07271 SPL (HYDRO-1) SOVIET IIWW HYDROPLANE

The Cheetverikow SPL (another designation: Hydro-1) was a Soviet prototype boat from the interwar period. A prototype flight took place in 1934, but the machine never entered production. The drive was provided by a single 100 HP M-11 engine. The machine was 7.5 meters long with a wingspan of 9.7 meters. The maximum speed was around 185-190 km / h. The plane did not have permanent on-board weapons. The Chetverikov SPL was developed for the needs of the Soviet Navy as a light flying boat designed to operate from submarines. The very idea of using the machine was clearly modeled on the ideas tested in the British Royal Navy in the early 1930s. The Czetwerikow SPL flying boat was characterized by a mixed structure, with a large number of wooden elements and a relatively high power unit. Preparing the machine for flight, on the submarine, took no more than 5 minutes. Despite the fact that the Chetverikov SPL was not a bad machine, it did not go into production.