Seversky SEV-3L
Model Airplane News Cover Art for October, 1934
by Jo Kotula
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Alexander Nikolaievich Prokofiev de Seversky was a Russian-American aviation pioneer, inventor, and influential advocate of strategic air power.

Introducing De Seversky
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Of noble Russian parentage, Seversky was born in Tiflis. He served as a Russian naval aviator in World War I, lost a leg in combat, and continued to fly, shooting down six German aircraft. In 1917 he was in the U.S. as a member of the naval aviation mission and decided to stay rather than return to a Russia torn apart by the Revolution. He worked as a test pilot and became an assistant to air power advocate General Billy Mitchell, aiding him in his push to prove airpower's ability to sink battleships. Seversky married New Orleans socialite and pilot Evelyn Oliphantin 1923; the two settled in New York City. In 1927, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He was the first to patent midair refueling and developed the P-35 fighter, the antecedent of most modern single wing fighters.

He founded the Seversky Aircraft Corporation in 1931 but, despite landing several government contracts (such as the P-35), the company was never able to turn a profit under his management. The Board of Directors voted him out and reorganized as the Republic Aviation Company, which was successful and produced many planes, including the famous Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. Republic was acquired by Fairchild in 1965. Often described as "flamboyant" and a "showman," Seversky was always good at capturing the public eye, and was considered a newsworthy celebrity. His book Victory Through Air Power was well received and even made into a film by Walt Disney

  

Alexander De Seversky Designs
Air to Air Refueling Patent No. 1,728,449
Design of the P-35 D-111,040
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The Seversky SEV-3 was a American three-seat amphibian monoplane, the first aircraft designed and built by the Seversky Aircraft Corporation.

     

The Seversky SEV-3L
Amphibian Float Patent No. 2,023,312
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The SEV-3 was an all-metal cantilever low-wing monoplane powered by a nose-mounted 420hp Wright J-6 Whirlwind radial engine. It had two cockpits in tandem, forward for the pilot and the rear cockpit for two passengers, both with a sliding canopies. The aircraft was fitted with twin Seversky-designed floats which had main wheels fitted in the floats to allow it to operate from land. The SEV-3 first flew in June 1933 and was built in small numbers mainly for export.

Float Plane Version of he Seversky SEV-3L
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This plane evolved into the Seversky P-35 -- to follow this interesting story, see our treatment of the cover of the February, 1941 Issue.

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