Buzanov Victor: designer and organizer of Instrumentation

In Soviet times, he took his own niche of important tasks prepared and resolved by the outstanding creators of rocket and space technology and their collectives. These works were kept secret so that his family members were convinced that the head of their family manages the industrial production of only photo cameras. So what we know about the talented designer and organizer of special and civil instrumentation, the head of the glorious Arsenal collective Viktor Buzanov?

Authoritative teachers

Viktor Buzanov was born August 31, 1934 in Kiev in a highly intelligent family. His father, Ivan Feoktistovich was an outstanding Ukrainian  plant physiologist, academician and vice-president of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Professor, winner of the Lenin Prize. For thirty years he led the All-Union scientific and research institute of sugar beet in Kiev. Victor's mother worked as a teacher. Therefore, education and training from childhood took place in an atmosphere of goodwill and mutual respect.

Graduating Kiev school № 86 in 1952 he was admitted in the Kiev Polytechnic Institute (KPI) in the prestigious Mechanical Department. The student Buzanov has highly professional teachers. He was able to take from the best, that helped him in his life and work. His teachers in KPI were: in mathematics – professor, doctor in physics and mathematics, Valentin A. Zmorovich; in theoretical mechanics - the talented teacher Professor Tatyana Putyata; in materials resistance - Professor Nicholay S. Mozharovsky; in the construction machines - Professor Ephraim Moiseich Haimovich and other teachers and scholars who have prepared a large number of outstanding graduates of KPI.

Graduating in 1958 Polytechnic Institute on the specialty "Technology of mechanical engineering, machine tools and instruments" Victor Buzanov began his career at the Central Design Bureau (CDB) "Arsenal" plant as the design engineer.

Note that the content obtained in the KPI engineering specialty and direction of future design activity were not identical. However, thanks to a fundamental general engineering training, which was traditionally provided by KPI, Victor Buzanov had adapted quickly enough  to solve engineering design problems.

At that time  CDB was the new structural unit of the plant.

The chief designer for the development and creation of systems aiming ballistic missiles in 1956 was appointed Seraphim Platonovich Parnyakov. For over 30 years, he led the design bureau and entered in the history of rocket and space technology as the chief designer of systems aiming ballistic tactical and strategic combat missile stationary systems (terrestrial or mine) and mobile (ground or train) and sea-based systems as well as targeting cruise missiles launched from submarines and surface ships and systems aiming rockets spacecraft. The merits of Seraphim Parnyakov were highly marked by the state awarding him the title of Hero of Socialist Labor (1969), laureate of the State Prize of the USSR (1970), orders and medals. We have reason to believe that the young specialist Victor Buzanov at a new stage of his life was again lucky with teachers - in fact, he came under guidance of S.P. Parnyakov. It was crucial time for the formation and growth of Viktor Ivanovich as the specialist. He immediately joined the work design office, revealing at the same high persistence, technical competence and the ability to quickly focus on the execution of the task.

Another success in life V.I. Buzanov was that he constantly received the help and support from the leaders of the "Arsenal" - Director-General Sergei Vladimirovich Gusovsky and chief engineer Igor Petrovich Kornitsky (later the First Deputy Minister of Defense Industry of the USSR). Even became the leader, he learned from them the art to control the collective of many thousands of creators of the latest models of military equipment, to introduce them into production and operation, and the ability to adequately represent the achievements of the enterprise at all levels.

V.I. Buzanov, as the authoritative leader of  Arsenal team, carrying out particularly important development of national importance, had to meet and collaborate with luminaries of the missile and space rocket technology. Among them – S.P. Korolev, Y.P. Semenov, M.K. Yangel, V.F. Utkin, V.M. Chelomei et al. He had business contacts with the major designers of control systems M.A. Pilyugin, V.G. Sergeyev, J.E. Eisenberg and with eminent scientists - academicians M.V. Keldysh, A.Y. Ishlinsky, B.E. Paton and many others.

System of the special instrumentation

The arrival of Victor Buzanov in CDB coincided with the era of the USSR missile and space technology, which started counting from October 4, 1957 - the date of the launch into the orbit the world's first artificial satellite. This match proved to be symbolic in the life of V. Buzanov and his professional growth as a highly qualified specialist in the field of space-rocket engineering. It was a time when the optical and opto-electronic instrumentation just began to develop and spread in the space industry.

The significant event in the life of a young specialist Victor Buzanov became the work in a group designing the aiming the rocket that August 20, 1960 put into orbit an artificial satellite with three dogs Belka and Strelka on board. It was a special program for biological studies on experimental animals during the flight in space and return to Earth. This is the first great work has played the role of starting further professional growth of Viktor Ivanovich. The creation of aiming systems aiming was a niche in Kiev Arsenal plant in the projects rocket and space technology for over 30 years. Among them there were large-scale development - targeting systems space launch vehicles "Space", "Intercosmos", "Lightning", "Proton", "Cyclone", "Zenith", "Energia-Buran"; - systems aiming combat stationary missile systems from R-14 to R-36, from the RS-12 to RS-20.

Victor Buzanov participated in the development of systems aiming mobile combat strategic missile complexes "Temp-2C", "Pioneer", "Topol" and tactical "Tochka", "Tochka-U", "Oka-U". In addition, there have been developed the systems to measure the mutual angular turns for satellites and orbital space station "Salyut", "Peace" and others.

Since 1969, VI Buzanov worked first as a deputy, and since 1973 - the chief of the largest units SDB - Specialized Design Bureau SDB-1 and the first Deputy Chief Designer. Appointed in 1977 as Head of CDB V.I. Buzanov was already well known in the professional sphere. This helped him in the future to expand the activity of CDB.

In addition to developing systems aiming and navigation devices for artificial satellites in different years CDB was also involved in the development and creation of gyrocompasses, air rifle scopes for aerial gunnery and for torpedo- and mine launches, helmet-mounted target designation systems, sighting and search equipment for anti-submarine aircraft, non-acoustical methods of submarine detection, thermal infrared homing heads for guided missiles "air to air" and "ground-to-air", laser altimeter for artificial satellites, training facilities for astronauts and much more. In the department of the history of aviation and astronautics State Polytechnic Museum there is one of the simulators for astronauts, designed and developed by Arsenal.

Development of civil instrumentation

The most known for public devices that were created and produced for decades by Kiev Arsenal, are  photographic technique, whose history began in 1949 with the first mass-camera "Kiev-2." Later there were released camera "Kiev-19m", "Kiev-60TTL", "Kiev-88-88 TTL", "Kiev-88cm", which received high praise and recognition amateurs and professionals. The variables objectives of Kyiv plant with a range of focal lengths from 20 to 300 mm were comparable with the foreign analogues. Kiev cameras are widely used in the shootings from the spacecraft series "East", "Union", "Moon", "Probe" space station "Salyut" and others.

Kiev "Arsenal" mastered the production of modern road traffic signal light emitting diodes - reliable energy-saving devices. There were established commercially available opto-electronic devices for medical applications. There are among them blood analyzer AK-11, which provides instant diagnosis for 11 hematological parameters for 2-3 minutes, dental drills, analytical photometers and others. Angle measuring system GS-11 created using opto-electronic devices and laser gyro meter of own production, is used  as a national standard. For banking technology the plant has counters of banknotes and coins, which can work both independently and as part of workstations. They are well-known rotary gas meters for domestic and industrial use, with small size, high sensitivity and large measurement range. For the implementation of the production of domestic gas meters "GMS-Arsenal" in 2004, the plant was awarded a medal and a diploma of All-Ukrainian contest "The Best Domestic Product of the Year" in the category "Industrial goods for the population."

Leadership style

Victor Buzanov directed his energy to the fulfillment of the tasks. At the same time, he showed the best features of his character - respect for employees, independence in decision-making, in-depth knowledge, skills to defend his point of view.

Later, his collegue chief designer Golik Marat Nikolaevich recalled that the system of decision-making at Victor Ivanovich has always been based on the first mandatory listening to the advice of his subordinates, and then on the personal decisions and monitor their implementation. Orders to subordinates Viktor Ivanovich wrote out in his notebook. "To the recordings in the notebook, we were related with great tension ..." - said M.M. Golik. At the same time, as his daughter Ludmila V. and deputy chief designer Viktor Lysenko remembered, Buzanov was good not only at home but also at work, dealing with people from the standpoint of a very high culture and respect.

In 1991, the production association "Plant Arsenal" has ceased to exist, resulting in the CDB received legal independence. On these times of decay and disappearance of many enterprises on the economy of Ukraine Viktor Ivanovich later recalled as follows: "In spite of the known difficulties of the new economic situation in Ukraine, our company managed to maintain an invaluable experience and scientific and technical potential, retain key personnel with years of experience, to develop high-performance technology and consolidate the work collective to meet the challenges of developing a new technology. Our personal production  capabilities are extended. The design and metrological basis for the establishment of modern element base and precision optics technology is improved. " In 2001-2006 the company has increased more than 2 times the volume of production, has created an export-oriented production of high-tech products with world-class performance.

Viktor Ivanovich had every reason to be proud of the results of the activities of its staff. In particular, he proudly told about the achievements of his company in his articles: "Arsenal" - a leading developer of optical and opto-electronic systems in Ukraine "," Status and prospects of optical instrument in Ukraine, "" KP CDB "Arsenal" - improving and creation of a new opto-electronic aircraft equipment "and others. In his personal achievements  there are 262 copyright certificates, 13 patents. Behind it  there are his personal work and work of his colleagues, and it is huge. Many products" Arsenal "can determine the measure of the" first "or "new generation". That's just one example: in the late 1960s it was created a new generation of aircraft guided missile weapons and started the development of thermal homing guided air missiles for the world's first missile system passing maneuver air combat F-60. And such examples there are many.

Only in the last years of his life under his supervision there were created dozens of different national systems for the aerospace, aviation, armored vehicles and other military equipment, including for the spacecraft "microsatellite", AN-70, T-80UD and T-84 .

On the eve of his last lifetime 70-year anniversary Viktor Ivanovich Buzanov said: "On the territory of the former Soviet Union is no such bureau, which the variety of areas of military technology which can compare with us."

Today, the company created by V.I. Buzanov is called State enterprise special instrumentation "Arsenal".

It is subordinated to the State Space Agency of Ukraine and actively cooperates with China, USA, India, Vietnam, South Korea, and others.

A recognition of achievements

V.I. Buzanov was recognized in the Soviet Union, Ukraine and CIS as the specialist of  high level, PhD. Since 1992, he was in charge Chief Designer of Industrial Policy of Ukraine in the direction of the optical and opto-electronic instrument. Created under his technical direction the optical instrumentation technologies became the national treasure and the basis for the production of high-precision weapons, space and aviation equipment, appliances civilian use.

Long-term activities and achievements V.I. Buzanov were marked at the state level. In 1976, for participating in the development and creation of strategic mobile missile system "Temp-2C" V.I. Buzanov received the Lenin Prize. USSR State Prize was awarded in 1990 for participating in the creation of strategic missile system MS-20 "Satan". In 2008, Victor Ivanovich posthumously was awarded the State Prize in Science and Technology of Ukraine for the creation and implementation work with precision machining.