Alexander de Seversky was born in
Triflis, Russia on June 7, 1894, to an aristocratic family. He learned how to
fly by age 14 from his father who owned one of the first airplanes in Russia.
De Seversky earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from the Imperial
Russian Naval Academy in 1914 and became a second lieutenant in the
Imperial Naval Air Service the following year.
In 1918, de Seversky went to the
United States as an assistant naval attaché to the Russian Embassy. This was a
fortuitous assignment, as it gave him the chance to escape the Bolshevik
Revolution by remaining in the U.S. Soon, he was working at the War Department
as an aeronautical engineer and test pilot, acting for a time as a special
consultant to the famed general, Billy Mitchell.
After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1927,
de Seversky received a commission in the Army Air Corps as a major. De Seversky
made numerous contributions to aviation. He filed a patent for aerial refueling
in 1921 and developed the first bombsight stabilized with a gyroscope, and
invented many other aeronautical instruments.
He organized a new company, the Seversky
Aircraft Corporation in Farmingdale in 1931, with Wall Street backing, and with
himself as President and Chief Test Pilot. This new company was to specialize
in long-range high-speed pursuit planes. Their first aircraft was an amphibian
in which he set several speed records.
In the 1940s, 50s and 60s he wrote and
lectured extensively on military theory and airpower, always promoting
strategic bombardment and a strong Air Force. He was considered a leading
expert on the tactics and strategy of aerial warfare and he considered global
airpower as the solution to America’s security needs.
He was inducted into the Aviation Hall
of Fame in 1970 for "his achievements as a pilot, aeronautical engineer,
inventor, industrialist, author, strategist, consultant, and scientific
advances in aircraft design and aerospace technology." De Seversky was
married to New Orleans socialite Evelyn Olliphant, who was also well-known as a
pilot. She, in fact, learned to fly as a surprise for her husband, and the two of
them flew on many trips together. De Seversky died on August 24, 1974.
Sources:
“Alexander De Seversky at the Cradle of Aviation Museum.” Cradle
of Aviation Museum,
www.cradleofaviation.org/history/history/people/alexander_de_seversky.html
“Alexander De Seversky: Influential World War II Air
Power Advocate.” National Air and Space Museum, 22 Mar. 2017,
airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/alexander-de-seversky-influential-world-war-ii-air-power-advocate
