Ilya Muromets is the first-born of strategic aviation. Ilya Muromets - the world's first bomber (8 photos)

From 1913 to 1918 in Russia, the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works (Russobalt) produced several series of the Ilya Muromets (S-22) aircraft, which were used for both peaceful and military purposes, and set a number of world records. This aircraft will be discussed in this article.

The famous aircraft was created by the aviation department of the Russo-Balt plant, under the leadership of a team headed by Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (in 1919 he emigrated to the USA and became famous for designing helicopters). Such designers as K.K. Ergant, M.F. Klimikseev, A.A. Serebrov, Prince A.S. Kudashev, G.P. Adler also participated in the creation of the aircraft.

Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, 1914

The predecessor of “Ilya Muromets” was the “Russian Knight” aircraft - the world’s first four-engine aircraft. It was also designed at Russbalt under the leadership of Sikorsky. Its first flight took place in May 1913, and on September 11 of the same year, the only copy of the aircraft was severely damaged by an engine falling off the Meller-II aircraft. They did not restore it. The direct successor of the Russian Knight was Ilya Muromets, the first copy of which was built in October 1913.

"Russian Knight", 1913

"Ilya Muromets" with "Argus" engines in St. Petersburg in the fall of 1914. In the cockpit - captain G. G. Gorshkov

Unfortunately, at that time the Russian Empire did not have its own aircraft engine production, so the Ilya Muromets was equipped with German Argus engines with a power of 100 hp. each (later other types of engines were installed, including the Russian R-BV3 developed in 1915).
The wing span of “Ilya Muromets” was 32 m, and the total wing area was 182 m 2. All the main parts of the aircraft were made of wood. The upper and lower wings are assembled from separate parts connected by connectors.

Already on December 12, 1913, the aircraft set a payload capacity record - (the previous record on Sommer's aircraft was 653 kg).
And on February 12, 1914, 16 people and a dog were lifted into the air, weighing a total of 1290 kg. The plane was piloted by I. I. Sikorsky himself. For demonstration purposes, the aircraft made many flights over St. Petersburg and its suburbs. Whole crowds gathered to see the aircraft, which was unusually large for that time. Sikorsky was confident in his plane, and flew over the city at a low altitude for that time - only 400 meters. At that time, pilots of single-engine aircraft avoided flying over cities because... in the event of engine failure, a forced landing in urban conditions could be fatal. The Muromets had 4 engines installed, so Sikorsky was confident in the safety of the aircraft.

Stopping two of the four engines does not necessarily force the plane to descend. People could walk on the wings of the plane during the flight, and this did not disturb the balance of the Ilya Muromets (Sikorsky himself walked on the wing during the flight to make sure that, if necessary, the pilot could repair the engine right in the air). At that time it was completely new and made a great impression.

It was Ilya Muromets that became the first passenger aircraft. For the first time in the history of aviation, it had a cabin separate from the pilot's cabin, with sleeping rooms, heating, electric lighting and even a bathroom with toilet.

The world's first high-speed long-distance flight of a heavy aircraft was made by Ilya Muromets on June 16-17, 1914 from St. Petersburg to Kyiv (flight range - more than 1200 km). In addition to Sikorsky, the co-pilot Staff Captain Christopher Prussis, navigator and pilot Lieutenant Georgy Lavrov and mechanic Vladimir Panasyuk took part in this flight.
The tanks contain almost a ton of fuel and a quarter of a ton of oil. In case of troubleshooting, there were ten pounds (160 kg) of spare parts on board.

An emergency occurred during this flight. Shortly after takeoff was made after a planned landing in Orsha (a city in the Vitebsk region), the fuel supply hose was disconnected from the right engine, most likely due to severe bumpiness, as a result of which the flowing stream of gasoline caught fire and a flame raged behind the engine. Panasyuk, who jumped onto the wing and tried to extinguish the flame, almost died - he himself was doused with gasoline and caught fire. Lavrov saved him by extinguishing him with a fire extinguisher; he also managed to turn off the fuel supply valve.
Sikorsky successfully made an emergency landing, and the plane was quickly, within an hour, repaired, but because... Dusk was approaching, and it was decided to spend the night.
We reached Kyiv without further incident. The return flight went without major emergencies, but Sikorsky had to go out on the wing to tighten the carburetor nuts of one of the engines that had become loose from shaking. The return flight Kyiv-Petersburg was completed in one day in 14 hours 38 minutes, which was a record for heavy aviation. In honor of this event, the series was named Kyiv.

In the spring of 1914, a modification of the “Ilya Muromets” was released in the form of a seaplane, and until 1917 it remained the largest seaplane in the world.

At the end of July, the Military Department placed an order for 10 aircraft of this type. By the beginning of the First World War (August 1, 1914), 4 “Ilya Muromets” were built, and all of them were transferred to the army, to the imperial air fleet.

On October 2, 1914, a contract was signed for the construction of 32 Ilya Muromets aircraft at a price of 150 thousand rubles. The total number of vehicles ordered was 42.

However, there were negative reviews from pilots who tested the aircraft in combat conditions. Staff Captain Rudnev reported that “Muromets” does not gain altitude well, has low speed, is not protected, and therefore observation of the Przemysl fortress can only be carried out at a great distance and at the highest possible altitude. There were no reports of any bombings or flights behind enemy lines.
The opinion about the aircraft was negative, as a result the issuance of a deposit in the amount of 3.6 million to the Russobalt plant. rub. the construction of the ordered aircraft was suspended.

The situation was saved by Mikhail Vladimirovich Shidlovsky, who headed the aviation department of Russo-Balt. He acknowledged that the aircraft had shortcomings, but pointed out that the crews were insufficiently trained. He agreed to suspend the construction of 32 vehicles, but insisted on building the first ten so that they could be comprehensively tested in combat conditions. They were asked to form the “Ilya Muromets” into squadrons, following the example of the navy.
Nicholas II approved this idea, and on December 10, 1914, an order was issued according to which Russian aviation was divided into heavy aviation, subordinate to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, and light aviation, included in military formations and subordinate to Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich. This historic order laid the foundation for strategic aviation. The same order formed a squadron of ten combat and two training ships of the Ilya Muromets type. Shidlovsky himself, who was called up for military service, was appointed commander of the squadron. He was awarded the rank of major general, and thus became the first aviation general (unfortunately, in August 1918, M.V. Shidlovsky, along with his son, was shot by the Bolsheviks while trying to leave for Finland).

The created squadron was based near the town of Jablonna near Warsaw, 40 km away.

The Ilya Muromets aircraft were used as bombers. In addition to bombs, they were armed with a machine gun. The first combat flight in the created squadron took place on February 21, 1915, by an aircraft under the command of Captain Gorshkov, but to no avail - the pilots got lost, and not finding the target (Pillenberg), they returned back. The second flight took place the next day and was successful. A series of 5 bombs was dropped on the railway station. Bombs fell right among the rolling stock. The result of the bombing was photographed.

On March 18, photographic reconnaissance was carried out along the route Jablonna - Willenberg - Naidenburg - Soldnu - Lautenburg - Strasburg - Tory - Plock - Mlawa - Jablonna, as a result of which it was found that there was no concentration of enemy troops in this area. For this flight the crew was awarded, and Captain Gorshkov was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

In the same March, M.V. Shidlovsky wrote a report on the aircraft’s capabilities based on the results of combat missions:

1) Carrying capacity (payload) 85 pounds. During combat flights with a fuel reserve of 5 hours and when armed with 2 machine guns, a carbine, and bombs, you can take up to 30 pounds with a permanent crew of 3 people. If, instead of bombs, we take gasoline and oil, then the flight duration can be increased to 9 - 10 hours.

2) The rate of rise of the ship at the specified load of 2500 meters is 45 minutes.

3) The ship's flight speed is 100 - 110 kilometers per hour.

4) Ease of control (the crew is located in a closed room, and pilots can replace each other).

5) Good visibility and ease of observation (binoculars, pipes).

6) Convenience of photographing and throwing bombs.

7) Currently, the squadron has three warships of the Ilya Muromets Kyiv type, but with high-power engines, two of which can make combat flights, and one is assembled. By the end of April, the squadron will have six combat-class ships, since engines for the last four have already been received.

Head of the Ilya Muromets aircraft squadron, Major General Shidlovsky

Throughout the war, this squadron made 400 sorties, dropped 65 tons of bombs and destroyed 12 enemy fighters, while losing only one aircraft directly in battles with enemy fighters.

Thanks to the successes of the squadron, in April 1915 the order for the construction of 32 aircraft was unfrozen. “Ilya Muromtsy” was supposed to be built before May 1, 1916.
In 1915, production of the G series began with a crew of 7 people, G-1, in 1916 - G-2 with a shooting cabin, G-3, in 1917 - G-4. In 1915-1916, three D-series vehicles (DIM) were produced.

As already written above, in 1914 the Russian Empire did not produce its own aircraft engines, which posed a serious threat in the conditions of the First World War. In 1915, at the Riga Russo-Balt plant (the plant's automobile production was located in Riga, and aviation production in Petrograd. From July to September 1915, as the front approached Riga, the equipment of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Plant was evacuated to different cities of the empire . Carriage production was transferred to Tver, automobile production - to Petrograd and partly to Moscow, to Fili) engineer Kireev designed the R-BVZ aircraft engine. It was a six-cylinder, two-stroke, water-cooled engine with automobile-style radiators on the sides. After installing these Russian engines on the IM-2, it turned out that these engines were better than Salmson and Sabim both in quality and performance. In some respects, these Russian engines were superior to the German Argus engines that were originally installed on this aircraft.

In the fall of 1915, one of them, for the first time in the history of aviation, took off and dropped a bomb of enormous mass for that time - 25 pounds (400 kg).

In total, about 80 Ilya Muromets aircraft were produced. Between October 30, 1914 and May 23, 1918, 26 aircraft of this type were lost and written off. Moreover, only 4 of them were shot down or received damage beyond repair as a result of battles; the rest died either due to technical malfunctions, piloting errors, or natural disasters such as storms and hurricanes.
You can see the full table of losses of the Ilya Muromets aircraft.

In 1918, not a single combat mission was carried out by the Muromtsev. During the Civil War, the Reds were able to use 2 aircraft in the Orel area in August-September 1919. During the Soviet-Polish War of 1920, several sorties of this aircraft were made, and on November 21, 1920, the last combat sortie of Ilya Muromets was made in hostilities against Wrangel.

After 1918, the Ilya Muromets was no longer produced, but the aircraft remaining after the First World War and the Civil War were still in use. The first Soviet regular postal and passenger airline Moscow - Orel - Kharkov was opened on May 1, 1921, and for 43 flights made from May 1 to October 10, 1921, 60 passengers were transported by 6 Ilya Muromets aircraft serving the route. more than two tons of cargo. Due to the severe deterioration of the aircraft, the route was eliminated.

One of the mail planes was transferred to the School of Aerial Shooting and Bombing (Serpukhov), where it made about 80 training flights during 1922-1923. After this, the Muromets did not take off.

10. Russian-Baltic Carriage Works
11. Finne K.N. Russian air heroes

The Air Force Museum displays a model of “Ilya Muromets”, equipped with Czech-made engines. It was made life-size by order of the Mosfilm film studio for the filming of the film “Poem of Wings”. The model is capable of taxiing and jogging around the airfield. It entered the Air Force Museum in 1979 and has been on display since 1985 after restoration.

As always, I use information from sites
http://www.airwar.ru
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki
and other sources I found on the Internet and literature.

Ilya Muromets (S-22 “Ilya Muromets”) is the general name of several series of four-engine all-wood biplanes produced in Russia at the Russian-Baltic Carriage Plant during 1913-1918. The plane set a number of records for carrying capacity, number of passengers, time and maximum flight altitude.

The aircraft was developed by the aviation department of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Plant in St. Petersburg under the leadership of I. I. Sikorsky. The technical staff of the department included such designers as K. K. Ergant, M. F. Klimikseev, A. A. Serebrov, Prince A. S. Kudashev, G. P. Adler and others. “Ilya Muromets” appeared as a result of further development of the design “Russian Knight”, during which it was almost completely redesigned; only the general layout of the aircraft and its wing box with four engines installed in a row on the lower wing were left without significant changes, while the fuselage was fundamentally new. As a result, with the same four Argus engines of 100 hp. the new aircraft had twice the load weight and maximum flight altitude.

"Ilya Muromets" became the world's first passenger aircraft. For the first time in the history of aviation, it was equipped with a comfortable cabin, sleeping rooms and even a bathroom with toilet, separate from the cabin. The Muromets had heating (using engine exhaust gases) and electric lighting. On the sides there were exits to the wings. The outbreak of the First World War and the Civil War in Russia prevented the further development of domestic civil aviation.

Construction of the first aircraft was completed in October 1913. After testing, demonstration flights were carried out on it and several records were set, in particular a payload record: December 12, 1913, 1100 kg (the previous record on Sommer’s plane was 653 kg), February 12, 1914, 16 people were lifted into the air and a dog, weighing a total of 1290 kg. The plane was piloted by I. I. Sikorsky himself.

In the spring of 1914, the first “Ilya Muromets” was converted into a seaplane with more powerful engines. In this modification, it was accepted by the naval department and remained the largest seaplane until 1917.

The second aircraft (IM-B Kyiv), smaller in size and with more powerful engines, lifted 10 passengers to a record altitude of 2000 meters on June 4, set a flight duration record on June 5 (6 hours 33 minutes 10 seconds), June 16-17 made a flight from St. Petersburg to Kyiv with one landing. In honor of this event, the series was named Kyiv. In 1915-1917, 3 more aircraft with the name “Kyiv” were produced (one G-1 series, the other G-2, see below).

Aircraft of the first and Kyiv types were called series B. A total of 7 copies were produced.

By the beginning of the war (August 1, 1914), 4 Ilya Muromets had already been built. By September 1914 they were transferred to the Imperial Air Force.
During the war, the production of aircraft of the B series, the most widespread (30 units produced), began. They differed from the B series in being smaller in size and faster. The crew consisted of 4 people, some modifications had two engines. Bombs weighing about 80 kg were used, less often up to 240 kg. In the fall of 1915, an experiment was carried out to bomb a 410-kilogram bomb.

In 1915, production of the G series began with a crew of 7 people, G-1, in 1916 - G-2 with a shooting cabin, G-3, in 1917 - G-4. In 1915-1916, three D-series vehicles (DIM) were produced. Aircraft production continued until 1918. G-2 aircraft, one of which (the third named “Kyiv”) reached an altitude of 5200 m, was used during the Civil War.

In 1918, not a single combat mission was carried out by the Muromtsev. Only in August-September 1919 was the Soviet Republic able to use two vehicles in the Orel area. In 1920, several sorties were made during the Soviet-Polish War and military operations against Wrangel. On November 21, 1920, the last combat flight of the Ilya Muromets took place.
On May 1, 1921, the first postal and passenger airline Moscow-Kharkov in the RSFSR was opened. The line was served by 6 Muromtsevs, badly worn out and with exhausted engines, which is why it was liquidated on October 10, 1922. During this time, 60 passengers and about 2 tons of cargo were transported.
In 1922, Socrates Monastyrev made a flight along the Moscow-Baku route on an Ilya Muromets plane.

One of the mail planes was transferred to the School of Aerial Shooting and Bombing (Serpukhov), where it made about 80 training flights during 1922-1923. After this, the Muromets did not take off.
Ilya Muromets IM-B IM-V IM-G-1 IM-D-1 IM-E-1 Aircraft type bomber Developer Aviation department of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works Who used it Air fleet of the Russian Empire Production time 1913-1914 1914-1915 1915-1917 1915-1917 since 1916 Length, m 19 17.5 17.1 15.5 18.2 Upper wing span, m 30.9 29.8 30.9 24.9 31.1 Lower wing span, m 21.0 Wing area , m² 150 125 148 132 200 Empty weight, kg 3100 3500 3800 3150 4800 Loaded weight, kg 4600 5000 5400 4400 7000 Flight duration, hour 5 4.5 4 4 4.4 Ceiling, m 3000 35 00 3000 ? 2000 Rate of climb 2000/30" 2000/20" 2000/18" ? 2000/25" Maximum speed, km/h 105 120 135 120 130 Engines 4 pcs. (in-line) "Argus" "Russobalt" "Sunbeam" "Sunbeam" " Renault" 140 hp 150 hp 160 hp 150 hp 220 hp How many 7 30 were produced? 3? Crew, people 5 5-6 5-7 5-7 6-8 Armament 2 machine guns 4 machine guns 6 machine guns 4 machine guns 5-8 machine guns 350 kg bombs 417 kg bombs 500 kg bombs 400 kg bombs 300-500 kg Lewis and Madsen machine guns .

Judging by the exterior, we have a copy of type B.
(IM-V, lightweight combat, narrow-wing): an aircraft of somewhat reduced size and weight, better suited for combat use. The gas tanks were moved to the fuselage roof. The glass area of ​​the cabin has been increased. Armament: 1-2 machine guns of various types on pin mounts in the dorsal cutout of the upper wing between the gas tanks. Sometimes a light machine gun was taken into flight to fire through the windows in the fuselage. Crew: 4 people. In 1914-1915, over 30 copies of the IM-V were built, most of which were equipped with four 150 hp Sunbeam engines. every. Other options are also known: 4 "Argus" 140 hp each, 4 RBVZ-6 150 hp each, 2 "Salmson" 200 hp each, 2 "Sunbeam" 225 hp each. The two-engine Muromets were inferior in performance to the four-engine ones and were considered training. The bomb load of the IM-V reached 500 kg.

One ship was equal to a field detachment and was assigned to the headquarters of armies and fronts.

They claim that this model could even take off from the ground, flying several tens of meters in length.

rear chassis

chassis

engine

Now let's get inside

helm

ore

pedals

devices

What is this?

thrust from ores

fuel system: since the tanks are above the roof, the fuel enters the engines by gravity

air under pressure?

general form

view from the cockpit towards the tail section

what's behind the door in the tail compartment

navigator's workplace

The bombs were placed both inside the aircraft (vertically along the sides) and on an external sling. By 1916, the aircraft's bomb load had increased to 800 kg, and an electric release device was designed to release bombs. The aircraft was also equipped with defensive small arms: Maxim, Lewis, Madsen, Colt, 12.7 mm, 15.3 mm, 25 mm, 37 mm and even 76 machine guns were installed on it in various quantities and in different combinations. ,2-mm guns, among them are experimental recoilless models by Leonid Kurchevsky.
bomb mounting

bombsight

plus a machine gun

Airplane "Russian Knight".

The aircraft was developed by the aviation department of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Plant in St. Petersburg under the leadership of I. I. Sikorsky. The technical staff of the department included such designers as K. K. Ergant, M. F. Klimikseev, A. A. Serebrennikov, Prince A. S. Kudashev, G. P. Adler and others. “Ilya Muromets” appeared as a result of further development of the design “Russian Knight”, during which it was almost completely redesigned, only the general layout of the aircraft and its wing box with four engines installed in a row on the lower wing were left without significant changes, while the fuselage was fundamentally new. As a result, with the same four Argus engines of 100 hp. the new aircraft had twice the load weight and maximum flight altitude.

"Ilya Muromets" became the world's first passenger aircraft. For the first time in the history of aviation, it was equipped with a comfortable cabin, sleeping rooms and even a bathroom with toilet, separate from the cabin. The Muromets had heating (using engine exhaust gases) and electric lighting. On the sides there were exits to the wings. The outbreak of the First World War and the Civil War in Russia prevented the further development of domestic civil aviation.

Construction of the first vehicle was completed in October. After testing, demonstration flights were carried out on it and several records were set, in particular a load capacity record: on December 12, 1100 kg (the previous record on Sommer’s plane was 653 kg), on February 12, 16 people and a dog were lifted into the air, with a total weight of 1290 kg. The plane was piloted by I. I. Sikorsky himself.

Second plane ( IM-B Kyiv) smaller in size and with more powerful engines, on June 4, lifted 10 passengers to a record altitude of 2000 meters, on June 5, set a flight duration record (6 hours 33 minutes 10 seconds), -on June 17, made a flight from St. Petersburg to Kyiv with one landing . In honor of this event, the series was named Kyiv. B - 3 more aircraft with the name “Kyiv” were produced (one series G-1, the other G-2, see below).

Aircraft of the first and Kyiv types were named series B. A total of 7 copies were produced.

IM-P1, was developed by the aviation department of the RBVZ by September 1916, carried an automatic cannon, a large-caliber defensive machine gun, 16 50 kg of bombs, 6 127 mm rockets and two Kurchevsky dynamo-rocket guns - a pair of heavy bombers was able to stop the enemy’s advance or clear the way for their own to the troops. The standard result of one combat mission was “Destruction of seven enemy airplanes, five tanks and armored cars, two batteries and a horse-drawn train” (quote from a 1916 report). By 1917, Sikorsky had improved his machine - he replaced the navigator’s Lewis with a second large-caliber machine gun, and installed a third “five-line” machine gun at the top shooting point; under the wings it placed a semi-automatic 37 mm cannon with 50 rounds of ammunition per barrel.

Use during World War I

I.M. series B with 400 kg bomb

Lieutenant I.S. Bashko

From the combat report:

Use after the October Revolution

Walking deck on the roof of the cabin, passengers could go out there while moving

Links

• Igor Sikorsky's story about the flight from St. Petersburg to Kyiv

Literature

1. Shavrov V. B. History of aircraft designs in the USSR until 1938. 3rd ed., corrected. M.: Mechanical Engineering, 1985: ,
2. Finne K.N. Russian air heroes of I. I. Sikorsky. - Belgrade, 1930.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Ilya Muromets(S-22 “Ilya Muromets”) is the general name of several series of four-engine all-wood biplanes produced in the Russian Empire at the Russian-Baltic Carriage Plant during 1914-1919. The plane set a number of records for carrying capacity, number of passengers, time and maximum flight altitude. It is the first serial multi-engine bomber in history.

Encyclopedic YouTube

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  The aircraft was developed by the aviation department of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Plant in St. Petersburg under the leadership of I. I. Sikorsky. The technical staff of the department included such designers as K.K. Ergant, M.F. Klimikseev, A.A. Serebryannikov, V.S. Panasyuk, Prince A.S. Kudashev, G.P. Adler and others. “Ilya Muromets” appeared as a result of further development of the “Russian Knight” design, during which it was almost completely redesigned, only the general layout of the aircraft was left without significant changes and its wing box with four engines installed in a row on the lower wing, while the fuselage was completely new. As a result, with the same four 100 hp Argus engines. With. the new aircraft had twice the load weight and maximum flight altitude.

  In 1915, at the Russo-Balt plant in Riga, engineer Kireev designed the R-BVZ aircraft engine. The engine was a six-cylinder, two-stroke, water-cooled. Automotive-type radiators were located on its sides. R-BVZ was installed on some modifications of the Ilya Muromets.

  "Ilya Muromets" became the world's first passenger aircraft. For the first time in the history of aviation, it was equipped with a comfortable cabin, sleeping rooms and even a bathroom with toilet, separate from the cabin. The Muromets had heating (using engine exhaust gases) and electric lighting. Along the sides there were exits to the lower wing consoles. The outbreak of the First World War and the Civil War in Russia prevented the further development of domestic civil aviation.

  Construction of the first car was completed in October 1913. After testing, demonstration flights were carried out on it and several records were set, in particular a load capacity record: on December 12, 1913, 1100 kg (the previous record on Sommer’s plane was 653 kg), on February 12, 1914, 16 people and a dog were lifted into the air, with a total weight of 1290 kg. The plane was piloted by I. I. Sikorsky himself.

  Second plane ( IM-B Kyiv) smaller in size and with more powerful engines lifted 10 passengers to a record altitude of 2000 meters on June 4, set a flight duration record on June 5 (6 hours 33 minutes 10 seconds), - June 17 made a flight from St. Petersburg to Kyiv with one landing . In honor of this event, the series was named Kyiv. B - 3 more aircraft with the name “Kyiv” were produced (one series G-1, the other G-2, see below).

  Aircraft of the first and Kyiv types were named series B. A total of 7 copies were produced.

  Use during World War I

  Aircraft production began during the war series B, the most widespread (30 units produced). They differed from the B series in being smaller in size and faster. The crew consisted of 4 people, some modifications had two engines. Bombs weighing about 80 kg were used, less often up to 240 kg. In the fall, an experiment was carried out with the bombing of the largest bomb in the world at that time, a 410-kilogram bomb.

  Production began in 1915 G series with a crew of 7 people, G-1, in 1916 - G-2 with a shooting cabin, G-3, in 1917 - G-4. Three cars were produced in 1915-1916 series D (DIM). Aircraft production continued until 1918. Aircraft G-2, on one of which (the third named “Kyiv”) a height of 5200 m was reached (a world record at that time), were used in the Civil War.

  From the combat report:

  ...In flight (July 5, 1915) at an altitude of about 3200-3500 m, the plane under the command of Lieutenant Bashko was attacked by three German planes. The first of them was seen through the lower hatch, and it was about 50 meters below our car. At the same time, our plane was over Shebrin, 40 versts from the forward positions under the control of Lieutenant Smirnov. Lieutenant Smirnov was immediately replaced by Lieutenant Bashko. The German car, having greater speed and a greater power reserve, quickly overtook our plane and found itself 50 meters higher on the right side in front, opening machine-gun fire on our plane. In the cockpit of our vehicle at this time, the work of the crew members was distributed as follows: Lieutenant Smirnov was near the commander, staff captain Naumov opened fire from a machine gun, and co-pilot Lavrov from a carbine. During the first attack by the enemy, machine gun fire from an enemy vehicle broke both upper gasoline tanks, the filter of the right engine group, the radiator of the 2nd engine, both gasoline pipes of the left engine group were broken, the glass of the right front windows was broken, and the aircraft commander, lieutenant, was wounded in the head and leg Bashko. Since the gasoline lines to the left engines were interrupted, the left taps from the gasoline tanks were immediately closed and the fuel pump of the left tank was turned off. Then the flight of our car was on two right engines. The German plane, after crossing our path for the first time, tried to attack us again from the left side, but when met by machine-gun and rifle fire from our plane, it turned sharply to the right and, with a huge roll, began to descend towards Zamosc. After repelling the attack, Lieutenant Smirnov replaced Lieutenant Bashko, who was bandaged by co-pilot Lavrov. After the dressing, Lieutenant Bashko again began to control the plane, Lieutenant Smirnov and co-pilot Lavrov took turns closing the holes in the right group filter with their hands and taking all possible measures to preserve the remaining gasoline in the tanks to continue the flight. When repelling the attack of the first enemy aircraft, a full cassette of 25 pieces was fired from the machine gun, only 15 pieces were fired from the second cassette, then the cartridge jammed inside the magazine and further firing from it was completely impossible.

  Following the first plane, the next German plane immediately appeared, which flew only once above us on the left and fired at our plane with a machine gun, and the oil tank of the second engine was pierced. Lieutenant Smirnov opened fire on this plane from a carbine, co-pilot Lavrov was in the front compartment of the cabin near the filter, and staff captain Naumov was repairing the machine gun. Since the machine gun was completely out of order, Lieutenant Smirnov handed over the carbine to Naumov, and he replaced co-pilot Lavrov, taking measures to conserve gasoline, since Lavrov’s both hands were numb from great stress. The second German plane did not attack us again.

  On the line of forward positions, our vehicle was machine-gunned by a third German aircraft flying at a great distance to the left and above us. At the same time, artillery was also firing at us. The altitude at that time was about 1400-1500 m. When approaching the city of Kholm at an altitude of 700 m, the right engines also stopped, because the entire supply of gasoline had run out, so it was necessary to make a forced descent. The last one was made 4-5 versts from the town of Kholm near the village of Gorodishche, near the airfield of the 24th aviation regiment on a swampy meadow. At the same time, the landing gear wheels got stuck right up to the struts and were broken: the left half of the chassis, 2 struts, the propeller of the second engine, several transmission levers, and the right rear lower spar of the middle compartment was slightly cracked. When inspecting the aircraft after landing, in addition to the above, the following damage from machine gun fire was found: the propeller of the 3rd engine was broken in two places, the iron strut of the same engine was broken, the tire was broken, the rotor of the second engine was damaged, the cargo frame of the same engine was broken, the rear strut was broken the first engine, the front strut of the second engine and several holes in the surface of the aircraft. The descent was carried out personally by the aircraft commander, Lieutenant Bashko, despite his injuries.

  During the war years, 60 vehicles were received by the troops. The squadron flew 400 sorties, dropped 65 tons of bombs and destroyed 12 enemy fighters. Moreover, during the entire war, only 1 aircraft was shot down directly by enemy fighters (which was attacked by 20 aircraft at once), and 3 were shot down. [ ]

  • On September 12 (25), during a raid on the headquarters of the 89th Army in the village of Antonovo and the Boruny station, the plane (ship XVI) of Lieutenant D. D. Maksheev was shot down.

  Two more Muromets were shot down by anti-aircraft battery fire:

  • On November 2, 1915, the plane of Staff Captain Ozersky was shot down, the ship crashed
  • On 04/13/1916, Lieutenant Konstenchik’s plane came under fire; the ship managed to reach the airfield, but due to the damage received it could not be restored.

  In April 1916, 7 German airplanes bombed the airfield in Segewold, as a result of which 4 Muromets were damaged.

  But the most common cause of losses were technical problems and various accidents - about two dozen cars were lost because of this. The IM-B Kyiv flew about 30 combat missions and was later used as a training aircraft.

  Use after the October Revolution

  In 1920, several sorties were flown during the Soviet-Polish War and military operations against Wrangel. On November 21, 1920, the last combat flight of the Ilya Muromets took place.

  On May 1, 1921, the postal and passenger airline Moscow - Kharkov was opened. The line was served by 6 Muromtsevs, badly worn out and with exhausted engines, which is why it was closed on October 10, 1922. During this time, 60 passengers and about 2 tons of cargo were transported.

  In 1922, Socrates Monastyrev made a flight from Moscow to Baku on an Ilya Muromets plane.

  One of the mail planes was transferred to an aviation school (Serpukhov), where it made about 80 training flights during 1922-1923. After this, the Muromets did not take off. The Air Force Museum displays a model of the Ilya Muromets, equipped with Czech-made engines. It was made life-size by order of the Mosfilm film studio for the filming of the film “The Poem of Wings.” The model is capable of taxiing and jogging around the airfield. It entered the Air Force Museum in 1979 and has been on display since 1985 after restoration.

  Technical data

  Ilya Muromets	IM-B	IM-V	IM-G-1	IM-D-1	IM-E-1
  Aircraft type	bomber
  Developer	Aviation department of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works
  Used by	Air fleet of the Russian empire
  Production time	1913-1914	1914-1915	1915-1917	1915-1917	1916-1918
  Length, m	19	17,5	17,1	15,5	18,2
  Upper wing span, m	30,9	29,8	30,9	24,9	31,1
  Lower wing span, m		21,0
  Wing area, m²	150	125	148	132	200
  Empty weight, kg	3100	3500	3800	3150	4800
  Loaded weight, kg	4600	5000	5400	4400	7500
  Flight duration, hour	5	4,5	4	4	4,4
  Ceiling, m	3000	3500	3000	?	2000
  Rate of climb	2000/30"	2000/20"	2000/18"	?	2000/25"
  Maximum speed, km/h	105	120	135	120	130
  Engines	4 things. "Argus" 140 hp (inline)	4 things. "Russobalt" 150 hp (inline)	4 things. "Sunbeam" 160 hp (inline)	4 things. "Sunbeam" 150 hp (inline)	4 things. "Renault" 220 hp (inline)
  How much produced	7	30	?	3	?
  Crew, people	5	5-6	5-7	5-7	6-8
  Armament	2 machine guns 350 kg bombs	4 machine guns 417 kg bombs	6 machine guns 500 kg bombs	4 machine guns 400 kg bombs	5-8 machine guns up to 1500 kg bombs

  Armament

  The bombs were placed both inside the aircraft (vertically along the sides) and on an external sling. By 1916, the aircraft's bomb load had increased to 500 kg, and an electric release device was designed to release bombs.

  The first armament of the Ilya Muromets aircraft was the ship's rapid-fire Hotchkiss gun of 37 mm caliber. It was installed on the front artillery platform and was intended to combat Zeppelins. The gun crew included a gunner and loader. Sites for installing the gun were available on modifications “IM-A” (No. 107) and “IM-B” (No. 128, 135, 136, 138 and 143), but the guns were installed only on two vehicles - No. 128 and No. 135. They were tested, but were not used in combat conditions.

  Also, various modifications of the Ilya Muromets aircraft were equipped with defensive small arms: in different quantities and in different combinations they were equipped with

  On January 26, 1914, the first Russian four-engine all-wood biplane “Ilya Muromets” took off - the first Russian bomber built under the leadership of aircraft designer I. I. Sikorsky at the Russian-Baltic carriage plant.

  Wingspan: upper – 30.87 m, lower – 22.0 m; total wing area – 148 m2; empty weight of the aircraft - 3800 kg; flight weight – 5100 kg; maximum ground speed – 110 km/h; landing speed – 75 km/h; flight duration – 4 hours; flight range – 440 km; altitude climb time – 1000 m – 9 minutes; take-off length – 450 m; run length – 250 m.

  On December 23, 1914, a resolution of the military council was approved on the creation of a squadron of bombers Ilya Muromets

  Ilya Muromets - an aircraft named after the Russian epic hero, began to be created in August 1913. The name of Ilya Muromets became the common name for various modifications of this machine, which was built by the Petrograd branch of the plant from 1913 to 1917.
  The prototype was ready by December 1913, and its first flight took place on the 10th. On this device, between the wing box and the empennage there was a middle wing with boars for attaching braces, and an additional middle landing gear was made under the fuselage. The middle wing did not justify itself and was soon removed. After successful tests and a number of achievements of the first constructed aircraft, the Main Military Technical Directorate (GVTU) signed on May 12, 1914 contract 2685/1515 with RBVZ for the construction of 10 more airplanes of this type.

  Sikorsky's test flights on Ilya Muromets were carried out in unfavorable winter conditions. During thaws, the ground became wet and sticky. It was decided to equip Ilya Muromets with skis. This was the only way the aircraft could take off. Under normal conditions, for Ilya Muromets to take off, a distance of 400 steps was required - 283 meters. Despite his large dead weight, Ilya Muromets was able to lift a 1,100-kilogram load to a height of 1,000 meters on December 11, 1913. The previous record on a Sommeret aircraft was 653 kg.
  In February 1914, Sikorsky lifted Ilya Muromets into the air with 16 passengers on board. The weight of the lifted load that day was already 1190 kg. During this memorable flight, there was another passenger on board, the favorite of the entire airfield - a dog named Shkalik. This unusual flight with numerous passengers was an unprecedented achievement. The payload during this flight over St. Petersburg was 1300 kg. Following the example of Grand, Ilya Muromets made many flights over the imperial capital and its suburbs. Quite often, Ilya Muromets flew over the city at a low altitude - about 400 meters. Sikorsky was so confident in the safety provided by the plane's multiple engines that he was not afraid to fly at such a low altitude. In those days, pilots who flew small single-engine airplanes typically avoided flying over cities, especially at low altitudes, because a mid-air engine stall and the inevitable forced landing could be fatal.

  During these flights, flown by Ilya Muromets, passengers could sit comfortably in an enclosed cabin and observe the majestic squares and boulevards of St. Petersburg. Each flight of Ilya Muromets led to a stop of all transport, as whole crowds gathered to look at the huge plane with its engines making a lot of noise.
  By the spring of 1914, Sikorsky built the second Ilya Muromets. It was equipped with more powerful Argus engines, two 140 hp inboard engines and two 125 hp outboard engines. The total engine power of the second model reached 530 hp, which was 130 hp more than the power of the first Ilya Muromets. Accordingly, greater engine power meant greater load capacity, speed and the ability to reach an altitude of 2100 meters. During the initial test flight, this second Ilya Muromets carried 820 kg of fuel and 6 passengers.

  On June 16-17, 1914, Sikorsky made a flight from St. Petersburg to Kyiv with one landing in Orsha. In honor of this event, the series was named Kyiv.
  By design, the aircraft was a six-post biplane with wings of a very large span and aspect ratio (up to 14 at the upper wing). The four internal struts were brought together in pairs and between their pairs the engines were installed, standing completely open, without fairings. All engines were accessible in flight, for which a plywood walkway with wire railings ran along the lower wing. There were many examples when this saved a plane from an emergency landing. On several aircraft, four engines were supplied in two tandems, and in several cases the Murom training aircraft had only two engines. The design of all Muromets was also almost the same for all types and series. Its description is given here for the first time.
  The wings were two-spar. The span of the upper one was, depending on the series and modification, from 24 to 34.5 m, the lower one - 21 meters. The spars were located on average at 12 and 60% of the chord length. The wing profile thickness ranged from 6% chord in narrower wings to 3.5% chord in wider ones.
  The spars were of a box-shaped design. Their height was 100 mm (sometimes 90 mm), width 50 mm, and plywood wall thickness 5 mm. The thickness of the shelves varied from 20 mm in the center section to 14 mm at the ends of the wings. The material of the shelves was initially imported Oregon pine and spruce, and later - ordinary pine. The lower wing spars below the engines had shelves made of hickory wood. The spars were assembled using wood glue and brass screws. Sometimes a third one was added to the two spars - behind the rear one, an aileron was attached to it. The brace crosses were single, located at the same level, made of 3 mm piano wire with tanners.
  The wing ribs were simple and reinforced - with thickened shelves and walls, and sometimes with double walls made of 5 mm plywood, with very large oblong lightening holes, the shelves were made of 6x20 mm pine lath with a groove 2-3 mm deep, into which the rib fit walls. The ribs were assembled using wood glue and nails. The pitch of the ribs was 0.3 m throughout. In general, the design of the wings was light.
  The fuselage structure was braced with a fabric covering of the tail section and a plywood (3 mm) covering of the nose section. The frontal part of the cabin was initially curved, laminated from veneer, and in later Muromets it was multifaceted with a simultaneous increase in the glazing surface. Some of the glazing panels were opening. The midsection of the fuselage in the latest types of Muromets reached 2.5 m in height and 1.8 m in width.
  In later types of Muromets, the fuselage behind the wing box was detachable.

  The horizontal tail of the Murom aircraft was load-bearing and had a relatively large size - up to 30% of the wing area, which is rare in aircraft construction. The profile of the stabilizer with elevators was similar to the profile of the wings, but thinner. The stabilizer is two-spar, the spars are box-shaped, the rib spacing is 0.3 m, the rim is pine. The stabilizer was divided into independent halves, attached to the upper fuselage spars, the tetrahedral boar and to the top of the crutch pyramid. Braces – wire, single.
  There were usually three rudders: the middle main one and two side ones. With the advent of the rear shooting point, the side rudders were widely spaced along the stabilizer, increased in size and equipped with axial compensation, and the middle rudder was eliminated.
  Ailerons were only on the upper wing and were located on its consoles. Their chord was 1–1.5 m (from the rear spar). The steering arms had a length of 0.4 m, and sometimes a special pipe with braces up to 1.5 m long was added to such arms. The Muromtsev chassis was attached under the middle engines and consisted of paired N-shaped struts with skids, in the spans of which the wheels in pairs on short axles with rubber cord shock absorption. Eight wheels were covered in leather in pairs. The result was twin wheels with a very wide rim.
  The fuselage occupied an almost horizontal position when parked. Because of this, the wings were installed at a very large angle of 8–9°. The position of the aircraft in flight was almost the same as on the ground. The installation angle of the horizontal tail was 5–6°. Therefore, even with the unusual design of the aircraft with the center of gravity located behind the wing box, it had a positive longitudinal V of about 3° and the aircraft was stable.
  The engines were mounted on low vertical trusses or on beams consisting of ash shelves and braces, sometimes covered with plywood.
  Gas tanks - brass, cylindrical, with pointed streamlined ends - were usually suspended under the upper wing. Their bows sometimes served as oil tanks. Sometimes the gas tanks were flat and placed on the fuselage.
  Engine control was separate and general. In addition to the throttle control levers for each engine, there was one common autolog lever for simultaneous control of all engines.

  By the beginning of the war (August 1, 1914), four Ilya Muromets had already been built. By September 1914 they were transferred to the Imperial Air Force. By that time, all airplanes of the warring countries were intended only for reconnaissance, and therefore Ilya Muromets should be considered the world's first specialized bomber aircraft.
  On December 10 (23), 1914, the emperor approved a resolution of the military council on the creation of the Ilya Muromets bomber squadron (Airship Squadron, EVC), which became the world's first bomber formation. M.V. Shidlovsky became its head. The Directorate of the Ilya Muromets airship squadron was located at the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief at the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. He had to start work practically from scratch - the only pilot capable of flying Muromtsy was Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, the rest were distrustful and even hostile to the very idea of ​​​​heavy aviation, they had to be retrained, and the machines had to be armed and re-equipped.
  The squadron's aircraft flew for the first time on a combat mission on February 14 (27), 1915. Throughout the war, the squadron made 400 sorties, dropped 65 tons of bombs and destroyed 12 enemy fighters, losing only one aircraft directly in battles with enemy fighters. (September 12 (25), 1916) 09/12/1916 during a raid on the headquarters of the 89th Army in the village of Antonovo and the Boruny station, the plane (ship XVI) of Lieutenant D. D. Maksheev was shot down. Two more Muromets were shot down by anti-aircraft batteries: on November 2, 1915, the plane of Staff Captain Ozersky was shot down, the ship crashed, and on April 13, 1916, Lieutenant Konstenchik’s plane came under fire, the ship managed to reach the airfield, but due to the damage received, it could not be restored. In April 1916, seven German airplanes bombed the airfield in Segewold, as a result of which four Muromets were damaged. But the most common cause of losses were technical problems and various accidents. Because of this, about two dozen vehicles were lost. The IM-B Kyiv itself flew about 30 combat missions and was later used as a training aircraft.
  During the war, production of the B series aircraft, the most widespread (30 units produced), began. They differed from the B series in being smaller in size and faster. The crew consisted of 4 people, some modifications had two engines. Bombs weighing about 80 kg were used, less often up to 240 kg. In the fall of 1915, an experiment was carried out to bomb a 410-kilogram bomb.

  In 1915, production of the G series began with a crew of 7 people, G-1, in 1916 - G-2 with a shooting cabin, G-3, in 1917 - G-4. In 1915-1916, three D-series vehicles (DIM) were produced. Aircraft production continued until 1918. G-2 aircraft, one of which (the third named Kyiv) reached an altitude of 5200 m, was used during the Civil War.
  In 1918, not a single combat mission was carried out by Murom residents. Only in August-September 1919 was the Soviet Republic able to use two vehicles in the Orel area. In 1920, several sorties were made during the Soviet-Polish War and military operations against Wrangel. On November 21, 1920, the last combat flight of Ilya Muromets took place.
  Ilya Muromets Red Army
  On May 1, 1921, the first postal and passenger airline Moscow-Kharkov in the RSFSR was opened. The line was served by 6 Murom residents, heavily worn out and with exhausted engines, which is why it was liquidated on October 10, 1922. During this time, 60 passengers and about two tons of cargo were transported.
  In 1922, Socrates Monastyrev made a flight along the Moscow-Baku route on an Ilya Muromets plane.
  One of the mail planes was transferred to the School of Aerial Shooting and Bombing (Serpukhov), where it made about 80 training flights during 1922-1923. After that, the Murom residents did not take to the air.