The Albatross (Russian: Альбатрос) was a non-rigid airship of the Russian Empire. It was constructed in 1913 and participated in several combat missions during World War I before it crashed on 13 October 1914 during an emergency landing.
| Albatross | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Non-rigid airship |
| National origin | Russian Empire |
| Manufacturer | Izhora Plant, Kolpino |
| Designer | B.V. Golubov, D.S. Sukharshevsky |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1913 |
| Introduction date | 1913 |
| First flight | 1913 |
| In service | 1913-1914 |
| Fate | Destroyed in crash on 13 October 1914 |
Description
editThe decision to lay down a new large airship with a volume of 9,600 m3 at the Izhora Plant in 1911, named "Albatross," was based on the successful first flights of the "Dove" airship and its similar counterpart "Falcon," which demonstrated that their flight-technical characteristics met the calculations. These airships were constructed in Russia in 1910 at the Izhora Plant in Kolpino near Saint Petersburg, according to the project of professors K.P. Boklevsky, A.P. Van-der-Flit, and engineer V.F. Naidenov, with the participation of Captain B.V. Golubov.[1]
Its construction was completed in the autumn of 1913. This was the most advanced airship built at Russian factories. It had a length of 77 m, a height of 22 m, and a maximum diameter of 14.8 m. It reached a speed of up to 68 km/h. The maximum altitude reached was 2,400 m, and the flight duration was 20 hours. The power plant consisted of two "Clément-Bayard" engines, each with a power of 118 kW (150 hp), driving two propellers with a diameter of 4.75 meters.[2][3] The designers of the "Albatross" were B.V. Golubov and D.S. Sukharshevsky. The lifting gas, hydrogen, was contained in two ballonets of 1,200 m3 each. The airship's envelope was coated with aluminum, which reduced gas heating and served as camouflage.[2][1]
The armament of the airship, according to the 1912 technical requirements, consisted of three "Maxim" machine guns with an ammunition load of 3,000 rounds. During tests with "Madsen" machine guns, good results were achieved: hits during firing from a distance of 600 meters amounted to 73.8%. The airship was also equipped with bomb racks.[3]
Operational History
editThe airship was delivered to the hangar in August 1913. In June 1914, it conducted training flights with crews from the Aeronautical School. In May, the airship was upgraded with more powerful "Dutset-Gillet" engines.[3]
After the start of World War I, the airship was sent to the front; B.V. Golubov was appointed commander, and the crew was recruited from volunteers. On 15 August at 18:00, the airship flew to Lida.[3]
Due to the encirclement of Samsonov's army, it was planned to conduct reconnaissance in the Allenstein area, but bad weather with strong winds interfered with the plans. The crew was then tasked with bombing the transport routes near Osovets. However, the bombing did not take place due to the weather. On the return trip, the airship was mistakenly fired upon by soldiers of the Siberian Corps, damaging the envelope. The airship landed in Brest-Litovsk, where it was repaired, after which it proceeded to Białystok. In September 1914, command of the airship was taken over by A. Shabsky.[3]
Further combat sorties of the airship were unsuccessful due to bad weather. On 13 October, during another combat sortie, the airship was damaged by fog and strong winds, striking trees, and made a forced landing, which led to its destruction.
References
edit- ^ a b Lebedev, Vitaliy (2013-04-01). "Aerodrome Lida during the formation of Russian military aviation". New Defense Order. OOO "Difans Media". Archived from the original on 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ^ a b "All about aviation. From balloons to modern combat devices". Astrel. Polygon. 2011. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ^ a b c d e Shunkov, Viktor (2014). Complete Encyclopedia. Russian Army in the First World War (1914–1918). Moscow: AST. p. 148. ISBN 978-5-17-084897-3.
Literature
edit- Polozov, N.P.; Sorokin, M.A. (1940). Aeronautics. Moscow: Voenizdat NKO USSR. pp. 154–156.
- Yarie, M.Ya. (1956). Airships. Kiev: Science Thought.