Underwater plane. Submarine - plane: how they wanted to create it in the USSR Ushakov's flying submarine

flying submarine

A flying submarine or otherwise a flying submarine (LPL) is a submarine that is capable of both taking off and landing on water, and can also move in airspace. An unrealized Soviet project, the purpose of which was to combine the stealth of a submarine and the mobility of an aircraft. In 1938, this project was curtailed, and did not have time to be realized.

Prerequisites for the emergence of the project.

Even five years before the project, in the early 30s, there were attempts to combine a submarine with an aircraft, but the result was almost always just compact, lightweight, folding aircrafts, which were supposed to fit inside the submarine. But there were no such LPL projects, because the design of the aircraft excludes the possibility of scuba diving, and a submarine is also unlikely to fly. But the engineering thought of one outstanding person was able to combine these two characteristic properties in one apparatus.

A brief history of the flying submarine project.

In the mid-30s of the last century, thanks to Stalin's new reforms, it was decided to start creating a powerful navy with battleships, aircraft carriers and ships of various classes. There were many ideas for creating unusual, from a technical point of view, devices, including the idea of ​​​​creating a flying submarine.

Ushakov's flying submarine

From 1934 to 1938 the project to create a flying submarine was led by Boris Ushakov. He, while still studying at the Higher Marine Engineering Institute named after F.E. Dzerzhinsky in Leningrad from 1934 to 1937 graduation, worked on a project in which he wanted to combine best performance aircraft and submarine.

Ushakov's submarine plan

Ushakov presented a schematic design of a flying submarine back in 1934. His LPL was a three-engine, two-float seaplane equipped with a periscope.

In 1936, in July, they became interested in his project and Ushakov received a response from the Scientific Research Military Committee (NIVK), which indicated that his project was interesting and deserved unconditional implementation: “... It is desirable to continue the development of the project in order to reveal the reality of its implementation through production calculations and laboratory tests….”

In 1937, the project was included in the plan of the NIVK department, but unfortunately, after the revision, this project was abandoned. All further work on the flying submarine was carried out by Boris Ushakov, at that time already a military technician of the 1st rank, in his spare time.

Application.

What was the purpose of such an outlandish project? The flying submarine was designed to destroy enemy naval equipment, both on the high seas and in the waters of naval bases, which can be protected by minefields. Low speed under water was not an obstacle, since the boat itself could find the enemy and determine the course of the ship while still in the air. After that, the boat splashed down over the horizon, in order to avoid its premature detection, and sank along the ship's line.

American submarine aircraft

And before the target appeared in the radius of destruction of its missiles, the submarine remained at a depth in a stationary position, without expending energy. There were a lot of advantages in this type of equipment, I start with reconnaissance and finish with direct combat, and of course, re-enter the target. And if you use LPLs in groups during combat, then 3 such devices could create a barrier for warships for more than 10 kilometers.

Design.

The design of the flying submarine was very interesting. The boat consisted of six compartments: AM-34 aircraft engines, a living compartment, a battery compartment and a propeller motor compartment were installed in three of them. The pilot's cabin was filled with water during immersion, and the flight instruments were closed in a sealed shaft. The hull and floats of the submarine were to be made of duralumin, the wings were made of steel, the oil and fuel tanks were made of rubber to prevent damage when submerged.

But unfortunately in 1938 the project was curtailed due to “insufficient speed under water”.

foreign projects.

Of course, there were similar projects in the USA, but much later in 1945 and in the 60s. It was the project of the 60s that was developed and even a sample was built that successfully passed the tests, it was just an armed drone that was launched from a submarine.

And in 1964, engineer Donald Reid built a boat called

On July 9, 1964, this specimen reached a speed of 100 km / h and completed its first dive. But unfortunately this design was too low-power for military tasks.

American Cormorant

And in 2008, the United States returned to the development of a flying submarine. Now they are developing a project for an underwater aircraft called the Cormorant that will fly as well as swim both underwater and on the surface. It is planned that the aircraft will be used for covert delivery of groups special purpose to coastal regions.

Diving Commander-2
Cormorant 3D

Written by

barbarian

Creativity, work on the modern idea of ​​world knowledge and constant search for answers

In the USSR, on the eve of the Second World War, a flying submarine project was proposed - a project that was never implemented.

From 1934 to 1938 the flying submarine project was led by Boris Ushakov. The flying submarine was a three-engine two-float seaplane equipped with a periscope. Even while studying at the Higher Marine Engineering Institute named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky in Leningrad (now the Naval Engineering Institute), from 1934 until his graduation in 1937, student Boris Ushakov worked on a project in which the capabilities of a seaplane were supplemented submarine capabilities. The invention was based on a seaplane capable of submerging under water.
In 1934, a cadet of VMIU them. Dzerzhinsky B.P. Ushakov presented a schematic design of a flying submarine, which was subsequently revised and presented in several versions to determine the stability and loads on the structural elements of the apparatus.
In April 1936, in the recall of Captain 1st Rank Surin, it was indicated that Ushakov's idea was interesting and deserved unconditional implementation. A few months later, in July, the semi-preliminary design of the LPL was considered by the Scientific Research Military Committee (NIVK) and received a generally positive review, containing three additional points, one of which read: “... It is desirable to continue developing the project in order to identify the reality of its implementation by making the appropriate calculations and the necessary laboratory tests…” Among the signatories of the document were the head of the NIVK, military engineer 1st rank Grigaitis and the head of the department of combat tactics, flagship 2nd rank Professor Goncharov.
In 1937, the topic was included in the plan of department "B" of the NIVK, but after its revision, which was very typical for that time, it was abandoned. All further development was carried out by the engineer of department "B" military technician of the 1st rank B.P. Ushakov during off-duty hours.
Soviet project of a flying submarine. Soviet project flying 2
On January 10, 1938, in the 2nd department of the NIVK, a review of sketches and basic tactical and technical elements of a flying submarine prepared by the author took place. What was the project? The flying submarine was designed to destroy enemy ships on the high seas and in the waters of naval bases protected by minefields and booms. Low underwater speed and a limited range under water were not an obstacle, since in the absence of targets in a given square (area), the boat could find the enemy itself. Having determined its course from the air, she sat down over the horizon, which excluded the possibility of her premature detection, and sank on the ship's path. Until the target appeared at the salvo point, the flying submarine remained at depth in a stabilized position, without wasting energy with unnecessary moves.


In the event of an acceptable deviation of the enemy from the course line, the flying submarine approached him, and with a very large deviation of the target, the boat missed it beyond the horizon, then surfaced, took off and again prepared to attack.
The possible repetition of the approach to the target was considered as one of the significant advantages of the underwater-air torpedo bomber over traditional submarines. Particularly effective was the action of flying submarines in a group, since theoretically three such devices created an impenetrable barrier up to nine miles wide in the path of the enemy. A flying submarine could penetrate the harbors and ports of the enemy at night, dive, and during the day observe, find direction of secret fairways and, if possible, attack. The design of the flying submarine provided for six autonomous compartments, three of which housed AM-34 aircraft engines with a capacity of 1000 hp each. With. each. They were equipped with superchargers that allowed boosting in takeoff mode up to 1200 hp. With. The fourth compartment was residential, designed for a team of three people. It also controlled the ship under water. In the fifth compartment there was a battery, in the sixth compartment there was a propeller motor with a capacity of 10 liters. With. The strong hull of the flying submarine was a cylindrical riveted structure with a diameter of 1.4 m made of duralumin 6 mm thick. In addition to durable compartments, the boat had a lightweight wet-type cockpit, which was filled with water when immersed. At the same time, flight instruments were battened down in a special shaft.
Sheathing of the wings and tail was supposed to be made of steel, and the floats of duralumin. These structural elements were not designed for increased external pressure, since, when immersed, they were flooded with sea water that flowed by gravity through scuppers (holes for water drainage). Fuel (gasoline) and oil were stored in special rubber tanks located in the center section. When diving, the inlet and outlet lines of the water cooling system of aircraft engines were blocked, which excluded their damage under the pressure of outboard water. To protect the hull from corrosion, painting and varnishing of its skin was provided. Torpedoes were placed under the wing consoles on special holders. The design payload of the boat was 44.5% of the total flight weight of the device, which was common for heavy vehicles.


The dive process included four stages: battening down the engine compartments, shutting off the water in the radiators, transferring control to underwater, and transferring the crew from the cockpit to the living compartment (central control post).
Submerged motors were covered with metal shields. The flying submarine was supposed to have 6 sealed compartments in the fuselage and wings. In three compartments sealed during immersion, Mikulin AM-34 motors of 1000 hp were installed. With. each (with a turbocharger in takeoff mode up to 1200 hp); in the pressurized cabin should have been located instruments, battery and electric motor. The remaining compartments are to be used as tanks filled with ballast water to submerge the flying submarine. Preparation for the dive should have taken only a couple of minutes.
The fuselage was supposed to be an all-metal duralumin cylinder with a diameter of 1.4 m and a wall thickness of 6 mm. The cockpit was filled with water during the dive. Therefore, all devices were supposed to be installed in a waterproof compartment. The crew had to move to the diving control module located further in the fuselage. Bearing planes and flaps should be made of steel, and floats of duralumin. These elements were supposed to be filled with water through the valves provided for this, in order to equalize the pressure on the wings when diving. Flexible fuel and lubricant tanks should be located in the fuselage. For corrosion protection, the entire aircraft had to be covered with special varnishes and paints. Two 18-inch torpedoes were suspended under the fuselage. The planned combat load was to be 44.5% of the total mass of the aircraft. This is the typical value of heavy aircraft of that time. To fill the tanks with water, the same electric motor was used, which provided movement under water.
In 1938, the research military committee of the Red Army decided to curtail work on the flying submarine project due to its insufficient mobility in a submerged position. The decree stated that after the detection of the Flying Submarine by the ship, the latter would undoubtedly change course. Which will reduce the combat value of the LPL and, with a high degree of probability, will lead to the failure of the mission. Specifications of the Flying Submarine:
Crew, people: 3;
Takeoff weight, kg: 15000;
Flight speed, knots: 100 (~185 km/h);
Flight range, km: 800;
Ceiling, m: 2500;
Aircraft engines: 3xAM-34;
Takeoff power, hp p.: 3x1200;
Maximum extra. excitement during takeoff / landing and immersion, points: 4-5;
Underwater speed, knots: 2–3;
Immersion depth, m: 45;
Power reserve under water, miles: 5–6;
Underwater autonomy, hour: 48;
Rowing motor power, l. p.: 10;
Immersion duration, min: 1.5;

Other classes. There were numerous ideas of technical and tactical decisions assigned tasks.

Even while studying at the Higher Marine Engineering Institute named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky in Leningrad (now), from 1934 until his graduation in 1937, student Boris Ushakov worked on a project in which the capabilities of a seaplane were supplemented by the capabilities of a submarine. The invention was based on a seaplane capable of submerging under water. Over the years of work on the project, it has been reworked many times, as a result of which there are many options for the implementation of nodes and structural elements. In April 1936, Ushakov's project was considered by the competent commission, which found it worthy of consideration and implementation in a prototype. In July 1936, a preliminary design flying submarine was submitted for consideration to the research military committee of the Red Army. The Committee accepted the draft for consideration and proceeded to check the submitted theoretical calculations.

In 1937, the project was transferred to the execution of the department "B" of the research committee. However, during the re-calculations, inaccuracies were found that led to its suspension. Ushakov, now in the position of military technician of the first rank, served in the "B" department and continued to work on the project in his spare time.

In January 1938, the newly revised draft was again reviewed by the second department of the committee. The final version of the LPL was an all-metal aircraft with a flight speed of 100 knots and an underwater speed of about 3 knots.

Ushakov's flying submarine
Crew, pers.	3
Takeoff weight, kg	15 000
Airspeed, knots	100 (~185 km/h).
Flight range, km	800
Ceiling, m	2 500
aircraft engines	3×AM-34
Takeoff power, hp With.	3×1200
points	4-5
Underwater speed, knots	2-3
Immersion depth, m	45
Power reserve under water, miles	5-6
Underwater autonomy, hour	48
Rowing motor power, l. With.	10
Dive duration, min	1,5
Ascent duration, min	1,8
Armament	18" torpedo, 2 pcs. coaxial machine gun, 2 pcs.

Submerged motors were covered with metal shields. LPL was supposed to have 6 sealed compartments in the fuselage and wings. In three compartments sealed during immersion, Mikulin AM-34 motors of 1000 hp were installed. With. each (with a turbocharger in takeoff mode up to 1200 hp); in the pressurized cabin, instruments, a rechargeable battery and an electric motor were supposed to be located. The remaining compartments should be used as tanks filled with ballast water for diving LPL. Preparation for the dive should have taken only a couple of minutes. The fuselage was supposed to be an all-metal duralumin cylinder with a diameter of 1.4 m and a wall thickness of 6 mm. The cockpit was filled with water during the dive. Therefore, all devices were supposed to be installed in a waterproof compartment. The crew had to move to the diving control module located further in the fuselage. Bearing planes and flaps should be made of steel, and floats of duralumin. These elements were supposed to be filled with water through the valves provided for this in order to equalize the pressure on the wings when diving. Flexible fuel and lubricant tanks should be located in the fuselage. For corrosion protection, the entire aircraft had to be covered with special varnishes and paints. Two 18-inch torpedoes were suspended under the fuselage. The planned combat load was to be 44.5% of the total mass of the aircraft. This is the typical value of heavy aircraft of that time. To fill the tanks with water, the same electric motor was used, which provided movement under water.

LPL was supposed to be used for torpedo attacks on ships on the high seas. She had to detect the ship from the air, calculate its course, leave the ship's visibility zone and, moving to a submerged position, attack it.

one more possible way The use of LPL was to overcome minefields around the bases and navigation areas of enemy ships. The LPL was supposed to fly over the minefields under the cover of darkness and take up a position for reconnaissance or waiting and attacking in a submerged position.

The next tactical maneuver was to be a group of LPLs, capable of successfully attacking all ships in a zone up to 15 km long.

In 1938, the research military committee of the Red Army decided to curtail work on the project flying submarine due to insufficient mobility of the LPL in a submerged position. The decree stated that after the discovery of the LPL by the ship, the latter would undoubtedly change course. Which will reduce the combat value of the LPL and, with a high degree of probability, will lead to the failure of the mission.

USA

Terms of reference for the flying submarine "Trifibiya"
Crew, pers.	1
"Dry" weight (without pilot and payload), kg	500
Payload, kg	250-500
Flight range, km	800
Flight speed, km/h	500-800
Ceiling, m	750
Maximum allowable wave during takeoff/landing and diving, points	2-3
Underwater speed, knots	10-20
Immersion depth, m	25
Power reserve under water, km	80

Further developments lifting force - "drowning force", but only when the boat is in motion. Thus, the disadvantage of such a technical solution is that the boat sinks slowly and only to shallow depths.

Carrier submarine

An alternative solution to flying submarines is an underwater aircraft carrier, which delivers planes under water covertly.

Another solution could be the delivery of miniature submarines by carrier aircraft.

This book is an attempt to take a glance at some of the most original and intricate facts from the field of military history and, if possible, to give their own interpretation. This material should be considered only as a fairly well-founded, but version of the reasons that made the described events possible. To what extent these versions are plausible, it is up to the readers to decide. Another focus of the book is an attempt to piece together some of the most fantastic records set in the military realm.

Submarine aviation

Submarine aviation

In military history, the assertion that no bomb has ever fallen on the territory of the United States is a kind of axiom. However, this statement is not true. To prove this, let's make a short digression into the practice of using aviation from aboard ... submarines.

Experience combat use Kaiser submarines at the beginning of the First World War revealed not only their brilliant qualities, but also a number of serious technical shortcomings. And above all - the limited view. Indeed, even when the submarine surfaced, only 10-12 miles of the water surface was visible from the height of its cabin. This, of course, is very small, especially when single submarines of very large displacement capable of staying at sea for more than 100 days act on ocean communications.

Their autonomy was limited by the supply of torpedoes, so such submarines had strong artillery armament (150 mm), which made it possible to spend torpedoes only as a last resort. For example, the world's first submarine of this class - the German U-155 - left Kiel on May 24, 1917, and returned only 105 days later. During the campaign, the boat traveled 10,220 miles, of which only 620 were under water, and sank 19 ships (10 of them with artillery), which calmly followed their path without any cover.

The result of this raid, unprecedented in duration, was the forced expansion by the Entente countries of the area of ​​application of convoys. In the report on the results of the campaign, the commander indicated that the main difficulty for the crew was the weeks of waiting for the target, even in areas with fairly busy shipping due to limited visibility.

And then the designers thought: how to raise the "eyes" of the boat? The answer suggested itself - to try to equip the boat with an airplane. He could search for enemy ships, direct a submarine at them, provide communication with a squadron or base, take out the wounded, deliver spare parts, and even protect the boat from enemy attacks. In general, the aircraft, of course, could significantly improve the combat qualities of the submarine. However, the designers faced huge technical difficulties. The fact that only a small floating, moreover, collapsible airplane was suitable for a submarine was obvious. But how to make a hangar on board, how will it affect the characteristics of the boat, especially its buoyancy, where and how to store fuel and supplies for the aircraft? In addition, a psychological barrier had to be overcome: at that time, the idea of ​​a boat plane sounded frankly fantastic, like flying to the moon. In practice, there were only isolated experiments on taking off aircraft from battleships, that is, the largest surface ships. Maybe this is another "idea fix"? Only experiment could answer these questions.

In 1916, a series of giant submarine cruisers of the U-139-U-145 type, with a displacement of 2483 tons, a length of 92 meters and a crew of 62 people, was laid down in Germany. A boat

was armed with two 150-mm guns, six 500-mm torpedo tubes, developed a speed of up to 15.3 knots and could travel 17,800 miles with an 8-knot course. In the same year, the Hansa Brandenburg company received an order for an aircraft for this "underwater dreadnought". This order was taken up at that time by a young, but later world-famous designer E. Heinkel. Already at the beginning of 1918, tests began on the W-20, a small collapsible biplane boat with an 80 hp Oberursel engine. However, the car was far from shining with its data: the speed was some 118 km / h, the flight radius was 40 km, the height was up to 1000 m, the wingspan was 5.8 m, the length was 5.9 m. disassembling the biplane took only 3.5 minutes, and it weighed only 586 kg.

The defeat of Kaiser Germany stopped all work on the construction of both submarines and aircraft for them. Only U-139, which entered service, was returned from its first combat campaign halfway and transferred to the French fleet for reparation, where it served safely until 1935.

The chief designer of German submarine cruisers O. Flam with a group of his engineers was invited to work in Japan, and American sailors became interested in boat planes. They contacted E. Heinkel and ordered two V-1 aircraft from the German Gaspar plant. They were supposed to be stored inside the boat, so the new aircraft was even smaller than the W-20: weighing 520 kg with a 60 hp engine that provided a speed of 140 km / h. These experimental machines never found practical application, and in 1923 one of them was sold to Japan.

A year later, the Americans themselves built a similar aircraft - "Martin MS-1" - for the ocean-going submarine cruiser "Argonaut", which entered service in 1925. In fact, the Americans simply improved the design of the captured U-139 without changing anything in principle. An ultralight seaplane weighing 490 kg developed a speed of 166 km / h, but its assembly and preparation for flight took 4 hours, and disassembly even more. Submariners categorically refused such an assistant.

In 1926, another American "underwater" aircraft, the X-2, was ready, which could take off from the Argonaut when it was in position. Pre-launch operations on this machine were completed in 15-20 minutes, but the submariners did not like it either: they did not take the aircraft into service and stopped all experiments of this kind. The Americans were finally convinced of the futility of collapsible aircraft and concluded that winged vehicles for submarines should be folding and stored in a hangar.

The baton in the creation of "hydrofoils" was taken by the British. In 1917-1918, the Grand Fleet was replenished with three unusual underwater monitors, boats armed with 12-inch guns taken from old ironclads. As conceived by the Admiralty, these huge submarines with a displacement of 2000 tons were intended to support torpedo attacks and shelling the coast. They had a length of 90 m, a crew of 65 people and could reach speeds of up to 15 knots. The idea did not justify itself, and soon the lead boat M-1 died in an accident. M-3 decided to convert

into an underwater mine layer, and the M-2 into an underwater aircraft carrier. The twelve-inch was dismantled, and in its place, near the cabin, a light hangar 7 m long, 2.8 m high and 2.5 m wide with a large hermetic end hatch was built. When immersed in water, the hangar was filled with compressed air so that its walls could withstand the pressure.

The Admiralty offered to create an aircraft for an underwater aircraft carrier to the small firm Parnel, which built sports airplanes. And on August 19, 1926, a Peto seaplane with a 128 hp Lucifer engine took off. Despite the modest dimensions of the machine (length - 8.6 m, wingspan - 6.8 m), two people were placed in its cockpit - a pilot and an observer. After testing, a more powerful engine (185 hp) was installed on the second copy of the Peto, and the speed increased to 185 km / h. With the previous dimensions, the weight was 886 kg, and the flight altitude reached 3200 m. It was this highly commended machine that was put into service. True, the tests that began in 1927 showed a very low efficiency of the system due to the very long time spent on take-off, since the one originally removed from the Peto-2 was launched using a rotary crane, and it ran up and took off on its own. Then a pneumatic catapult was installed on the boat, which instantly threw the plane into the sky. All this made it possible to reduce the take-off time to quite acceptable 5 minutes. The experiment was considered successful and began to think about its wider implementation ...

On January 26, 1932, the M-2 submarine sank in the English Channel along with the Peto aircraft and the entire crew. When the English divers descended to the crash site, they found that the hangar hatch was open. This tragic incident dealt a mortal blow to British submarine aviation.

Decided to acquire a submarine aircraft carrier and the command of the fleet of Italy. In 1928, a hermetic hangar was built on the deck of the Ettore Fierramosca cruising boat, and the Macchi company to next year built a small single-seat collapsible seaplane M-53 with an 80 hp Citrus engine. Despite the good results of flight tests, the program was unexpectedly closed. It turned out that the upgraded boat did not want to dive with an aircraft on board, since the spacious hangar had too much buoyancy.

The French were more successful. In 1929 they launched a giant submarine cruiser"Surkuf" with a displacement of 4300 tons and a length of 119.6 m. The boat was intended to guard Atlantic convoys and was supposed to engage in artillery combat with any raider such as an auxiliary cruiser, and attack warships with torpedoes. Therefore, the armament of the French submarine had no more analogues: armor, turret 203-mm guns, four 37-mm machine guns and 12 torpedo tubes (four internal bow and four twin external ones) were installed on it. For the timely detection of enemy raiders, the boat was equipped with a small reconnaissance hydroplane. The crew of this giant submarine consisted of 150 people. The highest speed reached 18 knots.

The aircraft hangar, 7 m long and 2 m in diameter, was located on the deck behind the wheelhouse. After the boat surfaced, the aircraft was brought to the stern, assembled, the engine was started, and the hatch to the hangar was battened down. The boat occupied a positional position (sinked), the water washed away the plane, and the pilot began to take off. First, the Besson MV-5 with a 120-horsepower engine was based on Surkuf. The plane weighed 765 kg, developed a speed of 163 km / h and could climb to a height of 4200 m. The length of the car was 7 m, the wingspan was 9.8 m. the same motor. The weight of the machine reached 1050 kg, length - 8 m, and wingspan - 11.9 m, but specifications were quite high: speed - 185 km / h; flight altitude - 1000 m, range - 650 km, and most importantly - it took less than 4 minutes to assemble and disassemble.

"Surkuf" successfully served until 1940. After the defeat of France, the boat went to England, where its crew joined the forces led by Charles de Gaulle. MV-411 flew reconnaissance several times, but in 1941 it was seriously damaged and was no longer used. And on February 18, 1942, the Surkuf itself died in the Caribbean Sea - guarding the convoy, it was rammed by the ward transport. There were no survivors...

In the Soviet Union, the well-known creator of seaplanes, I. V. Chetverikov, took up the development of hydrofoils in the early 30s. For cruising boats of the K series, he proposed an aircraft that takes up extremely little space and is called SIL. The representatives of the fleet liked the idea, and in 1933 the construction of the first version of the amphibian began, on which they checked the design and made sure of its stability in the water and in the air.

At the end of 1934, the SPL was made, transported to Sevastopol, and naval pilot A.V. Krzhizhenovsky tested it. According to its scheme, the SPL was a two-seat flying boat with a free-floating wing, above which was an M-11 engine with a pulling propeller. The tail, stabilizer and two keels were mounted on a special frame. The structure was made of wood, plywood, canvas and welded steel pipes. The weight of the empty aircraft was only 590 kg, and takeoff weight did not exceed 875 kg with two crew members. But the main advantage of the machine was the ability to quickly assemble and disassemble it. All this took less than 3 minutes. The assembly was carried out in the reverse order in 3-4 minutes. At the same time, not traditional nuts and bolts were used to dock the nodes, but quick-release pins-clamps.

After the Nazis came to power, the admirals of the Kriegsmarine remembered the exotic airplane created in 1918 by Heinkel. However, by this time the meter itself was busy with much more serious developments, so the development of the idea was entrusted to the Arado company, which by the beginning of 1940 had built a single float reconnaissance hydroplane Ar-231 with a 160 hp engine. The wingspan of this aircraft reached 10.2 m, length -

7.8 m, flight weight - 1050 kg, and it was placed in a hangar with a diameter of only 2 m. km. It seems to be not bad, but it took about 10 minutes to assemble the Ar-231, which the sailors considered unacceptable. And then the designers tried to give the submariners a different novelty.

In 1942, the Focke-Angelis specialists came up with the Fa-330A tethered autogyro kite - an outwardly fragile structure, weighing 200 kg (together with the pilot), consisting of a light frame with an observer's seat and an instrument panel topped with a three-bladed propeller-rotor. Units of the apparatus were stored in two steel canisters on the deck of the boat and after 5-7 minutes were turned by three assemblers into ready product. The reverse procedure took only 2 minutes.

To launch this structure, the boat picked up maximum speed, the propeller-rotor was spun by compressed air, and the kite obediently took off on a 150 m long leash to a height of about 120 m. changing course, which sharply limited its maneuverability. In addition, the descent from the maximum height could take more than 10 minutes, which put the submariners in a very dangerous position in the event that an enemy aircraft was detected. And yet, despite these inconveniences, in 1943, the autogyro was adopted and built more than 100 copies, most of which were placed on boats located in the Indian Ocean.

However, the Japanese have undoubtedly advanced the farthest in the creation of submarine aviation. Methodically preparing for war in the ocean, Japanese intelligence was interested in all the latest in the field of the navy and naval aviation. And therefore, it cannot be considered accidental that it was the Japanese who bought the German V-1 from America in 1923. In the mid-20s, Japan began designing huge ocean-going boats equipped with reconnaissance aircraft. Six submarines of the Yun-sen 1M type, which entered service in 1931-1932, had a displacement of 2920 tons and a range of 14,000 miles; their armament consisted of two 150-mm guns and six torpedo tubes, and the crew consisted of 92 people. A cylindrical hangar for a seaplane and a catapult to launch it were installed in the bow.

The aircraft was stored folded, and for its maintenance in the hangar there was access in a submerged position. The first Japanese submarine to receive an airplane was the submarine cruiser I-5. These submarines were built to operate on ocean communications, and aircraft - for reconnaissance and search for targets, but events developed in such a way that these crumbs had to be used to solve completely different problems.

On April 18, 1942, several twin-engine aircraft approached Tokyo from the Pacific Ocean. Bombs rained down on the city, fires broke out.

It is clear that this raid was more of a political demonstration than a military action. The fact is that the long distances and the difficulties of taking off coastal aircraft from aircraft carriers did not allow them to take a significant bomb load. But Japan was then at the zenith of its power, and the raid on the capital of the empire was perceived as a slap in the face. The wounded samurai pride demanded revenge, but the technical capabilities of the country clearly lagged behind the ambitious plans of its politicians.

On August 15, 1942, the I-25 submarine left the Yokosuka naval base for the American shores, carrying an aircraft converted into an ultralight bomber. A single-engine hydroplane of the Ayagumos type was taken into the forward deck hangar of the submarine. A small and equally unreliable car was fired into the air by a catapult and could make three-hour flights at a speed of 165 km / h.

Of course, two 75-kilogram bombs that the plane could lift did not make it a formidable means of attack, and the lack of defensive weapons, the primitiveness of navigation equipment and poor flight performance turned the pilot into a close resemblance of a kamikaze. But the command was sure that there would be no shortage of volunteers. The object of the attack, given the complete defenselessness of the Ayagumos, was the deserted forests of America. One night, shortly before dawn, I-25 surfaced off the coast of Oregon and launched her plane into the sky. An hour later, the pilot, Captain Fujita, was convinced that he had reached the goal. The land of the formidable adversary, who boasted of his invulnerability, stretched under the fabric planes of his aircraft. Fujita pressed the bomb release button, and phosphorus bombs flew down. A few minutes later, two columns of thick smoke rose above the forest, and an hour later the Ayagumos splashed down safely at the side of the submarine. On the same day, after sunset, the flight was repeated. However, this time it did not go so well, because on the way back the pilot got lost. Paradoxically, he was saved by the poor technical condition of the I-25: the boat left an oil trail behind it, and it was along this trail that Fujita found it. The results of the raid turned out to be even better than the Japanese themselves expected: two severe fires broke out. The fire destroyed entire villages, killing several people. However, the use of "ayagumos" had to be abandoned: the Japanese were well aware that the fact that Fujita got lost was not at all an accident. An accident is that he managed to find the boat. They decided to repeat the raid on more advanced machines.

Since 1938, new boats of the Kaidai I series began to enter the Japanese fleet - powerful submarines 102 m long, with a displacement of 2440 tons, armed in addition to one 140-mm cannon and six torpedo tubes with two reconnaissance aircraft. The hangar and the catapult stood in front of the wheelhouse. But by this time, the designers had created a two-seater Watabane-E9DCH biplane with a Hitachi Temp engine with a power of 350 hp. and ten-meter wings, folding back. Its dimensions just fit under the hangar of a new boat (however, only one aircraft fit there). The 1250-kilogram E9W1 had good flight data: a maximum speed of 233 km / h, a ceiling of 6750 m. It could stay in the air for more than 5 hours, but the service of this aircraft was short-lived: it was soon replaced by a more advanced E14W1 monoplane, created by Yokosuka ". The newcomers' baptism of fire took place on December 7, 1942, when, taking off from the I-9 and I-15 submarines, they shot panoramas of the American base at Pearl Harbor,

just attacked by Japanese naval aviation. "Glen" (bully), as these machines were called, weighed 1450 kg, the Hitachi Temp engine allowed him to reach speeds of up to 270 km / h and make five-hour flights. The armament consisted of a 7.7 mm turret machine gun, three 50 kg bombs and a complete set of navigational equipment. In the absence of a second crew member, the bomb load could be increased to 300 kg.

In September 1942, the I-9 and I-15 launched their planes off the coast of Arizona. This time, the cars with red circles on the planes operated openly, causing considerable commotion among the townsfolk, who were already used to the fact that the fighting was taking place somewhere far away, in the other hemisphere. Of course, six 50-kg bombs are a purely symbolic blow, but he satisfied the samurai ambitions a little.

However, reconnaissance was still the main thing for boat planes: they made several effective reconnaissance flights over the territory of Australia and New Zealand, and the Glen with I-15 even showed its red circles over Sydney. On May 31, 1942, an I-10 aircraft carried out reconnaissance of the Diego Suarez Bay on the island of Madagascar, based on the data of which a successful attack on ships by ultra-small submarines was carried out.

But for Admiral Yamamoto, an ardent admirer of naval aviation, intelligence alone was not enough. He planned to inflict a really serious blow on America - to disable the Panama Canal by bombing its locks. Putting his plans into practice, Japanese shipyards laid down supersubmarines of the A1 series with a displacement of 4750 tons. The lead one, the I-400, was intended for two aircraft, but then the hangar was rebuilt for three bombers. The Japanese succeeded

build three such submarine aircraft carriers, but they did not have time to distinguish themselves in battle: the war ended. And two years earlier, the Aihi company brought the M6A1 to the test - quite

modern bomb carrier "Seyran" ("Mountain Fog"). The car weighed 4925 kg and was equipped with a 1250 hp engine, which allowed it to develop quite a decent speed of 480 km / h. The length of the aircraft is 11.5 m, the wingspan is 12.5 m, the crew is 2 people, the bomb load is from 350 to 850 kg (with a minimum of fuel) or one torpedo. To launch the seaplane into the sky, a 40-meter pneumatic catapult was provided. In general, it was indeed a real submarine aircraft carrier, but, fortunately for the Americans, he never managed to fight.

Preparations for the raid on Panama began in February 1945 and were carried out with exceptional care. For training, mock-ups of canal locks were even built. However, the military situation was getting worse, and the spectacular, but far from the most urgent operation was being postponed and postponed. Finally, they decided to carry it out, but along the way to solve a number of other tasks. On August 25, an attack on the Ulithi Atoll was planned, and then the submarine aircraft carriers were to head for Panama. On August 6, I-400 and I-401 went to sea, and it is difficult to predict how this voyage could end, but on August 16 the order came to surrender and return to base. The Seirans were ordered to be destroyed, and they were simply thrown overboard.

In the 1980s, proposals were also put forward in the United States to convert the Helibad nuclear submarine into a submarine aircraft carrier. For this purpose, it was supposed to install a hangar for two Harrier vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. However, so far not a single project of a modern submarine aircraft carrier has been implemented.

The concept of an aircraft launched from a submarine is as old as naval aviation itself. On January 6, 1915, the modified Friedrichshafen hydroplane was launched from the deck of the German submarine U-12. In the autumn of 1917, the "Brandenburg" was tested in the same Germany, already adapted for storage directly on board a diesel submarine.

Between the end of World War I and the start of World War II, virtually all major maritime powers seriously considered launching aircraft from submarines. But only in Japan, this concept has undergone significant changes. This series even had the name "Sen Toki". From an auxiliary means of reconnaissance, the aircraft almost turned into the main weapon of submarines. The appearance of such an aircraft for a submarine as the "Seiran" turned out to be in fact an element of a strategic weapon, which included a bomber aircraft and a submersible aircraft carrier. The plane was called upon to bomb targets that no conventional bomber could reach. The main bet was placed on complete surprise. The idea of ​​a submarine aircraft carrier was born in the minds of the Japanese Imperial Naval Staff a few months after the start of the Pacific War. It was supposed to build submarines, superior to everything created before - especially for transporting and launching attack aircraft. A flotilla of such diesel-powered submarines was to cross the Pacific Ocean, just before the chosen target, launch their aircraft and then dive. After the attack, the planes were supposed to go out to meet with submarine aircraft carriers, and then, depending on the weather conditions, the method of grazing the crews was chosen. After that, the flotilla again plunged under water. For a greater psychological effect, which was put above physical damage, the method of delivering aircraft to the target should not have been disclosed.

Further, the submarines had to either go out to meet supply ships to receive new aircraft, bombs and fuel, or act in the usual way, using torpedo weapons. The program, of course, developed in an atmosphere of heightened secrecy, and it is not surprising that the Allies first heard about it only after the surrender of Japan. In early 1942, the Japanese high command issued an order to shipbuilders for the largest diesel submarines built by anyone until the beginning of the atomic age in shipbuilding. It was planned to build 18 submarines. In the process of designing, the displacement of such a submarine increased from 4125 to 4738 tons, the number of aircraft on board from three to four. Now it was up to the plane. The fleet headquarters discussed the issue with the Aichi concern, which, starting from the 1920s, built aircraft exclusively for the fleet. The Navy believed that the success of the whole idea depended entirely on the high performance of the aircraft. The aircraft had to combine high speed to avoid interception with a long range of 1500 km. But since the plane provided for actually one-time use, the type of landing gear was not even specified. The diameter of the hangar of an underwater aircraft carrier was set at 3.5 m, but the fleet demanded that the aircraft be placed in it without disassembly.

The Aichi designers considered such high demands a challenge to their talent and accepted them without objection. As a result, on May 15, 1942, requirements for an experimental bomber "for special assignments" appeared. The chief designer of the aircraft was Norio Ozaki. The development of the aircraft, which received the brand designation "AM-24" and the short "M6A1", progressed smoothly. The aircraft was designed for the Atsuta engine, a licensed version of the Daimler-Benz DB-601 12-cylinder liquid-cooled engine. From the very beginning, the use of detachable floats was envisaged - the only dismantled part of the Seypan. Since the floats significantly reduced the flight performance of the aircraft, it was possible to drop them in the air in case of such a need. In the hangar of the submarine, respectively, mounts for two floats were provided. At the end of the autumn of 1944, the imperial fleet began to train the pilots of the Seirans, the flight and maintenance personnel were carefully selected. On December 15, the 631st Air Corps was created under the command of Captain Totsunoke Ariizumi. The hull was part of the 1st submarine flotilla, which consisted of only two submarines - I-400 and I-401. The flotilla included 10 Seirans. In May, the submarines I-13 and I-14 joined the flotilla, participating in the preparation of the crews of the Seirans. During six weeks of training, the release time of three Seirans from a submarine was reduced to 30 minutes, including the installation of floats, although in battle it was planned to launch aircraft without floats from a catapult, which required 14.5 minutes. The original target of the 1st flotilla was the locks of the Panama Canal. Six planes were supposed to carry torpedoes, and the remaining four - bombs. Two planes were assigned to attack each target. The flotilla was supposed to depart along the same route as the Nagumo squadron during the attack on Pearl Harbor three and a half years earlier. But it soon became clear that even if successful, such a raid was absolutely pointless in order to influence the strategic situation in the war. As a result, on June 25, an order was issued to send the 10th submarine flotilla to attack American aircraft carriers on the Ulithi Atoll. On August 6, I-400 and I-401 left Ominato, but soon a fire broke out on the flagship due to a short circuit. This forced the start of the operation to be postponed until August 17, two days before which Japan capitulated. But even after that, the headquarters of the Japanese fleet planned to carry out an attack on August 25th. However, on August 16, the flotilla received an order to return to Japan, and four days later - to destroy all offensive weapons.

The commander of the flagship diesel submarine I-401, Captain 1st Rank Arizumi, shot himself, and the crew ejected the planes without pilots and without starting the engines. On the I-400, both aircraft and torpedoes were simply pushed into the water. Thus ended the suicidal operation, which involved kamikaze pilots and the latest torpedo bombers based on the world's largest submarines. Even in this case, along with the use of the most advanced and modern weapons, Japanese engineering and military thought could not do without the help of kamikaze. All this once again testifies to the adventurism of the top military leadership, fixated on the use of suicide bombers, relying on the "Japanese spirit" and developing the most incredible systems in the hope of a miracle.

All "submarine aircraft carriers" were delivered for study at the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), but already in May 1946 they were taken to the sea, shot down by torpedoes and flooded due to the fact that Russian scientists demanded access to them.
In March 2005, an underwater expedition of the University of Hawaii discovered the sunken Japanese submarine "I-401" at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean near the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Acting Director of the Underwater Research Laboratory at the University of Hawaii, John Wiltshire, said the wreckage of I-401, which broke in two, was found at a depth of 820 meters and visually examined using a descent submersible. "I-402" was decided to be converted into a submarine. Construction was stopped in March 1945 at 90% readiness.

Technical characteristics of the submarine aircraft carrier:
Length - 120 m;
Width - 12 m;
Displacement - 6550 tons;
Power reserve - 3500 miles;
Immersion depth - 100 m;
Power plant - diesel;
Speed ​​- 18 knots;
Crew - 144;
Armament:
Gun 140 mm -1;
Gun 25 mm -3;
Torpedo tubes - 8;
Aircraft - 3