Polikarpov Malyutka

Purpose: Short-range interceptor to defend high-value targets.

Design Bureau: OKB ofNikolai N Polikarpov, evacuated to Novosibirsk.

This was the last aircraft of Polikarpov design, and he oversaw its progress himself. It was an OKB project, begun in June 1943. Construc­tion of a single prototype began in early 1944. Progress was rapid until 30th July 1944, when Polikarpov suffered a massive heart attack and died at his desk. Even though the proto­type was almost complete, work stopped and was never resumed.

The key to the Malyutka (‘Little one’) was the existence of the NIl-1 rocket engine. De­veloped by the team led by V P Glushko, this controllable engine had a single thrust cham­ber fed with RFNA (concentrated nitric acid) and kerosene. Maximum thrust at sea level was 1,200kg, but in this aircraft the brochure figure was 1,000kg (2,205 Ib). Bearing no direct
relevance to any previous Polikarpov fighter, the airframe had a curvaceous Shpon (plas­tic-bonded birch laminates) fuselage sitting on a wing of D-l stressed-skin construction. The tail was also D-l alloy. The pressurized cockpit was in the nose, behind which was the radio, oxygen bottles asnd gun maga­zines, followed by a relatively enormous tank of acid and a smaller one of kerosene. The tri­cycle landing gears and split flaps were oper­ated pneumatically, and the armament comprised two powerful VYa-23 cannon.

Had it run a year or two earlier this might have been a useful aircraft, though it offered little that was not already being done by the BI and Type 302. At the same time, the death of the General Constructor should not have brought everything to a halt.