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363:. Despite landing several government contracts, Seversky Aircraft was never able to turn a profit under Seversky's management and by September 1938, the company had to be bailed out again by Paul Moore (Edward's brother and heir). His financing of a rescue came with the proviso that Seversky, as President, would have his personal budget cut, while the board of directors transferred more power to managing director Wallace Kellett. A controversial contract Seversky negotiated in secret with the Japanese for 20 SEV-2PA-B3 fighters created antagonism with the War Department, leading inevitably to the U.S. government putting pressure on the USAAC to limit the P-35 order to the initial batch of 76 aircraft.
218:, on his first mission, he attacked a German destroyer but was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire before he could drop his bombs. The bombs exploded in the crash, killing his observer and badly wounding Seversky. Doctors amputated his leg below the knee and although he was fitted with an artificial leg, despite his protests, authorities deemed him unfit to return to combat. To prove to his superiors that he could still fly, Seversky appeared unannounced at an air show. Following his impromptu spirited aerial performance, authorities arrested him.
409:(1943) of the same name where Seversky (who also served as the film's technical consultant) provided live-action commentary. The Disney animated film received a lukewarm reception at the box office and from critics who felt it was an unusual departure from the standard Disney studio fare, sending out a powerful propaganda message based on an abstract political argument. The influence of both the book and film in wartime, however, was significant, stimulating popular awareness and driving the national debate on strategic air power.
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282:, aiding him in his push to prove air power's ability to sink battleships. Seversky applied for and received the first patent for air-to-air refueling in 1921. Over the next few years, 364 patent claims were made, among them the first gyroscopically stabilized bombsight, which Seversky developed with Sperry Gyroscope Company in 1923. After joining the Army Air Corps Reserve, Seversky was commissioned a major in 1928.
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After serving in Moscow, as the Chief of
Pursuit Aviation, Seversky returned to combat duty. On October 14, 1916, he was forced down in enemy territory but made it back to the safety of his own lines. He went on to fly 57 combat missions, shooting down six German aircraft (his claims for 13 victories would make him Russia's third-ranking World War I ace, although the claims are disputed).
319:. This ground-breaking design would go on to set numerous speed records at the 1933–1939 National Air Races, often piloted by Seversky himself, who was the company's greatest "pitchman". On September 15, 1935, flying at a speed just over 230 mph, Seversky set a world speed record for piston-engine amphibious aircraft. Seversky also set a transcontinental speed record in 1938.
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401:, published in April 1942, advocating the strategic use of air bombardment. The best-selling book (No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list, appearing first in mid-August 1942 and remaining in first place for four weeks) with five million copies sold. The book's popularity and hard-hitting message led to
307:'s float plane factory at College Point, Long Island, Seversky's patents were the primary assets of the new company. Resolved to invest in research and design rather than relying on licence-manufacturing, many of Seversky Aircraft's designers were Russian and Georgian engineers, including Chief Engineer
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fighter series. The
Seversky Aircraft design office led by Seversky was responsible for 25 different innovative projects, many of them "still-born" including the "Seversky Super-Clipper", an eight-engine, 250 ft span transoceanic transport and the four-place, tricycle gear "Seversky Executive"
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The SEV-3 was eventually the progenitor of a family of advanced aircraft including the SEV-3XLR and 2-XP (two-place, experimental) fighter, the BT-8 trainer and SEV-1P (single-seat) fighter. The most radical conversion occurred when the fixed-gear SEV-1P was fitted with a rearward retracting main
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intervened on his behalf and in July 1916, de
Seversky returned to combat duty, downing his first enemy aircraft three days later. In February 1917, he assumed command of the 2nd Naval Fighter Detachment, until he was seriously injured in an accident where a horse-drawn wagon broke his good leg.
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and remained in uniform at the request of the commander-in-chief of the Baltic Fleet. In March 1918, he was selected as an assistant naval attaché in the
Russian Naval Aviation Mission to the United States. Seversky departed via Siberia and while in the U.S., decided to remain there rather than
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in 1923. Concentrating on making aircraft parts and instruments, the small company was unable to survive the stock market crash of 1929. On
February 16, 1931, with the backing of Wall Street millionaire Edward Moore and other investors, he resurrected the enterprise as the new
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Above the War Fronts: The
British Two-seater Bomber Pilot and Observer Aces, the British Two-seater Fighter Observer Aces, and the Belgian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Fighter Aces, 1914–1918: Volume 4 of Fighting Airmen of WWI Series: Volume 4 of Air Aces of
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which was to be a single-man aircraft powered by the ionic wind from a high-voltage discharge. A laboratory demonstration was acknowledged to require 90 watts to lift a two-ounce (60 g) model, and no man-carrying version was ever built.
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with
Kellett becoming the new president. Seversky sued for redress but while legal actions dragged on, the board of directors voted him out of the company he had created. Republic Aviation would become an industrial behemoth during
278:, Chief of the Signal Corps, appointed him as a consulting engineer and test pilot assigned to the Buffalo District of aircraft production. After the Armistice, Seversky became an assistant to air power advocate General
214:. After completing a postgraduate program on aeronautics in 1914–15, he was reassigned as a pilot in the summer of 1915 to an aviation unit in the Baltic Fleet. While stationed in the
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socialite Evelyn
Olliphant (1907–1967) in 1923. She was also well known as a pilot. The two settled in New York City (at 40 Central Park South). In 1927, Seversky became a
198:, his father had already taught him how to fly. Graduating in 1914 with an engineering degree, Lieutenant Seversky was serving at sea with a destroyer flotilla when
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even published one of his residences, reporting that "Airplane
Designer Rents Apartment: Major Seversky One Of Seven New Tenants in 40 Central Park South."
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Often described as "flamboyant" and a "showman," Seversky was always good at capturing the public eye, and was considered a newsworthy celebrity. In 1942
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In postwar years, Seversky continued to lecture and write about aviation and the strategic use of air power, following up his landmark treatise with
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When
Seversky left for Europe on a sales tour in the winter of 1938–39, the Board reorganized the operation on October 13, 1939, renamed as
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high speed personal aircraft. The Sev-S2, virtually identical to the P-35, which was undergoing trials in 1937, dominated the last three
843:"Mrs. Alexander de Seversky, 60, Wife of Plane Designer, Is Dead; A Flier Herself, She Aided Husband in Tests of World War II Craft."
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of the United States. In 1967, Mrs. de Seversky died at her country home at Asharoken Beach, Northport, L.I. at the age of 60.
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As World War II approached, Seversky became engrossed in formulating his theories of air warfare. Shortly after the
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Seversky was one of a number of strategic air advocates whose vision was realized in the 1946 creation of the
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Seversky was the leading Russian naval ace in the conflict. For his wartime service, Seversky was awarded the
781:"Aircraft Firm Buys Long Island Plants; Seversky Gets a Flying Field, Factories and Seaplane Assembly Base."
315:. Along with Seversky, the designers embarked on an advanced all-metal, multi-place monoplane amphibian, the
804:"Alexander de Seversky, Russian Ace of World War One, Aircraft Designer & Founder of Republic Aviation."
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Seversky was selected for duty as a naval aviator, transferring to the Military School of Aeronautics at
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859:"Airplane Designer Rents Apartment: Major Seversky One Of Seven New Tenants in 40 Central Park South."
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in 1936, purchasing three factories, a flying field and hangar along with a seaplane assembly base at
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Alexander De Seversky Receives Harmon Trophy for Advances in Aviation (The New York Times, 1940)
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and in postwar years, a continuing line of successful fighter aircraft before being acquired by
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Using the $ 50,000 from the sale of his bombsight to the U. S. Government, Seversky founded the
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air races, beginning in 1937 when Frank Fuller won at an average speed of 415.51 km/h.
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in 1939 for advances in aviation. For his work on air power, Seversky received the
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In 1918, Seversky offered his services to the War Department as a pilot. General
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Seversky died in 1974 at New York's Memorial Hospital, and was buried in the
873:"Alexander P. de Seversky Dies at 80; Early Strategic Air Power Proponent."
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864:, January 23, 1942. Archived Article Preview. Retrieved: March 23, 2010.
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The Seversky Aircraft Company began operating out of new facilities in
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in 1969 in recognition of his service as a special consultant to the
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923:"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement"
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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Inc.
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The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American way of Life
266:. Settling in Manhattan, he briefly operated a restaurant.
1002:. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 2001.
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undercarriage to produce the prototype of the successful
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Air Classics, 20th Anniversary Special Edition 1964–1984
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aviation pioneer, inventor, and influential advocate of
519:. In 1972, he received the Golden Plate Award of the
480:" in his honor, and is a popular venue for weddings.
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991:Hucker, Robert. "Seversky: Innovator and Prophet."
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194:) and by the age of 14, when Seversky entered the
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704:Aviation encyclopedia "Уголок неба" (in Russian)
1066:Newspaper clippings about Alexander de Seversky
1104:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)
755:"Alexander de Seversky and Seversky Aircraft."
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507:in 1945 from President Harry Truman and the
416:and the development of aircraft such as the
148:Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Проко́фьев-Се́верский
144:Alexander Nikolaievich Prokofiev de Seversky
58:Alexander Nikolaievich Prokofiev de Seversky
879:, August 26, 1974. Retrieved: May 12, 2009.
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468:Seversky was a founder and trustee of the
326:Alexander de Seversky standing before the
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849:, July 31, 1967. Retrieved: May 12, 2009.
515:. In 1970, Seversky was enshrined in the
958:. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1950.
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972:. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1942.
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631:Seversky Navy Type S Two-Seat Fighter
262:return to a Russia torn apart by the
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1129:20th-century American businesspeople
900:"Alexander de Seversky (1894–1974)."
760:, 2003. Retrieved: December 9, 2014.
1037:Victory Through Superior Air Power
758:US Centennial of Flight Commission
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951:, Volume 4, no. 3, February 1968.
559:de Seversky, Alexander P. (1961)
552:de Seversky, Alexander P. (1950)
532:de Seversky, Alexander P. (1942)
27:Russian-American aviation pioneer
1179:American aviation record holders
1089:Nobility from the Russian Empire
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947:Boyne, Walter. "Sever the Sky."
912:, 2009. Retrieved: May 16, 2009.
825:, 2008. Retrieved: May 16, 2009.
809:, 2003. Retrieved: May 16, 2009.
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626:Seversky EP-106 (Export Pursuit)
470:New York Institute of Technology
174:parentage, Seversky was born in
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1184:20th-century American engineers
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931:American Academy of Achievement
521:American Academy of Achievement
517:National Aviation Hall of Fame
196:Imperial Russian Naval Academy
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980:. London: Grub Street, 1997.
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368:Republic Aviation Corporation
297:Seversky Aircraft Corporation
286:Seversky Aircraft Corporation
137:Seversky Aircraft Corporation
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820:"Victory Through Air Power."
375:designing and producing the
257:, Seversky was stationed in
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513:Chiefs of Staff of the USAF
249:Emigration to United States
245:(2nd; 3rd; and 4th class).
154:) – August 24, 1974) was a
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963:America: Too Young to Die!
961:De Seversky, Alexander P.
956:Air Power: Key to Survival
954:De Seversky, Alexander P.
823:Don Markstein's Toonopedia
572:Before the genesis of the
561:America: Too Young to Die!
554:Air Power: Key to Survival
438:America: Too Young to Die!
434:Air Power: Key to Survival
405:adapting the book into an
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970:Victory Through Air Power
714:De Seversky 1942, p. 353.
535:Victory Through Air Power
509:Exceptional Service Medal
398:Victory Through Air Power
377:Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
303:. Moving into the former
292:Seversky Aero Corporation
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834:Watts 2001, pp. 234–235.
729:"Alexander de Seversky."
694:De Seversky 1961, p. 15.
538:, Simon & Schuster,
305:EDO Aircraft Corporation
18:Alexander P. de Seversky
1169:Aerial warfare pioneers
794:Hucker 1984, pp. 70–71.
407:animated motion picture
241:(2nd & 3rd class);
239:Order of St. Stanislaus
905:March 5, 2010, at the
734:July 31, 2009, at the
556:, Simon & Schuster
393:Attack on Pearl Harbor
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1124:Harmon Trophy winners
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478:The DeSeversky Center
422:Boeing B-47 Stratojet
414:Strategic Air Command
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301:Long Island, New York
235:Order of St. Vladimir
192:Mikheil Grigorashvili
36:Alexander de Seversky
739:cradleofaviation.org
927:www.achievement.org
785:, October 17, 1936.
454:naturalized citizen
231:Order of St. George
160:strategic air power
1194:Russian scientists
1149:Aviation inventors
876:The New York Times
862:The New York Times
846:The New York Times
783:The New York Times
772:Boyne 1968, p. 28.
476:. It was renamed "
462:The New York Times
387:Air power advocate
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313:Alexander Kartveli
212:Sebastopol, Crimea
129:, author, inventor
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1119:Aviation pioneers
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986:978-1-898697-56-5
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474:Alfred I. du Pont
448:Seversky married
243:Order of St. Anne
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949:Air Classics
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941:Bibliography
926:
917:
909:
895:
884:
874:
869:
861:
854:
844:
839:
830:
822:
814:
806:
799:
790:
782:
777:
757:
738:
710:
699:
611:Seversky A8V
606:Seversky 2PA
571:
560:
553:
533:
498:
482:
467:
460:
458:
447:
437:
436:(1950) and
433:
431:
418:Convair B-36
411:
396:
390:
373:World War II
365:
346:
333:
289:
273:
252:
220:
216:Gulf of Riga
209:
169:
143:
142:
89:(1974-08-24)
29:
1159:1974 deaths
1154:1894 births
591:Seversky FN
450:New Orleans
403:Walt Disney
395:, he wrote
361:Long Island
349:Long Island
253:During the
206:World War I
200:World War I
113:Nationality
1083:Categories
675:References
357:Amityville
353:Famingdale
264:Revolution
227:Lieutenant
188:Blériot XI
166:Early life
146:(Russian:
669:Ionocraft
426:Ionocraft
383:in 1965.
381:Fairchild
190:built by
170:Of noble
63:New Style
903:Archived
732:Archived
637:See also
440:(1961).
328:SEV-3XAR
134:Employer
118:American
1072:of the
1068:in the
1043:YouTube
995:, 1984.
487:in the
202:began.
184:Georgia
172:Russian
127:Aviator
116:Russian
73:Georgia
1006:
984:
542:
495:Honors
176:Tiflis
97:, U.S.
69:Tiflis
680:Notes
527:Books
489:Bronx
337:P-35A
317:SEV-3
1004:ISBN
982:ISBN
540:ISBN
420:and
355:and
311:and
152:N.S.
84:Died
54:Born
1074:ZBW
1058:on
1041:on
978:WWI
299:in
1085::
929:.
925:.
765:^
746:^
719:^
687:^
546:,
523:.
491:.
359:,
178:,
162:.
75:,
71:,
1010:.
988:.
933:.
65:)
20:)
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