Category An Illustrated History of the World’s Largest Airline

MO SEATS ■ 68®km/h (423mph)

The Bigger The Better

The Soviets have always been in the forefront in building large aircraft. The tradition started in 1913 with Igor Sikorsky’s Il’ya Muromets, the world’s first transport air­craft, and is maintained today with the giant Antonov load – carriers from Ukraine. Only one five-engined ANT-14 was built in 1931, and only one eight-engined ANT-20 Maxim Gorky ever flew, in 1934. Neither went into commercial air­line service with Aeroflot. The six-engined ANT-20Ws, as the PS-124, saw limited service between 1939 and 1941. Twelve years after the end of the Second World War, how­ever, Andrei Tupolev produced the Tupolev Tu-114, that, for more than a decade, was the largest airliner in the world.

The Tupolev Tu-114D

The Tupolev Tu-114 was a direct development of the Tu-20 (Tu-95) long-range turboprop bomber, itself a formidable piece of military hardware. Although the commercial Tu-114 made its first flight on 3 November 1957, and was proudly named the Rossiya (Russia), thoughts had already been directed to a conversion, for civil use, of the bomber fuselage. This Tu-116 first flew late in 1956 and was accepted by Aeroflot and designated Tu-114D (Dalnyi, or long-range). In 1958, the Tu-114D made several proving flights, including a remarkable three-stop circumnavigation of the entire Soviet Union, each stage designed not only to test the long-range capability, but also to ‘show the flag’ over all the capital cities of the 15 republics of the Union. But the Tu-114D was too narrow, permitting only 30 seats in its pressurized rear fuselage section; only one was built.

The Tupolev Tu-114

The re-designed fuselage, some 4m (12.8ft) in diameter, was wide enough for a comfortable six-abreast layout, and for high density, even eight-abreast was possible, permitting a maximum of 220 seats, though this version is unlikely to have been used extensively. For the first time in any airliner, the galley was located ‘downstairs’ in the lower deck, and food and drinks were served by electric elevators. Seen in elevation, the Tu-114 was of orthodox outline, but the similarity with other large turbo-prop airliners of its day ended there, except in the size. In particular, the wings were swept back — unusually for a turbo-prop — and had pronounced anhedral. Mounted on the wings were four powerful Kuznetsov engines, which drove eight-bladed contrarotating propellers. In addition to the large four-wheel landing gears units, there was not only a twin – wheel nose gear, but also a small twin tail-wheel installation for protection of the fuselage on take-off. The Tupolev Tu-114 could cruise at 770km/h (480mph) at an altitude of 8,000m (25,500ft) over distances of up to 8,950km (5,560mi).

One shortcoming was the height of its landing gear. The main deck was 5m (16ft) off the ground, requiring no little stamina for boarding — the equivalent of climbing two full flights of stairs. Nevertheless, the Tupolev Tu-114 was a truly remarkable airliner. There was none other like it in the world, and it raised a few technical and political eyebrows every time it landed on foreign shores.

Aeroflot Spreads Its Wings

The Soviet national airline took the Tupolev Tu-114 to its heart, realizing that this aircraft could reach the furthestmost points of the U. S.S. R. territory without intermediate stops; and could fly to Havana, capital of its trans-Atlantic commu­nist ally, Cuba. On 21 May 1959, the Tu-114 flew non-stop from Moscow to Khabarovsk, carrying 170 passengers over the 6,800km (4,200mi) distance. The following month, on 28 June, it flew into the U. S.A., making the Moscow to New York flight in llhr 6min. The Tu-114 did not, however, operate on schedule to the United States, this landmark being set by the Ilyushin 11-62.

Aeroflot began scheduled Tu-114 service to Khabarovsk, on 24 April 1961. The speed of the turboprop enabled it to match the 960km/h (600mph) speed of the Tupolev Tu-104 jet, because the latter’s shorter range forced it to make at least two stops. Scheduled service began to Havana on 7 February 1963. Normally carrying only 60 passengers on this very long segment, the Tu-114 was routed via Murmansk, where it made a technical stop, because it was not allowed, for politi­cal reasons connected with NATO defense, to overfly Scandinavia. Also, the Murmansk-Havana distance of 8,575km (5,328mi) was shorter by 971km (618mi) than that to Moscow. Later negotiations, completed in 1968, enabled Aeroflot to fly direct to Havana, as S. A.S. and other western airlines were permitted to overfly the Soviet Union.

Tu-144 registrations were SSSR-L5411 (prototype) plus SSSR-76458 through –

76461 and 76463 through 76490 (total 33). SSSR-76462 was the Tu-114D

Reviving a Tradition

Back in the days of Tsarist Russia, Igor Sikorsky had made some experiments with helicopter designs, and was to revive his ambitions to pioneer vertical lift flights in America where he had emigrated at the outbreak of Revolution in St Petersburg in 1917. Not until the late 1940s did the helicopter spin its way upwards again in the Soviet Union, and not until the late 1950s was it put into commercial operation.

By this time, commercial helicopters had been innovative­ly introduced in the United States, to operate subsidized mail and passenger services in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago; in Belgium, where a vigorous hub was established in Brussels for international services; and sporadically in Great Britain, for mail and passenger services. Interestingly, in the Soviet Union, though for different reasons, the program of helicopter operational development never became a promi­nent part of the scheduled passenger air network. But Aeroflot helicopters did carve important niches in areas where even the An-2 could not reach adequately.

Routes in the Crimea

Aeroflot’s first helicopter services were in the Crimea, where mountainous terrain on the popular coastal vacation area pre­vented the establishment of airports with long paved run­ways; and even the laying down of strips for the Antonov An – 2. On 15 December 1958, a Mil Mi-4 eight-seater made the first flight from the main airport at Simferopol to Yalta, one of the delightful destinations of what may be termed the Crimean Riviera. This was followed shortly afterwards by a similar service on the Black Sea coast of the Russian Caucasus, from the main aiiport at Adler to the big resort of Sochi. Mi – 45 from Adler also connected to Gagra, Khosta, Lazarevskaya, and Gelendzhik.

City Services

In 1960, further helicopter routes were opened. On 2 March, Mi-4s began a shuttle service from the Caspian oil capital of Baku to Neftune Kamne, an artificial island offshore and site of highly productive oil wells. On 19 July a helicopter station opened at Khodinka (Frunze) airfield, where Aeroflot’s central bus terminal had been established on Leningradski prospekt, only four miles from Red Square. Mil Mi-4s carried passengers to Sheremetyevo Airport, and on 1 November a similar con­nection was made to Vnukovo and Bykovo Airports. Moscow’s fourth airport, Domodedovo, was added the next year.

For about a year, in 1964-65, the Mi-4 was also used for an

experimental postal service, carrying mails directly from the roof of the post office in the center of Moscow to the airports. Such services had been tried as early as 1939, in Philadelphia, U. S.A., using a Kellett autogiro, but lasted only about one year. The Aeroflot services were rumored to have been termi­nated because the wife of a prominent political figure com­plained of the noise.

A Public Utility

Although helicopter services were tried in Australia, Canada, Italy, Pakistan, and Japan during the 1960s, none was sus­tained for very long, simply because helicopters are very expen­sive to operate. In the United States, where the three big city helicopter companies had been augmented by a fourth, at San Francisco, these too went into decline, partly because the Civil Aeronautics Board withdrew subsidy in 1965, and partly because of well-publicized fatal accidents. All were finished by 1979.

In the Soviet Union, on the other hand, where profit-and – loss statements were non-existent, and all air services were provided as a public utility, helicopter services continued to flourish in any region of the far-flung territory where they were needed: delivering mail in the northern tundra to outly­ing communities of the Arctic, or to inaccessible places in the mountains of Tadjikistan or Kirghizia, or to villages in north­ern Kamchatka, where even the An-2 was vulnerable. The use of helicopters is dictated by operational necessity, not eco­nomic feasibility, judged by western criteria; and they are often to be found in the regional timetables of Aeroflot, deployed interchangeably with other feeder aircraft.

Metamorphosis Posted by admin in An Illustrated History of the World's Largest Airline on October 30, 2015

AEROFLOT’S REGTONAt,, SUB-DjyiSIONS

Many Aeroflot fleet figures have been quoted, ranging from "about 3,500" to "as many as 8,000". The following data have been compiled from consultation with regional administrations.

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Turkmenavia ……………. Ashkhabad Urals CAD Uzbeki CAD Yakutavia…………………………….. …………….. Yakutsk Notes: АСА: Association of Civil Aviation. CAD: Civil Air Department PANKH: Aerial Work Detachment. PO: Production Association DME = Domodeaevo SVO = Sheremetyevo VKO = Vnukovo

Independent Companies Aerolicht (ALAK)……………………………………. Moscow-DME Aerosher Express………………………………….. Moscow-SVO Air Russia (Aeroflot/British Airways)………… Moscow-DME Air Transport School………………………………. Zhukovskiy AJT Air/(Asian Joint Transport)……………….. Moscow-VKO ANTK (Tupolev Aviation Complex)………….. Zhukovskiy ASA (American St Petersburg Airlines)…….. St Petersburg ASDA…………………………………………………… Moscow Avoko…………………………………………………… Nikolaev Avial…………………………………………………….. Moscow DME Bosfor V……………………………………………….. Vladivostok Elf Air…………………………………………………… Zhukovskiy Ecological Concern Rescue Service……….. St Petersburg Interfreight…………………………………………….. Moscow KMZ (Antonov Machine Works)………………. Kiev Liana……………………………………………………. Nikolaev Ul (Gromov Flight Research Centre)………… Zhukovskiy ORBI……………………………………………………. Tblisi PO Transport Aviation……………………………. Moscow Polair……………………………………………………. Moscow Polet……………………………………………. ;……… Omsk

On 15 March 1913 (Julian calendar — add 13 days to convert to the modern, Gregorian, calendar — same as western calen­dar from 1 January 1918) the Sikorsky Le Grand made its maiden flight at the Komendantsky airfield. Built of wood and fabric by skilled carpenters, it would eventually weigh 4,200kg (9,2401b) and carry a load of 700kg (1,6001b) at 80km/h (50mph). Because of its — for the time — awesome size, and with two extra engines fitted in tandem, it was soon called the Bolshoi Baltiskiy (Great Baltic). During that summer, the extra engines were moved to line abreast along the wing, and it was again renamed the Russkiy vityaz (Russian Knight). First flown in that form on 23 July (Julian), it was inspected by Tsar Nicholas II. Re-designed, the Il’ya Muromets, with four tractor engines mounted in line along the wings, first flew in October 1913 (Julian).

By February 1914, the four-engined giant was able to carry 11 tons — at that time more than any other aircraft’s total weight; in June, it stayed aloft for 61 hours, with six passen-

The cabin of the Il’ya Muromets was as comfortable as those of many a post-World War I passenger aircraft. It was adequately furnished, and featured electric lighting and a toilet in the rear, (photo: United Technologies)

gers aboard. The Il’ya Muromets was named after a legendary Russian folk hero, but it deserves an heroic place in the reality of aviation’s Hall of Fame.

The Myth

While reports of these events were published, so that the Il’ya Muromets was well known in Russia, the western European countries seemed not to believe the bulletins. The aircraft was even regarded as something of a freak, only one or two were thought to have been built, and that they were unsuccessful. While the French, German, and British aircraft manufacturers, engulfed in the demands of the Great War, paid little atten­tion to the obvious potential of the multi-engined aircraft so ably demonstrated in St Petersburg, Sikorsky forged ahead, and continuously improved the breed. Far from being a tran­sitory experiment, as many liked to think, the Il’ya Muromets was the greatest advance in aircraft technology since the Wrights; records indicate that at least 80 aircraft, and possibly more, came off the ‘production line’.

Growth of an Aircraft Industry

The Polikarpov U-2 (or the Po-2 after the death of Polikarpov in 1944) made its first flight on 8 January 1928. A two-seat biplane, it was to become a maid-of-all-work, and particularly an elementary trainer. Thousands of them were built, used even for bombing in the Great Patriotic War, and Nikolai Nikolayevich Polikarpov’s design was an essen­tial factor in the development of Soviet aviation, akin to the role played by Britain’s Tiger Moth and America’s Piper Cub. Production of the PO-2 continued until 1944, and was built in Poland from 1948 until 1953. Produced for 35 years, it was the most popular light aircraft in the Soviet Union.

Of aircraft in the transport category, the ANT (Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev) series, prefaced by the Models 3 and 4 (see page 19) led to the ANT-9, which first flew on 1 May 1929, and is more fully reviewed on the page opposite. The Kalinin series, already described on page 21, was estab­lishing itself, especially the Model K-5. On 22 December 1930, Andrei Tupolev watched the first flight of his four – engined bomber, the ANT-6, which was put to good use as a transport airplane in 1937 in support of the Polar expeditions (see pages 30-31). Often overlooked, or even ignored by west­ern observers, this was a big aircraft, and no freak, in its time.

Then in 1931, the little Shavrov Sh-2 amphibian and the Stal’2, designed by A. I. Putilov, made their appearance. Of steel construction (Stal is Russian for steel) it could carry four passengers. It first flew on 11 October 1931 from Frunze air­field (Khodinka) in Moscow.

Reorganization

On 29 October 1930, as a feature of the First Five Year Plan of 1928, Dobrolet was replaced by as an all-state airline, a joint- stock company, Grazdansiy Vozduzhniy Flot (G. V.F.). It acquired Ukrvozdukhput (page 16) and developed a domestic hub at Moscow, with passenger services to all important cities, as far east as Irkutsk.

Air Pravda

On 3 June 1930, the first experimental delivery was made of type matrices of the official Pravda newspaper, and on 4 June

The twin-engined PS-9 was the main production version of the ANT-9, (photo: Boris Vdovienko)

1931, it appeared in Kharkov only eleven hours after being type-set in Moscow. On 16 June, a special aviation section was created to ensure matrix delivery to Leningrad, Kharkov, Sevastopol, Pyatagorsk, Grozniy, Odessa, Kazan, Rostov-on- Don, Tiflis, and Sverdlovsk.

A five-engined airliner, the ANT-14, first flew on 14 August 1931. With 36 seats, it was too large for the traffic on airline routes but was used extensively by Pravda for sightsee­ing and propaganda flights, mainly around Moscow. Only one was built, and its only long-distance foray was to Bucharest; but it carried 40,000 passengers during its ten-year service life, quite an achievement for the time.

Maturity of an Airline

During the 17th Congress of the All-Soviet Communist Party, held in Moscow from 30 January to 4 February 1932, a resolu­tion was passed that "air travel should expand in all direc­tions, as it is one of the important communication links with remote rural regions, and with major industrial centers." On

25 February, Grazdansiy Vozduzhniy Flot (G. V.F.) was reorga­nized as the Main Directorate of the Civil Aviation Fleet. On

26 March 1932 it was given the trading name of Aeroflot. Aeroflot continued the good work of its predecessors. On

15 December 1933, the final link to the east was completed, by an extension from Irkutsk to Vladivostok (see page 24). Moving up the learning curve, an Aeroflot PS-9 (version of the ANT-9) opened up the first all-Soviet westward route on 31 August 1935, to Prague, Czechoslovakia. The joint Soviet – German airline Deruluft was wound up on 31 March 1937, and in the same year Aeroflot service began from Leningrad to Stockholm, Sweden, in cooperation with A. B.A. The expan­sion of the Soviet airline was gathering momentum.

Wright J6 Whirlwind (3 x 300hp) ■ MTOW 6,000kg (13,2001b) ■ Normal Range 1,000km (620mi) ■ Length 17m (56ft) ■ Span 24m (79ft)

Tupolev Makes His Mark

Andrei Tupolev produced his first multi-engined type, the ANT-9 nine-seat passenger trans­port, which first flew on 7 May 1929, and was publicly presented in Red Square. It had a metal corrugated fuselage and wing, fixed landing gear, and air-cooled engines, initially Gnome – Rhone Titans. Compared with previous Tupolev designs, it not only looked more elegant and aerodynamically efficient, its performance matched its looks.

Wings of the Soviets

On 10 July 1929, the same day when a common flag was adopted for the civil aviation fleet of the U. S.S. R., Mikhail Gromov took off in the prototype ANT-9, named Krylya Sovyetov (Soviet Wings), on a tour of Europe that included five foreign capital cities. He returned in triumph on 8 August. For the first time, the Soviet Union had an airliner that was possibly the best in Europe. Indeed, there is a report that, calling as it did twice in Berlin, it influenced the Junkers firm to convert the Ju 52 from a single-engined aircraft into a tri-motor. The ANT-9 went into service with Deruluft and Dobrolet early in 1931, initially as a tri-motor with M-26, later U. S. engines. Production of the ANT-9 totaled 75, of which 60 were М-17-powered twins, known as PS-9s, and the type remained in the fleet of Aeroflot until the end of the Second World War.

The tri-motor ANT-9 prototype URSS-309 Krylya Sovyetov (Soviet Wings) at Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport in July 1929, during Mikhail Gromov’s second European tour. Note the three waiters in the fore­ground preparing champagne for the dignitaries, (photo: Lufthansa)

Izotov (2x 400shp) Ш MTOW 3,500kg (7,7001b) Ш Normal Range 240km (148mi) Ш Length 12m(39ft) Ш Rotor Diameter 15m(48ft)

First of the Mils

The Mil Mi-1, of orthodox helicopter design, with a single main rotor and anti-torque rotor mounted on a tail boom, was the first Soviet helicopter to go into series production. As the first of the long line, making its first flight in 1948, it went through the teething troubles of all infants, and its early years were almost in the nature of experimental research. Most Mi-ls had three-bladed rotors, and during the development period, the life of both the blades and the rotor head were considerably improved, while the overhaul of the Ivchenko engines went from TBOs of about 150 up to more than 1,000. They were used mainly by the Soviet Air Force, but Aeroflot began to take delivery in May 1954, using them for agriculture, forest patrol, ambu­lance, and other aerial work, and occasionally for carrying passengers in mountainous areas.

The Mil Mi-4

Carrying only three passengers besides the pilot, the Mil Mi-l’s work load was limited. By 1952, in response to a specification, directly from the Kremlin, for a larger machine, Mil produced the Mi-4 (there was no Mi-3; and the Mi-2, curiously, came later), in competition with Yakovlev’s Yak-24 design. It too had early problems, but necessity was the mother of invention. Four-blad – ed rotors made from a steel tube/wooden rib/plywood-and-fabric combination gave way to all­metal construction, including honeycomb sections. Magnesium corrosion led to replacement by aluminum parts. But when all was done, a good aircraft emerged and, as noted on the opposite page, the Mi-4 had the honor to open the first regularly scheduled helicopter airline service in the Soviet Union, carrying between eight and eleven passengers on each flight.

The Mil Mi-2

Mikhail Mil had already taken advantage of the light weight of turbine engines when he pro­duced the Mil Mi-6, world’s largest helicopter at the time, in the autumn of 1957. He then turned his attention to sharpening the performance of the smaller craft. In essence, he used two smaller and lighter turbine engines to make a new version of the Mi-1. By placing the engines above the fuselage, there was room enough for eight passengers. This was almost as much as the larger Mil Mi-4 could carry, so that essentially the Mil Mi-2 was able to replace both of the older types.

True, the passenger cabin was a little more cramped. The Mi-2’s 4.47m (14ft 8in) length was a foot longer than the Mi-4’s; but its 1.2m (4ft) width and 1.4m (4ft 7in) height were almost two feet narrower and more than a foot shorter, respectively. But this did not seem to matter, as helicopter journeys are invariably of short duration, and the clientele does not need either to stand up or to move about.

Equally, the Mi-2’s range was inferior to that of both predecessors; but this could be improved by supplementary tanks, if necessary. In compensation, the Mi-2’s speed was 25 per­cent more than the Mi-4’s and 50 percent more than the Mi-l’s.

Rotor-blade technology was impressive. Of bonded construction entirely, the three-bladed main rotor was equipped with leading-edge electro-thermal de-icing, with a 2,000-hour or more life. The anti-torque tail rotor had only two blades. Altogether, the Mil Mi-2 emerged as a thor­oughly reliable, modern aircraft of advanced construction, and it took its place in Aeroflot’s inventory from 1967 onwards as a standard type which has stood the acid test of time and strin­gent operational conditions.

The Beginning

Throughout the history of the Soviet Union, the extension of the railroad system has always been a constant economic objec­tive, to provide the logistics connection between the sources of wealth, particularly mineral wealth, and especially in the far reaches of the Asian territories. Gradually, branches of line sprouted from the Trans-Siberian Railway, often linking it with northerly ports on the great rivers, the Ob, the Yenesei, and the Lena. Of these, the most remote was the Lena, whose source is close to Lake Baikal, but which flows northeast through what was, until recently, largely uncharted territory.

By 1950, a line had reached Bratsk, site of a huge hydro­electric station under construction, and during the next decade, this was extended to Ust’ Kut, on the Lena. For the first time, albeit only during the May-October summer sea­son, when the Lena was ice-free, the historic trading center of Yakutsk, surrounded by newly-established satellite mining sites of great wealth, was linked with Moscow by a modem surface transport system.

Birth of the BAM

On 8 July 1974, the Supreme Soviet officially declared the cre­ation of a railroad construction program of great magnitude. The Baikal-Amur Magistral (Main Line, or Artery), or the BAM, was to parallel the Trans-Siberian Railway over about 3,500km (2,200mi) of its eastern length. This action took place at a time when relations between the Soviet Union and China were cool, and the BAM was widely perceived as a defensive measure against the possible cutting of the Trans­Sib by an attacking force. But the BAM also opened up vast possibilities for improving the access to the riches of Siberian mineral wealth.

Preliminary surveys had started on 30 April 1974, using Mil Mi-2 and Mi-8 helicopters. But progress at first was handicapped by the onset of an early winter — in August! Housing for the workers was incomplete, and one of the first tasks for the growing armada of supporting aircraft was to bring 2,500 tons of heating equipment to the first construc­tion sites. The first workers arrived on the Ulkan River on 28

October 1974, and in the following year, in a Soviet equiva­lent of “Go West Young Man," teams of Komsomol (Young Communist Workers League) headed east in their thousands.

Rail-Air Cooperation

Aviation, including the resources of Aeroflot, supported BAM during the entire period of its construction, with main­line connections to cities on the trans-Siberian Railway, and countless sorties by feeder aircraft, fixed wing and rotary wing. Other than the 3,500km (2,175mi) of track, the mainly Komsomol teams built 2,237 bridges, established 60 cities, some of them now large centers, as well as many villages. Hundreds of thousands of passenger flights were made, and supplies for the 22 special construction trains and 37 mecha­nized columns, and the hundreds of bridging and tunneling units, were carried largely by air, until the BAM line was pro­gressively completed.

Industrial Giant

In the early 1990s, the world witnessed the dissolution of a political and industrial empire. In the production of many min­eral and agricultural resources, it was among the world’s lead­ers. Though marked by a uniformity of design, Soviet manufac­turing continuously revealed impressive statistics of volume production. This demanded concentrated labor and equipment, concentrated into big cities. In this respect, the Soviet Union was no different from the United States, Europe, or Japan.

Urban Concentrations

By 1990, the U. S.S. R. had 52 cities with more than half a mil­lion inhabitants each. About half of these had populations of more than a million. Leningrad had five million, and Moscow’s eleven ranked it among the top half dozen conurba­tions in the world. Thirty of the 52 are in Russia, a reminder that the new regime is still a powerful force in the industrial world. Nine are in Ukraine, which, of the breakaway republics, alone has a balanced economy of world stature.

Of great significance to Aeroflot is the geographi­cal distribution of the urban concentrations. Of the 52 big cities, only 15 are more than 2,000km (l,250mi) and only three are more than 4,000km (2,500mi) from Moscow.

The domestic market for a long-range Ilyushin 11-86 is thus very small.

Conversely, only three major cities are within 400km (250mi) of Moscow, and only Gorki (Nizhni Novgorod) has more than one million people. It was the destination for Dobrolet’s first service in 1923, but is hardly a natu­ral air route in the jet age.

St Petersburg (Leningrad), is connected to Moscow by a good railway service, with future high-speed rail potential.

The pictures taken of the Il’ya Muromets in 1914 necessarily show the aircraft at low altitude, because few other aircraft could position themselves to match the Sikorsky giant at 1,800m (6,000ft), an altitude already achieved by the summer. Any doubts about its performance, however, were quickly dis­pelled. On 30 June of that year, the Il’ya Muromets, with a crew of three as well as Sikorsky in command, flew from St

The famous picture of the Il’ya Muromets —probably the Russian Knight prototype — flying low over the airfield at St Petersburg in 1913 or 1914. (photo: United Technologies)

Petersburg to Kiev, with only one stop, to refuel, at Orsha. Taking off at 1.00 a. m. from Korpusnoi airfield, the crew arrived triumphantly at Kiev in the early afternoon of the next day. On 12 July, they returned to St Petersburg, this time covering the 1,060km (660mi) in only 13 hours.

But a month later, the Lights Went Out in Europe, and Russia was swept into the Great War. The Sikorsky aircraft were put into production, to be used for reconnaissance and for bombing, and gave a good account of themselves.

ІГуа Muromets

6 SEATS ■ 80km/h (50mph)

Argus (4 x lOOhp) ■ MTOW 4,200kg (9,2601b) ■ Normal Range 170km (105mi)

MARTIN 156 50 SEATS ■ 225km/h (140mph)

Wright Cyclone GR-1820-G2 (4 x 850hp) ■ MTOW 28,100kg (62,0001b) ■ Normal Range 2,000km (l,200mi) ■ Length 28m (92ft) ■ Span 48m (157ft)

The Savoia-Marchetti S.55P

Local services began to develop In the Far East area. A circular route was established to some small communities to the north and east of Blagoveschensk, with Polikarpov Po-2 and Shavrov Sh-2 amphibians, and the Junkers Ju 13s were replaced with larger aircraft. Aeroflot negotiated for five Savoia-Marchetti S.55P twin-boom flying boats, the same type that had been used by Marshal Balbo in the famous trans-Atlantic squadron flight from Italy to Brazil in 1930. The S.55P inaugurated Aeroflot service to Petropavlovsk in 1933, by the circuitous route around the Sea of Okhotsk (see map opposite), the aircraft having been delivered from Italy by a circuitous route via the Black Sea, the great Russian rivers, as well as Lake Baikal.

The Russian Clipper

Flying to Sakhalin, and especially to Kamchatka, was an adventure, and the journey by S.55P to Petropavlovsk usually took about five or six days in the summer. Accordingly, Aeroflot upgraded to larger equipment, the Martin 156, the so-called ‘Russian Clipper’, an improved version of the famous China Clipper Martin 130 delivered to Pan American Airways in 1935.

The Far East Region of Aeroflot needed an aircraft that could combine a good payload with a good range, enough to traverse the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, preferably non­stop from Khabarovsk to Petropavlovsk. The Glenn Martin (as it was always referred to in Russia) could normally carry 50 passengers, and on shorter trips, for example, Khabarovsk to Nikolayevsk-na-Amure, it could carry 70. The Martin 156 — designated SP-30 by Aeroflot — was delivered in 1940 and operated successfully during the summer months until 1944, when it had to be retired because of the difficulty in obtaining spare parts.

The Clipper was replaced by the Consolidated Catalina in 1943 or 1944. Three Consolidated Model 28-ls had been imported from the U. S. in 1938 and, from 1940, license pro­duction of the type was undertaken at Taganrov, on the Sea of Azov, as the GST (Gidro Samolyet Transportnyi, or hydro aircraft transport) for the Soviet Navy. A few civil examples, designated MP-7, were delivered to Aeroflot. Some Lisunov Li-2s are believed to have been used also.