Alexey Ivanovich Sudayev (; 23 August 1912 – 17 August 1946) was a Soviet firearm designer.
[Судаев Алексей Иванович // Великая Отечественная война 1941 - 1945. Энциклопедия / редколл., гл. ред. М. М. Козлов. М., "Советская энциклопедия", 1985. стр.694][Судаев Ал. Ив. (1912 - 1946) // Советский энциклопедический словарь. редколл., гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. 4-е изд. М., «Советская энциклопедия», 1986. стр.1286][Судаев Алексей Иванович // Большая Российская Энциклопедия / редколл., гл. ред. Ю. С. Осипов. том 31. М., научное издательство "Большая Российская Энциклопедия", 2016. стр.375]
Biography
He was born on 23 August 1912 in the city of Alatyr.
His father Ivan Nilovich Sudayev, a telegraph mechanic for the postal and telegraphic district in Kazan, died in 1924, leaving his mother dependent on 12-year-old Alexei and his two sisters.
In 1929 Sudayev graduated from a vocational school and began working as a locksmith. After graduating in 1932 from the Gorky Construction Technical School (Department of Industrial Transport), he worked in "Soyuztransstroi" as a site technician in the village of Rudnichnoye of Satka District in the Ural Region (now the Chelyabinsk Region). During this period (1933-1934) appeared his first inventions "Automatic firing from a machine gun through the action of infrared rays" and "Gasometer".
In the autumn of 1934, Sudayev served in the Red Army,
in the
railway troops, where he showed great interest in weapons. Following his discharge, he entered the
Gorky Industrial Institute where he studied from 1936-1938. During his studies he showed considerable creative abilities. He joined the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
in 1940.
At this time, the
Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy created a school of gunsmiths, which recruited students from various universities who had a tendency to invent and design. In 1941, Lieutenant Sudayev defended his diploma project
(7.62 mm machine gun) with honors in German language, majoring as an engineer. He was then recalled into the Red Army following
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...
.
He died in 1946 of a
gastric ulcer and was buried at the
Vagankovo Cemetery in Moscow.
Awards
*
USSR State Prize (1946)
*
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...
*
Order of the Patriotic War 1st class
*
Order of the Red Star
The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...
*
Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad"
*
Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
Inventions
* anti-aircraft machine gun mount (1941)
*
PPS submachine gun
*
AS-44 assault rifle
References
Sources
* Д. Н. Болотин. Советское стрелковое оружие. М., Воениздат, 1983
* Судаев Ал. Ив. (1912-46) // Большой энциклопедический словарь (в 2-х тт.). / редколл., гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. том 2. М., "Советская энциклопедия", 1991. стр.425
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudayev, Alexei
1912 births
1946 deaths
People from Alatyr, Chuvash Republic
People from Alatyrsky Uyezd
Firearm designers
Soviet inventors
Soviet engineers
Recipients of the Stalin Prize
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery