**2. Life and work of Robert Bartini in the field of aviation**

Robert Bartini was born on May 14, 1897, in Kanjiza (today this is the town in Serbia near Hungarian border), according to his documents from the time he lived in the Soviet Union [1]. When he was 3 years old, he was adopted by the family of rich state official in the town of Fiume in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy (today Rijeka in Croatia). In his youth, his surname was Orosdy [2]. As a young boy, he was very intelligent, and he received additional education by the family teacher in natural science (chemistry, biology), music, and foreign languages [3]. In 1912, he saw an airplane and was fascinated by the air show of Russian aviator Slavorossov in Rijeka. In 1915, he graduated from grammar school in Budapest [2], was drafted and sent to reserve officer school, located in the town of Bystritsa (in Czechoslovakia), and then in 1916, he was sent to Russian-Austrian-Hungarian front where he was captured in June 1916 [4]. He was sent into captivity in the Far East in prison camps in Khabarovsk and Vladivostok. He was released after the First World War, and then he worked as a taxi driver in Shanghai. In 1920, he returned home in Fiume. When working at Isotta-Fraschini facilities, he graduated from Milan Polytechnic Institute in 1922. In the same year, he also graduated from pilot school in Rome. During the captivity in Russia, Bartini came under the influence of communist literature, and in 1921, he became a member of the Communist Party of Italy. In 1923, the Fascists took over the control in Italy, and Bartini was sent to the Soviet Union. When he left Italy over Alps, he vowed, "red planes will always be faster than black" [3]. When he was a member of the Communist Party of Italy, he worked underground and got the nickname "Red Baron," which he kept from the Soviet Union as well.

Since the arrival in the Soviet Union, Bartini served the next 6 years as a mechanical engineer and the head of the department of scientific and test aerodrome (now Chkalovsky). Later, he was transferred to the First Squadron of Naval Forces of the Black and Azov Seas. In 1925, he participated in the national gliding championship in Crimea and together with designer Myasitchev cooperated as a constructor and pilot [1]. In 1928, he became the head of the department of amphibious experimental aircraft design and was appointed as the chief engineer of the Black Sea Aviation. In the following year, he participated in the organization of ANT-4 "Soviet Country" aircraft flight to the United States, servicing in sea

After the First World War, the Soviet Union wanted quicker progress in the field of aviation because of the country's vast size. The most famous pioneers in space transportation (Tsiolkovsky) and builders of large airplanes (Sikorsky, Tupolev) came from Russia, but knowledge in Western Europe in the field of aerodynamics made great progress, especially Italy which at that time possessed a superior knowledge in aerodynamics, which was rewarded with a world speed record in aviation in the years 1927–1929 and 1933–1934. Therefore, it is not surprising that Robert Bartini immigrated to Russia in 1923. He was a young Italian aviation engineer and communist proving his skills in the fields of aviation in the next 50 years in the Soviet Union. This case shows a classic transfer of knowledge in the new young

His solutions, gained with better knowledge of aerodynamics, have contributed to higher aircraft speed and lower energy or fuel consumption, and at the same time, a longer range of aircrafts was reached. In the historical context, his work has

Robert Bartini was born on May 14, 1897, in Kanjiza (today this is the town in Serbia near Hungarian border), according to his documents from the time he lived in the Soviet Union [1]. When he was 3 years old, he was adopted by the family of rich state official in the town of Fiume in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy (today Rijeka in Croatia). In his youth, his surname was Orosdy [2]. As a young boy, he was very intelligent, and he received additional education by the family teacher in natural science (chemistry, biology), music, and foreign languages [3]. In 1912, he saw an airplane and was fascinated by the air show of Russian aviator Slavorossov in Rijeka. In 1915, he graduated from grammar school in Budapest [2], was drafted and sent to reserve officer school, located in the town of Bystritsa (in Czechoslovakia), and then in 1916, he was sent to Russian-Austrian-Hungarian front where he was captured in June 1916 [4]. He was sent into captivity in the Far East in prison camps in Khabarovsk and Vladivostok. He was released after the First World War, and then he worked as a taxi driver in Shanghai. In 1920, he returned home in Fiume. When working at Isotta-Fraschini facilities, he graduated from Milan Polytechnic Institute in 1922. In the same year, he also graduated from pilot school in Rome. During the captivity in Russia, Bartini came under the influence of communist literature, and in 1921, he became a member of the Communist Party of Italy. In 1923, the Fascists took over the control in Italy, and Bartini was sent to the Soviet Union. When he left Italy over Alps, he vowed, "red planes will always be faster than black" [3]. When he was a member of the Communist Party of Italy, he worked underground and got the nickname "Red Baron," which he kept from the

Since the arrival in the Soviet Union, Bartini served the next 6 years as a mechanical engineer and the head of the department of scientific and test aerodrome (now Chkalovsky). Later, he was transferred to the First Squadron of Naval Forces of the Black and Azov Seas. In 1925, he participated in the national gliding championship in Crimea and together with designer Myasitchev cooperated as a constructor and pilot [1]. In 1928, he became the head of the department of

amphibious experimental aircraft design and was appointed as the chief engineer of the Black Sea Aviation. In the following year, he participated in the organization of ANT-4 "Soviet Country" aircraft flight to the United States, servicing in sea

led to the improvement in the sustainability of aviation.

*Environmental Impact of Aviation and Sustainable Solutions*

**2. Life and work of Robert Bartini in the field of aviation**

Soviet Republic.

Soviet Union as well.

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segment of the route. In the Red Army, Bartini reached the rank of a brigadier (Brigadier General).

Bartini returned to Moscow and worked as a chief designer of his projects in seaplane design bureaus at facilities No. 22 and 39 until August 1930. He was dismissed from the design bureau due to his critical letter to Stalin, but the Air Forces authorities organized a small design bureau for him at facility No. 22. In this office, he began to design a new aircraft, Stal-6 (Steel-6) with an incredible clean contour (**Figure 1**). "I saw an airplane like a beautiful naked girl," said the former test pilot a half century later, when he saw the "top secret" aircraft for the first time [2]. The "Stal-6" aircraft was a monoplane configuration fighter airplane with inventive solutions: full retraction of bicycle landing wheel, a closed cockpit with a transmission gear in elevator control linkage, and an engine evaporative cooling system with cooler-wing tips. The structure and aerodynamics of this aircraft permitted the speed of 420 km/h in 1933 [5] which was 150 km/h more than the best fighters in the Soviet Union at the time. The aircraft had V-12 engine with 630 hp., and it was made of stainless steel "enerzh 6." Two years later (1935), Bartini designed the "Steel-8" fighter reaching the speed of 630 km/h, but it was not selected for the proposed Soviet fighter. If the Soviet Union had chosen this plane for further development, then they would have had a superior fighter for defending "mother Russia" from the Germans by 1941.

In 1934, Bartini began developing the Stal-7 aircraft, which was a twin-engine passenger aircraft, exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1936. In 1939, the aircraft reached a new world record for a distance of 5000 km; it was flying over 5068 km with an average speed 405 km/h. The top speed of this aircraft was 450 km/h. In fact, Bartini's knowledge of aerodynamics was most evident in the development of this airplane. Its special shape increased the pressure under a fuselage, thus enabling additional lift. In this way, the airplane consumed less fuel at higher speeds, which at those times contributed to sustainable aviation. The Stal-7 was ready for the flight around the world, which was prevented by the arrest of the chief designer Bartini. They imprisoned him in 1938 and accused of being Mussolini's agent and participating in the burning of building No. 240, where the aircraft Stal-7 was placed. First, he was sentenced to death and imprisoned in the disreputable NKVD prison. When his plane reached a world record, Stalin "personally" took care that Bartini's sentence was reduced to standard 10 years in prison. Bartini was transferred to secret research and development camp KB (sharaskas) in different towns: Moscow, Omsk, Kazan, and Taganrog. At that time, the Stal-7 aircraft was one of the greatest secrets of the Soviet Union, leaving behind only one short film clip and some photos. Under the leadership of V. Ermolajev and advice of Bartini, the plane began to transform into the long-range Yer-2 bomber, resulting in about 400 Yer-2 aircrafts.

During the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, the aircraft was intended for attacks on Britain and France and their bases in the Middle East. Instead, the Yer-2 aircrafts

#### **Figure 1.**

*Aircraft Bartini Stal-6 (Steel 6). Source: http://en.valka.cz/topic/view/102660/Bartini-Stal-6, web source: October 18, 2017.*
