- The Ekranoplan was a unique craft that flew like an airplane just above the surface of water.
- The Soviet Union was the only country to experiment with such a craft, and Russia abandoned the effort after the Cold War.
- The last known Ekranoplan is now stuck in shallow water off the coast of the Caspian Sea.
One of the most unusual vehicles of the Cold War—or any time, for that matter—is sitting abandoned on a beach in Russia. The Ekranoplan, a plane-boat hybrid craft that rode a cushion of air just above the surface of the water, was being towed across the Caspian Sea when it broke free and ended up stranded within wading distance of a local beach.
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The Ekranoplan was the Soviet Union's attempt to build a craft capable of exploiting the wing in ground effect (WIG). As an aircraft flies closer to the ground, air pressure builds between the wing and the flat surface below. This creates a cushion of air beneath the plane. Meanwhile, the low altitude eliminates wingtip vortices, decreasing drag.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union developed large, turbojet-powered craft that used the WIG effect to “fly” above the wavetops. The Soviets designed the Lun-class WIG craft to use the effect to float just inches over the surface of a lake or ocean, adding eight forward-mounted turbojet engines to give them a top speed of 373 miles per hour.
This super low altitude ensured they were below the radar horizon of enemy warships until the ships were within range of the Lun’s six SS-N-22 “Sunburn” missiles. A Mach 3 sea-skimming missile, the Sunburn had a range of 64 miles, flew from 16 to 32 feet above the surface of the water, and could pack a nuclear warhead. This made them capable of sinking the largest ships, including U.S. Navy aircraft carriers.
Today, the Ekranoplan–the only Lun ever built—lies stranded off a beach in the Caspian Sea. This summer, the craft was in the process of being towed from a nearby naval base to a museum when something appeared to have gone terribly wrong. Instead of making it to its new home, the Ekranoplan ended up stranded in shallow water, where it's drawing visitors.
Forbes reports the ship is stranded in the surf line and taking on water. Locals have tried to pull it ashore to no avail. One urban explorer, Lana Sator, flew from Moscow to Dagestan to photograph the craft’s interior. After wading out to the Ekranoplan and evading a security guard, Sator and her companion took several photos of the interior, as seen here.
It’s not clear this one-of-a-kind ship (or aircraft) will ever make it to its museum. As H.L. Sutton of Forbes writes, “it will be a tragedy for military history if this unique craft is broken into pieces by the powers of nature.”
Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.
