Lisunov Li-2
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Lisunov Li-2 (NATO reporting name: Cab), originally designated PS-84, was a
license-built Licensed production is the production under license of technology developed elsewhere. The licensee provides the licensor of a specific product with legal production rights, technical information, process technology, and any other proprietary compo ...
Soviet-version of the
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
. It was produced by Factory #84 in Moscow-Khimki and, after evacuation in 1941, at TAPO in
Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...
. The project was directed by aeronautical engineer
Boris Pavlovich Lisunov Boris Pavlovich Lisunov (russian: Борис Павлович Лисунов; 19 August 1898 – 3 November 1946) was a Soviet aerospace engineer. Biography Lisunov was born in Durnovskaya (now Rassvet) stanitsa, Yenotaevsky uyezd of the Go ...
.


Design and development

The Soviet Union received its first DC-2 in 1935. A total of 18 DC-3s had been ordered on 11 April 1936, and the government of the USSR purchased 21 DC-3s for operation by Aeroflot before
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. A production license was awarded to the government of the USSR on 15 July 1936. Lisunov spent two years at the
Douglas Aircraft Company The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...
, between November 1936 and April 1939 translating the design. One of the engineers who accompanied him to Douglas was
Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev (russian: Владимир Михайлович Мясищев) (September 28, 1902 in Yefremov (town), Yefremov – October 14, 1978 in Moscow) was a Soviet Union, Soviet aircraft designer, Major General of Eng ...
. Design work and production were undertaken at State Aviation Factory 84 in Khimki (now a suburb of Moscow)."Russian Aviation LI-2."
''DC3History.org''. Retrieved: 12 April 2015.
The Soviet version was given the designation PS-84 – Passazhirskiy Samolyot 84, passenger airplane 84 (i.e. made in GAZ/State Aircraft Plant No. 84). Despite the original intention to incorporate as few changes as necessary to the basic design, the GAZ-84 works had to make some 1,293 engineering change orders to the original Douglas drawings, involving part design, dimensions, materials and processes, most as a part of metrication of the design from
U.S. customary units United States customary units form a system of measurement units commonly used in the United States and U.S. territories since being standardized and adopted in 1832. The United States customary system (USCS or USC) developed from English units ...
to suit Soviet standards, no small task for Vladimir Myasishchev to accomplish. The well-established Shvetsov OKB-19 design bureau, responsible for the great bulk of the Soviets' air-cooled radial aviation powerplant designs of the 1930-40s, used their Shvetsov ASh-62IR radial engines, a Soviet development of the nine-cylinder
Wright R-1820 The Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright, widely used on aircraft in the 1930s through 1950s. It was produced under license in France as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V, and in the Soviet Uni ...
''Cyclone 9'', to power the PS-84. The same Wright Aeronautical ''Cyclone 9'' radial also powered the earliest Douglas DST "Sleeper Transport" versions, and initial 21-passenger versions, of the original American DC-3 airliner. The Soviet standard design practice usually mandated fully shuttered engines in order to cope with temperature extremes. A slightly shorter span was incorporated, but many of the other alterations were less evident. The passenger door was moved to the right or starboard side of the fuselage, with a top-opening cargo door on the left or port side in place of the original passenger door. The structural reinforcement included slightly heavier skins, because the metric skin gauges were not exact equivalents of the American alloy sheet metal. Standard Soviet metric hardware was different and the various steel substructures such as engine mounts and landing gear, wheels, and tires were also quite different from the original design. Later modifications allowed the provision of ski landing gear in order to operate in remote and Arctic regions. The first PS-84s had begun to emerge from the GAZ-84 production line by 1939. By the time Germany invaded the USSR on 22 June 1941, 237 PS-84s had been built at GAZ-84, all in civil passenger configuration. In response to the invasion, the Kremlin set in motion a plan to relocate much of the industrial capability of the Soviet Union to the East, with production of the Li-2 ending up at GAZ-33 in
Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...
, now the capital of
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
. After a monumental struggle, the factory was producing PS-84s again by January 1942.Gunston 1995 GAZ-124 at
Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...
also built ten aircraft before the start of World War II, and 353 Li-2Ts were built by GAZ-126 at
Komsomolsk-on-Amur Komsomolsk-on-Amur ( rus, Комсомольск-на-Амуре, r=Komsomolsk-na-Amure, p=kəmsɐˈmolʲsk nɐɐˈmurʲə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located on the west bank of the Amur Rive ...
between 1946 and 1950, before that plant switched to MiG-15 production. Some military versions of the Li-2 also had bombing equipment—such as bomb sight and bomb racks, and defensive turret, unlike the military
C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...
development of the DC-3. The defensive armaments consisted of MV-3 dorsal turret with a 7.62 mm (.30 in) ShKAS machine gun, later replaced with a 12.7 mm (.50 in) UBT heavy machine gun. Additionally two ShKAS machine guns on pivot mount could also be mounted on both sides of the rear fuselage near the cargo door. A version designated Li-2VV (''Voyenny Variant'' = military variant) had a redesigned nose for extra ShKAS machine gun and could carry up to four 250 kg (551 lb) bombs under the central fuselage. Smaller bombs could be carried inside the fuselage and thrown out of the cargo door by the crew.Shunkov 2014, p. 306–307


Operational history

The PS-84 had flown with Aeroflot primarily as a passenger transport before World War II. When Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941 many of the PS-84s were taken into military use and redesignated the Lisunov Li-2 in 1942. The military models were equipped with a machine gun on dorsal turret. The aircraft were used for transport, partisan supply, bombing, and as ambulance aircraft. A total of 4,937Gradidge 2006, p. 20. aircraft were produced of all Li-2 variants between 1940 and 1954 and it saw extensive use in Eastern Europe until the 1960s. The last survivors in use were noted in China and Vietnam during the 1980s. There were many versions, including airliner, cargo, military transport, reconnaissance, aerial photography, parachute drop, bomber and high altitude variants. In Poland they were fitted for cropdusting against forest pests. The Li-2 also saw extensive service in the Chinese Air Force in the 1940s and 1950s. Several airlines operated Lisunov Li-2s, among others
Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
,
CAAK Air Koryo () is the state-owned national airline of North Korea, headquartered in Sunan-guyŏk, Pyongyang. Based at Pyongyang International Airport ( IATA: FNJ), it operates international scheduled and charter services to points in Asia. Hi ...
,
CSA CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...
,
LOT Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...
, MALÉV, Polar Aviation, TABSO and Tarom. Only one Li-2 restored to
airworthy In aviation, airworthiness is the measure of an aircraft's suitability for safe flight. Initial airworthiness is demonstrated by a certificate of airworthiness issued by the civil aviation authority in the state in which the aircraft is register ...
condition exists in Europe. The Hungarian registered HA-LIX was built in 1949 in Airframe Factory Nr.84 (GAZ-84) of Tashkent, as serial number 18433209 and was operated by MALÉV till 1964. It was withdrawn to a museum in 1974 as an airforce parachute trainer airplane. After a complete reconstruction finished in 2001 it flies sightseeing tours and regularly participates at air shows. It is operated by the Goldtimer Foundation, based at
Budaörs Airport Budaörs Airport ( hu, Budaörsi Repülőtér), is an airport located in the 11th district of Budapest, Hungary and was named after the neighboring town Budaörs. Now serving general aviation, it was once Hungary's only international airport ...
,
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
. The North Korean Air Force is known to still use a number of Li-2s for transport, although they may have been decommissioned despite their continued presence on certain airbases.


Accidents and incidents


Variants

;PS-84: Original passenger airliner, equipped with 14-28 seats. Somewhat smaller span and higher empty weight, it was also equipped with lower-powered engines compared to the DC-3. The cargo door was also transposed to the right side of the fuselage. ;PS-84I: Medevac version. ;Li-2: Redesignation of PS-84s impressed into military use. ;Li-2D: Paratroop transport version (1942), with reinforced floor and tie-downs, plus cargo doors (slightly smaller than the C-47 doors) on the left. ;Li-2F: Aerial photography version. ;Li-2K: Military transport aircraft with defensive armament (designation started from 17 September 1942). ;Li-2P: Basic civil passenger model (1945). ;Li-2PG: Civil "combi" passenger-cargo version. ;Li-2PR: Glass nose version. ;Li-2R: "Reconnaissance" version, with bulged windows fitted behind the cockpit. ;Li-2T: Transport version (1945). ;LI-2T: Polish bomber trainer version. ;Li-2V: High-altitude weather surveillance version of the Li-2, equipped with turbocharged engines. ;Li-2VV: Transport/bomber version (1942) ;Li-2NB: Night bomber version (1944), minimal changes from ordinary bomber version. The navigator/bombardier station was moved to behind the left pilot, night bombsight was installed behind the emergency door to improve aiming, and the emergency door itself replaced with convex glass. ;Li-3: Yugoslavian version equipped with American
Pratt & Whitney R-1830 The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp is an American air-cooled radial aircraft engine. It displaces and its bore and stroke are both . The design traces its history to 1929 experiments at Pratt & Whitney on twin-row designs. Production began ...
engines (similar to the DC-3) ;Kamov Ka-Li-2 Vintokryl "Project-Kh": Proposed compound helicopter with a Kuznetsov TV-2 turboshaft driving two three-blade rotors; not built.


Operators


Military

;:
Bulgarian Air Force The Bulgarian Air Force ( bg, Военновъздушни сили, Voennovazdushni sili) is one of the three branches of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and p ...
;: Czechoslovak Air Force ;: People's Liberation Army Air Force :Total of 41 Li-2 aircraft were imported for military and civil usage; the last Li-2 retired in 1986. ;: Hungarian Air Force ; *
Royal Lao Air Force The Royal Lao Air Force (french: Aviation Royale Laotiènne – AVRL), best known to the Americans by its English acronym RLAF, was the air force component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Royal Lao Government and ...
*
Pathet Lao The Pathet Lao ( lo, ປະເທດລາວ, translit=Pa thēt Lāo, translation=Lao Nation), officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The gro ...
guerrilla forces (1962-1975) ; ;: Mongolian People's Army Aviation ;:
Korean People's Air Force The Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force (KPAAF; ; Hanja: 朝鮮人民軍 航空 및 反航空軍 ) is the unified military aviation force of North Korea. It is the second largest branch of the Korean People's Army comprising an estimated ...
;
Democratic Republic of Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
: Vietnam People's Air Force ;:
Air Force of the Polish Army The Air Force of the Polish Army ( pl, Lotnictwo Wojska Polskiego), unofficially known as the People's Polish Air Force was the name of the Soviet-controlled Polish Air Force in the USSR between 1943 and 1947 created alongside the Polish People' ...
(after 1947
Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...
) ;:
Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) ( ro, Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five airbases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include one ai ...
;:
Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
* 12th Aviation Division Long-Range, from 1943 *As of January 1955, a transport aviation division of
Long Range Aviation Long-Range Aviation ( rus, Авиация Дальнего Действия, r=Aviatsiya dal'nego deystviya, abbr. to AДД, or ADD, and literally ''Aviation of Distant Action'') is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces responsible for delive ...
*other units ;: Syrian Air Force ;: SFR Yugoslav Air Force *
1st Transport Aviation Regiment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, ...
(1945–1948) * 119th Transport Aviation Regiment (1948–1959, Li-3 1970)


Civil

; *
SKOGA SKOGA was an airline jointly controlled by China and the Soviet Union, based in Beijing, China, which operated from 1950 to 1954. The name SKOGA (russian: СКОГА) is the acronym of ''Sovyetsko-Kitaiskoe Obschestvo Grazhdanskoi Aviatsii'' (So ...
*
CAAC The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the Chinese civil aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents. As the aviation authority responsible fo ...
; *
CSA CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...
* Government of Czechoslovakia ;: * Maszovlet *
Malév Hungarian Airlines MALÉV Ltd. ( hu, Malév Zrt.), which did business as MALÉV Hungarian Airlines ( hu, Magyar Légiközlekedési Vállalat, abbreviated ''MALÉV'', ), was the flag carrier of Hungary from 1946 until 2012. Its head office was in Budapest, with i ...
;:
CAAK Air Koryo () is the state-owned national airline of North Korea, headquartered in Sunan-guyŏk, Pyongyang. Based at Pyongyang International Airport ( IATA: FNJ), it operates international scheduled and charter services to points in Asia. Hi ...
;:
LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines, legally incorporated as Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. Established in 1928, LOT was a founding member of IATA and remains one of the world's oldest airlines in operation. Wit ...
operated up to 40 Li-2s as passenger airliners until 1960s.Jońca, Adam (1985). ''Samoloty linii lotniczych 1945-1956'', Barwa w lotnictwie polskim no.4, WKiŁ, Warsaw, , p.4 ;: TAROM ;:
Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
;: CAAV


Specifications (Li-2P)


See also


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * *


External links


Lisunov Li-2 (NATO: Cab) by Maarten Brouwer



Gold Timer Foundation Restorers of the only remaining Li-2 still in flying condition. (Hungarian)

Hungarian/Lisunov Li-2T
{{Czech transport aircraft 1930s Soviet airliners 1940s Soviet military transport aircraft Low-wing aircraft World War II Soviet transport aircraft Douglas DC-3 Aircraft manufactured in the Soviet Union Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft