Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin. Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich - Shlyoma Aizikovich Magaziner

Personal matter

Semyon Alekseevich (Simon Alterovich) Lavochkin (1900 - 1960) was born in Smolensk into a Jewish family. He spent part of his childhood in the county town of Roslavl, where he graduated from the city school. Then he studied at the gymnasium in Kursk, graduating in 1917 with a gold medal. Since 1918 he served in the Red Army, in the border division.

At the end of 1920, Semyon Lavochkin was demobilized and sent to study at the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School. At the school, Lavochkin chose the aeromechanical department, where his teacher was Andrei Tupolev. Lavochkin completed his pre-graduation internship at the Tupolev design bureau, participating in the development of the first Soviet bomber ANT-4 (TB-1). He graduated from his studies in 1927, receiving the qualification of an aeromechanical engineer.

His first place of work was an aircraft plant in Fili. Since 1929, Lavochkin worked in Moscow at the Richard design bureau, where the seaplane - the TOM-1 open sea torpedo bomber - was created. In subsequent years, Lavochkin worked in several more Moscow design bureaus on aircraft of various types, working his way up to lead designer. In 1938, at the invitation of Tupolev, Lavochkin went to work at the Main Directorate of Aviation Industry (GUAP) of the USSR People's Commissariat of Defense.

Since then, fighter aircraft have become the main specialization of designer Lavochkin. In 1939, Lavochkin, together with Vladimir Gorbunov and Mikhail Gudkov, developed the LaGG-3 fighter. The aircraft was submitted to a competition announced that year by the USSR government, and was recognized as one of the best. Three designers were allocated plant No. 301 in Khimki as a production base for the construction of a new aircraft. The fighter passed tests and was accepted for mass production.

Since 1940, Lavochkin, Gudkov and Gorbunov each headed their own design bureau. Semyon Lavochkin and some of his employees were transferred as chief designer to serial plant No. 21 in Gorky with the task of launching the production of the LaGG-3 fighter. During the war, Lavochkin significantly redesigned the LaGG-3. The fighter's engine was replaced and the wing plane was significantly strengthened, which dramatically increased the aircraft's combat capabilities.

Also during the war years, Lavochkin created ten serial and experimental fighters, including La-5, La-5F, La-5FN, La-7, which were widely used in battles. A total of 22,500 Lavochkin-designed aircraft were built between 1941 and 1945. On June 21, 1943, the aircraft designer was awarded the Order of Lenin and received the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

Since 1945, Lavochkin became the chief designer of aircraft factories No. 81 in Moscow and No. 801 in Khimki. In the first post-war years, Lavochkin's design bureau created his last piston fighters - the all-metal La-9 aircraft, the La-180 trainer and the La-11 long-range fighter. In the late 40s and early 50s, the La-9 and La-11 formed the backbone of the USSR fighter aviation.

Meanwhile, the Lavochkin Design Bureau moved on to developing jet fighters. The La-160 aircraft, created in 1947, became the first aircraft in our country with a swept wing. Thanks to a new design solution, on December 26, 1948, for the first time in the USSR on the La-176 fighter, pilot Sokolovsky reached the speed of sound in flight with a descent.

In 1950, the Semyon Lavochkin Design Bureau was tasked with designing, building, testing and introducing into series the latest models of surface-to-air missiles. As a result, he developed ground-based anti-aircraft guided missiles, as well as air-to-air missiles. In 1955, the Berkut air defense system protecting Moscow was equipped with Lavochkin missiles. For the creation of the first domestic anti-aircraft guided missiles, Lavochkin's design bureau was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1956, and the designer himself received the second star of the Hero of Socialist Labor. In the second half of the 1950s, Semyon Lavochkin and the design bureau he headed were engaged in the creation of the Burya intercontinental supersonic cruise missile and the new Dal anti-aircraft air defense system, equipped with long-range surface-to-air missiles.

Semyon Lavochki died during testing at the Sary-Shagan training ground in Kazakhstan on the night of June 9-10, 1960.

What is he famous for?

Since the late 1930s, Semyon Lavochkin has been working on the creation of fighter aircraft. Many of the models he designed (LaGG-3, La-5, La-7) played a huge role in the air battles of World War II. Already during the first use of the La-5 in combat conditions, from August 14 to 24, 1942, 19 fighters flew 180 sorties and in 27 air battles, the regiment pilots shot down 16 enemy aircraft. In air battles, when climbing at high speeds, the German Me-109F did not break away from the La-5, and at low speeds, due to the greater weight of the La-5, at the first moment it lagged behind, and then compared with it in terms of climb rate. During turns, our fighter came into the tail of the Messer, since the latter’s turn radius was larger. The horizontal speeds of our and the German aircraft were the same, but in a dive the La-5 flew faster.

What you need to know

Lavochkin’s project of the second half of the 1950s is not so well known - the world’s first supersonic two-stage intercontinental ground-based cruise missile “Storm” (product “350”, V-350, La-350, La-X). It was intended for flights over a distance of up to 8,000 kilometers, at altitudes of up to 25 kilometers, and reached a speed of 3,700 kilometers per hour. The launch weight of the rocket was 95 tons, the weight of the sustainer stage was 33 tons, and the weight of the warhead was 2.35 tons.

The Burya launched from the launcher vertically, gradually transitioned into horizontal flight, and at an altitude of 17,500 m accelerated to a speed three times the speed of sound. At this moment the first stage separated. Then the missile followed at an altitude of 17 - 18 km according to the commands of the celestial navigation control system, when approaching the target it performed an anti-aircraft maneuver, gaining an altitude of 25 km, and dived onto the target. The flight to maximum range, including ascent and acceleration, lasted about 2.5 hours. During the development of the Buri, for the first time in the USSR, a supersonic ramjet engine was created, an automatic celestial navigation flight control system was designed, and machining and welding of titanium alloys were used.

Direct speech

“Wherever I was, whatever I did, I always thought about the plane. Not about the one that is already flying, but about the one that is not yet, which should still be. Sometimes you sit, watch a performance and suddenly catch yourself thinking about an airplane. The performance has moved somewhere far away, and the plane is in front of my eyes again... I still don’t know what it will be like. Individual details are still emerging vaguely. I think. Another person might say: it’s a rather strange task to pace your office from morning to evening. Is this a job? But everyone works differently. So, as I walk, I change my mind and refine my idea. This is work. It's tedious, hard work. And when it finally becomes clear to me what this new machine should be like, I call my workmates to join me. “Here’s what I came up with,” I tell them, “how do you like it?” They listen carefully, write something down, and draw something. The discussion begins. Sometimes I feel like they like my idea too much and I can't help myself. “Criticize, damn it!” - I shout to them. They get excited, and there is such a noise in the office that visitors sitting in the reception area might think that sworn enemies have gathered here. But our common cause is dear to all of us, that’s why we all get so excited and lose our temper. The discussion ends. We are happy. Now, at least, it is clear to each of us what he is right and what he is wrong. Now we can begin. And now the first line appears on the drawings. Dozens of people are working on the future aircraft. My slender machine seems to fall apart into separate parts: the engine, the propeller group, the weapons - specialists are working on each part. And everyone is in a hurry - quickly, quickly!”

From the memoirs of S. A. Lavochkin

“Semyon Alekseevich never confined himself to the circle of purely professional interests. At that time, during his student years, the versatility of his aspirations was felt especially clearly. We managed to do a lot - went to theaters, concerts, listened to futurist poets and imagists. Semyon Alekseevich did not miss the opportunity to attend an interesting lecture at the Polytechnic Museum, to attend performances by Shershenevich, Mariengof, Yesenin, Mayakovsky. Semyon Alekseevich loved the Bat Theater very much. Poets often performed there and sometimes storms broke out. They applauded and whistled, rejoiced and hissed. In later years, coming to the theater, Semyon Alekseevich often looked up and said: “And how good it was in the gallery...”.”

From the memoirs of R. G. Lavochkina

“La-5, especially La-5FN, and La-7 have become machines of a qualitatively different level. At operating altitudes they could fight on equal terms with Messers and Fokkers. With the advent of these fighters, the need to echelon battle formations in height disappeared. The Lavochkins were superior to German planes in their rate of climb and could easily catch up with them on the hill. Compared to the most maneuverable version of the Messerschmitt - the Bf.109G - the La5F fighter had superiority in vertical and horizontal maneuver up to an altitude of 3500 m, above the advantage went to the Messer, but the FW 190 was superior in maneuverability to the Lavochkin in the entire altitude range . The La-5FN was superior to the Gustav already up to altitudes of about 5000 m. On the La-7, the pilots easily caught up with the FW 190 both in horizontal and vertical flight, and its superior maneuverability allowed it to get behind the Fokker on the third or fourth turn. The FW 190 was superior to the La-7 only in dive speed, due to which the Germans could “run away” from the battle site in time.”

8 facts about Semyon Lavochkin

Semyon Lavochkin's father was a melamed - a teacher at a Jewish school.

The body of the LaGG-3 aircraft was made of delta wood - a new, durable material at that time made from wood veneer impregnated with formaldehyde resins and pressed under high pressure. According to legend, Stalin, when he was first shown delta wood to test its non-flammability, tried to set it on fire with coals from his pipe, and then tried in vain to scratch it with a knife.

Such famous pilots as Ivan Kozhedub and Alexey Maresyev flew on Lavochkin’s planes during the war.

Semyon Lavochkin became a laureate of the Stalin Prize four times (1941, 1943, 1946, 1948) and was awarded many orders.

In 1958, Lavochkin became a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the department of technical sciences.

Semyon Lavochkin's military rank is Major General of the Engineering and Technical Service (since 1942).

The plane of the American pilot Powers was shot down over the Urals by a missile created at the Lavochkin Design Bureau.

In the first half of the 1950s, Lavochkin developed the La-17 unmanned target aircraft, the prototype of modern unmanned aerial vehicles. The La-17 was produced until 1993; a reconnaissance version was created as an unmanned front-line photo reconnaissance aircraft.

Vasily Alekseenko, Mikhail Nikolsky “Lavochkin’s fighters in the Great Patriotic War”

How often do people talk about the merits of the winners of the Great Patriotic War, but have they ever thought about those who stood at the origins of the all-Union victory? One of those who made a tangible contribution to the history of invincible Soviet aviation is aircraft designer Semyon Lavochkin.

It was his work that created the famous line of front-line fighters La-5 and their development La-7. The famous I.N. fought on these planes. Kozhedub, three times awarded the title Hero of the USSR for victories in air battles.

Biography

Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin, was born into the family of melamed Alter Ilyich Lavochkin and housewife Gita Savelyevna on August 29, according to the new style on September 11, 1900. He is an ethnic Jew, a native of Smolensk.

In Roslavl he graduated from the city school, after which he was enrolled in the Kursk gymnasium in 1917, from which he successfully graduated with a gold medal.

In 1918, he joined the Red Army, and in 1920 he became a border guard employee. He was demobilized at the end of 1920 and was sent to study in Moscow.

Already undergoing pre-graduation practice, Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin became part of the history of Soviet aviation, passing it at the Tupolev Design Bureau.

The entire life of the legendary Soviet aviation designer Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin was spent at work. This is reflected in his biography.

After he graduated from the Higher Technical School in Moscow, the aspiring aircraft designer S. Lavochkin worked under the guidance of various designers and engineers, which later determined his view of the aircraft, completely devoid of stereotypes, and therefore not blurred.

• 1929, OPO-4, work under the direction of Paul Richard. Legendary seaplane designer;
• 1930, work at the Bureau of New Designs under the leadership of Henri Laville, one of the engineers of Paul Richard’s team, who by this time had left the USSR, among the projects being developed at that time was the heavy fighter DI-4, in the development of which Lavochkin also took part;
• 1939 OKB-301. Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin, together with Gorbunov and Gudkov, are participating in a competition to create a new fighter to replace the I-16. The I-301 prototype they presented, nicknamed “piano” due to its cherry-colored varnish and varnish, went into mass production in 1940 under the name LaGG-3;
• 1941 OKB-21, work on the modernization of the LaGG-3 fighter; until 1944, 66 series of this aircraft were produced, changing from release to release. Launch of the legendary La-5 into mass production and further work on its modernization;
• 1945 OKB-301. From that moment until the end of his design career, Lavochkin worked in this design bureau.

The great aircraft designer Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin liked to repeat that a true professional does not just need an office, he needs a whole factory. And to create a masterpiece, ink, ink and paper are not enough; you need workers, tools and materials to make an aircraft.

The beginning of the 1930s, Spain is plunged into civil war, the USSR begins supplying weapons and equipment there. Along with combat aircraft, Soviet volunteer pilots also take off into the skies of Spain, who not only performed the work of instructors, but also carried out combat activities.

The battles in the hot skies of Catalonia showed that the I-16, although it does not step, is not yet inferior to the German Bf.109B aircraft that were in service with the Condor air wing. But, nevertheless, it becomes outdated extremely quickly. A competition to re-equip the aviation of the Soviet Union, in which young aircraft builders took part, was called upon to eliminate the backlog:

• Lavochkin, Gudkov and Gorbunov, the LaGG-3 fighter, an aircraft with powerful weapons, an M-105P engine, the basis of the design of which was the massive use of bakelite plywood - delta wood;
• Mikoyan and Gurevich - MiG-1 fighter, AM-35 engine, high-altitude high-speed fighter;
• Yakovlev A.S. with the Yak-1 front-line fighter, M-105P engine, lightweight plywood-canvas construction, armament in the form of a 20 mm motor cannon and two machine guns.

It was these aircraft that subsequently met the first blow of the Third Reich, and their successors knocked out the Luftwaffe personnel, providing the advancing army with complete air superiority.

Merits and awards

Title of Hero of Socialist Labor S.A. Lavochkin received it on June 21, 1943. The Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle medal adorned the chest of the designer for the urgent modernization of the LaGG-3 to a level that allowed them to fight on equal terms with Luftwaffe aircraft.

Considerable merit is that the La-5, like its ancestor LaGG, was created from wood and plywood, this made it possible to organize its production at a difficult time for the country, in conditions of a total shortage of duralumin and other light alloys.

Lavochkin was awarded the next title of Hero in 1956, for his significant contribution to the country's defense capability. The country's air defense was armed with missiles of his design.

In addition to being awarded the Hammer and Sickle gold medals, Lavochkin was a laureate of 4 Stalin Prizes in 1941, 1943, 1946 and 1948.

List of aircraft

During World War II, the Soviet design bureau, led by Semyon Lavochkin, developed a series of fighters, in particular the La-5 and La-7, which made a significant contribution to the Union Victory.

In the post-war period, Lavochkin developed a series of jet aircraft, primarily the La-15, but, unfortunately, it could not withstand the competition with the MiG-15 and lost the palm to it.

But the first was LaGG, already in the post-war period, in the memoirs of some designers it received the sharp nickname “Lacquered Guaranteed Coffin”, although among the troops it was called “piano” or “beauty”.

The aircraft did not have excellent maneuverability or acceleration characteristics, but nevertheless differed favorably from the Yak-1 in its survivability, and was superior to the faster MiGs in weapon power.

Projects

In general, most of the developments of S.A. Lavochkin were successful and passed all flight tests, but they were subject to improvements. So the project of the La-5VI model was created according to the group’s scheme.

In December 1944, they proposed an option to improve the outdated La-5 model using jet boosters. This project was approved and implemented at the end of 1944, today this model is known as La-7R.

Last years of life

In 1956, Lavochkin was appointed chief designer of the OKB. This post in his career was marked by two major projects.

1. He designed the world's first supersonic cruise missile with intercontinental capabilities, the Burya.
2. He also developed a project to create Dal launch systems intended for air defense.

The great aircraft designer died of a heart attack in June 1960, having honorably fulfilled his civic and labor duty to his Motherland.

He conducted the last tests of the Burya missile at a test site located in the Kazakh SSR near Balkhash, called Sary Shagan.

A memorial plaque has been installed in the house where the honored genius of Soviet aviation lived. And to this day, the USSR Air Force Museum preserves within its walls an entire era of the creation of fighter aircraft, which were the first in history to surpass all Western analogues.

Video

Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich (1900-1960).

Semyon Alekseevich was born on August 29 (September 11), 1900 in the family of a simple teacher. At that time they lived in Smolensk and Semyon went to school here. In 1908, the parents moved to the city of Roslavl. Life was not easy, the family’s well-being relied on personal farming - a cow, a vegetable garden and an old orchard - which provided more income than the father’s modest earnings. But the parents did not lose heart: there was little money in the Lavochkin family, but there were plenty of smiles and jokes. Usually the tone was set by the father, who loved to tell funny stories at dinner, when the whole family - his wife and three children - gathered.

At that time, there was a rule according to which the number of Jewish schoolchildren should not exceed five percent. To become one of the “five percenters” required exceptional hard work and extraordinary talent. Lavochkin had both. In 1917, he graduated from the gymnasium in Kursk with a gold medal and dreamed of continuing his studies at the institute. But I had to abandon the idea of ​​higher education for now.

Seventeen-year-old Lavochkin volunteered for the Red Army. In 1920, all students and persons eligible to enter higher education institutions were demobilized. Among yesterday's Red Army soldiers who gathered in the classrooms of the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School was Lavochkin.

The house where he settled was not far from the house where Professor Zhukovsky lived. In the mornings, heading to school, the professor and student met each other more than once. And soon Lavochkin became a student of Zhukovsky, after he joined the “wind blowers” ​​- as those who dared to choose an aerodynamic specialty were called at the Moscow Higher Technical School.
Lavochkin completed his theoretical course of study in 1927. But before starting his graduation project, the young engineer had to work in production and gain experience for competent design. For pre-graduation practice, Lavochkin chose the famous Tupolev Design Bureau. One of the reasons for this choice was the enormous respect with which Lavochkin treated the famous designer and which he carried throughout his life.

In 1929, Lavochkin defended his diploma and received the title of engineer, after which he was sent to work in the design bureau, which was headed by the French engineer Paul Aimé Richard. Then S.P. Korolev, N.I. Kamov, M.I. Gurevich and other future famous designers worked there. After two or three months, Lavochkin not only learned to translate technical texts fluently, but also spoke quite confidently with his French colleagues. In the evenings, covered with special dictionaries and reference books, he plunged into the world of formulas, graphs, calculation diagrams, design solutions, carefully selected and analyzed all the best that the world aircraft industry had accumulated.

Soon Lavochkin was transferred to the Central Design Bureau under the leadership of A.A. Chizhevsky, and a year later he ended up in the Grigorovich Design Bureau, where he came close to the design of a fighter. At the very beginning of the 1930s, Lavochkin was given the opportunity to independently design a fighter - Ordzhonikidze himself gave the go-ahead for this. At the beginning of 1940, testing of LaGG-1 began. Then, at the request of the military, Lavochkin managed to successfully solve the problem of almost doubling the flight range - thus the LaGG-3 was born. By decision of the government, LaGG-3 was put into mass production at five factories.
Together with V.P. Gorbunov and M.I. Gudkov, for the creation of the LaGG-3 fighter, S.A. Lavochkin was awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree.

In 1943, he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor and became a laureate of the Stalin Prize, first degree, for the creation of the La-5 fighter.
In October 1945, after returning from the city of Gorky, he was appointed head of OKB-301 in the city of Khimki, Moscow Region (now the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Research and Production Association named after S.A. Lavochkin").
In 1946, for the creation of the La-7 fighter, he was awarded the Stalin Prize of the second degree.
In 1948, he was awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree for the creation of new types of aircraft.
After the war, Semyon Alekseevich worked on the creation of jet aircraft. In his OKB-301, the serial La-15 and many experimental jet fighters were developed.
While working on fighters, Lavochkin dreamed of creating a peaceful machine - a passenger aircraft at supersonic speeds. "After a while, - he told his colleagues - You and I will make a passenger car. Such that people will fly to America in two hours.”

In 1954, Lavochkin began work on the intercontinental supersonic cruise missile "Storm" (work manager - N.S. Chernyakov).
In 1956, he was awarded the official title of General Designer for Aircraft Engineering.
Since 1942, Lavochkin has been a major general in the engineering and technical service, and since 1958, a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Lavochkin was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor twice (1943, 1956), the Stalin Prize was awarded four times (1941, 1943, 1946, 1948), and he was awarded many orders and medals.

He died from the consequences of acute heart failure at the Sary-Shagan training ground (Karaganda region of the Kazakh SSR) on June 9, 1960 while testing the Dal air defense system. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Awards:
- twice Hero of Socialist Labor (medal No. 33 1943, medal No. 54 1956);
-three Orders of Lenin;
-Order of the Red Banner of Labor;
-Order of Suvorov, 1st degree;
-Order of Suvorov II degree;
-medal “For Military Merit”;
-Stalin Prize, first degree, four times (1941, 1943, 1946, 1948).

In his hometown of Smolensk, in Lipetsk (see Lavochkin Street), in Krasnodar, in Khimki and in Moscow there are streets named after Lavochkin.
In Moscow, at house number 19 on Tverskaya Street, where Semyon Alekseevich lived, a memorial plaque was installed.
In Akhtubinsk, Astrakhan region, on Agurin Street, a memorial plaque was erected to S.A. Lavochkin.
In Nizhny Novgorod (from 1932 to 1990 - Gorky) on Chaadaeva Street 16, where S.A. Lavochkin lived in 1940-1944, heading OKB-21, a memorial plaque was installed.
In the city of Hadera (Israel) there is Lavochkin Street.

Aircraft designer S.A. Lavochkin with the La-5FN fighter.

General designers S.A. Lavochkin, A.S. Yakovlev and A.I. Mikoyan.

List of sources:
A.N. Ponomarev. Soviet aviation designers.
N.V. Yakubovich. Unknown Lavochkin.

#aircraft designer#USSR #lavochkin

On September 11, 1900, Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin (Aizikovich) was born - an outstanding Soviet aircraft designer. Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences, Major General of the Aviation Engineering Service, four times laureate of the Stalin Prize, twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1943, 1956).

Born in Smolensk (some documents indicate a different place of birth - the town of Petrovichi, Roslavl district, Smolensk province). Son of a high school teacher. Jew. He graduated from the city school in the city of Roslavl and the gymnasium in Kursk.

Since 1918 - in Workers' and Peasants'. He fought as a Red Army soldier in the Civil War, and in 1920 he served in the border guard. At the end of 1920 he was demobilized and sent to study in Moscow. Graduated from the Moscow Higher Technical School. N.E. Bauman in 1927. He completed his pre-graduation internship at the design bureau of A.N. Tupolev, participating in the development of the first Soviet bomber ANT-4 (TB-1). Since 1929, he worked in a number of aviation design bureaus (Richard Design Bureau, Bureau of New Designs and Central Design Bureau). In 1935 - 1938 - chief designer of the LL fighter project (did not go into production). In 1938 - 1939 he worked in the Main Directorate of the Aviation Industry.

Since 1939, chief aircraft designer, head of the design bureau at aircraft plant No. 301 in the city of Khimki, Moscow region. Under his leadership, the LaGG-3 fighter was created there (together with M.I. Gudkov and V.P. Gorbunov). Since 1940 - chief designer of the design bureau at aircraft plant No. 21 in the city of Gorky.

During the Great Patriotic War, the LaGG-3 was significantly redesigned, which initially had a high accident rate and insufficient flight characteristics (it replaced the engine and significantly strengthened the wing plane, which sharply increased the combat capabilities of the aircraft). At the same time he created 10 serial and experimental fighters, including La-5, La-5F, La-5FN, La-7, which were widely used in battles. When developing them, Lavochkin rationally combined the wooden structure of the airframe (using a particularly durable material - delta wood) with a reliable engine that had high technical characteristics over a wide range of flight altitudes. The layout of the La-5 and La-7 provided reliable protection for the pilot in the forward hemisphere of fire. On fighters designed by I.N. Lavochkin. Kozhedub shot down 62 German aircraft. In total, 22,500 Lavochkin aircraft were built between 1941 and 1945, which played a huge role in the conquest of air supremacy by Soviet aviation. Over the years, Lavochkin fighters with jet boosters installed on them have been tested.

For outstanding services in the creation of aviation equipment in difficult wartime conditions, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 21, 1943, Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin was awarded the title of Socialist Labor with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal.

In the first post-war years, Lavochkin's design bureau (in 1945 it was transferred to Khimki) created his last piston fighters - the all-metal La-9 aircraft, the La-180 trainer and the La-11 long-range fighter. Then the Lavochkin Design Bureau was transferred to the creation of serial and experimental jet fighters, although it began to work closely on the problems of jet engines and their use in aviation since 1944. In 1947, the La-160 was developed - the first domestic aircraft with a swept wing, the La-15. In December 1948, on the La-176 with a wing sweep of 45 degrees, for the first time in the USSR, a flight speed equal to the speed of sound was achieved. The designer created the supersonic fighter La-190, an all-weather two-seat fighter with a powerful radar on board the La-200.

Under Lavochkin’s leadership, a number of rocket technology samples were created. In 1950, OKB S.A. Lavochkin was instructed to design, build, test and introduce into series the latest models of surface-to-air missiles, and the tactical and technical data were set to extremely high levels, not achieved in any country in the world. On the initiative of I.V. Stalin, who realized the danger of a very real nuclear strike on the industrial centers of the country in those years, decided to create the first domestic air defense system (S-25 air defense) with anti-aircraft guided missiles (SAM) in service.

In the shortest possible time, the path was covered from the formulation of the very idea of ​​​​an air defense system to the creation of the system. In 1951 - 1955, under the leadership of S.A. Lavochkin developed and tested ground-based missiles-205 and missiles-215, as well as air-to-air missiles. In 1955, the famous protective “rings” appeared around Moscow - the Berkut air defense system. Rockets designed by S.A. Lavochkin were on combat duty until the early 80s (these were SAM-217M and SAM-218). Member of the CPSU since 1953.

For outstanding achievements in the creation of new aviation equipment and the labor heroism shown at the same time, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 20, 1956, Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin was re-awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the presentation of the second gold medal “Hammer and Sickle” (No. 33/II) .

In parallel with the missile theme, S.A. Lavochkin in 1950 - 1954 developed an unmanned target aircraft La-17, which was produced for almost 40 years - until 1993. In addition, its reconnaissance version was created and used as an unmanned front-line photo reconnaissance vehicle (the prototype of modern unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicles).

Since 1956 S.A. Lavochkin is the general designer of the OKB. In this post, he completed two major works: firstly, the creation of the Burya intercontinental supersonic cruise missile and, secondly, the design of the new Dal anti-aircraft air defense system, which was based on long-range surface-to-air missiles (up to 500 km) for hitting high-speed air targets.

At the end of the Buri tests on June 9, 1960, Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin died of a heart attack at the Sary-Shagan training ground in the area of ​​Lake Balkhash (Kazakh SSR). Due to the ineradicable Soviet habit of classifying everything as secret, the newspapers reported that the designer had died in Moscow. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery of the Hero City of Moscow (section 1).

Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1958). Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 3-5 convocations (from 1950 to 1960).

Winner of four USSR Stalin Prizes (1941, 1943, 1946, 1948).

Major General of the Aviation Engineering Service (08/19/1944). Awarded three Orders of Lenin (October 31, 1941, June 21, 1943, August 30, 1950), the Order of the Red Banner (07/02/1945), the Order of Suvorov 1st (09/16/1945) and 2nd (08/19/1944) degrees, medals, including “For Military Merit” (11/5/1944).

The research and production association formed on the basis of the Design Bureau, which he led, bears Lavochkin’s name. A bronze bust was installed in the Hero’s homeland in the hero city of Smolensk.

Streets in Moscow and Smolensk are named after him, and bronze busts are installed there. In Moscow, a memorial plaque was installed on the house where the Hero lived.