bahattab
25-03-2010, 01:44 AM
Ekranoplan (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2010/03/12/ekranoplan/)
Category: Automotive (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/automotive/), Exclusive (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/exclusive/), History (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/history/), Technology (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/technology/), russian army (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/russian-army/) |
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5435.imgcache
1987 was the year when the first 350 tons ground effect “ship” from the series of Soviet battle missile carriers was produced. It was called Lun after the Russian name for a bird of prey - hen harrier. Another name for this vehicle was Project 903. It carried 6 Moskit cruise missiles (SS-N-22 Sunburn in NATO classification). Hitting four of them causes inevitable sinking of a vessel of any know type and size. The second Lun-class battle aircraft was supposed to be produced in several years but due to the end of cold war and partial disarmament the project was changed to a rescue aircraft and it was never finished.
<hr> <hr>
This type of vehicle called in Russian ekranoplan uses so called ground effect - extra lift of large wings when in proximity to the surface. For this reason they have been designed to travel at a maximum of three meters above the sea but at the same time could provide take off, stable “flight” and safe “landing” in conditions of up to 5-meter waves. These crafts were originally developed by the Soviet Union as high-speed military transports, and were based mostly on the shores of the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. In 2005 crafts of this type have been classified by the International Marine Organization so they probably should be considered flying ships rather than swimming planes. It is also interesting to note that this aircraft is one of the largest ever built, with a length of 73,8 meters (comparing with 73 of Airbus A380).
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5436.imgcache
Lun doesn‘t have a landing gear, only a huge hydroski so there’s no way for it to get on land and for this reason a special floating dry dock was designed for it.
This hybrid vehicle is driven by 8 turbojet engines.
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5437.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5438.imgcache
Functionally the body of this strange ship was divided into 4 parts: fore, middle, after-part and keel together with stabilizer. Fore part possesses pilot house and a pillar holding 8 main engines, as well as a room with secondary ones. Middle and after parts were fully equipped with test facilities but still have also a caboose and a toilet. The whole keel is filled with power installation for electricity supply during mooring and a complex of radio navigation and communication equipment. A room for a gunner is placed in a cross-line of keel and stabilizer at a height of 12 meters over the waterline.
The ecranoplan’s crew consisted of 7 officers and 4 warrant officers. It could be absolutely autonomous for 5 days.
Don’t miss the 2nd and 3rd pages of photos. There are plenty of them.
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5439.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5440.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5441.imgcache
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Ekranoplan (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2010/03/12/ekranoplan/)
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Ekranoplan (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2010/03/12/ekranoplan/)
Category: Automotive (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/automotive/), Exclusive (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/exclusive/), History (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/history/), Technology (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/technology/), russian army (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/russian-army/) |
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http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2010/03/12/ekranoplan/
Russian “Ecranoplanes” (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2007/06/21/ekranoplans/)
Category: History (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/history/), Technology (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/technology/) |
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5548.imgcache
An “ekranoplan” literally “screen plane” is a vehicle resembling an aircraft, but operating solely on the principle of ground effect. Ground effect vehicles (GEV) fly above any flat surface, with the height above ground dependent upon the size of the vehicle.
During the Cold War, ekranoplans were sighted for years on the Caspian Sea as huge, fast-moving objects. The name Caspian Sea Monster was given by U.S. intelligence operatives who had discovered the huge vehicle, which looked like an airplane with the outer halves of the wings removed. After the end of the Cold War, the “monster” was revealed to be one of several Russian military designs meant to fly only a few meters above water, saving energy and staying below enemy radar.
The KM, as the Caspian Sea Monster was known in the top secret Soviet military development program, was over 100 m long (330 ft), weighed 540 tonnes fully loaded, and could travel over 400 km/h (250 mi/h), mere meters above the surface of the water.
The important design principle is that wing lift is reduced as operating altitude of the ekranoplan is increased (see ground effect). Thus it is dynamically stable in the vertical dimension. Once moving at speed, the ekranoplan was no longer in contact with the water, and could move over ice, snow, or level land with equal ease.
These craft were originally developed by the Soviet Union as very high-speed (several hundred km/hour) military transports, and were mostly based on the shores of the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The largest could transport over 100 tonnes of cargo. The development of ekranoplans was supported by Dmitri Ustinov, Minister of Defence of USSR. About 120 ekranoplans (A-90 Orlyonok class) were initially planned to enter military service in the Soviet Navy. The figure was later reduced to less than thirty vehicles, planned to be deployed mainly for the Black and the Baltic Soviet navies. Marshal Ustinov died in 1985, and the new Minister of Defence Marshal Sokolov effectively ceased the funding for the program. The only three operational A-90 Orlyonok ekranoplans built (with renewed hull design) and one Lun-class ekranoplan remained at a naval base near Kaspiysk.
<hr> <hr>
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5549.imgcache
This is “Caspian Monster”.
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5550.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5551.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5552.imgcache
They could fire missiles…
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5553.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5554.imgcache
…and could go above the ground as well, coming on the shore from the sea without slowing down…
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5555.imgcache
…as well as carrying some tanks…
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5556.imgcache
…and act in cooperation with traditional fleet.
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5557.imgcache
The all photos above were made during the Soviet Era, when the Soviet state had money and desire to experiment with this strange ekranoplanes. These days almost none of the left in working condition.
On these photos made by Russian blogger Bu33er (http://bu33er.livejournal.com/profile) you can see the one of the last ekranoplans “Orlyonok” being transported by the tow-boat across the Volga river to one of the entertainment parks of Moscow, where it would be probably installed as another monument for never to be returned Soviet times and achievements.
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5558.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5559.imgcache
http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2007/06/21/ekranoplans/
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http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5435.imgcache
1987 was the year when the first 350 tons ground effect “ship” from the series of Soviet battle missile carriers was produced. It was called Lun after the Russian name for a bird of prey - hen harrier. Another name for this vehicle was Project 903. It carried 6 Moskit cruise missiles (SS-N-22 Sunburn in NATO classification). Hitting four of them causes inevitable sinking of a vessel of any know type and size. The second Lun-class battle aircraft was supposed to be produced in several years but due to the end of cold war and partial disarmament the project was changed to a rescue aircraft and it was never finished.
<hr> <hr>
This type of vehicle called in Russian ekranoplan uses so called ground effect - extra lift of large wings when in proximity to the surface. For this reason they have been designed to travel at a maximum of three meters above the sea but at the same time could provide take off, stable “flight” and safe “landing” in conditions of up to 5-meter waves. These crafts were originally developed by the Soviet Union as high-speed military transports, and were based mostly on the shores of the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. In 2005 crafts of this type have been classified by the International Marine Organization so they probably should be considered flying ships rather than swimming planes. It is also interesting to note that this aircraft is one of the largest ever built, with a length of 73,8 meters (comparing with 73 of Airbus A380).
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5436.imgcache
Lun doesn‘t have a landing gear, only a huge hydroski so there’s no way for it to get on land and for this reason a special floating dry dock was designed for it.
This hybrid vehicle is driven by 8 turbojet engines.
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5437.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5438.imgcache
Functionally the body of this strange ship was divided into 4 parts: fore, middle, after-part and keel together with stabilizer. Fore part possesses pilot house and a pillar holding 8 main engines, as well as a room with secondary ones. Middle and after parts were fully equipped with test facilities but still have also a caboose and a toilet. The whole keel is filled with power installation for electricity supply during mooring and a complex of radio navigation and communication equipment. A room for a gunner is placed in a cross-line of keel and stabilizer at a height of 12 meters over the waterline.
The ecranoplan’s crew consisted of 7 officers and 4 warrant officers. It could be absolutely autonomous for 5 days.
Don’t miss the 2nd and 3rd pages of photos. There are plenty of them.
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5439.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5440.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5441.imgcache
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Ekranoplan (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2010/03/12/ekranoplan/)
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Ekranoplan (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2010/03/12/ekranoplan/)
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http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2010/03/12/ekranoplan/
Russian “Ecranoplanes” (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2007/06/21/ekranoplans/)
Category: History (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/history/), Technology (http://englishrussia.com/index.php/category/technology/) |
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5548.imgcache
An “ekranoplan” literally “screen plane” is a vehicle resembling an aircraft, but operating solely on the principle of ground effect. Ground effect vehicles (GEV) fly above any flat surface, with the height above ground dependent upon the size of the vehicle.
During the Cold War, ekranoplans were sighted for years on the Caspian Sea as huge, fast-moving objects. The name Caspian Sea Monster was given by U.S. intelligence operatives who had discovered the huge vehicle, which looked like an airplane with the outer halves of the wings removed. After the end of the Cold War, the “monster” was revealed to be one of several Russian military designs meant to fly only a few meters above water, saving energy and staying below enemy radar.
The KM, as the Caspian Sea Monster was known in the top secret Soviet military development program, was over 100 m long (330 ft), weighed 540 tonnes fully loaded, and could travel over 400 km/h (250 mi/h), mere meters above the surface of the water.
The important design principle is that wing lift is reduced as operating altitude of the ekranoplan is increased (see ground effect). Thus it is dynamically stable in the vertical dimension. Once moving at speed, the ekranoplan was no longer in contact with the water, and could move over ice, snow, or level land with equal ease.
These craft were originally developed by the Soviet Union as very high-speed (several hundred km/hour) military transports, and were mostly based on the shores of the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The largest could transport over 100 tonnes of cargo. The development of ekranoplans was supported by Dmitri Ustinov, Minister of Defence of USSR. About 120 ekranoplans (A-90 Orlyonok class) were initially planned to enter military service in the Soviet Navy. The figure was later reduced to less than thirty vehicles, planned to be deployed mainly for the Black and the Baltic Soviet navies. Marshal Ustinov died in 1985, and the new Minister of Defence Marshal Sokolov effectively ceased the funding for the program. The only three operational A-90 Orlyonok ekranoplans built (with renewed hull design) and one Lun-class ekranoplan remained at a naval base near Kaspiysk.
<hr> <hr>
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5549.imgcache
This is “Caspian Monster”.
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5550.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5551.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5552.imgcache
They could fire missiles…
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5553.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5554.imgcache
…and could go above the ground as well, coming on the shore from the sea without slowing down…
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5555.imgcache
…as well as carrying some tanks…
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5556.imgcache
…and act in cooperation with traditional fleet.
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5557.imgcache
The all photos above were made during the Soviet Era, when the Soviet state had money and desire to experiment with this strange ekranoplanes. These days almost none of the left in working condition.
On these photos made by Russian blogger Bu33er (http://bu33er.livejournal.com/profile) you can see the one of the last ekranoplans “Orlyonok” being transported by the tow-boat across the Volga river to one of the entertainment parks of Moscow, where it would be probably installed as another monument for never to be returned Soviet times and achievements.
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5558.imgcache
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/5559.imgcache
http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2007/06/21/ekranoplans/