Anatra
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aircraft manufacturing |
| Founded | 1913 in Odessa, Russian Empire |
| Founder | Artur Antonovich Anatra |
| Defunct | 1917 |
| Fate | Seized and run by Soviet authorities until closure in 1922 |
| Successor | None |
| Headquarters | Odessa , Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) |
Area served | Russian Empire |
Key people | Artur Antonovich Anatra, Alfred Descamps, Vassili Nikolayevich Khioni |
| Products | Aircraft (licensed and proprietary models) |
Anatra (Анатра) was an aircraft production company established by Artur Antonovich Anatra (Артур Антонович Анатра) in Odessa, within the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine), in 1913. The company remained active until 1917. Prior to founding the firm, Artur Anatra contributed financially to acquiring the Russian Empire's first airplane in 1909.
Initially functioning as a naval workshop, the facility built foreign-designed aircraft, producing about twenty units from 1909 to 1912. Anatra operated under license agreements for designs from Farman, Morane-Saulnier, Nieuport, and Voisin, reaching a production peak of up to sixty aircraft monthly by 1917. The company also developed proprietary models for use by the Russian military during World War I. Both manufacturing plants were seized and run by Soviet authorities until their closure in 1922. Overall, the enterprise produced 1,056 aircraft in Odessa and an additional 50 units at a secondary site located approximately 500 km (310 mi) away in Simferopol, Crimea.
Aircraft
At the outset, Anatra manufactured licensed foreign models such as the Farman III, Nieuport IV, Morane-Saulnier L, and Voisin V. Among these, the Voisin V was particularly influential, serving as the foundation for the Anatra V.I. (abbreviated from Voisin-Ivanovich), which had its maiden flight in April 1916.
By this time, chief designer Alfred Descamps, a French engineer with prior experience at Aviatik before World War I commenced, had finalized development of the D Anade (D representing Descamps; “Anade” combining Anatra and Descamps). This model, commonly referred to as the Dekan—a phonetic adaptation of Descamps' name—became Anatra’s most extensively produced aircraft. After a prolonged design phase that involved relocating the crew compartment forward and shifting the wings aft while adding significant sweepback to resolve stability issues, it entered service as a reconnaissance platform within the Imperial Russian Air Force (IRAS) and underwent further refinement. Due to shortages of high-quality timber, factory personnel resorted to joining shorter wood segments inadequately, which weakened structural integrity and contributed to a negative reputation among IRAS users.
Variants of this reconnaissance series included the Anakle (short for Anade-Clerget), essentially identical except powered by a 82 kW (110 hp) Clerget 9Z rotary engine housed within a horseshoe-shaped cowling, yielding modest performance gains; and the DS Anasal (derived from Anade Salmson), equipped with a 110 kW (150 hp) water-cooled Salmson 9R radial engine. The latter necessitated redesigning the fuselage to accommodate greater power output, replacing fabric covering on the rear fuselage with plywood and adding a visible radiator for engine cooling. The DSS or Anasal SS, closely related to the DS but powered by a slightly stronger 120 kW (160 hp) Salmson radial engine, was produced in limited numbers. All these models served primarily reconnaissance roles.
In addition to reconnaissance planes, Anatra developed two fighter aircraft. The first was the DM or Anamon, a single-seat monoplane featuring a wooden monocoque fuselage—possibly inspiring its name—and bearing resemblance to the pre-war Deperdussin TT. It was armed with one Vickers machine gun fitted with deflector plates on its propeller blades rather than utilizing an interrupter gear synchronization system. Propulsion came from a 75 kW (100 hp) Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine. This design faced significant criticism and development ceased following the crash of its sole prototype shortly after its inaugural flight on 16 June 1916.
The second fighter variant was the Anadis (a contraction of Anade istrebitel, meaning fighter in Russian), which combined Anasal wings with a newly molded wooden monocoque fuselage. Powered by a 110 kW (150 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8A engine, it carried sufficient fuel for approximately fourteen hours of flight duration. Only one two-seat example was completed; it first flew on 23 October 1916 but was lost during an emergency landing in Romania on a subsequent journey to Western Europe.
The DE trimotor bomber featured one 100 kW (140 hp) Salmson 9B radial engine mounted at the nose and two 60 kW (80 hp) Le Rhone 9C rotary engines arranged as pushers with propellers behind them. It accommodated four crew members, including two gunners positioned at the front of each engine nacelle. Although designed to carry up to 400 kg (880 lb) of bombs, this aircraft exceeded its intended weight by approximately 700 lb (320 kg), leading to abandonment of further development after damage occurred during its initial flight on 23 June 1916.
Designer Vassili Nikolayevich Khioni, associated with Anatra, created the Anadva (an abbreviation for Anade 2), nicknamed Двухвостка meaning twin-tailed in Russian. This model featured dual fuselages with a gunner's pod situated atop and between them on the upper wing. The fuselages were derived from previous models—the VKh Anadva used those from the Anade while the Anadva-Salmson incorporated those from the Anasal—but neither variant achieved success despite ongoing efforts until 1921.
| Designation/Name | First Flight | Quantity Built | Role | Engine(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D Anade | 19 December 1915 | 170 | Reconnaissance | 75 kW (100 hp) Gnome Monosoupape |
| Anakle/Anakler | 1916 | 24 | Reconnaissance | 82 kW (110 hp) Clerget 9Z |
| VI/Voisin-Ivanovich | 6 April 1916 | 139 | Reconnaissance | 110 kW (150 hp) Salmson 9R |
| DM Anamon | 16 June 1916 | 1 | Fighter | 75 kW (100 hp) Gnome Monosoupape |
| DE | 23 June 1916 | 1 | Bomber | 1 x 100 kW (140 hp) Salmson 9B & 2 x 60 kW (80 hp) Le Rhone 9C |
| DS Anasal | 25 July 1916 | minimal seventy | Reconnaissance | 110 kW (150 hp) Salmson 9R |
| VKh Anadva | July 1916 | 1 | Bomber | 75 kW (100 hp) Gnome Monosoupape |
| Anadis | 23 October 1916 | 1 | Fighter | 110 kW (150 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8A |
| DSS or Anasal SS | February 1917 | few | Reconnaissance | 120 kW (160 hp) Salmson 9R |
| Anadva-Salmson | May 1917 | 1 | Bomber | 110 kW (150 hp) Salmson 9R |
References
Citations
Bibliography
- Durkota, Alan; Darcey, Thomas; Kulikov, Victor (1995). The Imperial Russian Air Service — Notable Pilots and Aircraft of World War I. Mountain View, CA: Flying Machines Press. pp. 338–344. ISBN 978-0963711021.
- Gunston, Bill (1993). World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp. 24. ISBN 978-1557509390.
- Template:Ref book osprey encyc of russian aircraft