OKB-1 EF 131

EF-131

Manufacturer: GOZ-1
Designed by: Dr. Brunholf Baade
First flight: 1946 (Germany) 23rd May 1947 (USSR)
Number built: 2
Developed from: Junkers Ju 287
Variants: Aircraft 140

The OKB-1/Junkers EF-131 was a jet bomber produced in Germany and the USSR from 1944.

Development

The EF-131 was in essence the second Junkers Ju 287 prototype (V - Versuchs - test/research/prototype), which was nearly complete at the time of its capture by Soviet forces in 1945. The EF-131 was completed and briefly test flown, in Germany, before being dismantled and transported to GOZ-1, (Gosoodarstvenny Optnyy Zavod - state experimental plant), at Dobna near Moscow. OKB-1 at GOZ-1 was formed with Dr. Brunholf Baade as the chief designer, and a very talented team of German engineers seconded by the Soviet government. Extreme pressure was applied to get the aircraft ready to appear in the 1947 Aviation Day fly-past at Tushino airfield, but several factors conspired to prevent the EF-131 from appearing.

Flight testing in the USSR began on 23rd May 1947, at the LII airfield, after the airframe had been strengthened to meet the requirements of a TsAGI(Tsentrahl'nyy Aerodinamicheskiy i Ghidrodinamicheskiy Institoot- central aerodynamics and hydrodynamics institute) structural survey, which revealed major weaknesses of the airframe. The first flight resulted in the port undercarriage collapsing due to a bolt failure, subsequent flight tests revealed major deficiencies such as nose-wheel shimmy and tail surface vibration. Rectification of the defects caused many delays but the worst delays were caused by bureaucracy when it was decreed that foreign workers could not work at the LII airfield. The aircraft sat at LII over the winter but the harsh conditions caused the deterioration of rubber components and wiring, which required lengthy repairs. Preparations for resuming flight tests were almost complete in June 1948 when Ministry of Aircraft Industry Order No. 440 ordered that further work on the EF-131 be dis-continued, termination of the programme was confirmed by resolution No.3206-1301 issued on the 23rd of August 1948. The EF-131 had become obsolete as newer Soviet built engines with better performance became available. The airframe of the second prototype was used for the 140 programme.

Specifications (EF-131)

Data from Gordon, Yefim. “Early Soviet Jet Bombers”. Hinkley, Midland. 2004. ISBN 1 85780 181 4

General characteristics

Crew: 3
Length: 20.47 m (67 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 19.4 m (63 ft 7-3/4 in)
Height: 5.7 m (18 ft 8-1/2 in)
Empty weight: 11,900 kg (26,235 lb)
Gross weight: 22,955 kg (50,620 lb)
Powerplant: 6 x— Junkers Motoren Jumo 109-004 turbojets, 8.829 kN (1,984 lbf) thrusteach

Performance

Maximum speed: 860 km/h (534 mph)
Range: 1,710 km (1,063 miles)
Service ceiling: 12,500 m (41,000 ft)

Armament

2 x 13mm machine-guns in a remotely controlled tail barbette..
2,000kg (4,410 lb) of bombs in an internal bomb bay.

Comparable aircraft

Martin XB-48
Martin XB-51

Gunston, Bill. “The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875 - 1995”. London, Osprey. 1995. ISBN 1 85532 405 9
Gordon, Yefim. “Early Soviet Jet Bombers”. Hinkley, Midland. 2004. ISBN 1 85780 181 4

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Source: WikiPedia