Three decades in oblivion and 1.5 years on the beach. The Soviet miracle of technology will fall into the hands of tourists

Ekranoplan “Łuń” otherwise known as project 903 or colloquially “Monster from the Caspian Sea” is a machine which – despite 46 years on the back of its neck – still makes a great impression. And this despite the fact that today it will not move on its own.

Cold War monster

The idea to create a giant combining an airplane and a ship was born in the 1960s, and this, in principle, was the first screenplan of the “Łuń” class was designed in 1975. To this day, it is the only copy of such a screen plan that has been successfully built.

“Łuń” does not differ in dimensions from the Airbus A380, the largest passenger plane in the world today (not counting the wingspan). It weighs a trifle of 286 tons, and takes another 137 tons on board. In addition, it could move at a speed of about 550 km / h, which is quite an achievement for a combination of a ship and an airplane from those years.

However, he did not swim on the water, but – using the so-called surface effect – he flew just above her, almost brushing her mirror. It did not require a long runway, took off and landed in almost all wind conditions, avoided sea mines and was difficult to detect using radars. It officially entered service in 1987, becoming the pride of the Russian military. However, it had already been a nuisance for Americans who wondered what this extremely strange vehicle was.

Three decades in oblivion and a great journey

The second specimen of the monster was never created, however, because it did not make it, and the first one ultimately never stood up to fight the Americans. In 1990, it was placed in a military port in Russia, on the west coast of the Caspian Sea – its home basin. When the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991, the machine was forgotten.

It was only in July 2020 that it was pulled out of the port for the first time and with the help of three tugs and two assisting ships it was brought 100 km south, near the city of Derbent, near the border with Azerbaijan. There was supposed to be a museum there, or rather a park of Russian military machines “Patriot”.

He did not reach the place right away, because pulling the colossus inland turned out to be quite a challenge. He was stuck close to the shore and for some time he lay partially submerged in the water. Only later it was found that the waves act on the old structure destructively and with the help of ropes it was pulled a little deeper – about 30 meters from the border of the water luther.

It will become a tourist attraction

It has been lying on the beach for a year and a half, very close to its destination, and will most likely stay there forever. So far, it is also a “wild” tourist attraction. Russians visiting this region come to see the Soviet technology miracle live. In fact, in March 2021 it even served as a background for

Soon – – however, it should become a real exhibit in a park of military machines still being built nearby. The construction, however, has been dragging on a bit so far. Initially, it was supposed to start at the end of 2020, but it did not. Apparently, it was only in April 2021 that money was allocated for its construction – 400 million rubles, or approx. $ 5.4 million.

However, CNN says, citing the words of the local mayor, that the park is to be opened in the summer season of 2022 or – according to other sources – 2023. So far, the vehicle is standing on a public beach unattended by anyone. The web is full of photos that show that it is eagerly visited by tourists. The more resourceful ones even go inside to sit at the controls.

Ultimately, when the “Patriota” park is opened, the beach with the screen is to be closed, and only tourists visiting the museum will approach the machine. Then “Łuń” will become an exhibit treated with due care. The question is when exactly this will happen.