The technology of flying vehicles called "ekranoplan" is unique in its kind, and it was possible to master it only in the Soviet Union. However, all of their largest copies never received a ticket to life, so little is known about them to the modern man in the street. The only ekranoplan, about which they know at least something, because it was nevertheless taken into service, is the Lun. But almost no one knows that he had a twin brother, who, moreover, was going to adapt to helping people in emergency conditions. We are talking about a car with the self-explanatory name "Rescuer", the existence of which, until recently, can only be guessed at.
The fact that Lunya has a twin brother became known only a few years ago, when the Rescuer was taken out of the hangar on the territory of the Krasnoye Sormovo plant in Nizhny Novgorod. Actually, there he is now, only now under the open sky. It turned out that for more than a quarter of a century, a little-known specimen of the ekranoplan has been under conservation.
But even today there is very limited access to it - of course, an ordinary passer-by cannot enter the territory of the plant. But, in addition to those WIG craft images that can be found today on the Internet, it is quite really can be seen on satellite images, because the dimensions of the aircraft are sufficient to make out.
The history of the "Rescuer" began in parallel with the "Lun", and its initial function was to be identical - like a Soviet shock ekranoplan-missile carrier, the main task of which is to defeat surface ships, amphibious formations, as well as single ships of various types.
The dimensions of the aircraft were as striking as those of its more famous twin brother. So, the length of the car is 74 meters, the height is more than twenty-five meters. The main feature of the ekranoplan was its potential ability to fly literally a few meters above the water at a tremendous speed - about 500 km / h. In total, eight such giants were to be designed.
However, these grandiose plans were thwarted by the collapse of the Soviet Union. This project was not immediately abandoned, but decided to repurpose, since the military function of this development was discarded. The ekranoplan was converted into a rescue vehicle capable of simultaneously transporting 150 bedridden patients. And in the event of an emergency, it was supposed to accommodate up to five hundred people on board. It was the new functionality that gave the car its modern name - "Rescuer".
But even in such a profile, the only copy of the "Rescuer" was not needed, although by that time it was 95 percent complete. During the nineties of the last century, they still hoped to use it, and in 2000 a model of the converted ekranoplan was even shown at the world exhibition Expo 2000. However, the matter did not go further: the developments were frozen, and the only sample was mothballed.
And in 2011, the government announced that no one intends to engage in ekranoplanes anymore, and even plans appeared to dispose of the remaining copies of the machines. But in the end they refused to destroy the samples: for example, they decided to make the "Lun" a museum complex, but the fate of the "Rescuer" is not fully determined. To date, he was taken out of the hangar and left on the territory of the plant in the open air.
>>>>Ideas for life | NOVATE.RU<<<<
And then suddenly, in 2018, there were reports that a super-heavy ekranoplan called the Rescuer was still going to be developed and put on the balance sheet of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is difficult to say whether the forgotten giant standing in Nizhny Novgorod has anything to do with this, however, perhaps these news will be the first step towards the revival of a unique technology that has not been possible for many decades curb.
Do you want to know more about the most famous Soviet ekranoplan? Then read: What hopes did the USSR pinned on the Lun ekranoplan and why it turned out to be a complete disappointment
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/070121/57373/
IT IS INTERESTING:
1. Why do western helicopters use skids, and domestic ones use a wheeled chassis?
2. 7 little-known Soviet off-road vehicles that effortlessly overcame mud and obstacles
3. What strange hats did the Afghan mujahideen wear on their heads?