I posted this backstory directly into FINISHED ENTRIES  but it now occurs to me that  you have no space to amend, deride or even express mild interest in the story.  Here, therefore is the item. 

It seemed like a good idea at the time


When does a stupid concept  become a roaring success?  A wooden, unarmed bomber...............surely not!  But the De Havilland Mosquito became a great success!  Similarly, some adjustments to design and the  dubious Avro Manchester became the remarkably successful Lancaster.  This can, however work the other way. The apparently good idea of a long range heavy bomber resulted in the He177 and the  reasonable requirement for a  cheap ASW aircraft produced the Short Seamew.

The concept of a vertical take-off fleet fighter was proposed by Admiral Alexei Mussorgski in 1954. The central political directorate  of Morskoi-Flot(1) considered this a credible project and allocated funds, the KGB offered intelligence gathered by their operatives working at the  Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough  and  Konstantin Pushkin ( a member of the supreme Soviet and student of English proverbs) encouraged this naval research in addition to traditional aircraft carrier design, remarking that "It is better not to hold all of your eggs in one basket"  .

A design not dissimilar to the Rolls Royce  Thrust  measuring rig (2) was constructed with one large Klimov turbojet  exhausting into four downward facing jet pipes. For  centre of gravity reasons the air intake was at the rear of the rig, which due to its intricate pipework became known as zmeinaya svad'ba or ZS (the snakes wedding) . After a short series of tethered  flights inside a huge hangar at a test site in Northern Kazakhstan, the first free flight was conducted outdoors in June 1956. Unfortunately, the dry outdoor environment  resulted in  vast clouds of  the dust of the central Asian steppe being ingested by the engine, which promptly cut out a metre from the ground. The ZS landed heavily and  hurled test pilot Antonin Kasparski to the ground, where he suffered a broken arm, shoulder and thigh.  Supreme Soviet member Pushkin considered that " Making omelettes requires the breaking of eggs"

For the next test flight, the single  engine  was replaced with a pair of back to back Rolls Royce Derwents, the test area was sprayed with water to lay the dust and a rudimentary cabin constructed.  This reminded the ground crew of the Russian folk tale of Baba Yaga; the hut on fowl's legs.(3)  Considerable stability  problems were experienced, with much pilot induced oscillation  caused by throttle lag.  Hard landings and the problems of  a remarkably top-heavy test rig toppling over resulted in several damaged test pilots. Eventually a new design bureau was created in 1961.  Borisov, Prysyl and Kamarov were tasked with building a functional VTOL aircraft capable of deployment on the helicopter carriers Moskva and  Leningrad, which were under construction.

Borisov, Prysyl and Kamarov  (BPK)  were aware of the Hawker P1127, but believed that the vectored thrust engine was a dead end.  The BPK-01 utilised a powerful Lul'yanka main engine with a degree of deflected thrust, and bleed pipes leading to  small stabiliser outlets at the wing tips..  An RB162 based lift engine  was installed in each wing, the design having been "acquired" in France during the design of the Mirage  Balzac V. (4)  Testing at the Kazakhstan development centre improved the design and the BPK-03 looked to the casual observer  like a shortened Mig-21.  Twenty were built as a "hero project"  They were flown conventionally then vertical take-offs and conventional landings were attempted. Three of the airframes were written off before  a transition protocol was developed . The conventional flight to vertical landing procedure was eventually established, with six more write-offs.  A major difficulty was the fuel consumption. Only 14 minutes of flight was possible with either  a vertical take off OR a vertical landing but not both.

By April 1964, the Soviet  Maritime Experimental Directorate demanded a demonstration  of the BPK-03 at Moscow Domodedovo airport to emphasise the superiority of Soviet aerospace design. The aircraft were flown in several very short stages to Moscow, where a mass vertical take-off  was rehearsed from a taxiway. The aircraft then flew to another airfield 5 minutes flying time away and immediately landed. Aircraft ID details were deliberately  randomised to suggest that  they were in squadron service whilst only a single Hawker Siddeley Kestrel had flown at that time. Western diplomats and military attaches were invited to view this demonstration , but from a distance. The long grass beside the taxiway attracted the displeasure of  senior officers, who ordered it to be mown short the evening before the event to create a better impression . The great and the good assembled to watch the  mass take off by 8 BPK-03 aircraft .  Engines started and as they began to leave the ground, masses of grass clippings were ingested by all of the engines and so Western diplomats and  Members of the Supreme Soviet were spectators at a mass hard landing event.

Some development continued, but the BPK-05 ( known to its ground crew as Bol'shaya Prygayushchaya Kucha  and best translated as the great leaping heap) never made squadron service although they were seen ranged but immobile on Moskva and Leningrad flight decks...................and the Kestrel with its vectored thrust Pegasus engine which  Borisov, Prysyl and Kamarov dismissed as a dead end  evolved into the superlative Harrier.

The design team was disbanded and its members relegated to junior positions in the Soviet aerospace industry. Konstantin Pushkin was "retired" from his position on the Supreme  Soviet and was last reported as Commissar for  Staff Management in Verkhoyansk .(5)

As an aside, most of this material has been extracted from MI5 files, recently declassified under the 50 year rule.  Reports from the Kazakhstan test  centre mainly emanated from a senior sanitary operative responsible for the cleanliness of senior officer and test pilot toilets.  Agent IZAL was able to hear unguarded conversations whilst officers were using the toilet facilities.

(1)   Russian Admiralty
(2)   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Thrust_Measuring_Rig
(3) https://geoffmead.blog/2012/06/19/why-baba-yaga-lives-in-the-forest/
(4)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Balzac_V
(5)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkhoyansk

I LOVED it when I first read it, but thought better of commenting in the Finished Entries thread.

Nice on Mr. Rheged. 

Great story!
I looked up the town of Verkhoyansk. Good Lord what a hell hole.

Well done, Mr Rheged!

Quote from: kerick on March 08, 2025, 07:28:32 AMGreat story!
I looked up the town of Verkhoyansk. Good Lord what a hell hole.

I am sure that Verkhoyansk has its attractions...

Quote from: Glenn Gilbertson on March 08, 2025, 09:29:00 AMWell done, Mr Rheged!

Quote from: kerick on March 08, 2025, 07:28:32 AMGreat story!
I looked up the town of Verkhoyansk. Good Lord what a hell hole.

I am sure that Verkhoyansk has its attractions...

Yes, it has an airport where one can make a hasty departure! 

Quote from: Rheged on March 08, 2025, 06:15:03 AMI posted this backstory directly into FINISHED ENTRIES  but it now occurs to me that  you have no space to amend, deride or even express mild interest in the story.  Here, therefore is the item. 

Then is should be awarded double points for two simultaneous bad ideas.

Quote from: Glenn Gilbertson on March 08, 2025, 09:29:00 AMWell done, Mr Rheged!

Quote from: kerick on March 08, 2025, 07:28:32 AMGreat story!
I looked up the town of Verkhoyansk. Good Lord what a hell hole.

I am sure that Verkhoyansk has its attractions...

Ummm yep..like leaving 

Quote from: Wardukw on March 08, 2025, 08:17:47 PM

Quote from: Glenn Gilbertson on March 08, 2025, 09:29:00 AMWell done, Mr Rheged!

Quote from: kerick on March 08, 2025, 07:28:32 AMGreat story!
I looked up the town of Verkhoyansk. Good Lord what a hell hole.

I am sure that Verkhoyansk has its attractions...

Ummm yep..like leaving 

Get yourself a little reindeer ranch and settle in!

Quote from: kerick on March 08, 2025, 11:16:29 PM

Quote from: Wardukw on March 08, 2025, 08:17:47 PM

Quote from: Glenn Gilbertson on March 08, 2025, 09:29:00 AMWell done, Mr Rheged!

Quote from: kerick on March 08, 2025, 07:28:32 AMGreat story!
I looked up the town of Verkhoyansk. Good Lord what a hell hole.

I am sure that Verkhoyansk has its attractions...

Ummm yep..like leaving 

Get yourself a little reindeer ranch and settle in!

Bet that place has mild winters too ..like .minus 50C 

Quote from: kerick on March 08, 2025, 07:28:32 AMGreat story!
I looked up the town of Verkhoyansk. Good Lord what a hell hole.

Population: 1,311.
Weekly vodka consumption: 3,634 litres.

Quote from: Weaver on March 09, 2025, 06:18:08 AM

Quote from: kerick on March 08, 2025, 07:28:32 AMGreat story!
I looked up the town of Verkhoyansk. Good Lord what a hell hole.

Population: 1,311.
Weekly vodka consumption: 3,634 litres.

Personal antifreeze!

Verkhoyansk?  The summers are just as fraught, with mosquitoes (wildlife, not aircraft)  big enough to carry off small children.

Quote from: Rheged on March 09, 2025, 07:28:18 AMVerkhoyansk?  The summers are just as fraught, with mosquitoes (wildlife, not aircraft)  big enough to carry off small children.

Yeah ..I'd believe that 💯   

The mosquito is considered the Alaskan state bird. Caribou have been known to die of blood loss and shock.

Quote from: kerick on March 09, 2025, 02:31:20 PMThe mosquito is considered the Alaskan state bird. Caribou have been known to die of blood loss and shock.

Why do I get the impression you're only half joking?