Shavrov
Vadim Shavrov built his first flying boat in his own flat; its successor, the little Sh-2, served the Soviet Union for three decades and more than 700 were made.
Shavrov: the company and the aircraft that made its name
A flying boat built at home
Vadim Shavrov, born in Moscow in 1898, trained as a railway engineer before switching to aviation. After a spell with the Dobrolet airline in Central Asia he joined Dmitry Grigorovich’s naval prototype department in Leningrad in 1925 and began drawing a flying boat of his own. In 1928 the Osoaviakhim society backed it. With V. L. Korvin he left the bureau and, by summer 1929, they had built the Sh-1, its main parts made in Shavrov’s apartment. It first flew on 21 June 1929.
The Sh-2 everywhere
The slightly larger Sh-2 followed, a three-seat amphibious sesquiplane of pine, ash and plywood with folding wings so it could be hoisted aboard ships. It first flew on 11 November 1930, passed state trials in 1932 and went into series production at Taganrog in 1933, the first batch numbering 270. Production exceeded 700, the last ones built in small workshops in 1952, and the Sh-2 flew mail, ambulance, fishery-protection and ice-reconnaissance work until 1964.
The designer who wrote the history
Shavrov’s later designs were less fortunate: the Sh-5 survey amphibian of 1934 was outdated when it flew, and the Sh-7 transport of 1940, ordered for Aeroflot, was stopped by the war after one prototype. In the 1950s he turned historian, and his History of Aircraft Construction in the USSR remains a standard work. He also collected beetles, and in 1968 played an elderly Red Army pilot in a feature film. He died in 1976.
Shavrov in numbers
La empresa
- En breve
- Designer, from 1928
- Vadim Shavrov, 1898–1976
- Started in Grigorovich’s OMOS bureau, 1925
- First project backed by Osoaviakhim, 1928
Producción
- Más conocido por
- Shavrov Sh-2
- Sh-2: more than 700 built, 1933–1952
- Sh-1, Sh-5 and Sh-7 prototypes
Hoy
- Ahora
- Difunto
- A street in St Petersburg is named after him
His two-volume aircraft history is still widely cited.
Los números
- Sh-2 built
- more than 7001933–1952
- First Sh-2 production batch
- 270
- Sh-2 service life
- 1933–1964
Every notable Shavrov aircraft
| Aeronave | Role | Primer vuelo | Construido | Estado | Nota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shavrov Sh-1 | Light flying boat prototype | 1929 | 1 | Jubilado | Built largely in Shavrov’s flat |
| Shavrov Sh-2 | Light amphibian | 1930 | 700+ | Jubilado | In service until 1964 |
| Shavrov Sh-5 | Survey amphibian | 1934 | 1 | Jubilado | |
| Shavrov Sh-7 | Transport amphibian | 1940 | 1 | Jubilado | Ordered for Aeroflot; stopped by the war |
Where Shavrov built, who led it, what it achieved
Fábricas
- Zavod No. 23 · Leningrad — Built the Sh-2 prototype
- Zavod No. 31 · Taganrog — Sh-2 series production from 1933
Gente
- Vadim Borisovich Shavrov · designer, historian — 1898–1976
- V. L. Korvin · collaborator — Co-built the Sh-1
- Dmitry Grigorovich · mentor — Head of the OMOS bureau Shavrov joined in 1925
Shavrov, year by year
Shavrov joins Grigorovich’s OMOS bureau in Leningrad
Osoaviakhim funds his flying-boat project
Sh-1 first flight
Sh-2 first flight
Sh-2 passes state acceptance trials
Series production starts at Taganrog
Sh-5 first flight
Sh-7 first flight
Last Sh-2s built
Sh-2 retired
Shavrov dies in Moscow
Before and after Shavrov
Everything people ask about Shavrov
What was the Shavrov Sh-2?
Was the Sh-1 really built in an apartment?
Who was Vadim Shavrov?
Did Shavrov work for Grigorovich?
Around Shavrov
Todos los datos, verificados
- Shavrov, Vadim Borisovich, Russian Wikipedia
- Shavrov Sh-2, Wikipedia
- Shavrov Sh-5, Wikipedia
- Shavrov Sh-7, Wikipedia
Verificado el 3 de octubre de 2026.