‘Sormovich’ was built in 1965. During the tests she reached the speed of 120 km/h (75 miles/hr), and went above the surface at a height of 0.25-0.3 m (approx. 1 ft), – she had easily overcome the shallow water and landed gently on the beach.
It looks like an airplane’s fuselage zipping on the water…
The Soviet Sormovich: A gas-turbine passenger hovercraft that operated on an experimental passenger line along the Volga River (Gorky – Cheboksary) in 1971-1972, which was 274 km (170 miles). A round trip from Gorky to Cheboksary took one day.
The ship had a crew of 3 people and could carry up to 50 passengers. The passenger lounge was placed at the bow. Operation was complicated by problems with the dispensing gear that failed. According to the statistics the Sormovich served about 6,000 passengers.
The Sormovich In A More Pastoral Scene
1971 Sormovich winter conditions test.
In 1971, tests were conducted with the Sormovich to determine the feasibility of passenger traffic in the winter.
The tests were successful, but the idea of passenger traffic in the winter was refused.
This decision was unclear, because the ship was designed to operate in the winter months. Perhaps it was connected with almost completely absent infrastructure for winter navigation on the Volga river. (English Russia)
The Sormovich decommissioned, abandoned, and in disrepair.
The gas-turbine hovercraft was decommissioned in 1974. The Sormovich met her end on a base in the Gorky Region. There it fell into a complete state of disrepair. It was cut into pieces of lifeless metal.
(Source material and photos: English Russia)
Atomic Flash Deluxe 