Ushakov's flying submarine. underwater plane

The aircraft detects the enemy from the air and delivers a disorienting blow. Then, having retired from the line of sight, the car sits on the water and plunges to a depth of several meters in a minute and a half. The target is destroyed by an unexpected torpedo strike. In case of a miss, the device rises to the surface in two minutes and takes off to repeat the air attack. A bunch of three similar machines creates an impenetrable barrier for any enemy ship. Designer Boris Petrovich Ushakov saw his flying submarine like this

Edition PM

Flight tactical characteristics LPL Crew: 3 pers. // Takeoff weight: 15,000 kg // Flight speed: 100 (~200) knots. (km/h) // Flight range: 800 km // Ceiling: 2500 m // Number and type of aircraft engines: 3 x AM-34 // Takeoff power: 3 x 1200 hp // Max. add. takeoff/landing and dive roughness: 4-5 points // Underwater speed: 4-5 knots // Diving depth: 45 m // Submerged range: 45 miles // Underwater autonomy: 48 h // Propeller power: 10 hp // Dive time: 1.5 min // Ascent time: 1.8 min // Armament: 18-in. torpedo: 2 pcs. coaxial machine gun: 2 pcs.

Winged submarine Donald Reid Commander-2 Developed with the participation of the US Navy in 1964, this submarine, in the form in which it is depicted in the diagram and drawing, never existed in reality

Submarine Conveir, 1964: this project could have become one of the most successful in the development of winged submarines, if not for the resistance of US Senator Allen Elender, who unexpectedly closed funding

The Cormorant unmanned submarine developed by Skunk Works (USA) and tested as a full-size model in 2006. All details about this project are hidden under the heading "top secret"

Of course, such a project could not fail to appear. If you have an amphibious vehicle, why not teach a plane to dive underwater? It all started in the 30s. Second-year cadet of the Higher Naval Engineering School. F.E. Dzerzhinsky (Leningrad) Boris Petrovich Ushakov embodied on paper the idea of ​​a flying submarine (LPL), or rather, an underwater aircraft.

In 1934, he provided a voluminous folder of drawings along with a report to the department of his university. The project for a long time "walked" through the corridors, departments and offices of the school, received the stamp "secret"; Ushakov more than once finalized the scheme of the submarine in accordance with the comments received. In 1935, he received three copyright certificates for various components of his design, and in April 1936 the project was sent for consideration by the Scientific Research Military Committee (NIVK, later TsNIIVK) and at the same time to the Naval Academy. A large role was played by a detailed and generally positive report on the work of Ushakov, prepared by Captain 1st Rank A.P. Surin.

It was only in 1937 that the project was endorsed by the NIVK professor, the head of the department of tactics of combat weapons, Leonid Egorovich Goncharov: “It is desirable to continue the development of the project in order to reveal the reality of its implementation,” the professor wrote. The document was also studied and approved by the head of the NIVK, a military engineer of the 1st rank, Karl Leopoldovich Grigaitis. In 1937-1938, however, the project continued to "walk" along the corridors. Nobody believed in its reality. At first, he was included in the work plan of department "B" of the NIVK, where, after graduating from college, Ushakov entered as a military technician of the 1st rank, then he was excluded again, and the young inventor continued to work on his own.

plane aquarium

The submarine aircraft gradually acquired the final appearance and "stuffing". Outwardly, the device looked much more like an airplane than a submarine. An all-metal machine weighing 15 tons with a crew of three was theoretically supposed to reach speeds of up to 200 km / h and have a flight range of 800 km. The speed under water is 3-4 knots, the diving depth is 45 m, the range of the "swim" is 5-6 km. The aircraft was supposed to be driven by three 1000-horsepower AM-34 engines designed by Alexander Mikulin. Superchargers allowed the engines to carry out short-term forcing with an increase in power up to 1200 hp.

It is worth noting that at that time AM-34s were the most promising aircraft engines manufactured in the USSR. The design of the 12-cylinder piston power unit in many respects anticipated the development of aircraft engines of the well-known companies Rolls-Royce, Daimler-Benz and Packard - only the technical "closedness" of the USSR prevented Mikulin from gaining worldwide fame.

Inside, the aircraft had six sealed compartments: three for engines, one residential, one for a battery, and one for a 10 hp propeller motor. The living compartment was not the cockpit, but was used only for scuba diving. The cockpit was flooded during the dive, as was a number of leaky compartments. This made it possible to make part of the fuselage from lightweight materials that were not designed for high pressure. The wings were completely filled with water by gravity through the scuppers on the flaps - to equalize the internal and external pressure.

The fuel and oil supply systems were turned off shortly before full immersion. At the same time, the pipelines were sealed. The aircraft was covered with anti-corrosion coatings (lacquer and paint). The dive took place in four stages: first, the engine compartments were battened down, then the radiator and battery compartments, then the control was switched to underwater, and finally, the crew moved into a sealed compartment. The aircraft was armed with two 18-inch torpedoes and two machine guns.

On January 10, 1938, the project was re-examined by the second department of the NIVK. Nevertheless, everyone understood that the project was "raw" and huge funds would be spent on its implementation, and the result could be zero. The years were very dangerous, there were mass repressions, and it was possible to get under a hot hand even for an inadvertently dropped word or a “wrong” surname. The Committee put forward a number of serious comments, expressing doubts about the ability of Ushakov's plane to take to the skies, catch up with the departing ship under water, etc. To divert attention, it was proposed to make a model and test it in the pool. There is no more mention of the Soviet submarine aircraft. Ushakov worked for many years in shipbuilding on ekranoplans and air-winged ships. And from the flying boat, only diagrams and drawings remained.

Engine under the hood

A project similar to Ushakov's in the United States appeared many years later. As in the USSR, its author was an enthusiast whose work was considered insane and unrealizable. A fanatical designer and inventor, electronics engineer Donald Reid has been developing submarines and creating models of them since 1954. At some point, he came up with the idea to build the world's first flying submarine.

Raid collected a number of models of flying submarines, and when he was convinced of their performance, he proceeded to assemble a full-fledged apparatus. To do this, he used mainly parts from decommissioned aircraft. Reid assembled the first copy of the Reid RFS-1 submarine by 1961. The aircraft was registered as an aircraft under the number N1740 and was powered by a 65-horsepower 4-cylinder Lycoming aircraft engine. In 1962, an RFS-1 aircraft piloted by Donald Bruce's son flew 23 meters over the surface of the Shrewsbury River in New Jersey. Immersion experiments could not be carried out: serious design flaws affected.

To turn the aircraft into a submarine, the pilot had to remove the propeller and close the engine with a rubber cap, working on the principle of a diving bell. An electric motor with a power of 1 hp was located in the tail. (for movement under water). The cockpit was not airtight - the pilot was forced to use scuba gear.

A number of popular science magazines wrote about the Reid project, and in 1964 the US Navy became interested in it. In the same year, the second copy of the boat was built - Commander-2 (the first received the "military" name Commander-1). On July 9, 1964, the aircraft reached a speed of 100 km/h and made its first dive. In the first model of the aircraft, when immersed, the remaining fuel from the tanks was pumped out into the reservoir, and water was pumped into the tanks to make the structure heavier. Thus, the RFS-1 could no longer take off again. The second modification was supposed to get rid of this drawback, but it didn’t come to that, since the entire structure would have to be reworked. After all, fuel tanks were also used as diving tanks.

However, the design turned out to be too thin and light to be used for military purposes. Soon, the leadership of the Navy lost interest in the project and curtailed funding. Until his death in 1991, Reid tried to "advance" his project, but did not achieve success.

In 2004, his son Bruce wrote and published the book The Flying Submarine: The History of the Invention of the Raid Flying Submarine RFS-1. The RFS-1 aircraft itself is kept at the Pennsylvania Aviation Museum.

However, some sources claim that Reid's project has been developed. The US Navy decided to build the "Airship" (Aeroship) - a twin-body aircraft capable of diving under water. Allegedly in 1968 at the World Industrial Exhibition, this aircraft made a spectacular landing on the water, and then diving and surfacing. However, the official program of the exhibition that year (held in San Antonio) did not include a demonstration of a submarine aircraft. Further traces of this design are lost under the heading "secret".

Underwater rock of the 1960s

In April 1945, a man named Houston Harrington suddenly appeared on the horizon, applying for a patent "Combining an aircraft and a submarine." The patent was received on December 25, but things did not go further. Harrington's submarine looked very beautiful, but nothing is known about its flight data or underwater qualities. Subsequently, Harrington became famous in the United States as the owner of the record label Atomic-H.

Another patent for a similar design was obtained in the US in 1956. It was created by the American Donald Doolittle (together with Reid). This design was repelled rather than from an aircraft, but from a submarine. Movement under water was traditionally provided by an electric motor, but the flight was carried out using two jet engines.

In 1964, Conveir offered the US Air Force the development of a small submarine aircraft. Documents were presented - drawings, diagrams and even some fantastic "photos". Conveir received from the Bureau of Naval Weapons technical task, which included a speed of 280-420 km / h, a diving depth of 460 m, a flight range of 555-955 km, etc. Despite the clearly overstated requirements, the contract was concluded.

The project implemented Reid's idea of ​​using fuel tanks as diving tanks, but the fuel was not drained, but entered into other special tanks - to better distribute the load under water. The living compartment and the engine compartment were sealed, the rest of the submarine was filled with water. In the manufacture of the submarine, it was planned to use ultra-light and heavy-duty materials, including titanium. The team consisted of two people. Several models were made and successfully tested.

The denouement came unexpectedly: in 1966, the well-known Senator Allen Elender, head of the Senate Arms Committee, frankly ridiculed the project and ordered the development to be stopped. A full-size sample was never made.

Locked down border

Inventors are in no hurry to create Vehicle for two environments. The main problem is the high density difference between air and water. While an aircraft should be as light as possible, a submarine, on the contrary, tends to be heavier in order to achieve maximum efficiency. It is necessary to create completely different aerodynamic and hydrodynamic concepts for water and for air. For example, the wings that support the aircraft in the air only get in the way underwater. Structural strength also plays an important role and leads to the weight of the boat-plane, since such a unit must withstand very high water pressure.

Developed by Skunk Works, the Cormorant (“Cormorant”) project is an unmanned aerial vehicle driven by two jet engines. "Baklan" can be launched from special underwater carriers - Ohio-class submarines. The reserve of the underwater course of the "Cormorant" is very small - only to get to the surface, and then, after completing the surface task, return to the carrier. Under water, the wings of the drone are folded and do not interfere with movement.

The body of the aircraft is made of titanium, there are no voids in it (they are filled with a material similar to foam), and the geometry of the body resembles a cross between a seagull and Stealth.

Tests of individual Baklan systems were carried out, its reduced model was tested, as well as a full-scale model, devoid of part of the structural elements. But since 2007, there has been practically no information about the developments of the Cormorant, probably falling under the classic heading “top secret”.

flying submarine - aircraft, combining the ability of a hydroplane to take off and land on water and the ability of a submarine to move underwater.

If you have ever watched or are going to watch the film "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow", then you can see just such a submarine aircraft from the main character.

In the USSR, on the eve of the Second World War, a flying submarine project was proposed - a project that was never implemented. From 1934 to 1938 the flying submarine project (abbreviated: LPL) was led by Boris Ushakov. The LPL was a three-engine, two-float seaplane equipped with a periscope. Even while studying at the Higher Marine Engineering Institute named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky in Leningrad (now the Naval Engineering Institute), from 1934 until his graduation in 1937, student Boris Ushakov worked on a project in which the capabilities of a seaplane were supplemented submarine capabilities. The invention was based on a seaplane capable of submerging under water.

In 1934, a cadet of VMIU them. Dzerzhinsky B.P. Ushakov presented a schematic design of a flying submarine (LPL), which was subsequently revised and presented in several versions to determine the stability and loads on the structural elements of the device.

In April 1936, in the recall of Captain 1st Rank Surin, it was indicated that Ushakov's idea was interesting and deserved unconditional implementation. A few months later, in July, the LPL semi-draft project was considered by the Scientific Research Military Committee (NIVK) and received in general positive feedback, which contained three additional clauses, one of which read: “... It is desirable to continue the development of the project in order to reveal the reality of its implementation through the production of appropriate calculations and the necessary laboratory tests ...” 2 rank Professor Goncharov.

In 1937, the topic was included in the plan of the "B" department of the NIVK, but after its revision, which was very typical for that time, it was abandoned. All further development was conducted by the engineer of department "B" military technician of the 1st rank B.P. Ushakov during off-duty hours.

On January 10, 1938, in the 2nd department of the NIVK, a review of sketches and basic tactical and technical elements LPL, prepared by the author, What was the project like? The flying submarine was designed to destroy enemy ships on the high seas and in the waters of naval bases protected by minefields and booms. The low underwater speed and limited range under water of the LPL were not an obstacle, since in the absence of targets in a given square (area), the boat itself could find the enemy. Having determined its course from the air, she sat down over the horizon, which excluded the possibility of her premature detection, and sank on the ship's path. Until the target appeared at the salvo point, the LPL remained at depth in a stabilized position, without wasting energy with unnecessary moves.

The possible repetition of the approach to the target was considered as one of the significant advantages of the underwater-air torpedo bomber over traditional submarines. Particularly effective was the action of flying submarines in a group, since theoretically three such devices created an impenetrable barrier up to nine miles wide in the path of the enemy. The LPL could penetrate the harbors and ports of the enemy at night, dive, and during the day conduct surveillance, direction finding of secret fairways and, if possible, attack. The LPL design provided for six autonomous compartments, three of which housed AM-34 aircraft engines with a power of 1000 hp each. every. They were equipped with superchargers that allowed boosting in takeoff mode up to 1200 hp. The fourth compartment was residential, designed for a team of three people. It also controlled the ship under water. In the fifth compartment there was a battery, in the sixth - a propeller motor with a capacity of 10 l, s. The robust LPL hull was a cylindrical riveted structure with a diameter of 1.4 m made of 6 mm thick duralumin. In addition to durable compartments, the boat had a lightweight wet-type cockpit, which was filled with water when immersed. At the same time, flight instruments were battened down in a special shaft.

Sheathing of the wings and tail was supposed to be made of steel, and the floats of duralumin. These structural elements were not designed for increased external pressure, since during immersion they were flooded with sea water, which flowed by gravity through scuppers (holes for water drainage). Fuel (gasoline) and oil were stored in special rubber tanks located in the center section. When diving, the inlet and outlet lines of the water cooling system of aircraft engines were blocked, which excluded their damage under the pressure of outboard water. To protect the hull from corrosion, painting and varnishing of its skin was provided. Torpedoes were placed under the wing consoles on special holders. The design payload of the boat was 44.5% of the total flight weight of the device, which was common for heavy vehicles.

The dive process included four stages: battening down the engine compartments, shutting off the water in the radiators, transferring control to underwater, and transferring the crew from the cockpit to the living compartment (central control post).

Submerged motors were covered with metal shields. LPL was supposed to have 6 sealed compartments in the fuselage and wings. In three compartments sealed during immersion, Mikulin AM-34 motors of 1000 hp were installed. from. each (with a turbocharger in takeoff mode up to 1200 hp); in the pressurized cabin should have been located instruments, battery and electric motor. The remaining compartments should be used as tanks filled with ballast water for diving LPL. Preparation for the dive should have taken only a couple of minutes.

The fuselage was to be an all-metal duralumin cylinder with a diameter of 1.4 m and a wall thickness of 6 mm. The cockpit was filled with water during the dive. Therefore, all devices were supposed to be installed in a waterproof compartment. The crew had to move to the diving control module located further in the fuselage. Bearing planes and flaps should be made of steel, and floats of duralumin. These elements were supposed to be filled with water through the valves provided for this, in order to equalize the pressure on the wings when diving. Flexible fuel and lubricant tanks should be located in the fuselage. For corrosion protection, the entire aircraft had to be covered with special varnishes and paints. Two 18-inch torpedoes were suspended under the fuselage. The planned combat load was to be 44.5% of the total mass of the aircraft. This is the typical value of heavy aircraft of that time. To fill the tanks with water, the same electric motor was used, which provided movement under water.

Specifications:

Specifications: Parameter Indicator

Crew, pers. 3

Takeoff weight, kg 15 000

Flight speed, knots 100 (~185 km/h).

Flight range, km 800

Ceiling, m 2 500

Aircraft engines 3 × AM-34.

Takeoff power, hp 3×1200

Maximum extra. excitement at

takeoff / landing and immersion, points 4-5

Underwater speed, knots 2-3

Immersion depth, m 45

Power reserve under water, miles 5-6

Underwater autonomy, hour 48

Rowing motor power, h.p. 10

Dive duration, min 1.5

Ascent duration, min 1.8

Armament 18″ torpedo, 2 pcs.

coaxial machine gun, 2 pcs

In 1938, the Research Military Committee of the Red Army decided to curtail work on the Flying Submarine project due to insufficient submerged mobility of the LPL. The decree stated that after the discovery of the LPL by the ship, the latter would undoubtedly change course. Which will reduce the combat value of the LPL and, with a high degree of probability, will lead to the failure of the mission.

It should be noted that this was not the only domestic project of a flying submarine. At the same time, in the thirties of the last century, I.V. Chetverikov presented a project for a two-seat flying submarine SPL-1 - “an aircraft for submarines”. To be more precise, it was a seaplane that was stored in a disassembled form on a submarine, and when it surfaced, it could be easily assembled. This project was a kind of flying boat, the wings of which folded along the sides. The power plant leaned back, and the floats located under the wings pressed against the fuselage. The tail “empennage” was also partially folded. The dimensions of the SPL-1 when folded were minimal - 7.5x2.1x2.4 m. Dismantling the aircraft took only 3 - 4 minutes, and preparing it for flight - no more than five minutes. The container for storing the aircraft was a pipe with a diameter of 2.5 and a length of 7.5 meters.

It is noteworthy that building materials for such a boat-aircraft there were wood and plywood with a linen sheathing of the wing and “feathers”, while the weight of an empty aircraft was reduced to 590 kg. Despite such a seemingly unreliable design, during testing, the pilot A.V. Krzhizhevsky managed to reach a speed of 186 km / h on SPL-1. And two years later, on September 21, 1937, he set three international records on this machine in the class of light seaplanes: speed at a distance of 100 km - 170.2 km / h, range - 480 km and flight altitude - 5.400 m.

In 1936, the SPL-1 aircraft was successfully demonstrated at the International Aviation Exhibition in Milan.

And this project, unfortunately, never entered the mass production.

German project

In 1939, large submarines were planned to be built in Germany, it was then that the project of the so-called “Submarine Eyes” of a small float aircraft was presented, which could be assembled and folded in the shortest possible time and placed in a limited space. At the beginning of 1940, the Germans began to produce six experimental vehicles under the designation Ar.231.

The devices were equipped with 6-cylinder air-cooled engines "Hirth NM 501" and had a light metal structure. To facilitate folding of the wings, a small section of the center section was braced above the fuselage at an angle so that the right console was lower than the left, allowing the wings to fold one over the other when turning around the rear spar. The two floats detached easily. When disassembled, the aircraft fit into a pipe with a diameter of 2 meters. It was assumed that Ar.231 was supposed to descend and climb aboard the submarine using a folding crane. The process of dismantling the aircraft and its cleaning in a tubular hangar took six minutes. Assembly took about the same amount of time. For a four-hour flight, a significant supply of fuel was placed on board, which expanded the possibilities when searching for a target.

The first two devices Ar.231 V1 and V2 saw the sky at the beginning of 1941, but they were not successful. The flight characteristics and behavior of the small aircraft on the water proved to be inadequate. In addition, Ar.231 could not take off at wind speeds of more than 20 knots. In addition, the prospect of being on the surface for 10 minutes during the assembly and disassembly of the aircraft did not suit the submarine commanders very much. In the meantime, the idea arose to provide aerial reconnaissance using the Focke-Angelis Fа-330 autogyro, and although all six Ar.231s were completed, the aircraft did not receive further development.

"Fa-330" was the simplest design with a three-bladed propeller, devoid of a mechanical engine. Before the flight, the propeller was spun with a special cable, and then the gyroplane was towed by a boat on a 150-meter-long leash.

Essentially, the Fa-330 was a large kite flying at the expense of the speed of the submarine itself. Through the same cable, a telephone connection was made with the pilot. At a flight altitude of 120 meters, the viewing radius was 40 kilometers, five times greater than from the boat itself.

A design flaw was the long and dangerous procedure for landing the autogyro on the deck of the boat. If she needed an urgent dive, she had to abandon the pilot along with his helpless unit. In extreme cases, the scout relied on a parachute.

Already at the end of the war, in 1944, the Fa-330, which was not very popular with German submariners, was upgraded to the Fa-336, adding a 60-horsepower engine and turning it into a full-fledged helicopter. This innovation, however, did not greatly affect the military successes of Germany.

American RFS-1 or LPL Reida

The RFS-1 was designed by Donald Reid using parts from planes that had crashed. A serious attempt to make an aircraft capable of serving as a submarine, Reid's design came to him almost by accident, when a set of model aircraft wings fell off the skin and landed on the fuselage of one of his radio-controlled submarines, which he had been developing since 1954. Then the idea was born to build the world's first flying submarine.

At first, Reid tested models of various sizes of flying submarines, then tried to build a manned vehicle. As an aircraft, it was registered N1740 and equipped with a 65 hp 4-cylinder engine. In 1965, the first flight of the RFS-1 took place, under the control of Don's son, Bruce, he flew over 23 m. Initially, the pilot's seat was in the engine pylon, then before the first flight it was moved to the fuselage.

In order to convert the aircraft into a submarine, the pilot had to remove the propeller and cover the engine with a rubber "diving bell". On auxiliary power, small 1 HP the electric motor was located in the tail, the boat moved under water, the pilot used scuba gear at a depth of 3.5 m.

Underpowered, Reid's RFS-1, also known as the Flying Submarine, actually flew, briefly, but still managed to maintain flight and was able to submerge in water. Don Reid tried to interest the military in this device, but to no avail. He died at the age of 79 in 1991.

Japan also could not ignore such an exciting idea. There, aircraft have become almost the main weapon of submarines. The very same car from a reconnaissance aircraft turned into a full-fledged strike aircraft.

The appearance of such an aircraft for a submarine as the Seiran (Mountain Fog) turned out to be an out of the ordinary event. It was actually an element of a strategic weapon, which included a bomber aircraft and a submersible aircraft carrier. The plane was called upon to bomb targets in the United States of America that no conventional bomber could reach. The main bet was placed on complete surprise.

The idea of ​​a submarine aircraft carrier was born in the minds of the Japanese Imperial Naval Staff a few months after the start of the Pacific War. It was supposed to build submarines superior to anything previously created specifically for transporting and launching strike aircraft. A flotilla of such submarines was supposed to cross the Pacific Ocean, just before the chosen target, launch their aircraft, and then dive. After the attack, the planes were supposed to go out to meet with submarine aircraft carriers, and then, depending on the weather conditions, a way to save the crews was chosen. After that, the flotilla again sank under water. For a greater psychological effect, which was put above the physical damage, the method of delivering the aircraft to the target should not have been disclosed.

The program, of course, developed in an atmosphere of heightened secrecy, and it is not surprising that the Allies first heard about it only after the surrender of Japan. In early 1942, the Japanese High Command issued an order to shipbuilders for the largest submarines built by anyone until the beginning of the atomic age in shipbuilding. It was planned to build 18 submarines. During the design process, the displacement of such a submarine increased from 4125 to 4738 tons, the number of aircraft on board from three to four.

Now it was up to the plane. The fleet headquarters discussed the issue with the Aichi concern, which, starting from the 1920s, built aircraft exclusively for the fleet. The Navy believed that the success of the whole idea depended entirely on the high performance of the aircraft. The aircraft had to combine high speed to avoid interception, with a long range (1500 km). But since the aircraft was actually meant for one-time use, the type of landing gear was not even specified. The diameter of the hangar of an underwater aircraft carrier was set at 3.5 m, but the fleet demanded that the aircraft be placed in it without disassembly - the planes could only be folded.

The designers of Aichi, led by Tokuichiro Goake, considered such high demands a challenge to their talent and accepted them without objection. As a result, on May 15, 1942, 17-Ci requirements for an experimental bomber for special missions appeared. Norio Ozaki became the chief designer of the aircraft.

The development of the aircraft, which received the corporate designation AM-24 and the short M6A1, proceeded surprisingly smoothly. The aircraft was created under the Atsuta engine, a licensed version of the 12-cylinder liquid-cooled Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine. From the very beginning, the use of detachable floats was the only dismantled part of the Seiran. Since the floats significantly reduced the flight performance of the aircraft, it was possible to drop them in the air if necessary. In the submarine hangar, accordingly, mounts for two floats were provided.

In the summer of 1942, a wooden model was ready, on which the folding of the wings and plumage of the aircraft was mainly practiced. The wings hydraulically turned leading edge down and folded back along the fuselage. The stabilizer was manually folded down, and the keel to the right. For work at night, all folding nodes were covered with a luminous composition. As a result, the overall width of the aircraft was reduced to 2.46 m, and the height on the ejection truck to 2.1 m. Since the oil in the aircraft systems could be heated even while the submarine was under water, the aircraft could ideally be launched without a landing gear 4.5 minutes after ascent. It took 2.5 minutes to attach the floats. All preparations for take-off could be performed by only four people.

The structure of the aircraft was all-metal, except for the plywood sheathing of the wingtips and the fabric sheathing of the control surfaces. Double-slotted all-metal flaps could be used as air brakes. The crew of two people was placed under a single lamp. In the rear of the cockpit, from January 1943, it was decided to install a 13 mm Type 2 machine gun. Offensive armament consisted of 850 kg torpedoes or one 800 kg or two 250 kg bombs.

At the beginning of 1943, six M6A1s were laid down at the Aichi plant in Nagoya, two of which were made in the training version of the M6A1-K on a wheeled chassis (the aircraft was called Nanzan (South Mountain)). The aircraft, with the exception of the keel tip, did not differ much from the main version, even retained the attachment points to the catapult.

At the same time, in January 1943, the keel of the first I-400 submarine aircraft carrier was laid. Soon two more submarines I-401 and I-402 were laid down. Production of two more I-404s and I-405s was being prepared. At the same time, it was decided to build ten smaller submarine aircraft carriers for two Seirans. Their displacement was 3300 tons. The first of them, I-13, was laid down in February 1943 (according to the original plan, these boats were supposed to have only one scout on board).

At the end of October 1943, the first experimental Seiran was ready, flying the following month. In February 1944, the second aircraft was also ready. The Seiran was a very elegant seaplane, with clean aerodynamic lines. Outwardly, it was very reminiscent of the D4Y deck dive bomber. Initially, the D4Y was indeed considered a prototype for a new aircraft, but even at the beginning design work this option was rejected. The unavailability of the AE1P Atsuta-32 engine determined the installation of the 1400-horsepower Atsuta-21. The test results have not been preserved, but they, apparently, were successful, since preparations for mass production soon began.

The first serial M6A1 Seiran was ready in October 1944, seven more were ready by December 7, when an earthquake seriously damaged equipment and stocks at the plant. Production was almost restored when an American air raid on the Nagoya area followed on March 12. Soon it was decided to stop the mass production of Seyran. This was directly related to the problems of building such large submarines. Although I-400 was ready on December 30, 1944, and I-401 a week later, it was decided to convert I-402 into submarine transport, and production of I-404 was stopped in March 1945 at 90% readiness. At the same time, the production of submarines of the AM type was also stopped; only I-13 and I-14 were brought to readiness. The small number of submarine aircraft carriers has consequently limited the production of submarine aircraft. Instead of the original plans to produce 44 Seirans, only 14 were produced by the end of March 1945. They still managed to produce six Seirans before the end of the war, although many machines were at various stages of readiness.

At the end of the autumn of 1944, the imperial fleet began to train pilots of the Seirans, the flight and service staff. On December 15, 631 Air Corps was created under the command of Captain Totsunoke Ariizumi. The corps was part of the 1st submarine flotilla, which consisted of only two submarines I-400 and I-401. The flotilla included 10 Seirans. In May, the submarines I-13 and I-14 joined the flotilla, participating in the training of the crews of the Seirans. During six weeks of training, the release time of three Seirans from a submarine was reduced to 30 minutes, including the installation of floats, although in battle it was planned to launch aircraft without floats from a catapult, which took 14.5 minutes.

The initial target of the 1st flotilla was the locks of the Panama Canal. Six aircraft were to carry torpedoes and the remaining four bombs. Two aircraft were assigned to attack each target. The flotilla was to follow the same route as Nagumo's squadron during the attack on Pearl Harbor three and a half years earlier. But it soon became clear that even if successful, such a raid was absolutely pointless in order to influence the strategic situation in the war. As a result, on June 25, an order was issued to send the 1st Submarine Flotilla to attack American aircraft carriers on Ulithi Atoll. On August 6, I-400 and I-401 left Ominato, but shortly after, a fire broke out on the flagship due to a short circuit. This forced the start of the operation to be postponed until August 17, two days before which Japan capitulated. But even after that, the headquarters of the Japanese fleet planned to launch an attack on August 25th. However, on August 16, the flotilla was ordered to return to Japan, and four days later to destroy all offensive weapons. On I-401, the planes ejected without starting their engines and without crews, and on I-400 they were simply pushed into the water. Thus ended the history of the most unusual scheme for the use of naval aviation during the Second World War, which interrupted the history of the underwater aircraft for many years.

length - 11.64 m

height - 4.58 m

wing area - 27 sq.m

Our days

The US is currently working on the Cormorant aircraft.

American engineer L. Rail created the Cormorant project - a silent jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle based on a submarine, which can be equipped with both a melee weapon system and reconnaissance equipment.

Skunk Works, owned by Lockheed Martin, is developing an unmanned aircraft that will launch from a submarine from a submerged position. Skunk Works is famous for developing the U-2 Dragon Lady and SR-71 Black Bird reconnaissance aircraft in the 60s of the last century.

The new development is called Cormorant (cormorant). The aircraft will be able to launch from the Ohio-class submarine's Trident ballistic missile silo. These strategic missile carriers ceased to be in demand with the end of cold war, and now some of them are being converted into submarines for special operations.

The aircraft will be launched using a manipulator that will bring it to the surface. After that, the drone will open its folded wings and be able to fly. He will land on the water, after which the same manipulator will return the plane to the submarine.

However, building an aircraft that can withstand the pressure at a depth of 150 feet and yet be light enough to fly is not an easy task. Another complication, submarines survive by being silent, and a plane returning back to the boat can give away its location. The Skunk Works answer is a four-ton aircraft with gull-wings that can fold along the body of the aircraft so that it can fit into the shaft.

The design of the aircraft is durable - the body, made of titanium, is designed for overloads that can occur at a depth of 45 meters, and all voids are filled with foam, which increases strength. The rest of the body is compressed by an inert gas. Inflatable rubber seals protect weapon bays, engine inlets, and other aircraft components. The hull geometry is made according to a complex scheme, which reduces its radio visibility. The aircraft will be capable of performing reconnaissance or strike missions, depending on the equipment with which it will be equipped.

And here's back in 2008, according to www.flightglobal.com "management advanced planning Defense Research Department of the US Department of Defense (DARPA) has formulated the tactical and technical requirements for an aircraft of a fundamentally new type, which can not only fly, but also swim in the surface and underwater position. According to Flight Global, the concepts of the flying submarine and proposals for their experimental evaluation must be submitted by interested companies before December 1, 2009.

The requirements, in particular, provide for a flight range of at least 1850 kilometers, as well as the possibility of overcoming 185 kilometers on water and 22 kilometers under water in no more than 8 hours. The carrying capacity of the aircraft should be 910 kilograms, the cabin capacity is 8 people.

Snorkeling will be performed at shallow depths. Air supply and exhaust gases are planned to be carried out by means of a snorkel - a retractable twin pipe.

The aircraft is planned to be used for covert delivery of groups special purpose to coastal regions. The concept of its use also implies the possibility of being near the landing site for three days until the mission is completed. In standby mode, the aircraft will most likely be on the surface.

Previous attempts by the Pentagon to create a flying submarine ended in vain. A feature of the new project should be the transformability of the apparatus, depending on the density of the external environment.”

I won’t tell you in detail how things are now with these developments, maybe like this:

In 1934, a naval engineer developed and demonstrated to the leadership of the Soviet military-industrial complex the first project of a submarine-aircraft. Externally, it was a powerful seaplane with three motors, equipped with a periscope. The examination of the project lasted two years, after which the engineer was summoned to the Ministry of Defense and categorically stated that his project was interesting, worthy of attention and immediate implementation in practice.

Further work on the creation of a submarine-aircraft was to take place under the auspices of the Military Research Committee. But, unfortunately, when the detailed study of the project began in 1937, it was considered too complicated and closed. However, Boris Ushakov had a completely different opinion about his offspring.

He continued to work on the creation of a submarine-aircraft on his own. The scientist sincerely believed that the implementation of his project was essential for the Soviet Navy. With the help of this mechanism, it was possible to conduct naval reconnaissance, unexpectedly attack ships and coastal cities, successfully overcome sea minefields by air, and also create a barrier for enemy ships with a length of up to 10 km with just three submarines - aircraft.

Wherein technical side The project was fully thought out and technically feasible. The boat had six compartments. Three of them housed aircraft engines. This was followed by a living room, a battery pack and a compartment with a propeller motor. All flight instruments were in sealed compartments and could not be damaged by water.

The hull of the submarine - aircraft was to be made of duralumin, while the wings were supposed to be made of steel. The saddest thing is that in 1938, during a second discussion of the possibility of creating a submarine - an aircraft, the government commission recognized the project as technically feasible, but closed it due to low speed under water.

During the Second World War, each of the participating countries developed its own superweapon, which in one way or another would change the balance of power. The Germans worked on the V-2, the Americans designed atomic bomb The Soviets did not look far and settled on the Katyusha. But the Japanese approached this idea with all the sophistication and unprecedented ingenuity.

The failed experiment with kaiten torpedoes, about which, was only part of a larger plan to create a Japanese superweapon. In 1943, the development and creation of the I-400 supersubmarine began, the largest submarine of all time in World War II, ahead of its time by at least two decades.

Submarine aircraft carriers in World War I

The First World War marked the beginning of the development of military vehicles familiar to us, improved prototypes of which are still in use. Aircraft of that time, contrary to popular belief, did not immediately become a military unit. Fragile structures still felt insecure in flight and served more often for reconnaissance or logistics. What could not be said about submarines - more than 250 units were in service with the large fleets of the world. Submarines proved to be excellent weapons, as evidenced by the first successes of the German submarines U-26 and U-9. The second even achieved triple success, sinking three British cruisers at once in one battle. This greatly alarmed the military powers, as the threat posed by the water became a new problem.

Submarine U-9

The Germans were the first to try to combine the two elements, underwater and air: in 1915, on the U-12 submarine, it was decided to deliver the FF-28 hydroplane to the English Canal. The seaplane took off, reached the Thames and returned safely to base. This experiment showed that with the help of transportation, the combat radius of the aircraft increases. True, the submarine was in a floating position, which makes it not entirely clear what the trick was, since in this position the submarine was easy to detect.

In 1917, a competition was announced for the creation of reconnaissance aircraft, in which aircraft designer Ernest Heinkel took part. The U-142 submarine with special hangars for airborne aircraft did not show good results: during the tests, extremely low stability and poor controllability were revealed in both positions of the submarine. When diving, the boat swayed from side to side at an angle of 50 degrees and could capsize. The tests were shelved, and later stopped altogether due to military restrictions received by Germany. The Americans and the French also developed their own options, but they were not crowned with particular success.

Ernest Heinkel

aircraft designer

Submarine cruiser Surcouf

Japanese developments

After the end of the war, Japan, having received colonies in China, on the Caroline and Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, continued to hatch imperial plans for complete domination in the Asian region. If the Japanese could keep the situation under control on the water and under water, then things were more complicated with the air.

Instead of developing aviation separately, in 1925 the Japanese created their first submarine aircraft, the Yokosho 1-GO, which was used in conjunction with the I-21 minelayer. To store the aircraft, a hangar was equipped on the minelayer, in which the aircraft was transported. But the plane could only take off from the water. The submarine transported it only to the place where the plane took off, being in flight for no more than two hours, after which it landed on the water and, with the help of a crane, moved again to the hangar on the submarine.

In 1929, the foundation was laid for the submarine I-5 - also for reconnaissance. Based on the type of submarine Junyo Sensuikan (underwater cruiser). The disassembled aircraft was placed in two hangars: in one - the fuselage, in the other - wings and floats. Parts were removed from the hangars with a crane and assembled on the upper deck within half an hour. The construction worked only in calm: with a slight wave of water, the hangars were flooded, and in this case, even removing the hydroplane from there became impossible. After assembling the aircraft on the upper deck of the submarine with the help of a pneumatic catapult, it was understood into the air.

At the height of World War II, the E14Y1 aircraft carried out the first aerial bombardment of US territories. The plane flew deep into the mainland and dropped just two incendiary bombs in an Oregon woodland. The practice of such small sorties allowed Japan to inflict minor blows on the United States, which only irritated the American command. But by 1943, the United States partially equipped its lines with an anti-aircraft shield, which significantly reduced the successes of the Japanese. By the end of the year, the Japanese almost completely abandoned the use of such a practice, there were not enough pilots, plus the launch of each aircraft required good weather and lengthy preparations. So it was decided to create a submarine that could deliver full-fledged bombing strikes. The Panama Canal was chosen as the target, which made it possible to block the water artery from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

Submarine I-400

Max. depth

100 meters

Command structure

144 people

SPEED

18.75 surface knots and 6.5
knots under water

Construction proceeded quite quickly, since all the forces and maximum available funds were thrown into the development. First, it was necessary to develop a submarine hull capable of sustainably floating on the water and launching aircraft even with water shaking. A constructive option was proposed: by connecting two round cylindrical structures, which formed something similar to an inverted figure eight. To solve the problem with the length of the boat, all four diesel engines were placed side by side, splitting them in pairs. Fuel tanks and jet fuel tanks were placed outside the submarine, thereby freeing up space inside.

The armament of the submarine consisted of 20 torpedoes, siege 1400 mm deck weapons, three 25 mm machine guns, one anti-aircraft gun and three Aichi M6A1 Sheiran aircraft. As an engine, four diesel engines of 7700 hp were used. from. and four BP electric motors of 2400 hp each. from. The boat went under water in 70 seconds. A cylindrical hangar (3.5 meters in diameter and 37.5 in length) for storing three aircraft was located above the hull in the central part of the boat. Take-off launch carts have been specially designed for new aircraft. The trolley had hydraulic suspension, which made it possible to change the angle of attack by 3.5 degrees when launching from a catapult, and with the suspension it was easier to lower and tilt the aircraft when rolling into the hangar.

The total assembly of the aircraft, which involved five mechanics, was carried out within six minutes, and the total time for the aircraft to be ready from the moment of ascent was about 15 minutes, disassembly - two minutes. To quickly start the planes, the Japanese came up with a truly masterful idea - to preheat the fuel in the tanks and serve it already warm.

Aircraft floats were stored below deck. When collecting the aircraft, the floats were fed to the deck along the rails. On the port side was a 12-ton crane, folding into a deck recess. The crane was still needed to receive aircraft after they splashed down.

To remain undetected and reduce radar and acoustic visibility, the giant submarine's hull was lined with a rubber compound that did not reflect sonar sound waves. But still, even despite all these measures, the noise level of the substrate remained quite high. In total, three I-400 submarines were built out of a planned 18. The first one sank already on December 30, 1944, the second - a year later, in 1945, the third was completed until 1945, but never set sail. There was also a fourth, but as a result of US airstrikes, it was flooded near the shipyard.

The armament of the submarine consisted of 20 torpedoes, siege 1400 mm deck weapons, three 25 mm machine guns, one anti-aircraft gun and three Aichi M6A1 Sheiran aircraft.

Operation Hikari

The original plan was as follows: the flotilla sails south from the Japanese Islands, passing through the Indian Ocean, enters the Atlantic, and then moves north to caribbean to strike the Panama Canal from an unexpected direction.

At the last moment, the operation was revised and a flotilla was sent to destroy the American aircraft carriers located off the Ulithi Atoll. Operation Hikari did not involve the return of M6A1 Seirans. All pilots were to become kamikazes in order to maximize the damage to the US. To do this, the planes started without floats, so that they would not return back under any circumstances.

They say that the pilots were morally prepared for their last flight. The submarine admiral presented each pilot with a personal samurai sword with a dedicatory engraving. And on July 27, 1945, two submarines I-400 and I-401 with six bombers headed for Truk Atoll. The attack was scheduled for August 17, but already on August 15, an announcement was made on the radio about the complete surrender of Japan. The submarines were ordered to urgently return to the port, raising black flags, destroy all documentation and sink all six aircraft. When folded, the M6A1 Seiran aircraft were mounted on catapults and thrown into the sea.

25-th of August American destroyer The Weaver intercepted the submarine, and the crew boarded. The Japanese did not show military heroism and surrendered to the Americans; the US soldiers bluffed, convincing the Japanese to proceed to the port, otherwise they intended to do it themselves, although they had no idea how to operate the I-400. The size and design of the boat amazed the Americans, they had never seen anything like it before.

On the last day of summer, August 31, the submarine entered Tokyo Bay, and commander Ryunosuke Arizumi locked himself in the hold and shot himself, leaving a suicide note in advance, in which he asked to wrap his body in a naval flag and drop it into the ocean. In September 1945, the boats were towed to the American naval base in the Hawaiian Islands, and a year after the study, they were flooded near Ohau Island. The second boat was blown up a little later. This was done so that the USSR did not get to secret developments.

After the war

Already in the 1960s, it became clear why the United States sank all the submarines. After all, submarines capable of carrying and launching nuclear warheads were actually developed on the basis of the I-400. Only submarines did not launch aircraft that carried warheads, but independently launched a nuclear projectile after surfacing from the sea.

The new time has ground all previous developments, and the result is what we have today - ballistic missiles that are capable of hitting a target at a very long distance. Who knows what the outcome of the Second World War would have been if Japan had created its own submarines at least two years earlier. However, such odious and fantastic developments of the middle of the 20th century opened up radically new prospects for the development of weapons and the use of tactics.

Submarines capable of carrying and launching nuclear warheads were actually developed from the I-400.

Hangar on I-400

Seaplane Seiran M6A1, based on Japanese submarine aircraft carriers of the I-400 type

The Japanese navy of World War II had large submarines capable of transporting up to several light seaplanes (similar submarines were also built in France). The aircraft were stored folded in a special hangar inside the submarine. The takeoff was carried out in the surface position of the boat, after the aircraft was taken out of the hangar and assembled. On the deck in the bow of the submarine there were special short-launch catapult skids, from which the aircraft rose into the sky. After the flight was completed, the aircraft splashed down and retracted back into the boat hangar.

In September of the year, a Yokosuka E14Y aircraft, taking off from an I-25 boat, raided Oregon (USA), dropping two 76-kilogram firebombs, which, as expected, were supposed to cause extensive fires in forest areas, which, however, did not occur and the effect was negligible. But the attack had a great psychological effect, since the method of attack was not known [ ] . This was the only bombing of the continental United States during the entire war.

Japan

1. Project J-1M - "I-5" (1 reconnaissance seaplane, water launch)
2. Project J-2 - "I-6" (1 reconnaissance seaplane, catapult launch)
3. Project J-3 - "I-7", "I-8" (-//-)
4. project 29 type "B" - 20 pieces (-//-)
5. … type "B-2" - 6 pcs (-//-)
6. ... type "B-3" - 3 pcs (boats had hangars, but they never carried aircraft - they were converted to "Kaiten")
7. Project A-1 - 3 pcs (1 reconnaissance seaplane, launched from a catapult)
8. Type I-400 - 3 pcs (3 seaplanes Aichi M6A Seiran)
9. Type "AM" - 4 pcs (2 seaplane bombers "Seiran" ("Seiran")), 2 not completed.

The last two types were intended for strikes against the Panama Locks, but there is no information about their combat use as aircraft carriers.

Great Britain

After the loss of the heavily armed boat HMS M1 (English) and restrictions on submarine weapons introduced by the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922, the remaining M-class submarines were converted for other purposes. The boat HMS M2 It was equipped with a waterproof hangar and a steam catapult and was adapted for taking off and landing small seaplanes. The submarine and its aircraft could be used for reconnaissance purposes in the vanguard of the fleet. The M2 sank near Portland and the British Navy abandoned its submarine carriers.

France

Submarine Surkuf built in 1930 - was lost in 1942. She was equipped with a light seaplane in the hangar for reconnaissance and fire control of the main caliber of the submarine - 203-millimeter guns.

the USSR

In 1937, TsKB-18, under the leadership of B. M. Malinin, developed submarines of the XIV bis series (project 41a), which were planned to be equipped with the Hydro-1 seaplane (SPL, Aircraft for a Submarine), developed in OKB N. V . Chetverikov in 1935 . The boat hangar was designed to be 2.5 meters in diameter and 7.5 meters long. The aircraft had a flight weight of 800 kg and a speed of up to 183 km/h. Preparing the aircraft for flight was supposed to take about 5 minutes, folding after the flight - about 4 minutes. The project was not implemented.

present tense

In modern submarine shipbuilding submarine aviation not used. In the USSR, a project was developed for the Ka-56 Osa reconnaissance helicopter, adapted for transportation in a torpedo tube. The project did not go into series due to the lack of suitable rotary engines in the USSR.

UAVs are being developed in the United States for submarines, in particular, Ohio-class strategic missile carriers that are being decommissioned and have 24 missile silos with a diameter of 2.4 m each.