×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Small Arms Warships & Submarines Military Ranks Military Pay Chart (2024) Special Forces
HOME
AVIATION INDEX
MODERN AIR FORCES
AIRCRAFT BY COUNTRY
AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE AIRCRAFT
AIRCRAFT BY CONFLICT
AIRCRAFT BY TYPE
AIRCRAFT BY DECADE
WWII AIRCRAFT
X-PLANE AIRCRAFT
Aviation / Aerospace

Berezniak-Isayev BI


Rocket-Powered Interceptor / Fighter Prototype Aircraft [ 1942 ]



The Berezniak-Isayev BI-1 rocket-powered interceptor failed to impress and was abandoned after seven pre-production aircraft were delivered.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 06/26/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]
Rocket- and jet-powered fighter aircraft were not the sole developments of Germany, Britain, and the United States during World War 2 (1939-1945) for the Soviets were undertaking such work prior to the war as well. The Bereznyak-Isayev BI series of rocket-powered prototypes became the culmination of these early efforts - it was designed to a Soviet Air Force need for a rocket-propelled, short-ranged defense fighter whose development was hurriedly spurred on by the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June of 1941 to open the "East Front". The aircraft first flew on May 15th, 1942 and was actively tested into March of 1945 across nine completed examples. It served as a vital piece of the development process for future Soviet aircraft seen in the post-war years.

The aircraft received its name and designation from its engineer pairing of Alexander Yakovlevich Bereznyak/Berezniak (1912-1974) and Aleksei Mikhailovich Isayev/Isaev (1908-1971). In July of 1940, work was ordered on a high-speed aircraft benefitting from rocket or ramjet propulsion. The propulsion system evolved along a slow but steady line until sped up by the German invasion. The design team was given just 35 days to come up with a viable platform and work began in July of 1941, the workers forced to live at the development facility.©MilitaryFactory.com
The engineers devised a streamlined aircraft form of rather compact proportions and armed with a proposed battery of 4 x 14.5mm heavy machine guns. Its fuselage would be streamlined and well-rounded for aerodynamic efficiency. The cockpit was fitted forward of amidships and the nose section covered over in a pointed nose assembly. The rocket propulsion system would sit in the aft section of the fuselage which forced a raised fuselage spine. As the propulsion system utilized a liquid propellant, no air intake was required to aspirate any engine. The tail rudder extended over and under the aft fuselage with the usual horizontal stabilizer mid-mounted. This tailplane also fitted a smaller set of vertical planes at its outboard ends. The mainplanes were affixed as straight monoplanes under and aft of the cockpit. The undercarriage was of the "tail-dragger" arrangement and retractable under the aircraft.

Prototype aircraft were born through the initial BI-1 and BI-2 airframes. Construction included both fabric and plywood as well as metal and the original armament of 4 x machine guns had now given way to 2 x 20mm ShVAK cannons for a heftier offensive punch. The aircraft sat a single crewmember under a lightly-framed canopy. As finalized, the aircraft featured a running length of 21 feet with a wingspan of 21 feet, 3 inches. Its height (when at rest) measured 6 feet, 9 inches. Empty weight was 2,115lbs with a Maximum Take-Off Weight of 3,710lbs. Maximum speed with the intended Dushkin D-1A-1100 liquid-fueled rocket motor peaked at 497mph. Range was limited to just 15 minutes of powered flight.

As progress on the Dushkin rocket motor was slow, prototype BI-1 entered into controlled glider testing to help prove the airframe sound and improve on some of its inherent weaknesses. During October 1941, the development facility was cleared out due to the advancing Germans and worked moved to the Ural mountains. With some more controlled testing on the ground, the aircraft finally went airborne during May 15th, 1942. BI-2 then took over the program and found itself the center of several successful flights. On March 21st, 1943, prototype BI-3 was destroyed, killing its pilot, during a low-level, full-throttle flight run. The cause of the crash was ruled as "Transonic velocity" which showcased the aerodynamic limitations of the airframe design as-was, marking that it would soon prove itself a technological dead end in the scope of the program. Prototypes BI-5, BI-6, BI-7, BI-8, and BI-9 followed into 1944 and the final forms were finished with Merkulov DM-4 ramjets which required the airframe to be towed into the air prior to launch. Focus then shifted to Isaev's RD-1 rocket engine which covered no more than two flights. A total of twelve flights involving the BI prototypes were recorded.

By this time, the BI has reached its technological apex and no production forms succeeded them. The Soviet Air Force found little interest in a high-speed fighter with just a 15 minute endurance window and the war progressed favorably into Germany at that point. Nevertheless, the BI series served well in influencing future Soviet rocket- and jet-powered mounts still to come. The BI program was then ended.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications



Berezniak-Isayev - Soviet Union
Manufacturer(s)
Soviet Union
Operators National flag of the Soviet Union
1942
Service Year
Soviet Union
National Origin
1
Crew
9
Units


AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.
INTERCEPTION
Ability to intercept inbound aerial threats by way of high-performance, typically speed and rate-of-climb.
X-PLANE
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.


23.0 ft
(7.00 meters)
Length
23.6 ft
(7.20 meters)
Width/Span
6.9 ft
(2.10 meters)
Height
3,638 lb
(1,650 kilograms)
Maximum Take-Off Weight


1 x Dushkin D-1A rocket motor developing 662 lb of thrust.
Propulsion
373 mph
(600 kph | 324 knots)
Max Speed
29,528 ft
(9,000 m | 6 miles)
Ceiling
217 miles
(350 km | 189 nm)
Range


MACH Regime (Sonic)
Sub
Trans
Super
Hyper
HiHyper
ReEntry
RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030


PROPOSED:
4 x 14.5mm heavy machine guns OR (later) 2 x 20mm ShVAK cannons in nose.


0
Hardpoints


BI - Base Series Designation; nine airframes completed as BI-1 through BI-9.


Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force
Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway
Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift
Military lapel ribbon for the Chaco War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War
Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars
Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War
Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War
Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War
Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War
Military lapel ribbon for Special Forces
Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era
Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2
Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War
Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Images



1 / 1
Image of the Berezniak-Isayev BI
Image from the Public Domain.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.


©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)