72-002 MOSKALEV LT (SAM-23)

Moskalev (or: Moskaljew) SAM-23 is a project of a Soviet attack aircraft from the Second World War. The design of the machine was most likely made in 1943, but the flight of the prototype probably never took place. The drive would be provided by a single Mikulin M-11 engine with a capacity of 150 HP. It was assumed that the on-board armament would consist of 2 20mm ShWAK cannons and 2 7.62mm ShKAS machine guns. The machine would also be able to take up to 4 unguided rockets on external suspensions. The Moskalev SAM-23 was developed as an attack aircraft as cheap as possible in production and operation, with a relatively short flight range, sufficient, however, to carry out the tasks of supporting the battlefield. The aerodynamic system of the machine was highly unorthodox and assumed the creation of a plane with a centrally located pilot's cabin, with a short fuselage at the end of which a power unit and a pusher propeller were placed. The rear tail, on the other hand, would be based on two tail beams. Interestingly, it was assumed that only a single vertical tail would be used! The machine also had a fixed wheeled undercarriage, also consisting of a characteristic bar curved in an arc at the front of the hull. The machine, although structurally interesting, was not accepted by the relevant Soviet decision makers and never entered mass production.