A modern fighter is a combination of beauty and power, speed and maneuverability. Its flight fascinates audience at any air show and makes potential enemies muse. A fighter has a hard task - it has to win an air fight not only against an enemy’s fighter, but against any other type of aircraft. Currently the authority of the Russian school designing aircraft of this type is acknowledged world wide. But that was not always so. Here is a story of the national fighter development from the WWI until the end of the 30s of the 20th century.
One of the largest air battles of the Second World War took place in spring 1943 in the sky over Kuban. The Germans undertook massive air raids to liquidate the menace from the rear, in which over 500 aircraft took part. But the Soviet aviation as well concentrated up to 900 machines in that place. A sharp battle lasted over two months. The fight for the air superiority was violent. The main role in this fight was played by the Soviet fighters of the new generation.
A fighter is designated to have superiority over aircraft of any other class. Speed is one of the most important components of success. During the Second World War the maximum speed of serial fighters significantly increased. However, the propeller was capable of bringing aircraft only to a certain limited speed. The way out was found in the creation of a principally new type of engine - the jet engine.
An air show takes place in Zhukovsky once in two years. This event attracts thousands of people. Fighters always become stars of the show. Capabilities of the 21st century aircraft are astonishing. The multi-ton machines tumble in the sky as if denying classical laws of aerodynamics. They leave no doubt – the enemy in an air battle will be defeated!
Massive air parades of the 30's. Different types of combat aircraft fly in the sky. From one parade to another demonstration becomes more immense, bombers become bigger and bigger. Here is a passenger giant "Maxim Gorky", which, if needed, may become a bomber. With this kind of power any enemy can be defeated. Such groove of power fitted well ambitions of the young state. Aviation parades become the sign of the grandeur and might of the country. It did not take long for the Second World War to test the endurance of this might.
In October 1962 the world faced the Caribbean crisis. In response to the Soviet missiles allocation in Cuba, the United States blocked the Island of Freedom. Tension among nuclear powers was growing. The Soviet strategic bombers were relocated to the borders - closer to the targets in Europe and America. Exhausting combat watch began. Alert level was maximum. All involved in those days experienced enormous tension. Even incomplete knowledge of the nuclear weapons capabilities drew an astonishing picture of the aftermath. The world was on the verge of the Third World War.
In the second half of the Great Patriotic War the Soviet aviation had total air superiority. IL-2 aircraft one after another delivered attacks over the fainting enemy. Throughout the war attack aircraft obtained such fame and confidence, that they turned into a symbol of that war. Rough and powerful – are the two words truly characterizing IL-2. It was an unpretentious aircraft capable of doing its job in a winter frost, summer heat or a brake-up season. Infantry loved it. Soldiers exuberated when it was appearing in the sky rushing toward the enemy. IL-2 by right was deemed the best attack aircraft of the Second World War.
This aircraft was first shown in 1992 and thereafter it was repeatedly demonstrated at various air shows. The armament arsenal was impressive. High precision missiles and bombs, capable of hitting targets in the air, on the ground and at sea. It is not just an aircraft, it’s a whole combat complex. The striking SU-34 aircraft combines every function of a reconnaissance plane, a bomber and a strike fighter. But the route from inert fighter-bombers of the mid-twenties, to this wonder-weapon of the end of the 21st century was not easy.
March 1956. Great Britain is getting ready for the visit of Nikita Khrushchev – leader of the country which was by that time practically closed for the West. Right on the eve of this event, TU-104 – the Russian jet air liner landed in London. Three days later two more beauties of the same kind flew in. It was a sensation! The British "Comet" did not fly. The American jet firstlings were still under construction. And there you are – three Russian aircraft at a time! The Queen confessed that every time upon hearing the unusual turbines’ rumble, she got out to the balcony to see the Russian wonder… It all started half a century before the events described above.
The end of December 1968 was foul. Low clouds stood over the testing aerodrome of Zhukovsky. Phone calls kept coming from the Ministry: "The aircraft must take off before the New Year!" It was no accident. It was not just another new aircraft. It was supposed to be the debut of the supersonic passenger airliner TU-144… The Anglo-French "Concord" was getting ready for its first flight at the same time… It was important to overrun competitors. Prestige of the Soviet state was at stake. On December 31, the last day of the year, TU-144 took off... It was that aircraft, which entered the history as the first in the world supersonic passenger airliner. Civil aviation was in transition to a new quality level...
Mankind created a lot of machines.… An airplane having mastered the laws of the air stopped being a miracle. Way before that ships tamed the oceans. But restless minds keep on creating new machines. And there you are – a vessel that can take off from water not really leaving it. What is it? A sailing aircraft, or a flying vessel? What kind of a technical wonder is that, existing at the edge of two environments?
Every summer news agencies report of forest fires bursting out in this or that country. Fire brings enormous damage. That’s where fire extinguishing aviation can help. An airplane looks like a tiny bug against environment. Can it really help? Efficiency of the fire extinguishing aircraft becomes the main point. How much fire extinguishing liquid it can take and how quick? An amphibious aircraft has no match in this situation. Gliding over the water surface within seconds it fills up the tanks to drop tons of water on the fire source… Amphibious aircraft today are used mainly at emergency situations. But throughout their history they fought in wars, transported passengers and rescued people.
A man always wanted to fly. Today we know, how to do it, while before this issue was not as obvious. To make wings like the birds have or to screw into the air – both variants seemed quite natural… The first variant lead to creation of an airplane, while the second – of a helicopter. Prototypes of a helicopter were found in the remote ages. Go Khun – the Chinese scientist of the 4th century and the great Leonardo Da Vinci in the 15th century, both proposed their versions of a helicopter. The genius Mikhail Lomonosov also worked in this sphere. In 1754 he built an "aerodromic machine" – which was nothing else than a small size helicopter. Of course it did not fly, but experiments helped developing ideas, which predetermined all further helicopter construction.
April 26, 1986. Two explosions burst out at the 4th energy block of the Chernobil Atomic Power Station. It was a catastrophe. Scientists proposed to seal the atomic reactor with a protective sand layer. But there was no other way to approach the crashed facility than by air. Such task could be carried out only by helicopters. One after another machines flew toward the energy block to drop sand over the target. Helicopters had to hover right over the epicenter. Temperature was reaching 200 degrees Celsius. Radiation thousand times exceeded all possible norms. Under such dramatic circumstances helicopters and pilots showed their best.
A small and light airplane. A topic seemed unworthy of an interesting story. What is there to say? It is not a powerful bomber, nor a fast and streamlined fighter nor a respectable airliner. However, the way to all those real combat aircraft for any pilot always started with a small flying thing. Ask anyone and they will reverently remember their first obedient, faithful, forgiving all mistakes machine… The seeming simplicity of its creation is deceptive. Throughout more than a hundred years history of aviation, thousands of people tried to resolve this problem. But only some machines became a legend.
Naval maneuvers of the 70's. Hundreds of ships, thousands of naval aircraft... Area of operation – seas and oceans Amphibians, performing reconnaissance… Antisubmarine aircraft and helicopters, carrying equipment for searching and destroying submarines... You can see land based missile carriers, capable of destroying an aircraft carrier of a potential enemy... Soon ship based aircraft will be operational.
Morning, December 25, 1979. Almost three hundred military transport aircraft are lined up at airfields in the Middle Asia. Inside cargo cabins are combat equipment and landing troops. A signal comes in and aircraft groups, one after another, with roaring engines and clouds of dust, start into the air. It all looks more like a great relocation of people. In the next three days the intensive work does not slow down. Continuous engines roar of heavy aircraft hangs over the air fields… That’s how the picture of the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan looked. In the first days of the operation almost 8,000 people, 900 items of equipment and over a thousand tons of cargo were relocated. And this was only 2% of the enormous volume of transportation performed by the Soviet military transport aviation in that war.
Curiosity is a natural human feature. First air balloons and then airplanes significantly expanded abilities to have this curiosity satisfied. But very soon, careless curiosity gave way to mercantile interest. In deed, in the time of war flying above, one can have a bird’s view of the entire position and sometimes of the intentions of the enemy.
Featured vehicles: Boris Lutsky and Petr Freze cargo vehicles; De Dion-Bouton light cars; Charron armored car; Different Russian-Baltic factory vehicles (K, C, L, M); Renault AG1; Cargo vehicles of WWI: White, Ford, Packard, Fiat, Chevrolet etc.; Mgebrov armored car; Austin and Garford armored cars; Prombron command car; AMO-f15 light cargo vehicle and its modifications; BA-27 armored car; Ya-3, Ya-4 and Ya-5 heavy trucks; NAMI-1 light car.
Featured vehicles: Ya-5 heavy truck with diesel engine; Ya-10 six-wheeled cargo vehicle; Ya-12 eight-wheeled cargo vehicle; AMO-2, AMO-3, ZIS-5, ZIS-6 cargo vehicle family; GAZ-AA and GAZ-AAA cargo vehicles; NATI-2 semi-track; GAZ-A and M-1 light cars; GAZ-4 and M-415 pick-ups; ZIS-101 limousine; KIM (Ford Prefect) command car; D-8, D-12, FAI, BA-I, BA-3, BA-6, BA-10, BA-11, BA-20 armored cars; UNL-35 Spanish armored car based on ZIS-5.
Featured vehicles: ZIS-22, ZIS-33, ZIS-42, GAZ_60, GAZ-65 semi-tracks; ZIS-32 four-wheel-drive cargo vehicle; German semi-track cars of WWII; URALZIS-5V cargo vehicle; GAZ-MMV cargo vehicle; GAZ-55 medical vehicle; GAZ-03-30 and GAZ-05-193 buses; Experimental GAZ-AAAA; Six-wheeled GAZ-21; GAZ-61 four-wheel-drive and its modifications; NATI-AR, GAZ-64 and GAZ-67 all-terrain vehicles; BA-64 armored car; Studebaker, Willies, Dodge, GPA and other lend-lease vehicles; Experimental vehicles of the 30s: ZIS-15, YAG-7, GAZ-51.
Featured vehicles: ZIS-150 medium cargo vehicle and its Chineese analogue; ZIS-151 four-wheel-drive cargo vehcile; URALZIS-352 gas-producer cargo vehcile; YAZ-200 and YAZ-210 heavy cargo vehicles; YAZ (KRAZ)-214 four-wheel-drive cargo vehicle; GAZ-51 cargo vehicle and its four-wheel-drive GAZ-63 version; UAZ-69 and UAZ-450 all-terrain vehicles; UAZ trial designs of the 60's; Military versions of PAZ-651 and ZIS-155 buses; NIII-21 trial designs; MAV (GAZ-46) small amphibian; Experimental amphibian NAMI-055 on underwater wings; BAV big amphibian; BTR-152 and BTR-40 armored personnel carriers.
Featured vehicles: ZIS-110, ZIS-115, ZIL-111, ZIL-117, ZIL-41044 governmental cars; TPK (LUAZ-967) front line transporter; UAS trial designs of 70-80s; UAZ-469 (3151) and UAZ-452 all-terrain vehicles; UAZ 'Jaguar' amphibian; GAZ-62, GAZ-66 and GAZ-33097 four-wheel-drive cargo vehicles; ZIL-130 and GAZ-52 cargo vehicles; IZH-Moskvich light car; KRAZ-255, KRAZ-260 and KRAZ-6322 four-wheel-drive cargo vehicles; Experimental KRAZ four-wheel-drive cargo vehicles (project 'Otkrytie' ('Discovery').
Featured vehicles: KAMAZ-4310, KAMAZ-43501 and KAMAZ-5386 army cargo vehicles; KAMAZ-Mustang four-wheel-drive family; KAMAZ-Vystrel armored personnel carrier; BTR-60, BTR-70, BTR-80 and BTR-90 armored personnel carriers; Experimental NAMI-020 four-wheel-drive cargo vehicle; URAL-375 and URAL-4320 four-wheel-drive cargo vehicle family and its modifications; Experimental URAL water-borne cargo vehciles; ZIL-134, ZIL-135, and "Blue Bird' Vitaliy Grachev vehicles; BAZ-5938 and BAZ-6944 multi-axis vehicles; PMM mobile floating bridge/ferry vehicle; MAZ-200, MAZ-500 and MAZ-502 cargo vehicles and tow trucks; Single axis MAZ(MOAZ) 529 and 527 tow trucks; MAZ-535, MAZ-537, MAZ-543, MAZ-547, MAZ-7310, MAZ-7912, MAZ-79221, MZKT-7930 multi-axis special car frames; GAZ-2975 'Tiger' adn 'Vodnik' multipurpose combat vehicles.
Brief story of the Mikoyan Design Bureau. The MiG-29 background. Fighter layout. The first flight. Tests. Accidents during flight tests. performance. The aircraft goes into service. Armament. Avionics. Aircraft defense system. Combat-trainer version MiG-29UB.
Fighter's first world appearance. Farnborough-88. 'Tail-slide' as a unique aerobatic maneuver. Accident at Le Bourget-89. MiG-29M multifunctional fighter. MiG-29K/KUB carrier-based versions. Modernization of the aircraft. MiG-29SMT. Air-refueling system. MiG-29M with thrust-vectoring. MiG-35 is the most advanced aircraft of the family. 'Swifts' aerobatic team.
This episode includes the stories of the development stages, first prototypes, start of mass production and first successes of the Mi-8 helicopter which was created at the Mil' Design Bureau.
It is the Mi-8 which became a workhorse of the Soviet Army in Afghanistan. But in the first place these were the Mi-8s crews that had to shoulder all the burdens and hardships of the war - from the first to the last day. At present the Mi-8 is successfully used both as military and transport helicopter. The Mi-8 operates all around the world - from polar latitudes to hot deserts. There are more than 12 000 Mi-8s were produced in total. The Mi-8 is used by over 90 countries. The story of 'The Magnificent Eight' continues, and the Mil' helicopter stands a good chance to celebrate its 100th anniversary!.
Attack helicopter background. The concept of the airborne combat troop carrier. From first drawings to prototypes. Flight tests. Mass production begins. Creation of the Soviet Army Aviation.
The first combat missions. The helicopter gets upgraded. The Afghan war as the hardest test for the Mi-24. Fall of the Soviet Union and the hard years. The Mi-24 is born again.
The history of the fighter aircraft development starting from their origin. The fourth generation fighters background. Confrontation with the USA. The first layout of the T-10 aircraft. Stories of the scientists and designers on the innovations implemented in the aircraft. The first test flights.
The dramatic story of the aircraft crucial redesigning. Pilots death during flight tests. The world triumph: Le Bourget and 'Pugachev Cobra'. Training air combats against US fighters.
The Su-27 cockpit as seen by the pilots. The first versions and their features including the Su-27UB combat trainer, the Su-33 and Su-27KUB ship-based aircraft, the Su-34 front-line bomber (familiarization ride of Dmitriy Medvedev, the Russian Federation president).
The new realities - active promotion to the world market, foreign customers. Further development of the project. The multifunctional Su-30. The thrust vectoring fighter Su-37 and Su-30MKI. Aerobatic teams 'Test Pilots', 'Russian Knights', 'Russian Falcons', missile and gun armament. The Su-35 fighter: the peak of the Su aircraft family development. Prospection - the first flight of the Russian fifth generation fighter T-50.
