Sergey Nikitich Kovalev

Sergei Nikitich Kovalev rightfully occupies a special place in the glorious cohort of scientists, creators, whose activities have had a noticeable impact, and this is by no means an exaggeration, on the course world history. For more than half a century he, as chief, and then as General Designer, participated in the creation of the submarine fleet of his Fatherland - the Soviet Union, Russia. The brainchild of S.N. Kovaleva, nuclear submarines - strategic missile carriers of three generations play a significant role in global politics on the planet. Sergey Nikitich Kovalev led the work on the creation of the nuclear submarine of Project 658, armed with ballistic missiles, and subsequently was the Chief Designer and then the General Designer of all nuclear submarines and strategic submarine cruisers armed with ballistic missile. He held the posts of deputy chief designer, chief designer of projects, in 1958-1983 - chief designer of the enterprise, which since 1966 was called the Leningrad design and installation bureau "Rubin".

For many years S.N.Kovalev He was closely associated with the production activities of Sevmash and, with his deep engineering knowledge, provided invaluable assistance in solving numerous technical problems for the construction of nuclear submarines. He is rightfully called “the father of the Russian strategic nuclear submarine fleet”.

Sergey Kovalev took part in the development of many submarine projects, including the submarines of the project 617 with a combined-cycle turbine and the submarine of the project 658 with ballistic missiles. In 1958, Kovalev became the chief and then the general designer of all nuclear submarines. In total, eight Kovalev submarine projects were built - nuclear submarines of projects 658, 658M, 667A, 667B, 667BD, 667BDR, 667BDRM and 941. Most recently, the general designer of the Rubin Central Design Bureau was engaged in the construction of the Borey nuclear-powered submarine of the Project 955. In addition, Kovalev participated in the creation of ice-resistant oil and gas platforms for offshore fields.

Sergey Nikitich was born on August 15, 1919 in Petrograd. His father, Nikita Nazarovich Kovalev, was an officer of the Russian Imperial Navy, after the October Revolution of 1917 he served in the naval forces of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army. He was the author of two textbooks on mine warfare, a number of articles on radio communications and radio direction finding.

Sergey Nikitich studied in Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute in 1937-1942. The Great Patriotic War began. In the summer and autumn of 1941, like many students from Leningrad, Sergei Kovalev worked on the construction of defensive structures around the city - they dug anti-tank ditches, trenches, and built pillboxes. In autumn, bombing and shelling of the city began. Winter came very early that year. In February 1942, most of the teachers and students were evacuated from Leningrad to Gorky. In Gorky, exhausted by hunger, Sergei Kovalev was hospitalized for a long time, then went further south, to the city of Pyatigorsk, where he joined his classmates. The evacuation was a special time when people were left on their own, in another republic, in a different climate, in completely different, very difficult conditions. In 1943, being in the evacuation to Przhevalsk (now - Karakol, Kyrgyzstan), he defended his diploma from the Nikolaev Shipbuilding Institute and received the title of shipbuilding engineer. He was sent to TsKB-18 (now the Central Design Bureau of Marine Engineering "Rubin"), which was in evacuation in Gorky (now Nizhniy Novgorod) (currently, JSC Rubin Central Design Bureau of Marine Engineering, St. Petersburg), the designer of class I, senior designer.

In 1947, as part of a large group of employees CDB-18 was on a business trip in the town of Blankenburg (Germany), where he studied German construction technology combined-cycle turbine plants for submarines. In 1948 he was transferred to the Special Design Bureau ?143 (SKB-143, now - JSC "St. Petersburg Marine Engineering Bureau" Malakhit "). In 1948, as an assistant, deputy, then chief designer, he supervised the development and construction of an underwater boats of project 617 with a steam-gas turbine installation. During the tests of this submarine, for the first time in the USSR, an underwater speed of 20 knots (about 37 km / h) was achieved.

Since May 1953, Kovalev continued to work at TsKB-18, where a group of designers from SKB- 143, involved in the project 617. Since 1958 he worked on ballistic missile submarines of Projects 658, 658M, 667A, 667B, 667DB, 667AMD, and 667BRDM. In 1971, S.N.Kovalev began designing and constructing an atomic Underwater Cruiser Project 941 ("Shark" , NATO designation "Typhoon"), armed with 20 solid-propellant ballistic missiles. These are the largest in the world and the most effective by the power of their missiles. These submarines became the nucleus of the marine component of nuclear weapons forces of Russia.

Numerous scientific works of S.N.Kovalev in the field of project theory and construction mechanics of ships, successful Development of most difficult problems in the field of hydrodynamics and energy have become a significant contribution to the domestic shipbuilding construction science and technology. Since 1973 Kovalev wsa a Doctor of Technical Sciences, since 1981 a Member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, since 1984 – Vice-chairman Presidium of the Leningrad Scientific Center of the USSR.

Since 1983 Kovalev was General designer (first general Director, Constructor in military shipbuilding). The huge contribution of S.N. Kovaleva to the development of the domestic ship building, strengthening industrial ties and naval Fleet was highly appreciated by the state. For the development of new submarines twice awarded the title of Hero Socialist Labour (1963, 1974). Development of the project 658M in 1965 was marked by awarding Lenin Prize, and the project 667BDR in 1978, the state awarded the USSR prize. In 2007 he was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation for the development, creation and development of three generations of nuclear submarine missile launchers.

He was awarded four Orders of Lenin (1963, 1970, 1974, 1984), the Order of the October Revolution (1979), the Medal of the "For merits to the fatherland" of the second degree (1999), the Order of the "For Maritime Merits" (2003). For the outstanding contribution to the technical progress he was awarded the Medal of V.G. Shukhov.

When deploying to a conversion bureau, given that the building of sea platforms is the most complicated scientific and technical Task, requiring coordination of efforts of many enterprises at once. Since 1994, S.N. Kovalev has been appointed as a scientific supervisor for the creation of Offshore oil and gas production platforms.

The outstanding talent of Sergey Nikitic Kovalev, exceptional engineering and scientific spheres of activity, is surprisingly generously manifested in painting. His creativity in this area is clearly demonstrated. The multifaceted and vivid personality of Sergey Nikitic Kovaleva was written in the hours of leisure landscapes painting. S.N.Kovalev was a full member of Petrov Academy of Sciences and Arts,and honorary member of the Union of Artists Sank'peterburg.

Sergei Kovalev was married to Tamara Vasilyevna Kovaleva (née Urvacheva), an employee of the Central Research Institute of Military Shipbuilding. The son is Alexey. By the decision of the Municipal Council of Severodvinsk dated July 7, 2003 No. 103 Kovalev S.N. awarded the title "Honorary Citizen of Severodvinsk".

Sergei Kovalev, chief designer of strategic nuclear submarines of the Rubin Central Design Bureau, died in St. Petersburg on February 24, 2011 on the way to the hospital - in the evening he felt bad and his relatives called an ambulance. Doctors did not have time to take him to the hospital. His remains were buried at the Krasnenkoye cemetery.

In 2011, the embankment at Sevmash was named after S.N.Kovalev.