After the conclusion of World War II, the tensions between the USA and Soviet Union were very high. By the middle of the 1950s, the Red Air Force of the Soviet Union had everyone in the US fooled that they have hundreds of bison bombers ready to strike at US cities. But in reality, the Soviet Air Force were still lacking a way of reaching the continental United States. The solution to this problem was an idea of an innovative aviation designer, Roberto Bartini. His solution was building a bomber that can take off and land in water! This incredible bomber project was called the Bartini A57!
The story of Roberto Bartini is quite an amazing one. He was born in 1897 in a part of northeastern Italy, which is now in modern Serbia. When World War I broke out, he joined the army and learned to fly. With the rise of fascism in Italy, he joined the opposing communist party, hoping to save his country from the fascist Benito Mussolini. After seizing power in 1923, Mussolini started sending communists to prison camps, forcing Bartini to flee to Soviet Russia to avoid imprisonment. It was here he found himself in a senior design position in the Soviet aircraft industry. He proved himself as a very innovative designer, designing the Stal-6 plane, which held the world speed record in 1933. After being imprisoned during World War II, he was freed out of jail under the condition that he will design a brilliant plane. It was then when Bartini designed the BARTINI A57. It is a bomber with a long and slender delta wing, called the Bartini wing, equipped with a lift jet facing downward to assist take-off from the surface of the ocean. It was even designed to refuel from Soviet submarines! Watch the video to see this crazy idea!
If you are interested a bit more about the Cold War period, follow this link!
