Chelpan Konstantin Fyodorovich
| Konstantin Fyodorovich Chelpan | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
27 May 1899 Cherdakly, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russia |
| Died | 10 March 1938 (aged 38) Kharkiv, USSR |
| Resting place | Unknown |
| Nationality | USSR |
| Education | Kharkiv Technological Institute |
| Children | Lenimir Konstantinovich Chelpan |
| Parent(s) | Fyodor Myhailovich Chelpan, Elizaveta Khalangot |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Diesel engines |
| Institutions | Kharkiv Locomotive Factory |
| Significant design | V-2 engine |
| Awards | Order of Lenin |
Konstantin Fyodorovich Chelpan (Russian: Челпан, Константин Фёдорович) (27 May 1899 – 10 March 1938) was a prominent Soviet engineer of Greek background. Head of the Engineering Design Bureau of the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory, chief designer of the T-34 tank engine. Awarded the Order of Lenin. Politically repressed and executed under a mass persecution ordered by Joseph Stalin. Politically rehabilitated after death.
Born on May 27, 1899 in Cherdakly, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russian Empire (now Kremenivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine), to Fyodor Myhailovich Chelpan and Elizaveta Khalangot. Both parents were Greeks.
After graduating from Mariupol Realschule in 1919, took part in the Russian Civil War. In 1924 graduated with honors from Kharkiv Technological Institute with a Major in Internal Combustion Engines.
From 1924 to 1937 worked at the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory as a Designer, Head of the Diesel Department, Lead Designer, and Head of the Engineering Design Bureau. In 1928-1929 had practical training in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK.
Konstantin Chelpan was the head designer of the famous T-34 tank diesel engine V-2, for which he was awarded the Order of Lenin. The engine consisted of lightweight aluminum alloy,.
From 1927 was a senior lecturer at Kharkiv Technological Institute.
Konstantin Chelpan was arrested on December 15, 1937 during the first days of Greek Operation of NKVD. He was charged with leading a Greek nationalist counter-revolutionary organization, as well as consipring to sabotage the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory. After being interrogated and tortured he confessed to being a spy. On February 4, 1938 he was sentenced to execution by shooting. The sentence was carried out in Kharkiv prison on March 10, 1938 and covered up. In a few years his wife received a death certificate, indicating that Konstantin Chelpan died on May 16, 1942 from congestive heart failure.
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