Alekseev I-211 experimental fighter
Since 1943, Semen Mikhailovich Alekseev became the first deputy Chief Designer, and in 1946, by decree of the Minister of Aviation Industry M.V. Khrunicheva was appointed Chief Designer of the newly created OKB-21 at Plant No. 21 in Gorky. Chief Designer OKB-21 S.M. Alekseev was given the task of designing and building a fighter jet - an interceptor, which has a long range and flight duration, and has powerful weapons. The main problem of the first fighter jets was a short flight range, and Semen Mikhailovich Alekseev tried to solve it.
The Alekseyev I-21 was a Soviet twin-engined jet fighter, built in the late 1940s. Two prototypes were constructed with the designation of I-211, of which one was converted into the I-215 with more powerful engines. A third aircraft was built to evaluate the bicycle landing gear arrangement for use in other aircraft. The fighter was not accepted for production as it was inferior to the swept-wing fighters like the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15. The I-215D was selected for production, but was abandoned for political reasons.
Like other global powers in the post-World War 2 period, the Soviet Union was hard at work at developing viable jet-powered fighter solutions. Semyon M. Alekseyev earned his stripes during the war as one of the primary people at Lavochkin and the company became responsible for such critical contributions as the LaGG-3, the La-5 of 1942, the La-7 of 1944 and the La-9 series. The Lavochkin brand became as well-known as any other in Soviet history before the end, joining such storied names as Mikoyan-Gurevich and Ilyushin in support of the air war against Germany.
Following the war, Alekseyev established Alekseyev OKB during September of 1946 and work immediately began on a new single-seat, twin turbojet-powered all-metal fighter-interceptor. The design mimicked some of what made up those desperate fighters being designed by German engineers in the late stages of World War 2: the fuselage was centralized and housed the avionics fit, fuel, and armament while the cockpit was fitted well-forwards and under a useful bubble-style canopy offering excellent all-around vision. A rounded nose cone was fitted at front and the fuselage tapered to the rear where a traditional tail unit was fitted. This unit featured a single vertical surface with mid-mounted horizontal planes. The wing mainplanes were, themselves, straight appendages - the spans driving through the engine nacelles which extended from the leading and trailing edges as in the British Gloster Meteor jet fighter series. The undercarriage was wholly retractable and of a tricycle arrangement - each leg double-tired for robustness.
The engine of choice became a Lyulka TR-1 axial-flow unit outputting at 3,010 pounds thrust. This engine was the first indigenous Soviet jet engine and was eventually fitted to only a handful of applications beyond the Alekseyev aircraft - the Sukhoi Su-10 and Su-11 designs both carried it. Development of the engine began during the war in 1944 and produced the "S-18" to which the "TR-1" became its operational designation. This powerplant was never to meet its lofty expectations but it was what was available to Soviet aeronautical engineers of the period.
Proposed armament for the fighter-interceptor was intended to be 3 x37mm cannons with 2 x 57mm cannons - giving the aircraft a considerable frontal array against enemy bombers. Due to issues throughout the life of the Alekseyev aircraft these guns were never fitted.
The initial version of the line to appear was the I-210 and this was fitted with 2 x Tumansky RD-20 turbojets, Soviet copies of the German wartime BMW 003 turbojet which were temperamental offerings limited in power. This model was not furthered as Lyulka finally released their TR-1 series engines for use and this produced the I-211 designation which made its maiden flight during the fall of 1947. However it was soon found that the TR-1 turbojets were under-performing which, in turn, made for a very heavy aircraft - particularly for one earmarked as a dogfighter - although handling was found to be sound despite the limited power available.
The first I-211 project was supposed to have two TR-2 engines designed by Arkhip Mikhailovich Lyulka. The layout of the aircraft resembled a Su-11 fighter designed by Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi Design Bureau with the same power plant. The engines were located in the wing plane, the wing is straight, trapezoidal. The I-211 had aerodynamic brake flaps that automatically open when a critical speed is reached, with manual control for maneuvering in flight and reducing landing speed. The tail is cruciform when viewed from the front. The tricycle landing gear with twin wheels of all struts retracted into the fuselage. The I-211 had aerodynamic brake flaps that automatically open when a critical speed is reached, with manual control for maneuvering in flight and reducing landing speed. The tail is cruciform when viewed from the front. The tricycle landing gear with twin wheels of all struts retracted into the fuselage. The I-211 had aerodynamic brake flaps that automatically open when a critical speed is reached, with manual control for maneuvering in flight and reducing landing speed. The tail is cruciform when viewed from the front. The tricycle landing gear with twin wheels of all struts retracted into the fuselage.
Powerful armament was provided for the fighter, consisting of three 37 mm N-37 guns. There was also a variant of weapons from two 57 mm N-57 guns, which could be installed at the airport. In addition to cannon weapons, nodes were provided for hanging bombs and reconnaissance equipment. The radio equipment of the I-211 fighter included the RSI-6 radio station, the RPKO-10M radio meteorological station, and the SC-3 friend-or-foe radio transponder. A powerful headlight was installed in the nose of the fuselage to intercept or land at night, and a place was also provided for installing an airborne radar. Tests and development of the TR-2 engine were delayed and S.M. Alekseev decided to fit the engine nacelles under the finished TR-1 engine with slightly less thrust.
Tests of the experimental I-211 fighter in the air in the autumn of 1947 were conducted by test pilot Alexander Andreevich Popov. The aircraft showed good flight performance, was relatively easy to pilot. The I-211 fighter had the following characteristics - a wingspan of 12.25 meters, a length of 11.54 meters, a height of 3.68 meters, a wing area of 25.00 square meters. meters, empty weight 4360 kg, normal take-off 7460 kg. The power plant is two TR-1 jet engines with a thrust of 1350 kg each. The maximum speed at the ground is 950 km / h, at an altitude of 910 km / h, cruising speed is 760 km / h, the practical range is 2000 km. The practical ceiling is 13,600 meters. The crew is one person. Armament of three 37 mm NS-37 guns.
I-211-2ASH-83 experimental piston escort fighter
The I-211 fighter with very powerful cannon weapons could become a good escort fighter if it were possible to bring the engines to reliable operation and acceptable fuel consumption. On its basis, Alekseev developed a conceptual design of a piston escort fighter for long-range escort of heavy long-range Tu-4 bombers. With the available volume of fuel tanks and more efficient piston engines, such an escort fighter could have a maximum speed of 650 km / h and a flight range of 3200 km. The engines were used by the ASh-83, the propeller-engine groups were taken from the front-line single-seat fighter La-9, in the serial production of which the SM. Alekseev took a direct part and took advantage of his own achievements. Unfortunately, the project was not completed.
I-211S (Arrow) fighter
In parallel with the development of the I-215 fighter, in 1948 S.M. Alekseev began to work on a conceptual design of a swept wing fighter. This project received the designation I-211S (Strela = Arrow) and was one of the first projects of Soviet fighter jets with swept wings. The project was not brought to the construction of a prototype in connection with the closure of the topic, and later the entire design bureau.
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