The «Burevestnik» was the only river gas-turbine hydrofoil in history (project 1708): a vessel fitted with two aviation gas-turbine engines, built at Krasnoye Sormovo Plant in 1964 to a design by the bureau of Rostislav Alekseev. It operated on Volga routes and was decommissioned in 1981. [1][2]
Aviation engines on the river
The «Burevestnik» stood apart among hydrofoil vessels: instead of diesel engines it carried two gas-turbine engines of aviation origin. The solution gave high power at low weight — exactly what a hydrofoil vessel requires — but it also brought aviation-style habits: noise, fuel consumption, and demanding maintenance requirements. [1]
The vessel remained one of a kind. Neither before nor after it were gas-turbine hydrofoil vessels built in the Soviet river fleet, and the «Burevestnik» experience remained an experiment — a valuable one, but never repeated. [1][2]
Service
For seventeen years the «Burevestnik» worked on Volga routes, remaining the most unusual vessel on the river, and was decommissioned in 1981. [1]
Sources
- spkfleet.ru — The vessel «Burevestnik» (archive)
- chkalovsk-zbs.narod.ru — Vessels of R. E. Alekseyev