Encyclopedia entry

BI-1

Aircraft · Russia

Part of Russian Rocket Fighters

Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.

Russian manned rocketplane. Flown 1941. The Bereznyak-Isayev BI-1 was the first high speed rocket plane developed by the Soviet Union. Drawings were completed by spring 1941 but Stalin did not give the go-ahead for production until July 9, 1941.

Round-the-clock shifts produced the first aircraft in 35 days. First flight was on 10 September, but the factory had to be evacuated to Sverdlovsk. The first powered flight, following accidents in ground runs of the rocket engine, came on May 15, 1942. Problems with corrosion by the acid fuels slowed testing. On flight 7 the aircraft experienced the previously unencountered tendency of an aircraft to pitch down in high-speed flight, and the rocketplane crashed into the ground, killing the pilot. Plans for a 50 aircraft production batch were abandoned, and rocketplane testing in the USSR only resumed with the testing of German designs after the war.

Crew Size: 1.

Family: Rocketplane, Suborbital
Country: Russia
Propellants: Nitric acid/Kerosene
Agency: Bereznyak bureau
Bibliography: 303, 94

Chronology

8 events

1941 July 9

Go-ahead for the BI-1 high speed rocket plane. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Isayev. Spacecraft Bus: Russian Rocket Fighters. Spacecraft: BI-1. Stalin gives the go-ahead for production of the Bereznyak-Isayev BI-1 high speed rocket plane..

1942 May 15

First powered flight of BI-1 rocketplane. - . Crew: Bakhchivangi. Payload: BI-1 # 1 flight 1. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bakhchivangi. Spacecraft Bus: Russian Rocket Fighters. Spacecraft: BI-1.
First glide flight was on 10 September 1941, but the factory had to be evacuated to Sverdlovsk. Accidents in ground runs of the rocket engine further delayed the first powered flight. First flight performance was: First flight BI-1. Maximum Speed - 400 kph. Maximum Altitude - 840 m. Flight Time - 189 sec.

1943 January 10

BI-1 Flight 2 - . Crew: Bakhchivangi. Payload: BI-1 # 2 flight 1. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bakhchivangi. Class: Manned. Type: Manned rocketplane. Spacecraft Bus: Russian Rocket Fighters. Spacecraft: BI-1. Maximum Speed - 400 kph. Maximum Altitude - 1110 m. .

1943 February 10

BI-1 Flight 3 - . Crew: Gruzdev. Payload: BI-1 # 2 flight 2. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Gruzdev. Class: Manned. Type: Manned rocketplane. Spacecraft Bus: Russian Rocket Fighters. Spacecraft: BI-1. Maximum Speed - 675 kph. Maximum Altitude - 2190 m. Date estimated..

1943 March 11

BI-1 Flight 4 - . Crew: Bakhchivangi. Payload: BI-1 # 2 flight 3. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bakhchivangi. Class: Manned. Type: Manned rocketplane. Spacecraft Bus: Russian Rocket Fighters. Spacecraft: BI-1. Maximum Altitude - 4000 m..

1943 March 14

BI-1 Flight 5 - . Crew: Bakhchivangi. Payload: BI-1 # 2 flight 4. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bakhchivangi. Class: Manned. Type: Manned rocketplane. Spacecraft Bus: Russian Rocket Fighters. Spacecraft: BI-1. Maximum Altitude - 4000 m..

1943 March 21

BI-1 Flight 6 - . Crew: Bakhchivangi. Payload: BI-1 # 3 flight 1. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bakhchivangi. Class: Manned. Type: Manned rocketplane. Spacecraft Bus: Russian Rocket Fighters. Spacecraft: BI-1.

1943 March 27

BI-1 Flight 7 - . Crew: Bakhchivangi. Payload: BI-1 # 3 flight 2. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bakhchivangi. Class: Manned. Type: Manned rocketplane. Spacecraft Bus: Russian Rocket Fighters. Spacecraft: BI-1. Maximum Speed - 800 kph. Unofficial world speed record.The aircraft crashed into the ground, killing the pilot. Plans for production were abandoned. Rocketplane testing in the USSR only resumed with the testing of German designs after the war..