Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev Александр Сергеевич Яковлев |
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Born | 1 April [O.S. 19 March] 1906 Moscow, Russian Empire |
Died | 22 August 1989 Moscow, Soviet Union |
(aged 83)
Nationality | Soviet Union, Russia |
Parent(s) | Nina Vladimirovna |
Engineering career | |
Discipline | Aeronautical Engineering |
Employer(s) | Yakovlev design bureau |
Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev (Russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Я́ковлев; 1 April [O.S. 19 March] 1906 – 22 August 1989) was a Soviet aeronautical engineer. He designed the Yakovlev military aircraft and founded the Yakovlev Design Bureau. Yakovlev was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1938.
Yakovlev was born in Moscow, where his father was an employee of the Nobel Brothers oil company. From 1919-1921 he worked as a part-time courier while still in school, and in 1922 he built his first model airplane as part of a school project. In 1924, he built a glider, the AVF-10, which made its first flight on 24 September 1924. The design won an award, and secured him a position as a worker at the Zhukovsky Air Force Military Engineering Academy. However, his repeated attempts to gain admission to the Academy were denied due to his “lack of proletariat origins”. In 1927, Yakovlev designed the AIR-1 ultralight aircraft. This was the first of a series of ten aircraft he designed between 1927-1933.
In 1927, Yakovlev finally gained admittance to the Academy, and graduated in 1931. He was then assigned to the Moscow Aviation Plant № 39, where his first design bureau of lightweight aviation was established in 1932. He became the main designer in 1935, then the chief designer (1956–1984) of aircraft for the Yakovlev Design Bureau.
The Yakovlev Design Bureau developed large numbers of fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Air Force during World War II. Particularly well known are the Yak-1, Yak-3 and Yak-9 as well as the Yak-6 transport. In 1945 Yakovlev designed one of the first Soviet aircraft with a jet engine, the Yak-15. He also designed the first Soviet all-weather interceptor, the Yak-25P, and the first Soviet supersonic bomber, the Yak-28. In the post-war period, Yakovlev was best known for the civilian airliner, the Yak-42, a three-engine medium-range aircraft, and numerous models for aerobatics.