A-90 Orljonok

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Coordinates: 55 ° 51 '  N , 37 ° 27'  E

A-90 Orljonok
A-90 "Orljonok" in Moscow
A-90 "Orljonok" in Moscow
Type: Ground effect vehicle
Design country:

Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union

Manufacturer:

Central development office for hydrofoil vehicles Alexejew

First flight:

Fall 1972

Commissioning:

1979

Number of pieces:

5

The A-90 Orljonok ( Russian Орлёнок ; German eagle cub ) is a Soviet ground-effect vehicle .

history

From the 1960s, the command of the Soviet Navy redefined its strategy for amphibious warfare . The aim of the strategy was to be able to land troops quickly and surprisingly on the coasts of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea . This resulted in a keen interest in vehicles that can quickly transport large contingents of troops over long distances.

For this reason, among other things, the Central Development Office for Hydrofoil Vehicles Alexejew was created under the direction of Rostislaw Alexejew , about which almost nothing was known in the West until the end of the Soviet Union. The main task of the office was the research and development of ground-effect vehicles.

In the 1960s, work began on various prototypes of ground-effect vehicles, which led to the first production vehicle in the Lun class in the 1970s . After that, the focus was placed on medium-sized transport vehicles, which ultimately led to the "Orljonok". The first flight of the prototype S-23 was carried out on the Volga in autumn 1972. From 1973 extensive tests were carried out in the Caspian Sea . In 1974 the project suffered a setback when S-23 was destroyed during a test. After a review and revision of the metal alloy of the hull, three more vehicles were built.

A total of five vehicles were built:

  • S-20, for static tests, scrapped
  • S-23, flying prototype, monument in Kaspisk since the accident in 1974
  • S-21 (MDE-150), November 3, 1979, capsized in a storm, sunk
  • S-25 (MDE-165), October 7, 1981, copied in 1999
  • S-26 (MDE-160), December 30, 1983, written off in 2006

The A-90 class entered service in 1979, and the three remaining vehicles were not retired until 1993.

A-90 in the Museum of the Russian Navy in Moscow

The S-26 is on display in the Museum of the Russian Navy in Moscow.

Technical specifications

Three-sided tear
Parameter Data
crew 6-8
length 58.11 m
Wingspan 31.5 m
height 16.3 m
Wing area 304.6 m²
payload 20,000 kg
Empty mass 120,000 kg
Max. Takeoff mass 140,000 kg
Engine

two Kuznetsov NK-8 -4K turbo jets with 103 kN thrust each and
one Kuznetsov NK-12 MK turboprop with 152 kN thrust

Top speed 400 km / h
Cruising speed 350 km / h
Range 1500 km
Altitude 2-10 m
Service ceiling 3000 m
Armament a double-barreled 14.5 mm machine gun

Web links

Commons : A-90 Orljonok  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rainer Göpfert: Soviet Ekranoplane . In: Fliegerrevue . No. 5 , 2017, p. 46 .
  2. ↑ Орленок airwar.ru (Russian).