Beriev S-13

The Beriev S-13 was a Soviet reverse-engineered copy of the Lockheed U-2C, developed in the early 1960s. After Francis Gary Powers's U-2 was shot down by an S-75 missile on 1 May 1960, Soviet specialists examined the wreckage in an investigation conducted by Georgy Beriev of OKB-49 at Taganrog, and on 28 June 1960 the Council of Ministers decided that the aircraft and its Pratt and Whitney J75 engine should be copied. OKB-16 in Kazan reverse-engineered the engine as the RD-16-75, and on 23 August 1960 five aircraft were ordered under the designation S-13, for aerial reconnaissance, weather research and balloon interception. The first fuselage was completed on 1 April 1961, but the Council of Ministers cancelled the project on 12 May 1962 once it was realised that slow high-flying aircraft could be shot down and that spy satellites suited long-term surveillance. No S-13 was completed, though the programme taught Soviet designers about alloys, materials and processing methods. The listed specification gives a crew of one, a wingspan of 24.38 m, a service ceiling of 24,000 m and a range of 6,400 km.