The most famous surname is Gryazev
They say that real fame comes to a gunsmith when his name becomes a household name and continues to live in the products he created. For example, the Mosinsk rifle or the Tokarev TT pistol.
The surname of V.P. Gryazev was little known to anyone until the beginning of the 21st century. This was largely due to secrecy considerations, since much of what Vasily Petrovich invented is truly unique.
Arkady Georgievich Shipunov, Hero of Socialist Labor, colleague, friend and co-author of V.P. Gryazev's design work, said about him:
"Vasily Petrovich has no equal in the world today, he is the only specialist who knows everything about small arms and cannon: its subtleties, advantages and disadvantages, weaknesses. I admire his unique knowledge.
I respect Vasily Petrovich primarily for the fact that he is an absolutely reliable person who will never betray him under any circumstances. Secondly, I admire his talent. And thirdly, it is his amazing efficiency. For him, work always comes first. Neither health nor household chores could distract him from the main thing – from work. If necessary, he is always on duty...
And I want to mention one more quality of Vasily Petrovich as a designer. The older he gets, the more elegant and beautiful his products are. For example, the GSH-301 aircraft cannon, weighing only 45 kg, is so elegant in shape that it was given the nickname "Ballerina"...
Now all over the world, V.P. Gryazev is known as the creator of a unified system of small-caliber automatic artillery weapons and a system of small-gun and grenade launcher weapons for special purposes.
Under his direct leadership and with the most active personal participation, a modern system of small-caliber artillery weapons for almost all types of the Russian Armed Forces was created on the basis of the ideas and proposals put forward by him.
V. Gryazev's creations in collaboration with A. Shipunov can be seen on airplanes and helicopters, on ships and anti-aircraft guns, on infantry and amphibious combat vehicles.
Lucky for those who are lucky
The path to success has been long and difficult. As V.P. Gryazev himself admitted, fifteen years of hard work led him and Arkady Shipunov to their first confession. As a result, they created the GSH-23 aircraft cannon, which was subsequently equipped with combat aircraft from about forty countries around the world. For the creation of the GSH-23 in 1967, V.P. Gryazev, A.G. Shipunov, along with other participants in the development, received the USSR State Prize.
Vasily Petrovich Gryazev recalled:
"When the first experimental samples of the GSH-23 cannon were made, they showed a very high degree of reliability, and most importantly, they did not have the so-called "general effect." It often happens with prototypes. When you are "at home", without strangers, experiencing, shooting, everything is fine. Then, when a high-level delegation arrives and it is necessary to show off their achievements in front of them, how sinfully these systems fail, as if feeling the excitement of the author.
But this cannon has never failed or let us down at all the demonstrations. After another such shooting, when the members of the commission had already dispersed, I approached her. I look – and her gas engine is ruptured. Moreover, since there was not a single unspent cartridge left, the rupture occurred on the last shot. She kind of said to me, "I'm sorry, please, but I can't take it anymore."
The high quality of the GSH-23 cannon was also demonstrated during the organization of its mass production at the factory. The first production batch was intended for installation on MiG-21 aircraft, manufactured for export. The designers anxiously waited for their tests. We knew from experience that the first production samples always fail. But the GSH-23 air guns withstood all the firing without stopping or breaking down.
Since then, V.P. Gryazev has developed, put into service and put into mass production over forty samples of weapons and ammunition.
His achievements in the creation of modern weapons are appreciated – Vasily Petrovich Gryazev, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, full member of the Russian Academy of Engineering and the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences, was awarded the high title Hero of Socialist Labor, he was awarded the Orders of Lenin, the October Revolution, "For Services to the Fatherland" II and III degrees. The great weapons designer was twice awarded the title of laureate of the USSR State Prize, twice - laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation and four times laureate of the S.I. Mosin Prize.
V.P. Gryazev is also "Honorary Doctor of Tula State University" (1998), "Honorary Citizen of the Hero City of Tula" (2003), "Honorary Citizen of the Tula Region" (2008).
The outstanding Tula gunsmith died in the fall of 2008 at the age of 81, leaving behind a rich legacy. He was buried at the Smolensky cemetery in Tula next to his wife.
His son, Mikhail Vasilyevich Gryazev, is the director of Tula State University.
Busts of V.P. Gryazev are installed near the Tula State Museum of Weapons on the Walk of Fame and on the territory of the KBP, where he worked.
A stele in his honor has been unveiled in the Zelenstroy-2 microdistrict of Tula on V.P. Gryazev Street.
