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Take A Look Inside The Soviet Union's Gigantic Nuclear Equipped Ekranoplane
Business Insider ^ | January 27,2012 | Robert Johnson

Posted on 01/27/2012 7:51:43 AM PST by Hojczyk

In the thick of the Cold War, the Soviet Union built an immense vessel to carry their troops across the seas and into Western Europe.

Equipped with nuclear warheads and able to blast across the sea at 340 mph, the Lun-class Ekranoplane; part plane, part boat, and part hovercraft — is a Ground Effect Vehicle (GEV).

A GEV takes advantage of an aeronautical effect that allows it to lift off with an immense amount of weight, but limits its flight to 16 feet above the waves. Its altitude can never be greater than the length of the wings.

Think of a large seabird, like a pelican, cruising inches from the water and not needing to flap its wings.

The only complete Ekranoplane now sits on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

While there is talk of refitting the Lun-class and getting the GEV back in the fleet, it's now rusting away, and was spotted by aviation blogger Igor113 who posted these pictures to his blog.

Check out pictures and facts on the Soviet's secret weapon >

(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; Russia
KEYWORDS: aircraft; aviation; coldwar; nuclear; nuclearairplane; nuke; russia; science
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To: Yorlik803

In 1961, at Baikonur(sp?), a manned rocket began the launch sequence. It was a three stage launch system, and when the count hit zero, the main engines failed to fire. Perplexed, engineers cautiously approached the rocket after verifying the the connections were correct, but knowing that the second stage seperation sequence had continued unimpeded.The seperation engines fired on the pad in a spectacular explosion killing hundreds of folks in an around the cosmodrome.

Around 1967, an incident in the Soviet Union would have a direct impact on our program occured when a young cosmonaut was brought to a hospital with horrific burns over 90% of his body. He had been training in a O2 saturated environment and was using a hot plate in there. It ignited some cotton on the cosmonauts clothes, literally lighting the air on fire. Had the Russians bothered to share this hard won info, we could saved Grissom and his crew..

And then there was the woman cosmonaut’s voice heard in the blind on shortwave as she burned up on on re-entry..


21 posted on 01/27/2012 8:38:04 AM PST by cardinal4 (Bolton/Arpaio 2012 "Kick the UN across the border!")
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To: cunning_fish
they lost much less crewmen comparing to NASA

How do you know? Because the lying communist told us?

22 posted on 01/27/2012 8:39:17 AM PST by FreeAtlanta (Liberty and Justice for ALL)
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To: Red Badger
That's almost Steampunkish...


23 posted on 01/27/2012 8:39:28 AM PST by Dead Corpse (Steampunk- Yesterday's Tomorrow, Today)
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To: Hojczyk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0y9UHyOhbo


24 posted on 01/27/2012 8:43:44 AM PST by FreedomProtector
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To: Dead Corpse

25 posted on 01/27/2012 8:43:56 AM PST by FreeAtlanta (Liberty and Justice for ALL)
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To: FreeAtlanta

26 posted on 01/27/2012 8:46:42 AM PST by Dead Corpse (Steampunk- Yesterday's Tomorrow, Today)
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More Soviet space disasters here..

27 posted on 01/27/2012 8:47:10 AM PST by cardinal4 (Bolton/Arpaio 2012 "Kick the UN across the border!")
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More Soviet space disasters here..

28 posted on 01/27/2012 8:47:23 AM PST by cardinal4 (Bolton/Arpaio 2012 "Kick the UN across the border!")
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To: FreeAtlanta

I have heard that the interesting thing about those reactors designed for the nuclear aircraft was that they had a positive alpha (i.e., positive reactivity feedback for increasing reactor power). You couldn’t license one of those today (for good reason). The other was that the final design had so much shielding there was much space of lift capacity left for cargo. Not terribly practical on balance.


29 posted on 01/27/2012 8:52:31 AM PST by chimera
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To: Hojczyk

This reminds me of the nuclear hand grenade. A Legion of Merit medal is tied to the pin.


30 posted on 01/27/2012 8:56:18 AM PST by tumblindice
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To: cunning_fish

I respectfully disagree. I would wager there are still at least 3 or 4 manned vehicles in orbit with dead cosmonauts in them. Then there are those who slammed into the ground at terminal velocity (over 500mph. Inexplicably, the sovs preferred land retreival as opposed to water).Coupled with O2 disasters, launch pad explosions and failing to achieve orbit, the Soviets have our NASA dead 3-1.
In 1968, an unmanned vehicle misfired and landed in China. The scientifically primitive chinese were appalled by the use of torsion springs, pulleys and other primitive engineering in the capsule. It is in the Red Army museum somewhere in China..


31 posted on 01/27/2012 8:56:18 AM PST by cardinal4 (Bolton/Arpaio 2012 "Kick the UN across the border!")
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To: cardinal4

Yeap. Space flight is dangerous, but it is a testament to our value of life and our free and open press (before they sold their soles to the communists) that we didn’t have more fatalities.

The Russians and Chinese have done some really dirty things and have really disregarded their citizens in order to make military advances.

I hope we never get as bad as the communist.


32 posted on 01/27/2012 8:59:36 AM PST by FreeAtlanta (Liberty and Justice for ALL)
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To: FreeAtlanta

From your lips to God’s ears..


33 posted on 01/27/2012 9:02:49 AM PST by cardinal4 (Bolton/Arpaio 2012 "Kick the UN across the border!")
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To: Hojczyk

Another marvelous & promising technology, relegated to the dustbin of history because it was featured on the cover of Popular Mechanics.


34 posted on 01/27/2012 9:03:32 AM PST by ctdonath2 ($1 meals: http://abuckaplate.blogspot.com/)
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To: tumblindice

Actually, look up the US Davy Crockett nuclear mortar. It had something like a 1 mile range and a 2 mile blast radius.


35 posted on 01/27/2012 9:04:57 AM PST by catman67
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To: cardinal4
Had the Russians bothered to share this hard won info,...

It's been known since long before the space programs that things burn quite well in a high-oxygen atmosphere.

36 posted on 01/27/2012 9:06:37 AM PST by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: chimera

There was a huge battle between Admiral Rickover and General LeMay over who would control and deliver our nuclear arsenal.

The Nuclear Subs with their missiles basically killed off the research into the nuclear airplane... not that sinking that crazy idea was a bad thing.

I didn’t know the Russian’s had that thing that started this thread. I would love for Mr. Boyd to know about it.


37 posted on 01/27/2012 9:07:21 AM PST by FreeAtlanta (Liberty and Justice for ALL)
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To: catman67
It had something like a 1 mile range and a 2 mile blast radius. Suicide weapon and last resort. They chose a good name for it considering how Davy departed life.

38 posted on 01/27/2012 9:10:41 AM PST by FreeAtlanta (Liberty and Justice for ALL)
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To: DuncanWaring

Hmm. Then Grissom was just an anomaly?


39 posted on 01/27/2012 9:11:34 AM PST by cardinal4 (Bolton/Arpaio 2012 "Kick the UN across the border!")
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To: cardinal4

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I respectfully disagree. I would wager there are still at least 3 or 4 manned vehicles in orbit with dead cosmonauts in them. Then there are those who slammed into the ground at terminal velocity (over 500mph. Inexplicably, the sovs preferred land retreival as opposed to water).
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Well, you may be right. But until there are credible evidence behind it is all urban myths to me, sorry.


40 posted on 01/27/2012 9:13:19 AM PST by cunning_fish
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