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S-13
Role High-altitude reconnaissance aircraft
National origin Soviet Union
Design group Beriev
Status Development ceased
Number built 0 (1 unfinished prototype)

The Beriev S-13 was a Soviet reverse-engineered copy of the Lockheed U-2C, developed in the Soviet Union in the early 1960s.

Design and development[]

File:Khrushchev U2.gif

Khrushchev visits the wreck of Powers' U-2

Francis Gary Powers U2 at Moscow

Wreckage of the U-2 flown by Francis Gary Powers in an exhibition at the Central Museum of the Armed Forces in Moscow

On 1 May 1960, Francis Gary Powers flew a U-2 espionage mission from North Pakistan to the Soviet Union. During the flight, over the Urals, engine problems led to the aircraft losing altitude, entering the sphere of activity of Soviet air defence missiles. The U-2 was hit by an S-75 Dvina (NATO code name:SA-2 Guideline) missile and broke apart, the debris remaining relatively intact. At this time, the Soviet Union had its own comparable high altitude reconnaissance aircraft, the Yak-25RW. However, this high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was not used outside the borders of the Soviet Union for political reasons. It served much more to simulate the U-2 to train Soviet air defense forces. In addition, the Yakovlev Yak-25RV could not reach the U-2's ceiling of 21,335–25,900 m (69,997–84,974 ft).[1]

After the shooting down of the U-2, the wreckage was examined by Soviet aviation specialists. The investigation was conducted by Georgy Beriev from OKB-49 at Taganrog, leading to the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union on 28 June 1960 that the aircraft and its Pratt & Whitney J75-P-13 engine should be copied. OKB-16, led by Profkofiy F. Zubets, at Kazan reverse-engineered a copy of this engine under the designation RD-16-75. On 23 August 1960, the USSR Council of Ministers ordered a pre-production batch of five S-13 aircraft, two of which were to be made available to the air forces after completing trial flights. The timetable was very tight, as it was planned to examine all the components of the U-2 and to copy them to the standards of Soviet military aviation, including the AFA-60 camera system. In addition, the S-13 was not only to be used for aerial reconnaissance but also for weather research and as a balloon interceptor. On 1 April 1961 the fuselage of the first example was completed. However, on 12 May 1962 the Council of Ministers cancelled the project with immediate effect, with the realisation that the US and its allies, like the Soviet Union, can shoot down slow-moving targets, even at high altitude. For large-scale, long-term surveillance, spy satellites appeared the better solution. For short-term, fast ad-hoc reconnaissance, the Soviet Union, like the US with the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, preferred high speed reconnaissance aircraft, such as the Tsybin RSR. Although no S-13 was completed, the S-13 program had produced valuable insights into how to deal with new alloys, materials and processing methods that were utilised in contemporary new Soviet aircraft designs.[2] Some parts of the U-2 were exhibited in the Central Museum of the Armed Forces at Monino in Moscow after being gleaned for technical information.

Specifications[]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 15.7 m (51 ft 6 in)
  • Wingspan: 24.38 m (80 ft 0 in)
  • Empty weight: 5,900 kg (13,007 lb)
  • Gross weight: 11,000 kg (24,251 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Zubets RD-16-15 Turbojet, 110.853 kN (24,921 lbf) thrust

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 850 km/h (528 mph; 459 kn) estimated
  • Range: 6,400 km (3,977 mi; 3,456 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 24,000 m (78,740 ft)

See also[]

References[]

  1. Gordon, Yefim (2008). US aircraft in the Soviet Union and Russia. Hinckley: Midland. ISBN 978-1-85780-308-2. 
  2. Gordon, Yefim; Gunston, Bill (2000). SovietX-Planes. Hinkley: Midland. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-85780-099-9. 

External links[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Beriev S-13 and the edit history here.
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