The idea of creating and using heavy multi-seat airborne gliders belongs to domestic designers and pilots. In 1932, a young novice aircraft designer Boris Dmitrievich Urlapov, based on the idea of the pilot-inventor Pavel Ignatievich Grokhovsky and under his leadership, calculated, designed and, with a small group of young specialists, created the world's first cargo landing glider G-63. No one has ever built such large gliders designed to transport people and goods by air. Sixteen compartments, in which it was possible to transport military equipment or soldiers in a recumbent position, were located in long wide-profile wings. The load per square meter of the wing exceeded the maximum load of all non-motorized sports aircraft known at that time by two and a half times. The estimated payload (1700 kg) was generally unheard of, especially when you consider that the glider was towed by a single-engine R-5 aircraft.
After several test flights, in which the pilots P. I. Grokhovsky and V. A. Stepanchenok, the commission of the Red Army Air Force headquarters came to a unanimous conclusion: the tests of the experimental towing air train confirm the possibility and expediency of using special gliders in airborne operations. It has been proven that amphibious gliders can land on unsuitable field sites, and this is their indisputable advantage over aircraft.
This is how gliding began to develop. Many original designs were created. It is safe to say that our country has taken a leading place in the work on the creation of transport gliders. On January 23, 1940, a department for the production of airborne transport gliders was created in the People's Commissariat of the Aviation Industry. It was headed by the chief V. N. Kulikov and chief engineer P. V. Tsybin. The Central Aviation State Institute joined the research work on the aerodynamics of gliders.
In the autumn of the same year, under the chairmanship of I. V. Stalin, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) hosted a meeting dedicated to the development of glider technology in the country, to which the leaders of the Air Force and Osoaviakhim were invited. The convening of this meeting, apparently, was conditioned by two factors: firstly, the very logic of the development of the Airborne Forces of the Red Army demanded the creation of airborne gliders, and secondly, a certain role here was played by reports of a tremendous success in their use by the Germans, during the seizure of the Belgian fort Eben-Emael on May 11, 1940. As a result, it was decided to hold a competition of appropriate designs in order to identify the best designs for their further transfer to serial production. However, after the competition, the demands of the military increased, and they put forward a task to develop devices of greater capacity. OK. Antonov was instructed to develop a project for a seven-seater glider A-7, V. K. Gribovsky - 11-seater G-11, D. N. Kolesnikov and P. V. Tsybin - 20-seat vehicle KTs-20, G. N. Curbale - a heavy K-G glider. The basis of the glider fleet during the war years was made up of A-7 and G-11. Let us dwell on them in more detail.
Glider A-7
Initially, a small design bureau of Oleg Antonov worked in g. Kaunas, in the newly annexed to the Soviet Union of the Lithuanian SSR, but soon it was transferred to Moscow, allocating premises at a glider plant in the city of Tushino. There, under the leadership of Tupolev, a prototype of a seven-seat (including the pilot) airframe was built, called the RF-8 (Rot-Front-8). Flight tests were carried out near Moscow in the fall of 1941. On August 28, 1941, the RF-8 glider was delivered to the airfield, and on September 2, test pilot V. L. Rastorguev performed the first flight on it. During one of the test flights, a strong impact followed when landing from a high alignment. At the same time, the fuselage skin at the pilot's cabin cracked. It turned out that the gluing area of the skin with the fuselage spars is too small. During the repair, this defect was corrected. However, the breakdown delayed the completion of the tests, which ended on September 18, somewhat.
Among the shortcomings, the testers noted a large load on the control stick and too strong a reaction to the movement of the rudder. The chassis sagged under full load, and the glider touched the ground with the ski. The large distance from the glazing to the pilot's eyes impaired the view, especially in the dark. It was recommended to remove the partition between the pilot and cargo cabins and transfer the landing gear retraction mechanism to the pilot. Overall, however, the vehicle was rated positively, and the RF-8 was recommended for serial production. At the same time, in addition to eliminating the identified defects, a requirement was put forward to increase the capacity of the glider to 8 people (pilot and seven paratroopers) or 700 kilograms of cargo (in overload - up to 1000 kg).
The lantern was redesigned: the glazing area was reduced, and the windshields were installed according to the classic scheme - "with a ledge". Partially changed the design of the tail section, and also installed spoilers on the wing. The modified airframe was given a new designation A-7, and it was recommended for adoption. The A-7 glider is 17 kilograms lighter than the RF-8 prototype, while its take-off weight, due to an increase in the payload from six to seven people, increased to 1,760 kilograms versus 1,547 kg for the RF-8. The airframe design was made of wood, simplified as much as possible, for the possibility of production at non-core enterprises with the use of unskilled labor. The metal parts were only in the heavily loaded parts, as well as in the chassis. They decided to organize serial production at the plant in Tushino, as well as at the former aircraft repair plant of the Civil Fleet in Bykovo. But due to the approach of the front to Moscow, these factories had to be evacuated to Eastern Siberia, to the city of Tyumen. In addition to Tyumen, the production of the A-7 was set up at the cooper plant in the town of Alapaevsk, Sverdlovsk region. It is worth noting that later the troops noted the poor quality of the manufacture of machines at this plant.
The first production vehicles were sent for testing to the Airborne Test Flight Unit, stationed in Saratov. The A-7 was mastered without any special incidents. He took off on skis, which were mounted instead of wheels. The glider could be pulled by R-5, R-6, SB, DB-ZF (Il-4), PS-84 (Li-2) and TB-3 aircraft. The twin-engined Il-4 could hook two gliders, and the four-engined TB-3 pulled three.
At the end of 1942, the A-7 was discontinued in Tyumen and Alapaevsk. It can be assumed that the production area was given to other evacuated enterprises. A KB O. K. Antonov with glider production was transferred to the village of Zavodoukovsk, Tyumen region. OKB-31 of designer Moskalev had already been evacuated there, which merged with Antonov's team and took part in the construction of A-7 gliders. Next came the farm of designer Grokhovsky. The evacuated aircraft builders were accommodated in the areas of the largest in Western Siberia MTS and a wooden mill. It was difficult, industrial and residential premises were sorely lacking. There were also problems with electricity, water and food. Nevertheless, aircraft plant No. 499 (it received this designation) began to work: they produced amphibious equipment, DK-12 landing cabins and A-7 gliders. Since 1942, A-7 gliders began to enter the troops. Soon two accidents occurred in a row on production vehicles. The reason in both cases was the same: when landing, the glider suddenly "pecked" to the side, touched the ground with its wing and collapsed. The famous test pilot S. N. Anokhin was instructed to conduct special tests of the airframe at low speeds. Anokhin made the glider go into a spin in various ways. It was found that the A-7 is indeed prone to windfall at low speeds. Antonov, who specially came to Saratov, got acquainted with the results of the tests carried out. As a result, the tail unit of the airframe was modified, and later spoilers were introduced on the upper surface of the wing.
In January 1943, Antonov was transferred to A. S. Yakovlev at the Novosibirsk aircraft plant number 153, and all the work on the glider was taken over by Moskalev, who subsequently led the series. In total, about 400 A-7 gliders were manufactured.
Remaining out of work RF-8 began to be used for experiments on towing gliders with a shortened cable and rigid thrust. The flights took place from September 24 to October 1, 1941, the SB bomber served as a towing vehicle. RF-8 was piloted by S. N. Anokhin. The length of the cable was successively reduced from 60 to 5 m, and then a rigid thrust of 3 m long was used. A total of 16 flights were made. Deviations from usual practice began at 20 m. Piloting the glider became much more difficult and now required a lot of attention. Due to the blowing of air jets from the towing propellers of the rudders and ailerons, their efficiency has increased. The run of the glider on the shortened cable looked like a zigzag. It turned out to be even more difficult to fly in a rigid coupling. The use of shortened cables and rigid traction was abandoned.
At the end of 1942, the design bureau in the village of Zavodoukovsk was given a task to modernize the airframe to deliver 11-14 soldiers. Since by this time Oleg Konstantinovich had already moved to Yakovlev's design bureau, Antonov wrote to Moskalev a receipt that he allowed to carry out any work with the glider, however, limiting the number of paratroopers to 11. Apparently, he was afraid that the glider would be overweight. The military asked to bring the number of paratroopers to 14.
According to preliminary calculations, it turned out that the capacity of the airframe, in case of appropriate revision, could be increased to 12-14 people, which was more than Antonov allowed, and almost met the requirements of the military. In a short time, the designers under the leadership of Moskalev developed the A-7M project and manufactured its prototype. Was increased by 5, 3 sq. m wing area, due to the expansion of the chord of the root part, while maintaining the span. Spoilers were installed on its leading edge. The shields were equipped with a screw mechanism driven by a cable from the steering wheel. This decision eliminated the defect inherent in the A-7 airframe. Its shields were removed abruptly, with the help of a rubber band, which caused the glider to sag and a sharp pop. The length of the fuselage was increased to 20 meters. To accommodate the maximum number of paratroopers in the cargo compartment, they were placed on two narrow (20 cm) longitudinal benches with their backs to each other. The normal load was 12 people, and the maximum load was 14 (in this case, two additional paratroopers were sitting on the right, elongated bench, partially entering the pilot's cabin). The pilot's seat on the A-7M had to be shifted to the left. The bench could fold to the floor when transporting goods. Two doors served for entrance and exit - on the right at the back and at the front on the left. The growth in the size of the airframe forced to increase the area of the tail unit.
During the first flights at factory tests, the glider demonstrated a tendency to pitch up. To eliminate the defect, the stabilizer angle was changed, however, this decision caused a deterioration in lateral stability. In the fall of 1943, another prototype of the A-7M was manufactured. According to the requirements of the military, the right door on it was replaced by a cargo hatch with a size of 1600x1060 mm. Some more minor changes were made to the design. Normal takeoff weight reached 2430 kg, and maximum 2664 kg. As a result, the takeoff and landing speeds increased. The glider passed factory and state tests until the end of 1943, and from January 1944, the A-7M was sent for military trials. It was found that the characteristics of stability and controllability of the second prototype remained at the level of the serial eight-seat A-7. The predisposition to stall into a spin at low speeds was also preserved. The tightness of the cargo compartment was also noted. Despite this, the A-7M was launched into mass production in 1944, under the name AM-14 (Antonov - Moskalev fourteen).
In addition to the standard A-7, several copies of the training A-7U were produced, with dual control and the A-7Sh, equipped with a navigator's seat. In 1942, the A-7B, a "flying tank", was manufactured; in fact, it was an additional towed fuel tank intended for the Il-4. Thus, it was planned to increase the range of the bomber. After the airplane ran out of fuel from the airframe, the A-7B had to detach.
IL-4 was modified accordingly. A towing lock and a receiving device for pumping fuel were mounted on it. In the cargo compartment of the airframe, two tanks of 500 liters each were installed and a transfer fuel pump powered by a battery. The fuel hose was routed along the towing cable. The "flying tank" was tested from the end of December 1942 to January 6, 1943. It was noted that the technique of piloting the glider remained practically unchanged, the only thing that was required to stay higher on takeoff so as not to rub the hose on the runway. The pumping was carried out at speeds of about 220 km / h. The airframe release and hose release system worked reliably. However, the A-7B did not find application in ADD operations, and remained an aviation exotics.
Glider G-11
The history of the creation of the G-11 landing glider began on July 7, 1941, when the OKB-28, led by V. K. Gribovsky, a task was issued to create a transport glider capable of transporting 11 soldiers with full weapons. By that time, Gribovsky's team had created a number of successful designs of gliders and airplanes, so the issuance of this order was a completely justified step. Other design bureaus received similar assignments. The Soviet leadership assumed the massive use of gliders, and the paratroopers had to disembark from them not only by landing method, but also by parachute landing in the air.
Gribovsky's glider received the code G-29, according to the number of designs created by OKB-28, but was later replaced by the G-11, according to the number of soldiers transported. Sometimes the designations Gr-11 and Gr-29 were used. The first drawings of the airframe were handed over to the shop on July 11th. And on August 2, the prototype G-11 was basically built. On September 1, 1941, the first flights were carried out, and a couple of weeks later, a decision was made to transfer the airframe for serial production to two woodworking enterprises in the city of Shumerlya (plant number 471) and the village of Kozlovka (plant number 494). Both factories were located in the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
During the tests, the G-11 was lifted into the air by various pilots, but V. Romanov made the most flights on it. During his flight, the only G-11 disaster occurred. After determining the balance and weighing, Romanov took off on a glider with the task of overtaking him to another airfield. In flight, the glider, under unknown circumstances, unhooked from its towing vehicle and fell. The pilot and the mechanic who was with him in the cockpit were killed. According to the conclusion of the commission, the catastrophe occurred due to insufficient wing rigidity, which caused the reverse of the ailerons. The accident was provoked by windy weather and strong turbulence during the flight. When passing factory tests, these phenomena were not observed. The wing was finalized, and subsequent tests were carried out by B. Godovikov. In the opinion of the pilots, the G-11 was easy to fly and reliable, a pleasure to fly.
Flight tests carried out at the end of September confirmed the quite acceptable characteristics of the G-11. Only representatives of the Air Force demanded to shift the center of the empty vehicle forward for a stable flight of the glider after the parachutists were dropped. For this, the designers moved the wing back. However, now, when the flaps were released, a shaking of the tail unit appeared on the landing. To eliminate this defect, holes were drilled in the inner shields. Later, the perforation was abandoned, solving the problem by adjusting the relative position of the wing, fuselage and stabilizer.
Immediately after the completion of the tests, at the end of September, Gribovsky arrived at plant No. 471, and his deputy, Landyshev, at plant No. 494. In October, the main staff of the evacuated OKB-28 arrived in Shumerlya, and on November 7, the first serial landing glider was assembled here, and by the end of the year, ten serial G-11s were manufactured at this enterprise.
The production of the G-11 increased until June 1942, when it became clear that the military simply did not need such a large number of landing gliders. The war did not proceed as it was seen in the pre-war years, and the Red Army had no time for airborne glider operations. As a result, wooden gliders, designed, in fact, for one combat mission, often hibernated in the open air, which rendered them unusable. There was also a shortage of towing aircraft and glider pilots. The decision to stop the production of the G-11 was made in 1942, after the construction of 138 G-11 at the plant in Shumerla and 170 gliders at the plant in Kozlovka. By the end of the summer of 1942, 308 G-11 gliders had been produced. The factories were redesigned for the production of Yak-6 and U-2 aircraft.
In 1943, the situation at the fronts improved and the supply of partisans with the help of gliders was adjusted, so they decided to restore the production of the G-11 at the Ryazan plant. One of the factories was transferred there from Tyumen, where Gribovsky became the chief designer.
The first G-11 was manufactured in Ryazan in March 1944, and by the end of April more than a dozen had been produced. In May, one of the cars was flown around the station. Lieutenant V. Chubukov from the Airborne Forces Experimental Testing Ground. The glider showed good stability and excellent controllability in flight. It was possible to perform a corkscrew, a coup and a barrel on it. It is worth noting that piloting the G-11 turned out to be easier than the A-7.
Starting with the twenty-first instance, a double-wing cargo hatch appeared on the starboard side of the glider. The wing was equipped with spoilers. A little later, the landing skis began to be supplied with rubber plate shock absorbers and a small forkil was mounted.
Since October 1944, gliders equipped with double control and a reinforced structure began to be produced. The first training glider with dual control was manufactured in Sumerla back in 1942, but was not mass-produced. The training G-11U, in addition to the presence of dual control, differed from the original landing version by the presence of a forkil, shock absorbers for the landing ski, the presence of a second seat for the cadet and dual control. The training machine was produced with a short break until 1948. The total number of G-11 gliders produced is estimated at approximately 500.
It is worth saying that in 1942, Gribovsky, based on the G-11, developed a motor glider with an M-11 aircraft engine with a power of 110 hp. The use of the motor promised to facilitate the takeoff of the laden glider, increase the payload, and after completing the task, there was a chance to independently return the empty glider to the departure airfield. The engine was placed on a pylon above the wing, behind it in the fairing was a gas tank and the units necessary for the engine version. This arrangement made it possible to convert serial gliders, including those in parts, into a motor glider at no special cost. The design take-off weight was determined at 2,400 kg, and the payload was at least 900 kg. An empty motor glider was supposed to have a maximum speed of 150 km / h, a practical ceiling of at least 3000 meters. With the load, the characteristics were more modest: the speed was 130 km / h, and the ceiling was not more than 500 m. When the power plant was tested on the prototype G-11M, as a result of an error made during the installation of the oil line, the engine failed. Another motor was not provided to Gribovsky, so the motor unit with the G-1M was dismantled and handed over to the military as an ordinary glider. Further work was stopped, and soon the G-11 itself was discontinued. The appearance of the Sche-2 light cargo aircraft, equipped with two M-11 engines, made the production of motor gliders out of the question. Until now, of course, not a single G-11 glider made of wood and canvas has survived, but a monument to this glider and the people who created it has been erected in the city of Shumerlya. Of course, this is a remake, only outwardly reminiscent of its glorious ancestor.
In the system of airborne equipment, the transport glider has become a reliable means of silent transfer of airborne units and oversized cargo to the rear of the enemy, ensuring their relatively compact landing and quick readiness of the paratroopers for immediate action. It is also very important that low landing speeds, special skis and low two-wheeled landing gear allowed gliders to land on limited and unsuitable for aircraft landing ground areas in forest, mountainous and lake areas.
From the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, individual aerial couplings (glider aircraft) performed flights with the aim of transferring various cargo and equipment over their territory and across the front line. For example, flamethrowers and other weapons were transported to Stalingrad. Glider pilots V. Donkov and S. Anokhin flew to the Bryansk forests, where paratroopers of General N. Kazankin operated. The non-motorized transport aircraft and partisans of the Oryol region also hosted them.
The first group flight took place in November 1942. In preparation for the offensive at Stalingrad, severe frosts unexpectedly hit. Tank formations, ready for a counteroffensive, were partially ineffective, as water froze in the engines of armored vehicles. It was necessary to urgently deliver antifreeze to the tankers - an anti-freeze liquid. By order of the command, the towing pilots and glider pilots immediately began to prepare for departure. Air trains formed quickly. Having loaded the A-7 and G-11 gliders with barrels of antifreeze, the planes and gliders under the command of Lieutenant Colonel D. Kosice, secretly landed in a given area. Here, having increased the group at the expense of planes and personnel of the military air gliding school, having reloaded, the air trains left along the planned route. The group of aerial couplings along the entire route was covered by air defense fighters, then the planes of the Kachin Fighter Aviation School.
At the beginning of 1943, after our troops captured Velikie Luki, there was a relative calm in this sector of the front. The fascists took advantage of this and, having redeployed several units, threw them together with the gendarmerie and policemen to fight the Belarusian partisans in the regions of Nevel, Polotsk, Gorodachi, Vitebsk. The Germans tried by all means to separate the formations of the partisan region, and then to destroy them. The partisans experienced an acute shortage of ammunition, weapons, food. In the current situation, only aviation, delivering cargo, could help them. Then the order of the Soviet command was received to prepare for intensive actions by the glider group under Major General A. Shcherbakov and Engineer Lieutenant Colonel P. Tsybin.
The operation began on the night of March 7, 1943, and was conducted continuously until March 20. It was attended by 65 gliders A-7 and G-11. The partisans were transported 60 tons of combat cargo, five printing houses and ten radio stations, more than one hundred command personnel and more than one and a half hundred soldiers were delivered. In addition, separate sabotage groups were delivered to the rear of the enemy.
Partisans of the Polotsk-Lepel zone were greatly assisted by paratroopers. Flights began in April 1943 and lasted for almost a year. In addition to the A-7 and G-11 gliders, the KTs-20 gliders, which could accommodate up to 20 paratroopers, were also used. Hundreds of gliders were secretly redeployed first to the jump airfields. They flew out to the partisans in groups. They usually took off at sunset. They passed over the front line in the dark; they came to the given area at night. The tugs, having detached the gliders, turned around and approached their base before dawn.
138 gliders were towed to the sites in the enemy rear lines, which delivered the most necessary combat equipment. They transferred commanders, sabotage groups, medical supplies, food. The flights were difficult enough. At night, when crossing the front line, they sometimes ran into fire from enemy anti-aircraft batteries or patrolling pairs of fighters. On the ground, gliders could also wait for a trap: the Germans made fires, setting up false platforms, similar to partisan ones.
Once a glider, led by Sergeant Yuri Sobolev, spontaneously unhooked from the towing vehicle more than fifty kilometers from the partisan site. The height was low, and there was a forest under the wings. In the dense darkness, the lakes were barely visible with light spots. Sobolev was not taken aback. Realizing that there are practically no large trees on the shores of the lakes, the pilot directed his glider towards the water. The light of the landing headlight caught the shallow bank overgrown with low bushes from the darkness of the night. Crackling, thuds, and the glider stopped. The non-motorized vehicle landed in enemy territory. Fortunately, the Germans did not spot the silent glider.
The glider pilot unloaded the glider, hiding the delivered military cargo in a deep hole he dug overnight. After resting, Sobolev got his bearings and went in search of the partisans. He managed to get out to the patrols of the partisan brigade of Vladimir Lobank. A night later, the partisans on horseback carried all the cargo hidden by the glider pilot to their camp. For this flight, Yuri Sobolev was awarded a military order.
Many glider pilots participated in fierce battles with punishers as warriors of partisan groups and detachments. In the fall of 1943, an assault force was sent out on the Voronezh front sector as part of the 3rd and 5th airborne forces with the task of assisting the front troops in capturing a bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper. The paratroopers landed in a large area, which made the gathering much more difficult. In the area from Rzhishchev to Cherkassy there were more than 40 separate groups of paratroopers. Finding themselves in an extremely difficult situation, they acted boldly, striking at the nearest communications of the Germans, enemy garrisons, headquarters and reserves. But day by day they became less and less.
The thinned out units, having made several night marches, moved into the forest, which overlooked the waters of the Dnieper. Food was beaten off from the enemy. The ammunition ran out. There was a shortage of medicines. The paratroopers asked for help over the radio. Soon, transport planes began to arrive at the new paratrooper camp, which dropped bags of ammunition and other required cargo. Gliders, loaded with equipment, weapons and medicines, silently crossed the Dnieper.
After the war, a stele was erected at one of the airfields. A metal model of the A-7 airframe rises on it. This is the memory of the feat of glider pilots who died during the war.
