Is it a boat? Is it a plane? Is it the Loch Ness monster? The Lun-class ekranoplan, colloquially known as “The Caspian Sea Monster,” is arguably a mish-mash of all three, and has just reared its head for the first time in 30 years.
The behemoth craft was developed by the Soviet Union as a sort of hybrid between airplanes and ships. It can move over water without actually touching it. First entered service in 1987, it was the only one of its class to be completed and has spent the past three decades hidden away at a pier in southern Russia. Now, it’s back on dry land after one helluva extraction process.
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The Lun was slowly shepherded along the shores of the Caspian Sea and pulled from the water in June by three tug boats and two escort vessels. No easy feat considering the superplane weighs 380 tons and has a 148-foot wingspan. The mammoth effort took a total of 14 hours and required the careful coordination of several vessels, along with the assistance of rubber pontoons, as reported by CNN.
Read more: Robb Report
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