Soviet MiG fighters are known all over the world. Why are they so called and who is the aircraft designer who invented these aircraft? Artyom Mikoyan (1905-1970) - Soviet aircraft designer, brother of the famous political figure of the USSR Anastas Mikoyan - and aircraft engineer Mikhail Gurevich are the creators of these fighters. And their name came from the merger of the first letters of the names of the authors with the union "I". In the article we will talk about the life and work of the first of them. Readers will be interested to know how Artyom Mikoyan became an aircraft designer.
Life story: childhood
In 1905, in the distant mountain village of Sanahin, which was located in the Borchali district of the Tiflis province, which is part of the Russian Empire (today Sanahin is a district of the city of Alaverdi, Armenia), a boy was born, who was named Anushavan. His family was large: he was the youngest child of the carpenter Hovhannes Nersesovich Mikoyan, who worked at the local smelter, and Talida Otarovna - housewives. The older children also took part in the upbringing of the baby, in particular Brother Anastas, a future famous political, party and statesman of the USSR. So, Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan, an aircraft designer, spent his childhood in the mountains, where he liked to watch the flight of eagles soaring high in the sky. From about 5 years old, he helped the elders graze goats and accompanied the herd to the mountains.
Education
Artem Mikoyan received his primary education at the Sanahin rural school, which was located in the eponymous ancient Christian monastery, the center of Armenian culture in the region. After the sudden death of the father of the family, Talida Otarovna decided to identify the youngest son in the Armenian parish school in the city of Tiflis. He graduated in 1918. After that, he returned to his native village and, like his elder brother, became interested in revolutionary activities, joined the ranks of the Komsomol and even was appointed head of the local Komsomol cell. A few years later, Anastas Mikoyan received the post of Secretary of the Southeast Bureau of the KP Central Committee. Immediately after the appointment, he calls his younger brother to Rostov.
Labor activity
After moving to Russia, Artyom Mikoyan entered the Krasny Aksay factory school, where he began to study as a turner, and then got a job at a local factory. Then he got into the railway workshops. For some time he honed his skills, but realized that this could not be his vocation.
In a word, Artem Mikoyan, whose biography is presented in this article, longed for knowledge and, in order to get it, decided to go to Moscow. Here he got a job at the Dynamo plant - the very first electrical enterprise in the USSR. It was here that he changed his name Anushavan to Artyom, and patronymic Ovanesovich - to Ivanovich.
He was so carried away by his work that he did not even find time to enter any university. But at the factory he received a different, life education and gained valuable experience in all respects. In Moscow, Artem filmed a corner at the janitor and literally slept under the washbasin.
At this time, his older brother Anastas already held a high post in the government of the country, but the younger one did not allow himself to turn to him with a request to provide him with housing. This was not accepted in their family: each sought independence and did not annoy the requests of the other. Artyom just wrote to Anastas that he was in Moscow, got a job and he was fine.
Military service
At the end of 1928 A. Mikoyan was drafted into the Red Army and was sent to the city of Livny, and then, to his own pleasure, was sent to the Ivanovo-Ascension Military School in the city of Orel. After completing military service, he was offered to stay at the school and get a military education, but he refused this and returned to his previous studies. But this time at the Compressor plant.
Vocation
From this plant, he was already able to enter the Air Force Academy, named after N. Zhukovsky. Finally, he approached the dream of his childhood. During the First World War, a French plane crashed in his native village. Village boys, among whom was Anushavan, ran to look at a giant bird-machine. Little Anush (as his relatives used to call him shortly) fascinatedly watched as a French mechanic delved into a flying car, and even ventured to get closer. And he, seeing the burning eyes of the little boy, called him closer and allowed him to see the "insides" of the miracle bird.
Until he got to the Air Force Academy, the dream of airplanes did not leave him. And now he is already a student of the only educational institution in the country where he can study the profession of aviation engineers. As a third-year student of the Academy, Artyom Mikoyan once again established his desire: an aircraft designer is that specialty that he wants to do all his life. In 1935, he completed practical training at the University of Kharkov. Here he was first included in the design office, and he was able to take part in the process of designing an aircraft, moreover, the experimental model of KhAI-1.
Independent work: debut as a designer
Upon returning from Kharkov, Artem Mikoyan was eager to start his own project - manufacturing a new aircraft using the old aircraft engine, which was given to him by engineer Shitikov. Together with his friends Pavlov and Samarin, Artyom designed a model of a sports aircraft. However, they could not go beyond this, because there was neither money nor equipment. But they submitted the drawings of this aircraft to the All-Union competition held by Osoaviahim. To the delight of the guys, their project was recognized as the best, and in this regard, the jury decided to give young designers the opportunity to build demonstration copies of this aircraft.
Personal life
The end of the 30s was successful for Mikoyan not only in terms of career, but also on the personal front. He met a beautiful girl Zoya Lisitsina at the birthday of his friend Gevorg Avetisyan. Sympathy ensued between them, which later grew into love. After his family approved his choice, Artem Oganesovich married Zoya Ivanovna, and then a room was allocated for the young family in a communal apartment on Kirova Street. There Talida Otarovna moved to live with them. Later, in her memoirs, Anastas Mikoyan wrote about her daughter-in-law that she fit perfectly into their Armenian family, was very kind and flexible, respected Armenian traditions. By the way, she was an employee of TASS.
Further activities
A. Mikoyan, after graduation, was sent as a researcher to the design bureau. Its leader was the famous aircraft designer Nikolai Polikarpov. He was already familiar with the simulated Mikoyan aircraft, which by that time had already been built, called the "Oktyabrenok" and was used for training purposes in Osoaviahim. He regarded Artem as a promising aircraft designer and included him in the group working on the I-15 fighter.
Polikarpov soon realized that Mikoyan can be entrusted not only with the process of improving existing models, but also with the development of new ones. It was in this group that Artem Ivanovich met with Gurevich, who would subsequently become a co-author of world-famous MiGs. However, work on them began only after A. Mikoyan was appointed the head of the design bureau of the factory No. 1 of Osoaviahim. It was here that he was able to fully work on the implementation of his plans.
Artem Mikoyan: MiG is the best of the best
What he managed to create was a real breakthrough in the history of Soviet aviation. The MiG-1 was the first aircraft ever to be tested life-size in a wind tunnel. And this meant that the terms of flight tests can be greatly reduced, and the dynamics of aircraft - significantly improved. And all this was ascertained during the first flight. All testers came to a common opinion that this aircraft surpasses all previously existing ones in its indicators. However, Artyom Mikoyan - an aircraft designer (you see his photo in the article) - did not limit himself to those already created and soon developed a more advanced model, which was called the MiG-3. It was he who became the most massive aircraft in Soviet aviation.
The Great Patriotic War
Nevertheless, during the war it turned out that our MiGs were inferior in some respects to German aircraft. And then Mikoyan set about improving the aircraft he invented. In 1942, he already offers a more powerful aircraft model with an AM-29 engine. Despite the fact that she was recognized as the best, Mikoyan himself realized that piston airplanes had no future and that something new was necessary. And then he came to the conclusion that Soviet aviation needed jet engines. However, he succeeded in implementing this plan only after the end of the war, although their development was done in difficult war days. In 1946, the MiG-9 he built became the first serial jet fighter of the USSR.
In peacetime
In 1947, Mikoyan created another model - the MiG-15. Her tests were carried out in Korea during the fighting in 1950-1953. He was recognized as the best fighter of the 40s. And it was not only an improved engine, but also in the arrow-shaped form of the wings. A clear advantage of this aircraft was also the ejection seat of the pilot. For a long time, the MiG-15 remained the main aircraft of the USSR Air Force. He became known as the "soldier plane."
