Awesomest plane in the history of the world

[GodOfRhythm]

I give you, the Kalinin K-7. YES, those are fucking battleship cannons or something on top of it!

[Snoogans]

Hell of a thing. Too bad that they never took it past the prototype stage.
Looks like something out of Crimson Skies!

However, if you were able to get the weight of those guns airborne, I don't think the structure would be able to handle the recoil.

[Dred]

As far as the "Flying fortress" goes, the B-17 ain't got shit on this one


Seems the designers went into a complete overkill mode. That, or they found my special stash.

[Endrik]

I never dug any soviet totalitarian art (architecture, design, sculptures whatever) it all looked fucking ridiculous.

But it would be a cool asset for some Dieselpunk movie

[Snoogans]

Here's a cool link to a list of other bizarre military vehicles - including a shot of the K-7 as it was originally envisaged.

http://www.cracked.com/article_17366_7-wtf-military-weapons-you-wont-believe-they-actually-built.html

[quiksilver]

I never dug any soviet totalitarian art (architecture, design, sculptures whatever) it all looked fucking ridiculous.

But it would be a cool asset for some Dieselpunk movie

100% agree. All of their gear looked crude and awkward - 'til they started copying the looks of the F15 with their MiGs.

[Snoogans]

100% agree. All of their gear looked crude and awkward - 'til they started copying the looks of the F15 with their MiGs.

Might not have looked good, but it was bloody effective...

Also, while I firmly believe the F15 to be one of the finest fighters of all time, it wasn't the first to use that particular layout.

[Rsmacker]

However, if you were able to get the weight of those guns airborne, I don't think the structure would be able to handle the recoil.

Didn't they develop a massive plane mounted cannon which when fired would also fire a load of shit/chaff/buckshot/ballast etc from the back to counteract the recoil from the front-facing gun? I'm sure I read somewhere they shot down more of their own side during tests than anything else so it was shelved.

(When I say "they", I mean "we" because I seem to recall it was a UK/US effort during WW2)

[Endrik]

100% agree. All of their gear looked crude and awkward - 'til they started copying the looks of the F15 with their MiGs.

Yeah, it was an interesting phenomenon the whole revival of totalitarian art in the 30's.
It was very cool actually in the US, the whole big urban/metropolitan lifestyle, huge art deco buildings, the jazz scene, speakeasies, classy clothing etc. were mixed with totalitarian monstrous machines and vehicles.
The whole "Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow" or whatever Dieselpunk thing.

Trains, Planes, Zeppelin, robot-like armor, cars etc.
Germans had some pretty cool things too.
They/Hitler actually took it from Mussolini who took it from antique and neo-classicism (all the pillars and gates and whatever) but more simplified and a lot bigger. Monstrous, hence totalitarian, it scared the shit out of people.
Classic silent film "Metropolis" by Fritz Lang (the most expensive movie ever) shows pretty well that era, specially with that gigantic building which Ridley Scott copied for Blade Runner.
















It was mainly in Central Europe, USSR and US.
Germans of course overdid many things, some stuff was just too big and ridiculous.
But nothing compares to the crap which the soviets did or planned to do.
At first they just tried to copy everything from the Germans.
In Paris the German and Soviet pavilions were very similar.
Luckly the Soviets didn't managed to do everything they planned.
They had this crazy idea to build this totalitarian style building which at the bottom level looked like neo-classicistic bulding with all the pillars and what not but it had a huge, HUGE globe like top. The friggin building supposed to be HUNDRED times bigger than the white house!!!!
I hope I can find some pictures of it.

[bratfink]

Also, while I firmly believe the F15 to be one of the finest fighters of all time, it wasn't the first to use that particular layout.

I think the harrier was a more grounbreaking aircraft. And of course the USSR copied that too (as the did the US, until they gave up and bought the harrier).

I also believe it to be a fact that the harrier is also the most succesful jet aircraft in air to air combat, mostly down to it's use in the Falklands. Obviously the Spitfire holds the mantle of best scores in air to air overall.

[horns666]

Bonehenge..

[rjohnstone]

Hell of a thing. Too bad that they never took it past the prototype stage.
Looks like something out of Crimson Skies!

However, if you were able to get the weight of those guns airborne, I don't think the structure would be able to handle the recoil.

Considering the first K-7 that ever flew crashed when it's tail sections sheered off killing all on board, it's safe to say it couldn't safely carry the weight. I would love to have seen what would happen to that thing if it fired one of the canons.

[atomic charvel guy]

that thing is sick looking, but I'll stick with the F117 Stealth in regards to better chances of self preservation.

[Mazz]

Bonehenge..

You dirty bastard Horns!

:ROTF:

[Blazer]

The K-7 that actually flew was a completely different thing from the Gun Turret equipped thing you posted.

The real Kalnin K-7, there were only two built and their total time of flight was around five hours. Since there was no such thing as Fly-by-wire in those days pilots had to be of superhuman strength to even pull up the stick to get it into the air, so they came up with a booster in the wing surfaces themselves to help the crew out, but it frequently failed.

I don't think that that Turret equipped monstrosity could ever be able to get off the ground, the engines wouldn't even be able to get it moving, the weight of those turrets and the sheer size of that thing would keep it firmly on the ground. To be able to successfully shoot those motherfuckers, that plane would've been made from cast iron to keep from falling apart when the guns would be fired during flight. And one of the requirements for a plane to get airborne is that it has to be built from light materials, which is why giant aircraft of today such as the Antonov 225 and the Airbus 380 are capable of getting air borne in the first place. And the upside down turrets wouldn't work since they'd simply fall out. Why do you think battle ship wrecks such as the one of the Bismarck don't have their guns anymore? They slid out of their sockets after the hull turned over during sinking.


The style reminds me a lot like the Junkers G38 and the Dornier Do-X

The Junkers G 38



The Do-X

They were the Airbus 380 of their time and they actually flew.