"Caspian monster" is back. Ekranoplan "Lun" - a thunderstorm of ships and a sea rescuer The Caspian monster returns to service
At a speed of more than 500 kilometers per hour, it flies over the very surface of the water, like a hovercraft. It can take off like an airplane and sail like a ship. The ekranoplan is an ideal vehicle for landing and lightning attacks. Russia again plans to produce these expensive but effective weapons.
"Monster from the Caspian Sea"
The Soviet Navy began construction of the first real ekranoplan in 1963. At the shipyard "Volga" near Nizhny Novgorod, construction began on the ekranoplan KM (Layout Ship), which was supposed to be a full-scale model of the future combat ekranoplan. It was a huge machine with a body length of 90 m and a takeoff weight of 544 tons. At that time it was the largest aircraft in the world.
In the "Caspian Monster", as the car began to be called, the experience of testing experimental SM ekranoplans was used. Conceptually, it was a mid-wing T-tail, equipped with two Dobrynin VD-7 engines with a thrust of 107.8 kN, which were located on both sides of the vertical tail surface. The optimal flight altitude ranged from 4-14 meters above sea level, cruising speed was 430 km / h, and the maximum - 500 km / h. During summer testing, the KM demonstrated good stability and controllability.
Despite its impressive size, this ekranoplan could perform surprisingly sharp turns with a large slope, during which the tip of the wing on the inside of the turn touched the surface of the water.
As a result of many years of testing, the KM was rebuilt several times - the last time in 1979. This change was due, on the one hand, to the severe wear of aircraft engines and boosters, and on the other hand, to the need to test new engines for the future Lun combat ekranoplan. The last re-equipment was also because a year later the KM became a victim of an accident.
Airplane or ship? Russian "Caspian monster" returns to service
Rocket ekranoplan "Lun"
“The history of the Lun ekranoplan, the only one that had offensive weapons, began in 1970, when the Central Design Bureau for Hydrofoils. Alekseev (Central Design Bureau for SPK named after R.E. Alekseev) received an order to develop an ekranoplan armed with anti-ship cruise missiles capable of reaching speeds of 500 km / h, ”publicist Radek Panhartek talks about the birth of Luni.
The goal of the designers was to create a tool capable of attacking large objects on the surface of the sea or small sea groups and caravans of ships in fast flight at low altitude. The offensive weapon was an arsenal of six 3M80 Mosquito anti-ship cruise missiles. Given the size of the missile containers, the only place to place them could be the upper part of the WIG hull. This caused its design limitations. All eight Kuznetsov NK-87 bypass engines with a thrust of 127.4 kN were placed on a small pylon just behind the cockpit. After reaching the flight altitude and speed, only two engines remained in operation, while the others were turned off. Boosters were turned on only when accelerating or overcoming obstacles.
To protect the ekranoplan at the stern and under the first pair of missile containers, artillery installations UKU-9K-502-11 were installed - the same as on the Il-76 aircraft.
The tests were carried out on the Caspian Sea in 1990-1991 by the 11th air group, subordinate to the command of the Black Sea Fleet. Part of the test was also the use of Mosquito cruise missiles.
After 1992, ekranoplan flights were very limited due to financial problems. "Lun" stood at the base in Kaspiysk and gradually fell into disrepair. In 1998, by decision of the Chief of Staff of the Navy, the 11th separate air group was reorganized into the Air Base for the Preservation of the Ekranoplan, which mothballed the Lun ekranoplane and was engaged in its storage.
This could be the end of the story of ekranoplanes, a promising technology that simply proved too technologically complex and too costly to be sustained by the faltering post-Soviet economy.
The change has come due to the political and geopolitical dynamics of Vladimir Putin's administration. The appetites directed to the Black Sea corridor in the Mediterranean, in a certain sense, continued the plans that the Soviet Navy associated with ekranoplanes. After all, Soviet ekranoplans were created just for use in inland seas. Transport ekranoplanes "Eaglet" were called upon by an unexpected landing of the Marine Corps to blockade the entrances or exits from the inland seas - primarily from the Black Sea through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles.
In this case, the Lun missile ekranoplan was supposed to cover their operations from attacks from enemy ships or destroy patrols of large groups of ships, thereby opening the way for larger formations of the Navy.
And this role could be played by the vehicles that the Russian Navy wants to put into service after 2020. Other uses of these funds are also being considered. Once in Siberia, Burevestnik-24, a civilian transport and rescue ekranolet, was tested. And it is highly likely that Russian design bureaus are also developing plans for ocean-going military ekranoplanes. They would be a response to the Pelican, Boeing's ekranoplane concept that hasn't been reported since 2002, but that doesn't mean development isn't ongoing. By the way, ekranoplanes are gaining popularity outside of their Russian ancestral home. For example, Iran formed several parts of these weapons-equipped vehicles, demonstrating them at a military parade in 2010.
The ekranoplans are called Bavar 2, and they are small. But for the sake of completeness, we note that since then there has been no information about Iranian ekranoplanes. By itself, this means nothing, although perhaps Iran has the same problems that Russia had. After great expectations - a lot of difficulties and eventually disappointment.
But no one can say that the ekranoplan will end its days among other oddities, of which there have been many in military history. At least until the project is completed, over which engineers at shipyards in Nizhny Novgorod are racking their brains today.
Rocket ekranoplan "Lun"
"KM" (To ship- m aket), also known abroad as the "Caspian Monster" - an experimental ekranoplan, developed in the design bureau of R. E. Alekseev. Served as the basis for the development and creation of the ekranoplan-missile carrier "Lun" (1987).
History of creation
Tests
In the first test flight, the KM ekranoplan was piloted by V. F. Loginov and R. E. Alekseev. Further tests were carried out by leading test pilots D. T. Garbuzov and V. F. Troshin. All these works were carried out in the system of the Ministry of the shipbuilding industry.
KM tests took place in the Caspian Sea for 15 years until 1980. In 1980, due to a pilot error, the KM crashed, there were no casualties, the ekranoplan remained afloat for another week after the accident, but no attempts were made to save it, after which it sank. Operations to raise, restore or build a new copy of the KM were not carried out [ ] .
Interesting Facts
The wrecked Spitfire pulled heavily over the waters of the English Channel to the West, and it seemed that the damaged car and its pilot had no chance of reaching the coast of Britain. When he completely lost altitude and was already flying, almost clinging to the crests of the waves with his wings, the pilot suddenly felt that the flight had stabilized. As if a soft invisible hand lifted the plane...
This is how fiction describes the chance encounters of people with the screen effect. That is, with an increase in the lift force of the wing and a change in the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft when flying near the shielding surface (water, earth, etc.), the oncoming air flow forms an “air cushion”, which creates lift not only due to a decrease in pressure above the upper plane of the wing (as in conventional aircraft), but due to the increased pressure under the lower plane, which can only be created at extremely low altitudes (less than the aerodynamic wing chord). The pressure jump must reach the surface, be reflected and have time to reach the wing. Hence the important conclusion: the larger the wing plane, the lower the flight speed and the lower the altitude, the stronger the screen effect. Now let's leave aerodynamics for a while and turn to.
By the 60s of the twentieth century, military equipment had reached such a level that two developed countries could destroy each other in a matter of hours. In such conditions, not so much the technical characteristics “faster, higher, stronger” began to come to the fore, but the cost. In the development of marine systems, the Soviet Union, as usual, went its own way, and as a result, a whole separate type of technology called "ekranoplans" appeared, and here the USSR achieved, frankly, impressive success.
The most load-lifting and cheapest type of transport is water (sea, river). Air transport is not comparable to water transport in terms of energy costs. According to these criteria, the best transport aircraft looks like a flying embarrassment against the background of an old wooden longboat. In a longboat, the weight of the transported cargo can be 5 times its weight, and a very good aircraft (including fuel) weighs two to three times more than the transported cargo. Worse than air transport is only rocket and space transport, where the payload weight of 1% of the launch weight can be considered an excellent result.
So, the ekranoplan, as it seemed then, harmoniously combined the carrying capacity, efficiency of sea vessels and the enormous speeds of aircraft. I don't like to work with hypothetical things, just as I don't like pulling facts "by the ears". Therefore, let's turn to real-life designs and try to find out the strengths and weaknesses of ekranoplanes.
"Caspian Monster"
The giant ekranoplan KM-1, the brainchild of Rostislav Alekseev Design Bureau. Empty weight - 240 tons, maximum takeoff weight - 544 tons (!). The only aircraft to break this record is the An-225 Mechta. Cruising speed - up to 500 km / h. Awesome!
But is everything so simple? Due to what these magnificent characteristics were achieved? Let's look at the photo: the first thing that catches your eye is 10 (ten!) VD-7 jet engines, with a thrust of 130 kN each. Is it a lot or a little?
Here, for example, is the same age as the Caspian Monster, the passenger Tu-154B. The Tupolev is equipped with three NK-8 turbofan engines with a thrust of 100 kN in takeoff mode. The maximum takeoff weight of the Tu-154B is 100 tons. As a result, a simple proportion:
KM - maximum takeoff weight 544 tons, total thrust of 10 engines - 1300 kN.
Tu-154B - maximum takeoff weight of 100 tons, total thrust of 3 engines - 300 kN.
And where is the efficiency, like that of a sea vessel, about which we talked so much today? And she is not! And the answer is very simple: it has nowhere to come from. The Tu-154 flies at a height in rarefied layers of the atmosphere, and the KM is forced to break through the dense air near the water itself. The Tupolev has clean lines, a sleek and streamlined fuselage, narrow swept wings - compare this with the monstrous appearance of the KM, which is only worth 8 engines mounted on the wings! Monstrous air resistance eliminates all the advantages of the screen effect.
Another imperceptible reason for which the effectiveness of ekranoplanes suffers is low speed. As we have already found out, the engines of an ekranoplan and an airplane consume approximately the same amount of fuel per unit of time in cruising mode. But the plane, due to its greater speed, covers a much greater distance during this time!
Yes, 10 KM engines are allegedly needed only in takeoff mode, when entering cruise mode, some of the engines are turned off. But then the question is: how long does this “take-off regime” last? The answer will be the events of 1980 - an attempt to reduce traction as a result led to a disaster and the death of the Caspian Monster.
"Lun"
The ekranoplan-missile carrier "Lun", the pride of the Soviet military-industrial complex, is a byword. Empty weight - 243 tons. Maximum takeoff - 388 tons. Speed - 500 km / h. Impressive.
"Lun" was built in duplicate and there is much more information on it than on its predecessor. So let's take a closer look at it.
Again, look at the beautiful photos. This time, the ekranoplan is equipped with 8 NK-87 jet engines with a thrust of 130 kN. Maybe these are some special efficient engines with minimal fuel consumption?
No. NK-87 is a modification of the NK-86 turbojet bypass engine for the Il-86 wide-body airliner. Specific fuel consumption for NK-86 is 0.74 kg/kgf hour in takeoff mode. A similar indicator for NK-87 is 0.53 kg / kgf hour.
Here it is, the economy, you will happily say. Unfortunately no. The Il-86 uses 4 engines, while the Lun uses 8. Moreover, the maximum take-off weight of the Il-86 is 215 tons, which is only one and a half times less than that of an ekranoplan.
Il is a passenger plane with 350 seats, while the Lun or the Caspian Monster are still cargo vehicles. Well, let's compare the Lun with the well-known transport aircraft, I'm not afraid to say, the best aircraft of its class in the world - the An-124 Ruslan. With a maximum takeoff weight of 400 tons, up to 150 tons can be PAYLOAD. The ekranoplan, alas, cannot boast of such an indicator - the payload of the Lun is no more than 100 tons.
The flight range of Ruslan with a load of 150 tons is 3,000 km, and with 40 tons, the An-124 will fly 11,000 km! What does Lun offer us? 2,000 km, and the load is not indicated in any source. Possibly empty too.
And now let's list the obvious disadvantages of ekranoplanes:
Firstly, speed. The cruising speed of ekranoplanes is 400…500 km/h, which is more than two times less than that of conventional jet aircraft.
On the other hand, 500 km / h is much higher than that of sea vessels. But, again, it's not all that simple. An ordinary bulk carrier or tanker makes an average of 20 knots with cargo. Every hour, day and night, in storm and fog, without gas stations and breaks. Cost-effectiveness is not even worth comparing - a ship's diesel engine is an order of magnitude more economical than a jet engine in terms of specific fuel consumption, and even taking into account the difference in the cost of diesel fuel and high-quality aviation kerosene ...
And again about efficiency - the design of the ekranoplan is twice as heavy as an aircraft of similar size. Yes, when they are built, instead of aviation technologies, ship technologies are sometimes used, but this difference is dashingly covered by the cost of 8 power plants and the grandiose dimensions of the ship-aircraft. I'm not talking about the cost of maintenance: 8 engines are no joke.
Secondly, a very important quality, versatility. As we remember, the ekranoplan is only capable of flying over an almost perfectly smooth surface. Yes, it can forcefully fly over a low barrier (not higher than a couple of hundred meters) ... but, whatever one may say, the areas of its application are limited to sea areas, large lakes and, possibly, tundra and desert. The very first forest belt or power line will be the last for the ekranoplan. Unlike ekranoplanes, for aircraft, the relief under the wing does not matter: we fly where we need to go.
Moreover, ekranoplanes have very poor maneuverability. Experimental ekranoplan KB Beriev - 14M1P (max. takeoff weight 50 tons) every time you change course had to stop, turn off the engines and turn the tug in the right direction. Although according to the calculations he had to do it himself.
Thirdly, for an ekranoplan, indeed no application. If urgent delivery of people and goods is required, it is more profitable to use an airplane. If it is necessary to deliver a large consignment across the ocean, any customer will choose a ship, because. it is better to wait a couple of weeks, but save millions.
Actually, "Lun" existed in 2 versions: a missile carrier with 6 anti-ship missiles "Mosquito" and "Rescuer". I won’t even talk about the missile carrier - it was a danger only to its own crew (a flight altitude of several meters does not give pilots the right to make a mistake). Moreover, the Tu-22M was a much more powerful carrier of the Mosquitoes ...
"Rescuer" sounds great. Night, shipwreck - and suddenly an ekranoplan jumps out of the darkness, picks up the victims, a mobile hospital of the Ministry of Emergency Situations is deployed on board ... and now everyone is saved! However, this has nothing to do with reality: in an hour, the shipwreck will be people in inflatable vests scattered within a radius of several kilometers. How they planned to search for them from an ekranoplan flying at a speed of 500 km / h a few meters from the water remained a mystery. In any case, the small flight range allowed the "Rescuer" to work only in coastal areas. And, please tell me, how does the ekranoplan then differ from a conventional seaplane, the same Be-200 amphibian? seaworthiness? But this is a myth, the storm is equally detrimental to the use of both means.
Use an ekranoplan for landing? Only the Mistral is suitable for landing on overseas territories - ekranoplans have a completely insufficient range and carrying capacity. Landing troops from an ekranoplan in Georgia? But it is a very long way, much closer by planes through Madagascar.
Considering all of the above, the rapid fading of the interest of the Soviet leadership in the topic of ekranoplanes becomes understandable, for 30 years only 3 such "monsters" have been produced. The cool hybrid of a ship and an airplane actually turned out to be a bad airplane and a bad ship.
Dear readers, you can draw your own conclusions from the above facts and interpret my article in your own way. One thing remains undoubted - buyers have already voted with their wallets - not a single army in the world is interested in ekranoplanes-monsters, however, as well as commercial structures. All use of ekranoplans is now limited to light flying attractions for the amusement of the public.
It seems that it is high time to tell the aircraft about this - either an air or a water vessel ...
In the early 60s, the Union adopted a state program on ekranoplans, which provides for the creation of a number of new manned self-propelled models of them, as well as the development of combat projects for the Navy and other branches of the armed forces with the creation of a full-size experimental ekranoplan.
In the 64-65th, the design and creation of a unique KM ekranoplan was carried out at the Central Design Bureau for the SPK. The name KM denotes a mock-up ship, but the car was given a different name - "Caspian Monster". The chief designer of this ekranoplan was R.E. Alekseev, lead designer - V.P. Efimov.
According to the definition formulated in the "Interim Safety Guidelines for Ekranoplans" adopted by the IMO (International Maritime Organization): an ekranoplan is a multi-mode vessel that, in its main operational mode, flies using the "screen effect" over the water or other surface, without constant contact with it, and is supported in the air, mainly by the aerodynamic lift generated on the air wing(s), body, or parts thereof, which are intended to use the action of the "screen effect".
KM was a promising vehicle for the military and rescuers, but its design caused many difficulties. According to the documents, the ekranoplan passed like a ship (during the first test, a bottle of champagne was broken on it and the USSR Naval flag was hoisted on it, and belonged to the Navy, since the screen effect acts at a height of several meters. Structurally, it resembled an amphibian (type boat) The experimental apparatus was controlled by test pilots.
Towed ekranoplan on the roadstead of Gorky
On June 22, 1966, before dawn, the largest aircraft in the world was launched from the Volga pier. And then for almost a month, half-submerged, with an undocked wing, covered with a camouflage net, it was towed along the Volga from Gorky to the training ground in Kaspiysk. According to the requirements of secrecy, they walked mainly at night, defended during the day.
The power plant of the KM ekranoplan consisted of 10 VD-7 turbojet engines with a thrust of more than 11,000 kg each. On the front pylon there were 8 engines, their power was used mainly at the start. On the keel there were two more of the same engines, sufficient to maintain the cruising regime.
In the first flight, the ekranoplan was personally piloted by Alekseev. The flight took about 50 minutes at a height of about 4 m. The tests were successful.
In August 1967, the KM ekranoplan flew with a takeoff weight of 544 tons, while developing a speed of 455 km / h. This was an unofficial world record for aircraft of the time. It was beaten only with the creation of the An-225 Mriya, only a quarter of a century later!
From the words of eyewitnesses: “The spectacle of flights was captivating, the heart sank with delight and pride. The roar of engines at the start, fountains of spray. But the very flight over the surface of the water is calm and majestic.
KM was an experimental ekranoplan. His tests showed that ekranoplans of this dimension can fly and fly excellently. Based on the experience gained during the creation and testing of the KM, the ekranoplan-missile carrier Lun was built.
Ekranoplan "Lun" in Kaspiysk, 2010
... KM tests took place in the Caspian for 15 years, but they ended very sadly. In December 1980, due to the fault of the crew, the KM crashed and sank (the crew managed to escape). In a 20-meter shallow water, the Monster's huge tail was visible over the Caspian for a couple of weeks.
KM died 10 months after the death of his chief designer ...
My personal opinion: the project is spectacular and beautiful, but ... stillborn. Where and how was it supposed to be used?
And build?
To serve (fully) two elements is impossible!!!
"KM" (Layout ship) "Caspian Monster" is an experimental ekranoplan developed in the design bureau of R. E. Alekseev.
History of creation: in 1964 - 1965, the design and creation of a unique,
the world's largest aircraft - the KM ekranoplan, which received the name "Caspian monster" from foreign special services.
This is how the Americans deciphered the letters KM - mock-up ship - on
board of the ekranoplan. The chief designer of this ekranoplan was R. E. Alekseev, the leading designer was V. P. Efimov.
The ekranoplan had a wingspan of 37.6 m, a length of about 100 m, and a maximum takeoff weight of 544 tons. Before the appearance of the An-225 Mriya aircraft, it was the heaviest aircraft in the world.
KM - was a promising vehicle for the military and rescuers, but its design caused many difficulties. According to the documents, the ekranoplan passed like a ship (during the first test, a bottle of champagne was broken on it and the USSR Naval flag was raised on it, and belonged to the Navy, since the screen effect acts at a height of several meters.
Structurally, it resembled an amphibian (type boat). The experimental apparatus was controlled by test pilots.
Tests
In 1966, the KM entered the tests, which were carried out at a specially created test and delivery station on the Caspian Sea in the Kaspiysk region (Dagestan).
In the first test flight, the KM ekranoplan was piloted by V. F. Loginov and R. E. Alekseev. Further tests were carried out by leading test pilots D. T. Garbuzov and V. F. Troshin. All these works were carried out in the system of the Ministry of the shipbuilding industry.
KM tests took place in the Caspian for 15 years until 1980. In 1980, due to a pilot error, the KM crashed, there were no casualties. After that, operations to restore or build a new instance were not carried out.
Tactical and technical characteristics
Wingspan: 37.60 m.
Tail span: 37.00 m.
Length: 92.00 m.
Height: 21.80 m.
Wing area: 662.50 m².
Weight of the empty ekranoplan: 240,000 kg.
Maximum takeoff weight: 544,000 kg.
Engine type: 10 turbojet engines VD-7.
Thrust: 10 x 13000 kgf.
Maximum speed: 500 km/h.
Cruise speed: 430 km/h.
Practical range: 1500 km.
Flight height on the screen: 4-14 m.
Seaworthiness: 3 points.
