Alekseyev I-218
| Alekseyev I-218 |
| Role |
Attack |
| National origin |
USSR |
| Manufacturer |
Alekseyev |
| Designer |
Semyon Mikhailovich Alekseyev |
| Number built |
1 |
The I-218 was an attack aircraft designed and built in the USSR from 1947.
Development
Alekseyev designed the I-218 as a heavily armed, and armoured, attack aircraft for use in close support and anti-tank missions. The twin boom aircraft had a central nacelle housing the pilot and gunners cockpits as well as the engine and forward firing armament. All armoured and highly stressed parts were manufactured from 30KhGSNA nickel-steel. Flight testing may have commenced in 1948, but there is no direct evidence of this. Shortly after completion Alekseyev's OKB was closed and Alekseyev was sent to TsAGI (Tsentrahl'nyy Aerodinamicheskiy i Ghidrodinamicheskiy Institoot- central aerodynamics and hydrodynamics institute) before being given the task of supervising Dr. Brunholf Baade and his German team at OKB-1. The designation I-218 is in doubt and the aircraft may have been called, simply 218.
Variants
- I-219 - (a.k.a. I-218-Ib) Tailwheel undercarriage, revised crew compartment and swept fins.
- I-221 - (a.k.a. I-218-II) Enlarged jet-powered aircraft with one Lyulka TR-3 turbojet
- I-220 - (a.k.a. I-218-III) The I-218-III powered with the Dobrynin VD-4 without turbo-chargers, driving pusher contra-props at the rear of the fuselage.
Specifications (I-218)
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 13.88 m (45 ft 6½ in)
- Wingspan: 16.43 m (53 ft 10¾ in)
- Wing area: 45 m2 (484.4 ft2)
- Gross weight: 9,000 kg (19,840 lb)
- Powerplant: × Dobrynin VD-251, 1,491 kW (2,000 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 530 km/h (329 mph)
- Service ceiling: 6,600 m (21,650 ft)
- Rate of climb: 16.66666 m/s (3,280 ft/min)
Armament
- 2 × 23mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 cannon, 1 each in remote-controlled barbettes fitted on the outside of each tail boom.
- 4 × 23mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 cannon fixed in the lower forward fuselage.
- 1500 kg (3,307 lb) of bombs on under-fuselage pylons.
- 16 rockets carried under the outer wings.
See also
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
References
- Gunston, Bill. “The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995”. London, Osprey. 1995. ISBN 1-85532-405-9
- Gordon, Yefim. & Gunston, Bill “SovietX-Planes”. Hinkley, Midland. 2000. ISBN 1-85780-099-0
External links
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