Infamous past of luxury Soviet airliner
source: http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/models/aircraft/Tupolev-Ant20.html
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The largest Soviet plane in its time, the "Maxim Gorky" had its own library and individual lounge rooms on board. However, the fabulous luxury ended in disaster.
Developed in the early 1930s, the plane “Tupolev ANT-20”, more commonly known as the "Maxim Gorky", remains one of the largest aircraft ever to fly.
This monster of flight led the way for many safety features of modern aviation such as the auto-pilot, as well as providing a level of luxury onboard that was unheard of at the time. The resulting rigid and tough construction was quite enough for the speeds those machines were capable of – 250-300 kilometers per hour. This is confirmed by the fact that in Germany, planes based on the Tupolev design remained in service even after the war.
Read more about Andrey Tupolev on Russiapedia
In that period, manufacturers did their best to create larger and larger planes in an attempt to dominate the commercial and military markets. However, the airliner “Bristol Brabazon” was an expensive failure in Britain, and in the US Howard Hughes' “Hurricane,” or “Spruce Goose”, cost the tycoon his reputation as an industry leader.
Unfortunately, “Maxim Gorky” is also best remembered for a tragic crash that took place on this day 75 years ago.
While flying in formation with two other aircraft on May 18, 1935, an aerial stunt went badly wrong and one of the smaller planes collided with the “Maxim Gorky”. All on board both aircraft were killed.
The 10 person crew and 37 passengers on the “Maxim Gorky”, as well the pilot of the other plane, were given a state funeral at Novodevichy cemetery.
Igor Melnikov was just a small child when the accident happened close to his home.
“We boys rushed to the crash site as soon as the word spread,” Melnikov recalls. “We sneaked through the cordon and started picking up pieces of the wreckage. I got a bit of the plane that had hit the ‘Maxim Gorky’.”
That was not where Melnikov’s links with the tale of this plane crash ended. Some years later he married the daughter of Nikolay Blagin, who had been flying the plane which caused the accident.
“When I was discharged from the army, I met a girl while waiting at a trolley bus stop. Later we married. She was Blagin's daughter,” Melnikov told RT.
Although Blagin was blamed for the crash by the authorities, Melnikov believes that such claims are reckless and unfair. He says that Blagin has been made a scapegoat.
“When the accident happened, opinions among pilots were divided: some stuck with the party line, believing Blagin to be to blame, while others looked at the other possibilities, like the strength of the wind that day. I have a view of my own. I know the whole story,” Melnikov said.
Detail on the plane itself-----
http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/models/aircraft/Tupolev-Ant20.html
Link to Video----------
http://rt.com/prime-time/2010-05-18/plane-maxim-gorky-crashes.html?utm_source=2l...
Developed in the early 1930s, the plane “Tupolev ANT-20”, more commonly known as the "Maxim Gorky", remains one of the largest aircraft ever to fly.
This monster of flight led the way for many safety features of modern aviation such as the auto-pilot, as well as providing a level of luxury onboard that was unheard of at the time. The resulting rigid and tough construction was quite enough for the speeds those machines were capable of – 250-300 kilometers per hour. This is confirmed by the fact that in Germany, planes based on the Tupolev design remained in service even after the war.
Read more about Andrey Tupolev on Russiapedia
In that period, manufacturers did their best to create larger and larger planes in an attempt to dominate the commercial and military markets. However, the airliner “Bristol Brabazon” was an expensive failure in Britain, and in the US Howard Hughes' “Hurricane,” or “Spruce Goose”, cost the tycoon his reputation as an industry leader.
Unfortunately, “Maxim Gorky” is also best remembered for a tragic crash that took place on this day 75 years ago.
While flying in formation with two other aircraft on May 18, 1935, an aerial stunt went badly wrong and one of the smaller planes collided with the “Maxim Gorky”. All on board both aircraft were killed.
The 10 person crew and 37 passengers on the “Maxim Gorky”, as well the pilot of the other plane, were given a state funeral at Novodevichy cemetery.
Igor Melnikov was just a small child when the accident happened close to his home.
“We boys rushed to the crash site as soon as the word spread,” Melnikov recalls. “We sneaked through the cordon and started picking up pieces of the wreckage. I got a bit of the plane that had hit the ‘Maxim Gorky’.”
That was not where Melnikov’s links with the tale of this plane crash ended. Some years later he married the daughter of Nikolay Blagin, who had been flying the plane which caused the accident.
“When I was discharged from the army, I met a girl while waiting at a trolley bus stop. Later we married. She was Blagin's daughter,” Melnikov told RT.
Although Blagin was blamed for the crash by the authorities, Melnikov believes that such claims are reckless and unfair. He says that Blagin has been made a scapegoat.
“When the accident happened, opinions among pilots were divided: some stuck with the party line, believing Blagin to be to blame, while others looked at the other possibilities, like the strength of the wind that day. I have a view of my own. I know the whole story,” Melnikov said.
Detail on the plane itself-----
http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/models/aircraft/Tupolev-Ant20.html
Link to Video----------
http://rt.com/prime-time/2010-05-18/plane-maxim-gorky-crashes.html?utm_source=2l...
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