Horrible dream American admirals

A group of ships of the American fleet, led by an aircraft carrier, is on combat duty in the World Ocean. Radars do not detect any threats, and American ships calm reigns. It is disrupted by the sudden visual detection of a target on the horizon - either a ship rushing at incredible speed, or an airplane literally gliding above the surface.


Before our eyes, the unidentified target grows into a huge “flying ship.” The alarm is announced on the aircraft carrier, but it is too late - the “alien” fires a missile salvo, and after a few tens of seconds, the pride of the fleet, engulfed in fires and torn to pieces, sinks to the bottom. And the last thing the dying sailors see in their lives is the shadow of an unknown and terrible enemy rapidly disappearing beyond the horizon.

Such or similar nightmares tormented American military leaders at night who had information about the secret weapon of the USSR - the Project 903 Lun ekranoplane attack vehicle.


WIG "Lun", Kaspiysk, 2010. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org/ Fred Schaerli

The ekranoplan, more than 73 meters long and almost 20 meters high, could move at speeds of up to 500 km per hour above the surface of the water at an altitude of about 4 meters. It was armed with Mosquito anti-ship missiles, which made it possible to inflict maximum damage on enemy ships. "Lun" received the nickname "aircraft carrier killer."

The amazing combat vehicle was developed at the design bureau of Rostislav Alekseev, a Soviet designer whose developments revolutionized shipbuilding.

Chasing speed

Rostislav Alekseev was born on December 18, 1916 in the city of Novozybkov, Chernigov province, in the family of a teacher and agronomist. In 1935, Rostislav entered the Zhdanov Gorky Industrial Institute at the shipbuilding department.


Future shipbuilder student years was fond of sailing. The young man thought about how to increase the speed of movement through the water.

At the very beginning of the aviation era, pilots and designers paid attention to the so-called screen effect - a sharp increase in the lift of the wing and other aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft when flying near a screen surface (water, ground, etc.).

Engineers were looking for ways to use this effect in practice.

Rostislav Alekseev came to the conclusion that the way to increase the speed of movement on the surface of the water lies through reducing the area of ​​​​contact of the vessel with the water environment.

The young designer started with the idea of ​​a hydrofoil. It was this kind of ship that became for Alekseev the theme of his graduation project, which he defended in 1941.

The defense, which took place in July 1941, took place behind closed doors. The theme of Alekseev’s project in the conditions of the outbreak of war was more than relevant - “High-speed hydrofoil boat.” The idea of ​​a high-speed combat boat for the needs of the USSR Navy was highly appreciated.

The young engineer was sent to the Krasnoye Sormovo plant, where in 1942 Alekseev received premises and specialists to work on creating combat boats on low-submerged hydrofoils.

Alekseev did not manage to create unique combat boats before the end of the war, but his models were considered very promising. The work of the designer and his subordinates was awarded the Stalin Prize of the second degree in 1951.


Hydrofoil "Burevestnik". Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

"Rocket" that conquered the world

In 1951, the military developments of the young designer were converted for the needs of civilian shipbuilding. Alekseev Design Bureau begins work on a passenger hovercraft, called “Raketa”.

The first "Rocket" was presented in Moscow during the 1957 World Festival of Youth and Students. The passenger hydrofoil ship, whose speed was head and shoulders above all civilian ships that existed at that time, produced the effect of a bomb exploding in the world.

“Rockets” went far beyond the borders of the USSR. They were successfully exploited not only in the countries of the socialist camp, but also, so to speak, “in the den of the enemy.” Alekseev’s ships confidently plied the waters of Great Britain, Canada, Germany, Finland, etc.

Following the “Rocket”, other types were created civil courts hydrofoils, such as Volga, Meteor, Comet, Sputnik, Burevestnik, Voskhod.

For this work, the team led by Rostislav Alekseev was awarded the Lenin Prize in 1962.

"Caspian Monster"

But the designer did not think of resting on his laurels. Having fully realized the idea of ​​hydrofoils, Alekseev moved on to work on ekranoplanes - ships hovering above the surface of the water.

In 1962, Alekseev Design Bureau began work on the KM ekranoplan project (model ship). "KM" really had gigantic size- wingspan 37.6 m, length 92 m, maximum take-off weight 544 tons. Before the appearance of the An-225 Mriya aircraft, it was the heaviest aircraft in the world.

Western experts, having received a photograph of the experimental model, called it the “Caspian Monster” (the tests took place in the Caspian Sea).

The Caspian Monster made its first flight on October 18, 1966. It was piloted by two pilots, one of whom was Rostislav Alekseev himself. The flight was successful.


"Caspian Monster". Photo: Frame youtube.com

The KM tests continued for 15 years. The new “flying ship” had a lot of advantages, but there were also a lot of disadvantages. In fact, “KM” opened up a completely new direction on the border of aviation and navigation, in which its own laws and rules had yet to be developed.

The “landmark” position of ekranoplans affected their prospects in the most disastrous way. The Air Force believed that it was a ship, and the shipbuilders were convinced that we were talking about an airplane. Alekseev, with his unusual project, irritated officials who advocated classic shapes development of shipbuilding.

Alekseev’s projects were saved from complete closure by the chief curator of the Soviet defense industry, and later the USSR Minister of Defense, Dmitry Ustinov.

"Eaglet" and opal

In addition to bureaucratic obstacles, there were problems with ekranoplane pilots. It was extremely difficult for the pilots to get used to aerobatics passing over the very surface of the water. The peculiarities of the ekranoplan are such that it is almost impossible to “drop” it into the water in horizontal flight, even if you completely release the steering wheel. However, the professional habits of the pilots often forced them to pull the ekranoplan up, taking it “outside the screen,” which became the cause of accidents.

Each new failure hit extremely hard both on the idea of ​​the ekranoplan and on the designer Alekseev himself. In 1968, the design bureau that he created was divided into two - for hydrofoils and for ekranoplanes. Alekseev was left with only the second direction.

In the early 1970s, the Ministry of Defense gave an order to Alekseev Design Bureau to develop an amphibious ekranoplan for the Navy, which was given the code name “Eaglet”. In 1974, officials from Moscow literally forced Alekseev to take the still “raw” “Eaglet” out for sea trials even before receiving the results of a static test of the hull. The result of this was the separation of the tail section of the hull during testing. Alekseev, who traditionally controlled his brainchild on its first flight, managed to safely return the Eaglet to base. No one was hurt, but Alekseev himself was punished to the fullest - he was removed from the development of "Orlyonok", transferred to the position of head of the long-term planning department.


Ekranoplan "Eaglet". Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Despite this, the suspended designer continued to participate almost clandestinely in the work on the landing ekranoplan. In 1979, "Eaglet" was adopted by the USSR Navy. This landing ekranoplan could take off at wave heights of up to 2 meters and reach a speed of 400–500 km/h. Taking on board up to 200 fully armed Marines or two combat vehicles(tank, armored personnel carrier, infantry fighting vehicle), "Eaglet" could transfer them to a distance of up to 1500 km.

The designer was killed by his brainchild

In total, three combat “Eaglets” were created, and on their basis the 11th separate air group was formed directly subordinate to the General Headquarters of Naval Aviation. This series was supposed to be an installation series, and a total of 120 amphibious ekranoplanes were to enter combat service in the USSR Navy.

Despite the disgrace, Alekseev continued to work hard - testing of a passenger ekranoplan was underway, development of an attack model armed with missiles continued...

In January 1980, a passenger model of an ekranoplan was tested in Chkalovsk. His assistants cleared the ice blockage and said that the model could be released. What exactly happened at that moment is not clear. But Alekseev somehow took on part of the weight of the 800-kilogram device.

At first it seemed that this incident did not affect the health of the 63-year-old designer - Alekseev successfully completed his test day. But the next morning he began to complain of pain in his side. Doctors initially found it difficult to make a diagnosis. Two more days passed like this, after which Alekseev lost consciousness. During an emergency operation, doctors determined that the designer was injured during a testing incident - something that is usually defined by the people as “strained.” Over the past few days, peritonitis developed. Doctors had to carry out three operations and seemed to cope with the disaster. But complications began, and on February 9, 1980, Rostislav Evgenievich Alekseev passed away.

Past and future

The impact ekranoplane "Lun", the idea of ​​which belonged to Alekseev, was launched in the summer of 1986, and in 1991 it was officially put into service, becoming part of the Caspian flotilla.

“Lun” remained the only attack ekranoplane of the Navy, first of the USSR and then of Russia. After the death of Dmitry Ustinov in 1984, his successor as Minister of Defense of the USSR, Sergei Sokolov, curtailed the program for the construction of military ekranoplanes, considering this type of weapon unpromising. And when with the breakup Soviet Union Russian army was covered by a total lack of money, the revolutionary ideas of Rostislav Alekseev were completely consigned to oblivion.

In 2007, ekranoplanes were finally decommissioned from the Navy. At the same time, the most surviving copy of the landing "Orlyonok" was towed along the Volga to Moscow, where it was installed in the Navy Museum.

The debate about whether ekranoplanes have a future in the 21st century continues to this day. Behind the controversy, it quietly became clear that small-displacement combat ekranoplanes appeared in service with Iran and China. The Chinese soon intend to introduce an amphibious ekranoplan designed for 200 marines.

What does Russia need?

In Russia, work is currently underway on small-displacement passenger ekranoplanes, and ideas for creating military vehicles of this type are encountering the same resistance from officials of various ranks as during the life of Rostislav Alekseev.

This is what a strange thing happens - in our country, billions are easily allocated for the purchase of Mistral helicopter carriers from France, and our own unique developments are just as easily sent to the trash bin or buried through endless approvals.

But only by relying on our ideas and our working hands can we guarantee the independence of the country.

And Rostislav Evgenievich Alekseev understood this like no one else.

Alekseev Rostislav Evgenievich

Designer of hydrofoils and ekranoplanes
State Prize Laureate (1951)
Winner of the Lenin Prize (1962)

Rostislav Alekseev was born on December 18, 1916 in the city of Novozybkov, Chernigov province (now Bryansk region), in the family of a teacher and agronomist.

Rostislav's parents had two sons and two daughters. The Alekseev children were raised according to an unusual system. “Nowadays this technique is usually called Japanese,” said Tatyana Rostislavovna Alekseeva, the daughter of the designer. - The children were not prohibited from doing anything, no pressure was put on them. Once my father and brother Tolya “designed” a punt boat. But during the “tests” she turned over, and the boys ended up in the water. What would the average father do in such a situation? I would give the children a beating and forbid them to approach the river. And Evgeny Kuzmich took the guys to a fisherman he knew and asked him to help the guys design a “correct” boat, and at the same time teach them how to operate it. Or another example. Rostik dreamed of a horse. And when they bought him boots, he ran to the stable to exchange the shoes for a horse. But the parents figured out how to “calm down” the child. They just sent him out with the shepherds into the night several times! The boy saw enough of his favorite animals there and... burned out.”

In 1933, the Alekseev family moved to Gorky, where Rostislav began studying at the Gorky Evening Workers' Faculty, while simultaneously working as a draftsman and artist in various institutions. Everyone in the Alekseev family drew well, including Rostislav, but he most liked to draw yachts and ships. And in 1935, Alekseev entered the Gorky Industrial Institute named after Zhdanov (now Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University named after R.E. Alekseev) at the shipbuilding department (Faculty of Marine and Aviation Engineering). Having entered the institute, Alekseev managed to study at the same time at an art school. There, in Gorky, Alekseev met his future wife Marina, who was a year younger than him and studied at the chemistry department. In his fourth year, the capable student was transferred to the Leningrad Naval Academy. But Rostislav was expelled from there a year later - the future designer did not pass higher mathematics.

In fact, my father, of course, knew mathematics,” said Tatyana Rostislavovna. - The background here was different. A few years before, he found an old revolver in some attic and hid it in the stove. Then, when the elder Alekseevs and their three children moved to Moscow, their apartment on Bolshaya Pecherskaya went to other people. Imagine their shock when they found a pistol in the oven! Of course, they immediately told me where to go. And so, as punishment, my father was cut off in higher mathematics!

24-year-old Rostislav Alekseev returned to Gorky and married Marina. This happened two weeks before the war - June 6, 1941. Your own home young man there was none, and he and his wife settled with their mother-in-law, in a house on Ulyanov Street. The first two years of Rostislav and Marina's life together were overshadowed by tragic events. Two children died one after another: one in childbirth, the second from a congenital heart defect. Later, Rostislav and Marina had a son and daughter, whom they named Evgeniy and Tatyana.

On October 1, 1941, Alekseev defended thesis“Hydrofoil glider,” and he was awarded the title of naval engineer. After his defense, the young engineer was sent to the Krasnoye Sormovo plant, where from 1941 to 1943 he worked as a tank production control foreman. His first rationalization proposals also appeared there: a special device for igniting Molotov cocktails and a jet-injection engine for high-speed torpedo boats.

In 1942, Alekseev was allocated resources to carry out work on the creation of hydrofoil combat boats. His Central Design Bureau for Hydrofoils (TsKB for SPK) began its journey from an old barn and three assistants - so in original idea Alekseev was trusted by the Navy's shipbuilding department. As a result, in the autumn of 1943, in the factory harbor, Alekseev launched the first sample of the A-4 hydrofoil vessel. But Alekseev’s boat did not have time to take part in the hostilities. However, the models he created showed that the idea can be successfully implemented.

And already in 1948, the torpedo boat “123-BIS” was tested in Sevastopol. From 1949 to 1951, Alekseev's bureau continued to work on the creation of hydrofoil torpedo boats. And in 1951, Alekseev and his assistants were awarded the State Prize for the development and creation of hydrofoils.

At a party dedicated to a high award, my father’s friends brought a cake on which “Glory to Glory!” was written in cream. and... a box,” recalled the designer’s daughter. “The most accurate measuring device is there,” his colleagues told him. We wondered for a long time what was there, and when we opened it, a cat named Atom jumped out! It was customary at the Central Design Bureau to launch a cat first on a new ship. The designers believe that the animal will always lie down in the place where there are some defects and problems.

Alekseev’s most important acquisition with bonus money was the Pobeda car, which replaced the Tatra he had assembled in the Alekseevs’ garage. And before “Tatra” there was “Volkswagen” - that’s what Rostislav Evgenievich called these cars, assembled by him from parts found in a landfill in Sormovo. Volkswagen had a corresponding nickname: “KDF” - cardboard, wood, plywood.

But it all started with a bicycle,” the designer’s daughter recalled. - During the war, there was no public transport, and my father had to somehow get from the upper part to Krasnoye Sormovo. He made himself a bicycle, but it soon exploded, scalding his face with hot water.

After this, Alekseev gave up cycling and joined a sports motorcycle club, where he was given a trophy Harley. He drove it in the first post-war years, until he assembled a Volkswagen. It so happened that it was difficult for Alekseev to find privacy in the Central Design Bureau, and the young designer made up for the time lost during the day at home. And since he didn’t have an office, he worked wherever he had to. He could work at a table in the living room or at a workbench in the hallway. He had a small machine at home on which Rostislav cut out models.

He could do almost everything with his hands! - Tatyana Alekseeva said. - Could work on a lathe, had metalworking skills. The fact is that grandfather Evgeny Kuzmich organized a workshop for children, and the boys disappeared there all day long. Dad was not even six when he made a steam locomotive and a car. And then, even before entering college, my father worked as a mechanic at a radio installation plant in Nizhny Tagil. Rostislav Evgenievich did not demand that his family create any special atmosphere for him: When he worked, we continued to live our lives. It happened that they made noise and distracted... But he didn’t get angry.

But no matter how fascinated Alekseev’s creativity was, he never stayed up past midnight. All my life I followed a strict regime: no later than 23.00 - lights out and early - at 5-5.30 - rise. He loved beautiful things and delicious food. “As a designer and artist, he had good taste,” said Tatyana Rostislavovna. - He had a keen sense of where to wear what. His favorite style was elegant and sporty.”

In 1954, the research hydro laboratory of the Krasnoye Sormovo plant became a branch of TsKB-19. The Ministry of River Fleet became interested in the work of the team led by Alekseev, and soon Alekseev was allocated funding for the construction of the first passenger hydrofoil ship “Raketa” - for 66 people. Its construction began in the summer of 1956, and in the summer of 1957 Alekseev presented the “Rocket” to the world community, spectacularly bringing the ship under its own power to Moscow during the International Festival of Youth and Students.

Since 1958, the history of a new class of ships began - “Meteors”, which were more seaworthy than the “Raketa”, which created conditions for their use on lakes and for sailing along the sea coast. The first "Meteor" - for 130 people - was launched in October 1959.

TsKB-19 also created the Volga, Comet, Sputnik, Burevestnik and Voskhod boats. All of these high-speed hydrofoils were mass-produced. Alekseev often said that the criterion of truth for an engineer is the mass production of his product. Appeared annually new project. In 1961, ten employees led by Alekseev received the Lenin Prize for creating a new vehicle. Thus, in eight years since 1956, the Russian high-speed fleet was created.

Alekseev himself was under the patronage of Nikita Khrushchev after the government was given a ride on the Meteor. Khrushchev gave the green light to all the designer’s endeavors, and two thousand people, under the leadership of Alekseev, annually designed, built and tested 15-20 models for 15 years.

My father took great pleasure in traveling on ships. own invention, - said Tatyana Rostislavovna. “He even had a certificate as an honorary hydrofoil captain.” But due to the fact that his father sought to manage all his ships, he often had friction with his superiors. They said that Alekseev did not trust anyone. Dad explained this by saying that he could not trust anyone to control the ship until he was personally convinced that it would not throw up any unpleasant surprises. It was not arrogance that guided him, but a reluctance to put people at risk. In 1966, Rostislav Evgenievich, under a false name and with a “left” passport (and in those years even the photograph of the Chief was classified!) was sent to England to an exhibition of shipbuilding achievements. There, the designer wanted to “steer” one hovercraft, but they looked at him as a big joker. Then Alekseev asked to be allowed to put his hands on the driver’s hands. This was enough for him to understand how to control the ship.

The first ideas for using the screen effect came to Alekseev in the late 1950s. In his early projects of hydrofoils, features of ekranoplanes were already evident. The reason for Alekseev’s turn to screen flight is simple. Speed ​​is the main indicator of hydrofoil efficiency. But a powerful obstacle stood in the way of further increasing speed - cavitation of the hydrofoils. Before Alekseev, attempts to solve this problem boiled down to an increase in speed of 10-15 kilometers. This did not suit Alekseev, and he concentrated all his main forces on ekranoplanes.

In 1961, the first self-propelled manned model Alekseev SM-1 entered the ice of the Trotsa River.

In the article “Alekseev worked miracles” in 1998, it was written: “Having just become convinced of the ability of this device (SM-1) to use the screen effect and move steadily above the surface, he invites the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers to the test base. A decision was made to finance work on ekranoplanes, and the Navy issued technical specifications for the design and construction of the KM “ekranoplane ship”. Chief designer convinced and the customer agreed that the new ship (as sailors called it according to long-standing tradition) would find its best use as an anti-submarine ship.”

At the beginning of 1960, this extensive experiment was launched, and in 1962, work began at the Central Design Bureau on creating the KM ekranoplane for the Navy, and in 1964, on the T-1 ekranoplane project for the airborne troops. The first was supposed to fly at altitudes of several meters, and the second - up to an altitude of 7500 meters.

Since the idea of ​​​​building ekranoplanes caused bewilderment at the top, Alekseev began to have spiteful critics. At one time, Rostislav Evgenievich persuaded several designers from Zelenodolsk to move to his Central Design Bureau. And later, their former director became the Minister of Industry and forced his former subordinates to regularly submit “information” about Alekseev to the ministry. Some of them were not shy, and wrote that Alekseev imagined himself to be a slave owner, and that he had ten apartments. As a result, in 1965, Rostislav Alekseev was removed from his post as chief designer.

My father was summoned to Moscow and bombarded with absurd accusations. “He himself didn’t understand what he was accused of,” Tatyana Rostislavovna recalled. - The next morning after returning from Moscow, he and I went to the Central Clinical Hospital. He goes into his office, and two hours later he appears from there along with some man and announces to the team: “Allow me to introduce you to the new chief designer and general director Valery Vasilievich Ikonnikov." Silent scene. It turns out that when he walked into his office in the morning, Ikonnikov was already sitting at his desk!

Alekseev was appointed chief designer of the ekranoplane department, and on June 22, 1966, the KM ekranoplane, the largest aircraft on earth for its time, was launched. When American reconnaissance satellites discovered a ship of an unknown design in the Caspian Sea, analysis of photographs showed that it, like an airplane, was moving at high speed, while its flight passed over the water itself. The Pentagon and NASA considered it a technical gamble. Few experts said that the Soviets had created a new and very effective type of weapon - ekranoplanes.

The unknown aircraft received the nickname “Caspian Monster” from the American side. After the “monster” was discovered by an American spy satellite, the American magazine Jane's Intelligence Review wrote: “... Tests of a giant ekranoplane, developing a speed of 200 knots, continue in the Caspian Sea. It is believed that this device was built at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant. It is probably 400 feet long and capable of carrying 800-900 fully armed soldiers. The wings of this experimental craft are believed to provide sufficient lift to lift the aircraft to a cruising altitude of approximately 30 feet. Apparently, the device can operate in Arctic conditions.”

This was the height of the tests, and they began several years earlier, when Alekseev decided to check how the ekranoplane stayed afloat, and let his brainchild “run” a little along the Volga before going out to sea. The test site was chosen on Velyachiy Island, which was clearly visible from the Volga slope. Special officers came up with a legend - a plane crashed and they are trying to pull it out of the water. When the tests continued, another legend came into play: they would test engines for new ships.

Then the tests moved to the Caspian Sea to the deserted island of Chechen, where the testing base was located. Admiral Gorshkov, commander of the Soviet Navy, in his book “Naval Power of the State,” published in 1976, wrote: “The creation of ships with a dynamic principle of support has already become a reality. There is no doubt that the massive appearance of such ships in fleets will increase their combat capabilities, surface forces will be able to more successfully solve combat missions and acquire completely new qualities.” The strictest conditions of secrecy prevented him from saying that the Soviet fleet already possessed such a ship at that time. The state program provided for the construction of 100 amphibious ekranoplanes.

While the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Gorshkov and the Minister of Defense of the USSR Ustinov were alive, the designer Alekseev was unapproachable, despite any controversy that did not subside around ekranoplanes. Due to the complexity of operation, pilots and sailors did not want to have them in their arsenal. Cons added to the list of ekranoplanes emergency situations which happened from time to time. In 1975, during one of the flights, when a large commission headed by the Minister of Shipbuilding was on board the ekranoplan, the pilot made a mistake during landing. The car suddenly hit the wave. The bulkheads and hull burst. The chief designer took control and brought the ekranoplan to the base, located 40 kilometers away.

When the ekranoplan reached the shore, it turned out that it did not have enough stern and tail. The accident showed the survivability of the ship, but the organizational conclusions were harsh: Rostislav Alekseev, by order of the USSR Minister of Shipbuilding Industry Boris Butoma, who was dissatisfied with the inventor, due to the fact that Alekseev had previously turned to Khrushchev, ignoring Butoma’s opinion, was removed from the post of chief designer and head of the Central Design Bureau, demoted to the head of the department, and then to the head of the promising sector.

The 70s turned out to be especially difficult for my father, recalled Tatyana Rostislavovna. - In 1974, an accident occurred during testing in the Caspian Sea. The commission received "Eaglet". And during the transitional regime, the aft part of the ekranoplan seemed to be sucked into the water, and when the device took off, the “tail” fell off. My father immediately sat in the pilot’s seat and turned on the engines at full power, thus creating an air cushion under the wings. On this pillow he returned to base. If he hadn’t figured out the situation so quickly, the ekranoplan could have taken too much water and sank... The aviation industry said that they give a Hero for such things, but they took it out on their father to the fullest. In the summer of 1975, Alekseev was transferred to ordinary designers. Someone mentioned that it would be nice to appoint him head of the advanced design department, but the authorities waved their hands. The position was offered to Boleslav Zobnin. He did not want to cross his friend’s path, but Alekseev convinced him that it would be better for the common cause if he agreed. Unfortunately, Zobnin did not lead the department for long. In 1978 best friend Alekseeva died... Moreover, Rostislav Evgenievich was forbidden to attend the tests of his own machines! But he still secretly flew to Kaspiysk. Fortunately, his loyal pilot Alexey Mitusov, despite possible troubles, took him on board. My father was demoted and demoted... and he acted as if nothing was happening. Many were irritated by the dignity with which he carried himself. Some stopped greeting him, and yesterday’s “friends” said: “Well, now that Alekseev is no longer here, we will design something like this!” But time passed, and no one came up with brilliant ideas. And then the same people sang something else: “What do you want from us? Alekseev is a genius, but who are we? Mere mortals...".

During these years, the disgraced designer sought distraction in nature. Alone, I walked for a long time in the forest, picking mushrooms. Contacts with people were reduced to nothing. The worst thing for him was that his brain suddenly stopped generating new ideas, Alekseev’s daughter recalled. - Apparently, I found some kind of stupor. Then he retired to the base in Chkalovsk and began painting again. And the inspiration returned! Last years During his life, my father was passionate about the development of a second-generation ekranoplan.

But when testing a model of a new passenger ekranoplane, which was supposed to be completed for the Moscow Olympics-80, Rostislav Alekseev overstrained himself during launching. In January he tested in Chkalovsk latest model ekranoplan. His assistants cleared the ice blockage and said that the model could be released. But Alekseev did not hear, and took the full weight of the 800-kilogram apparatus.

At first, the 63-year-old designer did not feel any signs of trouble, went after the tests to the Central Design Bureau, and worked the whole day. And in the evening he complained to his family about pain in his side. Alekseev was immediately admitted to hospital No. 3 on the Verkhne-Volzhskaya embankment. Professors Kolokoltsev and Korolev were at a loss with the diagnosis.

My father spent Thursday and Friday on his feet, recalled Tatyana Rostislavovna. - And on Saturday morning I got out of bed and lost consciousness. He was scheduled for emergency surgery. It turned out that during those two days when Alekseev felt relatively well, his body developed peritonitis - inflammation of the peritoneum, life-threatening state. When the designer got on the operating table, the process was in full swing. The first intervention was followed by three more operations. As Professor Kolokoltsev later explained to me, my father, due to dysentery suffered in childhood, developed an adhesion in some part of his intestines. And this indirectly contributed to intestinal torsion. In general, my father did not worry about his health. Twice he was sent to a sanatorium. And twice he escaped from there... Rostislav Evgenievich died not from peritonitis, but from complications caused by it.

Tatyana Alekseeva said: “The very next day after the funeral, February 13, I went to Chkalovsk to pack my things in my father’s service apartment. And I found two bosses there who were snatching from each other the drawings made by their father! And on February 14, I flew to Kaspiysk and found the apartment completely destroyed. All things were piled in the middle of the room, and my father's drawings and notes were torn into small pieces. Moreover, the one who did this did not open the door with a key, but entered the apartment through the window like a thief...”

Rostislav Evgenievich Alekseev lived three design lives. In the first, he created a series of hydrofoils. In the second, he worked on hovercraft. He devoted his third life to ekranoletov. All the ideas he was working on had been in the air for a long time. He was the first to translate them into real designs.

The scope of Alekseev’s work can be judged from the following episode. In the winter of 1976-1977, a commission to audit the model inheritance worked at the Gorky branch. The commission had to consider the advisability of further storing a large number of secret models of ekranoplanes on the territory of the branch.

The branch was a metal warehouse-hangar with an area of ​​350 square meters. In it, aerodynamic and towed models of ekranoplanes of various configurations were placed on special metal racks on both sides of the aisle, three to four rows high. It was a museum of ideas in 250 models.

In addition, there was also a storage room in the administrative building of the boathouse, which housed about 30 more models. The commission did not take the trouble to take photographs and write a brief technical description models. In several stages, almost all the models, with the exception of 25, were burned on the ice of the Trotsa River. It can be estimated that over a 15-year period, on average, about 15-20 models were designed, built and tested per year, not counting self-propelled manned ones. During the same period, a powerful scientific and experimental base of the Central Design Bureau for SPK was formed; by the mid-70s, the design bureau had turned into a modern research and production enterprise with a unique experimental complex.

By 1980, the Gorky branch of the Central Design Bureau for the SEC on the Trotsa River had two tracks with powerful electric catapults, a portable catapult for water testing, wind tunnel for testing ekranoplane models, a circular hydraulic pool, a cavitation tube, several experimental installations for studying the effect of blowing, a significant fleet of powerful towing boats capable of testing models at open water with speeds up to 100-120 km/h, a stand for studying full-scale power plants, a powerful portal crane with a concrete slip with a lifting capacity of up to 50 tons, a hangar workshop, various workshops, including those for the production of towed models, an airfield with a concrete runway, And a large number of specialized laboratories. By 1980, the base was a world-class scientific complex, the best among European scientific centers.

Rostislav Alekseev did not find out what fate awaited his creation. By order of October 12, 1984, the USSR Minister of Defense ordered the adoption of ekranoplanes for service. It was planned to build two dozen Orlyonok-type vehicles and create a new landing force in the Baltic Sea. This program was supposed to be completed before the mid-90s, but this did not happen. Only four finished ekranoplanes remained in the Caspian Sea as part of the 11th separate air group.

The associates of the creator of Soviet ekranoplanes managed to develop and manufacture in 1985 the Lun combat ekranoplane, equipped with six Moskit anti-ship homing missiles. However, it never went into production, but was put into service in 2002 after a long mothballing.

American ekranoplan designer Stephen Hooker said: “They were 30 years ahead of us!”

Rostislav Alekseev was buried in Nizhny Novgorod. In 2007, a film was made about him documentary“Burnt wings. Betray the designer."

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Text prepared by Andrey Goncharov

Used materials:

Text of the article “The Star and Death of Rostislav Alekseev”, on the website www.kokina.ru
Text of the article “The Caspian Monster - the great adventure of Vyacheslav Alekseev”, author V. Morozov
Text of the article “Weapons of Russia: “Eaglet” - “Caspian Monster”, author V. Fedorov
Materials from the site www.letopisi.ru
Materials from the site www.history-of-wars.ru
Materials from the site www.ankat.ucoz.ru
Wikipedia site materials


“I firmly believe that the day is not far off when cruise ships will reach truly cosmic speeds.” These words belong to the chief designer of high-speed ships, laureate of the Lenin and State Prizes, Doctor of Technical Sciences Rostislav Evgenievich Alekseev.

In his autobiography, dating from 1940, it is written: “I was born on December 19, 1916 in the family of Evgeniy Kuzmich Alekseev, a rural agronomist. Mother - Alekseeva Serafima Pavlovna was a rural teacher. Born in Novozybkov, Oryol region. I went to study there primary school Novozybkova.

In 1930 he lived in Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk region. He worked at a local radio center as a mechanic repairing radio equipment and studied at the Federal Educational Institution from 1930 to 1933.

In 1933, he entered the Gorky Evening Workers' Faculty, working at the same time as a draftsman and artist in various institutions.

In 1935 he entered the Zhdanov Gorky Industrial Institute at the shipbuilding faculty. At the same time he worked as an artist and draftsman. From 1938 to 1940 he worked as a sailing coach. At the institute I performed community service: I did decorations for the holidays and was a member of the board of a sports club. In 1939-1940 he was the chairman of the Gorky city sailing section...”

Everyone said about Rostislav then that he was not just an athlete and sailed on a yacht, he “walked with his head,” calculating how to catch the wind with his sail. And the Volgars, stingy with praise, called him Admiral.

IN family archive The Alekseevs have preserved a sheet of paper with a graphological examination of Rostislav’s handwriting when he was twenty years old. According to the examination, the character traits of the future chief designer were: independence, a tendency to do everything as he thinks, the desire to overcome obstacles, balance, measuredness in business, honesty, a combination of moral and physical strength, and a tendency to work with technology. It is very curious that each of these qualities was confirmed throughout his subsequent life. He inherited many of them from his parents.

Evgeniy Kuzmich Alekseev, Rostislav’s father, worked a lot fruitfully in science, and was the first director of the Novozybkov Experimental Station. / And although there were many difficult trials on the way to recognition as a future professor, he overcame difficult circumstances with perseverance and courage and managed to prove the importance of his work for agronomy. /

People who knew the Alekseev family said that Rostislav, at the age of six to nine years old, loved to make boats and sail them along the Iput River.
How much water has flowed under the bridge over these decades... And the Novozybkovites remember their fellow countrymen Alekseevs, they remember the house in which, besides Rostislav, there were three more children: his brother Anatoly, sisters Galina and Margarita. Their mother, a teacher, instilled in the children a love of music, painting, and taught them to see the beauty of life in everything. These qualities always helped the young designer in his discoveries. How was it possible to build the first hydrofoil boat in 1943 without imagination and inspiration? The inspiration of a young scientist striving for a great goal made it possible in 1946 to create another model of a high-speed boat, which reached a record for that time, covering 87 kilometers in an hour. This achievement lasted for almost twenty years.

There was always something around Alekseev strong field: communication with him awakened creative thoughts. Next to him, the most ordinary designer began to believe in himself, in his abilities. He was never in a hurry and never pushed, he inspired people with his example and his amazing efficiency.
1957 The motor ship “Raketa” is the first-born of Alekseev’s cruise ships. This ship opened a parade of ships during the World Festival of Youth and Students on the Moscow River. Bouquets of flowers flew into the river, over which a snow-white miracle rushed. The new product received high praise. In 1982, a quarter of a century since the first flight of Rocket 1 was celebrated. The fact speaks for itself: a durable, well-functioning, reliable vessel was designed by our fellow countryman.

Currently, about 1,400 high-speed hydrofoil motor ships have been built and operated in the world. Eight out of every ten are Alekseev’s designs. Among them are “Raketa”, then “Meteor”, “Sputnik”, “Belarus”, “Chaika”, “Burevestnik”, “Volga”, “Comet” and “Whirlwind”.

The chief designer looked ahead for many years. He understood perfectly well that time works for us, but it will not work for us... The development of the preliminary design of the motor ship “Swallow” has already been completed. The Comet will be replaced by the Albatross. Instead of the Volga boat, a Dolphin was created. The creation of “Cyclone” is completed, “Meteor” gives way to “Zenith”. A project for the motor ship “Polesie” will be developed for shallow rivers. But R.E. Alekseev did not have time to implement his plans.
An English technical magazine published an article a year after the death of the chief designer. “Among Mr. Alekseev’s outstanding qualities,” it says, “were his tremendous sense of purpose and calm tenacity in solving the most difficult problems of high-speed shipbuilding. He enjoyed great authority among close colleagues, as well as great respect from the Soviet shipbuilding and navigation community as a whole.” Recognition of his merits in the world is the fact that the portrait of Rostislav Evgenievich Alekseev is currently placed in the National Gallery of Outstanding People of the 20th Century of the US Congress in Washington.
Fellow countrymen honor the memory of the chief designer. A square in the city is named after him. Nizhny Novgorod. One of the outdated Meteors is installed on it, where a museum of the history of the Soviet high-speed fleet is opened. There is a street named after Alekseev in the city of Novozybkov, in his homeland.
Speaking at a meeting dedicated to giving the name “Constructor Alekseev” to the motor ship “Meteor-161”, the famous river captain V.G. Poluektov recalled that Rostislav Evgenievich was once issued a diploma as a navigator of all types of high-speed vessels in any basins. This is recognition of his great merits in the development of domestic water transport, a kind of admiral's honor.

On December 18, 1916, the outstanding (and perhaps great) Soviet designer Rostislav Evgenievich Alekseev was born.

Alekseev R.E. - chief designer of hydrofoils, ekranoplanes and ekranoplanes


In 1932, the Alekseev family moved to Gorky. Here, on the Volga, Rostislav saw one of the first sailing yachts gliding across the waves - and caught fire. He built a yacht in the attic of his house, the sail of which was painted black. Alekseev called the little boat “Pirate”.

Then there were many yachts (one more perfect than the other) made by Alekseev, and he repeatedly won regattas. One day his ship capsized, and our fellow countryman suffered facial paralysis. But that didn't stop him.

The young man wanted his ships to glide through the water even faster. In 1935 he entered the shipbuilding department of the Zhdanov Industrial Institute. Now it is Nizhny Novgorod Technical University named after Alekseev.

It was during his student years that he began to seriously think about the speed of ships. It was a seemingly insoluble problem. All types of transport were then “accelerated”, and there was a barrier for ships - 40 km/h. After all, water resistance is 880 times greater than air resistance.

The principle of hydrofoils, discovered by Charles de Lambert back in the 1890s, came to mind.


It's simple: thanks to the high water resistance, the ship's wings can be made very short. And the effect will be the same as when an airplane takes off: most of the ship will rise above the water. Contact with water element will practically disappear, and the speed of the ship will increase significantly.

The first attempts to create a hydrofoil vessel were made back in late XIX century. In 1897, a Russian citizen living in France, Charles de Lambert, built and tested a small hydrofoil boat on the Seine. However, the power steam engine, used as an engine on this ship, was not enough to develop the speed necessary for the ship's hull to rise above the water.

The experiments of the Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini were more successful. He had been experimenting with hydrofoil models since 1898. In 1906, the full-size experimental vessel he created reached a speed of 42.5 miles per hour (68 km/h) during tests on Lake Lago Maggiore. This boat had multi-tiered wings like whatnot.

In 1941, Rostislav Alekseev defended his thesis on the topic: “Hydrofoil glider.” The State Examination Commission heard about a ship that it did not yet know world history shipbuilding. The thesis was recognized as corresponding to the level of the candidate's dissertation. Alekseev was awarded the scientific title of Candidate of Technical Sciences.

A significant increase in the speed of water transport became possible with the advent of passenger hydrofoil ships. IN short term hydrofoils became one of the most popular types of transport in the USSR. Speed, seaworthiness, and high efficiency allowed winged ships to master waterways of communication, because the roads at that time were in very poor condition. In the summer of 1957, the motor ship "Raketa" was put into operation - the first passenger hydrofoil ship, designed and built by the team of the Central Design Bureau of the Krasnoye Sormovo plant under the leadership of engineer Rostislav Alekseev. “Raketa” made its first flight on August 25. During this flight, the distance of 420 kilometers from Gorky to Kazan was covered in seven hours. There were thirty passengers on board. Serial production of “Rockets” (projects 340, 340E, 340ME) was launched at the Feodosia shipyard “More”. From 1959 to 1976, 389 “Rockets” were built, including 32 for export. High-speed diesel engines were supplied by the Leningrad Zvezda plant. In 1957, Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev was amazed by the “Rocket” and uttered memorable words: “We’ve had enough of oxen swimming along the rivers! To the modern world- modern speed! By the way, only 4 years later a similar vessel was made in the USA.

The world's first hydrofoil "Raketa"

"Raketa" was intended for river high-speed passenger transportation on suburban and local lines, with a length of up to 500 km. Technical parameters of the “Rocket”: length - 27 m, width - 5 m, average speed - 60 km/h, power - 850 hp, number of passengers - 64 people. There was also a fire modification “Raketa-P” with two fire nozzles and water and air-foam protection systems.

The “Rockets” reached high speeds (maximum 120 km/h) thanks to a hybrid of a ship and an airplane: they were powered by engines from bombers. It was a unique unit, super lightweight, entirely made of aluminum. True, he had a considerable appetite: fuel consumption reached 103 kg/h at cruising speed.

In 1959, the first Meteor was launched, carrying 130 people. This ship had greater seaworthiness than the Raketa.

Meteor

In 1961, ten employees led by Alekseev received the Lenin Prize for creating a new vehicle. Thus, in eight years since 1956, the Russian high-speed fleet was created.

In the early 60s of the last century, the Soviet Union had the world's largest fleet of cruise ships: more than 1000 Volga boats, hundreds of Raketa motor ships, dozens of Kometa, Meteor and Belarus motor ships were used on the waters, although all of them were popularly called “rockets” - after the name of the first-born.

The idea of ​​an ekranoplan was born by R.E. Alekseev back in the early 50s. In 1961, the first self-propelled model of the SM-1 ekranoplan was tested. After this, work began on creating an ekranoplan for the Navy and airborne troops. The first was supposed to fly at altitudes of several meters, and the second - up to an altitude of 7500 meters.

Since the idea of ​​​​building ekranoplanes caused bewilderment at the top, Alekseev began to have spiteful critics. Some of them were not shy, and wrote that Alekseev imagined himself to be a slave owner, and that he had ten apartments. As a result, in 1965, Rostislav Alekseev was removed from his post as chief designer.

Alekseev was appointed chief designer of the ekranoplane department, and on June 22, 1966, the KM ekranoplane, the largest aircraft on earth for its time, was launched. When American reconnaissance satellites discovered a ship of an unknown design in the Caspian Sea, analysis of photographs showed that it, like an airplane, was moving at high speed, while its flight passed over the water itself. The Pentagon and NASA considered it a technical gamble. Few experts said that the Soviets had created a new and very effective type of weapon - ekranoplanes.


In 1975, during one of the test flights, when a large commission headed by the Minister of Shipbuilding was on board the ekranoplan, the pilot made a mistake during landing. The car suddenly hit the wave. The bulkheads and hull burst. The chief designer took control and brought the ekranoplan to the base, located 40 kilometers away.

When the ekranoplan reached the shore, it turned out that it did not have enough stern and tail. The accident showed the survivability of the ship, but the organizational conclusions were harsh: Rostislav Alekseev, by order of the Minister of Shipbuilding Industry of the USSR, dissatisfied with the inventor, due to the fact that Alekseev had previously turned to Khrushchev, ignoring his opinion, was removed from the post of chief designer and head of the Central Design Bureau, demoted to chief department, and then to the head of the promising sector.

The 70s turned out to be especially difficult for my father, recalled his daughter Tatyana Rostislavovna. - In 1974, an accident occurred during testing in the Caspian Sea. The commission received "Eaglet". And during the transitional regime, the aft part of the ekranoplan seemed to be sucked into the water, and when the device took off, the “tail” fell off. My father immediately sat in the pilot’s seat and turned on the engines at full power, thus creating an air cushion under the wings. If he hadn’t figured out the situation so quickly, the ekranoplan could have taken too much water and sank... The aviation industry said that they give a Hero for such things, but they took it out on their father to the fullest. He was transferred to ordinary designers.

Moreover, Rostislav Evgenievich was forbidden to attend the tests of his own cars! But he still secretly flew to Kaspiysk. Fortunately, his loyal pilot Alexey Mitusov, despite possible troubles, took him on board. My father was demoted and demoted... and he acted as if nothing was happening. Many were irritated by the dignity with which he carried himself. Some stopped greeting him, and yesterday’s “friends” said: “Well, now that Alekseev is no longer here, we will design something like this!” But time passed, and no one came up with brilliant ideas. And then the same people sang something else: “What do you want from us? Alekseev is a genius, but who are we? Mere mortals...".

During these years, the disgraced designer sought distraction in nature. Alone, I walked for a long time in the forest, picking mushrooms. Contacts with people were reduced to nothing. The worst thing for him was that his brain suddenly stopped generating new ideas, Alekseev’s daughter recalled. - Apparently, I found some kind of stupor. Then he retired to the base in Chkalovsk and began painting again. And the inspiration returned! In the last years of his life, my father was passionate about developing a second-generation ekranoplan.

But when testing a model of a new passenger ekranoplane, which was supposed to be completed for the Moscow Olympics-80, Rostislav Alekseev overstrained himself during launching. In January, he tested the latest model of an ekranoplan in Chkalovsk. His assistants cleared the ice blockage and said that the model could be released. But Alekseev did not hear, and took the full weight of the 800-kilogram apparatus.

At first, the 63-year-old designer did not feel any signs of trouble, went after the tests to the Central Design Bureau, and worked the whole day. And in the evening he complained to his family about pain in his side. Alekseev was immediately admitted to hospital No. 3 on the Verkhne-Volzhskaya embankment. On February 9, 1980, the famous designer passed away.

RosthistleAv Evgenievich Alekseev lived three design lives. In the first, he created a series of hydrofoils. In the second, he worked on hovercraft. He devoted his third life to ekranoletov. All the ideas he was working on had been in the air for a long time. He was the first to translate them into real designs.

Gorky branch of the Central Clinical Hospital for the agricultural production on the Trotsa River, where R.E. worked. Alekseev, by 1980, had two tracks with powerful electric catapults, a portable catapult for water testing, a wind tunnel for testing ekranoplane models, a circular hydro pool, a cavitation tube, several experimental installations for researching the effect of blowing, a significant fleet of powerful towing boats capable of testing models on open water at speeds of up to 100-120 km/h, a stand for studying full-scale power plants, a powerful portal crane with a concrete slip with a lifting capacity of up to 50 tons, a hangar workshop, various workshops, including those for the production of towed models, an airfield with a concrete runway, and a large number of specialized laboratories. By 1980, the base was a world-class scientific complex, the best among European scientific centers.

Rostislav Alekseev did not find out what fate awaited his creation. By order of October 12, 1984, the USSR Minister of Defense ordered the adoption of ekranoplanes for service. It was planned to build two dozen Orlyonok-type vehicles and create a new landing force in the Baltic Sea. This program was supposed to be completed before the mid-90s, but this did not happen. Only four finished ekranoplanes remained in the Caspian Sea as part of the 11th separate air group.

The associates of the creator of Soviet ekranoplanes managed to develop and manufacture in 1985 the Lun combat ekranoplane, equipped with six Moskit anti-ship homing missiles. However, it never went into production, but was put into service in 2002 after a long mothballing.

Mighty "Lun"

American ekranoplan designer Stephen Hooker said: “They were 30 years ahead of us!”

Rostislav Alekseev is buried in Nizhny Novgorod.

Soviet cruise ships were successfully exported to many countries around the world, including the USA, England, Germany, France, and Italy, which did not have similar technologies. They went out of widespread use immediately after the collapse of the USSR. Some “rockets” are still used on voyages and as pleasure ships to this day. For example, in Moscow, a gradual restoration of the Rocket began in 2007, and four vessels have already started navigation in 2009.

Hydrofoils are the pride of the Soviet Union. In their production and operation he was a world leader.

In total, for the needs of the Soviet navy, three ships were built at the More Production Association in the city of Feodosia from 1981 to 1987, two of which are now part of the navy Russian Federation and one was transferred to the Ukrainian Navy, but was not officially accepted into service.

Key dates.

December 18, 1916 - in the town of Novozybkov, Bryansk region (now Oryol region), a son, Rostislav, is born into the family of an agronomist and a teacher.

ALEXEEV ROSTISLAV EVGENIEVICH

For the entire twentieth century there are very few fundamentally new ideas in science and technology. It is all the more interesting to know who owns them.

Lived and worked in Nizhny Novgorod for 50 years Alekseev Rostislav Evgenievich– shipbuilder, Doctor of Technical Sciences, honored inventor, head of the largest scientific and production association in the industry, laureate of the Lenin Prize (1962) of the USSR State Prize (1951), deputy of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, designer of hydrofoil ships such as “Raketa”, “Meteor” , “Comet”, etc.

Rostislav Evgenievich Alekseev born on December 18, 1916 in the Bryansk region, in the family of a teacher and agronomist. In 1933, the family moved to the city of Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), where he went to study at the Gorky Evening Workers' Faculty, while at the same time working as a draftsman and artist in various institutions. All family members drew very well, but Rostislav Evgenievich loved to draw yachts and ships most of all. In 1935 he entered the Zhdanov Gorky Industrial Institute at the shipbuilding department. Even at the age of 6-9 years, he made boats and launched them on the river. On October 1, 1941, he defended his thesis “Hydrofoil glider” and was awarded the title of shipbuilding engineer by the state commission. After his defense, the young engineer was sent to the Krasnoye Sormovo plant, where from 1941 to 1943 he worked as a tank production control foreman. His first rationalization proposals also appeared there: a special device for igniting Molotov cocktails, a jet engine for high-speed torpedo boats.

In 1942, a decision was made to provide him with premises and people to work on creating hydrofoil combat boats. The creation of the Central Design Bureau for Hydrofoils (CDB for SPK) began with an old barn and three assistants. The Navy's shipbuilding department believed in the idea and funds were allocated to it. The boats did not have time to take part in hostilities, but the models he created convinced of the possibility of successful implementation of the idea. Alekseev’s brainchild grew, gained strength and scope, and the team’s work gained fame and recognition. In 1951, he and his assistants were awarded the State Prize for the development and creation of hydrofoils. The team begins to work on a hitherto unseen passenger hydrofoil ship (SPH), which received the symbolic name “Raketa”. In the summer of 1957 Alekseev R.E. introduced her to the world community, bringing her to Moscow during the International Festival of Youth and Students. With this, high-speed shipbuilding began for the first time in the world. The boat “Volga”, “Meteor”, “Kometa” is a new project every year and each one is the best. In 1961, ten employees led by R.E. Alekseev receive the Lenin Prize for creating a new vehicle. Hydrofoils and Alekseev’s name becomes business card city ​​of Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod)

However, the man who fundamentally created the new kind transport, are not satisfied with the achieved speeds, and this is already 60-80 km/h and even 95 km/h for the Burevestnik, against the usual 15-20 km/h for water-modifying vessels at that time. He is looking for ways to further reduce the area of ​​contact between ship elements and water, down to zero. And he begins work on creating devices called ekranoplans. Essentially, these were low-flying vehicles that used the surface of the water to launch, land and fly over it. Ekranoplans, according to calculations, could reach aviation speeds; with high efficiency, their speed was close to 250 km/h.

In 1962, the Central Design Bureau began work on creating the KM ekraloplan for the Navy, and in 1964. on the project of the T-1 ekranoplan for the airborne troops. The first was supposed to fly at altitudes of several meters, and the second - up to an altitude of 7500 m. On June 22, 1966, the KM, the largest aircraft on earth for its time, was launched. always the first to take the helm of all his SPKs.

In the early 70s, the Central Design Bureau for the SPK was given an order for the construction of the Orlyonok landing boat. On November 3, 1979, the world's first ekranoplan landing ship was accepted as a combat unit into the Navy. It received the standard number MDE-160 (junior airborne ekranoplan). 3 months later on February 9, 1980 after two operations R.E. Alekseev died.

In the design bureau R.E. Alekseeva a large family of SPKs was created different meaning. Hydrofoils bearing the “Made in the USSR” brand sail under the flags of Cuba and India, Austria and Finland, Poland and Greece, Germany and Bulgaria.

LITERATURE

ALEXEEV, R.A. // Large encyclopedic dictionary / Ed. A.M. Prokhorova. – 2nd ed., revised. and additional – M.: 2001. – P.34.

ALEXEEVA, T. Wings of Alekseeva // Knowledge is power. – 1996. – No. 10,11,12.

BELYAEV, A.A. Magic flight. – M.: AVIKO PRESS, 1993. – 32 p.: ill.

IVANOV, A.V. He was ahead of his time: Rostislav Alekseev (the actions of shipbuilders through the eyes of an aviation engineer). – N. Novgorod: Quartz, 2006. – 168 pp.: photo. – (Outstanding fellow countrymen).

ILYIN, V. Admiral of the high-speed fleet. – M.: Politizdat, 1983. – 94 p.: ill. – (Heroes of the Soviet Motherland)

KARPENKO, V. Designer Alekseev. – N. Novgorod: “BIKAR”, 2007. – 40 p.: ill.

MATVEEV, A. Service of speed. – N. Novgorod: Dyatlovy Gory publishing house, 2006. – 68 p.: ill. – (History of Russian technology).

MOISEEV, V. Flying people. Remember all. – N. Novgorod, 2009. – 264 pp.: photo.