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Invented the world's first backpack aviation parachute. Invention of the parachute

This day in history:

Few people know that Gleb Evgenievich KOTELNIKOV

invented the backpack parachute, also because he really loved... theater

The parachute was invented in the lobby of the Bolshoi...

Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov was born (18) January 30, 1872 in St. Petersburg in the family of a professor of mechanics and higher mathematics. The parents were fond of theater, and this hobby was instilled in their son. Since childhood, he sang and played the violin. He also liked to make different toys and models. Graduated from Kyiv military school(1894), and, after serving three years of compulsory service, went into the reserve. Served as an excise official in the province.

He helped organize drama clubs, sometimes acted in plays, and continued to design. In 1910, Gleb returned to St. Petersburg and became an actor in the troupe People's House on the Petersburg side (pseudonym Glebov-Kotelnikov). By the way, over time, his son Anatoly became a fairly famous Soviet playwright under the name Glebov (Kotelnikov).

In 1910, Kotelnikov, impressed by the death of pilot Lev Matsievich, began developing a parachute.

Before Kotelnikov, pilots escaped with the help of long folded “umbrellas” attached to the plane. Their design was very unreliable, and they greatly increased the weight of the aircraft. Therefore, they were used extremely rarely. In December 1911, Kotelnikov tried to register his invention, a free-action backpack parachute, in Russia, but for unknown reasons he did not receive a patent.

He was inspired to create such a scheme by what he saw in the lobby Bolshoi Theater a picture of a woman taking out a huge silk scarf from a small handbag...

The parachute had round shape, fit into a metal backpack located on the pilot using suspension system. At the bottom of the backpack under the dome there were springs that threw the dome into the stream after the jumper pulled out the exhaust ring. Subsequently, the hard backpack was replaced by a soft one, and honeycombs appeared at its bottom for laying slings in them. This rescue parachute design is still used today.

He made a second attempt to register his invention in France, receiving a patent on March 20, 1912.

The RK-1 parachute (Russian, Kotelnikova, model one) was developed within 10 months, and its first demonstration test was carried out by Gleb Evgenievich in June 1912. First, tests were carried out using a car. The car was accelerated, and Kotelnikov pulled the trigger strap. The parachute, tied to the tow hooks, instantly opened, and its braking force was transmitted to the car, causing the engine to stall.

A few days later, parachute tests took place at the Gatchina Aeronautical School camp.

At different altitudes, a mannequin weighing about 80 kg with a parachute was dropped from the balloon. All the throws were successful, but the Main Engineering Directorate of the Russian Army did not accept it for production because of the fears of the head of the Russian air force, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, that at the slightest malfunction the aviators would abandon the airplane.

In the winter of 1912-1913, the RK-1 parachute was presented by the commercial firm Lomach and Co. to a competition in Paris and Rouen. And on January 5, 1913, a student of the St. Petersburg Conservatory (!) Ossovsky first jumped with the RK-1 parachute in Rouen from the 60-meter mark of the bridge spanning the Seine. The parachute worked brilliantly.

The Russian invention has received recognition abroad. But the tsarist government remembered him only during the First World War. At the beginning of the war, reserve lieutenant Kotelnikov was drafted into the army and sent to automobile units. However, soon the pilot Alekhnovich convinced the command: it is necessary to supply the crews of multi-engine aircraft with RK-1 parachutes. It was then that Kotelnikov was soon called to the Main Military Engineering Directorate and offered to take part in the manufacture of backpack parachutes for aviators.

Gleb Evgenievich with test dummy Ivano Ivanovich

In 1923, Gleb Evgenievich created new model RK-2. Later, the RK-3 model with a soft backpack appeared, for which a patent was received on July 4, 1924. In the same year, Kotelnikov produced a cargo parachute RK-4 with a dome with a diameter of 12 m. This parachute could lower a load weighing up to 300 kg.

In 1926, Kotelnikov transferred all his inventions to the Soviet government.

On July 26, 1930, near Voronezh, Soviet parachutist pilots led by B. Mukhortov made the first series of jumps from airplanes using parachutes designed by Gleb Kotelnikov. Since then, skydiving enthusiasts have celebrated the unofficial Skydiver's Day.

When an invention is brought almost to perfection, when it is accessible to almost any person, it seems to us that this object has existed, if not always, then for a long time. And if, say, this is not true in relation to a radio or a car, then in relation to a parachute it is almost so. Although what is called by this word today has a very specific date of birth and a very specific parent.

The world's first backpack parachute with a silk canopy - that is, the kind that is used to this day - was invented by the self-taught Russian designer Gleb Kotelnikov. On November 9, 1911, the inventor received a “certificate of protection” (confirmation of acceptance of a patent application) for his “rescue pack for aviators with an automatically ejectable parachute.” And on June 6, 1912, the first test of a parachute of his design took place.

From the Renaissance to the First World War

“Parachute” is a tracing paper from the French parachute, and the word itself is formed from two roots: the Greek para, that is, “against,” and the French chute, that is, “to fall.” The idea of such a device to rescue those jumping from high altitude quite ancient: the first person to express the idea of such a device was the genius of the Renaissance - the famous Leonardo da Vinci. In his treatise “On the Flight and Movement of Bodies in the Air,” which dates back to 1495, there is the following passage: “If a person has a tent made of starched linen, each side of which has 12 cubits (about 6.5 m. - RP.) in width and the same height, he can throw himself from any height without exposing himself to any danger.” It is curious that da Vinci, who never brought the idea of a “tent made of starched linen” to fruition, accurately calculated its dimensions. For example, the diameter of the canopy of the most common training parachute D-1-5u is about 5 m, the famous parachute D-6 is 5.8 m!

Leonardo's ideas were appreciated and taken up by his followers. By the time the Frenchman Louis-Sébastien Lenormand coined the word “parachute” in 1783, researchers already had several jumps on the possibility of controlled descent from great heights: the Croatian Faust Vrancic, who put Da Vinci’s idea into practice in 1617, and the French Laven and Doumier. But the first real parachute jump can be considered a risky adventure by Andre-Jacques Garnerin. It was he who jumped not from the dome or cornice of a building (that is, he did not engage in base jumping, as it is called today), but from aircraft. On October 22, 1797, Garnerin left the balloon's basket at an altitude of 2,230 feet (about 680 m) and landed safely.

The development of aeronautics also entailed the improvement of the parachute. The rigid frame was replaced by a semi-rigid one (1785, Jacques Blanchard, a parachute between the basket and the dome of the balloon), a pole hole appeared, which made it possible to avoid bouncing during landing (Joseph Lalande) ... And then the era of heavier-than-air aircraft came - and they required completely different parachutes. Such as no one has ever done before.

There would be no happiness...

The creator of what is today called a “parachute” had a passion for design since childhood. But not only: no less than calculations and drawings, he was fascinated by stage lights and music. And it is not surprising that in 1897, after three years of compulsory service, a graduate of the legendary Kyiv Military School (which, in particular, General Anton Denikin graduated from) Gleb Kotelnikov resigned. And after another 13 years he left public service and completely switched to the service of Melpomene: he became an actor in the troupe of the People's House on the St. Petersburg side and performed under the pseudonym Glebov-Kotelnikov.

Future father backpack parachute he would have remained a little-known actor if not for the talent of the designer and a tragic incident: on September 24, 1910, Kotelnikov, who was present at the All-Russian Aeronautics Festival, witnessed the sudden death of one of the best pilots of that time - Captain Lev Matsievich. His Farman IV literally fell apart in the air - it was the first plane crash in the history of the Russian Empire.

Flight of Lev Matsievich. Source: topwar.ru

From that moment on, Kotelnikov did not abandon the idea of giving pilots a chance for salvation in such cases. “The death of the young pilot shocked me so deeply that I decided at all costs to build a device that would protect the pilot’s life from mortal danger, - Gleb Kotelnikov wrote in his memoirs. “I turned my small room into a workshop and worked on the invention for over a year.” According to eyewitnesses, Kotelnikov worked on his idea like a man possessed. The thought of a new type of parachute never left him anywhere: neither at home, nor in the theater, nor on the street, nor at rare parties.

The main problem was the weight and dimensions of the device. By that time, parachutes already existed and were used as a means of rescuing pilots; they were a kind of giant umbrellas mounted behind the pilot's seat on an airplane. In the event of a disaster, the pilot had to have time to secure himself on such a parachute and separate from the aircraft with it. However, Matsievich’s death proved: the pilot may simply not have these few moments on which his life literally depends.

“I realized that it was necessary to create a durable and lightweight parachute,” Kotelnikov later recalled. - When folded, it should be quite small. The main thing is that it is always on the person. Then the pilot will be able to jump from the wing and from the side of any aircraft.” This is how the idea of a backpack parachute was born, which today, in fact, is what we mean when we use the word “parachute”.

From helmet to backpack

“I wanted to make my parachute so that it could always be on a flying person, without restricting his movements as much as possible,” Kotelnikov wrote in his memoirs. - I decided to make a parachute from durable and thin non-rubberized silk. This material gave me the opportunity to put it in a very small backpack. I used a special spring to push the parachute out of the backpack.”

But few people know that the first option for placing a parachute was... the pilot’s helmet! Kotelnikov began his experiments by hiding a literally puppet parachute - since he carried out all his early experiments with a doll - in a cylindrical helmet. This is how the inventor’s son, Anatoly Kotelnikov, who was 11 years old in 1910, later recalled these first experiments: “We lived in a dacha in Strelna. It was a very cold October day. The father climbed to the roof of a two-story house and threw the doll from there. The parachute worked great. Only one word came out of my father joyfully: “Here!” He found what he was looking for!”

However, the inventor quickly realized that when jumping with such a parachute, at the moment when the canopy opens, at best the helmet will come off, and at worst, the head. And in the end, he transferred the entire structure to a backpack, which he first intended to make from wood, and then from aluminum. At the same time, Kotelnikov divided the lines into two groups, once and for all incorporating this element into the design of any parachutes. Firstly, it made the dome easier to control. And secondly, it was possible to attach the parachute to the harness system at two points, which made the jump and deployment more convenient and safe for the parachutist. This is how the suspension system appeared, which is still used almost unchanged today, except that it did not have leg loops.

As we already know, the official birthday of the backpack parachute was November 9, 1911, when Kotelnikov received a certificate of protection for his invention. But why he ultimately failed to patent his invention in Russia still remains a mystery. But two months later, in January 1912, Kotelnikov’s invention was announced in France and received a French patent in the spring of that year. On June 6, 1912, parachute tests took place in the Gatchina Aeronautical School camp near the village of Salizi: the invention was demonstrated high ranks Russian army. Six months later, on January 5, 1913, Kotelnikov’s parachute was presented to a foreign public: Vladimir Ossovsky, a student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, jumped with it in Rouen from a 60-meter-high bridge.

By this time, the inventor had already finalized his design and decided to give it a name. He named his parachute RK-1 - that is, “Russian, Kotelnikov, first.” So Kotelnikov combined everything in one abbreviation essential information: both the name of the inventor, and the country to which he owed his invention, and his primacy. And he secured it for Russia forever.

“Parachutes in aviation are generally a harmful thing...”

As often happens with domestic inventions, they cannot be appreciated for a long time in their homeland. This, alas, happened with the backpack parachute. The first attempt to provide it to all Russian pilots ran into a rather stupid refusal. “Parachutes in aviation are generally a harmful thing, since pilots, at the slightest danger threatening them from the enemy, will escape by parachute, leaving their planes to die. Cars more expensive than people. We import cars from abroad, so they should be taken care of. But there will be people, not those, but others!” - such a resolution was imposed on Kotelnikov’s petition by the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian air force Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich.

With the beginning of the war, parachutes were remembered. Kotelnikov was even involved in the production of 70 backpack parachutes for the crews of the Ilya Muromets bombers. But in the cramped conditions of those planes, the backpacks got in the way, and the pilots abandoned them. The same thing happened when the parachutes were handed over to the aeronauts: it was inconvenient for them to tinker with the backpacks in the cramped baskets of the observers. Then the parachutes were pulled out of the packs and simply attached to the balloons - so that the observer, if necessary, could simply jump overboard, and the parachute would open on its own. That is, everything has returned to the ideas of a century ago!

Everything changed when in 1924 Gleb Kotelnikov received a patent for a backpack parachute with a canvas backpack - RK-2, and then modified it and called it RK-3. Comparative tests of this parachute and the same one, but French system showed the advantages of the domestic design.

In 1926, Kotelnikov transferred all rights to his inventions Soviet Russia and was no longer involved in invention. But he wrote a book about his work on the parachute, which went through three reprints, including in the difficult year of 1943. And the backpack parachute created by Kotelnikov is still used all over the world, having withstood, figuratively speaking, more than a dozen “reissues.” Is it a coincidence that Kotelnikov’s grave is on Novodevichy Cemetery Today's paratroopers certainly come to Moscow, tying stopper tapes from their canopies to the tree branches around them...

It is believed that Leonardo da Vinci invented the parachute 530 years ago, in 1483. Why he did this, no one knows. Leonardo himself apparently did not know this. After all, in those distant, distant times it was impossible to use a parachute, because there was nothing to fly then - no balloons, no aviation. And there was no landing force then either. Leonardo could only jump from different buildings, for example from Leaning Tower of Pisa. But why jump from it? For what? That is, the invention appeared before the need for it. Therefore, due to its uselessness, the parachute was forgotten for 300 years.

A parachute is a necessary thing

People remembered about the “anti-fall” device (and this is how the word “parachute” is translated) only in the 18th century, when the first hot air balloons appeared, which often fell along with their passengers. Parachutes were then made from flax, and although they were strong, they were heavy. They were tied to the bottom or side of the balloon. Later, the fabric began to be rubberized, and the parachute became even heavier. In addition, the folded parachute took up a lot of space. Therefore, when the first airplanes began to fly, parachutes were either not used or were stowed along the fuselage. In short, this thing used to be very inconvenient to use.

And in 1911, an ordinary Russian actor of the St. Petersburg People's House, Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov (1872–1944), came up with a parachute design that became popular all over the world. Moreover, this design, with some minor changes, is still in use today.

Kotelnikov significantly reduced the weight of the parachute. He replaced heavy linen with strong but light silk. He sewed a thin elastic cable into the edge of the parachute, and divided the lines into two groups, which were attached to the shoulder girths of the harness. This allowed the parachutist to control the flight of his saving friend. People stopped floating aimlessly and limply in the air under the influence of the wind. It has even become possible to hold landing accuracy competitions.

And finally, Kotelnikov’s most important invention - he placed the parachute in a small metal backpack attached to the parachutist’s body. At the bottom of the backpack was special shelf, and under it there were strong springs that instantly threw the parachute out when the jumper pulled out the locking ring. The parachute has become maneuverable, compact and convenient.

Kotelnikov's backpack

Kotelnikov named the first parachute model RK-1, which meant “Kotelnikov’s Backpack”. A few years later he improved the RK-1, and the RK-2 and RK-3 appeared. The metal backpack was replaced with a canvas one in the form of an envelope, and there were also “honeycombs” that protected the lines from tangling. Modern parachutes have almost the same design.

To be sure of the reliability of the device, Gleb Evgenievich personally conducted numerous tests on smaller models. The rescue pack worked flawlessly!

A parachute in aviation is a harmful thing

Kotelnikov, of course, wanted to quickly register and put into production this important invention for aviation, which could save the lives of many pilots. But then he encountered the ruthless Russian bureaucratic system.

First, Gleb Evgenievich went to the Main Military Engineering Directorate. But the head of the department directly stated:

“A parachute in aviation is a harmful thing, since at the slightest danger pilots will escape by parachute, leaving the planes to die.”

Then Kotelnikov turned to War Ministry. The inventor asked for subsidies for the production of an experimental parachute and more serious tests. But even here he was refused, since one authoritative member of the commission believed that “the aviator’s legs would be torn off from the impact when the parachute opens.”

In 1912, Kotelnikov, with the help of St. Petersburg entrepreneur V. A. Lomach, was able to build two prototypes of his backpack parachute. Full-scale tests in the air were successfully carried out: different aviators dropped a dummy of Ivan Ivanovich with a parachute at different altitudes. Kotelnikov’s invention worked perfectly - it never failed, and Ivan Ivanovich did not receive any damage.

In the same year in Paris, at an international parachute competition, Lomach showed Kotelnikov’s invention in action. The French were delighted and bought both samples from him, and then set up their own production.

There is no prophet in his own country...

And in Russia they remembered about Kotelnikov’s parachutes only two years later, when the First World War began. World War. An experimental batch was made for Sikorsky aircraft, but then officials still decided to purchase parachutes abroad. Although foreign analogues were exactly the same as Kotelnikov’s, because they were made according to his samples.

Already in Soviet times Gleb Evgenievich developed the world's first cargo parachute RK-4. Its dome had a diameter of 12 meters, so it could lower up to 300 kilograms of cargo.

Overall material rating: 4.9

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Nikita Khrushchev at the UN (was there a shoe?)

As you know, history develops in a spiral. This fully applies to the history of the United Nations. Over more than half a century of its existence, the UN has undergone many changes. Created in the wake of the euphoria of victory over Nazi Germany, the Organization set itself bold and largely utopian goals.

But time puts a lot of things into place. And hopes for creating a world without wars, poverty, hunger, lawlessness and inequality were replaced by a persistent confrontation between the two systems.

Natalia Terekhova talks about one of the most striking episodes of that time, the famous “Khrushchev’s boot”.

REPORTAGE:

On October 12, 1960, the most stormy meeting in the history of the United Nations took place. General Assembly. On this day the delegation Soviet Union, which was headed by Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, introduced a draft resolution on granting independence to colonial countries and peoples.

Nikita Sergeevich delivered, as usual, an emotional speech that abounded exclamation marks. In his speech, Khrushchev, without sparing expressions, denounced and denounced colonialism and the colonialists.

After Khrushchev, the representative of the Philippines rose to the podium of the General Assembly. He spoke from the position of a country that experienced all the hardships of colonialism and after for long years liberation struggle achieved independence: “In our opinion, the declaration proposed by the Soviet Union should cover and provide for inalienable right for the independence not only of the peoples and territories still under the control of the Western colonial powers, but also of the peoples of Eastern Europe and other areas deprived of the opportunity to freely exercise their civil and political rights and, so to speak, swallowed by the Soviet Union."

Listening to the simultaneous translation, Khrushchev exploded. After consulting with Gromyko, he decided to ask the Chairman for a point of order. Nikita Sergeevich raised his hand, but no one paid attention to him.

The most famous Foreign Ministry translator, Viktor Sukhodrev, who often accompanied Nikita Sergeevich on trips, spoke about what happened next in his memoirs: “Khrushchev loved to take his watch off his hand and twirl it. At the UN, he began banging his fists on the table in protest against the Filipino's speech. Clutched in his hand was a watch that had simply stopped.

And then Khrushchev, in his anger, took off his shoe, or rather, an open wicker sandal, and began to hit the table with his heel.”

This was the moment that entered into world history like the famous “Khrushchev boot”. The UN General Assembly Hall has never seen anything like it. A sensation was born right before our eyes.

And finally, the head of the Soviet delegation was given the floor:
“I protest against the unequal treatment of representatives of the states sitting here. Why is this lackey of American imperialism speaking out? He touches on an issue, he doesn’t touch on a procedural issue! And the Chairman, who sympathizes with this colonial rule, does not stop it! Is this fair? Gentlemen! Mr. Chairman! We live on earth not by the grace of God and not by your grace, but by the strength and intelligence of our great people of the Soviet Union and all peoples who are fighting for their independence.

It must be said that in the middle of Khrushchev’s speech, the simultaneous translation was interrupted, as the translators were frantically looking for an analogue to the Russian word “lack.” Finally, after a long pause, it was found English word"jerk", which has a wide range of meanings - from "fool" to "scum". Western reporters covering events at the UN in those years had to work hard until they found Dictionary Russian language and did not understand the meaning of Khrushchev’s metaphor.

After all, in those distant, distant times it was impossible to use a parachute, because there was nothing to fly then - no balloons, no aircraft. And there was no landing force then either. Leonardo could only jump from different buildings, for example from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But why jump from it? For what? That is, the invention appeared before the need for it. Therefore, due to its uselessness, the parachute was forgotten for 300 years.

And in 1911, an ordinary Russian actor of the St. Petersburg People's House, Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov (1872-1944), came up with a parachute design that became popular all over the world. Moreover, this design, with some minor changes, is still in use today.

And finally, Kotelnikov’s most important invention - he placed the parachute in a small metal backpack attached to the parachutist’s body. At the bottom of the backpack there was a special shelf, and under it there were strong springs that instantly threw the parachute out when the jumper pulled out the locking ring. The parachute has become maneuverable, compact and convenient.

To be sure of the reliability of the device, Gleb Evgenievich personally conducted numerous tests on smaller models. The rescue pack worked flawlessly!

First, Gleb Evgenievich went to the Main Military Engineering Directorate. But the head of the department directly stated: “A parachute in aviation is a harmful thing, since at the slightest danger pilots will escape by parachute, leaving the planes to die.”

Then Kotelnikov turned to the War Ministry. The inventor asked for subsidies to make an experimental parachute and conduct more serious tests. But even here he was refused, since one authoritative member of the commission believed that “the aviator’s legs would be torn off from the impact when the parachute opens.”

And in Russia they remembered about Kotelnikov’s parachutes only two years later, when the First World War began. An experimental batch was made for Sikorsky aircraft, but then officials still decided to purchase parachutes abroad. Although foreign analogues were exactly the same as Kotelnikov’s, because they were made according to his samples.

Already in Soviet times, Gleb Evgenievich developed the world's first cargo parachute RK-4. Its dome had a diameter of 12 meters, so it could lower up to 300 kilograms of cargo.

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