1936
New York, United States
Pavel Sukhoi on the roof of the Empire State Building during a three-month business trip to the leading industrial enterprises and scientific institutions of the United States
1947
Tushino
Evgeny Ivanov, Pavel Sukhoi, Evgeni Felsner and Nikolai Zyryn are watching the air parade
Moscow, Russian Federation
Famous aircraft designers Pavel Sukhoi, Alexandr Yakovlev, and Artem Mikoyan in Kremlin
Pavel Sukhoi in his office
1936
New York, United States
Pavel Sukhoi on the roof of the Empire State Building during a three-month business trip to the leading industrial enterprises and scientific institutions of the United States
1947
Tushino
Evgeny Ivanov, Pavel Sukhoi, Evgeni Felsner and Nikolai Zyryn are watching the air parade
Gomel, Belarus
Pavel Sukhoi with his family in Gomel
Moscow, Russian Federation
Famous aircraft designers Pavel Sukhoi, Alexandr Yakovlev, and Artem Mikoyan in Kremlin
Pavel Sukhoi in his office
Pavel Sukhoi and his wife Sofia Felixovna
Sukhoj, Sukhi
Pavel Sukhoi was born on July 22, 1895 in the small town of Hlybokaye near Vitebsk, Belarus - part of the Russian Empire at that time, into a family of a school teacher Osip Andreevich Sukhoi and Elizaveta Yakovlevna Gisich. There were 6 children in the family: 5 girls and a boy Pavel.
He attended Gomel Gymnasium from 1905 to 1914 (today’s Belarusian State University of Transport). During this time, the future aircraft constructor and designer saw his first airplane - a “Farman” biplane. After that first sighting, he developed a great interest in constructing models of airplanes and sailplanes. After graduating from the gymnasium in 1915, Sukhoi entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Imperial Moscow Technical School, now known as The Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU). During WWI he served in the army but was demobilized in 1920 due to health related problems and returned to the University, and in 1925, he defended his thesis named “Single-engined Pursuit Aircraft of 300 hp” under the direction of Andrei Tupolev.
His talent stood out among other students. He was noticed by Andrey Tupolev, a pioneer of Soviet aircraft design and one of the most famous aircraft constructors. Pavel Sukhoi created his graduation work “Chasseur single-engine aircraft of 300 cv” under Andrey Tupolev’s supervision and taken into employment by TsAGI (The Central Aero Hydrodynamic Institute), which was developing the most cutting-edge aircraft technologies of the time. His first task in Tupolev’s group was the development of the now world famous heavy bombers TB-1 and TB-3.
During the mid 1930s, Pavel Sukhoi continued working under Tupolev’s command. He was appointed executive supervisor of the ANT-25 project, a Soviet experimental long-range aircraft. The airplane later became a legend setting numerous world records for uninterrupted long distance flights. Out of this project also came the ANT-37 “Motherland,” the first Soviet long-range bomber. Sukhoi’s design group also developed a number of other projects, including the BB-1 short-range bomber. The aircraft had an easy control system, accelerated upwards much faster than its competitors, had great maneuverability and proved to be a big success.
On 29 July 1939, Pavel Sukhoi was appointed as head of the newly emerged KB (Design Bureau). The bureau’s first task was to further develop the BB-1 project, which later became known as the Su-2. It was the first model of almost a hundred that would be developed by the world famous OKB Sukhoi (Sukhoi Design Bureau).
The BB-1 prototype was used to develop different models of bombers, attack planes and destroyers such as the Su-4 and the Su-6. These aircraft made a large contribution to the Russian victory in WW2. In 1943, Sukhoi received the USSR State Prize for his role in the development of the Su-6 bomber.
1945 was marked with a breakthrough in the aircraft design industry - reactive air engines. OKB Sukhoi developed the revolutionary Su-9 subsonic fighter, powered by two turbo reactive engines. The aircraft had a number of innovative systems such as a brake parachute for reducing landing runway distances and pilot ejection.
In 1948, OKB Sukhoi and its leading designer constructed the Su-15 subsonic interceptor. It could reach almost 1030 km/h and also had a number of innovative systems such as an airtight cabin. But due to an accident further constriction of the airplane was ceased.
In 1953-1954, Pavel Sukhoi began developing a new platform for a new generation of jetfighters. The result of this work was the S-1 prototype with a turbo reactive engine, a predecessor of a new generation of the Su-7 and the Su-9. It was the first Soviet aircraft to utilize the all-moving tail plane and a translating center body - a movable cone in the air intake for managing airflow to the engine at supersonic speeds.
In 1957, the S-1 was modified and the aircraft entered service as the Su-7 in 1959. The Sukhoi Su-7 was a swept wing turbo reactive engine powered supersonic fighter-bomber and had the NATO designated name “Fitter.” Later an afterburning version was developed and became known as the “Fitter-A.” In service for more than 20 years, it became a dominant power in the air for the Soviet Union and its allies. The Su-7 saw combat with Egypt in the Six Day War in 1967.
The Su-9 was developed at the same time as the Su-7 Fitter. It entered service in 1959. The Sukhoi Su 9 was a single turbo reactive engine powered all-weather missile armed supersonic interceptor and was dubbed “Fishpot” by NATO. On 4 September 1962, a modified Su-9 piloted by Vladimir Ilyshin set a new world record for absolute height at 28,852m (94,658 ft). In November of that same year, Ilyushin set several new sustained speed and altitude records in the same aircraft.
Pavel Sukhoi and his design bureau paid much attention to the widening battle and tactical capabilities of developed planes. The Su-7 and the Su-9 had a huge amount of different variants and modifications. Recognizing the limitations of the Su-9 and Su-11 jets Pavel Sukhoi looked to rapidly progressing new technologies and began to focus on the new heavily revised and more capable aircrafts, the Su-15 and the Su-17. These planes were equipped with the most advanced technologies of the time.
Pavel Sukhoi and his OKB, in alliance with TsAGI, worked on variable geometry wing technology. The Su-17 had this revolutionary innovation. It greatly increased the tactical and battle capabilities of attack aircraft. These types of jets were much more reliable, safer, had better maneuverability and a number of other vital advantages. The Soviet air construction industry, mainly driven by Pavel Sukhoi, was entering the new era of the supersonic fighter. The result was the Su-24, the Su-25 and the Su-27 Flanker. The Su-27 is still in service today. The aircraft most often flies air superiority missions but is able to perform almost all combat operations as well.
In 1958–1974, Sukhoi served as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. He died in 1975 in Moscow.
Pavel Sukhoi was an internationally known aerospace engineer, an inventor, one of the creators of supersonic jets, a designer of more than 50 original aircraft solutions, more than 30 of which have been constructed and tested. Numerous world records were set by the Su aircrafts. Sukhoi was renowned for his World War H Sukhoi‐2, one of the first all‐metal bombers, and a two‐engine jet bomber, the Sukhoi‐14, which went into military service in 1954. His most famous fighter, the Sukhoi‐7, was developed in 1955. It was exported to India and several Arab countries, where it saw service in the 1973 Middle East war. A later vrsion of the plane, the SU‐17, became the Soviet Union's first experimental swing‐wing fighter in the late nineteen‐sixties.
Nowadays the Sukhoi Company is Russia’s major aircraft engineering holding. The company is currently developing Russia’s fifth generation jet fighter. The Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut (Golden Eagle), NATO name “Firkin,” is a prototype of future aircraft. One of its distinguishing features is a forward swept wing. Apart from the development of military aircraft, the Sukhoi Company is also the manufacturer of a civilian regional airliner known as the Sukhoi Superjet 100, which has been flying since 19 May 2008.
In 1958-1974, Pavel Sukhoi was a Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
Pavel Sukhoi had a good voice in his youth, but after scarlet fever he spoke with difficulty, even muffled. Maybe, because of this he later spoke little and was known as a "man of few words." This fact made his colleagues considering Sukhoi a bit “cold-eye’ person in communication.
In 1918, Sukhoi worked as a teacher of mathematics in a small town Luninets, not far from Brest in Belarus. There he met his future wife Sofia Feliksovna Tenchinska for the first time. In 1932, they met again in Moscow and got married. They had a daughter Irina and a son Dmitry.
