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Rockets and People
design bureaus and at the offices of the People’s Commissariat, met with sympathetic
understanding; but the conversations usually ended thus:“We are not up to
this now. Did you see the German technology? While they are busy with England,
we should jump ahead of them.We have a maximum of one to two years for that.
Your alternating current requires three to five.And then, where will it be used?”
on one of those autumn days, Isayev and Bereznyak dropped into the room
where my comrades and I were working surrounded by boxes full of alternating
current machines. Apologizing for the intrusion, Isayev requested that my subordinates
go to the design hall where his team was assembled.
This proposal was made in typical Isayev style:“Why don’t you go on over and
play with my kids for a while?” When my subordinates left, Bereznyak unrolled
some Whatman paper. A drawing that had numerous erasures showed two views
of a small glider with noble outlines. I was surprised at the dimensions of this
glider.The wingspan was 6 meters, and the length from the pointed nose to the
tail was only 4.5 meters. Four barrels were drawn above the forward fairing: two
guns and two machine guns. Not having detected an engine with a propeller, I
remarked that this was a strange glider.The area of the wings was very small.
“You’re right.This isn’t a glider at all,” said Isayev.“OK, it’s Sasha’s turn to explain
everything, and then I’ll tell you why we are here. Swear that you won’t tell anyone
about this conversation. Even our patron mustn’t know anything about this yet.”
Bereznyak said that this would be a fundamentally new rocket-powered interceptor
aircraft. It would have a liquid-propellant rocket engine installed in the tail.
The diameter of the nozzle would be only 300 millimeters, and so the aircraft in
the picture would be taken for a glider. Its entire mass would be no greater than
1,500 kilograms. This was half as much as a Messerschmitt-109. The maximum
speed would be 1,000 kilometers/hour, and perhaps greater.That would all depend
on the thrust of the engine. One had not yet been definitively selected. In the
meantime, they had been promised an engine with a thrust of 1200 kgf. If it was
boosted to 1500 kgf, then the thrust would be equal to the weight of the aircraft.
This was almost a vertical takeoff. Its insane climbing capability would be the
primary characteristic of this interceptor. As soon as an enemy bomber appeared
at a distance of one to two flight minutes, the interceptor would take off and attack
with lightning speed with at least twice the speed of its opponent. It would have
only enough fuel for one attack.The engine would work for no longer than two
to three minutes. It would then return to the airfield and land in glide mode. Given
the bomber’s speed of up to 600 kilometers/hour at an altitude of 5,000 meters,
the interceptor would reach it one minute after takeoff if the pilot did not lose the
target. The entire structure would be wood—plywood. The only duralumin
permitted would be used for the assemblies and brackets.The landing gear would
be lowered and retracted using compressed air.
“As an exception, the cylinders have to be made of metal,” joked Bereznyak.
Here Isayev interjected, “Sasha is dreaming of making even the guns out of
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