The Anatra Anadis was developed in 1916 as a single-seat fighter variant of the Anatra Anasal reconnaissance

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

. The main difference between the two aircraft was the streamlined fuselage, the lack of a rear seat in the Anadis, plans for a forward-firing gun (not implemented) and a different engine.

Development

In the spring of 1916, Elisee Alfred Descamps, a French designer and chief engineer of the

Anatra Anatra () was an aircraft manufacturer founded by Artur Antonovich Anatra () at Odessa, Ukraine, then Russian Empire in 1913 which manufactured aircraft until 1917. Artur Anatra had previously helped fund the purchase of the first aircraft to ar ...

company of

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

was ordered to build a single-seat fighter based on the Anasal two-seat

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

biplane. Retaining the Anasal's two-bay configuration and fabric-covered wooden construction, the fighter, dubbed the Anadis, differed in having a streamlined fuselage, the rear cockpit removed, provision made for forward-firing armament and the 150 hp

Salmson Salmson is a French engineering company. Initially a pump manufacturer, it turned to automobile and aeroplane manufacturing in the 20th century, returning to pump manufacturing in the 1960s, and re-expanded to a number of products and services ...

water-cooled

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

replaced by a similarly-rated Hispano-Suiza V8 water-cooled engine. The prototype Anadis was flown on 23 October 1916 by the factory

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

, another Frenchman, Jean Robinet. The test pilot and designer modified the fighter to recover the second seat and carry extra fuel tanks, the idea being to use it to escape Russia in the event of the impending revolution. Their plan was discovered by one

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Kononenko, an Imperial Army acceptance pilot attached to Anatra, and the modifications were reverted. Testing continued until 11 November 1916, the official report to the Imperial Army stating that it was "... not inferior to any German aircraft of the same type and with greater power". Nevertheless, no further examples were ordered and the tested aircraft remained at the factory until the autumn of 1917. In September 1917,

Staff Captain Staff captain is the English translation of a number of military ranks: Historical use of the rank Czechoslovakia In the Czechoslovak Army, until 1953, Staff Captain ( cs, štábní kapitán, sk, štábny kapitán) was a senior captain ran ...

N.A. Makarov applied for permission to fly the aircraft on a long-distance propaganda flight along the route Odessa-

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

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Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

with a subsequent return to Russia in order "to visit the fronts and factories, to see the Allied aviation... so that the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

would supply us better". The flight was authorized. On 14 October, the Anadis was tested with a load of 500 kg. Interestingly, in addition to the identifying Russian

cockades A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a hat or cap. Eighteenth century In the 18th and 19th centuries, coloured cockades were used in Europe to show the allegia ...

, the Anadis was painted very picturesquely: a two-headed eagle with the flags of the Entente countries were drawn on the fuselage and half-naked girls on the wings. In November 1917, Makarov went on the flight, but he crashed near the city of

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

due to an engine failure. The subsequent history of the aircraft is unknown.

Specifications

References

{{Anatra aircraft 1910s Russian fighter aircraft Anadis Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1916