• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
One of world's most unusual planes bigger than Boeing 747 is abandoned on beach

Home> Community> Viral

Published 11:09 7 Jul 2024 GMT+1

One of world's most unusual planes bigger than Boeing 747 is abandoned on beach

Looking like something from Star Wars, this humongous warship is now beached

Joe Yates

Joe Yates

When you hear of anything that has been beached, you would naturally assume it was a whale, dolphin or another marine mammal... but in this case, you'd be wrong.

On the coast of Derbent, a city in southern Russia, lies a dormant 283 tonne, 63ft plane - nicknamed the Caspian sea monster, and is way bigger than a Boeing 747.

Designed in 1975 and used 12 years later towards the end of the Cold War by soviet and Russian navies, the Lun-class ekranoplan is equipped with six fixed-elevation anti-ship missile launchers, and two twin turrets - it struck fear in the enemies eyes.

Advert

It was part of the Soviet's wing-in-ground-effect programme (WIG), and while it looks as if it was lifted from a scene in Star Wars and dropped on the coast of the landlocked Caspian Sea - often described as the largest lake in the world - it wasn't and took years to build.

The 283 tonne maritime ship looks like it has been lifted from Star Wars. (Getty/Anadolu)
The 283 tonne maritime ship looks like it has been lifted from Star Wars. (Getty/Anadolu)

Fortunately for the residents 21 miles away in the small village of Samurçay, by the Russian border in Azerbaijan, the once heavily armed craft has been converted into a museum.

While we've been describing the ginormous vessel as a plane, in actual fact it falls under the 'ground effect' category, which would classify it as a ship - no, not a spaceship, but a boat.

Advert

Despite looking strikingly similar to traditional aircrafts, ekranoplans like the Lun are not, nor are they hovercrafts.

The awe-inspiring ship, which was retired in the late 90s just years after the conclusion of the Cold War, miraculously floated above the water with the help of its eight jet engines.

It flew using a cushion of air beneath its wings generated by the ground effect acting on its large wings when within about 13 feet above the surface of the water.

According to the International Maritime Organization, the MD-160 is in fact classified as a maritime ship - a large vessel that travels the world's oceans.

Advert

With it gliding just 13 feet above the water, it essentially made it near impossible to detect on radars - or at least extremely tricky.

The lun-class ekranoplan has been turned into a museum. (Getty/Anadolu)
The lun-class ekranoplan has been turned into a museum. (Getty/Anadolu)

Speaking of the programme and referring to the ship as 'Utka' which means duck in Russian, CIA officials added: "The Utka class WIG is a tactical strike and coastal defence vehicle for the Soviet Navy. It carries six supersonic SS-N-22 anti-ship cruise missiles.

"The Utka, can engage enemy ships out to its radar horizon (about 35 kilometers/22 miles) but can fire the SS-N-22 out to the missile's 100-kilometer (62-mile) range with over-the-horizon targeting data.

Advert

"The Utka is larger than a US Boeing 747 jet airplane and flies at about 250 knots [287 mph]. One Utka has been built."

They added: "We believe that an Utka strike force or coastal defense force would give the Soviets a quick-reaction capability against surface combatants.

"However, unless the Utka can pop up out of ground effect to extend its radar horizon, it will require external sources of targeting information."

Featured Image Credit: Getty/Anadolu

Topics: Russia, Military, History, Technology

Joe Yates
Joe Yates

Joe is a journalist for UNILAD, who particularly enjoys writing about crime. He has worked in journalism for five years, and has covered everything from murder trials to celeb news.

X

@JMYjourno

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • One of world's most unusual planes bigger than Boeing 747 is abandoned on a beach
  • Declassified footage of most powerful nuclear bomb ever detonated was kept top secret for decades
  • World's most experienced 747 pilot shares truth about why we use brace position on planes
  • World's most famous actor is a man that no one actually recognizes

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
22 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    People mind-blown as video resurfaces of man predicting Trump election win and conflict with Iran

    Professor Jiang Xueqin made the prediction in May 2024, claiming a US invasion of Iran would be a 'catastrophic mistake'

    Community
  • 2 hours ago

    Woman shares four symptoms 'ignored' by doctors before being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer

    TikToker Hannah says she was 'medically gaslit' for months before her cancer diagnosis

    Community
  • 22 hours ago

    Family awarded $20,000,000 after girl, 11, died when hospital made fatal mistake

    11-year-old Ava Wilson died in October 2020, despite being in remission from cancer

    Community
  • 22 hours ago

    Siblings claim sister died due to mother's cancer 'conspiracy theories' as they speak out with heartbreaking message

    Gabriel and Sebastian Shemirani are speaking out in the hope of saving lives

    Community