Beriev Be-8

The Beriev Be-8, with the NATO reporting name Mole, was a passenger and liaison amphibian built by the Soviet Beriev design bureau in 1947. It had a layout like the earlier Be-4 but was substantially larger and heavier: a single-engined, parasol-winged aircraft with the wing on a thin pylon and two pairs of short struts, retractable landing gear, and heated cockpit and cabin using an exhaust heat exchanger. It was intended as a civil aircraft and carried no armament. The first flight was on 3 December 1947, and one of the two prototypes was shown at the 1951 Soviet Aviation Day at Tushino. One Be-8 was fitted with hydrofoils developed at TsAGI to ease take-off, which worked well but added drag and cut top speed, and the concept found no practical use.