From 1913 to 1918 in Russia, the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works (Russobalt) produced several series of the Ilya Muromets (S-22) aircraft, which were used for both peaceful and military purposes, and set a number of world records. This aircraft will be discussed in this article.
The famous aircraft was created by the aviation department of the Russo-Balt plant, under the leadership of a team headed by Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (in 1919 he emigrated to the USA and became famous for designing helicopters). Such designers as K.K. Ergant, M.F. Klimikseev, A.A. Serebrov, Prince A.S. Kudashev, G.P. Adler also participated in the creation of the aircraft.
Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, 1914
The predecessor of “Ilya Muromets” was the “Russian Knight” aircraft - the world’s first four-engine aircraft. It was also designed at Russbalt under the leadership of Sikorsky. Its first flight took place in May 1913, and on September 11 of the same year, the only copy of the aircraft was severely damaged by an engine falling off the Meller-II aircraft. They did not restore it. The direct successor of the Russian Knight was Ilya Muromets, the first copy of which was built in October 1913.
"Russian Knight", 1913
"Ilya Muromets" with Argus engines in St. Petersburg in the fall of 1914. In the cockpit - captain G. G. Gorshkov
Unfortunately, at that time the Russian Empire did not have its own aircraft engine production, so the Ilya Muromets was equipped with German Argus engines with a power of 100 hp. each (later other types of engines were installed, including the Russian R-BV3 developed in 1915).
The wingspan of Ilya Muromets was 32 m, and the total wing area was 182 m 2. All the main parts of the aircraft were made of wood. The upper and lower wings are assembled from separate parts connected by connectors.
Already on December 12, 1913, the aircraft set a payload capacity record - (the previous record on Sommer's aircraft was 653 kg).
And on February 12, 1914, 16 people and a dog were lifted into the air, weighing a total of 1290 kg. The plane was piloted by I. I. Sikorsky himself. For demonstration purposes, the aircraft made many flights over St. Petersburg and its suburbs. Whole crowds gathered to see the aircraft, which was unusually large for that time. Sikorsky was confident in his plane, and flew over the city at a low altitude for that time - only 400 meters. At that time, pilots of single-engine aircraft avoided flying over cities because... in the event of engine failure, a forced landing in urban conditions could be fatal. The Muromets had 4 engines installed, so Sikorsky was confident in the safety of the aircraft.
Stopping two of the four engines does not necessarily force the plane to descend. People could walk on the wings of the plane during the flight, and this did not disturb the balance of the Ilya Muromets (Sikorsky himself walked on the wing during the flight to make sure that, if necessary, the pilot could repair the engine right in the air). At that time it was completely new and made a great impression.
It was Ilya Muromets that became the first passenger aircraft. For the first time in the history of aviation, it had a cabin separate from the pilot's cabin, with sleeping rooms, heating, electric lighting and even a bathroom with toilet.
The world's first high-speed long-distance flight of a heavy aircraft was made by Ilya Muromets on June 16-17, 1914 from St. Petersburg to Kyiv (flight range - more than 1200 km). In addition to Sikorsky, co-pilot Staff Captain Christopher Prussis, navigator and pilot Lieutenant Georgy Lavrov and mechanic Vladimir Panasyuk took part in this flight.
The tanks contain almost a ton of fuel and a quarter of a ton of oil. In case of troubleshooting, there were ten pounds (160 kg) of spare parts on board.
An emergency occurred during this flight. Shortly after takeoff was made after a planned landing in Orsha (a city in the Vitebsk region), the fuel supply hose was disconnected from the right engine, most likely due to severe bumpiness, as a result of which the flowing stream of gasoline caught fire and a flame raged behind the engine. Panasyuk, who jumped onto the wing and tried to extinguish the flame, almost died - he himself was doused with gasoline and caught fire. Lavrov saved him by extinguishing him with a fire extinguisher; he also managed to turn off the fuel supply valve.
Sikorsky successfully made an emergency landing, and the plane was quickly, within an hour, repaired, but because... Dusk was approaching, and it was decided to spend the night.
We reached Kyiv without further incident. The return flight went without major emergencies, but Sikorsky had to go out on the wing to tighten the carburetor nuts of one of the engines that had become loose from shaking. The return flight Kyiv-Petersburg was completed in one day in 14 hours 38 minutes, which was a record for heavy aviation. In honor of this event, the series was named Kyiv.
In the spring of 1914, a modification of the “Ilya Muromets” was released in the form of a seaplane, and until 1917 it remained the largest seaplane in the world.
At the end of July, the Military Department placed an order for 10 aircraft of this type. By the beginning of the First World War (August 1, 1914), 4 “Ilya Muromets” were built, and all of them were transferred to the army, to the imperial air fleet.
On October 2, 1914, a contract was signed for the construction of 32 Ilya Muromets aircraft at a cost of 150 thousand rubles. The total number of vehicles ordered was 42.
However, there were negative reviews from pilots who tested the aircraft in combat conditions. Staff Captain Rudnev reported that “Muromets” does not gain altitude well, has low speed, is not protected, and therefore observation of the Przemysl fortress can only be carried out at a great distance and at the highest possible altitude. There were no reports of any bombings or flights behind enemy lines.
The opinion about the aircraft was negative, as a result the issuance of a deposit in the amount of 3.6 million to the Russobalt plant. rub. the construction of the ordered aircraft was suspended.
The situation was saved by Mikhail Vladimirovich Shidlovsky, who headed the aviation department of Russo-Balt. He acknowledged that the aircraft had shortcomings, but pointed out that the crews were insufficiently trained. He agreed to suspend the construction of 32 vehicles, but insisted on building the first ten so that they could be thoroughly tested in combat conditions. They were asked to form the “Ilya Muromets” into squadrons, following the example of the navy.
Nicholas II approved this idea, and on December 10, 1914, an order was issued according to which Russian aviation was divided into heavy aviation, subordinate to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, and light aviation, included in military formations and subordinate to Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich. This historic order laid the foundation for strategic aviation. The same order formed a squadron of ten combat and two training ships of the Ilya Muromets type. Shidlovsky himself, who was called up for military service, was appointed commander of the squadron. He was awarded the rank of major general, and thus became the first aviation general (unfortunately, in August 1918, M.V. Shidlovsky, along with his son, was shot by the Bolsheviks while trying to leave for Finland).
The created squadron was based near the town of Jablonna near Warsaw, 40 km away.
The Ilya Muromets aircraft were used as bombers. In addition to bombs, they were armed with a machine gun. The first combat flight in the created squadron took place on February 21, 1915, by an aircraft under the command of Captain Gorshkov, but to no avail - the pilots got lost, and not finding the target (Pillenberg), they returned back. The second flight took place the next day and was successful. A series of 5 bombs was dropped on the railway station. Bombs fell right among the rolling stock. The result of the bombing was photographed.
On March 18, photographic reconnaissance was carried out along the route Jablonna - Willenberg - Naidenburg - Soldnu - Lautenburg - Strasburg - Tory - Plock - Mlawa - Jablonna, as a result of which it was found that there was no concentration of enemy troops in this area. For this flight the crew was awarded, and Captain Gorshkov was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
In the same March, M.V. Shidlovsky wrote a report on the aircraft’s capabilities based on the results of combat missions:
1) Carrying capacity (payload) 85 pounds. During combat flights with a fuel reserve of 5 hours and when armed with 2 machine guns, a carbine, and bombs, you can take up to 30 pounds with a permanent crew of 3 people. If, instead of bombs, we take gasoline and oil, then the flight duration can be increased to 9 - 10 hours.
2) The rate of rise of the ship at the specified load of 2500 meters is 45 minutes.
3) The ship's flight speed is 100 - 110 kilometers per hour.
4) Ease of control (the crew is located in a closed room, and pilots can replace each other).
5) Good visibility and ease of observation (binoculars, pipes).
6) Convenience of photographing and throwing bombs.
7) Currently, the squadron has three warships of the Ilya Muromets Kyiv type, but with high-power engines, two of which can make combat flights, and one is assembled. By the end of April, the squadron will have six combat-class ships, since engines for the last four have already been received.
Head of the Ilya Muromets aircraft squadron, Major General Shidlovsky
Throughout the war, this squadron made 400 sorties, dropped 65 tons of bombs and destroyed 12 enemy fighters, while losing only one aircraft directly in battles with enemy fighters.
Thanks to the successes of the squadron, in April 1915 the order for the construction of 32 aircraft was unfrozen. “Ilya Muromtsy” was supposed to be built before May 1, 1916.
In 1915, production of the G series began with a crew of 7 people, G-1, in 1916 - G-2 with a shooting cabin, G-3, in 1917 - G-4. In 1915-1916, three D-series vehicles (DIM) were produced.
As already written above, in 1914 the Russian Empire did not produce its own aircraft engines, which posed a serious threat in the conditions of the First World War. In 1915, at the Riga plant "Russo-Balt" (the plant's automobile production was located in Riga, and aviation production was in Petrograd. From July to September 1915, as the front approached Riga, the equipment of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Plant was evacuated to different cities of the empire . Carriage production was transferred to Tver, automobile production - to Petrograd and partly to Moscow, to Fili) engineer Kireev designed the R-BVZ aircraft engine. It was a six-cylinder, two-stroke, water-cooled engine with automobile-style radiators on the sides. After installing these Russian engines on the IM-2, it turned out that these engines were better than Salmson and Sabim both in quality and performance. In some respects, these Russian engines were superior to the German Argus engines that were originally installed on this aircraft.
In the fall of 1915, one of them, for the first time in the history of aviation, took off and dropped a bomb of enormous mass for that time - 25 pounds (400 kg).
In total, about 80 Ilya Muromets aircraft were produced. Between October 30, 1914 and May 23, 1918, 26 aircraft of this type were lost and written off. Moreover, only 4 of them were shot down or received damage beyond repair as a result of battles, the rest died either due to technical malfunctions, piloting errors, or natural disasters such as storms and hurricanes.
You can see the full table of losses of the Ilya Muromets aircraft.
In 1918, not a single combat mission was carried out by the Muromtsev. During the Civil War, the Reds were able to use 2 aircraft in the Orel area in August-September 1919. During the Soviet-Polish War of 1920, several sorties of this aircraft were made, and on November 21, 1920, the last combat sortie of Ilya Muromets was made in combat operations against Wrangel.
After 1918, the Ilya Muromets was no longer produced, but the aircraft remaining after the First World War and the Civil War were still in use. The first Soviet regular postal and passenger airline Moscow - Orel - Kharkov was opened on May 1, 1921, and for 43 flights made from May 1 to October 10, 1921, 60 passengers were transported by 6 Ilya Muromets aircraft serving the route. more than two tons of cargo. Due to the severe deterioration of the aircraft, the route was eliminated.
One of the mail planes was transferred to the School of Aerial Shooting and Bombing (Serpukhov), where it made about 80 training flights during 1922-1923. After this, the Muromets did not take off.
10. Russian-Baltic Carriage Works
11. Finne K.N. Russian air heroes
The First World War can hardly be called successful for Russia - huge losses, retreats and deafening defeats haunted the country throughout the conflict. As a result, the Russian state could not withstand the military tension, a revolution began that destroyed the empire and led to the death of millions. However, even in this bloody and controversial era, there are achievements that any citizen of modern Russia can be proud of. The creation of the first serial multi-engine bomber in the world is definitely one of them.
More than a hundred years ago, on December 23, 1914, the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II approved the decision to create a squadron (squadron) consisting of heavy multi-engine aircraft "Ilya Muromets". This date can be called the birthday of domestic long-range aviation and the most important milestone in global aircraft construction. The creator of the first Russian multi-engine aircraft was the brilliant designer Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky.
“Ilya Muromets” is the general name of several modifications of multi-engine aircraft mass-produced at the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works in St. Petersburg from 1913 to 1917. During this period, more than eighty machines were manufactured; many records were set on them: in terms of flight altitude, carrying capacity, time in the air and the number of passengers transported. After the start of the Great War, the Ilya Muromets was retrained as a bomber. The technical solutions first used on the Ilya Muromets determined the development of bomber aviation for many decades to come.
After the end of the Civil War, Sikorsky aircraft were used for some time as passenger planes. The designer himself did not accept the new government and emigrated to the USA.
The history of the creation of the Ilya Muromets aircraft
Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky was born in 1882 in Kyiv into the family of a professor at Kyiv University. The future designer received his education at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute, where he joined the Aeronautical Section, which united enthusiasts of the still nascent aviation. The section included both students and university teachers.
In 1910, Sikorsky took into the air the first single-engine aircraft of his own design, the S-2. In 1912, he received the position of designer at the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works in St. Petersburg, one of the leading machine-building enterprises of the Russian Empire. In the same year, Sikorsky began creating the first multi-engine experimental aircraft, the S-21 “Russian Knight,” which took off in May 1913.
The designer’s success did not go unnoticed: the unprecedented aircraft was demonstrated to Emperor Nicholas II, the State Duma gave the inventor 75 thousand rubles, and the military awarded Sikorsky with the Order. But, most importantly, the military ordered ten new aircraft, planning to use them as reconnaissance aircraft and bombers.
The first Russian Knight plane was lost as a result of an absurd accident: an engine fell on it, falling off an airplane flying in the sky. Moreover, the latter managed to land safely even without an engine. Such were the realities of aeronautics in those days.
They decided not to restore Vityaz. Sikorsky wanted to start creating a new air giant, whose name was given in honor of the epic Russian hero - “Ilya Muromets”. The new aircraft was ready in the fall of 1913, and its size, appearance and dimensions truly amazed contemporaries.
The length of the Ilya Muromets hull reached 19 meters, the wingspan was 30, and their area (on different modifications of the aircraft) was from 125 to 200 square meters. meters. The empty weight of the airplane was 3 tons; it could stay in the air for up to 10 hours. The plane reached a speed of 100-130 km/h, which was quite good for that time. Initially, the Ilya Muromets was created as a passenger plane; its cabin had light, heating and even a bathroom with a toilet - unheard of things for aviation of that era.
In the winter of 1913, tests began; for the first time in history, the Ilya Muromets was able to lift 16 people and the airfield dog Shkalik into the air. The weight of passengers was 1290 kg. To convince the military of the reliability of the new car, Sikorsky flew from St. Petersburg to Kyiv and back.
In the first days of the war, ten squadrons were formed with the participation of heavy bombers. Each such detachment consisted of one bomber and several light aircraft; the squadrons were directly subordinate to the headquarters of the armies and fronts. By the beginning of the war, four aircraft were ready.
However, it soon became clear that such use of airplanes was ineffective. At the end of 1914, it was decided to combine all Ilya Muromets aircraft into one squadron, which would be directly subordinate to Headquarters. In fact, the world's first formation of heavy bombers was created. The owner of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works, Shidlovsky, became his immediate boss.
The first combat flight took place in February 1915. During the war, two new modifications of the aircraft were manufactured.
The idea of attacking the enemy from the air appeared immediately after the appearance of hot air balloons. Airplanes were first used for this purpose during the Balkan conflict of 1912-1913. However, the effectiveness of air strikes was extremely low; the pilots manually threw conventional grenades at the enemy, aiming “by eye.” Most of the military was skeptical about the idea of using airplanes.
"Ilya Muromets" took bombing to a completely different level. The bombs were hung both outside the aircraft and inside its fuselage. In 1916, electric release devices were used for bombing for the first time. The pilot piloting the airplane no longer needed to look for targets on the ground and drop bombs: the crew of the combat aircraft consisted of four or seven people (on different modifications). However, the most important thing was the significant increase in bomb load. The Ilya Muromets could use bombs weighing 80 and 240 kg, and in 1915 an experimental 410 kg bomb was dropped. The destructive effect of these ammunition cannot be compared with grenades or small bombs with which most vehicles of that time were armed.
"Ilya Muromets" had a closed fuselage, which housed the crew and quite impressive defensive weapons. The first vehicles to combat Zeppelins were equipped with a rapid-firing 37-mm cannon, then it was replaced with machine guns (up to 8 pieces).
During the war, "Ilya Muromtsy" made more than 400 combat missions and dropped 60 tons of bombs on the heads of enemies; up to 12 enemy fighters were destroyed in air battles. In addition to bombing, airplanes were also actively used for reconnaissance. One Ilya Muromets was shot down by enemy fighters, and two more aircraft were destroyed by anti-aircraft artillery fire. At the same time, one of the airplanes was able to reach the airfield, but could not be restored due to severe damage.
Much more dangerous than enemy fighters and anti-aircraft guns for pilots were technical problems; more than two dozen airplanes were lost because of them.
In 1917, the Russian Empire was rapidly falling into the Troubles. There was no time for bombers here. Most of the air squadron was destroyed by its own due to the threat of capture by German troops. Shidlovsky, along with his son, was shot by the Red Guards in 1918 while trying to cross the Finnish border. Sikorsky emigrated to the USA and became one of the most famous aircraft designers of the 20th century.
Description of the aircraft "Ilya Muromets"
"Ilya Muromets" is a biplane with two-spar wings and six struts between them. The fuselage had a short nose and an elongated tail. The horizontal tail and wings had a large elongation. The design of all modifications of the aircraft was identical, only the dimensions of the wings, tail, fuselage and engine power differed.
The fuselage structure was braced, its tail section was covered with canvas, and the nose section was covered with 3 mm plywood. On later modifications of the Ilya Muromets, the cockpit glass area was increased, and some of the panels could be opened.
All main parts of the aircraft were made of wood. The wings were assembled from separate parts: the upper wing consisted of seven parts, the lower wing - of four. Ailerons were located only on the upper wing.
The four internal racks were brought together and water-cooled engines and radiators were installed between them. The engines stood completely open, without any fairings. Thus, access to all engines was provided directly in flight, and a plywood path with railings was made on the lower wing. Pilots of that time often had to repair their aircraft in flight, and there were many examples when this saved the airplane from a forced landing or disaster.
"Ilya Muromets" model 1914 was equipped with two internal Argus engines with a power of 140 hp. With. and two external ones - 125 l each. With.
On the underside of the upper wing were brass fuel tanks.
Many books and articles have been written about aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky and his tragic fate. Today, helicopters from Sikorsky Aircraft, which he founded after forced emigration to the United States in 1917, bear his name. But he gained worldwide fame in Russia, and it is associated with the world’s first multi-engine aircraft “Ilya Muromets” and “Russian Knight”. Natural selection Igor Sikorsky’s son Sergei, at the HeliRussia exhibition several years ago, said this about the time when Russian aviation was born and his father was creating: “Then the creators of aircraft themselves lifted their machines into the air. Therefore, bad designers were eliminated very quickly.” This largely reflects how the first aircraft were created in Russia and abroad. At the beginning of the 20th century, few people believed in the flight of a device heavier than air. Thus, the scientist Simon Newcom, just a few months before the first flight of the Wright brothers, published a voluminous work in which he proved point by point that this was impossible in principle. This was a step comparable to Gagarin’s flight, and perhaps flights on plywood airplanes with engines, which could stall at any moment, required even more courage. Crazy upstart And here is 1913. Just ten years ago, the Wright brothers first flew their Flyer in the Kitty Hawk Desert. Russian aviation is in its infancy; most of the aircraft are replicas of Farmans and other Russian airplanes. And suddenly aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky, this young upstart, proposes to create the world's first multi-engine aircraft. Most experts consider this idea crazy: no one had any idea what would happen if one of the engines suddenly stalled in the air. In this case, a single-engine aircraft can glide. What about a twin-engine? Now we know that stopping one engine is relatively safe. And then everyone was sure that in such a situation the car would begin to rotate around its axis and crash. In addition, you need to understand that no one had ever built an aircraft of this size before. In 1913 there were no computers, no test benches, no serious knowledge of aerodynamics or strength of materials. The strength of the structure was determined by eye, and strength tests consisted of the designers loading sandbags onto the wings and climbing onto them themselves. And it is not surprising that everyone considered the reports of the first successful flight to be fiction. 
Death of the "Russian Knight" The Russian Knight first took off in May 1913, but when newspapers wrote about its successful landing, many in Russia and abroad perceived it as a grandiose hoax. Sikorsky needed money to develop the project, and he took a desperate step. Having invited everyone on board, he flew over St. Petersburg. They said that when the huge car roared over Nevsky Prospekt, all movement in the city froze. Everyone understood: the 20th century has come, a new time has come. It is difficult to say how much longer the “Vityaz” could have surprised the public if an unpleasant incident had not happened to it at a military aircraft competition in September 1913. The plane was on the ground when the engine of a Meller II flying over it fell off (and this often happened in the early days of aviation) and fell onto the left wing box of the Russian plane, severely damaging it. They decided not to restore the Vityaz, and Sikorsky focused on creating a new aircraft, which he named Ilya Muromets. 
Heavenly comfort The significant differences between Muromets and Vityaz were increased speed (up to 105 kilometers per hour), ceiling (three thousand meters) and payload increased by almost one and a half times. The design of the aircraft and its two-tier box of plywood wings with four German 100-horsepower Argus engines installed on the lower console remained without any significant changes. But the fuselage became fundamentally new. Not only because all-wood structures were used as the main building material. For the first time in the world history of aviation, the new aircraft was equipped with a comfortable cabin separate from the pilot’s cabin, thanks to which the aircraft could carry passengers. It was not a windswept stool in the middle of guy wires, slats and cables, as on other planes of that time, but a full-fledged passenger cabin in which you could comfortably enjoy the flight and the view from the window. And if not for the two wars in Russia that followed after the other - the First World War and the Civil War - the further development of domestic civil aviation would have proceeded at a completely different pace. 
World records For the first time, Ilya Muromets No. 107 rose above the airfield of the Korpus Airfield on the southern outskirts of St. Petersburg in December 2013. All calculated data were basically confirmed. After several test flights within the airfield and minor modifications, the aircraft began regular flights. And almost immediately he set several world records. Only on one day, February 12, there were two of them. Sikorsky was able to take off, taking on board the maximum number of passengers (16 people plus an airfield dog named Shkalik) and an unprecedented total mass of the lifted payload (1290 kilograms). Later, they climbed to a record altitude of two thousand meters with ten passengers and broke the record for flight duration, exceeding six and a half hours. Flying without laws During the first half of 1914, Ilya Muromets made several dozen flights that caused great excitement. Many people came to the airfield who wanted to see with their own eyes the existence of an unprecedentedly huge aerial miracle. The plane flew over the imperial capital and its suburbs, descending to extremely low altitudes (about 400 meters). There were no laws that would regulate flights over the city at that time, so all responsibility for safety fell on Sikorsky. He completely relied on the design and German engines of the Muromets, and they did not disappoint: not a single accident occurred during such flights. In the same year, when the need arose in Russia to have its own seaplanes, Igor Sikorsky equipped the first board of the Muromets 200 -strong engines and put it on floats. On the fourteenth of May, near the city of Libau (now Liepaja), the giant first rose into the air from the surface of the water. At the same time, he still had the chassis; it became the world's first four-engine amphibious aircraft. In this modification, the machine was accepted by the maritime department and remained the largest seaplane in the world for more than three years. 
Fighter Killer In 1914, by decision of the Minister of War in Russia, the “Regulations on the organization of the squadron of airships “Ilya Muromets” were put into effect. It became the world's first formation of heavy bombers. During the First World War, about 80 aircraft of this class were built in our country, which were produced in five versions: with both wheeled and ski chassis. The aircraft was not only used for bombing, but was also excellent for reconnaissance. The Muromets were equipped with powerful defensive weapons, which had almost no “dead zones” - enemy fighter pilots nicknamed the Russian bombers “hedgehogs” because, as they said, upon returning to the ground, “no matter which side you approach, there’s something sticking out everywhere.” machine gun". This allowed the Muromets to fly without fighter escort, and they even recorded several downed enemy aircraft in their combat account. 
In November 1920, the last combat flight of the Ilya Muromets took place. Then, until 1923, the aircraft were used exclusively for civil transport and training flights. After that, the Muromets never took off. Despite the relatively short period of time during which aircraft of this class were operated, thanks to them, Russia will forever remain the birthplace of bomber aviation and a pioneer in passenger air transportation. One of the planes is today in a museum in Monino.
R
Russian plane "Ilya Muromets":
Wingspan: upper - 30.87 m, lower - 22.0 m; total wing area - 148 m2; empty weight of the aircraft - 3800 kg; flight weight - 5100 kg; maximum ground speed - 110 km/h; landing speed - 75 km/h; flight duration - 4 hours; flight range - 440 km; altitude climb time - 1000 m - 9 minutes; take-off length - 450 m; run length - 250m.
- THE WORLD'S FIRST BOMBER! This is an aircraft that received name in honor of the Russian epic hero, began to be created in August 1913. Name Ilya Muromets became a common name for various modifications of this machine, built by the Petrograd branch of the plant from 1913 to 1917.
Back in the winter of 1912-13, the world's first four-engine aircraft was created as an experimental aircraft for strategic reconnaissance. Russian Knight. Aviation experts predicted this project would be a complete failure. Nevertheless, the first flight on May 10, 1913 was successful. Despite the success, people outside Russia mistook the news of the flight as a hoax. On August 2, 1913, a world record for flight duration was set on the Russian Vityaz - 1 hour 54 minutes.
Inspired by success Vityaz, Sikorsky planned to build a bomber version of it. The prototype was ready by December 1913, and its first flight took place on the 10th. On this device, between the wing box and the empennage there was a middle wing with boars for attaching braces, and an additional middle landing gear was made under the fuselage. The middle wing did not justify itself and was soon removed. After successful tests and a number of achievements of the first constructed aircraft, the Main Military Technical Directorate (GVTU) signed on May 12, 1914 contract 2685/1515 with RBVZ for the construction of 10 more airplanes of this type.
Russian Knight
In February 1914, Sikorsky raised Ilya Muromets into the air with 16 passengers on board. The weight of the lifted load that day was already 1190 kg. During this memorable flight, there was another passenger on board, the favorite of the entire airfield - a dog named Shkalik. This unusual flight with numerous passengers was an unprecedented achievement. The payload during this flight over St. Petersburg was 1300 kg. Following the example of Grand, he made many flights over the imperial capital and its suburbs.
Quite often it flew over the city at a low altitude - about 400 meters. Sikorsky was so confident in the safety provided by the plane's multiple engines that he was not afraid to fly at such a low altitude. In those days, pilots who flew small single-engine airplanes typically avoided flying over cities, especially at low altitudes, because a mid-air engine stall and the inevitable forced landing could be fatal.
During these flights made Ilya Muromets, passengers could sit comfortably in an enclosed cabin and overlook the majestic squares and boulevards of St. Petersburg. Every flight Ilya Muromets led to a stop of all transport, as whole crowds gathered to look at the huge plane with its engines making a lot of noise.
By the spring of 1914, Sikorsky had built the second Ilya Muromets. It was equipped with more powerful Argus engines, two 140 hp inboard engines and two 125 hp outboard engines. The total engine power of the second model reached 530 hp, which was more than the power of the first Ilya Muromets at 130 hp Accordingly, greater engine power meant greater load capacity, speed and the ability to reach an altitude of 2100 meters. During the initial test flight, this second one carried 820 kg of fuel and 6 passengers.
On June 16-17, 1914, Sikorsky made a flight from St. Petersburg to Kyiv with one landing in Orsha. In honor of this event, the series was named Kyiv.
By design, the aircraft was a six-post biplane with wings of a very large span and aspect ratio (up to 14 at the top wing). The four internal struts were brought together in pairs and engines were installed between their pairs, standing completely open, without fairings. Access to all engines was provided in flight, for which a plywood walkway with wire railings ran along the lower wing. There were many examples when this saved a plane from an emergency landing. On several aircraft, four engines were supplied in two tandems, and in several cases training Muromtsy had only two engines. Design of all Muromtsev was also almost the same for all types and series. Its description is given here for the first time.
Both wings were two-spar. The span of the upper one was, depending on the series and modification, from 24 to 34.5 m, the lower one - 21 meters. The spars were placed on average at 12 and 60% of the chord length. The wing profile thickness ranged from 6% chord in narrower wings to 3.5% chord in wider ones.
The spars were of a box-shaped design. Their height was 100 mm (sometimes 90 mm), width 50 mm, and plywood wall thickness 5 mm. The thickness of the shelves varied from 20 mm in the center section to 14 mm at the ends of the wings. The material of the shelves was originally imported Oregon pine and spruce, and later - ordinary pine. The lower wing spars below the engines had shelves made of hickory wood. The spars were assembled using wood glue and brass screws. Sometimes a third one was added to the two spars - behind the rear one, an aileron was attached to it. The brace crosses were single, located at the same level, made of 3 mm piano wire with tanners.
The wing ribs were simple and reinforced - with thickened shelves and walls, and sometimes with double walls made of 5 mm plywood, with very large oblong lightening holes, the shelves were made of 6x20 mm pine lath with a groove 2-3 mm deep, into which the rib fit walls. The ribs were assembled using wood glue and nails. The pitch of the ribs was 0.3 m throughout. In general, the design of the wings was light. In later types Muromets the fuselage behind the wing box was detachable.
Horizontal tail Muromtsev it was load-bearing and had relatively large dimensions - up to 30% of the wing area, which is rare in aircraft construction. The profile of the stabilizer with elevators was similar to the profile of the wings, but thinner. Stabilizer - two-spar, spars - box-shaped, rib spacing - 0.3 m, rim - pine. The stabilizer was divided into independent halves, attached to the upper fuselage spars, the tetrahedral boar and to the top of the crutch pyramid. Braces - wire, single.
The fuselage occupied an almost horizontal position when parked. Because of this, the wings were installed at a very large angle of 8-9°. The position of the aircraft in flight was almost the same as on the ground. The installation angle of the horizontal tail was 5-6°. Therefore, even with the unusual design of the aircraft with the center of gravity located behind the wing box, it had a positive longitudinal V of about 3° and the aircraft was stable.
The engines were installed on low vertical trusses or on beams consisting of ash shelves and braces, sometimes covered with plywood.
Gas tanks - brass, cylindrical, with pointed streamlined ends - were usually suspended under the upper wing. Their bows sometimes served as oil tanks. Sometimes the gas tanks were flat and placed on the fuselage.
By the beginning of the war (August 1, 1914), four Ilya Muromets. By September 1914 they were transferred to the Imperial Air Force. By that time, all airplanes of the warring countries were intended only for reconnaissance, and therefore Ilya Muromets should be considered the world's first specialized bomber aircraft.
On December 10 (23), 1914, the emperor approved a resolution of the military council on the creation of a bomber squadron ( Airship Squadron, EVC), which became the world's first bomber formation. M.V. Shidlovsky became its head. The Directorate of the Aircraft Squadron was located at the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief at the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. He had to start work practically from scratch - the only pilot capable of flying Muromtsy There was Ivan Ivanovich Sikorsky, the rest were distrustful and even hostile to the very idea of heavy aviation; they had to be retrained, and the machines should be armed and re-equipped.
The squadron's aircraft flew for the first time on a combat mission on February 14 (27), 1915. During the entire war, the squadron made 400 sorties, dropped 65 tons of bombs and destroyed 12 enemy fighters, losing only one aircraft directly in battles with enemy fighters. (September 12 (25), 1916) 09/12/1916 during a raid on the headquarters of the 89th Army in the village of Antonovo and Boruny station, the plane (ship XVI) of Lieutenant D. D. Maksheev was shot down. Two more Muromets were shot down by anti-aircraft batteries: on November 2, 1915, the plane of Staff Captain Ozersky was shot down, the ship crashed, and on April 13, 1916, Lieutenant Konstenchik’s plane came under fire, the ship managed to reach the airfield, but due to the damage received, it could not be restored.
In April 1916, seven German airplanes bombed the airfield in Segewold, resulting in damage to four Muromets. But the most common cause of losses were technical problems and various accidents. Because of this, about two dozen vehicles were lost. Himself IM-B Kyiv flew about 30 combat missions and was later used as a training aircraft.
During the war, production of the B series aircraft, the most widespread (30 units produced), began. They differed from the B series in being smaller in size and faster. The crew consisted of 4 people, some modifications had two engines. Bombs weighing about 80 kg were used, less often up to 240 kg. In the fall of 1915, an experiment was carried out to bomb a 410-kilogram bomb.
In 1915, production of the G series began with a crew of 7 people, G-1, in 1916 - G-2 with a shooting cabin, G-3, in 1917 - G-4. In 1915-1916, three D-series vehicles (DIM) were produced. Aircraft production continued until 1918. G-2 aircraft, one of which (the third with the name Kyiv) reached an altitude of 5200 m and were used in the Civil War.
Not a single combat mission was flown in 1918 Muromtsev. Only in August-September 1919 was the Soviet Republic able to use two vehicles in the Orel area. In 1920, several sorties were made during the Soviet-Polish War and military operations against Wrangel. The last combat flight took place on November 21, 1920 Ilya Muromets.
On May 1, 1921, the first postal and passenger airline Moscow-Kharkov in the RSFSR was opened. The line was served by 6 Muromtsev, heavily worn out and with exhausted engines, which is why it was liquidated on October 10, 1922. During this time, 60 passengers and about two tons of cargo were transported.
In 1922, Socrates Monastyrev flew along the Moscow-Baku route by plane.
One of the mail planes was transferred to the School of Aerial Shooting and Bombing (Serpukhov), where it made about 80 training flights during 1922-1923. After that Muromtsy did not rise into the air.
(C) website Military Affairs
"Ilya Muromets" in flight
Ilya Muromets (S-22 “Ilya Muromets”) is the common name for several series of four-engine all-wood biplanes produced in the Russian Empire at the Russian-Baltic Carriage Plant during 1914-1919. The plane set a number of records for carrying capacity, number of passengers, time and maximum flight altitude. It is the first serial multi-engine bomber in history.
Development and first copies
The aircraft was developed by the aviation department of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Plant in St. Petersburg under the leadership of I. I. Sikorsky. The technical staff of the department included such designers as K.K. Ergant, M.F. Klimikseev, A.A. Serebryannikov, V.S. Panasyuk, Prince A.S. Kudashev, G.P. Adler and others. “Ilya Muromets” appeared as a result of further development of the “Russian Knight” design, during which it was almost completely redesigned, only the general layout of the aircraft was left without significant changes and its wing box with four engines installed in a row on the lower wing, while the fuselage was fundamentally new. As a result, with the same four 100 hp Argus engines. With. the new aircraft had twice the load weight and maximum flight altitude.
In 1915, at the Russo-Balt plant in Riga, engineer Kireev designed the R-BVZ aircraft engine. The engine was a six-cylinder, two-stroke, water-cooled. Automotive-type radiators were located on its sides. R-BVZ was installed on some modifications of the Ilya Muromets.
"Ilya Muromets" became the world's first passenger aircraft. For the first time in the history of aviation, it was equipped with a comfortable cabin, sleeping rooms and even a bathroom with toilet, separate from the cabin. The Muromets had heating (using engine exhaust gases) and electric lighting. Along the sides there were exits to the lower wing consoles. The outbreak of the First World War and the Civil War in Russia prevented the further development of domestic civil aviation.
Construction of the first car was completed in October 1913. After testing, demonstration flights were carried out on it and several records were set, in particular a load capacity record: on December 12, 1913, 1100 kg (the previous record on Sommer’s plane was 653 kg), on February 12, 1914, 16 people and a dog were lifted into the air, with a total weight of 1290 kg. The plane was piloted by I. I. Sikorsky himself.
In the spring of 1914, the first Ilya Muromets was converted into a seaplane with more powerful engines. In this modification, it was accepted by the naval department and remained the largest seaplane until 1917.
The second aircraft (IM-B Kyiv), smaller in size and with more powerful engines, lifted 10 passengers to a record altitude of 2000 meters on June 4, set a flight duration record on June 5 (6 hours 33 minutes 10 seconds), June 16-17 made a flight from St. Petersburg to Kyiv with one landing. In honor of this event, the series was named Kyiv. In 1915-1917, 3 more aircraft with the name “Kyiv” were produced.
Aircraft of the first and Kyiv types were called series B. A total of 7 copies were produced.
Use during World War I
By the beginning of the war (August 1, 1914), 4 Ilya Muromets had already been built. By September 1914 they were transferred to the Imperial Air Force.
On December 10 (23), 1914, the emperor approved a resolution of the military council on the creation of the Ilya Muromets bomber squadron (Airship Squadron, EVC), which became the world's first bomber formation. M.V. Shidlovsky became its head. The Directorate of the Ilya Muromets airship squadron was located at the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief at the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. He had to start work practically from scratch - the only pilot capable of flying the Muromtsy was Igor Sikorsky, the rest were distrustful and even hostile to the very idea of heavy aviation, they had to be retrained, and the machines had to be armed and re-equipped.
During the war, the production of aircraft of the B series, the most widespread (30 units produced), began. They differed from the B series in being smaller in size and faster. The crew consisted of 4 people, some modifications had two engines. Bombs weighing about 80 kg were used, less often up to 240 kg. In the fall of 1915, a bombing experiment was carried out, the largest in the world at that time, a 410-kilogram bomb.
In 1915, production of the G series began with a crew of 7 people, G-1, in 1916 - G-2 with a shooting cabin, G-3, in 1917 - G-4. In 1915-1916, three D-series vehicles (DIM) were produced. Aircraft production continued until 1918. G-2 aircraft, one of which (the third named “Kyiv”) reached an altitude of 5200 m, was used during the Civil War.
From the combat report:
Lieutenant I. S. Bashko
“...In flight (July 5, 1915) at an altitude of about 3200-3500 m, the plane under the command of Lieutenant Bashko was attacked by three German aircraft. The first of them was seen through the lower hatch, and it was about 50 meters below our car. At the same time, our plane was over Shebrin, 40 versts from the forward positions under the control of Lieutenant Smirnov. Lieutenant Smirnov was immediately replaced by Lieutenant Bashko. The German car, having greater speed and a greater power reserve, quickly overtook our plane and found itself 50 meters higher on the right side in front, opening machine-gun fire on our plane. In the cockpit of our vehicle at this time, the work of the crew members was distributed as follows: Lieutenant Smirnov was near the commander, staff captain Naumov opened fire from a machine gun, and co-pilot Lavrov from a carbine. During the first attack by the enemy, machine gun fire from an enemy vehicle broke both upper gasoline tanks, the filter of the right engine group, the radiator of the 2nd engine, both gasoline pipes of the left engine group were broken, the glass of the right front windows was broken, and the aircraft commander, lieutenant, was wounded in the head and leg Bashko. Since the gasoline lines to the left engines were interrupted, the left taps from the gasoline tanks were immediately closed and the fuel pump of the left tank was turned off. Then the flight of our car was on two right engines. The German plane, after crossing our path for the first time, tried to attack us again from the left side, but when met by machine-gun and rifle fire from our plane, it turned sharply to the right and, with a huge roll, began to descend towards Zamosc. After repelling the attack, Lieutenant Smirnov replaced Lieutenant Bashko, who was bandaged by co-pilot Lavrov. After the dressing, Lieutenant Bashko again began to control the plane, Lieutenant Smirnov and co-pilot Lavrov took turns closing the holes in the right group filter with their hands and taking all possible measures to preserve the remaining gasoline in the tanks to continue the flight. When repelling the attack of the first enemy aircraft, a full cassette of 25 pieces was fired from the machine gun, only 15 pieces were fired from the second cassette, then the cartridge jammed inside the magazine and further firing from it was completely impossible.
Following the first plane, the next German plane immediately appeared, which flew only once above us on the left and fired at our plane with a machine gun, and the oil tank of the second engine was pierced. Lieutenant Smirnov opened fire on this plane from a carbine, co-pilot Lavrov was in the front compartment of the cabin near the filter, and staff captain Naumov was repairing the machine gun. Since the machine gun was completely out of order, Lieutenant Smirnov handed over the carbine to Naumov, and he replaced co-pilot Lavrov, taking measures to conserve gasoline, since Lavrov’s both hands were numb from great stress. The second German plane did not attack us again.
On the line of forward positions, our vehicle was machine-gunned by a third German aircraft flying at a great distance to the left and above us. At the same time, artillery was also firing at us. The altitude at that time was about 1400-1500 m. When approaching the city of Kholm at an altitude of 700 m, the right engines also stopped, because the entire supply of gasoline had run out, so it was necessary to make a forced descent. The last one was made 4-5 versts from the town of Kholm near the village of Gorodishche, near the airfield of the 24th aviation regiment on a swampy meadow. At the same time, the landing gear wheels got stuck right up to the struts and were broken: the left half of the chassis, 2 struts, the propeller of the second engine, several transmission levers, and the right rear lower spar of the middle compartment was slightly cracked. When inspecting the aircraft after landing, in addition to the above, the following damage from machine gun fire was found: the propeller of the 3rd engine was broken in two places, the iron strut of the same engine was broken, the tire was broken, the rotor of the second engine was damaged, the cargo frame of the same engine was broken, the rear strut was broken the first engine, the front strut of the second engine and several holes in the surface of the aircraft. The descent was carried out personally by the aircraft commander, Lieutenant Bashko, despite his injuries.”
During the war years, 60 vehicles were received by the troops. The squadron flew 400 sorties, dropped 65 tons of bombs and destroyed 12 enemy fighters. Moreover, during the entire war, only 1 aircraft was shot down directly by enemy fighters (which was attacked by 20 aircraft at once), and 3 were shot down.
On September 12 (25), 1916, during a raid on the headquarters of the 89th German Infantry Division in the village of Antonovo and the Boruny station, the plane (ship XVI) of Lieutenant D. D. Maksheev was shot down.
Two more Muromets were shot down by anti-aircraft battery fire:
On November 2, 1915, the plane of Staff Captain Ozersky was shot down, the ship crashed
On 04/13/1916, Lieutenant Konstenchik’s plane came under fire; the ship managed to reach the airfield, but due to the damage received it could not be restored.
In April 1916, 7 German airplanes bombed the airfield in Segewold, as a result of which 4 Muromets were damaged.
But the most common cause of losses were technical problems and various accidents - about two dozen cars were lost because of this. The IM-B Kyiv flew about 30 combat missions and was later used as a training aircraft.
According to General Brusilov A.A., Ilya Muromets did not live up to the hopes placed on him:
The famous “Ilya Muromtsy”, on which so many hopes were pinned, did not justify themselves. It must be assumed that in the future, this type of aircraft will be significantly improved, but at that time it could not bring significant benefit...
Brusilov A. A. “Memories.”
Walking deck on the roof of the cabin, passengers could go out there while moving
Use after the October Revolution
In 1918, not a single combat mission was carried out by the Muromtsev. Only in August - September 1919 was Soviet Russia able to use two vehicles in the Orel area.
The first regular flights on domestic airlines in the RSFSR began in January 1920 with flights Sarapul - Yekaterinburg - Sarapul on the Ilya Muromets heavy aircraft.
In 1920, several sorties were flown during the Soviet-Polish War and military operations against Wrangel. On November 21, 1920, the last combat flight of the Ilya Muromets took place.
On May 1, 1921, the postal and passenger airline Moscow - Kharkov was opened. The line was served by 6 Muromtsevs, heavily worn out and with exhausted engines, which is why it was closed on October 10, 1922. During this time, 60 passengers and about 2 tons of cargo were transported.
In 1922, Socrates Monastyrev made a flight from Moscow to Baku on an Ilya Muromets plane.
One of the mail planes was transferred to an aviation school (Serpukhov), where it made about 80 training flights during 1922-1923. After this, the Muromets did not take off. The Air Force Museum displays a model of the Ilya Muromets, equipped with Czech-made engines. It was made life-size by order of the Mosfilm film studio for the filming of the film “The Poem of Wings.” The model is capable of taxiing and jogging around the airfield. It entered the Air Force Museum in 1979 and has been on display since 1985 after restoration.
Ilya Muromets IM-B IM-V IM-G-1 IM-D-1 IM-E-1 Aircraft type bomber Developer Aviation department of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works Used by Air fleet of the Russian Empire Production time 1913-1914 1914-1915 1915-1917 1915-1917 1916-1918 Length, m 19 17,5 17,1 15,5 18,2 Upper wing span, m 30,9 29,8 30,9 24,9 31,1 Lower wing span, m 21,0 Wing area, m² 150 125 148 132 200 Empty weight, kg 3100 3500 3800 3150 4800 Loaded weight, kg 4600 5000 5400 4400 7500 Flight duration, hour 5 4,5 4 4 4,4 Ceiling, m 3000 3500 3000 ? 2000 Rate of climb 2000/30" 2000/20" 2000/18" ? 2000/25" Maximum speed, km/h 105 120 135 120 130 Engines 4 pcs.
"Argus"
140 hp
(inline)4 pcs.
"Russobalt"
150 hp
(inline)4 pcs.
"Sunbeam"
160 hp
(inline)4 pcs.
"Sunbeam"
150 hp
(inline)4 pcs.
"Renault"
220 hp
(inline)How much produced 7 30 ? 3 ? Crew, people 5 5-6 5-7 5-7 6-8 Armament 2 machine guns
350 kg bombs4 machine guns
417 kg bombs6 machine guns
500 kg bombs4 machine guns
400 kg bombs5-8 machine guns
up to 1500 kg bombs
“Ilya Muromets” on the 2015 Russian postage stamp (DFA [ITC “Marka”] No. 1998)
Armament
The bombs were placed both inside the aircraft (vertically along the sides) and on an external sling. By 1916, the aircraft's bomb load had increased to 500 kg, and an electric release device was designed to release bombs.
The first armament of the Ilya Muromets aircraft was the ship's rapid-fire Hotchkiss gun of 37 mm caliber. It was installed on the front artillery platform and was intended to combat Zeppelins. The gun crew included a gunner and loader. Sites for installing the gun were available on modifications “IM-A” (No. 107) and “IM-B” (No. 128, 135, 136, 138 and 143), but the guns were installed only on two vehicles - No. 128 and No. 135. They were tested, but were not used in combat conditions.
Also, various modifications of the Ilya Muromets aircraft were equipped with defensive small arms: Maxim, Vickers, Lewis, Madsen, and Colt machine guns were installed on them in various quantities and in different combinations.
Reflection of the Muromets plane in art
“While the Dream Goes Wild” - film - musical comedy by Yuri Gorkovenko, 1978.
“Poem about Wings” - a film by Daniil Khrabrovitsky about the life and work of aircraft designers A. N. Tupolev and I. I. Sikorsky, 1979.
“The Flying Elephant” (novel-film from the series “Death to Brudershaft”) - Boris Akunin, 2008.
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