Caspian Sea Monster
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The KM, known colloquially as the Caspian Sea Monster, was an experimental ground effect vehicle developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s by the Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau. The KM began operati
Artist's illustration of the KM
The Caspian Sea Monster at Kaspiysk photographed with a KH-8 reconnaissance satellite in 1968. The ekranoplan featured a constant-chord main wing and a stabilizer with notable dihedral (visible in the image as a difference in brightness between the left and right side of the stabilizer) and an unswept aft trailing edge.
Lun-class ekranoplan
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The Lun-class ekranoplan is the only ground effect vehicle to ever be operationally deployed as a warship, deploying in the Caspian Flotilla. It was designed by Rostislav Alexeyev in 1975 and used by
Caspian Sea Monster
…has remained underwater at the crash site ever since. No plans were made to build a second prototype. However, the KM later became the basis for the Lun-class ekranoplan developed by the Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau in the 1980s, which saw one example, the MD-160, enter service with the Soviet Navy and later the…
Lun-class ekranoplan MD-160 at Patriot Park, Derbent
Artist's concept of a Lun-class ekranoplan in flight.
Lun class at Kaspiysk, Russia, in 2010.
Scale model of a Lun-class ekranoplan displayed in a museum