Beriev Georgy Mikhailovich: biography and photos. Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev - patriarch of naval aviation Aircraft designer Beriev

The Soviet era of weapons has many great minds, whose works formed the basis of world military history. Engineering giants have worked on hundreds of different projects in all fields defense complex.

In the industry of designing and constructing seaplanes and amphibious aircraft, the outstanding scientist Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev, an aircraft designer who was ahead of the engineering thought of his time and left behind industrial complex and a constellation of talented followers.

Childhood and youth

The future aircraft designer was born on February 12, 1903 in Tiflis (Tbilisi) in the family of laborer Mikhail Solomonovich Beriashvili and laundress Ekatirina Prokhorova.

My father was Georgian by nationality, but living in a city populated predominantly by Russians, even before his marriage he changed his surname to Beriev.

Seven-year-old Georgiy was sent to a school run by an education enthusiast who sought to broaden the students' horizons beyond school curriculum.

Beriev himself described in his memoirs a memorable school excursion to Batumi, when the children visited the botanical garden and the embankment, where huge ships rose.

Subsequently, G. M. Beriev studied at the Tiflis Higher Primary School, where his poor parents managed to place him. During his studies, he developed an aptitude for the exact sciences. Knowledge of technical subjects allowed George to enter the Tiflis Railway Higher Technical School (it was the only technical institute in the city) at the Faculty of Mechanics.

However, due to the civil war, he was unable to complete his studies and in 1921 joined the Red Army as a volunteer.

Dreams of heaven

For the first time, G. M. Beriev saw an airplane at the age of seven, when the famous Russian aviator S. I. Utochkin was flying over Tiflis. Gathered to see the miracle great amount spectators, including the entire Beriev family.

The unique event left an indelible mark on the boy’s mind, determined his future fate and was remembered for the rest of his life.

With the establishment of peaceful life in Tiflis, military service ceased to interest Beriev and he began to think about a career as a pilot. He took the first step towards fulfilling his dream by trying to get a ticket to the Yegoryevsk Flight School through the Central Committee of the Komsomol. However, the voucher went to another applicant.

In 1924, after demobilization from the army, G. M. Beriev entered the Polytechnic Institute. After studying there for a year, he transferred to the aviation department of the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute. During his internship at the Krasny Pilotchik plant, at the age of 27, Beriev flew on an airplane for the first time, albeit as a passenger.

Career

In the 20-30s, the topic of military seaplanes and amphibious aircraft began to gain popularity in the Soviet Union. In 1924, a plan for the development of the military air fleet was adopted. It was planned to use hydroaviation forces to compensate for the losses of the fleet after the First World War and the Civil War.

Contrary to expectations, the independent Soviet project could not be implemented and in 1928 the French designer Paul Richard and a team of employees were invited to the USSR. A galaxy of talented engineers and future stars of Soviet science, including Beriev, joined his bureau. He worked there as a calculator and designed various components of the aircraft.

Also, such stars of Soviet engineering as S.P. Korolev, M.I. Gurevich, N.I. Kamov began their careers in Richard’s bureau. and etc.

During 3 years of work in the Soviet Union, Richard failed to implement a single project with high quality and, after verification, the contract with him was terminated and the bureau was disbanded.

Later G.M. Beriev noted that the reason for the failure was the Frenchman’s inability to organize and unite a single team.

The experience Beriev gained while working with Richard led him to the idea of ​​​​creating his own amphibious aircraft with an M27 engine with a power of 909 hp. However, the engine did not pass certification and Beriev had to use the weaker M17. The first launch of Beriev's aircraft took place on May 3, 1932.

The head of the test crew, Benedikt Buchholz, praised the aircraft after landing and the MBR-2 was recommended for production launch.

The success of Beriev's first aircraft attracted the attention of the country's leadership. The impeccable biography and reputation of the designer allowed him to go on a business trip to aircraft factories in the USA and Europe. The business trip lasted 6 months.

Upon his return, Beriev was appointed chief designer of the Taganrog Marine Aircraft Manufacturing Plant. The first task of the Taganrog team was the modernization of the MBR-2.

The improved version included a more powerful engine, a modern engine nacelle and an enclosed cockpit and was called the MBR-2 bis.

While working as an aircraft designer, Beriev never stopped dreaming of the sky. He conceived the idea of ​​creating a flying club where everyone could learn gliding, parachute jumping and airplane flying. The authorities gave in and gave him 2 U-2 aircraft, by training on which Beriev himself received a pilot’s license. He also practiced flying on his own MBR-2 and even once almost got into a plane crash.

Among the projects of the Central Design Bureau of that period were the replacement of the MBR-2 with its improved modification MBR-7 and the long-range naval reconnaissance aircraft MDR-5. But, instead of serial production of new devices, the fleet leadership entrusted Beriev with the project of an ejection monoplane for battleships, which was not destined to be realized.

Thus, by the beginning of the Second World War, the forces of Soviet naval aviation were limited to wooden MBR-2, but there were quite a few of them - 1200 pieces.

Work during the Second World War

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War Central Clinical Hospital to Omsk for evacuation. While MBR-2 seaplanes were conducting reconnaissance and bombing of enemy submarines, the Omsk plant itself began serial production of the KOR-2 ejection reconnaissance aircraft.

Its development began before the war, but was interrupted due to the reorientation of the country's leadership towards the large fleet program. The aircraft was planned to be used as a light naval bomber. The work was completed in due time and the KOR-2 models entered the fleet, and the plant was moved again from Omsk even further to Siberia, to Krasnoyarsk.

In 1943, Beriev presented to the navy leaders a project for a flying boat with a large, spacious fuselage, high seaworthiness and powerful defensive weapons. Commander-in-Chief Nikolai Kuznetsov gave the go-ahead for the construction of a test prototype. Working under evacuation conditions, Beriev’s team managed to develop drawings of the aircraft, create its mock-up, and already in April 1944 laid down the boat itself - LL-43, with a carrying capacity of 4 tons.

Unfortunately, we did not have time to test it in combat conditions, since the sample was assembled only at the end of May 1945. Then the plant returned back to Taganrog.

After the war

The war showed the limitations of Soviet naval aviation and since then all Beriev’s forces have been devoted to the creation and development of new seaplane projects and their modifications.

After the successful testing of the LL-43, the People's Commissariat of the Navy ordered a series of Be-6 flying boats. The Beriev Central Design Bureau received the status of an experimental state-owned naval aircraft manufacturing plant. The Be-6 model received new, more powerful and modern engines, a hull and radar equipment.

The fuselage made it possible to transport up to 40 armed paratroopers.

In the 50s, in parallel with the introduction of the Be-6, the Taganrog plant designed the Be-8 models, on which hydrofoils that pushed the boat out of the water were tested, and the Be-R-1. They were followed by Beriev's favorite aircraft, the Be-10, a reconnaissance torpedo bomber with swept wings.

At the end of his professional journey, G.M. Beriev developed theoretical basis amphibious aircraft operating with hydrofoils and in ekranoplane mode. At the end of the 60s, Georgy Beriev stopped design work and began scientific activities. Died on July 12, 1979 in Moscow.

The main achievement of G.M. Beriev, in addition to the production of seaplanes and amphibious aircraft of a new generation, was the creation of a close-knit team of specialists and a scientific school of aviators, which is developing aircraft to this day.

Beriev aircraft

Georgy Beriev developed class A, AN, MDR, ICBM, Be, KOR aircraft.

Among his most significant projects, the following models stand out:

And the following table shows Beriev’s awards:

Video

Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev was born into a family of workers on January 31, 1903, in Tiflis (Tbilisi/Tbilisi). He was the third of four children in the family. Beriev graduated from the Tiflis Higher Primary School in 1917. In 1919, Georgy got a job at an iron foundry, and in the fall of the same year he began studying at the railway technical school in Tbilisi.

Beriev joined the Komsomol, and in the summer of 1921 he became a Red Army volunteer. In 1924, without stopping at the achieved level of knowledge, Georgy entered the Tiflis Polytechnic Institute, and in 1925 he managed to transfer to the Leningrad Polytechnic, where an aviation department was provided. After studying in Leningrad, Beriev in 1930 became a designer at the MOS VAO design bureau, where the Frenchman P. E. Richard was in charge. When the merger of the design bureau and the Central Design Bureau of TsAGI took place, Beriev was appointed deputy head of the naval brigade.

In 1933, he headed brigade No. 5 at TsKB-39, and a year later became the chief designer of the TsKB for naval aircraft construction. Under the leadership of Georgy, production of the civilian version of the MBR-2 - MP-1, as well as a small series of KOR-1 (Be-2) began. In working on KOR-1, the Soviet aircraft designer was guided by what he saw during a trip abroad, as well as during his stay on the Paris Commune ship, equipped with a German biplane. In 1938, the Beriev Design Bureau developed the MBR-7 single-engine flying boat.

In Siberia, during the Great Patriotic War, Beriev was responsible for the production of a small series of short-range naval reconnaissance aircraft - the KOR-2 (Be-4) flying boat, developed by the aircraft designer in 1941. Having moved to Omsk, and later to Krasnoyarsk, Beriev in the spring of 1945 built the first flying boat LL-143 at the Krasnoyarsk Aviation Plant, the design of which was ready back in 1943.

Together with a group of officers in the summer of 1945, engineer-colonel Beriev left Moscow to fly to Berlin. From Berlin he reached Stettin, where an aircraft carrier was discovered that was quite suitable for towing operations. In addition, Beriev participated in the inspection of the hydroaviation base on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea. In 1946, Beriev became the director and chief designer of OMOS (an experimental marine aircraft manufacturing plant).

In 1949, under the leadership of Georgy Mikhailovich, the Be-6 multi-purpose flying boat was created, and a year before that, the Soviet Be-8 amphibious aircraft. After the release of the experimental jet flying boat R-1 with two turbojet engines in 1949, the reconnaissance torpedo bomber M-10 (Be-10) was introduced, which, however, made its first flight only on June 20, 1956. The Be-10 seaplane went into mass production, carried out from 1956 to 1961.

The year 1961 turned out to be a record-breaking year for Beriev. The Be-10 reached the maximum speed for a seaplane - 912 km/h, and the Be-12 (M-12) Chaika anti-submarine amphibious aircraft reached a new flight altitude.

Due to the period of "rocketization" in the early 1960s, work on the supersonic seaplane and the LL-600 strategic flying boat was closed. Beriev participated in the creation of the An-2M, developed the An-Be-20 (Yak-40) and An-24FK (An-30) designs. He headed the OKB from 1934 to 1968. Beriev was awarded two Orders of Lenin and two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, in addition to medals.

Best of the day

Years of life: 1902-1979

Soviet aircraft designer, major general of the engineering and technical service. After graduating from the Polytechnic Institute (Leningrad) in 1930, he began working as a designer at the design bureau at MOS VAO, headed by the French designer Paul Ene Richard. Then this design bureau merges with the TsAGI Central Design Bureau. Here, in the brigade of the naval department of the Central Design Bureau of I.V. Chetverikov, G.M. Beriev in 1930 proposed a project for the marine short-range reconnaissance aircraft MBR-2. After the successful testing of the prototype aircraft in May 1932, a decision was made to launch it into mass production. In 1933, at TsKB-39, Beriev headed brigade No. 5. On October 1, 1934, in accordance with the order of the GUAP USSR No. 44/260 dated August 6, 1934, a TsKB for naval aircraft construction was created in Taganrog. Georgy Beriev was appointed its chief designer. The civilian version of the MBR-2, the MP-1, was also mass-produced.

The shipborne ejection aircraft KOR-1 (Be-2) was built in a small series, and the naval long-range reconnaissance aircraft MDR-5 and MBR-7 were built in only 2 copies. The KOR-2 (Be-4) flying boat was produced in small series during the Second World War, already in Siberia. Following the plant, the design bureau was evacuated to Omsk and then to Krasnoyarsk. During the evacuation, the OKB was engaged in advanced design. In 1943, a design for the LL-143 flying boat was developed, and in 1944, a model of the cargo-passenger PLL-144. This made it possible, after testing the LL-143 in 1945, to create the Be-6 flying boat already in 1949, and in 1948 the Be-8 multi-purpose amphibian. On the Be-8, hydrofoils were tested as takeoff and landing devices.

Following the experimental flying boat R-1 (1949) with two turbojet engines, the M-10 (Be-10) reconnaissance torpedo bomber with a swept wing appears. It was built in series (24 aircraft) from 1956 to 1961. In 1961, the Be-10 reached a record speed for a seaplane - 912 km/h and set world altitude records. The serial Be-12 (M-12) “Chaika” anti-submarine amphibious aircraft with more economical theater engines also set flight altitude records.

With the beginning of the “rocketization of the entire country” in the early 60s, work on a supersonic seaplane, as well as a giant strategic flying boat LL-600 (with a take-off weight of up to 1000 tons), was closed. Under these conditions, OKB-49 is creating the P-10 cruise missile and is working on the P-100 cruise missile project in medium and intercontinental range variants.

Begins development of an aircraft to replace the An-2 on local airlines. In 1968, the Be-30, a 14-seater passenger aircraft, made its first flight. Like its development, the Be-32, it also had transport and ambulance variants.

The Beriev Design Bureau is participating in the creation of a specialized agricultural An-2 M, together with the O. K. Antonov Design Bureau is developing a project for a passenger aircraft for local airlines, the An-Be-20 (which later became the Yak-40 aircraft) and creating an aerial photography aircraft, the An-24FK, launched in series called An-30.

During the Soviet Union, outstanding aircraft designers worked on the development of seaplanes. A well-deserved place of honor was taken by Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev, an aircraft designer whose Be brand aircraft amaze with their uniqueness. Beriev is a born genius, the creator of a unique class of aircraft capable of conquering the skies and seas. His life was devoted to the design of seaplanes. It was under the leadership of Beriev that Russian engineers first designed “flying boats” - amphibious aircraft, known throughout the world as the best.

Biography

In the city of Tbilisi, on February 13, 1903, a boy, Georgy, appeared in the family of an ordinary hard worker Mikhail Beriev and Ekaterina Prokhorova, who worked as a laundress. Nationality: Georgian. The father's original surname was Beriashvili. At that time, the city of Tiflis (Tbilisi) was completely populated by Russian people, so Mikhail Solomonovich Russified his surname so as not to feel awkward among people.

Childhood and youth

Georgy was lucky to study in a junior school, where his parents enrolled him at the age of 7. The educational process was headed by an enthusiast of public education; she followed the goal of giving students knowledge beyond the scope of the school curriculum, and organized all sorts of excursions to broaden the children's horizons. One of these trips to the city of Batumi was imprinted as a vivid memory in the boy’s memory. Little George was delighted with the beauty of the Botanical Garden and captivated by the majesty of the city’s embankment, where ships were moored at the pier. Then, seeing these huge structures, they seemed to him something extraordinary. Seeing the Black Sea for the first time, its dimensionless expanses and the height of its black-blue waves had an indelible impression on George.

The airplane flight organized by the Russian pilot Utochkin is the second bright event in the boy’s life. On a clear Sunday, the entire Beriev family came to look at the presented aircraft. To the enthusiastic screams of the crowd, Georgiy, at the age of 7, saw a real airplane for the first time. It was at that moment that his love for the sky arose in him. A young man from a poor family could only dream of becoming a pilot, but his father and mother considered it right to collect all their savings and allow their son to get an education at the Higher Primary School in the city of Tbilisi. During his studies, Georgy showed great abilities in the field of technical disciplines. Achievements in exact subjects helped in 1919 to become a student at the Faculty of Mechanics at the Tbilisi Railway School. But I failed to complete my studies. The civil war that raged in the country forced George to join the Red Army. It took 4 years to fight the bandits on Georgian territory.

Dreams of heaven

After a calm life was restored, George became bored with military service. The dream of being closer to the sky and airplanes did not leave Beriev. Georgy was interested in mechanics. It was at that time that he decided to become an aviator. Suddenly the opportunity presented itself to enter the Yegoryevsk pilot school. Beriev G.M. tried to get there through the Komsomol. But when he arrived, it turned out that another applicant had already left.

In 1924, Beriev left the army and decided to continue his studies at the Tbilisi Polytechnic. After finishing his first year, he continued his studies at the Leningrad Institute at the Faculty of Shipbuilding. Life began to improve and bring him closer to his dream. Georgy's internship was assigned to him at the Krasny Pilot plant. There, for the first time in my life, at the age of 27, I flew into the sky, but only next to the pilot.

Career

The 20-30s were called the century of hydroaviation. This direction became popular in the Soviet Union. In 1928, aircraft designer Paul Rechard was sent to the USSR from France with a team of colleagues. Young talents of Soviet engineering were assigned to them. George was also lucky enough to work next to Reshard. At first he performed the functions of a calculation manager, then he was engaged in the design of units. As a process engineer, Beriev took part in the modification of the TOM-1 torpedo bomber, made entirely of metal.

During his entire stay in the USSR, Rechard did not construct anything significant. An inspection from the High Command came to understand the current situation. Beriev G.M. was called to the final meeting. The Frenchman's mistake was his inability to unite the team and direct the work of engineers in the right and unified direction. The contract with Reshard was terminated. The bureau has closed. Georgy remembered this lesson on long years. In the course of his further activities, he repeatedly emphasized that the main success of his life was not airplanes at all, but the personnel composition, who knows how to design and produce such magnificent flying models. Beriev always set the highest bar both for himself and for his employees, to create something new, advanced, and promising.

Thanks to his collaboration with Reshard, Beriev gained valuable experience in creating aircraft. It was at that time that he decided to construct a flying metal boat with an M-27 engine with a power of 909 hp. Georgy Beriev shared this project with Paufer in a request for permission to begin work. The answer was positive. But it was not possible to obtain duralumin, and Georgy Mikhailovich replaced it with wood. The flying boat model was ready. But the M-27 engine did not pass testing and was not cleared for operation. The aircraft designer decided to equip his creation with the M-17 engine, specifications which was inferior to the M-27 model. The aircraft with such a replacement might not have passed the test, but Beriev decided to take the risk.

In 1931, the car was ready and sent for inspection to Sevastopol. The pilot sitting at the controls, having completed the flight, assured Georgy that the car was magnificent. After successful testing, the new aircraft, called MBR-2, was ready and recommended for launch. In terms of its operational properties, the aircraft was much better than the R-5 ground reconnaissance aircraft that had arrived at that time.

Beriev's biography was ideal, and after the creation of the MBR-2 he was sent on a business trip to Italy, France, the USA, and England. The purpose of this trip was to get a detailed acquaintance with the work of aviation construction companies and the latest foreign, technical designs. Returning Beriev G.M. began work as a chief designer in aviation in Taganrog. At the new location, he began work by improving the MBR-2, installing a more modern engine and changing external elements. The modernized model was named MBR-2 BIS.

While working in Taganrog, the designer never forgot about his unfulfilled dream. The desire to be at the helm did not let him go. Having found a like-minded person, Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev opened a flying club, the authorities allocated two U-2 aircraft on which everyone who wanted to fly gained experience. After completing training courses and receiving a certificate, Georgy was able to fly into the sky independently as a pilot. He often flew aircraft he designed. One day, the MBR-2 had an engine breakdown, there was a strong storm, Beriev landed the plane on the water, repaired the damage, the plane rose to the heights and flew safely to the designated point. The designer tested the reliability of his first flying machine on himself. Thus a childhood dream came true.

Work during the Second World War

Successful activities were interrupted by the German invasion. The war began suddenly and projects to create new aircraft were suspended. The Soviet Union accepted the Nazi attack with only wooden MBR-2, of which 1,200 units were assembled. They carried out a significant amount of work in combat operations over the seas. MBR-2 participated in reconnaissance, detected and destroyed enemy submarines, and dropped bombs on them.

Beriev was sent to Omsk for further development of the KOR-2 production aircraft, which he had created even before the war using foreign experience, like KOR-1. The authorities pushed the deadlines; the KOR-2 was needed as a bomber. This flying boat-plane was produced in single copies. After Omsk, the design bureau was transferred to Krasnoyarsk, where the LL-143 aircraft was created. I did not have time to take part in hostilities; this model was released in 1946.

After the war

In 1946 Beriev G.M. returned to Taganrog and was appointed head of a naval aircraft manufacturing plant. The war showed how meager the equipment of enterprises in the USSR was. All further activities of Beriev were aimed at developing various aircraft projects and various modifications. After the end of World War II, the creation of aircraft moved to another, more modern level of development. The design bureau in Taganrog designed modernized models of flying machines. After the famous Be-6, Georgy Mikhailovich introduced the country to the multifunctional Be-8 aircraft. Next, the Be-R1 naval reconnaissance aircraft was released, followed by the Be-10, Beriev’s favorite. The plane was equipped with arrow-shaped wings and was involved in a dozen world records. The military industry developed throughout the world. Nuclear submarines began to be produced. Beriev created the Be-12, which tracked, pursued and destroyed submarines. He often used knowledge acquired abroad in his work. The aircraft he created were used for weapons for a long time and had high performance characteristics, which was proven by many world records.

The main result of employment was not only unique aircraft Beriev, but also the opening of a school for the design of seaplanes and amphibious aircraft.

Airplanes created by Georgy Beriev.

Beriev G.M. developed a huge number of unique aircraft of the following categories:

5 most outstanding amphibious aircraft:

• naval reconnaissance aircraft MBR-2;
• shipborne reconnaissance aircraft KOR-1 (Be-2);
• shipborne reconnaissance aircraft KOR-2 (Be-4);
• Be-6 multifunctional flying boat;
• seaplane with jet engine Be-10.

Awards

• 2 Orders of Lenin (09/16/1945, 1953);
• 2 Orders of the Red Banner of Labor;
• medal "For Military Merit";
• medal “For victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945”;
• anniversary medals;
• personalized weapon (1953);
• Stalin Prize of the second degree (1947) - for the design of a new aircraft model (Be-6);
• USSR State Prize (1968) - for the production of the Be-12.

Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev

In our country, offensively little is known about this outstanding designer, although for many years he had no equal in the field of naval aircraft construction. This man didn't just design aircrafts- created, without any exaggeration, engineering masterpieces.
Among them are the most popular pre-war Soviet seaplane, which during the Great Patriotic War turned out to be more effective than many warships, and the first jet flying boat R-1, and the ejection reconnaissance aircraft KOR-1 and, and the swept-wing jet reconnaissance torpedo bomber Be-10, and the legendary Be-12 “Chaika”, and naval cruise missiles.
Who was their creator? Today, unfortunately, few can answer this question.
That is why Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev is called the most unknown among the famous domestic aircraft designers...
The future general designer and major general of the engineering and technical service was born in Tiflis into a working-class family and was the fourth child in a large family. At the age of fifteen he graduated from primary technical school and, after working for two years at an iron foundry, in 1919 he continued his studies at the Tiflis Railway School.
The young country of the victorious proletariat needed its own engineering personnel. Therefore, Georgy Mikhailovich, without much difficulty (impeccable proletarian origin plus excellent basic technical knowledge, a Komsomol card and service in the Red Army), entered the Tiflis Polytechnic in 1923, where he was actively involved in the activities of the young cell of Osoaviakhim.
The young man hoped to receive a Komsomol ticket to an aviation school and dreamed of becoming a military pilot. But there were too many competitors, and Beriev’s dreams remained dreams. And this was the finger of fate: if the country had acquired another good pilot, it would have lost a brilliant aircraft designer...
The sky continued to beckon the inquisitive young man. Therefore, after two years of study, he is transferred to the aviation department of the shipbuilding faculty of the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute. And there he became one of the active participants in the reorganization of the department into an independent aviation faculty.
In 1930 (at 28 years old!) he was not just a certified engineer, but already deputy head of the marine department of the Central Design Bureau of the plant named after. Menzhinsky. And four years later - chief designer Aviation Plant No. 31 in Taganrog and at the same time the head of the specialized experimental design bureau for marine aircraft construction operating at the plant
As a matter of fact, when Georgy Mikhailovich first appeared at the Taganrog plant, no design bureau existed there, it just had to be created. And Beriev, forgetting about rest and peace, plunges headlong into organizational work. He selects young engineers who are enthusiasts of hydroplane construction, takes care of improving the skills of his employees, studies himself, regularly traveling with his subordinates to research institutes and aviation military units, which are armed with naval reconnaissance aircraft, and carefully studies the comments and suggestions of pilots.

It was at this time that Georgy Mikhailovich developed and created his first winged vehicles - MBR-2 (marine short-range reconnaissance aircraft), its civilian version MP-1 in passenger and transport versions, combat ejection seaplanes KOR-1 and KOR-2, long-range naval reconnaissance aircraft MDR -5.
The MBR-2 took flight in 1932, when its creator was still working at the aircraft plant named after. Menzhinsky. In the same year, the aircraft was adopted by the aviation of the Black Sea and Baltic fleets, although, as Beriev himself admitted, “it was still somewhat damp.” But this generally successful model instantly transferred Georgy Mikhailovich to the chair of the chief designer, which gave him greater independence and the opportunity to bring his brainchild to perfection.

In 1934, the first Soviet passenger seaplane MP-1 and transport MP-1 T, created on the basis of the MBR-2, took off. Before the war, more than a thousand of these aircraft were produced. In addition to regular transportation of passengers and cargo on the Odessa-Batumi airline, they were widely used in Siberia and regions of the Far North, replete with rivers and lakes, where it was difficult to find a place for land airfields. Flying boats were also used in the fishing fleet - to search for concentrations of sea animals and schools of fish, and to guide fishing trawlers and fishing schooners towards them.
MP-1 was also among the air record holders. On it, pilot Polina Osipenko set a record for carrying capacity for seaplanes in May 1937, and in May 1938 - a record for flight range along a closed route. In July of the same year, the crew consisting of Polina Osipenko, Valentina Lomako and Maria Raskova carried out a non-stop flight from Sevastopol to Arkhangelsk, setting two flight range records at once - in a straight line and in a broken line.
At the same time, Beriev continued to refine and improve the combat version of the MBR-2. In 1935, a removable wheeled or ski landing gear was installed and tested on the aircraft, which expanded its operational capabilities. After replacing the engine with a more powerful one, the flying boat was able to reach speeds of up to 75 km/h and climb to altitudes of up to 8,000 meters.

A logical continuation of the theme of naval reconnaissance aircraft was Beriev’s design of a heavy vehicle, which, in addition to reconnaissance functions, could act as both a bomber and a rescue aircraft.
In 1936 technical task Four design bureaus were awarded the development of such a station wagon: A. S. Moskaleva, I. V. Chetverikova, P. D. Samsonov and G. M. Beriev. Georgy Mikhailovich proposed to design the aircraft and build its prototypes in two versions at once - a flying boat and an amphibian (on a wheeled chassis).
The first car was ready in May 1938. However, during factory tests, a number of design defects of the MDR-5 appeared, which almost became the cause of the tragedy. On May 23, test pilots barely managed to land the plane after one of the floats broke. On September 10, during landing, the crew was unable to reduce the landing speed to the required value, and the flying boat, hitting the water with its nose, broke into two parts. The pilots survived, but the plane could no longer be restored.
The amphibious version of the long-range reconnaissance aircraft also suffered setbacks. And only at the end of October 1939 was it ready for military tests. The plane was stable in the air on one engine, and the small arms, bomb and chemical weapons systems worked flawlessly. However, the vehicle's flight range and climb rate were considered unsatisfactory by the military. In addition, it turned out to be very difficult to manage. Therefore, in the design competition, preference was given to the aircraft developed by I. B. Chetverikov Design Bureau.

Another direction in the development of naval aviation in those years was the creation of seaplanes launched from the decks of warships using a catapult. And here Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev left a noticeable mark. In the second half of the 1930s, he designed ejection reconnaissance aircraft KOR-1 and KOR-2 - biplanes with folding wings and a combined interchangeable landing gear, that is, capable of landing both on water and on hard ground (snow, ice, airfield concrete), armed three 7.62 mm machine guns and lifting up to 200 kg of bombs. At that time, only the Soviet Navy had such aircraft.

Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, they served as short-range reconnaissance and rescue vehicles on cruisers and battleships of the Black Sea and Baltic fleets, launching both from deck and coastal catapults, and from the water surface.
And Georgy Mikhailovich finally brought the MDR-5 to fruition: just before the war, the single-engine flying boat MBR-7, a passenger version of the long-range naval reconnaissance aircraft, took off into the air...
It so happened that during the Great Patriotic War Beriev did not create a single new combat aircraft. This does not mean at all that the designer and his colleagues vegetated in the rear throughout the war years. There were simply reasons for this: Taganrog, which housed the plant and the hydroplane design bureau, very quickly became a front-line city, and then was completely captured by the Nazis. There was neither time, nor opportunity, nor expediency to create a new experimental and production base for naval aviation somewhere on the Volga or beyond the Urals: the main battles took place on land fronts, and they required primarily wheeled aircraft.
Therefore, in the Beriev Design Bureau, evacuated to Omsk and then to Krasnoyarsk, only a small group of engineers was left, which was engaged in advanced design. And she did it very fruitfully.
The aircraft that fought were those that Georgy Mikhailovich managed to design in the second half of the 1930s. In the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, for example, they were consolidated into the 15th Separate Marine Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment and were used both as short-range reconnaissance aircraft and as rescue vehicles. In the Black Sea Fleet, during the defense of Sevastopol, seaplanes mounted on wheeled chassis were even used as light attack aircraft taking off from the shore.
Alas, it is worth saying that during the war, ejection seaplanes were never used for their intended purpose - as reconnaissance aircraft and ship-based spotters. However, it could not have been otherwise: Soviet ships in the Baltic and Black Seas conducted combat operations in areas that were within the range of coastal aviation. In addition, the slow-moving and weakly armed KOR-1 and KOR-2 would not be able to protect their ship from attacks by bombers and torpedo bombers, much less somehow resist the Messerschmitts.

It should also be taken into account that the recovery of an aircraft that splashed down after completing a mission or only the selection of its pilots from the water was fraught with danger in combat conditions real danger for a ship that has stopped moving. Suffice it to remember that on October 6, 1943, a 20-minute stop of the leader of the Kharkov with the destroyers Besposhchadny and Sposobny to capture the crew of a downed German reconnaissance aircraft ended in the death of all three ships, torpedoed without any difficulty, as if in a shooting gallery, by an enemy submarine...
In general, ejection aircraft quickly became outdated, and many issues of the tactics of their use turned out to be unresolved in peacetime. Therefore, at the beginning of 1943, the catapults on all Soviet cruisers were dismantled and additional anti-aircraft guns were placed in their place.
But the MBR-2 flew until the end of the war, showing itself especially effectively in the front-line conditions of the Arctic.

Well, what about advanced design? Already in 1943, the Beriev Design Bureau completed working drawings of the flying boat LL-143, and in 1944 a model of the cargo-passenger PLL-144 was created. This made it possible in the first post-war year to create and fly into the sky the Be-6 patrol flying boat, on which the designer was the first to use a “gull” wing. The aircraft was accepted for mass production in 1947, and its creator was awarded the Stalin Prize.
The following year, the Be-8 multi-purpose amphibian was tested, designed for operation in the Far North, conducting aerial photography, solving problems of the sanitary service and training naval pilots. This aircraft was the first to use hydrofoils as take-off and landing devices, which were later used on various types boats and small vessels.

Now it was possible to say with confidence that during the war years, the Soviet seaplane industry had accumulated the potential for a new leap into the sky.
And he didn’t keep himself waiting...

An important step in creative work the design bureau team, headed by Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev, was the end of the forties. Relying on the help of research institutes, including TsAGI, it developed a flying boat with two turbojet engines. This one of the first jet seaplanes in the world was designated P-1. Its ceiling reached 11,500 meters, and at cruising altitude maximum speed almost twice the speed of similar seaplanes with piston engines.
The Be-10 aircraft became a development of the theme of jet flying boats. The new aircraft was intended for long-range reconnaissance on the high seas in the interests of the fleet and high-altitude torpedo and bombing at enemy ships and transports, as well as bombing naval bases and coastal structures. The Be-10 was supposed to carry out combat missions in cooperation with fleet ships during the day, at night, in difficult weather conditions, alone and as part of groups, based on stationary and operational hydroairfields, and if the enemy used nuclear weapons, afloat, performing autonomous maneuvering.

First copy new car was submitted for state testing in 1956. The aircraft's small arms consisted of two fixed 23-mm cannon mounts located in the bow and one movable aft one. Torpedoes (up to three pieces), mines and 100-kilogram bombs (up to 20 pieces) were suspended in various versions in the cargo compartment. To conduct photography, day, night and perspective aerial cameras were installed on the flying boat.
During the tests, the Be-10 showed good results: it reached a speed of 910 km/h, climbed to an altitude of 15,000 meters and flew to a range of 2,960 kilometers. No seaplane in the world achieved such indicators at that time.
However, despite all the successes, in the early 1960s there was a threat of termination of the program for building jet seaplanes. During this period of rapid development of nuclear missile weapons, the country's leadership announced that the missile would soon become a universal weapon that would completely replace aviation and cannon artillery.
Wanting to save his brainchild, Beriev proposed modifying the Be-10 reconnaissance torpedo bomber into the Be-10 N missile carrier aircraft, which could carry anti-ship cruise missiles equipped with nuclear weapons on an external sling. These same missiles, but equipped with a conventional high-explosive warhead, could be used to combat transports with a displacement of up to 8,000 tons and unarmored ships, as well as to destroy naval bases, bridges and other engineering structures. But this initiative did not receive further support technical proposal didn't go.
And the chief designer’s thoughts rushed in a new direction...
The design of a specialized turboprop aircraft for combating submarines, which was given the designation Be-12, was started by Georgy Mikhailovich back in March 1956. The prototype made its first flight from the water surface on October 18, and from a land airfield on November 2, 1960.
The designer based the design of the new flying boat on the time-tested gull-type wing design. The entire combat load was placed in the fuselage compartment with waterproof doors. But underwing pylons were also provided for the external suspension of cargo. What distinguished the Chaika from its predecessors (Be-6 and Be-10) was its amphibiousness: the Be-12 could independently get ashore using a wheeled chassis.

The aircraft was equipped with advanced equipment for its time radio-electronic equipment, which allowed piloting and landing in conditions of limited visibility and at night. To detect submarines, Chaika used the Baku hydroacoustic system (dropped radio sonar buoys), and to destroy them, AT-1 torpedoes and depth charges (including nuclear SK-1 Scalp).
Serial production of "Seagulls" was launched at plant No. 86 named after. G. M. Dimitrova in Taganrog. The first production Be-12 was released on December 12, 1963. The first two Chaikas entered the 33rd Army in the fall of 1964. The educational center aviation of the Navy of the Soviet Union, then they began to master it in combat aviation units of all fleets. Production lasted ten years, with a total of 140 cars produced.
Beriev was awarded the USSR State Prize for the creation of the Be-12. The Chaika set 42 world records. The aircraft was repeatedly demonstrated at air parades and international exhibitions...
During the same period, Georgy Mikhailovich, together with his colleagues, designed several models of promising aircraft, even a cursory acquaintance with the characteristics of which amazes the imagination.
For example, the LL-600 flying boat, which is being developed as a bomber and a passenger aircraft with 2,000 seats. To increase its flight range, it was proposed to organize refueling of vehicles at sea from tanker submarines or special floating containers. In order to carry out a secret meeting between the aircraft and containers previously placed at sea, when approaching the refueling site, a signal bomb was dropped at a certain distance. After its activation, the hydroacoustic receiver of the container gave the command to ascend and turn on the drive radio station and visual detection equipment in standby mode. But after successful tests of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles, work on the LL-600 project was curtailed...
Another of Beriev’s developments was the supersonic long-range naval reconnaissance bomber (SDMBR), which he began working on back in 1957. An analysis of the aircraft's combat capabilities showed the reality of achieving a flight range of 20,000 kilometers when organizing two refuelings from submarines. His equipment provided combat use in difficult weather conditions at any time of the day in all geographical latitudes. The aircraft was supposed to provide solutions to problems in conditions of strong opposition from enemy air defenses. A detailed design of the aircraft was developed, the laying of a prototype was being prepared, but the work was curtailed due to changes in customer requirements.

Thus, the Be-12 “Chaika” became the only combat aircraft designed by Beriev to “break out” into the skies in the 60s.
But besides it there were other aircraft. During this period, Georgy Mikhailovich and his design bureau created the P-10 cruise missile, placed on submarines, and worked on the design of the P-100 cruise missile in medium and intercontinental range versions. And the developments obtained in the creation of combat seaplanes and flying boats were successfully applied in creating a lung short take-off and landing passenger airliner Be-30, which made its first test flight from the Taganrog airfield on July 8, 1968. Beriev and his subordinates also participated in the creation of an aircraft for local airlines - later the well-known Yak-40.
The last years of his life, Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev lived in Moscow, was engaged in scientific and design research work, being a member of the scientific and technical councils of the State Committee for aviation technology and the State Committee for Shipbuilding under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, as well as in the Scientific and Technical Council of Aviation of the Navy of the Soviet Union.

His work - the creation of aircraft that operate on the verge of two elements, air and water - was continued by his students and followers. In 1983, the Beriev MS Design Bureau began developing a special A-40 aircraft to combat submarines and surface ships in the near and middle ocean zones.
Considering the limited need of the Navy for such aircraft, the designers, even at the design stage, included the possibility of converting the aircraft into a multi-purpose one, capable of performing search and rescue operations, passenger and cargo transportation, and extinguishing industrial and forest fires.
The first two A-40s were manufactured in 1988, successfully passed all flight design and state tests and were put into service under the designation Be-42 Albatross in 1990.

In 1998, the unique Be-200 aircraft, created at the Taganrog Beriev Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex, made its first test flight. At the hydroaviation show in Gelendzhik on September 10, 2010, the aircraft received a European certificate, which opened up the world market for it.
Although the Be-200 was originally designed and created for civilian purposes, it may well “put on a military uniform,” primarily as a patrol aircraft to perform tasks in the exclusive 200-mile economic zone of Russia’s Arctic waters. The Be-200 patrol could solve the tasks of searching for ships in a given area, classifying them and determining coordinates, conducting visual reconnaissance of fishing gear, documenting facts of violation of the established order of marine fishing, landing inspection teams on violating ships without calling border ships, and, if necessary, - and fire defeat of violators of the State Border.
In addition, this amphibian is capable of controlling environment, water surface pollution, meteorological conditions and radiation conditions, as well as conduct ice reconnaissance, participate in oil spill cleanup, transport personnel and cargo, and drop small groups of paratroopers. The Be-200 is capable of performing all these tasks at any time of the year and day, in simple and adverse weather conditions, at all geographic latitudes.
The designers of the Beriev TANTK are also looking into the more distant future. The fruit of their many years of theoretical research, which began back in the 1980s, was the project of a super-heavy seaplane-ground effect vehicle of the original configuration of the Be-2500 “Neptune”.
This gigantic airship with a take-off weight of 2,500 tons, according to the designers, will be capable of flying in both high-altitude and ground-level modes. It is assumed that super-heavy seaplanes will be used primarily on transatlantic and transpacific routes and will be able to use existing ports, practically without requiring the creation of any new infrastructure.
Super-heavy seaplanes can be effectively used in search and rescue operations and in the process of human exploration of the world's oceans. Another area of ​​application for Neptune could be exploration and mining of mineral resources in the shelf and archipelagic zones.
It is clear that practical creation aircraft like the Be-2500 are a thing of the future. But be that as it may, the flight over the waves continues...