All Articles Tagged 'soviet' (74)

Overshadowed by more famous and spectacular German aircraft, the Siebel Si 204 boasted a distinctive Dieselpunk appearance and played at least four different roles.

Used in substantial numbers by the Luftwaffe as a light communications aircraft and crew trainer, the Siebel Si 204 was essentially a scaled-up …

An outstanding mid-30s flying machine which became obsolete by the start of WWII

The two ANT-40 light bomber prototypes of Andrei N. Tupolev's design bureau, designed and developed by a team led by A. A. Arkhangelski, were years ahead of their time when they first flew in October 1934: the…

If you're going to design a very unusual aircraft for your Dieselpunk setting, read this entry.

Maybe your dreamplane has been already designed and flown eighty years ago. Or probably you'll see something well beyond the borders of your imagination. So give your inventive spirit a little rest and let me…

To Russia with Loot!

Just another afternoon in Russia! [image courtesy of englishrussia.com]

War is Hell, and Hell is apparently cold.  Once again the Cabaret is in the Soviet Union, and this time we're bearing gifts!  Several tons of steel worth of gifts, all part of the Lend-Lease.  Shermans and Spitfires and Airacobras, oh my!  And just in time, for while Marshal…

Among a few 1930s flying wing designs this one stands out - an experimental aircraft designed as a bomber from the start, when relatively little was known about tailless planes' behavior.

It had two designation - VS-2 (VS for Voiskovoy Samolet, roughly a multipurpose Army aircraft), and…

For once, here is something that hasn't (completely) popped out my twisted imagination: this somehow funny looking, cartoonish train is based on a real train, a passengers DMU (Diesel Multi Unit) class ДП, which in russian is short for Дизель поезд (Diesel train). Built during WWII by the company…

добро пожаловать, comrades, to the Cabaret!  Tonight, we are hitching our wagon to a Red Star and lighting up the night in Moscow, capital of the Russian Federated Soviet Republic and the Soviet Union!  The city has undergone quite a change from the days of the Czars as the new Soviet government under the magnificent and benificent guidance of Uncle Joe Stalin!  So magnificent are his acheivements that truly Moscow is the center of Democracy and Modernity, bar none!  He has even graciously…

Originally intended for mass production, the KIM-10 is an extreme rarity - of 500 built, only half a dozen survived.

It was the first Soviet economy class car, a distant cousin of the Volkswagen and Fiat Topolino. Its story is different from the German and Italian "people's cars":…

Long time no see, comrades! So,brace yourselves for a fresh portion of morbid projects of soviet citizens! 

And the first one is... 

Middle East Republican Mortar Automobile Armoured Corps

Autumn, 1941

This project came from Leningrad, and there are two pecularities: first, the concept was to assemble a highly mobile unit armed with self-propelled mortar on ZiS-101 chassis:…

The White Finns and Red Russian(among others) fought a brief but bloody war in the spring of 1918. Now once a yeat the former enemys get together and have a reinactment. When they do it they do it right.

here are some pics

Bandnerd51http://http://englishrussia.com/2012/04/23/spring-1918/#more-99348…

Sorry for the delay, I was rather busy this week. Let's begin. 

Hellbus 

November 1942

"High-speed battlewagon Fighting Vehicle was designed by military engineer 3rd rank from Tambov. Essentially, it was a hover battle troop carrier, 14,5 tons, 6850 hp engine and maximum speed of...350 km/h!

Here's the drawing:…

Probably world's most advanced fighter in 1933, this diminutive monoplane still was a formidable opponent in 1941.

The Polikarpov I-16 is one of the most unsung aircraft in history, almost the Rodney Dangerfield of fighters, getting no respect from anyone - except its opponents. Created by designer Nikolai Nikolayevich Polikarpov, this classic airplane was a…

Getting back on track, I am happy to announce 8th part of dieselpunkish warmachines from the 40s.  

To have a good start, we begin with an awesome project of...

Land Navy 

December 31st, 1942 

This great project of "Super-powered Land Armoured Army" came from the NKVD engineer, who served in a Far-eastern factory. It comprised 13 pages of descriptions and two schemes (the drawings are rather amateurish, and lack quality, but you will…

Once again I had thoughts about "thematic" collections of war beasts, but, after all, once again I present you a "cocktail" of battle spheres, human-powered tanks and a "new" concept- "Da Lowriderz".

But, we begin with one more piece of machinery, that existed in metal:

Artillery Tractor

 Autumn, 1941

 Engineers from Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (later renamed as Chelyabinsk Kirov Narkomtankprom Plant, becoming the heart…

And here comes another set!

Sorry for a minor delay in assembling another article.

Tank-destroyer

May 1944

A rather adequate tank destroyer was proposed by Red Army lieutenant. Main features are stabilized gun, pair of front wheels that also served as mine sweepers, and folding shields with ports for landing party. This one would definitely meet one's expectations from alternative-soviet-tank-force in red-alert-type games!…

Part Five of the Soviet auger-driven, multi-turreted BFG bearing warmachines are coming your way!

Heavy Semi-flexible Tank

May 21st, 1941

This strangely sounding piece of military machinery was proposed by an military engineer of the air defence from St.Petersburg. Main "bonus" was the optimization of the tank's size in order to achieve necessary mobility, armour, firepower and even amphibious capabilities. Moreover, there was a solution to…

Here we go again, comrades. I must apologize for the delay in the publishing of this part, and possible publishing of unprepared article.

So, Without unnecessary warm-up, I present you one of the most brutal projects I've ever seen. Space Orkz from WH40k would love one...

"The Un-tracked Tank"

August 4th, 1941

The authors came to a conclusion, that tracks were the most vulnerable part of the tanks, so they proposed a trackless…

...and we procede.

First, a small "editorial": I want to underline my attitude towards the projects I present to the honourable public. So, few moments:

1) Most of these projects come from inexperienced people, without necessary design and construction skills, driven by enthusiasm.

2) The basis for this fruitful process is common for most countries of the period, and that is the rapid increase of educated people and their strong belief in the powers of state-of-the-art…

First part of our journey through extreme armoured warmachines projects by soviet citizens was a success, as I see it, so we continue our path through the marvels gathered by Yuri Pasholok in the depths of Defence Ministry Central Archives.

Brutal Zorbing

November 27th,1942 

This one rolled-in from the Kanash town. The basic ideas are:

A big sphere made of thick armour, with a…

Foreword

I begin a series of articles on the projects, that were proposed by people throughout Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War as their efforts to maximize the power of Red Army in order to defeat Nazi invaders. Most of these are stored in the Russian Ministry of Defence Central Archives, so my creativity will be limited by authentic information. Many thanks and credits go to Yuri Pasholok,…