Oleg Antonov
Encyclopedia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
– 4 April 1984, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
) was a Soviet aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
designer, the founder of Antonov
Antonov
Antonov, or Antonov Aeronautical Scientist/Technical Complex , formerly the Antonov Design Bureau, is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company with particular expertise in the field of very large aircraft construction. Antonov ASTC is a state-owned commercial company...
ASTC, a world-famous aircraft company in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, later named in his honour.
Early life
Antonov was born on 7 February 1906 in a village near Moscow. In 1912, the Antonovs moved to Saratov, where he attended the local technical school. From an early age, Antonov was fascinated with aviation and spent much of his spare time at the local airport.Aviation career
At the age of 17, Antonov founded the "Amateur Aviation Club" and the "Organization of Friends of the Air Force." In the same year, he designed the OKA-1 "Pigeon", a glider that was entered in a competition in Moscow where he won the first prize, a flight on a Junkers 12 aircraft.In 1930, Antonov graduated from the Kalinin Polytechnical Institute in Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. He continued to design gliders and in 1931, Antonov became the chief designer of the Moscow Glider Factory. During the next eight years, he designed 30 different gliders including the Standard-1, Standard-2, OKA-6 and the large "City of Lenin" glider. Due to a requirement that all pilots in the Soviet Union had to begin their flight training on gliders, Antonov was able to produce up to 8,000 gliders per year.
In 1938, due to an incident when an instructor defected to the West using a glider, the Soviet government reversed its decision regarding glider training, banned the sport of gliding and shut down the Moscow Glider Factory. Following the close of the glider factory, Antonov was hired as the Chief Designer for Yakovlev Aircraft
Yakovlev
The Yak Aircraft Corporation is a Russian aircraft designer and manufacturer...
. In 1940, a new company in his own name was created in Leningrad.
World War II
During the war, Antonov designed the A-7 troop and supply glider used to supply partisans and the KT "Kryl'ja Tanka" or "Tank Wings" biplane glider that was designed to transport tanks to the front line. In 1943 Antonov returned to Yakovlev’s design bureau to fill a vacancy as Yakovlev’s deputy. A great deal of his time and energy was devoted to the improvement of the Yak series, one of the most mass-produced fighter aircraft types of World War II.
Postwar
After the war Antonov requested Yakovlev to let him work independently, heading Yakovlev’s subsidiary design office at the aircraft manufacturing factory at Novosibirsk. On 31 May 1946, Antonov was appointed head of the newly redesignated facility known as the Antonov Aircraft design bureau, later moved to KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. In September 1946, Antonov, in addition to his management of the design bureau, became the Director of the Siberian R and D Institute for Aeronautics.
The first of the bureau's designs was the SH-1 agricultural aircraft, later redesignated An-2
Antonov An-2
The Antonov An-2 is a single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed in the USSR in 1946...
designed to meet a 1947 Soviet requirement for a replacement for the Polikarpov Po-2
Polikarpov Po-2
The Polikarpov Po-2 served as a general-purpose Soviet biplane, nicknamed Kukuruznik for maize; thus, 'maize duster' or 'crop duster'), NATO reporting name "Mule"...
which was used in large numbers as both an agricultural aircraft and a utility aircraft. Antonov designed a large single bay biplane of all-metal construction, with an enclosed cockpit and a cabin with room for seats accommodating 12 passengers.
A series of significant transports followed including the world's largest production aircraft.
Antonov's aircraft (design office prefix An) ranged from the rugged An-2
Antonov An-2
The Antonov An-2 is a single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed in the USSR in 1946...
biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
(which itself is comparatively large for a biplane) through the An-28
Antonov An-28
|-See also:-External links:**...
reconnaissance aircraft to the massive An-124 Ruslan
Antonov An-124
The Antonov An-124 Ruslan is a strategic airlift jet aircraft. It was designed by the Ukrainian SSR's Antonov design bureau, then part of the Soviet Union. It is the world's largest ever serially-manufactured cargo airplane and world's second largest operating cargo aircraft...
. The quad turboprop An-12 was primary Soviet military transport aircraft since 1959 (similar to the C-130 Hercules
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
). While less famous, the An-24
Antonov An-24
The Antonov An-24 is a 44-seat twin turboprop transport designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau from 1957.-Design and development:...
, An-26
Antonov An-26
The Antonov An-26 is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the USSR from 12 March 1968.-Development:...
, An-30
Antonov An-30
The Antonov An-30 , is a development of the An-24 designed for aerial cartography.-Development:The first aerial survey version of the Antonov An-24 was designed by the Beriev OKB and designated An-24FK. The FK stood for fotokartograficheskiy . The prototype was converted from a production An-24A at...
and An-32
Antonov An-32
The Antonov An-32 is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft.-Design and development:The An-32 is basically a re-engined An-26. The launch customer was the Indian Air Force, which ordered this aircraft partly due to good relations between then USSR leader Leonid Brezhnev and then...
family of twin turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
, high winged, passenger/cargo/troop transport aircraft are important for domestic/short-haul air services particularly in parts of the world once led by Communist or former Communist governments. The An-72/An-74
Antonov An-72
The Antonov An-72 is a transport aircraft developed by Antonov in the former Soviet Union. It was designed as a STOL transport and intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-26, but variants have found success as commercial freighters.The An-72 gets its nickname, Cheburashka, from the large...
series of small jetliners is slowly replacing that fleet and a larger An-70
Antonov An-70
The Antonov An-70 is a four-engine medium-range transport aircraft, and the first large aircraft to be powered by propfan engines. It is being developed by Ukraine's Antonov design bureau to replace the obsolete An-12 military transport aircraft...
freighter is under certification. The An-70 is outwardly similar to the Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
A400M
Airbus A400M
The Airbus A400M, also known as the Atlas, is a multi-national four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities. The aircraft's maiden flight, originally planned for 2008, took place on 11 December 2009 in...
design that had its first flight December 11, 2009. Some of Antonov's designs are also built abroad such as the Shaanxi Y-8
Shaanxi Y-8
The Shaanxi Y-8 or Yunshuji-8 aircraft is a medium size medium range transport aircraft produced by Shaanxi Aircraft Company in China, based on the Soviet Antonov An-12. It has become one of China's most popular military and civilian transport/cargo aircraft, with many variants produced and exported...
.
Antonov was a Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
, academician
Academician
The title Academician denotes a Full Member of an art, literary, or scientific academy.In many countries, it is an honorary title. There also exists a lower-rank title, variously translated Corresponding Member or Associate Member, .-Eastern Europe and China:"Academician" may also be a functional...
of the Academy of Science of the Ukrainian SSR (1968), Hero of Socialist Labor
Hero of Socialist Labor
Hero of Socialist Labour was an honorary title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries. It was the highest degree of distinction for exceptional achievements in national economy and culture...
(1966), member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 5th, 6th and 7th convocation
Convocation
A Convocation is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose.- University use :....
s.
Awards and legacy
- Antonov received the State Award of the USSR in 1952 and Lenin Award in 1962.
- Antonov was also decorated with two Orders of Lenin and other ordersOrder (decoration)An order or order of merit is a visible honour, awarded by a government, dynastic house or international organization to an individual, usually in recognition of distinguished service to a nation or to humanity. The distinction between orders and decorations is somewhat vague, except that most...
and medalMedalA medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
s. - The Antonov design bureau has the distinction of making huge and powerful aircraft throughout its existence.
- In November 2004, FAI placed the An-225 in the Guinness Book of Records for its 240 records. The highly popular AN-124 "Ruslan" is used worldwide for cargo transport.
- A street in Kiev city is named after Oleg Antonov.
- A coin was minted of Copper Nickel Alloy in 2006 by the National Bank of UkraineNational Bank of UkraineNational Bank of Ukraine is the central bank of Ukraine. Its headquarters building, constructed between 1902 and 1934, is located at no. 9 Institutska St., in Kiev-History:...
honoring Antonov. In addition, a silver proof coin was issued by the Bank of Russia to commemorate 100 years since Antonov's birth.