Dux Factory
| Company type | Manufacturing facility |
|---|---|
| Industry | Bicycles, automobiles, aircraft manufacturing |
| Founded | 1893 in Moscow, Russia |
| Founder | Julius Möller (owner) |
| Headquarters | Moscow , Russia |
| Products | Bicycles, automobiles, aircraft (including licensed French designs) |
Dux () was a manufacturing facility in Moscow, Russia, established in 1893, specializing in bicycles, automobiles, and aircraft. Its name derives from the Latin term dux, meaning leader. Owned by Julius Möller, the company mainly produced aircraft based on French designs.
Plant #1
Initially founded as a bicycle production site, the factory shifted its focus to aircraft manufacturing around 1910. Throughout World War I, Dux assembled various military aircraft such as the Morane-Saulnier G, Voisin L and LAS models, Nieuport 17 and 24, along with multiple Farman variants (IV, VII, XVI, XXX), in addition to military-grade bicycles.
Following the October Revolution, the facility was renamed "Aircraft Plant No. 1 named after OSOAVIAKHIM," also known as "GAZ No. 1." It continued producing Farman and Nieuport aircraft models. In 1923, Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov founded a design bureau at this location that later became recognized as the Polikarpov Design Bureau. The plant's notable outputs included fighters such as the Polikarpov I-5, I-15 series (I-15, I-15bis, I-153), and I-16; reconnaissance planes like the R-5 and R-Zet; and during the 1920s and 1930s, it also built Airco DH.9A (designated R-1/R-2) and DH.4 aircraft.
Prior to its evacuation in October 1941, Plant #1 was engaged in producing the MiG-3 fighter. The factory was then relocated to Samara and renamed Kuibyshev Aviation Plant. By 1958, it had transitioned to rocket manufacturing under the name Samara Progress plant.
Plant #30
Established in 1939 at Dubna, Plant #30 moved to occupy the former premises of Plant #1 in December 1941 and began producing the Ilyushin Il-2. In 1950, it merged with Plant #381 to enhance production capacity for the Il-28. The Lukhovitsy Machine Building Plant was created as its subsidiary in 1953.
The facility was renamed Znamya Truda Machine-Building Plant in 1965 and later became known as the Moscow Aircraft Production Organisation in 1973. Among its prominent products were the MiG-29 fighter jets alongside civilian aircraft projects such as the MiG-AT, T-101, T-411, and Aviatika MAI-890. Other aircraft manufactured here included models like Su-9, Yak-25, Il-14, Il-18 variants, MiG-21, and MiG-23.
Plant #32
Formed in 1932 after splitting from Plant #1, Plant #32 was evacuated to Kirov in 1941 during wartime relocations. It was renamed the Kirov Machine-Building Plant in 1960 and later became known as the Vyatka Machine Building Enterprise AVITEK during the 1990s.
Plant #39
Before moving to Irkutsk in 1941, Plant #39 manufactured the DB-3F. After relocation, it merged with the Irkutsk Machine-Building Plant, which formed the foundation of what is now called the Irkutsk Aviation Plant.
Plant #43
Founded concurrently with Dux’s establishment in 1893, Plant #43 specialized in producing air-to-air missiles and aircraft components. Between 1963 and 1992, it operated under the name Moscow Kommunar Machine-Building Plant. In 1992, it was reorganized into Open Joint Stock Company Dux.
Plant #381
This plant was responsible for manufacturing aircraft such as the Lavochkin La-5 and subsequently the La-7. It also produced the Il-12, a limited batch of I-250 fighters, and the initial batch of seventy-five MiG-15 jets before merging into Plant #30 in 1950.
Aircraft
Dux's production primarily involved licensed construction of French and other Western aircraft designs. Its first completed airplane was a licensed Farman IV powered by an ENV engine that took flight on August 18, 1910. Early advancements included enhanced models like Farman VII (1912) and experimental projects such as the Dux Meller I, which combined a Bleriot fuselage with a Farman XV nacelle equipped with a 100 hp Gnome-Rhone engine arranged in a pusher layout. The follow-up model, Dux Meller II (1913), was a modified version of Farman XVI. Other experimental attempts like the single-engine twin-propeller monoplane Dux Meller III and the Dux No 2 did not achieve success.
| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dux Meller I | |||
| Dux Meller II | 1913 | ||
| Dux Meller III | |||
| Dux No 2 |