Georgy Erikhovich Langemak (russian: Георгий Эрихович Лангемак; – 11 January 1938) was a Soviet engineer in the

Soviet space program The Soviet space program (russian: Космическая программа СССР, Kosmicheskaya programma SSSR) was the national space program of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), active from 1955 until the dissol ...

, working on rocket design applications. He is chiefly remembered for being the co-designer and directing the development of the aircraft unguided rockets, such as the RS-82 and RS-132, which were modified to be used with such success in the

Katyusha rocket launcher The Katyusha ( rus, Катю́ша, p=kɐˈtʲuʂə, a=Ru-Катюша.ogg) is a type of rocket artillery first built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. Multiple rocket launchers such as these deliver explosives to a target area ...

s of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The crater Langemak on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

is named in his honor.

Life

Beginning in 1928, he worked at the Soviet

Gas Dynamics Laboratory Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL) (russian: Газодинамическая лаборатория) was the first Soviet research and development laboratory to focus on rocket technology. Its activities were initially devoted to the development ...

along with several other notable Soviet rocket scientists, and they developed rocket projectiles that used smokeless powder. This group was later merged with another rocketry organization to become the

Reactive Scientific Research Institute Reactive Scientific Research Institute (commonly known by the joint initialism RNII; russian: Реактивный научно-исследовательский институт, Reaktivnyy nauchno-issledovatel’skiy institut) was one of the ...

(RNII). Langemak became the deputy director of the RNII. In 1936 this group completed the technical specifications for a rocket-glider. In 1937, during the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secreta ...

, he was fired and subsequently arrested by

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

, along with the RNII director

Ivan Kleymyonov Ivan Terentyevich Kleymyonov (last name also spelled Kleymenov; russian: Иван Терентьевич Клеймёнов; Staraya Surava, Tambov Governorate; April 11, 1899 – January 10, 1938) was a Soviet scientist and one of the founders o ...

and the engine designer

Valentin Glushko Valentin Petrovich Glushko (russian: Валенти́н Петро́вич Глушко́; uk, Валентин Петрович Глушко, Valentyn Petrovych Hlushko; born 2 September 1908 – 10 January 1989) was a Soviet engineer and the m ...

, as a follow-up to denunciation letter by director of RNII liquid fuel engine laboratory,

Andrei Kostikov Andrei, Andrey or Andrej (in Cyrillic script: Андрэй , Андрей or Андреј) is a form of Andreas/Ἀνδρέας in Slavic languages and Romanian. People with the name include: * Andrei of Polotsk (–1399), Lithuanian nobleman *An ...

(who subsequently took his position in the institute), in which he claimed Langemark was sabotaging the research and development progress of the new engine. Langemark was judged by visiting session of

Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union The Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union ( Russian: Военная коллегия Верховного суда СССР, ''Voennaya kollegiya Verkhovnogo suda SSSR'') was created in 1924 by the Supreme Court of the Sov ...

on 11 January 1938, found guilty under the article 58-7, 58-8, and 58-11, and sentenced to death by shooting with property confiscation. The execution happened the same day.Лангемак Георгий Эрихович
Автор Александр Глушко. На основании документов из архивов ЦГАВМФ, ФСБ, Самарского филиала РГАНТД и личного архива А. В. Глушко. He was rehabilitated completely in November 1955. Langemak and other participants in the creation of the

received official recognition only in 1991. By decree of the President Mikhail Gorbachev dated 21 June 1991, Kleymyonov, Langemak, Vasily Luzhin, , Boris Slonimer, and

Nikolai Tikhomirov Nikolai Mikhailovich Tikhomirov (russian: Николай Михайлович Тихомиров; 1857 – 1900) was a Russian engineer, public figure, one of the founders of Novosibirsk. Biography Nikolai Tikhomirov was born 30 June (12 July ...

were posthumously awarded title of

Hero of Socialist Labor The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...

References

Bibliography

* Langemak, G. E. and Glushko, V. P., "The Missile, Its Device and Use", 1935. * Лангемак Георгий Эрихович, Автор Александр Глушко. На основании документов из архивов ЦГАВМФ, ФСБ, Самарского филиала РГАНТД и личного архива А. В. Глушко. 1898 births 1938 deaths Heroes of Socialist Labour People from Starobilsk People from Kharkov Governorate Soviet scientists Ethnic German people from the Russian Empire Soviet people of German descent Great Purge victims from Russia Soviet rehabilitations {{USSR-engineer-stub