Vladimir Vaxmistrov was born on June 27, 1897 in Moscow. In 1915 he finished his studies at the Royal School in Moscow. At the age of 17 he voluntarily entered the army and was posted to the Mikhailovsk Artillery School (Petrogradsky). At the age of 19 he participated in several combats, but his interests were far from artillery. In 1916 he managed to be admitted as an aviation observer (partly thanks to his brother Boris who commanded a brigade in this group.

With the triumph of the October Revolution he joined the Red Army. He already participated as a pilot in battles over Orenburg and later the aviation group in which he served was sent to Turkistan. In 1921 he was able to continue his studies, initially at the Turkistan State University and later at the Air Fleet Academy.

The study stage coincided with the period of development of gliding in the USSR. His first design was the AVF-8 “Kondor” of 1924. Together with MK Tijonrarov he built the AVF-22 “Zmei Gorinich” glider in 1925. This glider was so effective that it was selected to participate in international flying competitions in Penske, Germany.

From that year on, Vaxmistrov participated in all competitions in Crimea. In 1927, together with Dubrovin and Tijonrarov, he presented the “Zhar-Ptitsa” glider, which established a 15 km range record in the competitions of that year. A year later these three friends presented the “Gamayún” glider in which for the first time in the USSR the pilot AB Yumashiev soared in a thermal over the plain for 375 meters. The “Skif” glider, also built by the trio, established in the VI National Competitions in 1929a Soviet altitude record at 1,520 meters and an improved version of the “Zhar Ptitsa-2” glider set a new range record of 32 km with return.

Between February and April 1926 Vaxmistrov participated as a crew member during the state tests of the Túpolev R-3 (ANT-3) reconnaissance aircraft, which were flown by MM Gromov.

Upon finishing his studies at the Air Fleet Academy in 1930, VS Vaxmistrov went on to work at the NII VVS, where he was able to develop his idea of combined aircraft. The first step in this direction came through a competition for an aerial target promoted by the institute and in which the idea presented by Vaxmistrov was the winner. The aerial target was fixed to a Polikarpov R-1 and at the precise moment it was released. The mother plane left the firing zone as the target began gliding.

The idea of transporting a small plane on a larger plane gradually took shape and became the famous “Zvenó” or “Chains”. In the next few years Vaxmistrov’s work was directly linked to the development of these combined flying structures that were used successfully in some missions during the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War.

In 1937 after the arrest of Mikhail Tukhachevsky the project of the “Zvenó” was stopped. Vaxmistrov was able to escape the process with only a demotion from principal constructor to brigade chief in KB-29 itself. Between 1937 and 1940 new versions of the “Zvenó” were developed. A version known as SPB was used successfully at the beginning of World War II in the attack against a bridge of strategic value in Romania.

In the pre-war years the KB-29 under the leadership of Vaxmistrov also developed a novel idea of fighting against enemy bomber formations known as PTP. It was a three kilogram bomb tied to a 100 meter rope that ended in a parachute. These bombs were to be dropped in large quantities to meet the bomber formation. When the enemy plane’s wings or fuselage met the rope, the resistance of the parachute caused the rope to move upwards. Making contact with the body of the plane activated the fuse that made the bomb explode. Despite satisfactory results in state tests, this method was never used.

From 1940, Vaxmistrov went to work in the OKB of NN Polikarpov, being soon appointed his replacement in aircraft development group and directed parallel the repair of I-16.

Between 1943 and 1945 Vaxmistrov worked on two new composite aircraft projects. The first known as TP (Transport Glider) was composed of gliders linked by fighters that guaranteed the motive power and the second included fighters linked with bomb planes.

After the Great Patriotic War, Vaxmistrov kept working in the aeronautical industry. In 1949 he worked on the development of an in-flight refuelling system.

He died in 1972 in Moscow.

Aeronautical production

Stage at the Air Fleet Academy

AVF-8 “Kondor” Glider (1924)
Glider AVF-22 “Zmiei Gorinich” (1925)
Glider “Zhar-Ptitsa” (1927)
Glider “Gamayún” (1928)
Glider “Skif” (1928)
Glider “Konsomolskaya Pravda” or “Zhar Ptitsa-2” (1929)
Glider “Skif-2” (1931 ).

Stage at TsAGI and KB-29

Zvenó or Zvenó-1 (1931).
Zvenó-1A (1933).
Zvenó-2 (1932) Project.
Zvenó-2A (1934)
Zvenó-3 (1934)
Zvenó-4 (1934)
Zvenó-5 (1935)
Zvenó-6 (1935)
Zvenó Aviamatka PVO (1935)
Zvenó-SPB (1937)
Vaxmistrov I-Ze (1937) Project.
Zvenó-7 (1938)

Other projects
An unrealized project of Vaxmistrov’s composite aircraft based on a TB-7 bomber.

Vladimir Vaxmistrov designed even other more complex versions such as the I-16 8-fighter transport project(Two fighters under the wing, and the other 6 in special structures located on the wing structure). Five of these fighters had to fly with the engines running to ensure the necessary power thrust. To avoid wasting its own fuel, the feeding was conceived directly from the tanks of the mother plane. The patrol time of this version was estimated at 6.5 hours, which was quite high for the time. Once the mission was over, the planes made contact with the bomber at a speed of 150 – 170 km / h. The bomber crew had to manually ensure the fixation of the fighter to the attachment point on the structure. The fighter-bomber contact system was tested in 1938 by the experienced NII VVS test pilots. Stepán Suprún and Piotr Stefanovski , demonstrating the feasibility of the system. However this version of 8 fighters was never built.

In the first half of the 1930s VS Vaxmistrov presented the preliminary design of a flying aircraft carrier which he also called Aviamatka. Vaxmistrov’s Aviamatka was designed as a monoplane with a parabolic-shaped flying wing scheme. 10 M-34FRN engines were placed in pairs on the wing leading edge moving 5 traction propellers. The parasitic fighters were located semi-inserted in the thick wing and were raised to the extraction by means of elevators, as is customary in aircraft carriers. This gigantic aircraft was also envisioned as a transport and tanker aircraft.

After the successful realization of the SPB project, Vaxmistrov conceived other improved variants of “Zvenó” SPB among which the following stand out:

A Pe-8 bomber (ANT-42 or TB-7) loading two I-16 SPBs or two more modern MiG-3 or Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-3 fighters with two FAB-250 bombs each. The maximum takeoff weight of this configuration did not exceed 33,500 kg and the maximum speed had to reach 405–420 km / h at 6,000 meters of altitude working the six engines at nominal speed, with a range of 1,320–1450 km. The Petlyakov Pe-8 was withdrawn from production in 1942 and the project was left on paper.

A flying boat GST (version the Consolidated PBY Catalina in the USSR ) carrying an I-16SPB on each wing.

An MTB-2 (ANT-44) heavy hydrofoil with two fighters.

Other projects included:

A composite transport glider raised by fighters installed under the wings and designed to guarantee the change of base of fighter squadrons in the absence of transport aircraft.

A double empennage glider attached to a fighter with two 1000 kg FAB-1000 ropes, one on each tail cone (a concept generally similar to the German Mistel of the final stage of the war).

A missile with delta wing configuration propelled by a ramjet and combined with a fighter.

None of these projects went beyond the drawing board. Vaxmistrov never managed to realize his idea of winged aircraft carriers.