Mikhail Iossifovitch Gourevitch born December 31, 1892 (Julian calendar or January 12, 1893 Gregorian calendar), in Rubanchtchina, near Kursk, died November 25, 1976 in Moscow, was a Soviet aeronautical engineer, who remains famous for his cooperation with Artem Mikoyan, in the Mikoyan-Gourevitch design office.
He comes from a family of Jewish origin of wine technicians, he brilliantly finished his studies at the Lycée de Akhtyrka, in 1910, with a silver medal and then entered the department of the University of Kharkov. He was expelled after a year, because of his revolutionary activities and had to go into exile in France, where he studied at the University of Montpellier. Visiting Russia in September 1914, he had to stay in the country following the declaration of war. After the revolution, he studied at the aviation faculty of the Kharkov Technological Institute, from which he graduated in 1925, with a degree in physics and mathematics. During these studies with other students, he developed two gliders.
He was then hired by a state energy company, but left in 1929 to settle in Moscow and work in the aeronautical industry. He then worked in the various design offices of the Soviet aeronautical industry. In 1936 and 1937, he went to the USA, with a group of specialists, within the Martin company. Upon his return, he took part in the manufacture under license of the Douglas DC-3, under the designation of Lisunov Li-2, and in the introduction of new aeronautical production techniques. In 1937, in Polikarpov's design bureau, the OKB-1, he led a design team. Finally in December 1939, he joined the brand new design office of factory no. 1, the OKO, directed by Mikoyan, of which he became one of the assistants with Anatoly Grigorevitch Brunov. Gourevitch provides the mathematical foundations that made the success of the design office (OKB) Mikoyan-Gurevitch. These calculations focused in particular on high speeds, good climbing performance and a high ceiling altitude. Between 1949 and 1961, he worked mainly on the creation of missiles and flying bombs, leading the OKB-155-1 division of the design office. In 1964, he was awarded a doctorate in science, and he retired on July 1.
Mikoyan and Gourevitch
As a reward for his work, he was decorated with the Order of Lenin four times and named Hero of Socialist Labor in 1957. He received the State Prize in 1941 (for his work on the MiG-1) and in 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952 and 1953.