R-101 Credit - © Mark Wade

Surface-to-air missile. Family:

All-Russian second generation version of the R-101, itself a derivative of the German Wasserfall. Development began in May 1949 but the missile did not reach flight test stage before its cancellation in 1951.

The R-108 was a planned production version of the R-101, with a Russian self-homing system developed from the German 'Max' design, and a Russian rocket engine designed by Isayev. A progressive test series was planned to introduce all of these innovations incrementally. The indigenous Russian 8 tonne engine began life in May 1949, when Isayev began development of a 4 chamber engine for the R-101. This clustered four of the two tonne chambers already developed by his bureau and was designated S09-502. Isayev's engine was not a straight copy of the German engine, but an adaptation using Russian materials and economic considerations. In July 1950 Isayev produced a new 8.5 tonne thrust single-chamber engine concept for the R-101B (R-101B.36000-0). The R-101 (and R-108) were cancelled before any of Isayev's engines could fly, but modifications of the four-chamber engine would be adopted for the first production Soviet surface-to-air missile, the Lavochkin 205 or V-300. An upgrade of the single-chamber 8 tonne thrust motor would be used in later surface-to-air missiles and the R-11 SSM, later famous throughout the world as the 'Scud' tactical missile.

Manufacturer: Sinilshchikov.