It is an original lock mechanism for the airplane hood and doors as well as racing cars that deteriorate due to vibration and frequent use. It was designed by Volodymyr (William) Dzus (born in 1895 in Chernyhivtsi village, Ternopil region). First the lock was designed for cars, but a rising demand for the invention allowed Dzus to build up production facilities in the United States and then in Europe. Excessive profits derived from state military procurements during the Second World War allowed Dzus to spend some of his fortune on charitable causes. He financed Red Cross initiatives and programs of the Ukrainian diaspora in USA. In 1948, he became the first president of the Ukrainian Institute of America, and in 1955 he bought a luxurious mansion for it on the Fifth Avenue in New York.

Oleksiy Divisenko