Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin (; – 9 February 1977) was a Soviet aircraft designer who founded the

Ilyushin The Open joint-stock company , public joint stock company Ilyushin Aviation Complex, operating as Ilyushin () or as Ilyushin Design Bureau, is a Russian aircraft manufacturer and design bureau, founded in 1933 by Sergey Ilyushin , Sergey Vladimir ...

aircraft design bureau. He designed the Il-2 Shturmovik, which made its maiden flight in 1939. It is the most produced warplane, and remains the second most-produced aircraft in history, with some 36,000+ built, behind the US

Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin
. Encyclopædia BritannicaSheinin, V. M. (2012

.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

in the village of

Dilyalevo Dilyalevo () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a Village#Russia, village) in Novlenskoye Rural Settlement, Vologodsky District, Vologda Oblast, Russia. The population was 1 as of 2002. Geography Dilyalevo is located 7 ...

, the youngest of 11 children born to a Russian peasant family, the largely self-taught Ilyushin left home at an early age. He worked as a factory laborer, ditch-digger at construction sites, and cleaner of gutters at a dye plant in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. In 1910, he learned that jobs were available at Kolomyazhsky Racetrack as a groundskeeper. The racetrack was also the site of the first All-Russia Festival of Ballooning in autumn of 1910, and Ilyushin assisted in unpacking crates and setting up equipment. He was also able to meet many of Russia's pioneer aviators, an event that awoke his interest in aviation. In 1911 he returned to his native village to work as a

carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter ...

of a dairy plant. The following year, he worked as a construction worker for the Amur Railway, and in 1913 he was in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

as a worker in a shipyard. With the outbreak of

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 ...

in 1914, Ilyushin was conscripted into the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

, serving with the

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

, and later (as he was literate) as a clerk in the military administration of

Vologda Vologda (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as ...

. When a request came for seven volunteers to serve in the fledgling Aviation Section, he was quick to volunteer. He worked at first as a mechanic and member of the ground crew. In the summer of 1917, he was qualified as a pilot. In March 1918, with the withdrawal of 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, ...

government from the war, Ilyushin was demobilized and sent back to his native village. He helped supervise the increasing

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...

of factories in the area and in October 1918 joined the Bolshevik Party. With the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, Ilyushin was drafted into the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in May 1919, working as aviation technician of VVS RKKA (Red Army). That autumn, a

White movement The White movement,. The old spelling was retained by the Whites to differentiate from the Reds. also known as the Whites, was one of the main factions of the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. It was led mainly by the Right-wing politics, right- ...

Avro 504 The Avro 504 is a single-engine biplane bomber made by the Avro, Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during World War I totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind ...

biplane made a forced landing near

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022. ...

. Ilyushin led a team which dismantled it, and sent it to Moscow where it was reverse-engineered into the U-1 trainer, of which 737 examples were subsequently built.

Work in aviation

In the autumn of 1921 Ilyushin left military service; he entered the Institute of Engineers of the Red Air Fleet (renamed the

Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy () – is a higher military educational institution for training and retraining of engineers for the Russian Aerospace Forces. The academy trains specialists – engineers, research engineers in the fol ...

on 9 September 1922) on 21 September 1921. During his student years he concentrated on the design of gliders, taking part in numerous competitions. In 1925 one of his designs was sent to a competition in Germany, where it took first prize for flight time. Ilyushin obtained a degree in engineering in 1926 and served until November 1931 as an aeroplanes section manager within the , with involvement in the development of the design requirements for the new aeroplanes of Nikolai Polikarpov and

Andrei Tupolev Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev (; – 23 December 1972) was a Russian and later Soviet aeronautical engineer known for his pioneering aircraft designs as the director of the Tupolev Design Bureau. Tupolev was an early pioneer of aeronautics i ...

. This time he was also appointed Assistant Chief of the Air Force Research and Test Institute. Upon his own request in November 1931 he was reassigned to

TsAGI The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (also (Zhukovsky) Central Institute of Aerodynamics, , TsAGI) is a Russian national research centre for aviation. It was founded in Moscow by Russian aviation pioneer Nikolai Yegorovich Zhukovsky on Decemb ...

Design Bureau and worked there till 1933. In 1933 Ilyushin became chief of the which later grew into the Ilyushin

OKB OKB () is a transliteration of the Russian initials for "" (), which translates to "Experimental Design Bureau." It could also mean or "Special Design Bureau" in english. During the Soviet era, OKBs were closed institutions working on design and ...

(the bureau behind all Soviet aircraft abbreviated IL-#, a military- and civil-aviation supergiant and major global brand) in 1935. His single-engined

Ilyushin Il-2 The Ilyushin Il-2 ( Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (Cyrillic: штурмовик), the generic Russian term ...

ground-attack aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pres ...

, the single most-produced combat aircraft design in history (with 36,183 examples), and the

Ilyushin Il-4 The Ilyushin Il-4 (DB-3F) (; NATO reporting name: Bob) is a Soviet twin-engined long-range bomber and torpedo bomber, widely used by the Soviet Air Force and Soviet Naval Aviation during World War II. Design and development In 1938, the Ilyush ...

twin-engined bomber (of which just over 5,200 examples were built) were used extensively in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, on all fronts where the Soviets fought. After the war, Ilyushin concentrated primarily on commercial airliners, such as the

Ilyushin Il-18 The Ilyushin Il-18 (; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades and wa ...

and

Ilyushin Il-62 The Ilyushin Il-62 (; NATO reporting name: Classic) is a Soviet Union, Soviet long-range Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body jetliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As a successor to the popular turboprop Ilyushin Il-18, Il-18 and with capacit ...

, which saw extensive use with

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...

and with numerous Soviet client states. In 1967 he was given the honorary rank of General-Colonel of Engineering/Technical Service. He became an

Academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. Accor ...

of the

Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...

in 1968. He remained the chief designer at the Ilyushin OKB until his retirement due to illness in 1970. From 1937 to 1970 Ilyushin also served as a deputy of the

Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSUSSR) was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Based on the principle of unified power, it was the only branch of government in the So ...

. He died in 1977 in Moscow and was buried in the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

Awards and honors

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

(1941, 1957, 1974) * Stalin Prize (1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952) *

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize () was one of the Soviet Union’s highest civilian honours, awarded from its establishment in September 1966 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It recognised outstanding contributions in the fields of science, mathem ...

(1971) *

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

(1960) *

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 ...

(1937, 1941, 1945, twice in 1954, 1964, 1971, 1974) *

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...

1st and the 2nd class (1945, 1944) *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

(1969) *

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

(1944, 1950) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

(1939) *

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 ...

(1933, 1967) *

International Air & Space Hall of Fame The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is an honor roll of people, groups, organizations, or things that have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace flight and technology, sponsored by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Sin ...

inductee (2006).

Family

* His first wife was Raisa Mikhailovna Zhalkovskaya (1897-1972). They were married in Vologda on June 4, 1919. * A daughter from her first marriage, Irina Sergeevna Ilyushina (by her husband, Orekhovich, 1920-2007), was married to the vice—president of the AMN Orekhovich. * Son from his first marriage — Ilyushin, Vladimir Sergeevich (1927-2010) — test pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union. * His second wife, Anastasia Vasilyevna Sovetova (1915-2008), was a design engineer. * Son from the second marriage — Sergey Sergeyevich Ilyushin (1947-1990) — engineer. * Son from his second marriage — Alexander Sergeyevich Ilyushin (born 1955); ** grandson - Sergey Alexandrovich Ilyushin (1985-2002).

Memory

* The house in which S. V. Ilyushin lived during summer vacations in the 1950s and 1970s has been preserved in the village of

. * In the village of Mozhaiskoye (12 kilometers from Vologda), the House Museum of

Alexander Mozhaysky file:Mozhajskij marka SSSR 1963.jpg, Mozhaysky, identified as the "Creator of world's first airplane", on a 1963 Soviet postal stamp. Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaysky (also transliterated as Mozhayski, Mozhayskii and Mozhayskiy; ) ( – ) was ...

has an extensive exposition dedicated to the life and work of S. V. Ilyushin. * Materials about the life and work of S. V. Ilyushin are presented in the Hall of Military Glory of the Kubenskoye Regional Museum of Local Lore. * Bronze busts of S. V. Ilyushin were installed in Vologda (at the intersection of Mira and Blagoveshchenskaya Streets, opened on January 17, 1977 by sculptor O. M. Maziner, architect I. Rozhin) and in Moscow. * Streets in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh, Vologda, Tyumen, and Kubenskoye are named after Ilyushin. * In 1984, a postage stamp of the USSR dedicated to Ilyushin was issued (timed to coincide with the 90th anniversary of his birth); in 2019— the postal block of Russia. * In 1984, a monument IL-28 was erected in Vologda on Ilyushin Street, dedicated to its creator, Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin. * On May 8, 2020 a monument to S. V. Ilyushin was unveiled in the village of Bereznik.

Work in aviation

Awards and honors

Family

Memory

See also

References

Further reading