Beriev MBR-2M-17

thethrill820 · September 21, 2024, 3:50pm

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Beriev MBR-2M-17

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Background

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Beriev designed his first aircraft, the MBR-2, as a single-engine cantilever monoplane with a two-thrust boat for seaworthiness and a large transverse deadrise. Despite initial assumptions of an all-metal design, the Research Institute of Naval Aviation suggested a wooden aircraft. Beriev conducted extensive research on various versions of the aircraft in wind tunnels and the experimental tank of TsAGI. The project was approved and a prototype was built, receiving the factory index “machine No 25” (TsKB-25). Designer Y.S. Katuraev and experienced foreman P.I. Ivanov assisted in the construction.

The problems with the production of the aircraft began when the workshops of Plant No 39 were overloaded with planned orders, leaving parts for Machine No 25 last. Beriev sought help from the Komsomol committee, which actively participated in the construction. However, by 1931, the M-27 engine was not mass-produced, and the director of Plant No. 39 ordered a halt to work on Machine No. 25, leaving the aircraft without an engine. Beriev decided to use the M-17 engine, which was less powerful and did not meet the performance declared in the project. By the end of the year, the flying boat was assembled. It was equipped with a BMW-VIE7.3 engine with a pusher four-bladed wooden propeller, which did not change the matter, since the M-17 was its licensed counterpart. Static tests of the wing and empennage were also carried out, the centering of the aircraft was checked.

The assembly of the inaugural MBR-2, equipped with the M-17 engine that was destined to become the benchmark for the series, was finalized in Taganrog on June 2, 1934. Just three days later, the aircraft was delivered for testing, which was carried out by the plant’s delivery pilot A.A. Olsen alongside the senior military representative from the 4th Department of the Red Army Air Force Directorate at Plant No. 31, military engineer of the 3rd rank I.G. Zagainov, who served as a pilot. In comparison to the initial prototype, this aircraft was 60 kg lighter, achieved a maximum speed increase of 6 km/h, and demonstrated an extended flight range. The test outcomes were generally deemed satisfactory by the client. However, several issues were identified, including tail unit vibrations at elevated angles of attack, water intrusion into the redan box, canvas delamination on the underside of the boat, and warping of the side plating below the waterline.

The MBR-2 commenced its service in combat units in 1934, taking the place of the Dornier Val, MBR-4, and S-62bis within various detachments and squadrons utilized by the reconnaissance aircraft of the Red Army Air Force. The aviators of the Baltic and Black Sea regions played a pivotal role in the advancement of this new flying boat. Notably, MBR-2s were integrated into the 14th Naval Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron, as well as the 12th, 3rd, and 124th Heavy Squadrons, along with the 45th Aviation Detachment of the Black Sea Naval Forces.

From 1935 onward, MBR-2s began to be delivered in significant quantities to the Naval Forces of the Far East, and by early 1936, a total of 47 such aircraft were in service. The complete rearmament of units within the Baltic and Black Sea fleets was finalized in 1937, while the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Flotilla completed their rearmament a year later. By 1939, the aviation units of the NKVD border troops had also received the MBR-2.

Most if not all MBR-2M-17’s were either converted into MBR-2M-34 or scrapped.