Myasishchev VM-T

VM-T Atlant
VM-T with rocket booster at the Zhukovski Air Show in 2005
Role	Outsized cargo transport
Manufacturer	Myasishchev
First flight	1981
Introduced	January 1982
Retired	1989
Status	Out of service
Primary user	Soviet Air Force
Number built	2
Developed from	Myasishchev M-4

The Myasishchev VM-T Atlant (Мясищев ВМ-Т «Атлант») is a variant of Myasishchev's M-4 'Molot' bomber designed as a strategic airlift airplane. The VM-T was modified to carry rocket boosters and the Soviet space shuttles of the Buran program. It is also known as the 3M-T.

Design and development

The design was conceived in 1978 when Myasishchev was asked to solve the problem of transporting rockets and other large space vehicles to the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Engineers used an old 3M (a modified M-4 bomber) and replaced the empennage with dihedral horizontal stabilizers with large rectangular endplate tailfins to accommodate any load that was twice the diameter of the aircraft's fuselage. A large cargo container, placed on top of the aircraft, would contain the freight. In addition, a new control system was added to the plane to compensate for the added weight.

The Atlant first flew in 1981 and made its first flight with cargo in January 1982. Its main task was to ferry Energiya rocket boosters from their development plant to the Baikonur Cosmodrome. On several occasions, the Soviet space shuttle Buran was piggybacked to the Cosmodrome as well.

Two Atlants were built. They were replaced in 1989 by Antonov's An-225 Mriya. At least one Atlant remains at the Zhukovskiy airfield in Russia owned by TsAGI and Gromov Flight Research Institute.^{[citation needed]}

Operators

 Soviet Union

• Soviet Air Force

Specifications (VM-T)

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General characteristics

• Crew: five
• Payload: 50,000 kg (110,200 lb)
• Length: 51.2 m (167 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 53.6 m (174 ft 5 in)
• Height: 10.6 m (34 ft 9 in)
• Empty weight: 75,740 kg (166,980 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 192,000 kg (423,300 lb)
• Powerplant: 4× RKBM/Koliesov VD-7MD turbojets, 422 kN (94,800 lbf) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 500 km/h (311 mph)
• Range: 1,500 km (932 mi) ()
• Service ceiling: 8,000 - 9,000 m (26,245 - 29,525 ft)
• Thrust/weight: 8.4 N/kg (0.86 kgf/kg)

See also

Related development

• Myasishchev M-4
  

Comparable aircraft

• Antonov An-225
• Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
  

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: VM-T Atlant

• History and details about the VM-T Atlant
• VM-T with Buran Orbiter and with very large cargo onboard
• Aviation.ru
• Airline photos: Myasischev VM-T
• VM-T on Dyagilevo AFB (google maps)
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