Was Mikoyan a real aircraft designer. Life is like a MiG: the famous aircraft designer Ivan Mikoyan has died. – Do you know where the roots of your family are?
The father and uncle of Ivan (Vano) Mikoyan were born into a poor peasant family with many children in the village of Sanahin, Tiflis province. Father, Anastas Mikoyan, studied at the Armenian Theological Seminary, was engaged in party propaganda work in Tiflis and Baku and fought on the Turkish front during the First World War. In 1926 he became People's Commissar internal and foreign trade in the USSR, by 1935 received membership in the Politburo, and from 1938 to 1949 he was Minister of Foreign Trade. After Stalin's death, he became Minister of Trade.
Mikoyan was the first to denounce Stalin's personality cult and criticize his writings.
He believed that the USSR should peacefully coexist with the West and calmly move towards socialism. It is not surprising that his personality turned out to be sympathetic to Khrushchev, who replaced Stalin - in 1957 he made Mikoyan one of his main confidants. In this role, Mikoyan visited Asian countries and even held talks with Fidel Castro on establishing Soviet-Cuban relations. Also in 1963, Mikoyan represented the Soviet leadership at the funeral of the assassinated US President John F. Kennedy.
And it was also thanks to Mikoyan that the famous “fish days” appeared in the USSR since 1932.
In 1964-1965 Mikoyan was the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. He tried to support Khrushchev, but in the end everything ended for him with his dismissal - Brezhnev, who came to power, clearly did not like this approach. He retained the titles of a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU and a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR until 1974 and 1976, respectively. Anastas Mikoyan died in 1978.
His brother, Artem (Anushavan) Mikoyan, was less attracted to a political career. In his youth, for some time he lived with Anastas in Rostov-on-Don, where he worked as a turner at the factory during the day, and studied in the evenings. In 1925, he moved to Moscow, where he continued to work as a turner, and a few years later, after serving in the army, he became the secretary of the party committee at the Kompressor plant. In 1931, he entered the N.E. Zhukovsky, studying in which he got to a production factory in Kharkov, where, together with other students, he built his first aircraft. After training, Mikoyan was appointed military representative at the State Aircraft Plant No. 1, and just a few years later, in 1939, he became deputy chief designer and head of the Design Bureau there.
This day is considered the day of the formation of the Design Bureau named after A.I. Mikoyan (now - JSC "RSK" MiG "),
where, under his leadership, more than a dozen fighter aircraft were created, including the legendary MiG-29. Mikoyan received many awards, including six Orders of Lenin, six Stalin Prizes, and two Orders of the Red Star. Twice he became the Hero of Socialist Labor. Like his older brother, he was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
Ivan Mikoyan followed in the footsteps of his uncle. He also studied at the Zhukovsky Academy, and then, in 1953, he got a job at the Design Bureau named after A.I. Mikoyan as an assistant to the lead engineer. In this position, he made a significant contribution to the development and improvement of the very first Soviet supersonic fighter, the MiG-19. He later became lead flight test engineer and lead designer. In this position, he did a great job of creating, testing and improving the MiG-21 family of fighters.
In 1965, Mikoyan was appointed lead designer for the MiG-23 fighter and carried out a complex cycle of work related to the design, construction and development of aviation systems. Since 1968, he was on a long expedition, where he led joint state tests of a modified MiG-23M fighter. The aircraft successfully passed the tests and was put into service.
In 1973, Ivan Mikoyan took the post of acting deputy chief designer for the MiG-29 front-line fighter and was engaged in its testing and improvement.
For his work on the MiG-29, he twice became a laureate of the USSR State Prize.
In addition, he was awarded the order of the October Revolution, the Order of the Badge of Honor, the highest corporate distinction "Medal of Academician A.I. Mikoyan” and several other medals.
The MiG-29 is a fourth-generation jet fighter. It differs from older "brothers" including the presence of guided weapons and more advanced on-board electronics. Aircraft of the fourth generation were developed until 2010.
The first flight of the MiG prototype, then called Product 9, took place on October 6, 1977. By 1983, the MiG-29s began to arrive at the Kubinka airbase, and a year later, after state acceptance tests, they were also delivered to the front-line aviation unit. MiG aircraft were intended to provide local air superiority for the advancing units of the motorized army. Due to the fact that aviation often had to use damaged or unprepared runways,
The MiG-29 was equipped with a robust undercarriage and closable lower air intakes.
To date, the MiG-29 has more than 20 modifications and is in service in 26 countries. Most of them, with the exception of Russia and Ukraine, are in India and Iran.
The MiG-29 was used in many wars, including in Afghanistan in 1979-1989, in the Persian Gulf in 1991, in the NATO operation against Yugoslavia in 1999. Now the MiG-29 is used by Syrian troops to bombard ground targets.
© migavia.ruIvan (Vano) Mikoyan, one of the creators of the legendary MiG-29 multipurpose fighter, died at the age of 90. The aircraft designer was one of the five sons of the famous Soviet statesman and party leader Anastas Mikoyan. Ivan Mikoyan devoted his life to aircraft construction and, despite his advanced age, until very recently he worked as an adviser to RAC MiG JSC. About Mikoyan's contribution to the development of domestic aviation - in the material RT.
Ivan Mikoyan was not a public figure, and very little is known about his life. He was born on September 1, 1927 in Moscow. In 1943, the son of a party leader was arrested on charges of participating in a "youthful anti-Soviet organization." For about six months, the minor Mikoyan was under investigation and sent into exile in Stalinabad (Dushanbe). There he entered the aviation technical school and after graduation ended up at the N.E. Zhukovsky.
In the 1950s, Ivan Mikoyan got a job in experimental design bureau founded by his uncle Artyom Mikoyan. Artyom Mikoyan and engineer Mikhail Gurevich are the creators of the legendary MiG fighter project (the abbreviation is formed from the first letters of their surnames). The designers became famous for the development of the MiG-1 and MiG-3 participating in the Great Patriotic War. Ivan Mikoyan worked as a lead engineer, and then, until his retirement, as a deputy chief designer.
In the early 1970s, the Mikoyan Design Bureau was tasked with creating a light front-line vehicle to counter attack aircraft and fighters of a potential enemy and cover clumsy bombers. For this, the Soviet Air Force needed a fourth-generation fast and maneuverable vehicle. In 1972, the American corporation McDonnell Douglas developed the F-15 light all-weather fighter, which became an additional incentive for Soviet designers.
In October 1977, the MiG-29 prototype flew into the air, and in the 1980s mass production of machines was organized. Unlike the heavy fighters of the Sukhoi Design Bureau, the cost of the Mikoyan Design Bureau was much lower. This made it possible to establish mass production in a short time. About 200 aircraft were exported to the countries of the socialist bloc and Iraq. Some of them are still in combat formation - for example, in the Polish Air Force. Also, for some time after the reunification of Germany, the MiG-29 was part of the German Air Force.
MiG-29
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The MiG-29 took part in the Afghan campaign (1979-1989), in the Persian Gulf War (1991), in the Transnistrian conflict (1991-1992), in the Ethiopian-Eritrean war (1998-2000), in the Kargil incident (clash between troops India and Pakistan in 1999). In 1999, several MiG-29s of the 127th Fighter Squadron of the Yugoslav Air Force tried to defend the country from NATO aircraft. In the 21st century, MiG-29s were used in the South Ossetian conflict, in the war in Darfur and in Syria.
As of 2015, more than 1.6 thousand fighters were produced in about three dozen modifications. The Russian Aerospace Forces are armed with various variants of shipborne, combat and training versions of the MiG-29. However, despite the reliability and excellent qualities, the car is gradually disappearing from the Russian fleet.
MiG-29
RIA News
The deck-based MiG-29K, which is on duty on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, is being replaced by a more compact Su-33, and fighters based at airfields will begin to replace the MiG-35 in the coming years - a multifunctional fighter of the 4 ++ generation, which is essentially a deep modernization of the predecessor - the MiG-29.
For the creation of the MiG-29, Ivan Mikoyan was twice awarded the State Prize of the USSR. It is noteworthy that almost all members of the Mikoyan family devoted their lives to aviation. Of the five sons of Anastas Mikoyan, Ivan's older brother, 94-year-old Stepan Mikoyan, is in good health - a test pilot, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, candidate of technical sciences.
Alexey Zakvasin
If today we conduct a survey in various countries of the world about which Russian aviation brand is best known, then we can say with confidence that MiG will win.
Soviet and then Russian MiGs earned the respect of their enemies. In the elite units of the US Air Force, a patch with the inscription "Kill the MiG!" Such recognition is costly, especially since during their career the MiGs have proven in practice that they themselves can kill anyone who gets in their way.
The history of the appearance of the famous brand was not easy, like the life of its creator, Soviet aircraft designer Artyom Mikoyan.
Artyom Ivanovich Mikoyan was born into a poor peasant family in the mountain village of Sanahin, Borchalin district, Tiflis province, on August 5, 1895. The name-patronymic “Artyom Ivanovich”, familiar to the Russian ear, appeared later, and at birth, the future creator of aircraft was Anushavan Hovhannesovich.
Artyom's older brother Anastas Mikoyan became a revolutionary, and later a prominent Soviet statesman politician. It was about him that the famous saying "From Ilyich to Ilyich without a heart attack and paralysis" was composed.
Turner at party work
Finished two classes rural school, in 1918, 13-year-old Artyom moved to Tiflis, to relatives, where he continued his studies at an Armenian school. The revolutionary mood of his elder brother also affected Artyom: in 1921, having arrived in his native village, he created the first Komsomol cell in it.
In 1923, Anastas Mikoyan, who worked in Rostov-on-Don, called his younger brother to him. In Rostov, Artyom worked as a turner at an agricultural machinery plant, while continuing his studies at an evening school. In 1925, Mikoyan Jr. was accepted into the party.
In the same year, Artyom went to Moscow, having a letter of recommendation from his older brother, to Ekaterina Sergeevna Shaumyan, widow Stepan Shaumyan, one of the executed 26 Baku commissars, whom Mikoyan Sr. knew well. The first time in Moscow, Artyom, who got a job as a turner at the Dynamo plant, lived with Ekaterina Shaumyan.
In 1928, Artyom Mikoyan was recommended for party work, having been appointed secretary of the party organization of the Oktyabrsky tram park. In those distant times, however, party activities did not exempt from military service, and in December 1928 Mikoyan went to do military service.
After returning from the army, Artyom Mikoyan became the secretary of the party organization of the Kompressor plant.
In aviation according to the order
All this activity was very far from aviation and aircraft manufacturing. But the life of the young party functionary changed dramatically after the IX All-Union Congress of the Komsomol adopted a resolution in January 1931 on the patronage of the Komsomol over the Air Force.
The aviation industry needed new personnel, and thousands of young communists and Komsomol members were sent to study at the relevant universities.
Responsible, disciplined and efficient Artyom Mikoyan was recommended for admission to the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy.
It would be a strong exaggeration to say that for Mikoyan it was a dream of a lifetime. In addition, he clearly lacked education. But if the party said "it is necessary", then the task had to be completed. After completing the preparatory courses, Artyom Mikoyan passed the entrance exams.
Mikoyan studied with full dedication, not sparing himself. In addition to the training program at the academy, he mastered skydiving.
In 1935, Mikoyan had an industrial practice in Kharkov, in the design bureau of the local aviation plant. Upon returning with their classmates Samarin And Pavlov Mikoyan designed a light aircraft "October" - it was the first independent work future aeronautical engineers.
Young specialist
On October 22, 1937, Artyom Mikoyan defended his graduation project and left the academy with the rank of military mechanical engineer of the Red Army Air Force.
The young specialist was appointed as a military representative at the State Aircraft Plant No. 1, where he established himself as an excellent specialist.
But there is a long distance from an excellent mechanical engineer to an aircraft designer. In February 1939, the design bureau of one of the leading specialists of that time was transferred to aircraft plant No. 1 Nikolai Polikarpov.
Nikolai Polikarpov, student of the famous Igor Sikorsky, was a difficult man, in conflict with the authorities, who had an overturned death sentence behind him on charges of sabotage. At the same time, he was called the "king of fighters", since it was his cars that formed the basis of the pre-war fighter aviation of the USSR.
Polikarpov drew attention to Mikoyan, who stood out for his hard work, his desire to delve into the most complex nuances and put forward his own proposals. Polikarpov instructed Mikoyan to work on the I-153 Chaika fighter. It all started with the testing of small arms on the three lead aircraft of the project, but then the young engineer was increasingly engaged in work on improving the aircraft, sometimes going beyond the limits of the instructions that he received from Polikarpov.
How did MiG start?
In the course of these works, Mikoyan became close friends with the head of the department of the General Views Group of the Polikarpov Design Bureau. Mikhail Gurevich. Thus, a tandem of designers began to form, which later became known to the whole world.
We are approaching the most delicate moment in the biography of Artyom Mikoyan. In 1939, while Nikolai Polikarpov was on a business trip abroad, the leadership of aircraft plant No. 1 decided to create an Experimental Design Department, which included some of the Polikarpov Design Bureau specialists. Artyom Mikoyan became the head of the OKO, and Mikhail Gurevich became his deputy. The development of the promising I-200 fighter was transferred to the new structure, work on which began at the Polikarpov Design Bureau. Subsequently, the I-200 project turned into the MiG-1 - the first development of the new design bureau.
Many aviation historians believe that Polikarpov was simply robbed, taking away a promising project and a large number of specialists from his design bureau. At the same time, they say that Artyom Mikoyan used the connections of his older brother to secure a decision in his favor.
There is another way of looking at things. The Second World War, and no one had any doubts that the USSR would inevitably be drawn into it. The country needed to update the fleet, and the Air Force needed the most modern technology. Polikarpov's models, which at that moment were in a state of high readiness, lagged behind the tasks of the current day. The Soviet leadership sought to achieve results, moving in several directions at once. Promising developments were entrusted to a whole galaxy of aircraft designers - Yakovlev, Lavochkin, Petlyakov, Ilyushin, Tupolev and others. The tandem of Mikoyan and Gurevich also managed to convince them of their readiness to create a modern aircraft with high performance in the shortest possible time.
Be that as it may, in December 1939 the new design bureau became a reality.
War check
On April 5, 1940, the new Soviet high-speed fighter MiG-1 made its first flight. The aircraft successfully passed the tests and was accepted into serial production. In total, about 100 cars were produced.
The machine was created in an extremely short time, which inevitably entailed the presence of shortcomings. The MiG-1 had poor static longitudinal stability due to rear centering. The plane easily fell into a tailspin and hardly got out of it. Pilot fatigue was greater than on other aircraft.
Most of the shortcomings were eliminated in the MiG-3, which became a modification of the first machine.
At an altitude of over 7000 km, the MiG-3 developed the highest speed for serial aircraft of that time, 640 km per hour. The aircraft had a height ceiling of 12,000 meters, which made it possible to successfully deal with the highest-altitude enemy aircraft. From December 1940 to 1941, more than 3,000 MiG-3s were produced, which took an active part in the Great Patriotic War.
However, it soon became clear that the MiG-3 was not the most advanced fighter. The main air battles took place at low altitudes, where the MiG was not sufficiently maneuverable. As a result, the loss of aircraft of this type was very significant.
As a result, the MiG-3 was handed over to the air defense forces, where it became an ideal vehicle for hunting high-altitude reconnaissance and bombers.
On the MiG-3, one of the most famous Soviet aces won his first victory over the Messerschmitt-109 Alexander Pokryshkin.
The firstborn of the jet era
Critics of Mikoyan and Gurevich, again recalling the "robbed" Polikarpov, say that after the "Polikarpov" MiG-1, the designers could not create a successful aircraft for a long time.
Here, however, it must be said that a similar period happens in the history of any design bureau. Just as every doctor has his own cemetery of patients who could not be saved, so any aircraft designer has a “cemetery of projects” that have not been released into the series.
At the end of the Great Patriotic War, the Mikoyan Design Bureau got involved in the creation of jet aircraft. On April 24, 1946, the first Soviet turbojet MiG-9 fighter took off into the sky.
The MiG-9 and Yak-15 became the first vehicles that began the transition of the USSR Air Force to jet technology.
The MiG-9 did not take root easily. Firstly, the firstborn of jet aviation was far from perfect and difficult to manage. Secondly, he demanded completely different approaches to maintenance from technicians. And thirdly, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, the pilots were simply afraid of him, because, in their understanding, an airplane could not fly without a propeller.
Nevertheless, all these difficulties could be overcome.
Soviet fighter MiG-9. Photo: RIA Novosti
"The best plane in the world"
Artyom Mikoyan himself worked hard. Starting with the MiG-1, his life was like an endless race against time. While working on the MiG-9, the designer had a heart attack, but returned to service after two months.
On December 30, 1947, the MiG-15 fighter made its first flight. Unlike the "nine", which was developed using captured German engines, the new car was a completely new and extremely successful project.
So successful that for many years the veterans of the German aircraft industry will argue with each other, looking for traces of their old developments in the MiG-15. Experts, however, consider these attempts to be frivolous - the MiG-15 is undoubtedly a Soviet development.
Andrei Tupolev, not inclined to compliments, remarked: "The MiG-15 was the best aircraft, undoubtedly the best aircraft in the world!"
During the Korean War, the MiG-15 “declassified” all Western aircraft modifications that opposed it, forcing it to put up against it the latest American development of the F-86 Saber. However, the MiG-15 also won a fierce battle with the Sabers, after which the MiG brand became the main enemy and nightmare of the American aces.
The MiG-15 became the most massive jet aircraft in the history of aircraft construction, more than 15,000 aircraft were produced in total. It was in service with the air forces of 40 countries of the world and was finally decommissioned only in 2006.
"I have a nervous job"
New developments carried out under the leadership of Artyom Mikoyan only confirmed the success of the MiG-15. The MiG-17, which reached the speed of sound, is the first mass-produced Soviet supersonic MiG-19 fighter, one of the most massive and successful MiG-21 fighters in the world. The last works of Artyom Mikoyan were the MiG-23 wing sweep fighter and the MiG-25 interceptor fighter.
The achievements of the designer were duly appreciated by the state. Colonel-General of the Engineering and Technical Service Artyom Mikoyan was twice awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, awarded six Orders of Lenin, awarded six Stalin and one Lenin Prize.
All these successes and awards were given by hard work and literally cost health. Starting in 1962, Mikoyan became increasingly ill, but even in the hospital he was constantly thinking about new projects.
In August 1970, the designer turned 65 years old - the age is far from advanced. But the huge loads and the transferred heart attack made themselves known. Once, the elder brother Anastas Mikoyan remarked: “Artyom, how early you turned gray!” Younger brother smiled and remarked: “And I, Anastas, have such a job. Nervous work!
On December 9, 1970, after a heart operation, Artyom Ivanovich Mikoyan died. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Soviet aircraft designer Artem Ivanovich (Anushavan Ovanesovich) Mikoyan was born on August 5, 1905. Mikoyan is known as the creator of the legendary brand of the domestic aviation industry - MiG.
Artem Mikoyan is the brother of the famous Soviet party functionary Anastas Mikoyan, and this family connection haunted him all his life. Someone argued that the presence of such a relative only prevented Mikoyan from seeking frank recognition as a talented aircraft designer. Someone - that without such an influential patron there would be no MiG.
At the beginning of his career, Mikoyan followed the party and Komsomol line - to the extent that at the very beginning of the 1920s it even existed as a career ladder. Returning from the army, he came to the Kompressor plant, from where in 1931 he was sent to the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy. There, at the academy, he created his first aircraft - the Oktyabrenok light aircraft.
In 1937, a graduate of the Mikoyan Academy got a military representative at the Moscow aircraft factory No. 1, which produced the aircraft of Nikolai Polikarpov, the “king of fighters”, the author of the famous I-15 and I-16. In February 1939, the Polikarpov Design Bureau was also transferred to the "first plant", and Mikoyan at that very time received his first independent task as the organizer of the design work - patronage of the I-153 Chaika fighter project.
In the summer of 1939, OKO, a “special design department,” was separated from the aircraft plant No. 1 under the leadership of Mikoyan and Vladimir Gurevich. The department was assigned to lead the project of the I-200 fighter, the future MiG-1. On December 8, 1939, the OKO was reorganized into an independent design bureau - this is how the MiG (Mikoyan and Gurevich) was born.
The story of Mikoyan's first MiG-1 aircraft is still controversial, spears are breaking around the car. Some say that it was just a selection of a promising direction from the Polikarpov design bureau, others that, in fact, Mikoyan, using his brother’s Kremlin connections, stole the finished fighter project and one of the most experienced developers (Gurevich) from Polikarpov. Together with Gurevich, about 80 Polikarpov engineers went to the new design bureau.
One way or another, the MiG-3 was made from the MiG-1 - a successful fighter-interceptor that managed to get into the troops before the start of the war. On it, in particular, the future Soviet ace Alexander Pokryshkin won his first victory in an air battle.
But then the story of a bad divorce from the Polikarpov "shop" hit the Mikoyanites in a peculiar way. Until the end of the war, they did not succeed decisively. The design bureau pulled several projects at once, among them - various versions of the MiG-3 and the original I-250 with a combined power plant. None of them went into large-scale production. Even the MiG-9, the first production jet, had a capricious temper and was not loved by the pilots.
And then the real luck came. MiG-15, which received its baptism of fire in the skies of Korea against American F-86 Sabers. Its heirs are the transonic MiG-17 and the first supersonic MiG-19, and then the legendary MiG-21, one of the most famous combat vehicles of the 1960s.
From that time on, it could already be firmly and without any roundabouts considered the first developer of fighters in the USSR. Then she will be challenged by the Sukhoi Design Bureau with the stunningly successful Su-27 and its heirs, but the glory of the leading manufacturer of front-line fighters in the country will not go anywhere.
Artem Ivanovich died in 1970. Under his leadership, the design bureau will have time to make two more stunningly beautiful and functional aircraft - the MiG-25 high-altitude interceptor (its younger offspring MiG-31 still stands guard over the country's air borders) and the unique multipurpose MiG-23 family, which gave the Soviet Air Force a whole set of the most different aircraft with variable wing geometry - from interceptors to fighter-bombers.
Having started his working life as a worker, AI Mikoyan in less than 30 years as an aircraft designer, in collaboration with Gurevich, created a series of aircraft that glorified the MiG brand all over the world.
Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan was born on August 5, 1905 in the small Armenian village of Sanahin into the family of a poor village carpenter. From the age of six, Artem Ivanovich began working as a shepherd. AI Mikoyan learned to read and write in a village school, and then, in 1918, the family moved to Tbilisi, where he began to study at school with his older brother Anastas. In 1923, he entered the technical school at the machine-building plant (Krasny Aksai) in Rostov-on-Don, and the next year he worked as a turner in a railway workshop.
In 1925, Artem Ivanovich joined the Communist Party and went to work at the Moscow Dynamo plant. By that time, his older brother Anastas already held high positions in the party and was a close associate of V.I. Stalin.
Until 1928, Artem worked at the factory, after which he was recommended for party work. In 1928-1930, the young man served in the army, was the secretary of the Komsomol committee at the first Soviet tank school.
After returning from the army, he went to work at the Kompressor plant and in 1931 he was accepted to study at the Air Force Engineering Academy. N.E. Zhukovsky. There he, among other things, jumped with a parachute and learned how to fly an airplane. In 1935, Mikoyan and two other students of the academy, Samarin and Pavlov, built the Oktyabrenok light aircraft, which had original wing mechanization means for that time - flaps and slats. The flight weight of the aircraft was 250 kg, it developed a speed of 130 km / h with an engine of 22 hp. In 1937, a flight was made on the Oktyabrenko and the aircraft received a positive assessment Central Aeroclub.
October 22, 1937 after the defense graduation project Mikoyan was awarded the title of "military mechanical engineer of the Air Force of the Red Army."
In 1937, Mikoyan graduated from the academy with honors and was appointed representative of the military acceptance at the plant number 1 named after. Aviakhima. This plant housed the Design Bureau of N.N. Polikarpov and the plant was engaged in the production of the I-153 Chaika fighter. At first, Mikoyan was engaged in the acceptance of aircraft, and then he was appointed representative of the customer (Air Force) in the Polikarpov Design Bureau. From that time on, he worked in constant contact with N.N. Polikarpov.
Two years later, in March 1939, Polikarpov asked Mikoyan to help him organize and update the production of the I-153. At this time, he was noticed by the director of the plant P.A. Voronin and the chief engineer P.V. Dementyev (after P.A. Voronin left for the post of deputy people's commissar of the aviation industry in January 1940, P.V. Dementyev became the director of the plant). In the summer of 1939, aircraft designers were accepted by Stalin, who liked the formula of the future aircraft - "speed plus height". In December 1939, a new experimental design department (OKO) was organized at the plant; it was headed by Mikoyan and Gurevich.
A group of Mikoyan and M. I. Gurevich designed a small monoplane "MiG-1" from wood and plywood with a low wing. A fairly powerful engine by A. A. Mikulin "AM-35A" was installed on the plane. The first flight of the MiG-1 took place in April 1940. As a result, the aircraft was noted for its rather good aerodynamic qualities with increased wing loading, for improved cooling and exhaust systems. Thanks to the powerful motor, the monoplane reached speeds of up to 628 km/h. As a result, A. I. Mikoyan, together with Gurevich, solved one of the difficult tasks of increasing the speed of horizontal flight. After eliminating all the shortcomings, the MiG-1 took part in the parade on Red Square on May 1, 1940.
The design office team worked in the spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation. Mikoyan took upon himself the preparation of decisions, but taking into account the real possibilities of production and the state. He successfully combined democracy with firm discipline, knew how to respect the opinions of employees, did not tolerate deceit and unwillingness to learn.
Modifications began to be created on the basis of the MiG-1. Each new model differed from the previous one in more advanced design elements. The Mikoyan Design Bureau continued to work on the design of a new type of fighter. It created such well-known aircraft as the MiG-3 (a bronze monument was even erected to it on the Oka River), the I-222 (ZA) with a capacity of 1400 liters. s., "I-224" (with a capacity of 1800 hp).
A.I. Mikoyan at the end of 1940 received the Order of Lenin.
In the last months before the war Soviet Union acquired samples of German aircraft. Domestic aircraft designers, including Mikoyan, traveled to Germany, studying the experience of aircraft construction.
In 1941-45, under the leadership of Mikoyan, a number of fighters with high flight performance were created, including the I-250 with a combined power plant.
AI Mikoyan was one of the first to assess the future of jet aviation. His first aircraft of this type was the MiG-9 with two turbojet engines.
Simultaneously with the main work on the creation of aircraft, the design bureau of A.I. Mikoyan dealt with the problem of creating a swept wing, which would significantly increase the speed of the aircraft. Its main disadvantage was a smaller angle of attack and a lower lift force, which complicated the takeoff, maneuverability and landing of the aircraft. But such a wing was simply necessary to ensure flights at transonic and supersonic speeds.
After devastatingly hard work, having gone to rest in the Crimea for 3 days, Artem Ivanovich got a heart attack, but two months later he started working again. He knew that abroad, in the United States, they were resolutely engaged in the improvement of jet fighters.
Following the first jet aircraft, the Mikoyan design bureau managed to create new fighters - faster, more advanced and more reliable. One of these was the MiG-15 - equipped with the most modern technology, a more advanced pressurized cabin and an ejection seat. Its flight took place in 1947. The maximum speed of the MiG-15 was 1050 km / h, its ceiling was 15 thousand meters. The MiG-17 followed, the first domestic supersonic aircraft to break the sound barrier. On its basis, the MiG-17PF interceptor with a radar system and a boosted engine was then created.
By the beginning of the 50s. Soviet aviation technology got the opportunity to create supersonic combat aircraft with a swept wing, with a navigation and sighting system, flying day and night in difficult meteorological conditions. This is exactly what the MiG-19 with two engines, developed by the Mikoyan design bureau in 1954, was like.
In connection with the 50th anniversary and for his merits in the creation of new technology, Mikoyan was awarded the Order of Lenin. April 20, 1956 he was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor. On December 20, 1956, Mikoyan was appointed general designer, in June 1957 he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor for the second time.
Simultaneously with the improvement of the MiG-19, other aircraft were created over the next few years. At this time, Artem Ivanovich, who takes part in all the tests of his aircraft, greatly increased interest abroad as the creator of modern fighter aircraft, which has no equal in the world.
The MiG-21, which had appeared by this time, simply amazed foreign aircraft creators with its data: it flew at high speed at a fairly low altitude, it had a lower landing speed, a smaller angle of attack, and heavier weapons. The aircraft was distinguished by ease and convenience in control and maintenance, while possessing good flight qualities.
With the advent of helicopters that did not require large airfields, Mikoyan's design bureau took up the problem of improving the takeoff and landing characteristics of modern aircraft.
For 10 years (from 1957 to 1967), Artem Ivanovich repeatedly expressed his thoughts in Komsomolskaya Pravda and in the Aviation and Cosmonautics magazine about the future of aviation, which, in his opinion, should merge with astronautics.
Artem Ivanovich wrote: “There are no limits and boundaries in the development of the near-Earth, as well as world space. Aviation will have to master flights in the atmosphere at speeds close to space, at a distance of tens and hundreds of thousands of kilometers, with loads weighing tons, subject to the repeated use of hypersonic aircraft.
As the creator of aircraft, Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan was one of the most prominent aviation designers in the world. None of the Russian aircraft enjoys such fame in the West as the MiG in its many modifications. Mikoyan's aircraft set 55 world records.
Artem Ivanovich died on December 9, 1970 after a heart operation. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery. On the monument it is noted that he was an academician, doctor of technical sciences, colonel general of the engineering and technical service, twice Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of Lenin and 6 State Prizes.
