Back in the 1930s, the USSR tried to implement the most fantastic projects. Alas, and maybe, fortunately, many objective factors hindered their implementation. And if these projects could be completed, then, perhaps, the modern map of the world would have looked different …
At that distant time, a mysterious man named Bartini lived in the Soviet Union. He was a real genius in aircraft design. Unfortunately, we know very little about his life and work. However, Bartini's achievements, which became known only in recent years, are sensational even by today's standards.
Even before World War II, he successfully developed supersonic bombers and fighters. He also created the theory of "multidimensional space-time", which was the logical development of Einstein's theory. And S. Buzinovsky in 1993 suggested that it was Bartini who took part in the development of the Soviet stealth aircraft.
The son of the Italian Baron Oros de Bartini, Robert Ludwig became a member of the Italian Communist Party, but in 1923 he was forced to emigrate to the USSR, and in 1927 he joined the CPSU (b). Soon Bartini began designing experimental aircraft, among which stood out the long-range Arctic reconnaissance aircraft and the mysterious Steel-6 stealth aircraft.
A quarter of a century ago, journalist I. Vishnyakov published an article in the Inventor and Rationalizer magazine about the test of the invisible plane by R. L. Bartini:
“The unusualness of that car was already evident at the moment when the engine was started. All the employees of the secret base were looking forward to this moment. The rumor about the launch spread with lightning speed, and many "spectators" were located not far from the start … The usual commands and answers were distributed: "From the screw", "There is from the screw", which were heard by the observers.
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Then everyone saw the thick bluish exhaust from the side vents. At the same time, the rotation of the propellers sharply accelerated, and the plane began to disappear from view. He seemed to dissolve into thin air. Those who were close to the start assured that they saw how the car was lifted off the runway and carried away into the sky, the rest lost sight of it on the ground."
When and where did such a fantastic performance take place? Vishnyakov claims that this happened in the second half of the 1930s at one of the secret northern airfields.
There is written confirmation that test flights of the stealth aircraft were actually carried out. Thus, aircraft designer V. Shavrov mentions such a flight in the first volume of his book "History of the USSR Aircraft Construction". He writes that this machine was created at the Design Bureau of the Air Force Academy under the leadership of S. Kozlov in 1935 on the basis of one of Yakovlev's aircraft.
The main feature of the invisible car was its casing, made of transparent rhodoid material - special organic glass. Plus, during takeoff, a special smoke screen was used - a bluish gas, which made the plane invisible against the background of the sky. Shavrov also writes that the transparent surface of the car body was covered with a layer of amalgam from the inside.
And here is how the designer describes the testing of the machine:
“The airplane became invisible to observers even when it was lifted off the ground. In flight, the invisible plane was accompanied by UT-2, which followed his path. This was done to make it easier for panelists to determine the location of the test machine. Test flights were recorded on tape, but it was not possible to determine even the approximate outline of the aircraft.
However, further tests showed that over time, the rhodoid lost its properties - that is, its original transparency. And upon completion of the tests, the plane was dismantled, and the project was suspended. Further, the designers wanted to continue work using chrome plates as cladding."
At this time, Bartini made a discovery in the field of super-powerful magnetic fields. He discovered a previously unknown effect that allowed an object to become invisible to others at a certain point. In parallel, American scientists worked on this problem, but they came to its implementation a little later.
What stopped the USSR from mass production of stealth aircraft?
Stalin was well aware of the secret developments of Soviet designers and understood the potential power of the invisible air fleet. But there is no evidence that he pinned any hopes on him. At the same time, the idea creeps in that Bartini (although he was a communist) could deliberately delay the super-project in order to hinder the leader's plans to export the world revolution by capturing European states with the help of invisible squadrons.
Meanwhile, the invisibility of these machines remained only for a short time - only a few sorties. With their high cost, Stalin could not create a large fleet of stealth aircraft, which in addition had to be constantly replenished. Only this can explain that the project was suspended.
And how can you explain the secrecy around the name and work of the Soviet-Italian designer Bartini? It's very simple: modern technologies can easily restore an invisible plane (who knows, did the Americans use any of this in the construction of Stealth?), Which means that very soon the story about it will be continued. Maybe then we will learn more about Bartini than is written about him in encyclopedias …
From the book "The greatest mysteries of the twentieth century"