Polikarpov, Nikolai Nikolaevich

From OnAirpower.org

Name:	Polikarpov, Nikolai Nikolaevich (Поликарпов, Николай Николаевич)
Years:	1892-1944
Nationality:	Soviet
Remarks:	Soviet aircraft designer most famous for designing fighters prior to World War II, including the I-153, I-15, and I-16

[edit] Biography

Polikarpov studied engineering at the Polytechnic Institute in Petrograd, graduating in 1916^[1].

After graduation he joined the Russo-Baltic Wagon Company, which was constructing the Sikorsky-designed Ilya Muromets four-engined, long-range bomber and the S-16 escort fighter. That was his first exposure to fighter aircraft^[1].

In August, 1918 he went to work at the Duks aircraft factory in Moscow as the chief of the technical department^[1].

Polikarpov's first biplane fighter design was the 2I-N1, which made it to the prototype stage but was canceled after the prototype crashed during flight testing, probably due to manufacturing defects in attaching the wing fabric to the wing^[2].