Beriev Be-4
{{Short description|1940 Soviet reconnaissance flying boat}}
{{Infobox aircraft
|name=Be-4
|image=KOR-2-Molotov1941.jpg
|caption= Be-4 on the Soviet cruiser Molotov, 1941.
|type=Reconnaissance flying boat
|manufacturer=Beriev
|designer=
|first_flight=21 October 1940
|introduction=1942
|retired=
|status=
|primary_user=Soviet Naval Aviation
|more_users=
|produced=
|number_built=ca. 47
|variants=
}}
The Beriev Be-4 (originally designated KOR-2) was a reconnaissance flying boat built to operate from Soviet warships during World War II.
Design and development
In 1939, Beriev was ordered to develop a successor to the KOR-1 design, which would overcome the numerous problems encountered in operational experience with that design. The new aircraft, with the in-house designation KOR-2, first flew on 21 October 1940 at the Beriev factory in Taganrog.
The Be-4 was an elegant, parasol-winged monoplane with a slight inverse-gull wing. The large radial engine was mounted in a nacelle above the fuselage.
Testing continued through January 1941, when series production was ordered under the designation Be-4, at a factory near Moscow. However, due to the start of World War II, only two aircraft were completed. The factory was dismantled, and evacuated to Omsk, then to Krasnoyarsk, where production resumed in May 1943 to the end of 1945. A total of 47 aircraft were eventually completed.
Operational history
The Be-4 was placed into operational service with the Russian Black Sea Fleet from 1942, where it was used for coastal reconnaissance, anti-submarine and transport duties. It was also used on the cruisers Maxim Gorki and Kirov.
Operators
;{{USSR}}
Specifications
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units? = met
|crew=three
|length m=10.50
|length ft=34
|length in=5
|span m=12.00
|span ft=39
|span in=4
|height m=4.05
|height ft=13
|height in=3
|wing area sqm=25.5
|wing area sqft=274
|empty weight kg=2,082
|empty weight lb=4,590
|gross weight kg=2,760
|gross weight lb=6,085
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Shvetsov M-62 radial
|eng1 kw=746
|eng1 hp=1,000
|max speed kmh=356
|max speed mph=221
|range km=1,150
|range miles=716
|ceiling m=8,100
|ceiling ft=26,575
|armament = *1 × trainable 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun for observer
- up to 300 kg (661 lb) of bombs or depth charges
}}
See also
References
- {{cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation |year=1989 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London |pages=153 }}
- {{cite book |title=World Aircraft Information Files |publisher=Bright Star Publishing|location=London |pages=File 890 Sheet 26 }}
External links
{{Commons category|Beriev Be-4}}
- [http://www.century-of-flight.freeola.com/Aviation%20history/photo_albums/timeline/ww2/2/Beriev%20KOR%202%20Be%204.htm Beriev KOR 2 Be 4] at Century of Flight
- [http://www.ctrl-c.liu.se/misc/RAM/kor-2.html Be-4, KOR-2 by G.M.Beriev] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304034212/http://www.ctrl-c.liu.se/misc/RAM/kor-2.html |date=2016-03-04 }} at Russian Aviation Museum
{{Beriev aircraft}}
{{Soviet scout designations}}
{{WWIIUSSRAF}}
Category:1940s Soviet military reconnaissance aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft
Category:Parasol-wing aircraft