Polikarpov BDP S-1

The BDP S-1 (Boyevoi Desantnyi Planer – troops assault glider) was a military glider of the Soviet Union. It was produced by the Bureau of Special Construction (Osoboe Konstruktorskoe Buro) in 1941 as a glider infantry troop transport. It accommodated 20 troops plus one pilot, and had gun ports for defense. Of wooden construction, the glider featured a high aspect ratio, high-cantilever wing and trailing flaps, utilizing a wheeled-carriage for takeoff and landing on plywood runners [1][2] Due to the advance of German forces, only seven were built until the factory was moved, and production was shifted to powered aircraft.[3]

  1. ^ Mrazek, James (2011). Airborne Combat: The Glider War/Fighting Gliders of World War II. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. pp. 425–426. ISBN 9780811708081.
  2. ^ Mrazek, James (1977). Fighting Gliders of World War II. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. pp. 162–165. ISBN 9780312289270.
  3. ^ Thompson, Leroy (2006). Unfulfilled Promise: The Soviet Airborne Forces, 1928-1945 (4th ed.). Bennington, Vermont: Merriam Press. p. 35. ISBN 1576381439.