Vladimir Andreevich Artemiev - Soviet designer, one of the creators of the legendary Katyusha. His work has received two Stalin Prizes. He is a holder of the Orders of the Red Banner of Labor and the Red Star.
Vladimir Andreevich was born into a noble family of St. Petersburg on June 24 (July 6) in 1885. His father managed to take part in many battles, as he was a career soldier. Immediately after graduating from high school in 1905, Vladimir volunteered for the front.
Choosing a life path
In the battles, the recent schoolboy showed considerable courage. He was awarded the St. George Cross and the rank of junior non-commissioned officer. The young man decided to get a military education after the war. The father was categorically against such a career for his son. Relationship after the choice of a young man with a parent became very strained. Artemiev Sr. did not accept the choice of an heir.
In 1908, Vladimir graduated from the Alekseevsk military school with the rank of second lieutenant. After completing his studies, a young officer in the rank went to serve in the Brest-Litovsk fortress. In 1911 Artemyev was promoted to lieutenant. For four years, Vladimir Andreevich was in charge of the equipment laboratory of the fortress. There, the young man became interested in rockets.
He began his first experiments with lighting rockets. The engineer managed to change the design of the illuminating rocket so that several could be replaced with one sample.
Experiments have noticed. The management considered the contribution of the young scientist to the development of military technology essential. In 1915 it was decided to send a promising young scientist to the Main Artillery Directorate of Moscow.
There he continued to serve until the revolution of 1917. After October, Vladimir Andreevich remained in the Soviet Union. He continued his scientific activities.
In the early twenties, Artemiev met with a specialist and inventor working in the same direction Nikolai Tikhomirov. He was engaged in the development of rockets.
Almost no one believed in the success of the work. The engineers continued their research together. Smokeless projectiles were called science fiction. However, the developers firmly believed in success.
Research and inventions
They kept the workshop for work on enthusiasm. In order to survive, scientists were simultaneously engaged in the manufacture of toys for children, accessories for bicycles.
Researchers were able to obtain smokeless checker powder on TNT. This was an unprecedented breakthrough. As a result, the invention formed the basis for subsequent achievements in the field of domestic rocketry.
In 1922, at the end of September, Artemyev was arrested. The investigation into his case lasted more than six months. On June 10, 1923, the inventor was sent to the Solovetsky camp for three years.
After being released and returning home, Vladimir Andreevich continued joint research with Tikhomirov. After three years of hard work in 1928, the new rocket was successfully tested on March 3.
The experiments of the scientists were encouraged by the command of the Red Army. They were given funds for the equipment of the Gas-Dynamic Laboratory. Tikhomirov was appointed its first head. At the post he was replaced by Petropavlovsky.
After the merger of the laboratory with the Reactive Institute in 1933, before commissioning, Artemyev was engaged in the improvement of the RS-82 and RS-132 reactive charges.
During this period, Vladimir Andreevich was engaged in the design of a depth charge with a jet engine. He was directly involved in the creation of the Katyusha rocket launcher.
Katyusha
Artemyev got the design of the shells for the legendary installation. The multiply charged Katyusha became a real headache for the enemy.
The BM-13 was adopted literally a few years before the start of the Great Patriotic War. On July 14, 1941, she fired the first salvo at the enemy.
The Orsha railway junction occupied by the Nazi troops was fired upon by a battery of seven Katyushas. The enemy was so frightened by the power of the weapon that he thought that the gunners with a hundred guns were against them.
Thanks to unprecedented strength and power, the rockets flew over a distance of over 8 km, and the temperature of the fragments reached eight hundred degrees.
The enemy tried repeatedly to capture new miraculous samples. However, the Katyusha crews received clear orders not to hand over weapons to the enemy.
In critical situations, it was recommended to use the mechanism of their self-destruction available in the installation. The entire history of modern rocketry is based on those legendary jet "Katyushas".
Awards
During the war years, Artemiev became the author of many military-technical developments. All of them were in demand. For the creation of weapons for aircraft, Vladimir Andreevich was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1941.
In 1943, he won a similar award for a complete modernization of the production technology for creating mortar pipes and ammunition parts. The laureates donated the entire prize to the defense fund.
After the end of the war, Artemiev became the chief designer of several research and design institutes. He continued to work on the design of new types of jet weapons, developed more advanced models of rocket projectiles.
The works of the famous scientist have received several awards. The famous designer died in 1962, on September 11 in Moscow. The memory of the outstanding inventor is immortalized in an unusual way. One of the largest lunar craters is named in his honor.
