Alexander Alexandrovich Morozov

Olexandr Oleksandrovych Morozov (Ukrainian: Олександр Олександрович Морозов; October 29, 1904–1979) was a Soviet engineer and tank designer.

A graduate from the Moscow Mechanical Institute,[1] in 1928 Morozov started work at a new design bureau headed by I. Aleksiyenko, at the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory of Kharkiv, Ukraine.[2] Here he contributed to the lacklustre T-12 and T-24 tanks, and the highly successful BT fast tanks. Under Mikhail Koshkin he was responsible for the drive-train design of the famous T-34 medium tank in 1937–40,[3] and led the design bureau from Koshkin's death in 1940.

As chief designer of the bureau, he presided over its temporary relocation to Nizhniy Tagil during the war years of 1941–44, and his bureau redesigned components of the T-34 to make production as efficient as possible.[4] He led the development of the T-44 medium tank and the T-54 and T-64 main battle tanks, receiving the Order of Lenin for the latter. Morozov retired due to ill health in 1976 and died soon after. In 1979, the bureau where he worked for over fifty years was renamed Morozov Design Bureau in his honour.

Notes

  1. ^Preparation of Engineers at KMDB.
  2. ^ Zaloga 1984, p 46.
  3. ^ Zaloga 1984, p 110–11.
  4. ^ Zaloga 1984, p 130–31.

References

Zaloga, Steven J., James Grandsen (1984). Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two, London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-606-8.