Beriev Be-2

The Beriev Be-2, originally designated KOR-1, was a two-seat reconnaissance seaplane built for the Soviet Navy shortly before World War II. It was meant to replace the Navy's obsolete licence-built Heinkel He 55 aircraft flying from warships and shore bases. The Be-2 was an all-metal biplane floatplane with tandem open cockpits for the pilot and the observer, braced wings that could be folded back for storage aboard a warship, and a large central float with two smaller floats on the wings. Its engine was a 522 kW Shvetsov M-25 nine-cylinder radial. Handling and maintenance problems were serious from the start, but with no suitable alternative it went into production and about 12 were built. Instability while taxiing and engine upkeep were never resolved, so the type served mostly in training and secondary roles and later as shore-based reconnaissance and rescue aircraft, a few with wheels in place of floats being used as strike aircraft at Sevastopol. It was withdrawn from service in 1942.