Russian Aeronautics before 1907

[agblume]

Hello Kees, I deeply apreciate your kind help. As you suggest, I'm not sure I can afford such a purchase at this time, but will definitely check it out. Best regards, August

[Rod_Filan]

Originally Posted by Varese2002

• Baranovski designed a conceptually different machine as demonstrated in the text you have translated from 1883

[and previously...]

• Together with the son of B.S Baranovsky [another Baranovsky ?] he designed a (compressed ?) air motor for use in a submarine.

[which Yavor revised to read: ...and working together with his son, B. S. Baranovsky, they designed a pneumatic motor for a submarine

In using Aeronautics and aviation in Russia till 1907 to find any other flying machine that Baranovsky might have been associated with--that task came up empty. But in the course I did finish translating the letter written 1 Nov 1881 by Baranovsky to Totleben. The descriptive contents and footnoted source for illustrations(?) of the "Flyer", I had overlooked until now.

№ 172
1881 November 1. - THE LETTER OF PROFESSOR S. I. BARANOVSKY TO E. I. TOTLEBEN WITH THE PROPOSAL TO BUILD FLIGHT VEHICLE “FLYER” AND TO LET GO TO THIS, CASH RESOURCES ¹

Your high-excellency.

After showing my plans to the Kharkov [Charkow] representatives of science, I, in their approval, received the courage to turn now directly to your high-excellency. The thought, which long ago occupied me, has now reached narrower with maturity, which only remains to carry it out in reality in order to obtain the solution of the problem, which occupies the military-engineering department.
The devised by me “Flyer” will possess the following qualities: man five or six in it as is convenient and to completely safely fly where by it conveniently, independent of wind, with completely significant rapidity and with the possibility of long nonstop flight, at least several days running. Size of the “Flyer” is about fifty square sazhen [1 sazhen = 7 ft = 2.1336 m]; mechanical force for rapid flight is sixty dynamic horsepower; weight - near one ton, and with the total load - up to two tons ².
For the building of the “Flyer” a sum of money is necessary, which I do not have. If your high-excellency wishes to render government assistance to me in this, then I am ready to arrive in St. Petersburg to build at the local plants all parts of my “Flyer”, to gather them into one whole at the plant of my deceased son (on the Vyborg side, above the Neva), and then Russia will be the first owner of this powerful means.
When your high-excellency honours me with your answer, then I will be pleased to express of it: in what measure and on what conditions will fiscal assistance be made available to me?

With true respect, it is an honour to remain your high-excellency's most obedient servant Baranovsky

On November 1, 1881.
My address:
In Chuguyev e. prevoskhod. To Stepan Ivanovich Baranovsky.

[TSGVIA], f. 740, d. 698, l. 61. Autograph.

¹ cm. also the documents of № 174 and 181.
² description, even five figures of the “Flyer” S. I. Baranovsky are placed in the journal “Нива” “[Niva]” for 1881, № 45, p. 997-999, in the article “Flying projectiles. Apropos the “Flyer” of S. Baranovsky”.

p.245

Unfortunately, as I read it, the IDC Publishers catalog lists the entire 1881 volume of Niva Illustrated Journal as missing

Cheers
Rod

[Varese2002]

Hi Rod, great work. We are back again with Baranovski, shuttling between Baranovski and Kostovich.

I sought out the abbreviation TSGVIA [ЦГВИА] in the text, giving the source of this document. It stands for Центральный государственный военно-исторический архив СССР [Central state military history archive OF THE USSR].

They have a site here.

A useful list of all those mysterious Russian abbreviations is here.

A great pity that the article in the Niva magazine (1881) is not available in the microfiche edition of IDC, but I think the same information could be available in a 1881 issue of Vozdukhoplavatel as this was a specialized magazine dedicated wholly to aeronautics.

Will see if I can unearth again some text from the Kostovich book tonight (12 hours from now).

Cheers

Kees

[Rod_Filan]

Kees, thank you for solving that acronym for me. And the list of Russian abbreviations will come in very useful indeed(!)

A great pity that the article in the Niva magazine (1881) is not available in the microfiche edition of IDC, but I think the same information could be available in a 1881 issue of Vozdukhoplavatel as this was a specialized magazine dedicated wholly to aeronautics.

Good point. The ball's in your court then

Until then, from Aeronautics and aviation in Russia till 1907, the conclusion to Baranovsky's request...

№ 174
1881 December 4. - LETTER OF THE CLERK OF THE ENGINEERING COMMITTEE MAJOR-GENERAL I. I. VALBERGA TO S. I. BARANOVSKY CONCERNING THE FAILURE TO ASSIGN MONEY FOR THE BUILDING OF THE FLIGHT VEHICLE “FLYER”

№ 12698 St. Petersburg

In reply to your most respectable letter dated November 1 of this year, on the order of the comrade inspector-general of the engineering unit, I have the honour to inform, that his high-excellency did not recognize it as possible to render you the grant for the projected construction by you of "Flyer", since neither in the mentioned letter to his excellency, nor in the description of the device invented by you printed in the magazine "Niva" in 1881, is there encountered any postive proof of the fact that the apparatus projected by you can be practically attained.

To this I have the honour to add, that the doubt about feasibility of the flying device for his excellency is evident even from your letter of November 1, in which you express, that for the rapid flight of the apparatus weighing with a full cargo up to 2 tons, a force of 60 horsepower is sufficient, while what is sufficient for maintenance in the air of an apparatus of such weight is a necessary force of 130 horsepower. Specifically, the acceleration of gravity = 9,8 meters per second, the speed acquired in the first second by a falling body = 1/2 x 9,8 = 4,9 meters, therefore, for maintenance in the air of each kg of the apparatus the work necessary of the machine is 4,9 kilogrammeters, and with a weight of 2 tons = 2000 kilograms, the work necessary =

2000 x 4,9
---------- = 130 2/3 horsepower
75

Clerk Major-General Valberg

ЦГВИА [TSGVIA], f. 740 (l), d. 698, ll. 62 and 63. draft copy.

p.251-252

Cheers
Rod

[Varese2002]

Hi Rod,

To this I have the honour to add, that the doubt about feasibility of the flying device for his excellency is evident even from your letter of November 1

Really a very polite and killing remark from the clerk of Major-General Valberg

Cheers

Kees

[Varese2002]

I continue the translation from the Russian about the Aeroscaf of Kostovich

[Recapitulation]

With the help of Yavor I was able to translate a piece from the Russian book on Kostovich (published 2001) earlier mentioned.

Quote:
In January 1881, the Vozdukhoplavatel [Aeronaut] journal published an article titled "An aeronautical vessel [airship] or the Aeroscaf of Captain Kostovich" (*). This article contains an illustration of a strange flying apparatus with a cigar-shaped body, big wings and a tail of a bird.

The editor wrote "today we present an illustration which, without doubt, merits fascination and admiration from the public". In this balloon age, the winged, mysterious bird-like ship was a miracle. For the reader it was probably hard to imagine if this was fact or fiction.

The editor of the magazine added "at last, it is possible to introduce the public to the ship of Kostovich, because the permission of the author was fully granted without any information left behind".

Source: * Vozdukhoplavatel [Воздухоплаватель] 1881 No. 4 Page 35

The article continues:

Actually, the device of ship was sufficiently described in detail. The article concluded with the remark: “Continuation follows”. But the periodical began to be published irregularly and then completely ceased publication. Continuation did not follow. However, the complete description of the flight vehicle of Kostovich appeared at the end of February 1881 in the newspaper [Биржевые Ведомости], which can be translated as 'stock exchange lists (15)

(15) V Mire izobretenii – Birzhevyerue Vedomosti, 1881, 25 February, page 1.

Russian text was

(15) В мире изобретений. - Биржевые ведомости, 1881, 25 февраля, С.1

So here is again a contemporary reference (25 february 1881) to the Aeroscaf of Kostovich in a regular newspaper (a Russian version of the Wall street journal ).

The Russian daily newspaper can be seen here, unfortunately starting with the issue of January 1901.

Will continue the translation of the Kostovich book, to see how Kostovich made the turn from the Aeroscaf to the Russia airship.

Cheers

Kees

[Varese2002]

I just searched the catalogues in the hope of finding in the big libraries complete sets of the daily newspaper Биржевые Ведомости.

I found it under the transliterated title Birzhevyi︠a︡ vi︠e︡domosti here. About 8 US Libraries have (in)complete runs of the daily newspaper, also on microfiche.

Four no. a week Apr. 1881-1884
Semiweekly Nov. 1880-Mar. 1881
Frequency notes : Daily 1885-1917
Linking notes : Merger of: Birzhevoĭ vi︠e︡stnik, and: Russkīĭ mīr. Cf. Lisovskiĭ; no. 1455.
Notes : Began with: no. 74 (1 noi︠a︡bri︠a︡ 1880). Cf. Lisovskiĭ, no. 1455.
Ceased publication in Oct. 1917. Cf. Sovetskai︠a︡ istoricheskai︠a︡ ėnt︠s︡iklopedii︠a︡; v. 2, p. 442.

I looked thyrough a few of the holdings of these libraries for the availability of the specific issue of 25 February 1891, but have not found any holdings of this.

I think our chances to obtain a copy / scan of this page(s) is the highest at the http://www.rsl.ru/index.php?lang=en]...rary / Ñîáûòèÿ .

********** Addendum *************

Look also at the Library of Congress here. It looks if they have a complete (?) set on microfiche / reel ?

Cheers

Kees

[Rod_Filan]

Originally Posted by Varese2002

Will continue the translation of the Kostovich book, to see how Kostovich made the turn from the Aeroscaf to the Russia airship.
Cheers
Kees

"I have investigated many crimes, but I have never yet seen one which was committed by a flying creature."
Sherlock Holmes - The Adventure of Black Peter

Perhaps the Kostovich book does contains the missing piece of evidence, yet be aware--twice now this irregular feature has come up as something not illustrated on the book cover...

[...]
However, the most completed project was created in 1880 by Captain O. S. Kostovich. His airship, named «Россия» [“Russia”], was finished within several years. In the final version a rigid cylindrical skeleton with conical ends served as its basis, made of a light and strong enough material called «арборита» ["arborit"] (type of plywood), the manufacturing techniques of which were developed by Kostovich himself. The Body was covered with a silk material, impregnated with a special composition for the reduction of gas permeability. Along the sides of the balloon [aerostat] were lifting surfaces. Along its axis passed the horizontal beam, in the rear of which was fitted a four-bladed propeller. Attached to the beam at the front was a directional rudder. Serving to control the dirigible in the vertical plane was a sliding weight suspended from below. At the maximum cross section of the envelope the stand pipe was placed, the gondola was joined to its lower part. The volume of the envelope was about 5000 cu. m, length - about 60 m, and maximum diameter - 12 m.

Дирижабли на войне / DIRIGIBLES OF WAR / auth. Обухович В. А., Кульбака С. П.

In your detailing the construction of "Russia", subject of Forum attic Item # 9, was written essentially the same thing. I didn't see a source, but I think it was different than the above given that various other spec's differ.

Cheers
Rod

[Varese2002]

I have got the Scientific American Volume 48 (1883) page 87, so this is the original. I left out the page 88 because after the short description of the machine, there is a long discourse on bird flight and the possibility of man's flight. Nothing is on page 88 about the machine.

Well you see it directly, this is the engraving we have seen often where the cigar shaped machine is flying over a ghostly landscene. The caption is razor clear - PROFESSOR BARANOWSKI'S NEW STEAM FLYING MACHINE.

There we have it

• the same machine attributed in different contemporary magazines to Kostovich and Baranowski

• The article in Scientific American is quoting a French magazine: Revue militaire. So not actually first hand news!

• Spurious entry in the beginning that 'a small model of which has been repeatedly tried, we are told, with much success in St. Peterburg, Russia.'

• it has two lateral propellers, and one rear propeller; and their rotation determines the direction of the machine, whether it shall be vertical or horizontal. -- lateral propellers ? that could be rotated ?

• the part which represents the beak of a bird is so arranged as to permit the entrance of air to the interior of the cylinder - if the air intake is at the beak of the bird side, the propeller is a tractor and the machine is flying to the left, leaving behind it a tail of smoke, steam etc.

Not surprisingly there is no hint of Kostovich in the Scientific American article.

Cheers

Kees

AERIAL NAVIGATION

We give an engraving of a new flying machine, designed by Professor Baranowski, a small model of which has been repeatedly tried, we are told, with much success in St. Peterburg, Russia.
The apparatus is thus described by the Revue Militaire, of Paris. It consists of a great cylinder intended to have the form of a gigantic bird. The interior is provided with steam machinery, having a power proportioned to the size of the apparatus, with space for working the same; it has two lateral propellers, and one rear propeller; and their rotation determines the direction of the machine, whether it shall be vertical or horizontal; at one extremity of the cylinder is seen a species of oar which serves as a rudder; two great wings, composed of strong membranes, give an ascending motion to the apparatus, and keep it afloat in the air; the part which represents the beak of a bird is so arranged as to permit the entrance of air to the interior of the cylinder, to supply the crew and for the combustion of the fuel; the smoke, gases and steam issue from the end, which when the structure passes through the space, will give the appearance of the tail of a brilliant comet. From the underside hangs a pendulum weight that keeps the apparatus in proper equilibrum.

Quote from; Scientific American volume 48 (1883) page 87

[Varese2002]

I recently inquired with the Library of Congress to the article of Baranov - Aerial voyage of Mr. Baranovsky in St Petersburg in Vozdukhoplavatel Issue 1880 No. 2 (21 January 1880) pages 10 - 12.

[Баранов, Воздушное путешествие г. Барановскаго в С.-Петербург.. Воздухоплавателъ

The answer is in. They are very helpful in the Library of Congress

This is their answer -

There is no indication that the Library of Congress has the item that you are looking for. I also did not find it in any other U.S. library. Some libraries have a pre-revolutionary Russian journal also called Vozdukhoplavatel', but it was published 1903-1917. However, I did verify that there was a Vozdukhoplavatel' published in Saint Petersburg from 1880-1883. According to the online catalog of serials of the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg, they have all issues of this title.

I contacted the Smithsonian Library to see if they had the item since the Brockett bibliography claims that they do. They could not find any record of it.

I think your only option is to contact the Russian National Library. here. Their document delivery service is described on this page here

I am sorry that I could not be of more help.

Sincerely,
Angela Cannon
Reference Librarian
European Division
Library of Congress

Very helpful ! I think the search must go on in the Russian National Library and in one big gulp acquire all original articles we need to verify the Baranovski - Kostovich struggle

But --- to do a serious inquiry in Russian language I think we need the considerable powers of Yavor as this is surely out of my range of Russian knowledge. By the way I taught myself already phonetic typing of Russian cyrillic characters on an English keyboard!

Cheers

Kees