Grigorovich M-9 (alternative designation ShCh M-9, sometimes also Shchetinin M-9) was a Russian
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
-era biplane
flying boat
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
, developed from the
M-5 by
Grigorovich.
The first M-9 was ready in 1915 and its maiden flight was carried out on January 9, 1916 at
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
. On September 17, 1916, the test pilot
Jan Nagórski became the first to make a loop with a flying boat.
During the
Russian Civil War
, date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
, M-9s participated in the air defence of Baku, dropping approximately 6,000 kg of bombs and 160 kg of
flechettes. The aircraft also carried out photo reconnaissance, artillery spotting and air combat sorties.
The M-9 was also used for the first experiments on sea shelve study, participating in the finding of new oil fields near Baku.
Nine M-9s were captured by Finland during the Russian Civil War. One was flown by a Russian officer to
Antrea on April 10, 1918. It sank the following day during type evaluation. Eight more were taken over at the airfields at Åland and Turku. The aircraft were used until 1922 by the
Finnish Air Force
The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; fi, Ilmavoimat, , Air forces; sv, Flygvapnet, , Air weapon) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of Finnis ...
.
Operators
;
*
Imperial Russian Air Service
*
White Army
The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв ...
;
*
Finnish Air Force
The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; fi, Ilmavoimat, , Air forces; sv, Flygvapnet, , Air weapon) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of Finnis ...
;
*
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 ...
Specifications (M-9)
See also
References
Bibliography
*
{{Grigorovich aircraft
Biplanes
Single-engined pusher aircraft
Flying boats
1910s Russian military reconnaissance aircraft
Military aircraft of World War I
M-09
Aircraft first flown in 1916