Michael Stroukoff (29 January 1883 - 22 December 1973) was a Russian White Guard soldier and an American architect and

aircraft designer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

. He served in the White Army during the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

before emigrating to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1922. After spending some time as an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, he joined the

Chase Aircraft Company The Chase Aircraft Company, founded in 1943, was an American aircraft manufacturer, primarily constructing assault gliders and military transport aircraft. Lacking space for expansion, the company was purchased by Henry J. Kaiser in 1951. Plans ...

and designed a number of transport aircraft for the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

and the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, later starting his own company to perform further

aeronautical Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred solely to ''ope ...

work.

Early life

Born 29 January 1883 in

Yekaterinoslav Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

(

Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

), a city in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

), Stroukoff attended the

Kiev Polytechnic Institute The Kyiv Polytechnic Institute ( KPI, ; official full title National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute") is a national public technological university in Kyiv, Ukraine. Name In the long period of existenc ...

, graduating in 1908Sergievsky et al. 1998, p.128 with a degree in civic engineering."In Memoriam" ''Soaring''. Volume 38, 1974. p.13. Joining the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

, he saw service during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, then after the war he served in the

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

during the

, attaining the rank of Major and being awarded the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree.Visschedijk 2009 With the defeat of the Whites by the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

s, he fled Russia and emigrated to the United States in 1922.Compere 1952, p.128.

American career

Following his emigration, Stroukoff started a career in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

and

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

, before being appointed chief engineer and president of

Chase Aircraft The Chase Aircraft Company, founded in 1943, was an American aircraft manufacturer, primarily constructing assault gliders and military transport aircraft. Lacking space for expansion, the company was purchased by Henry J. Kaiser in 1951. Plans ...

upon its foundation. His first design was the XCG-14, a wooden troop-carrying

assault glider Military gliders (an offshoot of common Glider (sailplane), gliders) have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops (glider infantry) and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the World War II, Second World Wa ...

, which was developed into the larger CG-18 and CG-20 gliders, the latter being the largest glider ever constructed in the United States.Pattillo 2000, pp.165-166. Following World War II, the assault glider fell out of favour, replaced by powered transports, and Stroukoff modified a YG-18 into the prototype YC-122, and a small number of the aircraft were built. More important was the conversion of the G-20 into the

C-123 The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force Reserve an ...

, described as a "Winged Truck" by Stroukoff. While one version of the aircraft was the first jet-powered transport built in America, it was the piston-engined 'assault transport' version of the C-123 that won a contract from the

for production; due to limited capacity at Chase, this was subcontracted to the Kaiser Manufacturing Company, which purchased a 49% interest in Chase Aircraft. However, following a procurement scandal and political issues, the C-123 contract was awarded to

Fairchild Aircraft Fairchild was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale, New York; Hagerstown, Maryland; and San Antonio, Texas. History Early aircraft The company was founded by Sherman Fairchild in 19 ...

, and Kaiser bought out Chase Aircraft. Setting up a new company, the

Stroukoff Aircraft Corporation Stroukoff Aircraft was an American manufacturer of experimental military transport aircraft, established in 1954 by Michael Stroukoff. Successor to Chase Aircraft, the company specialised in developing advanced variants of the C-123 Provider; how ...

, Stroukoff continued work on improved versions of the C-123, most notably the YC-134, however none of them would go into production, and in 1959 the company closed down.

Death and legacy

Stroukoff died at the age of 90 in St. Francis Hospital in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

on December 22, 1973. The Larissa Stroukoff Memorial Trophy, awarded by the

Soaring Society of America The Soaring Society of America (SSA) was founded at the instigation of Warren E. Eaton to promote the sport of soaring in the USA and internationally. The first meeting was held in New York City in the McGraw–Hill Building on February 20, 193 ...

for the highest speed recorded on a closed course in a glider during the U.S. National Open Class Soaring Championships, was designed by Stroukoff.

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Comments by Michael Stroukoff Jr on the C-123 and Kaiser
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroukoff, Michael Engineers from Kyiv Russian military personnel of World War I White Russian emigrants to the United States American aerospace engineers Russian aerospace engineers 20th-century American architects American people of Russian descent 20th-century American businesspeople Aviation inventors 1883 births 1973 deaths 20th-century Ukrainian people American inventors 20th-century Ukrainian engineers