Bolkhovitinov BI-1
| Bolkhovitinov BI-1 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Rocket plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
May 15, 1942 |
| Production time: |
1941-1943 |
| Number of pieces: |
8th |
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The Bolchowitinow BI-1 ( Russian Болховитинов БИ-1 ) was the prototype of a Soviet rocket aircraft that did not go beyond the pre-series . Projected as a fighter plane and tested with cannon armament, its first flight took place nine months after that of the first missile fighter , the German Me 163 .
history
Of the three Soviet rocket aircraft I-302 , Malyutka and BI-1 projected from 1939 under the name Ognewitsch , "The Fiery", only the latter reached the stage of intensive flight tests. The machine was planned as a high-speed interceptor for object protection. The development was stimulated after a conversation between the designer Viktor Bolchowitinow and the People's Commissar (Minister) for the aviation industry Alexei Shachurin with Josef Stalin in August 1941. The work was carried out in the design office ( OKB ) Bolchowitinow, which in the 1930s was mainly concerned with building unconventional Aircraft had made a name. It was developed by Alexander Bereznjak and Alexei Isayev , which is why the construction is also known as Bereznyak-Isayev BI-1. The abbreviation BI stands for Blischni Istrebitel (Nahjäger). After the German attack on the Soviet Union, the designers were only allowed 35 days to build instead of the planned three months due to the highest level of urgency. Viktor Bolkhovitinov, who had also led the development of the RP-318-I rocket glider, was in charge .
The single-chamber rocket engine D-1A-1100 used was operated with kerosene , nitric acid served as the oxidizer . It was developed by Leonid Dushkin and Vladimir Schtokolow . On September 10, 1941, the first non-powered gliding tests began, with the BI-1 being towed to altitude by a Pe-2 . Subsequently, due to the advance of the German troops and the resulting evacuation of the design office behind the Urals , the tests had to be suspended for a few months from October 16, 1941. On April 27, 1942, the engine was first tested on the ground, and on May 15, pilot Grigori Bachtschiwandschi completed the first flight with the engine switched on in three minutes and nine seconds. It almost ended in a catastrophe, because on the approach to landing an engine line broke and toxic fumes were distributed in the cabin, so that Bakhchiwandschi had to land the BI-1 almost blind and with difficulty breathing. Although he hit the plane so hard that one of the landing gear struts broke, the prototype was saved and could continue to be used after a repair. In the subsequent tests, the BI-1 was subjected to a high-speed trial, and a building contract for 50 series machines had already been placed. On the seventh flight there was a disaster when the machine got out of control and the pilot Grigori Bakhchivchi was killed on March 27, 1943. Despite extensive wind tunnel tests that followed, the dangerous tendency of the machine to suddenly turn its nose down at high speeds could not be stopped. This was a general problem of aircraft with unswept wings at speeds above 950 km / h, which later also led to losses in the USA. As a result, production was stopped, but some of the seven pre-series samples that had already been completed were still being tested.
On March 9, 1945, the BI-5 achieved a rate of climb of 91.08 m / s. After a crash landing, however, work on the no longer necessary project was stopped. The existing machines and 20 machines under construction were all scrapped.
construction
The fuselage of the BI-1 was built in all-metal half-shell construction with an oval cross-section. The rocket engine was in the stern, and the fuel tank that went with it was behind the pilot's seat. The structure was made of wood and metal and arranged in a low wing position. The normal tail was supported on each side with a strut at the top and bottom. The rear wheel chassis could be retracted completely pneumatically, during the winter trials the wheels were replaced by snow runners .
Test aircraft
| designation | features |
|---|---|
| BI-1 | First version, which was built in two copies. The first BI-1 was only tested by Boris Kudrin in sliding tow with a Pe-2 , while the first flight with propulsion took place in Sverdlovsk in 1942 . |
| BI-2 | After the successful test flight of the BI-1, a first production order was placed, but a higher range was requested, which is where the BI-2 was built. The test was carried out by Konstantin Grusdjew in 1942. |
| BI-3 | The test machine with which pilot Grigori Bakhchiwandshi fatally crashed on March 27, 1943. |
| BI-4 / BI-WS | This model was originally intended as the last pre-production model before the BI-1 should go into production. It should therefore also be equipped with two 20 mm MK in the nose of the fuselage and a photo machine gun in a panel at the height of the cabin under the fuselage. However, caused by the unforeseen crash of the BI-3, the project was canceled. |
| BI-5 | The first test model equipped with an RD-1 was tested by Boris Kudrin in March 1945 . It was equipped with two stabilizing fins on the lower rear of the fuselage and for the first time reached a top speed of 950 km / h. |
| BI-6 | An essentially identical version to the BI-5. At that point in time it was decided to discontinue the BI-1 program, so it was no longer tested in flight. It was eventually converted to the BI-7. |
| BI-7 / BI-PWRD | The last version was no longer powered by a rocket engine in the fuselage, but received a pulso thrust tube at each wing tip . However, it was not flown, it was only tested in the ZAGI wind tunnel . |
Issued copies
Today there is no original BI-1, there are only flightless replicas. An aircraft is in the Central Museum of the Air Force of the Russian Federation in Monino. Another specimen is in the museum in Verkhnyaya Pyschma , near the site of the first flight. At the airport Yekaterinburg , a replica is on a stele . In Krasnodar, the hometown of the pilot Bakhchiwandschi, three aircraft are on display in memory, including a BI-1.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data (BI-1) |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| Conception | single-engine experimental rocket fighter |
| Constructors | Alexander Bereznjak, Alexei Issajew |
| length | 6.40 m |
| span | 6.48 m |
| height | 2.06 m |
| Wing area | 7.00 m² |
| Wing extension | 6.0 |
| Arrow | 3 ° |
| Wing loading | 236 kg / m² |
| Power load | 0.67 kgf / kg |
| Empty mass | 805 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 1650 kg |
| Top speed | 990 km / h at 5000 m altitude (estimated) |
| Rate of climb | 91.08 m / s |
| Engine | a Duschkin D-1A-1100 |
| thrust | 1100 kp (10.8 kN) |
| Burn boost | approx. 2 min |
| Armament | two 20 mm MK SchWAK (45 rounds) |
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alexei Ivanovich Shachurin: Wings of Victory . Military Publishing House of the GDR, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-327-00822-1 , p. 127.
- ^ Robert Jackson: The International Encyclopedia Aircraft , 2006, p. 72.
- ↑ Manfred Jurleit: Versions - Bolchowitinow BI-1 to BI-7 (USSR). In: Flieger Revue 2/94. P. 49.
- ↑ Alexei Ivanovich Shachurin: Wings of Victory . Military Publishing House of the GDR, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-327-00822-1 , p. 128
- ↑ Peter Stache: Soviet missiles in the service of science and defense . Military Publishing House of the GDR , Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-327-00302-5 , p. 89 .
- ^ Airliners.net
- ↑ a b c d Ferdinand CW Käsmann: World record aircraft. Aviatic, Oberhaching 1999, 2nd, revised edition, ISBN 3-925505-48-2 , pp. 148/149
- ↑ Bart Hendrickx: Energiya-Buran: The Soviet Space Shuttle , 2010, p. 6th