This was a playful name, as "Ishak" sounds a bit like "I-16."
Contents
Early Life and Education
Nikolai Polikarpov was born in a small village called Georgievskoye. This village was near Livny in the Russian Empire. His father was a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church.
Nikolai first studied to become a priest, just like his father. He went to the Oryol Seminary. But in 1911, he changed his path. He moved to Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University. There, he became very interested in aviation. This was a new and exciting field at the time.
Polikarpov finished his studies in 1916. He then started working for Igor Sikorsky. Sikorsky was a well-known aircraft builder. Polikarpov helped design a huge four-engine bomber called the Sikorsky Ilya Muromets. This plane was for the Imperial Russian Air Force.
Designing Planes in the Soviet Union
After the Russian Revolution, Polikarpov stayed in Russia. He became a very important person in Soviet aviation. By 1923, he was the head of the technical department at the Dux Aircraft factory.
He designed some of the first airplanes made in the Soviet Union. These included the I-1 fighter in 1923. He also designed the R-1 reconnaissance plane in 1927. A reconnaissance plane is used for looking at things from the sky.
One of his most famous planes was the U-2 biplane. A biplane has two main wings. This plane was used for many things, like training pilots and spraying crops. It was nicknamed Kukuruznik, which means "crop-duster." The U-2 was made until 1952, and over 30,000 of them were built!
Other planes he designed were the I-3 fighter in 1928 and the R-5 reconnaissance bomber.
Challenges and Later Work
In 1929, Polikarpov faced a difficult time. He and many other engineers were arrested. They were accused of working against the government. He was sentenced to a harsh punishment. However, his sentence was later changed.
He was sent to a special design bureau in a prison. Here, he continued to work on aircraft designs. One important project was the I-5 fighter. After this plane was successfully shown, he was released in 1931.
After his release, Polikarpov continued to design planes. He worked with other famous designers like Pavel Sukhoi. He developed the I-16 in 1933 and the I-15 in 1934. These were very important fighter planes.
In 1938, he started his own design bureau. He completed work on the I-153 in 1939. This plane was an improved version of his earlier fighters.
Later, some of his engineers moved to a new design bureau. This new bureau was led by Artem Mikoyan. It became known as MiG.
Polikarpov became a professor at the Moscow Aviation Institute in 1943. He passed away on July 30, 1944. He is buried in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Polikarpov received many important awards for his work. These included the Stalin Prize and the Hero of Socialist Labor. A mountain peak in the Pamir Mountains was even named after him!
See also
- Polikarpov design bureau
