Around the aircraft-carrying cruisers of Project 1143, many copies were broken, and the name of their aircraft - Yak-38, has become synonymous with helplessness far beyond the borders of our country. The critics are right in many ways. The Gyrfalcons (project code 1143) were indeed strange ships. And the Yak-38 really was seriously inferior to normal aircraft.
Nevertheless, in the ended history of these ships and their aircraft (in fact, ended) there are many "blank spots" left. And there are still many points that were simply not understood. And it is so now. Today our country is in some way at the bottom of its sea power. From the fleet remained "horns and legs", naval aviation (including naval aviation) is practically "killed". But this is what should force us to learn from the past - and they are there. Aircraft-carrying cruisers and their planes are exactly the case.
There is no point in retelling what is already known about Project 1143 and Yak-38. What is the point of writing what you are looking for in two clicks? But little-known pages are worth opening, and it also makes sense to draw some conclusions that were not voiced out loud at the right time.
The first thing is the planes. A brief excursion into the history of the Yak-38
It is believed that the main weapon of an aircraft carrier is aviation. And also that the main weapon of Project 1143 was still anti-ship missiles and anti-submarine helicopters. In order to understand how it could have developed in reality, one must first evaluate its aircraft.
This is what I must say right away. Yak-38 really did not live up to expectations, as well as VTOL aircraft, in principle. But at the same time, there is no more slandered aircraft in our history.
The milestones in the creation and evolution of yaks were the following events.
1960 - the first project of the VTOL aircraft design bureau im. Yakovleva.
1960-1964 - research work, study of VTOL aircraft options, Yak-36 design, preparation for testing.
1964-1967 - Yak-36 test program. A decision was made to create another aircraft. Test flights of the Yak-36 continued until 1971.
Why does all this relate to the topic?
Because it was the creation of a scientific and technical groundwork. And without the Yak-36 errors, the next Yak-36M (which was later renamed Yak-38) simply would not have appeared.
1967 - the decision to create a light attack aircraft with vertical take-off and landing. On December 27, 1967, the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 1166-413 was issued, which contained a decision to create first an attack aircraft, then a training "twin" and then a fighter. The attack aircraft, according to the Resolution, was intended:
“For air support of combat operations of ground forces in the tactical and immediate operational depth of the enemy's location (up to 150 km from the front line), as well as when basing the aircraft on ships of Project 1123 to destroy surface ships and coastal objects in naval operations and conduct visual aerial reconnaissance.
The main task of the aircraft is to destroy mobile, stationary ground and sea targets of the enemy in conditions of visual visibility. In addition, the aircraft should be used to combat air targets such as military transport aircraft and helicopters, as well as to combat AWACS aircraft and helicopters and anti-submarine aircraft.
With the support of the ground forces it did not work out.
It turned out that "verticals" are almost unsuitable as a base machine flying from ground airfields. The question was covered in more detail in the article. “Educational program. Aerodromeless and dispersed basing of aviation " … But this will be revealed later.
1970 - the beginning of flight tests. The aircraft were immediately tested as taking off vertically.
November 18, 1972 - test pilot Mikhail Sergeevich Deksbakh performs the first in the history of our country landing of a jet aircraft on a ship - anti-submarine cruiser "Moskva". On this occasion, by decision of Aviation Marshal Ivan Ivanovich Borzov, an entry was made in the cruiser's logbook
"Birthday of carrier-based aviation".
