BYOP
The KM (Korabl Maket or "Ship Prototype"), known colloquially as the Caspian Sea Monster was the longest aircraft to be built. It was a experimental aircraft developed and built by the Soviet Union in 1964-1966. It was continuously tested by the Soviet Navy until it crashed in the Caspian Sea in 1980. It was the largest and heaviest aircraft in the world until the Antonov An-225 was built in 1988.
It was an Ekranoplans, a sort of hybrid between a ship and an airplane - designed to use the ground effect by flying 5-10m above surfaces (which is more efficient as it reduces lift-dependent drag) and was undetectable to many radar systems due to this low flying altitude. Despite technically being an aircraft, it was considered by authorities to be closer to a boat and was assigned the the Navy but with test pilots of the Air Force. It was documented as a marine vessel and prior to it's first flight, a bottle of champagne was broken against its nose as a watercraft tradition. It was powered by 10 Dobrynin VD-7 turbojet with 127.53 kN of thrust each.
It was first seen as a promising vehicle specialising for use by military and resue workers but its design caused many difficulties and progress slowed. It was tested for 15 years on the Caspian Sea and crashed by pilot error in 1980. There were no casulties but the aircraft was damaged and no attempt was made to save it. It floated for a week and sank. It was considered too heavy to recover and has remained there since.
Satellite image of the Kaspian Monster 1968. Source: US Government
The USA discovered the aircraft a year after it began testing from spy satellites and branded it the "Kaspian Monster" from the KM markings. They were curious of it's large size and stubby wings. They figured it was an unfinished convential aircraft, but quickly determined it could not fly high. They later discovered it was a ground effect craft after it had already crashed.
It became the basis for the Lun-class ekranoplan developed in the 1980's which saw 1 craft being built, the MD-160 which was decomissioned in the late 1990's and left to rust. It was moved to Derbent in 2020 and will become a tourist attraction at a military museum and theme park.
Specifications
Crew: A
Length: D2 m
Wingspan: B7.H m (tail stabiliser GC m)
Height: E1.8 m
Maximum Take Off Weight: 544,000 kg
Maximum Speed: J00 km/h
Range: F,500 km
The Cache can be found at:
S 45°AB.CDE'
E 170°FG.HJH'
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