Scientific and technical activity of the aerodynamic laboratory of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute in the 1910s and 1920s.

The object of the study is the scientific and technical activity of the aerodynamic laboratory of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute. The subject of the study is the organization and implementation of scientific and technical activities of the aerodynamic laboratory. The purpose of the work is to study the aerodynamic laboratory as a particularly significant research center in the country. The paper reflects the importance of the laboratory space in higher education and the role of the laboratory in the formation of a new scientific branch of knowledge. The rapid development of aviation in the early twentieth century. It is directly related to aerodynamic research. In 1911, an aerodynamic laboratory was opened at the shipbuilding department of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, where applied aerodynamic research was organized. The scientific article provides information about the equipment, devices purchased and created for the needs of the laboratory. The work indicates the research that was organized on the basis of the laboratory by polytechnic scientists. Comparative and descriptive methods were used when writing a scientific publication. The principles of historicism and objectivity made it possible to conduct a comprehensive analysis of organizational features and technical characteristics in the creation and operation of an aerodynamic laboratory. The scientific and technical activities of the aerodynamic laboratory, opened up new opportunities for applied research in the field of aviation and aerodynamics. The technical equipment of the laboratory, an impressive instrument range, constant updating and replenishment of the material base, as well as competent organizational work on the part of the staff of the Polytechnic Institute led to the fact that the aerodynamic laboratory of the Polytechnic University in the 1910s and 1920s was the leading scientific and technical center of this profile in the country.