Soviet "Atlant": why a unique plane was not needed
November 15, 1988 the Soviet "Buran" made its first and, unfortunately, the only flight. About one million citizens of the USSR, 1286 enterprises of the great country and 70 special departments participated in the creation of the Energy-Buran program. According to various estimates, one flight of the Buran, which became the answer to the American Shuttles, cost the Soviet Union from 14 to 16 billion then rubles.
The lead development of Buran was carried out by the Molniya research and production association, assembly was carried out in Tushino. Then, on a barge, the “Soviet shuttle” was transported to the city of Zhukovsky, and from there - by air to Baikonur. The most interesting thing was that at that time it was not possible to use the An-124 Ruslan and An-225 Mriya, which are famous today, which had just completed their creation and testing process. What were the resourceful engineers going to use?
The famous aircraft designer Vladimir Myasischev suggested transporting Buran and other bulky cargo using the M-3M strategic bomber. Structurally, this aircraft made it possible to accomplish the task, thanks to excellent aerodynamic properties and high stability of the landing gear on the runway.
To transport oversized cargo on the roof, the bomber had to be seriously modified. The fuselage was lengthened, equipped with units for securing the cargo, changed the plumage, strengthened the chassis, the engine was delivered more powerful. After the “upgrade”, the aircraft could carry “on its back” both Buran itself and large parts of the Energia launch vehicle - a hydrogen tank and fairings.
The resulting miracle plane was ultimately called Atlant. Prior to that, the press nicknamed him "Vladimir Myasischev Transport." The story is this: the abbreviation ZM-T remained on board the former "strategist", but the KGB instructed to remove the inscription that identified him as a bomber. Witty Soviet engineers simply remade the ZM-T on the VM-T, and the rest was speculated by journalists.
In the course of its tests, begun in 1981, numerous troubles occurred: the load securing units were cut off, the transporter was demolished from the strip during landing. But all problems were identified and resolved. Two main working machines were created, which carried out one and a half hundred successful flights.
After a short triumph, the Buran program was curtailed, and unique transport planes were left without work. Its developers proposed the use of Atlanta for the transportation of oversized cargo by air, both for the needs of the Ministry of Defense and for commercial purposes. Unfortunately, so far these options for using Atlantes in Russia have not come in handy.
The lead development of Buran was carried out by the Molniya research and production association, assembly was carried out in Tushino. Then, on a barge, the “Soviet shuttle” was transported to the city of Zhukovsky, and from there - by air to Baikonur. The most interesting thing was that at that time it was not possible to use the An-124 Ruslan and An-225 Mriya, which are famous today, which had just completed their creation and testing process. What were the resourceful engineers going to use?
The famous aircraft designer Vladimir Myasischev suggested transporting Buran and other bulky cargo using the M-3M strategic bomber. Structurally, this aircraft made it possible to accomplish the task, thanks to excellent aerodynamic properties and high stability of the landing gear on the runway.
To transport oversized cargo on the roof, the bomber had to be seriously modified. The fuselage was lengthened, equipped with units for securing the cargo, changed the plumage, strengthened the chassis, the engine was delivered more powerful. After the “upgrade”, the aircraft could carry “on its back” both Buran itself and large parts of the Energia launch vehicle - a hydrogen tank and fairings.
The resulting miracle plane was ultimately called Atlant. Prior to that, the press nicknamed him "Vladimir Myasischev Transport." The story is this: the abbreviation ZM-T remained on board the former "strategist", but the KGB instructed to remove the inscription that identified him as a bomber. Witty Soviet engineers simply remade the ZM-T on the VM-T, and the rest was speculated by journalists.
In the course of its tests, begun in 1981, numerous troubles occurred: the load securing units were cut off, the transporter was demolished from the strip during landing. But all problems were identified and resolved. Two main working machines were created, which carried out one and a half hundred successful flights.
After a short triumph, the Buran program was curtailed, and unique transport planes were left without work. Its developers proposed the use of Atlanta for the transportation of oversized cargo by air, both for the needs of the Ministry of Defense and for commercial purposes. Unfortunately, so far these options for using Atlantes in Russia have not come in handy.
- Sergey Marzhetsky
- http://www.buran-energia.com/
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