Ukraine has a rich history of training talented engineers, designers and scientists who have made significant contributions to various areas of scientific and technological progress, including the aerospace industry. Among them, there are three outstanding figures who enriched the U.S. aerospace industry with their pioneering work in helicopter design, engineering mechanics, and transport aircraft construction. These are Igor Sikorsky, Stepan Tymoshenko, and Michael Strukov. All of them emigrated from Russia as a result of the October Revolution and the Civil War (Igor Sikorsky in 1919, Stepan Tymoshenko and Michael Strukov in 1922).
Each of them was a multifaceted, talented individual. Numerous articles, monographs, and film materials are devoted to each of them. But encyclopedic editions in the United States provide rather scant information about them. If we collect what is written about each of them, we will learn the following.
Ihor Sikorsky, a student of the KPI in 1907-1911. In America, he became known for his pioneering work in the field of helicopter design. He was the founder of the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, which became one of the world's leading manufacturers of these machines. In the 1930s, he designed and built the world's first successful single-engine helicopter, the VS-300, in the United States. This achievement laid the foundation for modern helicopter technology. His contribution to the U.S. aerospace industry is defined by the creation of numerous successful helicopter models, such as the Sikorsky R-4, which was the world's first mass-produced helicopter, and the Sikorsky H-60 series of military helicopters, which were widely used by the U.S. Armed Forces.
In 1906-1911, Stepan Tymoshenko worked as the head of the Department of Materials Resistance, dean of the Mechanical and Civil Engineering Departments (faculties) of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. In the United States, he conducted research at several universities, including the University of Michigan and Stanford University. He became known for his pioneering work in engineering mechanics, particularly in the field of elasticity theory and structural mechanics. These works had a significant impact on the design and analysis of aerospace structures.
Michael Strukov, an American aircraft designer of Ukrainian descent. In the United States, he founded the Stroukoff Aircraft Corporation and made a significant contribution to the American aerospace industry. Stroukoff is known for developing the C-123 Provider military transport aircraft, which was used by the US Air Force during the 1950s and 1960s. This aircraft played an important role in various military campaigns and operations, including the Vietnam War.
What these three prominent American scientists and designers have in common is that they acquired their fundamental natural science knowledge, engineering skills, and spirit of innovation in Ukraine. Today, we will focus on the life and contribution to the development of U.S. transport aviation of Michael Strukov, a prominent scientist and designer who is lesser known in Ukraine.
Formation
Mikhail Mikhailovich Strukov (Michael Stroukoff) was born on January 29, 1883, in the Ukrainian city of Katerynoslav (now Dnipro), in the family of a provincial nobleman. Michael received his secondary education at the gymnasium of Yekaterinoslav and in the cadet corps.
Later, in the United States, Strukov used Stepan Tymoshenko's theoretical work in the field of engineering mechanics and took into account Igor Sikorsky's practical experience in aircraft construction in his professional activities.
During the First World War, he fought on various fronts. He rose to the rank of cavalry captain. For his bravery and courage, he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th class. During the Civil War, he took an active part in the White Guard movement.
In 1921, after the defeat of the White Army, he emigrated to the Far East. He sought refuge in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and the Philippines. In 1922, he moved to the United States, where he lived the rest of his life, finding his vocation in aviation after long wanderings.
Starting work in aviation
After emigrating to the United States, Michael Strukov spent a long time adapting to the harsh conditions of the new country. He tried to settle in New York, Columbus (Ohio), and Bridgeport (Connecticut). He worked as a designer, architect, participated in the construction of churches, theaters, bridges, railroads, and designed the interiors of large department stores. In 1938, he became an American citizen.
All these years, Strukov's dream of aviation never left him. He read a lot about new achievements in the field of aircraft construction, attended aviation exhibitions and air shows. Only in 1943, having accumulated the necessary start-up capital, he founded his own aircraft company, Chase Aircraft, in Trenton, New Jersey, and became its president and chief engineer. His deputy was another talented American and Canadian aircraft designer of Georgian descent, Mikhail Leontievich Grigorashvili (Michael Gregor). Their fruitful collaboration lasted until 1953.
Strukov's company designed and built gliders. Chase Aircraft's first contract was with the United States Air Force (USAF) to develop a 16-seat wooden glider, the XCG-14, for landing assault troops. Its first flight took place on January 4, 1945. The glider was made of mahogany, which is used in shipbuilding, as traditional spruce was used for higher-priority projects during the war. Compared to the CG-10 gliders produced by Laister-Kauffman, the XCG-14 had improved crash protection.
After successful flight tests, this airframe was produced in two improved versions: the wood-and-metal XCG-14A and the YCG-14A. It was one of the few airframe projects that continued after the war ended. However, in 1947-1953, it was replaced by the improved XCG-18 airframe.
The experience of the US Air Force using cargo gliders during World War II showed the need to create a new generation of aircraft in the postwar period that could carry a much larger load and have better recovery capabilities than the wooden wartime attack gliders. Therefore, the Chase Aircraft XCG-14 became the basic model (prototype) for the creation of fundamentally new aircraft.
In January 1947, the U.S. Air Force placed an order for an improved metal version of this airframe, initially called the XCG-14B and later renamed the XCG-18A. In December 1947, the world's first all-metal transport airframe took off.
Its design was based on that of the XCG-14 cargo airframe, but it was much larger and had an all-metal frame and skin. It was a cantilevered high-wing airframe with a rectangular cross-section and a cargo ramp at the rear. The main landing gear struts were mounted on the sides of the fuselage and were fixed, and the nose wheel was retractable. The KCG-18A could carry 35 soldiers with full equipment and reach speeds of up to 440 km/h when towed.
As part of the five-year US aviation development program, in August 1946, the Air Force signed a contract with Chase Aircraft to build the XCG-20, also known as the XG-20 or MS-8 Avitruc. It was the largest glider ever built in the United States.
After the US military leadership lost interest in amphibious gliders, the XCG-18 was fitted with two Pratt & Whitney air-cooled engines with a capacity of 1,250 horsepower each and the glider was converted into the YS-122 Avitruck military transport aircraft, which the US Air Force used until 1957.
The XCG-20 airframe was soon also modified into the twin-engine Fairchild C-123 Provider transport aircraft, which was widely used during the Vietnam War and in other important military operations.
This aircraft became the most important in Michael Strukov's career. The aircraft's cabin was designed to carry 60 paratroopers in full armor and to transport cargo weighing up to 10 tons. The model had more streamlined fuselage aerodynamic contours compared to the prototype, a reinforced nose section, and duralumin skin. Two piston engines with a capacity of 2,300 horsepower each enabled the aircraft to reach a speed of 392 km/h. The flight range reached 2000 km. The airplane could take off from an unconcreted surface.
In 1951, a jet variant of the C-123 called the KhS-123A was tested. It was the first jet military transport aircraft of the US Air Force. It reached a speed of over 800 km/h. However, due to its high fuel consumption and unsatisfactory takeoff and landing characteristics, there were no orders for this aircraft.
In order to significantly expand the scale of mass production of the C-123, the US Air Force transferred the contract for its production to the subcontractor Kaiser-Frazer, which had a large aircraft manufacturing plant, Kaiser Willow Run, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The owner of the company was a well-known entrepreneur Henry Kaiser. As a result of this reorganization, in 1951, Kaiser-Frazer acquired a 49% stake in Chase Aircraft and received a contract to build 300 C-123 aircraft. After this merger, Chase Aircraft effectively became the engineering department of Kaiser-Frazer, and Michael Strukov remained with the company as chief engineer.
After the first eight airplanes were built, it turned out that the prices were inflated, and suspicions arose about corrupt practices by Kaiser-Frazer's management. In this regard, the United States Senate held a series of hearings on the corruption scandal, which resulted in the termination of the contract with Kaiser-Frazer for the construction of 300 of these aircraft. The contract was put up for re-tendering, and the winner was Fairchild Aviation Corporation, located in Farmingdale and East Farmingdale, New York.
The C-123's excellent flight and performance characteristics have secured a major order from the US Air Force. The Fairchild Aviation Corporation has successfully produced about 300 aircraft under the name "Fairchild C-123 Provider", which were adopted by the US Army. Thanks to the fulfillment of this order, Fairchild Aviation Corporation gained wide recognition and increased its capital. The aircraft was exported to ten countries and was widely used by the US Air Force in Southeast Asia, including in the infamous "Ranch Hand" operation to spray poisons (Agent Orange and others) over the jungles of Vietnam.
The fate of the airplane turned out to be long. After Vietnam, it was widely used until the 80s. As a cargo plane and as a coast guard aircraft, it was actively used by various US intelligence agencies: to support the Nicaraguan Contras, to fight the drug mafia in South America, etc. Some C-123s are still in service in El Salvador, Laos, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines.
The C-123's involvement in the film industry was also interesting. It became famous as a "movie hero" in the Hollywood films Con Air (in our country - "Air Prison") with Nicolas Cage, Air America (in our country - "Air America") with Mel Gibson and in the comedy Operation Dumbo Drop (in our country - "Operation Flying Elephant") with Danny Glover and Ray Liotta.
Meanwhile, Kaiser-Frazer bought out 51% of Struckow's shares, and later the entire package, and then dissolved Chase Aircraft on January 31, 1954. In 1954, Strukov still managed to obtain compensation from his former partners, which allowed him to purchase the buildings and assets of Chase Aircraft that remained after its liquidation. Using these assets, Stroukoff founded his own aircraft manufacturing company, Stroukoff Aircraft. Given that Michael Strukov was the main ideologue, innovator and designer of the C-123, he planned to carry out further work on improving and experimenting with his best aircraft.
A new attempt to reach to reach the top in aviation
After the failure, Michael Strukov began the next, very active period of his creative work. In 1954, he used an original wing boundary layer control (BLC) system in a new version of the aircraft called the KhS-123D. The new system allowed the upper trailing edge of the wing (flaps) to be blown by a high-speed air stream at high angles of attack. This prevented the boundary layer from detaching from the wing surface and a sharp decrease in lift at low airspeeds. As a result, the takeoff and landing characteristics were significantly improved, the gross weight was increased, and the stall speed of the aircraft was reduced.
A year later, tests began on another improved version of the YC-123E. This aircraft was equipped with Strukov's original Pantobase pontoon landing gear system. This system allowed the airplane to take off from any uneven ground surface, snow, ice, and water, as well as to land on such surfaces. In 1956, the YС-134 was introduced, which was an improved version of the serial S-123 with an extended fuselage.
Developed by Stroukoff in 1956, the new Stroukoff YC-134 was largely based on the Fairchild C-123 Provider and combined the best characteristics of the YC-123D and YC-123E. It was Strukov's largest aircraft, weighing 41 tons. The new aircraft was equipped with two Wright Turbo Compound R3350-89A radial engines with a capacity of 3,500 horsepower. The horizontal stabilizers had end plates to improve directional stability. This gave the airplane a distinctive look with three keels. The fuel was not stored in the rear of the engine nacelles, but in an extended fuel tank in the center section. In addition, two mounting points for 120-liter outboard tanks were added to each wing. The aircraft had a cruising speed of 352 km/h and a range of 2600 km with an eleven-ton payload. The takeoff distance did not exceed 230 meters.
At the time of its release, the Stroukoff YC-134 was the best in its class. The United States Armed Forces signed a contract with Stroukoff Aircraft Corporation to develop a military version of the aircraft. At the same time, within a few months, the Lockheed Corporation created the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, which surpassed the Stroukoff aircraft in a number of ways. Therefore, over the next few years, the US Air Force preferred the Lockheed Corporation aircraft.
Subsequently, Stroukoff Aircraft Corporation could not compete with the more powerful Lockheed Corporation, which cooperated with the US Air Force on a larger scale. This explains the fact that none of Stroukoff's models were ever put into mass production after 1956. Avoiding total bankruptcy, Michael Strukov closed his company in 1959.
Private life
After the closure of the Stroukoff Aircraft Corporation, Stroukoff destroyed all of his designs and drawings and for some time consulted aviation specialists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He was married to Larysa Strukova (Larissa Stroukoff, born in 1893), who passed away before reaching the age of 60. Michael and Larysa Strukova had three children: daughter Hanna and sons Oli (born in 1933) and Michael (born in 1923). Nowadays, presumably, his descendant, also Michael Strukov, is a top manager of the British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company GlaxoSmithKline, headquartered in London. In 1955, in memory of his wife, Michael Strukov established a prize for young gliders whose speeds at the US National Soaring Championships were the best.
At the end of his life, Michael Strukov took up reading, tried to write his memoirs, which, unfortunately, were never published, and spent time with his family and friends. He died at the age of 90 on December 22, 1974, at St. Francis Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx.