Assen Jordanoff: Designer of the World's First Passenger Transport Aircraft

The chief designer of the world's first passenger transport aircraft, the Douglas DC-3, was a Bulgarian named Assen Jordanoff. He was a celebrated Bulgarian and American aviator, engineer and inventor whose name became known worldwide. Jordanoff played a key role in developing and designing this iconic aircraft, which established itself as one of the most successful and influential in aviation history.

Assen Jordanoff was born in 1896 and developed a passion for aviation at an early age. He began developing an actual flying machine while still a teenager. After Bulgaria entered the First World War, he was sent to the aviation unit near Svilengrad, where he continued developing the aircraft. He named it Jordanoff-1 and completed it in 1915. It brought him international recognition, which years later enabled him to travel to and settle in New York, in the United States, where he entered the aviation industry as a draughtsman in the design office of the Curtiss aircraft factories. There he gradually rose to the position of chief designer. Assen Jordanoff thus became actively involved with the companies Douglas, Lockheed, Piper and Boeing, as well as in the creation of the Douglas DC-3. During the Second World War, he took part in developing the Boeing B-17 Fortress, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress and the P-38 Lightning fighter. In 1941, he founded the Jordanoff Aviation Company, later renamed Jordanoff Corporation. He also wrote numerous books on aviation and founded an aviation school.