- Yes
- No
TL;DR:
Fighter, fast early-30s fighter with small armament.
Overview:
In 1930 the Italian-Soviet designer Roberto Bartini proposed a design for the fastest aircraft of the time, designated the Stal’-6 (Steel-6). Its design focused on minimizing as much drag as possible with his own airfoil design, while fitting the large Curtiss Conqueror engine with a surface-evaporation steam cooling system, which flowed steam boiled from the engine into the wings to cool off. After securing support from government and army officials a prototype was built in 1933, reaching a speed of around 420km/h after tuning, a new Soviet record and among the fastest in the world at the time. With its success, a fighter based on the design, the Stal’-8 was ordered.
The Stal’-8 inherited many of the peculiar features of the Stal’-6, including the single central landing gear (the wings had retractable support struts), the steel airframe, and the surface-evaporation steam cooling system for the engine. Its main difference from the Stal’-6, apart from the size, was the newly imported Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs engine. The Stal’-8 started construction at Factory No.240, and for that was assigned the army designation of I-240. Despite highly promising projections of up to 630km/h, and a very modern looking design, the Stal’-8 was cancelled in May 1934, with the reasons giving that competing designs by more established Soviet engineers were good enough and that the cooling system was a major weak point. The aircraft was 60% complete at the time of cancellation. Bartini would later be arrested during the Great Purge, but continued working and was released in 1955. His work culminated into the huge ekranoplan-cum-aircraft the WA-14.
Specifications:
Weight:
1180 kg empty
1590 kg fullDimensions:
Length: 8.216m
Wing Span: 9.6m
Wing Area: 15.36m²
Height: unknownEngine:
1x Hispano-Suiza HS12Ybrs inline V-12 piston engine
860 hp
Max Fuel: 250kg
Air and liquid (steam) cooledPerformance:
Max Speed:
550km/h at sea level projected
630km/h at 3000m projected
Ceiling: 9500m projected
Range: unknown
Rate of Climb: 1200m/min projectedCrew: 1
Armament:
2x1 7.62mm ShKAS
Images:
Sources:
Gordon, Y. and Gunston B. (2000). Soviet X-Planes (pp. 14-17). Midland.