Sergey Ilyushin was a Soviet aircraft designer who founded the Ilyushin aircraft design bureau.
Background
Born in the village of Dilyalevo, Vologda Governorate Russian Empire as the youngest of 11 children in a peasant family, the largely self-taught Ilyushin left home at an early age. He worked as a factory laborer, ditch-digger at construction sites, and cleaner of gutters at a dye plant in Petrograd.
Education
In 1910, he learned that jobs were available at Kolomyazhsky Racetrack as a groundskeeper. The racetrack was also the site of the first All-Russia Festival of Ballooning in autumn of 1910, and Ilyushin assisted in unpacking crates and setting up equipment. He was also able to meet many of Russia's pioneer aviators, an event that awoke his interest in aviation.
In the Autumn of 1921 Ilyushin left military service and entered the Institute of Engineers of the Red Air Fleet (renamed the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy) in 1922. During his student years, he concentrated on the design of gliders, taking part in numerous competitions. In 1925, one of his designs was sent to a competition in Germany, where it took first prize for flight time. After obtaining a degree in engineering in 1926 Ilyushin till November 1931 served as an aeroplanes section manager within the Soviet Air Force Scientific-Technical Committee and was involved in development of the design requirements for the new aeroplanes of Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov and Andrei Tupolev.
Career
In 1919 Ilyushin is drafted into the Red Army, but not as a pilot. At that time there was a shortage of aviation specialists, who was able to provide maintenance, repair and flight preparation of different-type totally exhausted aviation equipment, mostly of foreign origin. This work was being completed by moving technical divisions – aviation trains, crisscrossing through the front lines of the civil war. For Ilyushin it was a kind of the primary school of the aviation designer, where he obtained managerial skills, detailed knowledge of the aircraft structure of that time, peculiarities of their operation and combat use.
In September of 1921 Commander of the Kuban Army aviation train S.V.Ilyushin obtains a referral to the Institute of Engineers of the Red Air Fleet, which was renamed the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy in 1922. Among the students of the Academy Ilyushin stands out for his managerial and design skills. He heads one of the divisions of the Academy’s Military-Scientific foundations.
As many other students of the Academy, Ilyushin studied alongside the volunteer work on construction of training gliders of his own design: “Mastyazhart” (Heavy artillery workrooms), “Rabfakovets”, “Moskva”. Sergey Vladimirovich regularly takes part in the All-Soviet-Union glider competitions, held at that time in the Crimea. He heads the Technical committee, which approval needed for every glide to take off. His gliding hobby was an important step on his way to becoming Ilyushin-designer.
In 1927 after his graduation fr om Air Force Engineering Academy Ilyushin was appointed at one of the most significant positions of the young Soviet aviation. He becomes a chairman of the First (aircraft manufacturing) division of the Scientific and Technical Committee of the Red Army Air Force Administration (NTK UVVS).
At that time NTK UVVS directed the program of foundation and equipping of the Soviet Air Force. It was responsible for the planning of experimental and serial manufacturing, working out of mission requirements to testing aircraft, engines, aircraft weapon and equipment, supervision of works on manufacturing and testing of aviation equipment. The beginning of S.V.Ilyushin career at the NTK UVVS concurred with the foundation of the national aviation industry. There was a focused work of experimental design bureaus and scientific institutions in the country, there was construction of new aviation plants, the training of engineers. This process was initiated by the plans of the national Air Force development, and S.V.Ilyushin took an active role in it. Technical specification to the aircraft of N.N.Polikarpov, A.N.Tupolev, D.P.Grigorovych were made under his guidance.
The work at NTK UVVS and at the Technical council of Aviatrust not only widened S.V.Ilyushin’s horizon, but also helped forward to the formation of such qualities of his further design style, as the ability to see the main trends in development of aviation engineering, the initiative in conducting of project researches and manufacturing of different-purpose aircraft, simple in manufacture, efficient in use and meeting the needs of the time.
In the early 1930 it was decided to extend the management of the aviation industry. It was headed by P.I.Baranov, the former chief of the Red Army Administration. N.M.Kharlamov, deputy chairman of NTK UVVS, military engineer, headed TsAGI (Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute). S.V.Ilyushin was appointed his Deputy and the head of the Central Design bureau of TsAGI, wh ere nearly all the leading teams operating in experimental aircraft manufacturing were focused.
The design bureau, founded by Ilyushin, was few in numbers at the beginning. Sergey Vladimirovich considered that even major work can be made by small force, and he aimed for the minimum cost of the experimental engineering. One of the principles of Ilyushin’s management system was his personal participation in solving vital and other issues. S.V.Ilyushin organized a simple system of subordination in his team – every senior employee coordinates the work of minor employees, with the absolutely clear assignment of work. He could manage to organize the working process in such a manner, that everybody could feel their significance and work as the equal right participant of the common cause. And this was one of the secrets of such successful management. The other one is in the system of other aspects organization – from the enterprise structure to the system of relationship.
The first aircraft, designed by Ilyushin’s design bureau was TsKB-26 long-range bomber aircraft. It received good flight characteristics after testing equal to foreign 06-.jpgbomber aircraft of the same time. Working on upgrade of this model Ilyushin worked out several modifications: DB-3, DB-3F, the latter was named IL-4.
DB-3 aircraft was built in the beginning of 1936. It underwent long flight testing and full war load far non-stop flight Moscow-Baku-Moscow piloted by research pilot V.K. Kokkinaki. As a result DB-3 aircraft got the solid reputation of an excellent long-range bomber aircraft and was put into mass production.
Continuing the development of the successful design in 1938 the OKB team launched a new modification of the aircraft – DB-3F. Equipped with more powerful engines and better armament, this aircraft named IL-4 replaced DB-3 in mass production in 1940. But it was his another combat aircraft – attack plane IL-2 – which made Ilyushin famous.
Until that unsuccessful efforts to create a combat aircraft were made repeatedly during the pre-war years in Russia as well as abroad. Ilyushin managed to complete this task. Actually, all the attack aviation as a new kind of aviation, closely interacting with ground forces, was made on the base of Ilyushin’s aircraft design.
In 1970, after S.V.Ilyushin retired, the OKB team continued manufacturing IL-62M, IL-76, IL-86, IL-96-300, IL-114, IL-96M.
Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin died on the 9th of February 1977 in Moscow. He was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Religion
No religious basis is needed in order to display ethical behavior.
Views
The emphasis on peaceful coexistence doesn’t mean that the Soviet Union accepted a static world with clear lines. Socialism is inevitable and the "correlations of forces" were moving towards socialism.
Membership
Member, Communist Party, since 1918.
Personality
One of S.V.Ilyushin’s basic principles as a manager was the one that the growth of every designer implies not the social ladder promotion, but the skills mastering and the knowledge accumulation. He did not only stated this principle, but also confirmed it by his actions, providing actual (not formal) conditions in the team, encouraged and recognized the workers (morally and in terms of money) according to this principle. For him it was knowledge and creative effort what was important, but not the official position of employees. Such approach to the growth and conditions of the stuff resulted in the steadiness of the main part of the team. Ilyushin’s employees didn’t leave the company even if they received rather attractive offers from other companies.
Everything what was said about the system of relationship perfectly matches Sergey Vladimirovich’s character. He was exceptionally modest and diplomatic, soft and attentive, communicable and charming man, easy and equal to everyone. He had a native sense of diplomacy and a deep noble – a rather rear quality. He new well and always followed the rules of work and general ethic. This and professional character features, such as sense of purpose, good organization, high working efficiency, adherence to principles helped the his team create outstanding aircraft.