HUMONGOUS Soviet ground-effect tank-plane

I know nothing about this titanic Lun Soviet ground-effect war-tank-plane-thing. The description (in Russian) contains a large number of specialized ground-effect tank-plane enthusiast vocabulary words that stymie Google Translate. It appears that it could traverse broken apocalyptic roads, frozen tundra, and water with equal ease, skimming below radar, too. But I can't say anything else for sure.

So I will say this: if you fed a hyperactive 12 year old lad a diet of old Astounding Stories covers and put him in the most boring math class of all time for 28 straight hours with a collection of fine pens and a binder full of doodling paper, he just might produce one of these.

ЭкÑ€Ð°Ð½Ð¾пÐ»Ð°Ð½ "Ð›ÑƒÐ½ÑŒ" пÑ€Ð¾ÐµкÑ‚ 903 (Thanks, Elapsv!)

Previously:

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: Gadgets • gigantism • soviet

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Anonymous

Wow, totally awesome. I’m not a military expert but I’m pretty sure this beast could hardly be engaged without air support, at that speed it literally runs circles around even the fastest military ship.

This thing would also fit perfectly into a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game.
jaded

best pic of lun here…

http://www.schall-netlabel.com/img/covers/schall_024_-_cover-large.jpg
dbarak

Google “Ekranoplan” for some great information and photos. These apparently were built in a variety of models.
Anonymous

I think it’s one of these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekranoplan

Videos of the things on YouTube are all kinds of awesome…
Anonymous

The pictures aren’t just of ‘a’ Lun ekranoplan, they are of the only working Lun ever built. Shame, it doesn’t look like she’ll be flying/skimming anywhere again without a lot of work.
Eicos

They’re called Ekranoplans, and are the largest examples of what is called a ground effect vehicle. It’s pretty unlikely they would have been very good in overland flight, but they can move quite rapidly over water.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_effect_vehicle
anansi133

I’d love to build a balsa model version of this- for when I need to fly a heavy toolbox across a lake to someone.
coaxial

Actually it is the Caspian Sea Monster
Anonymous

These are called Ekranoplan, there’s a fair bit of information about them in Wikipedia.
If you want to see video of them in action, there are plenty on YouTube. Try this one: http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=2200021317530929051&ei=6VuVS63wI9nm-AbRj4jmAg&q=ekranoplan&hl=en&client=firefox-a#

They work by exploiting ground effect to skim just above the surface of water or smooth surfaces.

Pretty impressive stuff. Although the Soviets appear to have abandoned the technology, the Chinese seem to be developing them, there’s one at a seaplane base on Google Earth.
cymk

The Lun Ekranoplan was one of the more unique aircraft designs to come out of USSR during the cold war. Kinda makes you wonder, at the end of WWII all the conservative German scientists came to the ‘States and all the eccentric ones went to ‘Russia.
- Brainspore
  
  Kinda makes you wonder, at the end of WWII all the conservative German scientists came to the ‘States and all the eccentric ones went to ‘Russia.
  
  Are you kidding? The ones that came to the United States helped us send some dudes to the moon and gave them a dune buggy so they could go joyriding once they got there.
complicity

It’s an ekranoplan, as featured in Charlie Stross’s ‘Missile Gap’.

The transliteration of the equivalent cyrillic is straightforward.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lun-class_ekranoplan
Anonymous

This looks like one of the Ekranoplan flying boats in which Soviet Russia were very interested for their their own rapid deployment plans. The plane depended on the Ground effect ie. that is when you have enough speed above water an air cushion will keep it aloft. Looks mighty interesting but am only too glad not to have to pay the bill for the gas station.
More on Wikipedia under Ekranoplan.
Greetz, Rob
Anonymous

The Soviets had a hard-on for these “ekranoplans” in the Cold War era. Their largest was on the order of 400 TONS all-up weight. They were intended as guided missile platforms, high speed transports and amphibious assault vehicles.

Wikipedia is a good place to start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekranoplan
PrettyBoyTim

I remember seeing a documentary on that vehicle a few years ago on UK TV. You can find a bunch more pictures and links of it by googling ‘ekranoplan’, which I think is the Russian term for ‘Ground Effect Vehicle’. I think the documentary was called ‘The Caspian Sea Monster’.

One of the fascinating things I recall about it was that although it has eight jet engines it only requires two of them for normal flight – the other six are just required to take off from the water and get into ground effect and are turned off once it’s got going.

Those are astonishing pictures of it although it is a shame to see it deteriorating. I guess it’s not practical enough to justify the (presumably huge) expense of keeping it running.
MrsBug

I have no idea how something like that could’ve gotten off the ground. But, then again, I’ve flown in a C-5 and I have no idea how THAT behemoth got off the ground either.
- gollux
  
  They basically only get one wingspan altitude off the ground. There were some skimmers made in the states that basically flew above fence height. These would be reasonable desert aircraft as well, anywhere you have expanses of flat land, limited vegetation and rock formations.
  
  Getting stuck in ground effect is one of the dangers of overloading your aircraft and attempting lift-off at high altitude airports. If you don’t realize it in time to set back down on the runway, you fly until you find obstructions. It’s why checking pressure-altitude and knowing your take-off weight is pretty important in the high plains.
wood29

You can see some footage of that monster “flying” here :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVTbi8kWovI

starting at 0:30.
Anonymous

There ist is:

http://maps.google.de/maps?ll=42.881925,47.656746&spn=0.01,0.01&t=h&q=42.881925,47.656746
Trent Hawkins

I love the fact that it’s called a “Monster”.

The thing still holds the record for carrying the heaviest load out of any airplane and was capable of taking out aircraft carriers (seeing as how it’s able to cruise on water and was invisible to radar).

Shame that it’s not the safest or cheapest thing to fly and had to be canceled. I doubt that any civilian airline would want to fly so fast and so low to the ground, but I would still like to have taken a ride on one.
Bucket

“Good news, Comrade Chairman! Our valiant engineers have finally come up with a counter for the dreaded American Landmaster!”

“That is excellent news, Vasili. George Peppard will never know what hit him!”
arkizzle / Moderator

Here is some video of the Caspian Sea Monster, and James May flying the smaller, modern equivalent (links are BBC, but should be fine internationally):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7635441.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7635474.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7635551.stm
Anonymous

I always had an image of the Ekratoplan Wing of the Red Air Force racing across the Pacific to attack California in the name of the Motherland and Socialism… right up to the moment they smashed into the Philipine squid-fishing fleet.
ackpht

What I’m trying to figure out is how they maintained CG within allowable limits as the missiles lit off and launched. With a flying altitude of only a few meters, there’d be almost no time for trim corrections. Or maybe it was supposed to pop up for launch, trim for CG as quickly as possible, then back to the surface and scoot for home?
Anonymous

someone should buy and move it to Las Vegas for a resturant
ElfSternberg

For some reason, I read through that and my brain immediately started to craft rules for what these things would be like in Ogre/G.E.V. Insanely fast missile tanks that cross the field in six turns or so, with no turn radius, no way to slow down.
- Anonymous
  
  > Insanely fast missile tanks
  
  David Drake, the Hammer’s Slammers stories. Turbofans and skirts, mostly energy weapons, if memory serves.
Anonymous

It doesn’t fly by moving forward, it flies by pushing the earth away from it.
sing it, baby

The only complaint is that “Soviet” technology means it’s powered by a donkey on a treadmill.
- gollux
  
  Or by two four engine low-bypass turbine pods.
  
  One had a massive contra-rotating prop up in the tail, I suppose your conjecture of about 500 donkeys on treadmills down in the fuse could have powered it.
MrSmirnov

Some translation for all you yankees :) : the plane could just barely skim off the surface of the water, but in doing so could reach speeds of up to 600 km/hr. So it was more of a boat with wings than a sea plane. The thing weighed 400-500 metric tons depending on the payload, and was meant to specialize in destroying aircraft carriers. It was equipped with six “Moskit” missiles which travel at 2.5 times the speed of sound and to this day cannot be intercepted by any existing technology.
I think the reason that the Google translator was befuddled by the linked article has to do with its use of compound words more than anything. I know nothing of aviation, but was able to understand the article clearly. Nice links though.
hacky

For information on this exact model, the Lun 903:

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/rus/903.htm

Seems to be a missile launcher.
VICTOR JIMENEZ

This is pure ekranoplane porn. Totally loved it.
MasterSauce

In Soviet Russia… OMFG!

So those video game bosses I killed in the late eighties were closer to reality than I thought. Wild.
A Nonny Moose

Here’s a little tech info on this particular Ekranoplan: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/rus/903.htm
Phrosty

I have the sudden urge to buy one and create…HOUSEBOATPLANE!
- Felton
  
  I have the sudden urge to buy one and create…HOUSEBOATPLANE!
  
  You and me both. I’ve always loved the idea of living on a houseboat. A gigantic military-grade houseboatplane will do nicely. :-)
DarthVain

W.T.F.

That things is crazy.

I gotta tell you if I saw that thing coming at me I would just say forget it, I am going home, this is nuts…

Looks like something out of a Hayao Miyazaki nightmare.
AceSkynet

Build your very own! http://www.anigrand.com/AA4014_Lun.htm
the Other michael

Look like it was designed by Enki Bilal
pinup57

Really cool photograph. That would’ve made a great 10.000 pieces jigsaw puzzle.
Anonymous

Fantastic photos.(^-^). Looks like a metallic dinosaur.
Love the photo in the cockpit. Are those ropes for emergency exits?
Grey Devil

Wow, never heard of these “boats” before and they are quite impressive. Though it seems like they have a lot of navigational issues when turning, even when using computers to assist. Though i am highly curious as to how efficient they are when compared to comparable planes and boats.
gwailo_joe

So. Awesome. A Cold War Miyazaki wet dream. . .OF DEATH!!! (and 600kph is 360+mph. . .what’s the turning radius and braking distance on a thing like that?) A final thank you Jesus that it was never used as intended. . .
- Anonymous
  
  totally Miyazaki! – Nausica Valley of the Wind, Laputa: Castle in the Sky inspiration for sure.
Anonymous

Am I the only one that thinks this looks like something straight out of the “Fallout” games?
adamrice

Dark Roasted Blend did a big piece on ekranoplanes a while back. Lots of fun.
JimmerSD

I remember one this from an episode of Thunderbirds!

Thunderbirds are GO!
- VagabondAstronomer
  
  …and at Darth Vain; forget Miyazaki, this thing looks as though it fell out of a Gerry and Sylvia Anderson production. Heck, a lot of Soviet era hardware did, for that matter…
johnny payphone

The surplus site govtliquidation.com has a category for “ground effect vehicles”. Zero items listed, though.

http://www.google.com/search?q=government+surplus+%22ground+effect%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
Anonymous

@#13
Have you seen the size of the frikkin hovercraft on the apron just adjacent to the Ekranoplan?

Did the Russians ever build anything on any scale other than massive?
jneilnyc

C5s look like airplanes – only much, much bigger.

I love the Russian design philosophy which says that anything can be made airborne if you strap enough rockets and engines to it.
andreinla

Mandatory reference to Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky.
Antinous / Moderator

We’ve got wormsign.
Anonymous

Ekranoplan

http://images.google.fr/images?hl=fr&q=Ekranoplan&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=kAKWS8iHEcbKjAeArPWhCg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CA8QsAQwAA
arikol

I’m an airplane guy and have some interest in the ekranoplan concept. The russian text at the bottom of Cory’s post says (I think): Ekranoplan “moon” project 903
I think Ekranoplan literally means Screening plane (spy plane)
But I could be wrong, my russian is VERY basic

This is as safe as any other low flying aircraft, possibly more so because the stability is designed for ground effect flight, regular planes tend to get somewhat weird controls due to the ground effect cancelling out the circulation effect from high pressure to low pressure which causes the spiral effect from the back of the wingtip which can sometimes be seen.
This circulation effect drops the efficiency of the wing a lot. Methods to try to minimize this effect are: winglets (the little vertical thing like a rudder you sometimes see on the wingtips of aircraft), high aspect ratio (long, narrow wings) and flying low.

The Ekranoplan was designed to use this effect, and so is able to carry heavy loads with very high aerodynamic efficiency. MUCH more efficient (aerodynamically) than a jumbo jet.
The trade of is a max cruising altitude of around 100 feet (it can go a bit higher, but loses efficiency) and therefor sensitivity to weather, obstacles and terrain. High waves might also be a problem.

Modern jets go high for many good reasons, one of which is to get out of the weather. That’s probably the biggest concern which makes this otherwise brilliant experiment non-viable as a commercial machine.
Marja

That is NOT the “Caspian Sea Monster.” The pictures are of the sole vessel of the Lun-class: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lun-class_ekranoplan

Obviously, while any plane is vulnerable to flying sharks, an ekranoplan is also vulnerable to giant octopodes.
Charlie Stross

MrSmirnov is correct (according to the research on this beast that I did for a work of fiction a few years ago). Basically, it’s any Carrier Admiral’s worst nightmare — think of it as a missile boat, the successor of a WW2 torpedo boat, only able to cruise at 300-350mph at wavetop height. Hard to pick up on radar at long range, able to close very fast, and armed with six of the deadliest anti-shipping missiles ever built — ones that, to this day, western navies aren’t good at defending against. (The upgraded Thales Goalkeeper 33mm point defense gun can theoretically take one out on the way in, but I doubt it’d be able to engage six of them in the space of thirty seconds, much less the kind of barrage that a squadron of Luns could unleash. NB: the missile in the YouTube video appears to be an Exocet — the Moskit is about five to six times as fast.)
- Trent Hawkins
  
  Yes I think the general idea was that if you were engaging a country that has a carrier fleet, then it’s unlikely that you are in a conventional war anymore since anyone with a carrier fleet worth talking about had nukes. At that point it’s just plain easier to Nuke the fleet.
senft

This must be the ectoplane that’s featured in the recent James Bond book, “Devil May Care”. More about it at Wikipedia. Clearly for real, was to “fly” extremely low over the ground or water, very fast.
Anonymous

I remember seeing a TV programme about this a couple of months ago where the presenter had a go in a consumer ekranoplan. If your tempted theres a company called bently yachts that will sell you one for a very reasonable $75m…
AverageGeek

Just look at it.
CurseYouKhan

From a Navy aviation friend: “All you had to do was ask. It’s the WIG (Wing in Ground Effect) called the Caspian Sea Monster. Was designed to be a troop transport, think
result of a C-130 mating with a Air Cushion Vehicle.”

http://davidszondy.com/future/Flight/GEV.htm
Nelson.C

I’m honestly surprised that you’ve never heard of these things before, Cory. I’d've thought they’d've turned up in BB long before this. Anyhow, here‘s a family tree of all the Soviet ground-effect vehicles. The subject of this post is the one on the furthest right.
Anonymous

I am crossing the Caspian Sea this summer… I now fully expect to travel via, or at least see one of these beautiful machines.
robulus

You say “Ekranoplan”, I say “most fucking awesome thing ever fucking built”.

Truly spectacular photographs.
Anonymous

Page 2 shows more interior photos -
http://igor113.livejournal.com/52174.html
sergeirichard

I’m completely delighted that one of the sites about the Ekranoplane above refers to “wing-in-ground-effect” as “wing-in-ground” effect.
jaded

good pic of this lun ekraplan over water,here
http://www.aerotraining.com/html_gif/lun_ekranoplan.jpg
dpm909

Forget Miyazaki and the Kubrick biting Gerry Anderson, this thing is straight out of the Gundam original series. I expect to see it in space launching mobile suits out of those missile silos.

As an aside, Kubrick did sue Andersonâ€”for years on end.
IronEdithKidd

I was addicted to “Wings” (not the stupid comedy) when I was a teen and never did they do a show on this thing. I’m so disapointed in the show, but extraordinarily delighted by all the links! Thanks, BB!
milovoo

Perhaps it was decided that having six giant missile tubes directly above the cockpit and passenger compartment could lead to crew complaints in case of failure.
joshhaglund

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbecl88NsEQ#t=279