Mid-Mounted Engine - But Not a P-39

[hedger72]

Apparently, there was enough interest and conviction of superiority in the Airacobra's mid-engine layout, that a home grown fighter, the Gudkov Gu-1 was proposed & built:

 

http://ourairports.biz/?p=6451

 

Unfortunately, it did not fare very well; the first, and only prototype being destroyed during its maiden flight.  Would love to have some additional information about this plane if anyone could provide.   

 

As for the P-39, I have also read that there are reports of Airacobras being fitted (Test? Field-mod?) with Klimov M-105P engines - can anyone confirm? Curious to know how these fared (most probably significantly worse, as the 105P weighs approx. 300lbs more than the V-1710 and produces less horsepower).

Edited January 26, 2018 by hedger72

[=ARTOA=Bombenleger]

wow they managed to build a p39 in ugly.

[Yakdriver]

in "even more ugly"
Wow indeed!
XD

[Pail]

wow they managed to build a p39 in ugly.

 

"The configuration followed the Airacobra exactly, with the major difference that the Gu-1 was constructed largely of wood, with bakelite-ply skin."

 

It needed the extra curvature to give Delta Wood its 'Stalinium' qualities, obviously.

Edited January 27, 2018 by Pail

[=TBAS=Sshadow14]

i dunno looks great

Better than most of the Yank planes thats for sure.

[Cybermat47]

It looks like a bad drawing of a P-39, if I’m being honest.

 

But I’m not saying that it looks bad...

[Finkeren]

At least it doesn’t have that weird angle between the nose and the rear fuselage.

[Lensman]

That has got to be named 'The Sparrow'!

 

[6./ZG26_5tuka]

From a russian WW2 wiki (google translated)

 

By the end of 1940, the ranks of the creators of LaGG-3 were split. Perhaps, the "human factor" has worked. Everyone wants to gain independence and prove himself in life,

and the creators of LaGG-3 are no exception. Gorbunov proposed a draft dive bomber PB-301, and Gudkov - a fighter Gu-1 ( Gu-37 ) by the type of the American Aerocobra.

By that time, only a small team of designers headed by Mikhail Ivanovich remained at the plant ╧301, because to develop the serial production of the I-301 fighter, Lavochkin

left for Leningrad and Gorbunov for Taganrog. Creating an airplane is difficult, requiring tremendous effort and time. By the summer of 1941, it was possible to finally determine

the face of the new machine and begin to develop its drawings (Gu-1). But the outbreak of war forced the revision of peacetime plans. A month after the war began, when it

became clear that the Red Army suffered huge losses and it was required not only to quickly replace them but also to ensure superiority over the enemy, the People's

Commissar of the aviation industry, AI Shakhurin, suggested that Stalin stop developing a number of aircraft, the project "Aerocobra "- temporarily canned. Two days later,

the T-bills approved these proposals, and Gudkov's team focused all efforts on the aircraft Gu-37 and Gu-82.

In the autumn of 1941, Gudkov's KB was evacuated to Novosibirsk to plant No. 153, but he stayed there for a short while and in December Mikhail Ivanovich was sent

to Gorky to introduce the Gu-82 and Gu-37 aircraft into the series. But that did not happen. They say that Lavochkin, taking advantage of his official position, did not sign

Gudkov's pass, leaving his former adherent behind the gates of the enterprise. One of these actions is enough to cross out the "portrait of the quiet intellectual" Lavochkin

written by journalists and writers. The proposal for "Aerocobre" Gudkov made no later than mid-September 1940, and the Defense Committee's decree on its development

came out on the last day of October of the same year. It was only in the spring of 1943 that he could build a car that had been preserved for almost two years. At that time,

Gudkov's KB was located on the territory of the plant ╧156. Calculations showed that the maximum speed of the Gu-1 will not be less than 700 km / h, with the landing speed - 135 km / h.

The high-speed range is 1000 km, the ceiling is 10000 m, and for a set of 8000 m it took 10 min. The aircraft had a very powerful armament, including a 23-mm cannon and a pair of BS

and SHKAS machine guns. For tests Gu-1, Mikhail Ivanovich invited pilot-engineer AI Nikishin. This choice was not accidental, since Alexey Ivanovich enjoyed special respect and indisputable

authority among the pilots. The designer was in a great hurry with the release of the car in flight and it can be understood, because time was military. On the Gu-1, the chassis dome was

not fully installed, the front wheel flaps were missing, and the slats were poorly fitted. In the opinion of the developers, these shortcomings did not serve as an obstacle to the commencement

of flight tests and, having received "good" from the People's Commissariat, LII and TsAGI, began to prepare the car for flight.

The first two taxiing took place on March 18, 1943 with acceleration to a speed of 120-140 km / h. At the same time it was discovered that at the take-off the car was being taken to the side, but

the turn was easily parried by slight braking of the left wheel and a deviation of the rudder.

Two months later, carrying out the fourth taxiing, Nikashin tore the car from the runway at a speed of 220 km / h, flying over the strip at an altitude of 0.1-0.12 m. With a weight of 4350 kg, the run

did not exceed 550-570 m. Eight days later, May 29 - the fifth approach. This time the wing flaps were deflected at 15╟, and the canopies of the chassis were sealed with a canvas. The height

above the runway is 0.2 m.

On June 12, 1943, Lieutenant-Colonel Nikashin warmed up the engine and at 1415 hours. Gu-1 went to its first and last flight from the Central Airfield of Moscow. That day, instead of a holiday,

a catastrophe occurred. The answer to the question why this happened is not to this day, but then the opinions of many specialists who left their signatures under early conclusions about the car

were categorical: "The designer is to blame."


 

 

  Modification Gu-1 Wing span, m

10.00

Length, m

10.68

Height, m

4.60

Wing area, m2

20.00

Weight, kg

 

empty

3742

takeoff

4620

engine's type

1 PD AM-37

Power, hp

1 x 1400

Maximum speed, km / h

 

on high

674

near the earth

520

Practical ceiling, m

 

Crew

1

Armament:

one 37-mm gun Sh-37 (ammunition - 81 rounds)
six machine guns

Edit: Also this (Soviet X-Planes).

Edited January 27, 2018 by 6./ZG26_5tuka

[=ARTOA=Bombenleger]

That has got to be named 'The Sparrow'!

 

It looks like an overly ripe banana to me, a banana so soft and moldy that it strightens out slightly under the unrelenting pull of gravity.

Edited January 27, 2018 by =ARTOA=Bombenleger

[=RvE=Windmills]

What happened to Gudkov after the disbanding of his team?

[AndyJWest]

What happened to Gudkov after the disbanding of his team?

 

Google doesn't find much, but when the Soviets created a department for research into high-altitude balloons in 1956, a Mikhail Gudkov was General Designer. 

 

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zk_MkKERUokC&pg=PA340&lpg=PA340&dq=Mikhail+I.+Gudkov&source=bl&ots=u0QisAehlP&sig=N89dln0OY7W-WLvvcBaiUhuDmws&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj_wKuUxPjYAhVLYsAKHZ0vCx04ChDoAQg1MAQ#v=onepage&q=Mikhail%20I.%20Gudkov&f=false

Edited January 27, 2018 by AndyJWest

[=WH=PangolinWranglin]

Have you heard of our lord and savior, the Belyayev OI-2?

Edited January 27, 2018 by =VOE=PangolinWranglin

[-TBC-AeroAce]

You have just got to love the way the Soviets copied everthing without a care! lol 

[AndyJWest]

Have you heard of our lord and savior, the Belyayev OI-2?

 

 

That picture has 'fake' written all over it.

[-SF-Disarray]

Not a fake, at least not from what I can see. Looks like the OI-2 was only ever a plane on paper. There were some concerns with the design, mostly around visibility especially to the off side, from what I can tell. The project was canceled before any work could really get done, the war was basically over by that point.

Edited January 28, 2018 by Disarray

[PatrickAWlson]

Feel sorry for the test pilot.  He was basically saying "this thing is a piece of crap" and ends up getting killed trying to fly the thing.  Barely got off the ground.

[Finkeren]

That picture has 'fake' written all over it.

As does the term “our Lord and Savior”.

[LukeFF]

As does the term “our Lord and Savior”.

 

No need to drag the discussion off-topic with comments like that.