Caspian Sea Monster
The KM ( for корабль - макет, Russian about for " ship demonstration model " ), also known under the name Caspian Sea Monster or Monster of the Caspian Sea, was a ground effect vehicle type, designed by the Soviet ships and aircraft designer Rostislav Jewgenjewitsch Alexeyev and promoted by Khrushchev been.
History
The KM was developed in the years 1964 and 1965 in Gorky and built. Its first flight took place on 18 October 1966 ( according to other sources on 11 October). In the following one and a half decades it has been used consistently for testing purposes. Since this constituted his original purpose, it had been specifically designed to no range of use. Basically, however, two types of interventions were feasible: the as a troop transport and as a support medium-range missiles. A detection by enemy radar would have been extremely difficult due to the low altitude, in the case of sonar due to lack of water contact impossible.
For a flight, the KM reached a total weight of 544 tons - a record which was surpassed only by the Antonov An-225 " Mrija ". In 1980 a copy was lost in an accident. The pilot apparently tried to run in non- full thrust, whereupon the Ekranoplan bounced on the surface of the water and sank. Victims were not complaining. Apparently also a salvage has been considered, which then foundered on the immense weight of the KM.
About the number of copies built, there is no reliable information, they fluctuate between one and eight. It is striking, however, that in contrast to the lung and to the A -90 Orljonok no photos or satellite images exist, suggesting that only the above-mentioned specimen was built. For the various types of information, the fact could have made that can be seen on 08 different photos numbered 01, 02, 04, 07.
Construction
The KM had a length of about 100 m, a wingspan of 40 m and had at maximum payload weight of approximately 550 tons. The drive was carried out by a total of ten jet engines, eight of which were mounted above the cockpit and two at the rear. The front eight were mainly needed for the start, while the rear two served as cruise engines. The KM usually reached speeds of over 400 km / h
" Caspian Sea Monster "
Nicknamed the " Caspian Sea Monster " received the KM 1967 by U.S. intelligence analysts who discovered it on satellite photos and at first nothing to do with the companions knew.
Specifications
The to-find information on the Internet vary as widely as the KM has been modified several times and therefore Dimensions 92-106 meters have been achieved in terms of length and 32-40 meters in width.