definitely looks like a russian/soviet amphib of some type. since the end of ww2 western designers havent really been interested in amphibs or flying boats, and we likely wouldnt have come up with anything looking like that in any case...
My guess it is an early development of the Ekranoplan.
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"Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I get and beat you with, until you understand whose in f***ing command here!" Jayne : Firefly
"The officers can stay in the admin building and read the latest Tom Clancy novel thinking up new OOBs based on it." Coyote
HAB Tankspotter - like trainspotting but with the thrill of 125mm retaliation if they spot you back
The Russians built alot of different WIG's, even one which would have hauled a half dozen Sunburns. But none of them ever quite worked, control problumes mostly.
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— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
Sea Skimmer, that thing looks like the bastard child of a F-14, P-38J, B-17, and a Space Shuttle.
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"Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I get and beat you with, until you understand whose in f***ing command here!" Jayne : Firefly
"The officers can stay in the admin building and read the latest Tom Clancy novel thinking up new OOBs based on it." Coyote
HAB Tankspotter - like trainspotting but with the thrill of 125mm retaliation if they spot you back
Cookies for Rob Wilson and Seaskimmer, and thanks to Seaskimmer for the drawing of the intact monster. I was half afraid it would turn out to be a helicopter, but I saw no rotor remains on top....On another note, I want to go to Monino so bad I can taste it.
"This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree"
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
Every WIG aircraft ever has suffered from stability and flight control problems, luckily the low speeds and seaplane hulls allow for easy enough landing when the pilots start to lose control. A modern digital FBW system might be able to make all the needed corrections, but a lot of money will need to be thrown at the problem. Several countries have small-scale programs meant to create aircraft that do medium helicopter sized jobs. But only the US is really in a position to pursue a large cargo carrier. The Russians have been looking for investors for years.
"This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree"
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
hmmm... I wonder if a WIG craft of a freewing design might fare better with regard to control. They are incredibly tolerant of CG placement -- in comparison conventional 'fixed' wings are anything but tolerant -- and have simplified control mechanisms due to the fact that they are merely trimmed for a desired alpha (this trim can be adjusted independently for each wing) and dont have to worry about torque effects from a stab. what looks like a stab on the aft fuselage is actually a trim tab that controls fuselage alpha separately from the wings. It might be something interesting to try in a model.