|
Astra XIII / Astra-Torres
Russian Empire airship Soviet B-3 Red Star
 The 1908 non-rigid Astra-Torres (or Astra XIII), was purchased by the Russian Empire in 1913.
During WW1 "Astra" made six missions but was dismantled in 1915. From 1915 until 1920 "Astra" was kept at the Aeronautic school depot.
An attempt to revive aeronautics in the Russian Empire was made in 1920. Analysis of the legacy of the Russian Empire equipment and parts of old airships showed that at best hull at the time was the airship "Astra-Torres", and it was decided to work on its recovery.
Following the production of individual suspension parts, the latest in autumn 1920 in the village of Salizi (near Petrograd), an aeronautic squad began to work on the assembly airship renamed Krasnaya zvezda (Red Star). The shell was made of three-layer rubberized material and has an inner wall that divided the volume of the two equal parts. This partition allowed to reduce transfusion of gas along the shell with trim of the aircraft. This work is finished in the middle of November. On 23 November 1920 the airship envelope filled with gas, and on January 3, 1921 it performed the first flight.
 In total this airship performed 6 flights, the total duration of which was about 16 hours.
Volume: 10,500 cu.m
Length: 78 m
Diameter: 15 m
Engines: 2 x 197 hp
Max.speed: 59 km/h
|
