Myasishchev M-55
| M-55 Geophysica | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Myasishchev M-55 Geophysica at MAKS Airshow 2001 | |
| Role | High-altitude reconnaissance |
| Manufacturer | Myasishchev |
| First flight | Subject 34: December 1978,M-17: 26 May 1982, M-55: 16 Aug 1988 |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | flown with Aeroflot titles |
| Number built | Subject 34: 1,M-17: at least 2, M-55: 5 |
The Myasishchev M-55 (NATO reporting name: Mystic-B) is a high-altitude geophysical research aircraft developed by OKB Myasishchev in the Soviet Union, similar in mission to the Lockheed ER-2, but with a twin boom fuselage and tail surface design. It is a twin-engined development of the Myasishchev M-17 Stratosphera with a higher maximum take-off weight.
During the 1950s and 1960s the United States instituted several programs using high-altitude reconnaissance balloons, released over friendly territory to ascend into the jetstream and be transported over the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China.
To combat these high-altitude balloons, Myasishchev proposed Subject 34 a single-seat turbojet-powered twin-boom high-aspect-ratio aircraft, nicknamed Chaika ("Seagull" in Russian) due to its anhedral wing design. Armament of the single-seat balloon interceptor was to have been two air-air missiles (AAM) and two GSh-23 cannon with 600rpg in a dorsal turret. Before Subject 34 could be developed into operational hardware, the threat receded due to the success of the Keyhole reconnaissance satellites of the Corona program and the emergence of the Lockheed A-12.
The first prototype of Subject 34 was completed in secret at the Kumertau helicopter plant in Bashkirya, but whilst carrying out taxi tests, in December 1978 piloted by K. V. Chernobrovkinand, the prototype Chaika lifted off to avoid hitting snow banks and was destroyed after hitting a hillside in zero visibility.
The design of the Chaika was adapted as a reconnaissance aircraft and emerged as the Myasishchev M-17 Stratosphera with a revised airframe, including straight tapered wings with 2° 30' anhedral (0° at 1g), shorter fuselage pod and unreheated Kolesov RD-36-51 turbojet engine. Flown for the first time on 26 May 1982, the M-17 prototype (regn CCCP 17401) was soon allocated the NATO reporting name Mystic-A and was used for investigating the Ozone layer over Antarctica in 1992.
...
Wikipedia