Vladimir Myasishchev (engineer)

Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev
Born	Template:Birth date Tula Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	October 14, 1978(1978-10-14) (aged 76)
Occupation(s)	Aerospace engineer, aircraft designer
Years active	1926–1978
Known for	Designing Soviet military aircraft including Pe-2 variants, DB-108, M-4, 3M, M-50, VM-T Atlant, M-17 Stratosphera
Notable work	Tupolev TB-1, Tupolev TB-3, Tupolev ANT-20, Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber, DVB-102 bomber

Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev

Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev (Russian: Владимир Михайлович Мясищев; 28 September 1902 – 14 October 1978) was a prominent Soviet aerospace engineer and aircraft designer. He held the rank of major general in Engineering from 1944, earned the title Hero of Socialist Labour in 1957, obtained a Doctorate in Technical Sciences in 1959, and was recognized as an Honoured Scientist of the RSFSR in 1972.

After completing his studies at Moscow State Technical University in 1926, Myasishchev joined the Tupolev Design Bureau. There, he contributed to the development of notable aircraft such as the Tupolev TB-1, Tupolev TB-3, and Tupolev ANT-20. In 1937, serving as an assistant to Boris Lisunov, he traveled to the United States to assist with translating technical drawings of the Douglas DC-3, facilitating the production of the Soviet Lisunov Li-2.

In 1938, Myasishchev became entangled in political repression. During his detention, he worked at the NKVD’s Central Design Bureau No. 29 (ЦКБ-29 НКВД) in Moscow under Vladimir Petlyakov’s supervision, contributing to the design of the Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber. Following his release in 1940, he led a design bureau located within the same facility, focusing on the long-range high-altitude bomber DVB-102 (ДВБ-102). Between 1946 and 1951, Myasishchev served as both faculty head and later dean of the Aircraft Design Department at the Moscow Aviation Institute. He was appointed chief aircraft designer in 1956. From 1960 to 1967, he directed the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), and from 1967 until his death in 1978, he acted as chief aircraft designer at the Experimental Machine Building Plant that was subsequently named after him in 1981.

Myasishchev’s portfolio includes a variety of military aircraft designs such as the Pe-2B, Pe-2I, and Pe-2M variants; the DIS; as well as his own creations like the DB-108, M-4, 3M, and M-50. Additionally, he contributed to projects including the cargo aircraft VM-T Atlant and the high-altitude reconnaissance plane M-17 Stratosphera. Notably, his designs—the 3M and M-4—set nineteen world records collectively, while the M-17 "Stratosphera" established twenty records.

His distinguished career earned him numerous honors: the Hero of Socialist Labour gold star in 1957; three Orders of Lenin awarded in 1945, 1957, and 1962; the Order of Suvorov II degree in 1944; and the Order of the October Revolution in 1971, among other medals.

Regarding his heritage, Myasishchev's mother was Polish by descent, being a daughter of Poles who had been exiled to Siberia.

Family

In 1927, he wed Elena Alexandrovna Spendiarova (1905–1981), who was the daughter of the Armenian composer Alexander Afanasyevich Spendiaryan.

Their daughter Maria was born in 1930.

His granddaughter, Daria Myasishcheva, is known as the partner and mother of the children of Russian actor Pavel Derevyanko.

Memory

• In 1980, a street named after Myasishchev was established in the Moscow suburb of Zhukovsky.
• A memorial plaque commemorating Myasishchev was installed on the residence where he lived in Moscow.
• During the 1990s, a new street in the private district of Yefremov was dedicated to his name.
• To mark the centenary of Myasishchev's birth in 2002, the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of Russia released a special postal envelope.
• On September 9, 2003, Moscow’s Western Administrative District honored him by naming a street in the Filyovsky Park District after him.
• The experimental aircraft manufacturing plant in Zhukovsky, which he helped establish, bears his name.
• The Yefremov Museum of Local Lore features a hall devoted to V. M. Myasishchev.
• On September 28, 2017, coinciding with his 115th birthday anniversary, a commemorative plaque honoring Vladimir Mikhailovich was unveiled at Yefremov’s school No.1.
• The following year, on September 28, 2018, a bust dedicated to him was revealed in V. M. Myasishchev Square located in Yefremov.
• By order of A. G. Brewhenko, General Director of JSC "GKNPC named after M. V. Khrunichev," on October 16, 2019, the company’s branch CB "Salyut" was renamed in honor of V. M. Myasishchev.
• The Vladimir Myasishchev House Museum officially opened its doors in Yefremov on September 28, 2022.

External links

• Entry at Encyclopædia Astronautix
• Тайны забытых побед. 6. Устремлённый в будущее (Secrets of forgotten victories. 6. Looking to the future) on YouTube
• A.I. Ostashev, Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov - The Genius of the 20th Century — 2010 M., Public Educational Institution of Higher Professional Training MGUL ISBN 978-5-8135-0510-2