Oleg Antonov’s Saratov years: Glider designer and university student

Background and Objectives: In the article, we highlight episodes from the biography of the outstanding Soviet designer of unique multipurpose and cargo aircraft Oleg K. Antonov (1906–1984), related to the almost 15-year period of his life in Saratov. Having arrived in Saratov with his parents in 1911–1912, he received his secondary education here, studying at the Alexander-Mariinsky Real School (in pre-revolutionary times) and the Unified Labor School. Even in his childhood, he was distinguished by a serious attitude to the history of aviation (he compiled his own chronicle of its development), aspiration to create perfect aircraft and a dream of becoming a pilot. The first stage of his path to the sky in the 1920s was the design of gliders in Saratov, in which he achieved professional mastery, publishing, in particular, brochures on the modeling and design of gliders. In 1922–1923, Oleg Antonov was a first-year student at the Faculty of Railway Engineering at Saratov University (until its closure). At the same time, in Saratov, he was engaged in organizing gliding, being the executive secretary of the sports section and gliding of the Society of Friends of the Air Fleet since 1923. Materials and Methods: By writing the article, we used the materials of the State Archives of the Saratov Region, the Saratov Regional Museum of Local History, the archives of the Saratov University, and the memoirs by O. K. Antonov. Conclusion: It has been noted that the Saratov period of Oleg K. Anton’s life became decisive in his choice of further study at the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute and many years of professional activity. On the house where he lived in Saratov and on the building of the former real school where he studied, memorial plaques were installed in his honor.

Oleg K. Antonov, Saratov University, Gliding