Starting seaplane design in 1928, Georgi. M. Beriev became the leading designer of Russian waterbased aircraft. Beriev had gained considerable expertise as an assistant to French designer, Paul-Aime Richard, during the latter’s stay in the Soviet Union from 1928 to 1930.
Chief designer of the TsKB seaplane group and the bureau of G M. Beriev, at Taganrog on the Azov Sea.
In 1930, he was responsible for the twin-engined MBR-2 flying-boat, Be-2 reconnaissance seaplane and Be-4 flying-boat. Beriev design bureau became center of Soviet seaplane development in 1945, a major flying-boat project being the twin-jet Be-10. Be-12 twin-turboprop antisubmarine and reconnaissance amphibian manufactured between 1963 and 1973 and used widely by Soviet/Russian Navy until about 1997, when withdrawn; several Be-12s have been modified for civil uses, including transport and firefighting. A-40/Be-40 Albatross Mermaid turbofan-powered intermediate-range antisubmarine, search-and-rescue and patrol amphibian, first flown December 1986 and ordered for the Russian Navy in 1992 but not funded.
An improved search-and-rescue variant became the Be-42 (sometimes referred to in the West as A-45).
A laser-gun test-bed aircraft based on the llyushin II-76 was produced by Beriev and has been flown since 1980s as A-60, while in 1978 the first flight took place of the Beriev A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning and control aircraft, also based on the II-76 and in Russian operational service since 1984. Beriev Be-32 16-passenger twin-turboprop transport (first flown 1976), similar to earlier Be-30 (first flown 1968), was still to enter production in 1998. Be-102 multipurpose amphibian designed in 1993 but remained project in 1998. Be-112 Pelican larger multipurpose amphibian under consideration for development, while Be-200 twin turbofan multipurpose amphibian (initially for firefighting) first flew in 1998. Be-103 six-seat light amphibian, also suited to cargo carrying, survey and other roles, first flew July 1997; has twin piston engines carried on mounts either side of the rear fuselage. Very heavy lift cargo and passenger amphibians have been projected as Be-1200 and Be-2500, possibly to fly next century. Company then named Joint Stock Company “Taganrog Aviation Scientific- Technical Complex named after G.M. Beriev,” and became part of the AVPK Sukhoi organization.