Konstantin Fyodorovich Chelpan (Russian: Константин Фёдорович Челпан; 27 May 1899 – 10 March 1938) was a prominent Soviet engineer of Greek background. Head of the Engineering Design Bureau of the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory, chief designer of the T-34 tank engine. Awarded the Order of Lenin, he was politically repressed and executed under a mass persecution ordered by Joseph Stalin, but politically rehabilitated after death.
Konstantin Chelpan | |
|---|---|
Константин Челпан | |
 | |
| Born | 27 May 1899 Cherdakly, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 10 March 1938 (aged 38) |
| Resting place | Unknown |
| Nationality | Soviet |
| Education | Kharkiv Technological Institute |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Children | Lenimir Konstantinovich Chelpan |
| Parent(s) | Fyodor Myhailovich Chelpan, Elizaveta Khalangot |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Diesel engines |
| Institutions | Kharkiv Locomotive Factory |
| Significant design | V-2 engine |
| Awards | Order of Lenin |
Early life and education
Born on 27 May 1899 in Cherdakly, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russian Empire (now Kremenivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine),[1] to Fyodor Myhailovich Chelpan and Elizaveta Khalangot.[2] Both parents were Greeks.[1]
After graduating from Mariupol Realschule in 1919, took part in the Russian Civil War.[2] In 1924, he graduated with honors from Kharkiv Technological Institute with a major in internal combustion engines.[2][3]
Career
From 1924 to 1937 Chelpan worked at the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory[3] as a Designer, Head of the Diesel Department, Lead Designer, and Head of the Engineering Design Bureau.[4][5] In 1928–1929 he received practical training in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK.[2]
Konstantin Chelpan was the head designer of the famous T-34 tank diesel engine V-2,[6] for which he was awarded the Order of Lenin.[7] The engine consisted of lightweight aluminum alloy.[8][9][10][11]
From 1927, he was a senior lecturer at Kharkiv Technological Institute.[12]
Arrest and death
Konstantin Chelpan was arrested on 15 December 1937 during the first days of the Greek Operation of NKVD.[1][2][11] He was charged with leading a Greek nationalist counter-revolutionary organization, as well as conspiring to sabotage the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory.[1][11] After being interrogated and tortured, he confessed to being a spy.[2] On 4 February 1938, he was sentenced to execution by shooting.[2][3][11] The sentence was carried out in Kharkiv prison on 10 March 1938[2] and covered up.[1] In a few years his wife received a death certificate, indicating that Konstantin Chelpan died on 16 May 1942 from congestive heart failure.[1]
On 6 August 1956, Konstantin Chelpan was rehabilitated by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR.[2][3] However, only in 1988 was his true cause of death revealed.[1][11]
Commemoration
- In 1994 one of the streets in the village of Cherdakly was named after Konstantin Chelpan.[2]
- In 2000 a book entitled Life story of famous Ukrainian Greeks. The case of Konstantin Chelpan by G. Zakharova was published.[2]
- In 2001 a commemorative plaque was placed on the house, where Konstantin Chelpan had spent his last years.[2]
References
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