Pyotr Michailowitsch Stefanowski

Stefanowski's grave slab in the Novodevichy Cemetery

Pjotr ​​Michailowitsch Stefanovsky ( Russian Пётр Михайлович Стефановский , scientific transliteration Pëtr Michajlovič Stefanovskij ; born January 2, 1903 , † February 23, 1976 ) was a Soviet test pilot , major general of the aviators and hero of the Soviet Union .

Life

Stefanowski joined the army in 1925 and completed his pilot training in 1927. He became a test pilot of the scientific research institute and flew numerous types of aircraft, including the TB-3 , TB-4 , TB-7 and Pe-2 bombers . One of his most notable achievements was the spin testing of the Polikarpow I-16 .

During World War II he was first commander of a fighter pilot regiment and then became deputy commander of the 6th Air Defense Corps in the defense of Moscow with the rank of lieutenant colonel . Stefanowski himself flew in the 402nd Fighter Regiment, which was made up only of test pilots and equipped with MiG-3 . b. V. and shot down four German machines. However, after the emerging defense against the German attack, it was put back into development, similar to Mark Gallai . Stefanowski also tested captured German types to find their weak points and developed strategies to combat them.

After the Second World War, he tested the first Soviet jet aircraft Jakowlew Jak-15 and Mikojan-Gurewitsch MiG-9 as well as the MiG-15 . In 1948 he became the head of the Far Eastern Air Force Inspection Group.

In 1955 he had a serious accident with a Mil Mi-4 . After his recovery he worked as a deputy chief designer at OKB Jakowlew .

In total, Stefanowski tested around 300 types of aircraft and helicopters.

He is the author of the book 300 Unknowns , which was published in Russian in 1968 and 1973.

literature

• Wilfried Copenhagen : Lexicon Soviet Aviation. Elbe – Dnjepr, Klitzschen 2007, ISBN 978-3-933395-90-0 .