The «Orlyonok» is a project 904 transport-assault ekranoplan (ground-effect vehicle), designed by the Central Design Bureau for Hydrofoil Ships named after R. E. Alexeyev. After a 1972 prototype, production craft were built at the «Volga» plant in Gorky and served in Soviet naval aviation. A surviving example stands in the Navy Museum in Tushino, Moscow. [1][2]
Assault from the screen effect
The «Orlyonok» was the first ekranoplan brought into regular service. Its task was to transport troops and equipment at high speed with low detectability: the craft flew over the water, staying beneath detection systems designed for aircraft while remaining outside the range of anti-ship systems. [1][2]
The prototype appeared in 1972, and the production series was built at the «Volga» plant in Gorky. The craft entered service with Soviet naval aviation — a rare case of an experimental class of vehicle reaching regular operational use. [1]
The surviving craft
One «Orlyonok» has survived and is on display at the Navy Museum in Tushino, Moscow. It is the only chance to see a vehicle of this class up close: the other craft did not survive to reach museum status. [1][2]
Sources
- airwar.ru — The «Orlyonok» ekranoplan (archive)
- Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Pravda of Nizhny Novgorod — The flight of the ekranoplan: how Rostislav Alekseyev's invention made headlines around the world (archive)