The Soviet R-102 'Babochka' :A Post-war missile and its derivatives.

[klem]

R-102 : During the war it was not only the Soviets who devoted an interest to the German missiles, all the other allies did the same. With the end of the war the Soviets were activating and deployed their efforts at Berlin by constituting expert groups for the achievement of their objectives to appropriate this know-how. A search of information, documents and technical staff was carried out and the creation of research establishments and experimental laboratories during the year 1946 for section 5 under the direction of the designer -in -chief Semyon Yevelyevich Rashkov of the NII-88 in charge of several projects, among other things, the HS 117 Schmetterling a surface-to-air missile. Soviet engineers with the help of their German homologues succeeded in bringing together the documentation and drawings sufficient to start the work of reproduction of the missile designated by the Soviets R-102. By the fall of 1949 the first prototype was completed at Factory 88. The first series tests launches was planned for 1949 ,16 test flights were made at Kapustin Yar between 18 October and 19 December 1949.The initial R-102 needed a development. So it was also planned to develop a modified version R-102M . During the year 1949, 20 improved prototypes had to be completed by the NII-88 for tests at Kapustin Yar aware of the year 1950, but the R-102 was canceled in favor of a more advanced derivative the R-112 which had to solve certain problems encountered by the R-102.

 

[klem]

R-112 : Designed in April 1948 at SKB-5 of NII-88 under the direction of chief designer Semyon Yevelyevich Rashkov and cancelled in 1951 without ever flying .The R-112 was an advanced surface-to-air medium missile with new aerodynamics. The propulsion and guidance were based on the R-102 (The derived copy of the German Schmetterling). It was equipped with two fixed wings and two in-line rudders. The missile was to be produced in three variants: A, with a self-guided guidance system and a warhead of 160 kg; B, unguided with a warhead of 270 kg ; and S - unguided, ramjet powered .
The project was examined at the NTS NII-88 on August , 1949. In this design the missile would use two solid propellant boosters. These would burn 2 to 3 seconds after launch and then fly by a 2-ton thrust liquid-propellant engine. It burned a mixed synthetic oxidizer and kerosene propellants. The missile had a total mass of 1500 kg (3,300 lb) , would reach a speed of 700 m/s, an altitude of 15 km (9 mi) and a range of 20 km (12 mi). . Accuracy was 25 m at 20 km range. Maximum target speed was 300 m/s. Boost Propulsion: Solid rocket, 2 x boosters. A launch battery was to consist of six tow launchers, with one missile per launcher. All six could be fired in 13 seconds. No external guidance was to be provided to the missiles. The R-112S ramjet version by Semyon Yevelyevich Rashkov overall designer, By May 1949 a half-scale flying prototype of the R-112S had been built at NII-88, three models had been delivered for testing in the NII-88 wind tunnels:
Model 1, 75 mm in diameter, for analysis of the ramjet's internal diffuser channel performance.
Model 2, 120 mm in diameter, for studying external aerodynamics in a closed wind tunnel.
Model 3, also 120 mm in diameter, was used to verify full-scale aerodynamic effects in an open wind tunnel, as a basis for comparison with Model 2. Test results with these three models were satisfactory and by January 1950 75% of the drawings had been issued for a full-scale 200 mm diameter test model. Two guidance systems were under development. System A was a self-guided design and System B guided the missile via ground control using a ground-based target tracking system. In June 1950, R-112 was selected at the expense of R-117. Rashkov continued to work on the R-112 after the cancellation of the R-102 and even work on the R-112 was cancelled in August 1951, when the decision was taken to cancel all German surface-to-air missiles in favour of newer approaches.

 

[klem]

R-117 : In 1944, a team of 18 engineers led by Babakin was set up to design rockets and surface-to-air missiles from 1945 onwards, based on the work of German scientists. Initial missile designs were produced by VNII VSNITO (All-Union Automatic Research Institute / All-Union Scientific-Engineering-Technical Organization). The first project was completed and presented to a commission of experts in March 1948. The preliminary design called for a 750kg missile with a 100kg warhead, a range of 20km and an accuracy of 40m at 20km. Maximum speed was to be 2900 km/h.and the missile was to be 4.727 m long x 0.38 m diameter x 0.76 m wingspan x 1.12 m span over the fins. In accordance with these requirements, this R-117 a medium surface-to-air missile of a new Soviet aerodynamic design was developed in competition with the R-112, It had four movable wings swept back at 45 degrees, and four fins at the base. The commission considered that the concept still required work, so a second draft was submitted on 28 April 1948. The missile was now 1220 kg total mass (2,680 lb). Thrust: 117.00 kN (26,302 lbf) Height: 5.00 m (16.40 ft). Diameter: 0.43 m (1.41 ft). with a 200 kg warhead, a maximum range of 25 km, and effective at altitudes from 3 to 20 km. 5 m long x 0.43 m diameter (1.41 ft) , it was equipped with four solid boosters of 2.5 metric tons thrust each and single 2 metric ton thrust liquid sustainer engine, which ignited together with the boosters at launch. All five engines produced 12 metric tons thrust. The boosters had a total mass of 160 kg .This project was accepted for development under the designation R-117, but in June 1950 all development work was halted when the R-112 was chosen. In August 1951 work on the R-112 and all other German-designed missile derivatives was also cancelled.

 

[Scapaflow]

Admittedly at first Sovietics thought that some German "Flugkoerper" like Schmeterling, were worthy of interest but it was just for the acquisition of know-how as you say. of this technology with their strategic visions for the post-war period. However, there are very few documents on the works of the Germans in the USSR for this separate period in Soviet sources and in a supreme way Without photos and sometimes just a description of the device. No light is shed on what these engineers have achieved in their offices. . Jorge Álvarez, sums up this situation well in an article by writing: "It can be said without a doubt that soviet scientists benefited from that import of talent, even Though the authorities Never Acknowledged The Merit of the Germans, Focusing Praise on their Own to avoid Responsibility for the controversial deportation and to exalt national science. " (https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2...cientists-and-technicians-to-the-ussr-in-1946 /)