It is known that the agitational Soviet passenger eight-engine aircraft “Maxim Gorky” - ANT-20 - is considered the largest airliner of its time, equipped with a land landing gear. It was built in the city of Voronezh at an aircraft factory.
Creature
Let's study how the Maxim Gorky aircraft was developed. In 1932, in October, the 40th anniversary of the written practice of Maxim Gorky was celebrated. Journalists and writers led by M. Koltsov were at this interesting event. It was on this day that they decided to build an agitation plane, naming it in honor of the legendary writer - “Maxim Gorky”. The All-Union Committee was organized for the construction of this facility, the whole country began to raise funds for the construction. In a short time, people managed to collect more than six million rubles.
Who is the inventor of the Maxim Gorky aircraft? The committee in its composition organized the Technical Council, the chairman of which was appointed the head of the TsAPI Kharlamov. It was he who was instructed to determine the face of the future iron bird and create technical conditions based on its basic purposes.
The following technical institutes participated in the development of the Technical Council: TsAPI, TsIAM, research and scientific institute of the Air Force, printing industry, Film and Photo Institute, many designers and engineers: V. M. Petlyakov, N. S. Nekrasov, A. Saukke (lead engineer), A. A Yengibaryan (equipment), A. A. Arkhangelsky, V. N. Belyaev (strength calculation), B. M. Kondorsky (aggregate types), E. I. Pogossky and others. The work was headed by A.N. Tupolev.
The aircraft "Maxim Gorky" was created by a large number of organizations. The construction commission (chairman A. N. Goryanov), organized by the committee, supervised the construction and transferred the order for various equipment. In March 1933, this commission entered into an agreement with the TsAPI for the construction of the ANT-20 airliner.
It is known that the designer A.N. Tupolev by 1933 successfully launched the TB-3 dive pilot into serial production. It was he who was engaged in the further design of impressive colossi - heavenly bastions. Next, experts developed a draft sketch of the passenger model of the TB-4 bomber, called the ANT-20.
The preliminary design of the novelty was considered in April 1933, the probability of its use in the form of a transport propaganda bomber, on which passengers could also be placed, was provided for. The aircraft "Maxim Gorky" could fulfill the tasks of a mobile headquarters for the highest political and military structures of the country.
Device
ANT-20 from TB-4 (Ant-16) differed only in size and had to withstand a payload of 1,500 kg large, it could be operated from small aerodromes. In order to rise into the air, he had to take acceleration from a distance of 300-400 m (for TB-4 - about 800 m).
For this reason, specialists designed a new wing, which had a greater elongation and area than the TB-4 wing. Almost its entire surface was made corrugated.
The aircraft "Maxim Gorky" was equipped with a power plant, which had eight engines M-34FRN, each 900 l. from. (total capacity 7200 l. from.). Six aircraft engines were on the wings, two above the fuselage in a tandem installation. The giant's screws were made of wood and had a diameter of 4 m. It was originally planned to install six engines, but it turned out that their power was not enough.
The plane “Maxim Gorky” inside was magnificent! The area of its internal premises was 100 square meters. m.: they could accommodate about seventy passengers. In the wings were two-level beds for relaxation. The airliner was equipped with a ladder, which, folding, turned into part of the floor.
For the first time, for a massive aircraft, experts applied an electronic control system. The ANT-20 navigation and flight equipment provided its use both day and night. He could also land on unprepared terrain.
By the way, experts also equipped the ANT-20 with an autopilot. On board were a variety of propaganda tools, including a film installation, a powerful radio installation, “Voice from the Sky,” a printing house, radio transmitters, a darkroom, a library, and more. The novelty was equipped with pneumatic mail.
The aircraft "Maxim Gorky" (ANT-20) was equipped with a power supply system with alternating current 120 V, 50 Hz. Such an innovation was applied in domestic practice for the first time (possibly in the world). Its on-board radio station consisted of two gasoline engines (each had a nominal speed of 3000 rpm) and four generators (two generators conducted alternating current with a power of 3 and 5.5 kW, two generators had a constant voltage of 27 V with a capacity of 3 kW and 5.8 kW).
If necessary, the aircraft could be dismantled and transported by rail.
Flying
Agree, the best experts created the Maxim Gorky aircraft. The device and its design are stunning! Its creation began in 1933, on July 4, and in 1934, on April 3, the product was already taken to the airport. Further, on April 24, he was received by a special commission. For the first time, a test pilot M. M. Gromov flew on it on July 17, the same year. The flight lasted 35 minutes.
The airliner departed for the second flight in two days: it flew over Red Square at the time of the meeting of the Chelyuskinites. Two I-5 fighters escorted the plane.
In the same 1934, N. S. Zhurov and M. M. Gromov managed to make two unprecedented achievements on this machine: they lifted luggage weighing ten and fifteen tons to a height of five thousand meters! It is known that even Antoine de Saint-Exupery himself, having visited the USSR, flew on it!
Tragedy
The aircraft “Maxim Gorky” had excellent characteristics, but his life lasted a little over a year. In May 1935, a demonstration flight was conducted at the Moscow central airfield on May 18, after which it was planned to transfer the ANT-20 agitation squadron to them. Gorky. The aviator of the agitation squadron, I.V. Mikheev, was handed over to the car by the pilot N. S. Zhurov. It was allowed to fly on it and family members of the creators of the ANT-20.
In general, the inventor of the aircraft "Maxim Gorky" was very proud of his brainchild. In support of the iron bird, two aircraft were equipped: a two-seater R-5 (the pilot was controlled by a Rybushkin pilot) and an I-5 fighter (the pilot was tested by N.P. Blagin). The filming of the flight was carried out by the operator Shchekutiev with P-5.
Have you ever seen the Maxim Gorky plane? Description, photos of this amazing iron bird can be found in scientific books of those times! But we continue our story. It is known that N.P. Blagin had to perform a special task: according to the plan of documentary filmmakers, he needed to fly around the ANT-20 during the filming so that the audience could see the difference in size.
Taking off, the giant described a wide circle above the airfield. But the flight suddenly took on a terrifying appearance: Blagin performed virtuoso stunts on the fighter, while being at a short distance from the ANT-20. Behind the tail of "Maxim Gorky," Blagin turned his car into a short peak, abruptly pulled the control stick at himself (he intended to describe the "dead loop" around the giant). Having reached the top point, the fighter hovered and, losing speed, crashed down onto the ANT-20 majestically flying under it.
It was a stunning aircraft - "Maxim Gorky"! Drawings were created by the best specialists. And Blagin’s plane jumped onto his medium engine and knocked him out with one blow. He broke and crashed down, and Blagin’s apparatus was stuck in the torn hole of the wing that appeared. This terrible ram airliner weathered.
Perhaps Mikheev and Zhurov could have planted it if the tail hadn’t fallen off from the I-5, which delivered a second, now deadly blow to Maxim Gorky: it crashed into its controls.
The majestic bird fell onto the wing, rolled over and began to decay in the sky. After a couple of seconds, a terrible explosion thundered, and the ANT-20 was showered on the Sokol summer cottage. This flight claimed the lives of 49 people, including Blagin, 11 crew members of the airliner and 37 passengers - TsAPI employees and their relatives, including six kids. The filming of this catastrophe has disappeared (many people think that it was classified with the case file).
Monument
The burial of all victims of the crash took place at the Novodevichy cemetery. The last members of the government were escorted to the last path of the dead, including the first secretary of MK and MGK VKP (b) N.S. Khrushchev and the head of the Moscow Soviet N.A. The bodies of the dead were cremated, urns with ashes were buried in the third section of the columbaria on the old part of the graveyard. Today, the memorial is crowned with an impressive bas-relief of a crashed giant made of granite.
Reasons for the tragedy
Everyone really liked the Maxim Gorky plane. Description of it gives a certain scope of thought and excites the imagination! The Soviet official press blamed Blagin for violating discipline and performing aerobatics, which caused the disaster.
Another, absolutely fantastic version says that Blagin deliberately rammed the ANT-20. The Polish newspaper "Sword" in 1935 on September 12 published a letter signed by Blagin, which contained appeals defaming the communist regime. Later it appeared in the Parisian newspaper of the Russian immigrants Vozrozhdenie. Today they recognized that this letter was a fake.
Blagin is buried next to other victims of the disaster. Help was given to his daughter and widow: they were settled in a new apartment, their daughter was determined to study in a new school. Daughters, a widow and one of Blagin's parents were immediately granted survivor pensions. His family was surrounded by the attention and care of local party leaders. Obviously, the version of evil intent was untenable.
The unfortunate fate befell the Maxim Gorky plane. His drawings are still kept in archives. We continue to study the tragedy of that time. So, the above facts gave rise to talk about the third, most truthful version: many believed that Blagin was ordered to perform unacceptable stunts in the air. As a result, he broke into a “tailspin” due to low speed. Before this event, Stalin was introduced to foreign newsreels, which contained shots of air stunts, popular in those years. As a result, the idea of such actions with the participation of the Maxim Gorky aircraft appeared.
The NKVD officers conducted an investigation, which determined that one and a half hours before the flight, pilots who took part in the flight with a giant plane met V.G. Ryazhsky and A.A. Pullin, film factory of educational and military films. They were very interested in the giant plane ANT-20. The photo (“Maxim Gorky” was really magnificent) made a huge impression on them, they wanted a sensation. The sanction of senior management of the Air Force allowed them to insist on changing the flight scenario. As a result, the pilots, without coordination with the flight director and immediate superiors, were forced to agree. The documentary filmmakers aimed at ensuring the filming of air stunts near "Maxim Gorky" for propaganda work. Ryazhsky and Pullin after the tragedy were jailed.
ANT-20 bis
In fact, we examined the Maxim Gorky aircraft. Who invented it, we now also know. After its collapse, it was decided to create a second, improved instance. The tandem installation was eliminated, and instead of eight M-34FRN, six M-34FRNV with a capacity of 1000/1200 liters were installed. from. The creation of a new machine was completed in 1938, again M. M. Gromov was engaged in its testing.
In the years 1940-1941, this ship under the brand name PS-124 (L-760) transported passengers from Moscow to Mineralnye Vody via Kharkov and Rostov-on-Don. When the war began, it was used as a carrier of goods in the rear. It crashed in 1942 on December 14, 60 km from Tashkent during a landing approach, flying 272 hours.
In general, it was planned to create another 18 ANT-20 bis airliners, however, neither he nor ANT-20 were allowed to mass production. Of course, experts developed projects for even larger Ant-26 and Ant-28 vehicles, but work on them was stopped in 1936.
Confusing situation
So what happened on that ill-fated day in 1935? Let's talk about a unique plane crash that happened on May 18. First of all, it is necessary to highlight the terrible symbolic community of dates: in 1896 on May 18 (old style) exactly 39 years ago, on the day of the wedding to the kingdom of Nicholas II, on the Khodynsky field, about 1,300 people were mutilated in a terrible crush for unpretentious royal hotels and as many died.
TASS officially announced the details of the tragedy: it seems that, indeed, about fifty innocent people, including six kids, were killed by a scorcher. Nevertheless, reliable answers to the countless questions associated with the crash of the liner, there is no to this day. Quite recently, documents from the archives of the Lubyanka were declassified, and they further confused the circumstances of the case.
We already know that the design and construction of the liner was entrusted to the A.N. Tupolev Design Bureau in TsAGI: the object was to be built by May 1, 1934. The Maxim Gorky aircraft inside was made with special comfort: curtains hung on the windows in the passenger compartments, tables were equipped with table lamps, there were spacious armchairs, and the floor was carpeted. The liner also had many sleeping cabins, a grocery store, luggage space, a library, an electrified buffet with hot and cold snacks, toilets and washbasins.
And finally, a giant car rose into the sky. And then the worst began. I-5 began to make figures around the ANT-20. When he performed the second "dead loop", he collided with the wing of "Maxim Gorky." The blow was a monstrous force. The Ant-20 first tilted to the right, by inertia flew another 10-15 seconds, then went into a sheer dive and capsized on its back. The plane fell on the pine trees, took down the trees and finally scattered on the ground. The newspaper Pravda wrote about it every other day (No. 137 of 1935 on May 20).
Of course, the number of victims was not limited to those flying on an airplane. The wreckage was scattered across the territory of the village of artists "Falcon", smashing house number 4 on the street. Levitan and damaging the street. Surikov’s house number 7 and 11. Here the number of deaths is not specified.
The analysis of the catastrophe did not clarify its true causes. The answer to the main riddle - whether someone was instructed to perform air stunts around the ANT-20, or whether this is Blagin's usual “air mischief” - was never received. In Pravda, film shots were published on May 19-20, but they did not dock with the text of the TASS message. They tried to quickly put the tragedy into oblivion, while even eliminating the practically ready-to-rent feature film "Big Wings".
“Barrel” or “loop”?
It is necessary to emphasize that the ill-fated aerial trick in the text of the TASS message was called a “dead loop”, and in his story the pilot Rybushkin called it a “barrel”. Yagoda also called Blagin in his reporting figure a “barrel”, and then some aviation historians in their research began to claim that Blagin performed a “barrel” - after all, they could not report to Stalin incorrectly! As a result, recently, an analysis of the versions and causes of the incident, instead of constructive discussion, has very often been replaced by a useless debate on the topic: “barrel” or “loop”? According to some experts, one can adhere to the version that Blagin performed a “loop”.
One can say only one thing: in the main the task of N.P. Blagin was much more extreme than that of the famous pilot V.P. Chkalov, who flew under the Nevsky bridge.
It should be noted that Blagin performed the first loop jewelry, which suggests that the pilot on the eve of a lot of work on the scheme and flight path. It is not known whether the pilot had the profession of designer ... We know that he actively invented various things and, no doubt, was perfectly familiar with engineering calculations. One can only guess what happened at the moment the second loop was executed. God knows if he performed it sequentially (considering the frames of different points of shooting, it is impossible to detect), or he left for a new approach.
Assumptions
Based on the above information, many experts make the following assumptions:
- The view of the R-5 camera at the time of loop execution, its position and the minimum distance from the airliner (wings didn’t completely get into the frame) suggests that everything was coordinated in advance between the cameraman and the pilots. Without a doubt, someone was featured here to carry out such a survey.
- It cannot be argued that "air hooliganism" was committed. Of course, the trick was dangerous (it worked out first, then not), but we only see that the flight safety rules are violated here. In general, it is criminal to perform such flights with passengers on board for filming.
- The true source of the tragedy was the mistake of the pilot Blagin, and not even a methodological one (he correctly calculated the first loop), but only a technical one, which was expressed in a slight (less than one second) delay at the moment of entering the second loop.
- The flight skills of N.P. Blagin speak of his universalism and high professionalism - he could compete with M. M. Gromov himself. In 1935, Blagin flew 26 hours 11 minutes in just five months.
It is known that during the investigation all those involved in the fateful filming all dumped on Blagin. However, the urn with the ashes of Blagin was buried in the wall of the Novodevichy cemetery, along with other victims of the disaster. On the grave collective board is written the official version of the death, which was reported by TASS.
The writer M. Gorky, by the way, was very upset because of the death of the “namesake”. But, by and large, the tragedy did not affect the serial production projects of transport and passenger giant planes.