Koshkin is a brief biography

Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov Party Service in the summer of the year Koshkin demobilized and took up party activities. After graduating from the Communist University named after Y. Sverdlov, where he met the party leaders S. Kirov and G. Ordzhonikidze, Koshkin was sent to Vyatka now Kirov for the leadership of the confectionery factory. Having served from a year in the factory, he moved to the district committee, then in the sponge of the CPSU B Vyatki, married the employee of the Gubpotrebsoyuz Vere Kataeva, soon they had a daughter Lisa, and later two more daughters - Tamara and Tatyana.

The performance of the designer probably could make a good party career, but during the years of the war, interest in the technique prompted him to write a letter to Sergey Mironovich Kirov, in which Mikhail asked for assistance in obtaining a higher technical education. The country was in dire need of qualified specialists, so he was not refused. In the year, Koshkin was called to Leningrad, where he was admitted to the Technological Institute.

Soon the summer student transferred to the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute, because there was a Machine -Building Department. He took place at the Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant. Michael turned out to be so intelligent that the leadership of the plant was busy before the People's Commissar of Heavy Industry about its direction at the end of training to them. But Koshkin attracted tank building and in the last year he already knew where he could do this.

The creator T Mikhail Koshkin defended a diploma in the year with a degree in mechanical engineer for the construction of cars and tractors on the theme “Box of variables of the middle tank”, the novice designer became an employee of the design bureau of the Leningrad Kirov Plant. Two and a half years later, Koshkin has already held the position of deputy head of the KB.

Studying the models of tanks purchased in the West, the bureau was developing fundamentally new tanks. Leningrad designers modernized serial tanks T and t, creating models T and T in the year for the successful work of Koshkin along with other designers of the Bureau awarded the Order of the Red Star. The tank industry at that time was in a deplorable state and special alarm from the People’s Commissar of heavy industry G.

Ordzhonikidze called the tank department of the Kharkov steam locomotive factory. It was decided to send Koshkin to Kharkov, taking into account his organizational abilities and obsession in the desire to create a high -speed average tank. In those years, the light-haired high-speed high-speed tanks of the BT series produced in Kharkov and the Leningrad tanks T formed the basis of tank support of the Red Army.

The priority task of Koshkin was to organize the work of the design bureau to modernize the BT-7 tank, the weak point of which was the gearbox, and ensure its serial production. Under the leadership of Koshkin, KB, consisting of 48 employees, began to work hard in 14 areas. The participation of easily armored Soviet tanks in hostilities on the occasion of the Civil War in Spain of their armor was only 20 mm showed by their vulnerability for artillery.

It was required, rather, not modernization, but a complete replacement of the Red Army tank park. The designers in connection with this assigned a special role, and for their development, harsh deadlines were assigned. Failure to comply with the deadlines threatened with arrests. Strengthening the anti -console reservation increased the mass of the machine, which gave an additional load on the transmission.

The attempt of designers to solve the problem by complicating the transmission by preliminary calculations was not profitable, the production of such a tank would be expensive and time -consuming. In parallel with Koshkin, the designer Adolf Dick worked at the Kharkov factory. Under the leadership of Dick, a new wheel-conventional model A appeared, which, in combat capabilities, was not much different from BT Koshkin, this project did not like this project, because the wheeled equipment showed herself well on the highway, but on a crossed area in the conditions of military operations, she would demonstrate poor cross-country ability.

After the arrest of Dick, the caterpillar tank for the execution of the task of the Ministry of Defense fell on Koshkin. Any of his mistake could cost him freedom or even life. He took a chance and took up his long -standing idea of ​​creating a purely caterpillar tank, which simplified the design of the machine and, due to savings, made it possible to strengthen the armor and weapons.

At the end of April, having enlisted the support of I. Stalin, Koshkin achieved the permission of the People’s Commissariat of Defense to experience an experienced copy A, and along with it - a new caterpillar tank, which received the index and to meet the appointed time, at the beginning of the year, to develop the drawings of new tanks, all KB Kharkov plants were united in one KB, M.

Tank and in the summer The State Commission, which was present at the tests of new models, came to the conclusion that A, a high -speed, tactically mobile tank, but is also highly cross -country closely and good armor protection.However, military experts could not decide which of the two tanks should be launched in production, and the designers continued to engage in the improvement of cars.

In the following tests in September, the State Commission saw the updated A, which was equipped with a millimeter gun. The car was assigned an index of tank impressed by those present not only with good running qualities, but also with a beautiful shape. Military officials, this time, could not give preference to any of the tanks to launch in mass production. Doubts disappeared with the outbreak of the Soviet-Finnish war, demonstrating all the shortcomings of the Soviet tank park.

Given the remarks of the KB continued the improvement of the model T, the caterpillar mover was strengthened, and the thickness of the armor was increased to 45 mm. The mileage of the latest test for T in March was a tankman on the route of Kharkov-Moscow, showing government members on Red Square and the path back. Mikhail Koshkin, understanding the whole responsibility lying on it, took a personal part in this test.

Tank T experienced specimens of two off -road tanks, in the conditions of snow drifts, KM went to Moscow and then back.

Stalin, M. Kalinin, V. Molotov and K. The fate of the tanks was finally resolved - they were immediately launched into production. Stalin moved to the new model of the tank "The first swallow of our armored forces." The death of the tankman greatly undermined the health of the chief designer. Koshkin was a cold even before it began, and nervous overwork only aggravated poor health.

He fell ill with pneumonia, but continued to work. T still required a large number of improvements, in addition, the design bureaus began to create a new model T of the constructor state worsened. The Moscow doctors who arrived in Kharkov conducted an operation to remove Light. Koshkin was sent for rehabilitation to the Zanki sanatorium near Kharkov, but this did not help him.

All the factory workers came in parting with him. Monuments to Mikhail Koshkin the grave of the talented designer was not preserved - German invaders destroyed her aiming bomb blows. The monument to Tank T for a long time the creator of the famous tank was undeservedly forgotten. All the laurels from the launch of the car into serial production went to Alexander Morozov, who replaced him as the head of the KB.

Often, Morozov was called the "father of thirty -four."