Belyayev DB-LK

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DB-LK
Belyayev DB-LK.JPG
Role Bomber
National origin USSR
Manufacturer
Designer
First flight 1940
Number built 1

The DB-LK (Dahl'niy Bombardirovshchik-LK – long-range bomber–flying wing) was a bomber aircraft designed and built in the USSR in 1939.

Development[]

Viktor Nikolayevich Belyayev had an illustrious early career with TsAGI, , Aeroflot, , , and the Tupolev OKB. He also designed and built several gliders from 1920, including flying wing designs, and in 1934 he designed a transport aircraft with twin tail-booms each accommodating ten passengers.

Belyaev developed the twin boom idea into the twin-fuselage DB-LK, which had two short fuselages either side of a very long chord wing centre section, with the outer wing sections swept forward 5 deg 42 min, tapering at 7:1 out to raked back tips. A large fin and rudder on a short central boom, carried a small tailplane with very large elevators.

The airframe was of light alloy stressed skin construction with five spar wings covered with sheet aluminium alloy. Each fuselage pod carried a single M-88 engine in a long chord cowling, driving a three-bladed propeller, as well as a pilot/navigator cockpit and radio operator/gunner station in each of the extensively glazed tail-cones. The outer wings had slats, ailerons and 45deg , the raked tips also had small ailerons. The retractable undercarriage consisted of single main legs in the fuselage pods aft of the engines and a tail-wheel in the base of the fin.

Before flight trials began, the test pilot, , carried out many fast taxis to assess the handling of the unconventional DB-LK, one of which ended in an undercarriage collapse. Flight trials eventually got under way early in 1940 revealing an excellent performance, but with a high sensitivity to centre of gravity changes. Production was not authorised.


Specifications (DB-LK)[]

Data from Gunston, Bill. "Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995". London:Osprey. 1995. ISBN 1-85532-405-9

General characteristics

  • Crew: 4
  • Length: 9.78 m (32 ft 1 in)
  • Wingspan: 21.6 m (70 ft 10.5 in)
  • Height: 3.65 m (11 ft 11.75 in)
  • Wing area: 56.87 m2 (612 sq ft)
  • Airfoil: max speed
  • Empty weight: 6,004 kg (13,236 lb)
  • Gross weight: 10,672 kg (23,528 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × M-88 , 708.41 or 745.70 kW (950 or 1,000 hp) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 488 km/h (303 mph, 263 kn)
  • Range: 2,900 km (1,800 mi, 1,600 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 8,500 m (27,890 ft)
  • Rate of climb: 6.15 m/s (1,210 ft/min)

Armament

  • 4 × 7.62mm ShKAS machine guns; one pair to each tailcone.
  • 2 × 7.62mm ShKAS machine guns; fixed, forward firing, in the wing centre section leading edge.

See also[]

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References[]

Sources[]

  • Gunston, Bill. The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995 London, Osprey. 1995. ISBN 1-85532-405-9

External links[]

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