Lev Loktev

Lev Loktev graduated from secondary school in 1924 and entered a factory-school, the Mikhail Ratmansky school-plant with Yiddish teaching, while at the same time working as a machinist.

Lev Loktev graduated from the Institute in 1933, defended his thesis and was sent to work at Plant No.8 of the People's Commissariat of Armament of the USSR (the NKV) in Podlipki, where he designed his first successful piece of artillery.

Many who had studied at the LMI became chief specialists and designers in the defense industry, among them Dmitry Ustinov (who would become the Minister of Defence in 1976), his deputy Vasily Ryabikov, Mark Olevsky and Naum Nosovsky.

Following the AZP S-60 57mm autocannon, NII-58 (with Loktev) designed what would become the then-most powerful serial-production self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, the ZSU-57-2 (mounting dual 57mm S-68 cannons in one turret) in 1950.

Following a decree by Nikita Khrushchev in 1959, work on developing artillery weapons throughout the USSR were cut so abruptly that design and technical documents were destroyed.

Though the Chief Designer of OKB-10 doubted the technical feasibility of an underwater rocket launch, American progress in this aspect was so provoking that the work had to continue.

Shortly after that Charnko and his deputy, A. Galkin were summoned to the Central Committee of the CPSU, where OKB-10 was offered to relocate to Miass for serial work deployment.

Workers did not have to run after him, nor had the meteoric career change the demeanor of L. Loktev.Loktev and his work was also mentioned in History of Russian Artillery (1964), 50 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR (1968), and on the 70th anniversary of his birth, Soviet magazine Equipment and Weapons.