Various materials are used in the production of aircraft. The most common are metals, fabrics and wood. Aircraft designer Semyon Lavochkin constructed a fighter from wood.
Starting conditions
Twice Hero of Socialist Labor Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin was born on September 11, 1900 in Smolensk. My father worked as a teacher. The mother was in charge of the household. In 1917, the young man graduated from the gymnasium with a gold medal. A year later he was drafted into the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army. He took part in hostilities on the Eastern Front. After the end of the civil war, Semyon came to Moscow and entered the Higher Technical School.
After graduation, a certified aeromechanical engineer was sent to work in the design bureau of aircraft designer Paul Richard. An engineer from France came to Soviet Russia to help the communists build a new society. The design bureau was engaged in the design of seaplanes. Lavochkin headed the sector in which structural strength calculations were performed. Two years later, the already experienced designer was transferred to the Main Directorate of the Aviation Industry.
Chief designer
Within the framework of specialization and division of functions, Lavochkin headed the direction of the design and production of fighters. At that time, it was important not only to create a new machine, but also to develop a production technology. At the end of the 30s, together with the designers Gurevich and Gorbunov, he created the LaGG-1 fighter. Special plywood was used as the main structural material. In the first years of the war, "Rus-plywood" put up a worthy resistance to the fascist Assam.
The next project yielded outstanding results. In the fall of 1942, LA-5 fighters appeared in the skies over Stalingrad. It was on this machine that the Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Kozhedub fought three times, who personally shot down sixty-two enemy planes. Until the end of the war, modified aircraft of this series LA-7 and LA-5FN with improved aerodynamic and combat characteristics were supplied to the front.
Service after the Victory
The confrontation between the USSR and the USA was observed in all spheres of science and production. In the mid-40s, Lavochkin was given the task of creating a jet-powered fighter. After three years of hard work, the prototype LA-15 was presented to the state commission. The fighter was in service with the country's Air Force for five years. The next direction in the activity of Semyon Alekseevich was the development of an intercontinental missile.
Lavochkin in his work always tried to delve into the smallest details. In 1960, the next tests of the Tempest missile took place. The test site was located on the territory of Kazakhstan. During the next launch, the designer's heart failed. Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin died of a heart attack.
