Somewhere there's a topic with aerosled/aerosleighs in it but I can't find it offhand. Besides, this one is armoured. Therefore effectively useless. Ah, but the lines. Not sure if we've seen this before. From Russian forum http://www.polarpost.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=661&p=20176
Well, so was one of the others in that other topic but that other one was box-like. This isn't.
I can't seem to post Cyrillic but the (Google) translation of the commentary that goes with the photo is Snowmobile in the North
Armored snowmobile Leningrad plant number 5 of the NKVD project was implemented CDB-50. Armament 23 mm cannon in a turret similar to the turret of the T-40 yet at the stage VC found out that the car comes out very heavy, but still decided to build. The design was completely unsuccessful: no cross-country speed and handling. Sluggish improvements lasted until the beginning of World War II, until the evacuation of the company (by then already transferred from the NKVD in the shipbuilding industry). Some of his work at the armored aerosleigh conducted in the period of World War II, but nothing worthwhile except for NKL-26 was ever built. I confess it looks more like a mock-up to me.
don't forget it was an NKVD vehicle, so first interrogate the little kiddies if they did their homework before getting nasty.
My friends, please, don't forget that NKVD was not police only. System of NKVD include frontier troops, coast guard, railway troops. in this text not "snowmobile number 5 of the NKVD", but "Leningrad plant number 5 of the NKVD".
"Plant No 5 of the NKVD" was created as Shipyard for Coast Guard (Morpogranohrana) in 1933. In 1939 was renamed as "Plant No 5 of the NKVD", in march 1941 transferred into Narkomat of Shipbuilding Industry & renamed as "Plant No 5 of the NKSP".
And other photo of this Aerosleigh (marked as O2CC)
-- Edited by Aleksandr on Thursday 21st of October 2010 12:23:53 PM
-- Edited by Aleksandr on Thursday 21st of October 2010 09:26:06 PM
Russian Aerosleigh for 1917. Constructed by Lebedeff, Sikorski, Meller.
Great pictures Stanislav, thanks! Here is the Vickers "air-tractor" from the 1911 Australian Antarctic Expedition - Vickers air-tractor. That view is copyright, unfortunately, I cannot post the picture directly. It is simply a Vickers monoplane with the wings removed following damage in Australia. From The search for Mawson's air-tractor. It was not very successful, but did work briefly. With no suspension/shock absorption it was probably not a practical solution but it was the catastrophic failure of the engine in the intense cold that "killed" it.
Regards,
Steve
-- Edited by Rectalgia on Saturday 23rd of October 2010 08:01:09 AM
Photographs by Frank Hurley who became one of the official Australian photographers in WW1. Second photo shows Lt. Bob Bage, who was on leave of absence from the army (Australian Engineers) and was to die at Gallipoli.
Thanks too to Aleksandr for the pictures. I have seen that second one somewhere too - when I was trying to work out the meaning of "antikfuchs" which was also in another picture posted by someone else - maybe Brett (drakegoodman). [edit]Ah, no, it was the "Antikfuchs" tag in a picture posted by Gwyn Evans in a topic started by drakegoodman - the "Souvenir Hunters" - that started me looking but I can't recall just where I came across that aerosleigh/aerosani.
-- Edited by Rectalgia on Sunday 24th of October 2010 04:08:20 AM
Ivan and Aleksandr, Can either of you tell me if there is any documented evidence that aerosleigh's were modified during WW1 to accommodated a turret of some sort, as they were used in WW2?
Also were they used in any combat during this time? (i.e. added machine gun or guns, during 1914-1917 or during revolution)
All the Best
Tim R.
__________________
"The life given us by nature is short; but the memory of a well-spent life is eternal" -Cicero 106-43BC
Russo-Baltique Wagon Work (firs time Automobile division in Riga, 1915/17 Aviatic division in Petrograd) built aerosleighs Igor Sikorski. I poszted open the photo witj Sikorski.
Others Russian "aerosani" of the time of WW1:
Dux (Automobilwork of J.A. Meller, Moscow) constructed by Meller. VZS (All-Russian Land-Union, Automobilwork Moscow) constructed by Kousin & Archangelski.
VZS = later = KOMPASS = Centr od built of Soviet "Aerosani".
- when I was trying to work out the meaning of "antikfuchs" which was also in another picture posted by someone else -
it is referring to the name of the German dealer, a certain mr. Fuchs selling photographs on Ebay and probably other auctionering platforms too, Antik to antiques. Vickers and other aerosleigh builders: Tatra of Czecho-slovakia built one, I can post a picture some later, though it's post ww1 and may be a little of topic. On the sailing sleigh: that was a common transport in the Netherlands around 1600. They used them to carry freight, winters must have been harsh then. The wheeled version, they still exist as sports versions and tourist attractions (Belgium, De Panne, same place the Belgian King Albert stayed during ww1). Though the ancient Egyptians seemed to use them, the invention is usually related to the Flemish born scientist Simon Stevin. A true renaissance scientist, and one of the leading military engineers of his era.
regards, Kieffer
-- Edited by kieffer on Thursday 28th of October 2010 02:27:18 PM