« Sigma », « Strela » and RM-1: Moskalyev's amazing tailess aircraft

Searching for information or drawings of WWII Soviet mach 1 rocket interceptor designed by Moskalyez. Seems to have been based on a early prtotype SAM-4 prop design. Had an ogive delta wing may have been known as Strela or Strela Arrow. Very advaced design for its time.

I know this plane. There is at less one website about it. I must only search in my files.

I made a mistake. The website i knew spoke about the Kalinin K-15.

I have a little draw of the Moskalyev Strela jet project (year 1934) in the page 9 of the german : Die schnellsten Jets der Welt (the speedest jets of the world), Ferdinand C.W.Käsmann, Aviatic Verlag, 1994;

But because of my sh.... connexion, i can bring no scan on the net :-[

Thanks for trying. I will see if I can find the resource you mentioned.

Regrettably little "half-done" drawing.
Prepared for posting to subject "Russian rocket fighters"...

Wow! That is it, and thanks Borovik you nailed it!!! That’s enough information for me to build a 1/10 scale RC rocket glider from. I saw a glimpse of this concept on the history channel a while ago. It has fascinated me ever since. This Moskalyev was a very forward thinking designer. Much more so than the B-1. ;D

The drawing under in the first link from Borovik is the same drawing as in Die schnellsten Jets der Welt

http://xplanes.free.fr/florov/afr-10.html

Excellent! Brief however sufficient information. ;D

I have some information about that plane in a book. I will post it later if you are interested.

Yes I would be very interested in learning more.

I cant find that book. :-[
But as soon i find it, i promise to post!

Does anyone know where to find a picture showing the piston engined SAM-4? I'm curious about the engine and cockpit configuration.

Thanks,

How about it AF ... did you keep your references? ;D

Does anyone know where to find a picture showing the piston engined SAM-4? I'm curious about the engine and cockpit configuration.

Click to expand...

there's a three view in 'Soviet X-Planes', Gordon/Gunston, page 126, [sorry, no scan as 'MIdland Counties' Rules apply], don't know how accurate it is though.

cheers,
Robin.

Another drawing here :

http://www.aviapedia.com/forum/field-trials/t-delta-wing-778.html

Unfortunately, with high probability (90%) can recognize that the sketch drawing with the project (1934) does not exist. Many documents on this subject lost, many destroyed.
In a recent interview, the same opinion of the Russian historian aviation Mikhail Maslov
(A dab in the time period - first half of last century).
Drawing from the 'Soviet X-Planes', Gordon / Gunston, page 126, very speculative and wrong in the proportions that actually can be seen from a quotation: "No data survives."
The data and images contained on the site http://www.aviapedia.com/forum/field-trials/t-delta-wing-778.html

lenght-9, 6m
span-5, 6m
wing area-32, 2m2
weight loaded-3080kg
empty-1600kg
max.speed-1000km / h
ceiling-12000m
range-900km
taken from an article by Sergei Tolmachev " Red Arrow. The history of the world's first aircraft with a delta wing "are correct and coincide (almost) from other sources:
A. Moskalev "Blue spiral. " - Autobiographical novel
M. Maslov "Coaxial propeller"
D. Sobolev "Centenary history flying wing "
Give a couple of drawings, the second belongs to the original Moskaleva.
I do own drawing of "Sigma", but still too many uncertainties and open questions ...

Apophenia said:

How about it AF ... did you keep your references? ;D

Click to expand...

OOOOh....it was when i found YS fligt --- one of my first planes --so very low quality


here is draw of SAM 4 (1934 fighter project) which i used (I found it at one website which is now unfortunaly inactive )

Very good. This reconstruction of much closer to describing.
Although the length scale in the ratio at 1.80 m should be larger, but this is only my opinion.

Wing shape reminds me very much
the Gluhareff 'Dart' delta wing .

Perhaps evolved via the same way of logical thinking...

From an unknown reference.
The drawing didn't show the 2 x Hispano-Suiza engines position, but the inward retracting main landing gear legs seem to exclude tandem installation in favor of a more forward, side by side, one.
Judging from the canopy size, this design seems larger than AF's one.

I would argue that its more likely that the details like engine size on the first and canopy size on both may be mismatch but the aircraft are the same. On the first drawing there appears to be some detailing on the side veiw of the underside of the wing, which look remarkably like gear doors to me. By the looks of the bulges towards th =e center of the aircraft on the front on view, id say the wheels were house semi recessed in what should be a thick wing due to something getting in their way...engine perhaps?

hey aero rocket!, please post up pics your 1/10 scale model of the Moskalyev Strela Arrow when youve done it, id love to see it!

Thanks for the pictures. ;D
Wasn't this aircraft supposed to have a prone position pilot?

Thanks Retrofit, very much like this picture a sketch Moskalev’s (probably made much later, for the memoirs of works)
Quote from the list of tasks on the location of the engines was not mentioned but there are answers to some other issues.

In the first stage due to lack of jet engines was developed by a real option for that time: to equip the "Sigma" two piston engine Hispano-Suiza / M-100 to achieve a maximum speed of about 1000km / hr. In the future, provide for modification of "Sigma" jet /rocket-powered engines in order to achieve supersonic speeds in flight.

In the design of SAM-4 revealed great difficulties, which were a result of additional research has successfully overcome. For example, to reduce drag and provide the necessary power motors Double stir in the wing, in the thick of it. There is a pilot’s cockpit, while the pilot was to manage the plane prone position. Use long coaxial shafts rotating in opposite sides of the screws with a special gearbox. To improve the efficiency of the propellers had developed a special form of sickle blades. It evaporative cooling engines. To obtain sufficient lift the wing and the safe landing at its ends fixed washers/fin. A scheme of three-retractable landing gear with nose wheel.

Click to expand...

Some additional pictures from the german "Fliegerkalender 2010":
- SAM-4
- Strela
- a comparison of the SAM-4 and the RM-1

all termed as "Zeichnung Moskaljow" (drawing Moskalyev)

Jemiba said:

...all termed as "Zeichnung Moskaljow" (drawing Moskalyev)

Click to expand...

This is guaranteed to the first and third picture.
The second (quite speculative) was first published and is taken from the 'Soviet X-Planes', Gordon / Gunston, page 126.

In any case, thanks Jens.

Topic split from the Moskalyev thread.

Hi everybody

I found tonight this about the Moskalev SAM-9 Strela

http://img15.hostingpics.net/pics/74810790819201.jpg

and this

http://projetplaisir.free.fr/a06.html

A lot that i did not know about this plane, for example :

Main flight 07.08.37

first engine (Russian text) : Renault MV-4 140 hp

second engine (French text) : Renault MV-6 200 hp

Max speed (french text) with 200 hp : 310 km/h

Max speed (Russian text) : 343 km/h

Scrapped after the successful flying tests end 1938 (Russian text)

Hi all!

Deltafan said:

A lot that i did not know about this plane, for example :

Main flight 07.08.37

Click to expand...

This was not a real flight, but rather a "jump flight" - about 1200-1500 m long, at about 15 m altitude. The first actual flight of the Strela was 28.08.37, with Nikolai S. Rybko as the pilot.

Deltafan said:

first engine (Russian text) : Renault MV-4 140 hp
second engine (French text) : Renault MV-6 200 hp
Max speed (french text) with 200 hp : 310 km/h
Max speed (Russian text) : 343 km/h

Scrapped after the successful flying tests end 1938 (Russian text)

Click to expand...

The info about 200-hp engine isn't correct. The Strela had 140-hp engine during all her existence. It was an original French Renault 4Pi, not the licensed MV-4 - the first MV-4 specimens were produced in Voronezh only in 1938 autumn (and these early examples were suitable only for the bench testing).

Spasibo Redstar

Do you know the real max speed : 310 or 343 km/h ?

Deltafan said:

Do you know the real max speed : 310 or 343 km/h ?

Click to expand...

Moskalyov himsef, in his memoirs The Blue Helix, cites TsAGI report No.28 (August 1938) on Strela flight tests. According to it, the aircraft specifications were as same:

Aircraft flight weight - 630 kg
Empty weight - 470 kg
Wing area - 13 m2
Vertical tail area - 2.6 m2 (before modifications)
Wing span - 3.55 m
Length - 6.15 m
Maximum speed - 340 km/h
Landing speed - 98 km/h

Also Moskalyov notes that after this, during the final factory tests of modified Strela in Voronezh at late 1938, with Ratier propeller, the speed of 343 km/h was reached by Alexei N. Gusarov.

OK, thanks again

343 km/h with 140 hp in 1938... It's not too bad

Hi! I can see air intake at right side wing leading edge of SAM-4 top picture. What is this? Engine ram air intake? Engine exhaust nozzle position are mystery for me.

https://www.ecured.cu/Moscaliov_SAM-4

"History
In August 1933 in a personal conversation of Moscaliov with the head of the GUAP , Piotr Ionovich Baranov , the idea arose of studying the projection of a hunt with the highest possible speed. Moscaliov traveled to Moscow with the aim of obtaining the formal task to design and build this aircraft. Unfortunately on September 5 PI Baranov died in a plane crash. Moscaliov decided in his personal capacity to continue the research on the subject.
Between 1933 and 1934 AS Moscaliov developed a series of experiments with different wing configurations, using the OKB experimental base of the Voronezh aviation factory and the aerodynamic chair facilities of the city's State University. In parallel, ballistic studies and the impact of projectiles on the surfaces of aircraft that move at high speeds were developed. As a result of these experiments, known as the " Sigma Project ", it was concluded that the best shape for aircraft wings designed to achieve high speeds was the low-aspect eyelet configuration. In spite of the theoretical basement, the flight at supersonic speeds was technologically impossible at the time.
A more realistic conception of the subject was the SAM-4, an airplane project powered by two 760(hp?) Spanish-Swiss piston engines with radiators using the evaporation principle and calculated to reach speeds of 1000 km / h.
Description
Looking for the best aerodynamic composition possible the project was conceived as a flying wing with the two tandem engines were located inside the wing. The two-bladed counter-rotating propellers had a curved form of scimitar (as is common in modern propellers). This configuration had to cancel the reactive moment of the propellers and allow the airplane to obtain great speeds.
The wing had vertical surfaces at the ends intended to increase stability in low-height flights and increase wing lift.
The landing gear was tricycle-type and retractable, which was something innovative for the time, and was specially designed for this aircraft.
The pilot was lying on his belly in a cabin whose bubble-shaped deck protruded through the oak of the wing.
Development
In November of 1934 the project was completed and sent to Moscow to be presented to the GUAP . The conception was so unusual and with so many technological innovations that the bureaucratic systems were unable to evaluate them objectively, which was in the cold reception of the project. AS Moscaliov was currently working on SAM-7 tail - hunt, also within the " Sigma Project ", so he was advised to leave the SAM-4 aside and continue the new project. The "Sigma" was "shelved".
Years later the TsAGI specialists would receive evidence of similar studies of low aspect ratio aircraft and pilots in prone position in the United States . Under these new circumstances Moscaliov was directed to begin the construction of a small-scale experimental version that would see the light as SAM-9 "Strelá"."

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%91%D0%B2,_%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80_%D0%A1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87

"Sam-4 (sum; design speed with two motors, m-34-900 km/h; there was only 1933 — 1934)"

SAM-7.
http://www.airwar.ru/enc/xplane/sam7.html
SAM-9
http://www.airwar.ru/enc/xplane/sam9.html

http://coollib.com/b/248669/read

Another SAM-4 images.
A cockpit of this airplane may be arranged little toward the left side of the fuselage to avoid a propeller driveshaft?

And impressive image with retractable(perhaps) radiator is already posted by AF-san.(Bottom picture)
I think that one more engine ram air intake is needed.

Which one is the final shape?

No problem.
Sorry for off topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf7DbMjr5Ec

Hi! RM-1.

http://xplanes.free.fr/florov/afr-1.html

http://www.rumvi.com/products/ebook/%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F-%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D0%B2%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B9-%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B9-%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B9%D0%BD%D1%8B/789c8752-e4e5-4d11-886a-ec9926abb073/preview/preview.html

"In 1944, under the direction of A. Moskalev started to develop supersonic fighter RM-1 (SAM-29) from the RD-2M-SG. The aircraft carried out on a "flying wing" triangular plan shape with oval front edges, when used pre-war development of the experience gained in creating his Moskalev aircraft "Sigma" and "Strela". The finished project is PM-1 was referred to the TsAGI. TsAGI believed that the construction and flight testing the RM-1 - one of the most appropriate areas for the further development of aviation. In early November 1945, the order of the PM-1 construction was signed by the People's Commissar of Aviation Industry AI Shakhurin. However, in early January 1946 AI Shakhurin was repressed, and the order on the RM-1 construction annulled AS Yakovlev, who at the time headed the same time its design bureau and was the Deputy Commissar of Aviation Industry.
Features RM-1: crew - 1 person, the power plant - 1 x RD-2M-3V thrust 1590 kgf, wingspan - 8.1 m and its area - 28.0 m 2 , takeoff weight - 1600 kg, maximum speed - 2,200 km / h."

Hi;

https://coollib.com/b/373535/read

From, Столетняя история летающего крыла,

a clearer views.

Dear black kite,
Are you sure that SAM7-1.gif was drawn by the same engineer? It looks awkward, marginally stable and difficult to control (e.g. tail moment arm equals zero.

OTOH Sam9-1.gif looks stable, well balanced and easy to control. It is configured similar to post-war, amateur-built deltas that fly well: Delta Kitten, Dyke Delta, Facetmobile and Verhees Deltas.