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Further Reading

Bartini VVA-14

Robert Ludvigovich Bartini (Roberto Oros di Bartini), the aircraft designer and scientist, was born on May 14, 1897 in Fiume, Italy (now Croatia). Joining the Italian Communist Party in 1921, Bartini graduated from officer school (1916), flying school (1921) and Milan Polytechnical Institute (1922). After the Fascist revolution in Italy, in 1923, Bartini was transferred undercover to the USSR as an aviation engineer. Bartini fully tasted all the joys and sorrows of life in the USSR. Bartini occupied several engineering and command positions, and became a head of department of amphibious experimental aircraft design in 1928. Bartini was a head of design department of NII GVF, general designer (chief designer), by 1930. Bartini was unjustly prosecuted, and imprisoned in 1938-1946. Bartini continued his work on new aircraft designs as prisoner in TsKB 29 NKVD and in OKB-86 on the territory of Dimitrov Aircraft Factory and Beriev Aircraft Company in Taganrog (1946-1952), then in SibNIA, Novosibirsk. R.L.Bartini was rehabilitated in 1956.

From the middle of the 1950s the USSR began the process of the forming of antisubmarine aviation - the new kind of forces, intended specially for the actions against submarines. Naval aviation had earlier solved similar problems, but in connection with the creation to the USA of atomic submarines the fight with the threat came to the foreground. Atomic power plants radically changed conditions and nature of armed struggle at sea. Submarines became underwater in the true sense of the word. The application of nuclear energy revealed in effect unlimited possibilities of an increase in the cruising range by complete underwater motion. The new long-range homing torpedoes and ballistic missiles immeasurably increased the impact possibilities of atomic, which now in many respects began to determine the power of fleet.

With the output to the combat patrolling in the beginning of the 1960's American atomic submarines, armed by the Polaris ballistic missiles, the USSR proved to be practically defenseless. Boats in the underwater position approached the coast, they could at any moment produce a rocket volley, applying colossal destruction. All this required immediate and effective answer. The fight with atomic submarines for the purpose of averting nuclear missile attacks becomes one of the priority tasks set before the Navies. In this connection the role and the value of the anti-submarine aviation, capable of achieving an effective fight with the submarines of the enemy, rose sharply.

Studying the problem of an increase in the seaworthiness of the seaplanes, R.L.Bartini proposed a new concept of takeoff and splashdown. He proposed to go non-traditionally, sitting down and taking off vertically. The proposed catamaran diagram guaranteed stability on float, even during waves of 4-5 meters, which made it possible to use this machine in the open ocean. Much in the new machine - aerodynamic layout, march and lift power plants, control system in the transient regimes and in flight, landing gears with two pneumatic floats and many other elements of construction were too uncommon for their time.

On November 11, 1965 the decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and CC CPSU 935-320 "On the creation of the new air facilities of fight with the rocket-carrying submarines" authorized the beginning of the full-scale development of the amphibian aircraft VVA-14 (vertically taking off amphibian with 14 engines). This decision followed the MAP order 371 dated November 26, 1965. and operational requirements for the amphibian VVA-14 with two sustainer engines D-30M and twelve lift RD36-35PR affirmed on June 7, 1966 by the Commanders of the VVS and Navy.

VVA-14 it had to become the part of the aviation antisubmarine complex of that consisted the aircraft, the search- aiming system "stormy petrel", the antisubmarine weapon and the refuelling system on float. Complex was intended for detection and destruction of the submarines of the enemy of located in the regions of separated from the place of the departure by 1200-1500 km both independently and in interaction with other forces and facilities the Navies.

The fuselage with the cockpit passed into the center section, along sides of which were arranged two enormous sections with the floats and the system of their supercharging. Diverse arrow-shaped horizontal and vertical tail assembly. Detachable wing sections were attached to the caisson of center section. For the originality of construction the aircraft obtained nickname "Fantomas".

In the period from July 12 to 14, 1972 the first taxiings and the running through of aircraft on the test ground of the factory airfield began. For the first time in air OF SUBSTANCE -14 rose on September 4, 1972. with the crew in the composition of the test pilot OF Yu.M. Kupriyanov and instructor navigator L.F. Kuznetsov. The flight, which continued almost hour, showed that the stability and the controllability of machine in air in the limits of standard and is not a bit not worse than in traditional aircraft. The flight tests of the first stage were completed to the summer of 1973.

Although the prospects of obtaining real, not "paper" lift engines remained very indeterminate, there was finally prepared the pneumatic landing gear ([PVPU]). Floats [PVPU] had a length of 14 m, the diameter of 2,5 m, the volume of each composed 50 [m]3. The floats and the system of their release was literally stuffed by different unique devices and systems; therefore they proved to be very complex in the finishing and the adjustment, which continued entire spring and the part of the summer of 1974.

However, by this time the interest of customer in VVA-14 was noticeably reduced. Primary attention was paid to the improvement of those aircraft already entered into service - Be-12, Il-38 and Tu-142. It became finally clear that lift engines with the acceptable characteristics will not be available even in the distant future. Therefore Bartini made the decision to finish the prototype as an aerodynamic air-cushion vehicle with blowing of air from the additional engines under the center section. Works initiated in this direction led to the creation of the experimental air-cushion aircraft 14M1P, but its tests began without BBartini]. Robert Lyudovikovich died in December 1974. Flight tests, by inertia, were continued in 1975.