Jet aircraft of civil aviation. The first jet aircraft

In any business there are pioneers: what is completely familiar today was once a novelty. Probably, few people can remember flying on an airplane, from the windows of which a propeller was visible (nevertheless, in Europe, regional airlines often use turboprop aircraft). Turbojet engines rule the world today - nothing better, apparently, on this moment have not been invented, and hydrogen and nuclear aircraft do not yet fly. Almost 80 years have passed since the appearance of the first efficient motor of this type.

The German engineer Ernst Heinkel is behind the embodiment of the idea, but to whom it belongs is another question. As often happens, the idea was thought out by another person (who eventually remained in the shadows), then, thanks to the money and resources of big business, it was brought to life.

Ernst Heinkel engineer

Heinkel was born in Germany in January 1888. In his youth, he had nothing to do with aviation, which then took only the first serious steps. The German enthusiastically studied mechanical engineering in Stuttgart, worked as an apprentice turner in a foundry and followed the development of zeppelins. The accident with one of these aircraft in 1908 had a special impact on Ernst's professional future. Then the experimental LZ 4, already participating in a series of test flights, was destroyed by fire during a landing to repair a broken engine. "The future is in airplanes"- Heinkel decided for himself.

By 1911, Ernst, who was 23 at the time, had built his first airplane. As the test flight showed, engineering skills required further improvement - the young man was injured and moved away from them for a long time. Someone would have given up, but that era was remembered by enthusiastic people. Rather, history remembers only such. Beginning in 1914, the German worked in large aircraft manufacturing companies, engaged in the design of aircraft. He is sometimes credited with developing the popular Albatros B.II biplane, but many historians deny this information.

Shortly after the end of the First World War, in 1921, Heinkel took the post of chief designer of the Caspar-Werke company, reorganized after a long pause. However, very soon the engineer leaves her due to disputes with the founder of the company, Karl Kaspar, regarding the rights to the design of manufactured aircraft. Surely Ernst highly valued his own experience and professionalism, so in 1922 the Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke company appeared.

The company was looking for ways to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles, which imposed serious restrictions on Germany in terms of the production of equipment. At a certain point, Heinkel received serious support from the Japanese government. The fact is that Japan was at the same time a major customer of Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke and was a member of a special commission that checked whether the company complied with the agreements enshrined in the Treaty of Versailles. It is alleged that this allowed Ernst to prepare in advance for the upcoming inspections, and then continue to work as if nothing had happened (the Japanese warned ahead of time about the events).

In the 30s, Heinkel's company was no longer "one of", but was ranked among the industry leaders. The firm naturally attracted the attention of the Chancellor, who soon usurped power. "In 1933 I joined the party, but I was never a Nazi"- so Ernst wrote much later. By the way, in 1948 he was arrested for collaborating with the Nazi regime, but then acquitted due to his connections with the conspirators who planned to overthrow Hitler.

Heinkel He 178

Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke has been actively investing in the development and research of new types of engines. Therefore, when a young engineer Hans von Ohain came to Heinkel, the head of the enterprise gladly took advantage of the technology patented by this man (von Ohain registered a jet engine in 1935). It is worth noting that shortly before this, regardless of Hans, Sir Frank Whittle received a patent for a turbojet engine, but the British aircraft took off later - he received support from the government after it became known about the successful tests of the He 178.

Von Ohain visited Heinkel with a proposal to build a workable aircraft using his engine. The implementation of the project took several years, as it was decided to improve the design, making the system more powerful and efficient.

Heinrich Hertel, Karl Schwerzler and Siegfried Günther had a hand in the creation of the world's first operating turbojet aircraft. The latter, after the Second World War, took part in the development Soviet fighter MiG-15. Work on the He 178 was carried out without government support; the company's own funds were used to create the concept and prototypes.

The first flight

The He 178 made its first takeoff attempt on 24 August 1939. Rather, it was a trial "jump" over the strip. And a few days later, on August 27, Captain Erich Warzitz made a full-fledged flight (a couple of months before that, he had lifted a jet He 176 into the air).

According to the available data, the maximum speed of an aircraft with a metal fuselage and wooden wings, on board of which there was a single pilot, was slightly less than 500 km / h (according to other information - about 600 km / h), the flight range reached 200 km.

The first solo flight ended without too much pathos and sharp turns. Everything was spoiled by a bird that got into the engine: a flameout occurred, but Varzits was able to land the car safely. The plane was also demonstrated to representatives of the Ministry of Aviation. The flight lasted only 10 minutes, and it was pointless to take the He 178 into service in that condition. So considered in a special commission.

The decision not to support the Heinkel project was probably influenced by the development of the BMW 003 and Junkers Jumo 004 engines with state support. The additional cargo was seen as superfluous, and the outbreak of the war was to end soon (there was such an opinion). The engineer nevertheless decided to continue the work, which led to the appearance of the world's first fighter with a turbojet engine - the He 280.

Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke continued to develop engines, which, in general, was the promise of aircraft of this type. On March 30, 1941, the He 280 made its debut flight, but again failed to meet the commission's requests. It didn't help that he used kerosene instead of burning high-octane fuel like "classic" aircraft. Over and over again, Heinkel made attempts to prove the superiority of his designs over competitors' aircraft. In speed racing, the He 280 outperformed the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, but in vain. Only in 1942, after a demonstration battle between these two aircraft, did the Ministry of Aviation recognize the prospects of the He 280 - it turned out to be more maneuverable and faster.

As a result, Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke received an order for 20 test copies and 300 production samples of the He 280. However, Ernst had to solve problems with the HeS 8 engines, which were replaced by the more advanced but complex HeS 011. This negatively affected the execution of the order, and the engineer was forced to use the Junkers Jumo 004 imposed on him. Heavy and huge motors nullified everything positive sides He 280. As a result, the jet Messerschmitt Me 262 came out the winner in this competitive struggle, while only nine copies of the Heinkel aircraft were produced. He lose. And around the same time, his property was nationalized. In fact, this means that the engineer was detained and demanded to transfer control of the enterprise to Hermann Goering, who was later recognized as a war criminal. After that, Ernst went to Vienna, where he founded a new company.

Some time later, while participating in the competition of Nazi Germany Jägernotprogramm, Heinkel presented his "dream fighter" - He 162 Salamander. Today, such a program would be called a "prototype competition" - few of the participants could go beyond the design stage. The presented planes are solid retro-futurism by today's standards. Ernst's brainchild looked a match for him, but one of the prototypes was able to accelerate to an incredible 900 km / h. This could make it the fastest aircraft of World War II...

In the early 50s of the last century, Ernst Heinkel founded a new company that started producing bicycles, mopeds and sidecars - the aircraft industry in Germany was banned for some time. In 1955, restrictions were eased, and the company began assembling aircraft on orders from abroad (including one of the modifications of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter for the United States). The creator of the world's first turbojet aircraft died in 1958.

Short list of sources: World War II Database, Aerospaceweb.org, EDN, Scientists and Friends.

On June 20, 1939, the first experimental jet aircraft He.176, created by German aircraft designers, flew. With some lag, jet engines were released by the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, as well as Japan.

1. First pancake

Work on the creation of the first jet aircraft began at Heinkel in 1937. And two years later He.176 made its first flight. After five flights, it became clear that he had no chance of going into the series.

The designers chose for it a liquid-propellant engine with a thrust of 600 kgf, which uses methanol and hydrogen peroxide as fuel and oxidizer. It was assumed that the car will develop a speed of 1000 km / h, but it was only possible to disperse it to 750 km / h. The enormous fuel consumption did not allow the aircraft to move more than 60 km from the airfield. The only advantage compared to conventional fighters was the enormous rate of climb, equal to 60 m / s, which was three times higher than that of machines with piston engines.

The fate of the He.176 was also affected by a subjective circumstance - Hitler did not like the aircraft during the show.

2. First serial

Germany was ahead of everyone in the creation of the first serial jet aircraft. They became Me.262. He made his first flight in July 1942, and was accepted into service in 1944. The aircraft was produced both as a fighter, and as a bomber, and as a reconnaissance aircraft, and as an attack aircraft. In total, almost one and a half thousand cars entered the army.

The Me.262 used two Jumo-004 turbojet engines with a thrust of 910 kgf, which had an 8-stage axial compressor, a single-stage axial turbine and 6 combustion chambers.

Unlike the He.176, which excelled at devouring fuel, the jet-powered Messerschmitt was a successful machine with excellent flight performance:

Max Speed at an altitude of 870 km/h

Flight range - up to 1050 km

Practical ceiling - 12200 m

Rate of climb - 50 m / s

Length - 10.9 m

Height - 3.8 m

Wingspan - 12.5 m

Wing area - 21.8 sq.m.

Empty weight - 3800 kg

Curb weight - 6000 kg

Armament - up to 4 30-mm guns, from 2 to 14 suspension points; mass of suspended rockets or bombs up to 1500 kg.

During the period of hostilities Me.262 shot down 150 aircraft. Losses amounted to 100 aircraft. Such an accident rate was largely associated with both insufficient training of pilots for flights on a fundamentally new aircraft, and with engine flaws, which had a low resource and low reliability.

3. One way ticket

The liquid-propellant engine was used in only one production aircraft during the Second World War. In the Japanese manned projectile Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka, designed for kamikaze. From the end of 1944 until the end of the war, 825 of them were produced.

The aircraft was built on the principle of "cheap and cheerful". A wooden glider with 1.2 tons of ammonal in the bow was equipped with three rocket engines that worked for 10 seconds and accelerated the aircraft to a speed of 650 km / h. There were no landing gear or takeoff engines. The bomber delivered Ohka on the suspension to the distance of visual visibility to the target. Then the rocket engine was ignited.

However, the effectiveness of such a scheme was low. Because the bombers were detected by the locators of the American Navy ships before the kamikazes were aimed at the target. As a result, both bombers and bombers stuffed with ammonal were senselessly lost on the distant approaches.

4. British centenarian

The Gloster Meteor was the only Allied jet aircraft to see action in World War II. He made his first flight in March 1943, entered service with the Royal Air Force in July 1944, was produced until 1955 inclusive, was in service with the Air Force of a number of British military allies until the end of the 70s. A total of 3555 vehicles of various modifications were produced.

During the war period, two modifications of the fighter were produced - F. Mk I and F. Mk III. F. Mk I squadron shot down 10 German V-1s. F. Mk III, due to their special secrecy, were not released into enemy territory. And they had to repel the attacks of the Luftwaffe, based near Brussels. However, since February 1945, German aviation was engaged exclusively in defense. Of the 230 Gloster Meteors produced before mid-1945, only two were lost: they collided on approach in heavy cloud cover.

Flight characteristics Gloster Meteor F. Mk III:

Length - 12.6 m

Height - 3.96 m

Wingspan - 13.1 m

Wing area - 34.7 sq.m.

Takeoff weight - 6560 kg

Engines - 2TRD

Thrust - 2 × 908 kgf

Maximum speed - 837 km / h

Ceiling - 13400 m

Range - 2160 km

Armament - 4 guns 30-mm

5. Late to the call

The American Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star began to arrive at British airfields just before the end of hostilities in Europe - in April 1945. He did not have time to fight. The F-80 was widely used as a fighter-bomber a few years later during the Korean War.

The first ever battle between two jet fighters took place on the Korean Peninsula. F-80 and more modern transonic Soviet MiG-15. The victory was won by the Soviet pilot.

A total of 1,718 of these first American jet aircraft were produced.

LTH Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star:

Length - 10.5 m

Height - 3.45 m

Wingspan - 11.85 m

Wing area - 22.1 sq.m.

Takeoff weight - 5300 kg

Engines - 1TRD

Thrust - 1 × 1746 kgf

Maximum speed - 880 km / h

Rate of climb - 23 m / s

Ceiling - 13700 m

Range - 1255 km, with PTB - 2320 km

Armament - 6 machine guns 12.7 mm, 8 unguided rockets, 2 bombs 454 kg.

6. Soviet-style tender

The first Soviet experimental aircraft BI-1 was designed in the spring of 1941 for twenty days and made for a month. A wooden glider, to which a liquid-propellant rocket engine was attached - it was purely Stakhanovite. After the start of the war, the aircraft was evacuated to the Urals. And in July, they began testing. According to the plans of the designers, the BI-1 was supposed to reach a speed of 900 km / h. However, when the famous test pilot Grigory Yakovlevich Bakhchivandzhi approached the line of 800 km / h, the plane lost control and crashed to the ground.

In a normal way, the creation of a jet fighter was approached only in 1945. And not even one, but two. By the middle of the year, a twin-engine MiG-9 and a single-engine Yak-15 were designed. They took to the air on the same day - April 24, 1946.

Migu was more fortunate in relation to its use in the Air Force. As a result of comparing the characteristics of the two machines, in which Stalin also took part, the Yak-15 was ordered to be made a training aircraft for training jet pilots.

The MiG-9 has become a combat vehicle. And already in 1946 he began to enter the Air Force. For three years, 602 aircraft were produced. However, two circumstances strongly affected his fate, in connection with which the MiG-9 was discontinued.

First, its development was carried out at an accelerated pace. As a result, until 1948, changes were regularly made to the design of the aircraft.

Secondly, the pilots were very suspicious of the new machine, which required a lot of effort to master and did not forgive even minor piloting errors. They were much more familiar with the Yak-15, which was as close as possible to the Yak-3, well known to everyone. Actually, it was built on its basis with the necessary minimum deviations.

And in 1948, the first jet fighter, which turned out to be damp, was replaced by a more advanced MiG-15.

LTH MiG-9:

Length - 9.75 m

Wingspan - 10.0 m

Wing area - 18.2 sq.m.

Takeoff weight - 4990 kg

Engines - 2TRD

Thrust - 2 × 800 kgf

Maximum speed - 864 km / h

Rate of climb - 22 m / s

Ceiling - 13500 m

Flight duration at an altitude of 5000 m - 1 hour

Armament - 3 guns.

The MiG-9 is a Soviet jet fighter developed just after the end of the war. He became the first jet fighter made in the USSR. The MiG-9 fighter was mass-produced from 1946 to 1948, during which time more than six hundred combat vehicles were produced.

Aviation historians often refer to the MiG-9 and other Soviet combat vehicles (Yak-15 and Yak-17) built during this period as a "transitional type of fighter". These aircraft were equipped with a jet power plant, but at the same time they had an airframe similar to piston engines.

The MiG-9 fighters were in service with the Russian Air Force for a short time: in the early 50s they were decommissioned. In 1950-1951, almost four hundred fighters were transferred to the Chinese Air Force. The Chinese used them mainly as training aircraft: pilots learned to operate jet aircraft on them.

The MiG-9 cannot be called a very successful machine: from the moment the tests began, it was haunted by disasters, the designers now and then had to correct defects that appeared during operation. However, we should not forget that the MiG-9 was the first jet fighter, it was created and transferred to the troops in an extremely short time. At the time of the start of work on the creation of this machine in the USSR, there was not even an engine that could develop the thrust necessary for a jet flight.

The "problematic" MiG-9 was soon replaced by the MiG-15, which both ours and foreign experts call one of the best fighters of this period. The designers were able to achieve such success only thanks to the experience gained during the creation of the MiG-9.

Appearance Soviet Union a large number jet fighters caused surprise in the West. There, many did not believe that the country, devastated by the war, would be able to establish mass production of the latest aviation equipment for those times in the shortest possible time. The appearance of the MiG-9 and other Soviet jet aircraft had serious political implications. Although, of course, in the West they had no idea about the difficulties and problems that Soviet aviation designers and pilots had to face, as well as about what it cost the destroyed country to create new types of weapons.

The history of the creation of the first jet aircraft of the USSR

Already at the end of World War II, it became clear that the future of aviation was in jet aircraft. In the Soviet Union, work began in this direction, they went much faster after getting acquainted with the captured German developments. At the end of the war, the USSR was able to get not only intact German aircraft and jet engines, but also to capture the German enterprises where they were produced.

The task to create a jet fighter was simultaneously received by four leading aviation design bureaus of the country: Mikoyan, Lavochkin, Yakovlev and Sukhoi. The main problem was that at that time the USSR did not have its own jet aircraft engine, it had yet to be created.

Meanwhile, time was running out: potential opponents - the United States, Britain and Germany - already had an established mass production of jet aircraft and actively exploited this equipment.

The first Soviet jet fighters used captured German BMW-003A and YuMO-004 engines.

The Mikoyan Design Bureau worked on the creation of two fighters, which at the design stage had the designations I-260 and I-300. Both cars were planned to use the BMW-003A engine. Work on the creation of the aircraft began in February 1945.

I-260 copied the German fighter Me.262, two jet engines were located under the wings of the aircraft. I-300 had a layout with a power plant inside the fuselage.

Purges in the wind tunnel showed that the layout with engines inside the fuselage is more advantageous. Therefore, it was decided to abandon further work on the I-260 prototype and complete the I-300, which later became the first serial Soviet jet fighter under the designation MiG-9.

Three experimental vehicles were included in the construction for testing: F-1, F-2 and F-3. The F-1 aircraft was ready by December 1945, but the refinement of the machine was delayed until March of the following year, and only then did the tests begin. On April 24, 1946, the fighter took to the air for the first time, the first flight was normal.

Already the initial stage of testing clearly showed the huge superiority of jet aircraft over piston ones: the MiG-9 was able to accelerate to a speed of 920 km / h, reach a ceiling of 13 km and climb 5 thousand meters in 4.5 minutes. It should be said that initially the aircraft was planned to be armed with a 57-mm automatic gun N-57, installing it in the partition between the air intakes and two 37-mm guns NS-23, located in the lower part of the fuselage. However, later they decided to abandon the 57-mm gun, considering its power to be excessive.

On July 11, 1946, a tragedy occurred: during the flight, a fragment that came off the wing damaged the stabilizer, causing the car to lose control and crash into the ground. The pilot is dead.

The second experimental F-2 aircraft was demonstrated to the public during the air parade in Tushino. In August, the Kuibyshev plant began production of a small serial batch, consisting of ten aircraft. It was planned that they would take part in the parade on Red Square in October 1946.

In March 1947, mass production of the fighter began. However, after the release of 49 aircraft, it was suspended. The car had to be redone. Within two months, the fuel system was seriously upgraded on the MiG-9, the design of the tail fairing was changed, the keel area was increased, and a number of other improvements were also made. After that, mass production was resumed.

In June 1947, state tests of four fighters were completed, two experimental ones (F-2 and F-3) and two serial machines. In general, the MiG-9 received positive reviews: in terms of speed characteristics, rate of climb and flight altitude, it significantly exceeded all piston aircraft in service with the Soviet army. The firepower of the machine was also unprecedented.

There were also problems: when firing from cannons at an altitude of more than 7 thousand meters, the engine stalled. They tried to fight this shortcoming, but they could not completely eliminate it.

If we compare the characteristics of the MiG-9 with the Yak-15 jet fighter, which was developed at that very time, then the Mikoyan machine lost to the Yakovlev Design Bureau in maneuverability, but was faster in level flight and when diving.

The troops met the new car without much enthusiasm. Pilots were often simply afraid to fly a plane that did not have a propeller. In addition to the pilots, it was necessary to retrain the technical staff, and this had to be done as soon as possible. The haste often led to accidents that had nothing to do with technical features aircraft.

Description of the design of the MiG-9 fighter

The MiG-9 is an all-metal, single-seat fighter aircraft equipped with two turbojet engines. It is made according to the classical scheme with a mid-wing and a tricycle retractable landing gear.

The aircraft has a semi-monocoque fuselage with smooth running skin. In its bow is an air intake, which is divided into two tunnels, each of which supplies air to one of the engines. The channels have an elliptical section; they run along the side parts of the fuselage, bypassing the cockpit on both sides.

A trapezoidal wing with flaps and ailerons.

The tail of the MiG-9 is all-metal with a high stabilizer.

The cockpit is located in front of the fuselage, it is closed by a streamlined canopy, consisting of two parts. The front part, the visor, is fixed, and the back part moves back along three guides. On later modifications of the machine, the visor is made of armored glass. In addition, front and rear armor plates are installed on the machine to protect the pilot, their thickness is 12 mm.

The MiG-9 has a tricycle retractable landing gear with a front wheel. Chassis release system - pneumatic.

The fighter was equipped with a power plant consisting of two RD-20 turbojet engines, which were nothing more than a copy of the German captured BMW-003 engines. Each of them could develop a thrust of 800 kgf. The engines of the first series (A-1) had a resource of only 10 hours, the resource of the A-2 series was increased to 50 hours, and the RD-20B engines could operate for 75 hours. The MiG-9 power plant was launched using Riedel starting motors.

The engines were installed in the redanium part of the fuselage, the nozzles were adjustable, they could be set in four positions: “start”, “takeoff”, “flight” or “high-speed flight”. The control of the nozzle cone was electrically remote.

To protect the body from hot gases, a special thermal screen was installed on the underside of the tail section, which was a corrugated sheet of heat-resistant steel.

Fuel was housed in ten tanks located in the wings and fuselage. Their total volume was 1595 liters. The fuel tanks were interconnected to ensure uniform use of fuel, this made it possible to maintain the centering of the aircraft during the flight.

The MiG-9 was equipped with the RSI-6 radio station, the RPKO-10M radio semi-compass, and the KP-14 oxygen apparatus. The aircraft received power from a captured LR-2000 generator, which was later replaced by the domestic GSK-1300.

The armament of the fighter consisted of one 37-mm N-37 cannon with an ammunition load of forty rounds and two 23-mm NS-23 cannons with an ammunition load of 40 rounds. Initially, it was planned to equip the aircraft with a more powerful 57-mm H-57 cannon, but later this idea was abandoned.

One of the main problems of the fighter was the ingress of powder gases into the engines, since the H-37 gun was mounted on a partition between two air intakes. On the later modifications of the aircraft, gas pipes were installed on the H-37. Previously produced vehicles were equipped with them already in combat units.

The first MiG-9 had a collimator sight, later it was replaced by an automatic rifle sight.

Characteristics of the MiG-9

Below are the characteristics of the MiG-9.

If you have any questions - leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them.

The responsibility for the preservation of Russia in one of the most difficult times in the last thousand years, history placed on Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin.

And he honorably coped with this duty, preserving the country and all the peoples living on its territory, making Russia a country of advanced science and great culture. He did this with the least possible loss of people and material assets.

The most influential world forces failed in Lenin and Stalin's times to crush the Soviet state and exterminate the peoples of the USSR. In Russia, many of the interventionists of the Western countries, their mercenaries, including the White armies, the enemies of Russia inside the country and the hordes of troops of Europe united by Hitler, found their graves.

This is what the West cannot forgive either Stalin, or the Russian people, or itself.

The era of the 1930s, wartime and post-war times attracts with the grandeur of accomplishments, the heroism of millions of people, the greatness of the state called the Soviet Union.

In the post-war period, the life of the peoples of the USSR was saved thanks to huge achievements in the field of armaments. For all the time of its previous existence, Russia has never had such powerful, victorious Armed Forces, which since the end of 1942 surpassed the armed forces of any country in the world and remained the strongest in the world until last day the existence of the Soviet Union.

Since 1985, our army and our military industry, destroyed by the traitor M. S. Gorbachev, had such a margin of safety that in 1991, until the destruction of the USSR, it remained the strongest. And today we are alive thanks to the fact that under Gorbachev and Yeltsin we did not have time to destroy all nuclear weapons, all missiles, planes, guns and tanks, all weapons factories.

Unfortunately, few understand that the security of the peoples of Russia fully corresponds to the state of its Armed Forces. But the leaders of the Soviet Union understood this well.

The USSR did not doubt for a moment that only thanks to a well-armed, strong army, our country is free, independent and calm for the life and future of its children.

Few people can imagine the power of our post-war army. It was an army of many millions, working like a well-oiled mechanism, which was able to defeat any enemy. But an army cannot successfully defend its country if it is not equipped with weapons equal to or superior in combat qualities to those of the enemy.

The Soviet leadership understood this, thought about the future of the country and, despite the enormous costs associated with the introduction of hostilities with the enemy that attacked us, allocated funds to create a new generation of weapons. And not thanks to our intelligence, but thanks to the work before the war, during and after the war, Soviet scientists and engineers created new types of weapons in the USSR.

Our intelligence, in my opinion, was notable for its insufficient capabilities to provide reliable information. Before the war, she “caught German ducks” and named one after another the wrong dates for the attack on the USSR and became so bogged down in disinformation that she lost the trust of the Soviet government.

Intelligence did not indicate the direction of the main attacks of the German troops in 1941, but claimed that half of the German troops were intended to attack England, looked at the transfer of Manstein's army from Sevastopol to Leningrad, three times underestimated the number of German troops surrounded near Stalingrad, could not determine which front near Kursk in 1943, the main blow will be inflicted by the enemy.

Even in 1945, when our troops, fighting for every house, advanced towards the Reichstag, intelligence did not know that there was a bunker at Hitler's headquarters nearby in the Imperial Chancellery, and therefore our troops were not sent specifically to capture the Imperial Chancellery and Hitler was neither alive nor dead did not take.

And it is not at all accidental that a person who gravitates more to the West than to Russia wrote about the presence of secret representatives of the USSR in the highest echelons of power in Nazi Germany, for example, Stirlitz.

The myth of the omnipotence of Soviet intelligence was inflated by the West in order to accuse the Soviet Union of not designing new military equipment, atomic weapons, but stealing the developments of Western countries, and especially the developments of Germany and the United States.

These myths were and are being invented to discredit Soviet science, our scientists, designers, engineers, workers, leaders of the country, scientific teams and industrial enterprises. Without these myths, the United States would have to admit that the Russians in science and production are much more capable than the rich Western countries, and the socialist system is more effective than the capitalist system.

In fact, Soviet designers and scientists already during the war were working on the creation of a fundamentally new military equipment. One of the types of such equipment was aircraft with turbojet engines or, as they were called, jet aircraft.

The Yakovlev Design Bureau took as a basis the design of the famous, lightest and most maneuverable fighter of the Second World War - the Yak-3. On April 24, 1946, the first flight of the first jet fighter Yak-15 in our country, designed by OKB A. S. Yakovlev, took place. On the same day, April 24, 1946, the Soviet jet fighter designed by the OKB A. I. Mikoyan and M. I. Gurevich MiG-9 made its first flight. Both flights were successful.

April 24 was the birthday of Soviet jet aviation. But almost no one in the country knows about this significant day, because our media hide the achievements of our ancestors from posterity. On August 18, 1946, on the Day of the USSR Air Force, both aircraft were demonstrated at the parade in Tushino.

By November 7, 1946, about 30 aircraft were prepared for the air parade over Red Square, but due to weather conditions, the air parade was canceled and only on May 1, 1947, the country's first jet planes flew over Red Square for the first time. The rustling whistle of flying aircraft was enthusiastically greeted by thousands of Muscovites and guests of the capital.

The USSR did not lag behind in the creation of jet bomber aircraft. In February-April 1949, the state tests passed, and the Il-28 front-line bomber, designed by the Design Bureau of S. V. Ilyushin, was put into mass production.

The symbol of the post-war Soviet aviation was the MiG-15 jet fighter, taken into the air at the end of 1947. Already in 1948, mass production of this remarkable machine began, surpassing all types of US fighters.

To the US threat of using atomic bombs against the USSR, Stalin, who has excellent air defense systems and the MiG-15 fighter, had reason to say that american planes will not reach the cities of the Soviet Union. The ability of our Air Force to protect the peaceful labor of the Soviet people was shown by the war in Korea unleashed by the United States on June 25, 1950.

The Soviet MiG-17 fighter was publicly demonstrated at the air parade in Tushino on June 20, 1953, but it was also created under Stalin. He became the first aircraft in the USSR to reach the speed of sound in horizontal flight.

When creating the aircraft, the testers again encountered the formidable phenomenon of flutter of an unprecedented variety and the reverse action of the ailerons at speeds close to sound. Only the highest flying skills of test pilot Sedov saved the plane, since in a second the plane was in flutter, no more than a third of the rudders remained. Our talented engineers uncovered the causes and eliminated all problems.

Due to its high flight performance, reliability and unpretentiousness in operation, the MiG-17 was recognized as one of the best fighters of its time, especially after participating in battles in Egypt in 1956.

Tests of the remarkable MiG-19 fighter began in 1952 under Stalin. The aircraft reached in flight almost one and a half speed of sound and a fantastic rate of climb - in 1.1 minutes it took off to 10 kilometers in height. At that time, not a single aircraft in the world had such a rate of climb.

Having such a machine, equipped with guns, missiles and bombs, our children could sleep peacefully, as the plane was able to instantly intercept and destroy any enemy machine. The MiG-19 was noticeably superior to its foreign contemporaries: F-100, Super Saber, Starfighter.

I would especially like to mention one more aircraft - the two-seat loitering interceptor OKB A.S. Yakovlev Yakovlev Yak-25, also tested during the life of I.V. Stalin on July 19, 1952 and demonstrated to the public in July 1955 at an aviation festival in Tushino and May 1, 1956 over Red Square and in Tushino.

This aircraft with two AM-5A engines of 2600 kgf each designed by A. A. Mikulin was intended for long patrols away from the base. It had excellent flight-navigation and radar systems, which made it possible to intercept enemy targets in any weather conditions and over a wide range of altitudes.

This aircraft, together with ground-based air defense systems, closed the possibility of an attack on us by the United States from the north through the North Pole. It was indispensable for workers in the Far North with a small number of airfields. In total, 480 Yak-25 aircraft were produced, mainly with a powerful Sokol radar. And despite the fact that there was no replacement for him, N. S. Khrushchev, having arranged a pogrom of Soviet aviation, did not spare the irreplaceable Yak-25 and in 1963 removed it from service.

It is impossible not to recall another unique machine - the attack aircraft of the Design Bureau of S. V. Ilyushin Il-40, which took off in 1953. But N. S. Khrushchev in 1956 decided to abolish attack aviation, and the country was left without a wonderful aircraft, especially needed by the infantry.

In the mid-1950s, the Sukhoi Design Bureau resumed its work. In September 1955, the first flight of the SU-7 aircraft took place, and in 1956, for the first time in the USSR, the SU-7 aircraft reached a speed twice the speed of sound. Sukhoi's machines were heavier than Yakovlev's and occupied a middle position between a front-line bomber and a fighter. And it was such a machine that turned out to be the country's Air Force needed.

In April 1959, the SU-7B aircraft (modified SU-7) took off, capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons and bombing from low altitudes. In the late 1980s, the SU-7B of all modifications were decommissioned by M. S. Gorbachev.

Such a decision can be called sabotage, because airplanes can fly and have been flying all over the world for decades. Even aircraft of the 1950s have normal flight specifications and with periodic repairs, updating of equipment and weapons, they can serve for a long time to protect the country. Destroying planes, as Khrushchev destroyed out of his own stupidity and Gorbachev and Yeltsin to please the United States, is a crime.

N. S. Khrushchev did not allow the production of bombers - flying boats designed in 1952 and subsequent years by R. L. Bartini.

Perhaps in this case Khrushchev is right, but at least one project needs to be mentioned.

The unique A-57 seaplane designed by Bartini is flat, like a triangle cut out of a board, which has a part of the fuselage under water, and from above it is flat and rises slightly above the water. Therefore, it is difficult to see it on the surface of the ocean. Its speed is 2500 km / h, flight range 12-14 thousand kilometers, take-off weight 320000 kg, armament - one thermonuclear bomb "244 N" weighing 3000 kg.

He could reach the United States and return back, especially with the nuclear power plant proposed in 1961. It gives the impression of a project of the future.

And jet seaplanes designed by G. M. Beriev Design Bureau are a reality embodied in metal. For the first time, the R-1 jet gyroplane weighing 20,000 kg took off from the water at the end of May 1952, that is, also during the life of I.V. Stalin.

Even the United States recognized the P-1 as the world's first jet-powered flying boat. On its basis, the Design Bureau of G. M. Beriev in 1953 began to develop a more advanced seaplane, and on June 20, 1956, a jet seaplane BE-10 weighing 48,500 kg took off from the surface of the water. It set 12 world records, including speed - 912 km / h and height of 14,962 meters without load and 11,997 meters with load. It is indeed a flying ship.

But the most expensive and difficult to design and manufacture were, of course, bombers. Soviet aviation industry produced very beautiful aircraft. In my opinion, the most beautiful planes in the world. But each of the types of aircraft produced in the 1950s has its own beauty. The beauty of the bombers is special, memorable forever, because behind this beauty one can see formidable power. And the most beautiful are the planes designed in the first half of the 1950s.

In my opinion, the most powerful aircraft of the 1950s is the strategic bomber 3M Design Bureau of the chief designer V. M. Myasishchev. This aircraft was shown very well at the beginning of the 1974 feature film Sky with Me. On January 20, 1953, during the life of Stalin, the M-4 aircraft (the prototype of the 3M aircraft) was taken into the air. Subsequently, all M-4 aircraft were converted into tanker aircraft for refueling aircraft in the air.

On March 26, 1956, flight tests of the 3M bomber began. The maximum takeoff weight of the 3M aircraft was 193 tons without external tanks and 202 tons with the PTB. The flight range with one in-flight refueling was over 15,000 km with a flight duration of 20 hours. It was indeed an intercontinental aircraft capable of taking off from airfields in the territory of the USSR and attacking targets in the United States.

On the 3M aircraft and its modifications, 19 world records for the height and speed of flight with a load were set. In service long-range aviation 3M consisted until 1985 and then were destroyed in accordance with the Soviet-American agreement on the reduction of strategic offensive weapons.

And this handsome man was killed by M. S. Gorbachev. The 3M aircraft was the great strategic bomber of the great continental power. It is huge, squat, with huge wings descending to the very ground, connected into a single monolith, striving for flight, striking in its size and power. Today's stripped-down Russia, unlike the USSR and the USA, does not produce any strategic bombers, and does not design new ones.

It should be noted that when, in connection with the creation of the Energia-Buran system, the question arose of air transportation of the system's units to the assembly site at Baikonur, they remembered 3M. Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev redesigned the aircraft and named it VM-T.

In just two years, the Myasishchev Design Bureau created an aircraft similar to the Boeing B-52, which was a US national program. Aircraft VM-T "Atlant", 3M converted into cargo in 1980, performed more than 150 flights for the transportation of goods of the Energia-Buran system.

The second great aircraft of the great Soviet power of the 1950s is the Tu-95 strategic bomber. The bomber, designated "95", was intended to destroy important stationary targets with cruise missiles and bomb weapons day and night, in any weather conditions and anywhere in the world.

The first copy of the Tu-95 strategic bomber designed by the Design Bureau of A. N. Tupolev also flew under the control of the country by I. V. Stalin on November 12, 1952. Turboprop (TVD) engines were installed on the aircraft, which are characterized by lower fuel consumption, but due to propellers and lower speed.

This aircraft met all the requirements for strategic missile-carrying bombers. Its flight range was 15,400 km, maximum flight speed - 882 km / h, maximum take-off weight - 172 tons.

And in conclusion of the topic about the bombers of the 1950s, one more most famous long-range bomber TU-16. The Tu-16 aircraft designed by A. N. Tupolev Design Bureau was taken into the air on April 27, 1952, that is, under Stalin.

Already in 1953, mass production of this complex machine began, and the first bombers began to enter the combat units of the country's Air Force. On May 1, 1953, nine TU-16s passed over Red Square.

The Tu-16 occupied a middle position between a strategic and front-line bomber and was used very widely as a carrier of bombs, nuclear weapons, anti-ship missiles, as well as a reconnaissance aircraft, patrol, anti-submarine aircraft and for many other military purposes.

The USSR, due to the size of the territory of the state, really needed such an aircraft with a flight range of 5,800 km and a maximum take-off weight of 79 tons. In 1993, under the rule of Yeltsin, the TU-16 aircraft was decommissioned by the Russian Air Force and Navy. We have become even more defenseless against the threat from the West and the East. But in China, the TU-16 aircraft, called the H-6, is in service at the present time. I must say that over the past 25 years, Russia has not produced a single class 3M, TU-95 and TU-16 aircraft.

Pay attention to the timing of testing, fine-tuning and the start of serial production of the most complex jet aircraft in Stalin's time. The quality of design and the timing of the release of machines are amazing. In the production of aircraft, we reached perfection under Stalin. No country in the world has achieved any of our results in the design and manufacture of aviation equipment.

We had exactly as many types of aviation equipment as needed to ensure the country's security. And if you remove at least one type of these aircraft, then a gap will appear in the air defense of the country, which means that the security of the citizens of the USSR will decrease.

In addition, by creating jet strategic aviation, we made the US territory vulnerable and put an end to American permissiveness in the world, as well as the possibility of implementing the plan to destroy the Soviet Union, that is, we disrupted the possibility of the Western countries carrying out a conspiracy against Russia.

It is impossible not to notice the fact that the manufacture of the vast majority of aircraft was laid down under I.V. Stalin (Stalin died on March 5, 1953) and N.S. Khrushchev enjoyed the fruits of his labors after the aircraft were designed, tested, brought up, launched in mass production and under the rule of Khrushchev began to enter in large quantities in the Air Force, Navy, Air Defense Forces.

The flight crew, soldiers, sailors and officers praised Khrushchev for his new excellent jet aircraft technology, with which you can defeat any enemy, and the true organizer of the triumph of the Soviet military aviation In the 1950s, I. V. Stalin was not named.

Most of the inhabitants of the country, of course, did not understand that it was not the mind and will of Khrushchev, but the mind and will of I.V. Stalin and L.P. Beria that these mighty defenders of the Motherland's sky were born. Designers, engineers, workers, heads of sites, enterprises and many other Soviet people were not glorified either, with the mind and work of which the country ensured its security. The people did not know their heroes.

It must be said that information about Soviet military aviation is not only hidden by liberal revisionists, but is also presented to our youth in an obviously distorted form. And few people in our country know about such an outstanding aircraft as the strategic bomber 3M Design Bureau of V. M. Myasishchev.

After the war in civil aviation there were still aircraft of pre-war models: LI-2, R-2, PO-2 and others. But funds were gradually allocated for the production of new passenger aircraft.

Were designed and put into serial production passenger planes An-2, Il-12, Il-14 with piston engines that meet the new requirements for civil aviation.

The An-2 aircraft was not only a passenger aircraft for local airlines, but also the best agricultural aircraft in the world. If it had been produced not by the USSR, but by the USA, then even today it would cultivate agricultural land in most countries of the world. It is no longer produced in Russia, like other domestic civil aviation aircraft, but the remaining aircraft still continue to process the fields of the country. Every year there are fewer and fewer of these cars left.

The Il-12 and Il-14 passenger aircraft differed from the Li-2 in their large maximum take-off weight, comfort, nose wheel and the embodiment in their design of many achievements in the field of piston aircraft engineering.

The Soviet aviation industry also began to produce Mi-1, Mi-4, Ka-15 piston helicopters.

In 1955, the Il-12, Li-2, An-2 aircraft and Mi-4 helicopters were even used in the Soviet Antarctic expedition. But, of course, for the development of civil aviation in the post-war period, a sufficient amount Money was not singled out, since the most important issue of the post-war period was the issue of preserving the state and people and protecting them from an external aggressor, and for this, military aviation was not inferior to the enemy.

Leonid Petrovich Maslovsky

It is difficult for modern youth, and even mature citizens, to understand what delight these flying machines, which seemed fantastic at that time, caused. Silvery droplets, rapidly dissecting the blue sky behind them, excited the imagination of young people in the early fifties. The wide left no doubt about the type of engine. Today only computer games like War Thunder, with their proposal to purchase a promotional jet aircraft of the USSR, give some idea of ​​​​this stage in the development of domestic aviation. But it started even earlier.

What does "reactive" mean?

A reasonable question arises about the name of the type of aircraft. In English, it sounds short: Jet. The Russian definition hints at the presence of some kind of reaction. It is clear that this is not about fuel oxidation - it is also present in conventional carbureted aircraft, the same as in rockets. The reaction of a physical body to the force of the ejected gas jet is expressed in giving it an oppositely directed acceleration. Everything else is already subtleties, which include different technical specifications systems such as aerodynamic properties, layout, wing profile, engine type. Here are possible options that engineering bureaus came up with in the course of their work, often finding similar technical solutions, independently of each other.

It is difficult to separate rocket research from aviation research in this aspect. In the field of powder boosters, installed to reduce the length of the takeoff run and afterburner, work was carried out even before the war. Moreover, an attempt to install a compressor engine (unsuccessful) in a Coanda airplane in 1910 allowed the inventor Henri Coanda to claim Romanian priority. True, this design was initially inoperable, which was confirmed by the very first test, during which the aircraft burned down.

The first steps

The first jet aircraft capable of spending a long time in the air appeared later. The Germans became the pioneers, although some successes were achieved by scientists from other countries - the USA, Italy, Britain and then technically backward Japan. These samples were, in fact, the gliders of conventional fighters and bombers, which were equipped with new types of engines, devoid of propellers, which caused surprise and distrust. In the USSR, engineers also dealt with this problem, but not so actively, focusing on proven and reliable propeller technology. Nevertheless, the jet model of the Bi-1 aircraft, equipped with a turbojet engine designed by A. M. Lyulka, was tested immediately before the war. The apparatus was very unreliable, the nitric acid used as an oxidizing agent was eating through the fuel tanks, there were other problems, but the first steps are always difficult.

Hitler's "Sturmvogel"

Due to the peculiarities of the Fuhrer's psyche, who hoped to crush the "enemies of the Reich" (to which he ranked the countries of almost the rest of the world), in Germany, after the start of World War II, work began on the creation different types"wonder weapons", including jet aircraft. Not all areas of this activity were unsuccessful. Successful projects include the Messerschmit-262 (aka Sturmvogel) - the first mass-produced jet aircraft in the world. The device was equipped with two turbojet engines, had a radar in the bow, developed a speed close to sound (more than 900 km / h), and turned out to be quite an effective means of combating the high-altitude B-17 ("Flying Fortresses") of the Allies. Adolf Hitler's fanatical faith in the extraordinary capabilities of the new technology, however, paradoxically played a bad role in the combat biography of the Me-262. Designed as a fighter, he, at the direction of "above", was converted into a bomber, and in this modification he did not fully prove himself.

"Arado"

The principle of a jet aircraft was applied in mid-1944 to the design of the Arado-234 bomber (again by the Germans). He managed to demonstrate his extraordinary combat capabilities by attacking the positions of the allies who landed in the area of ​​the port of Cherbourg. A speed of 740 km / h and a ten-kilometer ceiling did not give anti-aircraft artillery a chance to hit this target, and American and British fighters simply could not catch up with it. In addition to bombing (very inaccurate for obvious reasons), "Arado" produced aerial photography. The second experience of using it as a strike tool took place over Liege. The Germans did not suffer losses, and if Nazi Germany had more resources, and the industry could produce more than 36 Ar-234s, then the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition would have had a hard time.

Yu-287

German developments fell into the hands of friendly states during the Second World War after the defeat of Nazism. Western countries already during the final stage of hostilities, they began to prepare for the coming confrontation with the USSR. The Stalinist leadership took countermeasures. It was clear to both sides that the next war, if it took place, would be fought by jets. The USSR at that time did not yet have a strike nuclear potential, only work was underway to create a technology for the production of an atomic bomb. But the Americans were very interested in the captured Junkers-287, which had unique flight data (combat load 4000 kg, range 1500 km, ceiling 5000 m, speed 860 km / h). Four engines, negative sweep (the prototype of the future "invisibles") made it possible to use the aircraft as a nuclear carrier.

The first post-war

Jet aircraft did not play a decisive role during World War II, so the bulk of Soviet production capacity focused on improving the design and increasing the production of conventional propeller-driven fighters, attack aircraft and bombers. The question of a promising carrier of atomic charges was difficult, and it was resolved promptly by copying the American Boeing B-29 (Tu-4), but countering possible aggression remained the main goal. To do this, first of all, fighters were required - high-altitude, maneuverable and, of course, high-speed. How the new direction developed can be judged from the letter of the designer A.S. Yakovlev to the Central Committee (autumn 1945), which found a certain understanding. A simple study of captured German technology was considered by the party leadership to be an insufficient measure. The country needed modern Soviet jet aircraft, not inferior, but superior to the world level. At the parade of 1946 in honor of the anniversary of the October Revolution (Tushino), they had to be shown to the people and foreign guests.

Temporary Yaks and MiGs

There was something to show, but it did not work out: the weather failed, there was fog. The demonstration of the new aircraft was postponed to May Day. The first Soviet jet aircraft, produced in a series of 15 copies, were developed by the Design Bureau of Mikoyan and Gurevich (MiG-9) and Yakovlev (Yak-15). Both samples were distinguished by a redan scheme, in which the tail section is washed from below by jet streams produced by nozzles. Naturally, to protect against overheating, these sections of the skin were covered with a special layer made of refractory metal. Both aircraft differed in weight, number of engines and purpose, but on the whole they corresponded to the state of the Soviet aircraft building school of the late forties. Their main purpose was the transition to a new type of power plant, but other important tasks were also carried out: training of flight personnel and working out technological issues. These jet aircraft, despite the large volumes of their production (hundreds of pieces), were considered as temporary and subject to replacement in the very near future, immediately after the appearance of more advanced designs. And soon that moment arrived.

Fifteenth

This plane has become a legend. It was built in series unprecedented for peacetime, both in combat and in a paired training version. Many revolutionary technical solutions were used in the design of the MiG-15, for the first time an attempt was made to create a reliable pilot rescue system (catapult), it was equipped with powerful cannon armament. The speed of the jet aircraft, small but very effective, allowed it to win over armadas of heavy strategic bombers in the skies of Korea, where war broke out soon after the introduction of a new interceptor. The American Saber, built according to a similar scheme, became a kind of analogue of the MiG. During the fighting, equipment fell into the hands of the enemy. The Soviet plane was hijacked by a North Korean pilot tempted by a huge monetary reward. The downed "American" was pulled out of the water and delivered to the USSR. There was a mutual "exchange of experience" with the adoption of the most successful design solutions.

Passenger jets

The speed of a jet aircraft is its main advantage, and it is applicable not only to bombers and fighters. Already at the end of the forties, the Comet liner, built in Britain, entered international airlines. It was created specifically for the transportation of people, it was comfortable and fast, but, unfortunately, it was not very reliable: seven accidents happened within two years. But progress in the field of high-speed passenger transportation was already unstoppable. In the mid-fifties, the legendary Tu-104 appeared in the USSR, a conversion version of the Tu-16 bomber. Despite the numerous flight accidents that occurred with the new aircraft, jet aircraft increasingly took over the airlines. The appearance of a promising liner and ideas about how it should be gradually formed. propellers) were used by designers less and less.

Generations of fighters: first, second ...

Like almost any technique, jet interceptors are classified by generation. There are currently five of them in total, and they differ not only in the years of production of models, but also in design features. If the concept of the first models was based on a well-established base of achievements in the field of classical aerodynamics (in other words, only the type of engine was their main difference), then the second generation had more significant features (a swept wing, a completely different shape of the fuselage, etc.) In the fifties there was an opinion that air combat would never again be of a maneuverable nature, but time showed the fallacy of this opinion.

... and from the third to the fifth

The dogfights of the sixties between Skyhawks, Phantoms and MiGs in the skies over Vietnam and the Middle East indicated the course of further development, marking the arrival of the second generation of jet interceptors. Variable wing geometry, multiple sound capability and missile armament, combined with powerful avionics, have become hallmarks of the third generation. At present, the Air Force fleet of the most technologically advanced countries is based on fourth-generation aircraft, which have become a product of further development. Even more advanced models are already being put into service, combining high speed, super-maneuverability, low visibility and electronic warfare equipment. This is the fifth generation.

Dual circuit engines

Outwardly, even today, jet aircraft of the first samples do not look, for the most part, as anachronisms. The look of many of them is quite modern, and technical characteristics (such as ceiling and speed) are not too different from modern ones, at least at first glance. However, with a closer look at the performance characteristics of these machines, it becomes clear that in recent decades a qualitative breakthrough has been made in two main directions. First, the concept of a variable thrust vector appeared, creating the possibility of a sharp and unexpected maneuver. Secondly, today they are able to stay in the air much longer and cover long distances. This factor is due to low fuel consumption, that is, efficiency. It is achieved by using, in technical language, a bypass scheme (low degree of bypass). It is known to those skilled in the art that said fuel combustion technology provides more complete combustion.

Other features of the modern jet aircraft

There are several. Modern civil jet aircraft are characterized by low engine noise, increased comfort and high flight stability. Usually they are wide-body (including multi-deck). Samples of military aircraft are equipped with means (active and passive) to achieve low radar visibility and In a sense, the requirements for defense and commercial models today intersect. Aircraft of all types need efficiency, however, for different reasons: in one case, to increase profitability, in the other, to expand the combat radius. And today it is necessary to make as little noise as possible for both civilians and the military.