Legendary man Pavel Soloviev is the founder of gas turbine engine building in Russia. He is called the "last of the great." Until now, the development of the Perm Design Bureau, which he led for 35 years, remains in the leading positions in the industry.
Biography
Pavel Soloviev was born on June 26, 1918 in the Ivanovo region. This is the famous textile region of Russia, so the life of his family was subject to the routine then established. Factories in the city of Kineshma, where the Solovyovs later moved, worked according to a special schedule. In winter and spring, workers worked at enterprises, and in summer and autumn they went to the fields, where each had his own allotment.
The family of Paul had five children, he was born middle. The elders are brother Nikolai and sister Lydia, the younger are brother Vitaly and sister Galina. According to the recollections of Paul, the mother in the family was the mother, Maria Stepanovna. She adhered to strict, but not arbitrary rules of education. She monitored the observance of family traditions, she had all the basic agricultural work - father Alexander Andreevich did not really like to do this. Since eight years, Pavel has been actively helping to work on the field.
Pavel Soloviev in childhood.
But Paul was not at all attracted to the village life. He was very fond of reading, for which he often came from his parents. After completing all household chores, there was no time for books, I had to hide at night in the attic with a candle. Therefore, his parents periodically scolded him - an open fire in a wooden house is a dangerous business.
Pavel graduated from high school; he had to cross the Volga River in classes on his own boat. After her graduation, he entered the Rybinsk Aviation Institute, this was in 1934.
Parents of Paul with his older brother.
student life
As it turned out later, Pavel Solovyov added a year to his real age, and entered the institute at the age of 16. Therefore, all sources indicate the year of his birth in 1917, although the birth mark was made in the church metric in 1918. He mastered the program of the 10th grade of the school himself. By that time, Pavel’s father had died, and his mother asked him to find a job or study in order to “remove from household expenses”.
Soloviev was a diligent student. Since by age he did not fit into the general team and rarely participated in entertainment, he devoted all his free time to education - he read, solved problems, drew some schemes. In 1937, an aero club was organized at the institute, where Pavel immediately applied.
All students who passed by age were later taken into the army. Soloviev was offered to start teaching, he talked about the design of the M-11 engine and training aircraft. He even received a decent salary, which was 5 times the scholarship.
Institute Pavel Solovyov graduated with honors. To start a career, he was offered a choice of three cities: Zaporozhye, Ulan-Ude, Perm. At that time, the Ural city was the most modern - so Soloviev was in Perm in OKB-19 in 1940.
Then the chief designer was A. Shvetsov, who initially sent Paul to the test bench. Solovyov did not like this, and he persistently asked for designers. Shvetsov appreciated the graduate's persistence, and the first project was work on centrifugal compressors.
Career
In 1948, Solovyov was appointed deputy chief designer. After the death of A. Shvetsov in 1953, the leading role in the design bureau passed to Soloviev. He held this post for 35 years.
During the war, Pavel Alexandrovich remained in the city. Organized the work of youth, continued work on engines. The working day was increased to 12 hours, although this was not enough, often remained to spend the night directly in the factories. It was during the war period that Soloviev met A. Tupolev.
Soloviev became the founder of a new direction in the development of aircraft engines. The first double-circuit gas turbine engine D-20P is the brainchild of Solovyov, and this development is far ahead of all its Western counterparts.
Later, the world's first gas turbine engines for helicopters appeared - they equipped the Mi-6 and Mi-10. And in 1964, the “heart” appeared for the passenger liner. The D-30 engine began to be installed on the Tu family, it was the most economical and perfect for that time.
Assembly of the D-30 engine.
For a long time Solovyov taught at the Perm Polytechnic, and in 1961 he was awarded the title of professor of the department "Aircraft Engines". In 1967, he became a doctor of technical sciences; in 1981, he became a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
The latest project of the famous designer was the D-90 engine, which was later renamed in his honor (PS-90). Pavel Soloviev suddenly died in November 1996.
Awards
Soloviev was a recognized specialist in the development of engines for aircraft, so his contribution to this industry was appreciated. His first awards appeared back in 1945. For extensive work on the development of piston engines, he and another 40 people received their commemorative badges. Soloviev was awarded the Order of the Red Star.
In 1949, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor appeared - this is how P. Solovyov’s merits for working on the engine for the IL-14 were noted.
All awards make up an impressive list, here are just a few of them:
- four orders of Lenin
- Order of the October Revolution
- Labor Valor Medal
- two letters of honor from the Presidium of the Armed Forces of the RSFSR and others.
MiG-31.
In addition, Solovyov was an honorary citizen of Perm, recognized as a hero of Socialist Labor, had the badge "Honorary Aircraft Builder", a laureate of the State and Lenin Prizes.
