Tupolev A-3

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Tupolev A-3
N007 in July 2013.jpg
Type: Amphibious propeller sled
Design country:

Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union Soviet Union

Manufacturer:

Tupolev

First flight:

1961

Commissioning:

1964

Production time:

1964-1983

Number of pieces:

> 800

The Tupolew A-3 Nadezhda ( Russian Туполев А-3 Надежда , Nadezhda German for hope) is an all-metal amphibious vehicle for transporting passengers and cargo in areas with no traffic. The drive with pusher propeller located behind the closed cabin also enables locomotion on snow or water.

history

In order to ensure year-round transport of letters, passengers and light cargo, as well as emergency medical assistance to remote areas, it was necessary to develop a vehicle that is capable of traveling on different surfaces at high speed. To meet these requirements, Tupolev developed an amphibious sled that is powered by a radial engine and a pusher propeller.

The helicopter designer Nikolai Kamow also developed such means of transport (e.g. Aerosled K30).

Development of the A-3 began in 1961, series production started in 1964 and lasted until the early 1980s. Initially, the A-3s were made near Moscow, but the majority of A-3 production took place in Ukraine , at the Tyachivsky Transcarpathian helicopter factory. Production stopped in 1983 after more than 800 A-3 propeller sleds were produced.

The A-3 was originally powered by an air-cooled 100 hp M-11 five-cylinder radial engine. On later models, this was replaced by a 260-hp AI-14R star engine mounted on a shock-absorbing tubular frame. A removable cover covers the oil tank and the lines for the lubrication system. The two fuel tanks are built into the fuselage on both sides of the cabin.

commitment

The vehicle is primarily used for the transport of mail, essential goods and medicines. The A-3 was in service throughout Eastern Europe and remote areas of Siberia from the mid-1960s to the 1980s. The A-3 was used in isolated cases by the military; at least once with the Soviet 16th Air Army stationed in the GDR as a rescue vehicle for pilots who had crashed. Two A-3s were stationed with the 125th ADIB (Fliegerdivision der Fighter-Bomber) in Rechlin . The Hungarian border guards operated four propeller sleds on Lake Neusiedl .

Preserved copies

  • An A-3 (registration N007 ) built in 1978 , possibly the only one to go to the U.S., sold for $ 187,000 at a Barrett-Jackson auction in 2007. This example has a non-standard 9-cylinder engine and two counter-rotating propellers.
  • In Hungary there are still two registered: “2202” and “2302”. The "2202" is being restored in the Border Guard Museum in Körmend , while the "2302" in Alsónémedi is still in poor condition.
  • There is an A-3 with the registration "6711" in the Moscow Automobile Museum.

See also

literature

  • Roy McLeavy: Jane's Surface Skimmers , Jane's Publishing Company Limited, London, England, 1982, ISBN 0-86720-614-4 , pages 65-67
  • Walter Lorch: History of traffic on snow and ice , Orell Füssli Verlag Zurich, 1977, page 143

Web links

Commons : Tupolev A-3  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

credentials

  1. ^ Roy McLeavy, Jane's Surface Skimmers , pp. 65-67