What Happened to Soviet Chemical Bombers 

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"The test pilots joked that the plane took off because of the curvature of the earth" That is hilarious!!!

These are special aircraft. Built by the Soviet Union for special purposes. A special aviation operation... if you will. No war crimes here! No sir absolutely not! After all... we are the most peaceful country on earth!

Always a good day when Paper Skies uploads

Aerial chemical weapon vesicant sprays were very common at the time. Italy used them to great effect during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, for instance. This tactic was so commonplace that many countries (including the US, Germany, Yugoslavia, and the Czech Republic) developed what's called individual protective covers or gas capes. These are essentially large plastic bags that are brought over the entire body of a soldier. Think of a quick-don chemical suit that can only protect from vesicant sprays.

On a lighter note, I've been to the Pearson Air Museum in Vancouver, and it has a nice set of photos and anecdotes related to the ANT-25 landing. One funny note was a conversation among the AN-25 crew after landing. As George Marshall was heading out to the aircraft: 'Chkalov banged on the side of the plane and called for his crew to come out. "Sasha! Baiduk! General Marshall is here, come meet him." Perplexed, Baidukov asked Belyakov, "I don't understand, is he a general or a marshal?" "I can't say," replied Belyakov. "I don't know if the Americans have marshals, but they certainly have generals! Time to go."' It should be noted the original goal was Oakland, but they were worried about their fuel situation. They considered landing in Portland, but were fearful crowds that had gathered would take parts of the plane for souvenirs, so they opted for Pearson Field just north of the river. I also laughed when I saw the newsclip map at 0:26, that's incorrectly pointing to Vancouver, Canada (north of the border), not Vancouver, Washington

"even if the neighbors don't want it". 😂 I love your videos because of this kind of humor.

I remember discussing with my friend his idea of having a crop duster as a chemical weapons delivery system, and I argued with him about how the idea had too many downsides to be practical. Turns out the Soviets had the same idea as he did, but on a larger scale-and just as impractical.

We can always count on you to bring us real history with just a touch of dry humor. Thanks again!

You had my attention in the first 10 seconds, because I frequently drive past Pearson Field in Vancouver, WA. In fact, there is a Fred Meyer supermarket next to the airfield. When planes come in for a landing, they fly very low over the parking lot. :)

Exactly what I feel like watching today, a 20 minute technical video on an aircraft in a similar vein to Mustard

Fun fact: Pearson Field is actually the oldest operational airfield in the US, and has a little air museum on site which still makes a big deal out of that ANT-25 flight. Source: I grew up in Vancouver.

I think I can answer the question of why didn't they reverse the plane direction based on Wendover's video - wind direction. Wind tends to blow in one major direction and taking off against the wind adds to your airspeed, and can shorten takeoff runs. Taking off in the opposite direction can have the opposite effect.

“I know it’s difficult for a mentally healthy people to read passages from Soviet propaganda, but unfortunately it’s necessary.” lol

The TV show "Babylon Berlin" mentions the illicit trade between Germany and the USSR in chemical weapons, even showing Luftwaffe airfield in Russia which was banned by the Treaty of Versailles an excellent show i might add worth watching.

This content is an absolute masterpiece. I've never heard about DB-1 version of ANT-25 before. Thank you

I was going to go to bed, when this popped up in my feed. Bed could wait. I went and watched ad-free on Nebula and then came back here to enjoy again and help the algorithm. Always enjoy the content. Thank you.

I had no idea the USSR was ahead of the curve in chemtrails

I love this channel so much, it's criminal that your excellent and important work doesn't get the recognition it clearly deserves. I know a big part of that is because a lot of folk can't get past your accent but for me that's one of the very best things about Paper Skies. "Thank God I am not a Russian... or an American." Thank you for teaching me the concept of smekalka and how Ordzhonikidze's name, which I'd only ever read and not heard, sounds, and many other things besides. I am currently a poor man, but one day I promise ill subscribe to Nebula specifically for your content.

At 0:28 seconds. It looked like the plane landed near Vancouver BC in Canada instead of Vancouver Washington. I think.

So crop dusters don't work very well when the crops can fire back at you? Who knew?

At 0:25 you show Vancouver, B.C. in Canada. I think this plane landed in Vancouver, Washington, on the other side of the border.

i like how the military just casually think "hey how could we turn this extraordinary plane into Warcriminator 9000?", and the designer just said да tovarisch, it would be really easy

As a native russian speaker, i wana correct the autor. At 6:06 there is a part of pre ww2 era film where, actor words " хорошей войны" doesnt mean "good war" as opposed to evil war, but should be translated as "big, massive war".

Much awaited, much appreciated excellent insights as always from you.

Amazing accomplishment. I used to work right next to the Pearson Air Park. It is still a very small airstrip, still in use.

I really do love all the -dark humor and sarcasm- serious and factual remarks about the -physicslly and morally questionable- glorious and peaceful Soviet Union you put in your videos. Keep up the good work!

I'm positevelly surprised by this content. I did not expect that from the title of this movie or channel. Great work!

"thank god I'm not russian", we are all glad in this regard.

So the USSR invented chemtrails.

I lived in Vancouver, WA and would often walk my dog around Pearson Field where the plane landed next to Fort Vancouver. They have a Soviet memorial in Russian honoring the event. Vallery Chakalov name is mentioned on there. Very cool interesting peice of history This video made me aware of many things I didn't know previously about the planes design. Excellent work!

This was an amazing piece of history that our contemporary world would benefit from paying closer attention too. I hope a lot of people see this video. As always, love your animations sir, fantastic.

As to why the Soviet leadership ordered so many planes before testing the idea, I'm going to assume it's like any Rex's Hangar video about Soviet development. The guy with the idea had the right political connections, the guy who knew better was sent to gulag/executed for being an enemy of the state, and then somebody else's idiot idea took the focus of Stalin's short attention span.

Thanks for the awesome and incredible contents Absolutely love your humor Btw love your accent, it adds uniqueness You deserve 1M+ subs Good stuff as always Paper Skies 😊

Whenever I think "nothing works today", Papierskies comes with a new video about Soviet aviation and the day is saved.

The Ramp and the Hill bit was actually so Bloody hilarious , That single Prop trying to lift ..That , it would have been something to see in Reality ..Great vid.

It’s weird to see that wide of a plane with only one engine

Love your channel and thank you for another great video. And thank you for not using a robo-voice - you have a great voice and it makes your videos feel much more personal. Keep it up!

The Soviet Union and its culture/technology - especially in the world of aerospace and defence - have always fascinated me, so I enjoy and appreciate your videos. Would you consider a video on the evolution of Soviet interceptor aircraft? There are a lot of really iconic planes that I'd love to see you take a deeper dive into. Anyway, keep up the great work!

I have to stop thinking that 'this is the best Soviet story ever' because there's always another one- they're just so full of madness, it's incredible. If they weren't so awful (and still are) I'd say they're a never ending source of amusement. And I'm now going to use that AMAZING Ukrainian saying 'Thank you God I'm not Russian' all the time. Oh and you should have told us how much money was wasted on all this in your 'Soviet bucket' valuation system- that is too good not to use at every opportunity ;)

These videos must require a lot of research! Always love watching :D

What a mad concept, great video about a topic I'd never heard of

"'Thank you God, for I am not Russian." I had to literally pause the video after that line because I was laughing too hard to hear anything after it.

For the airbase, it is possible the orientation is like that because of winds. Pilots tend to take off into the wind to maximize the lift, which is doubly important with a sluggish plane like ant25. Maybe in that area, the wind tends to blow in 1 direction, so the airbase is oriented like that intentionally.

Fascinating video, thanks for the work!

By far, the absolutely best episode ever. 👍

Dude, your snark and sass are glorious 😀!!! The sarcasm is on point. I love every bit of it.

This is my new favorite channel.

Being a current resident of Vancouver, WA it is always fun when I hear us (or in this case Pearson Airfield) mentioned on one of my bee favorite RU-vid channelsa

Another SUPERB video!!!! Well done Sir!!! 🤝🏼👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

My Mum and I have done some form of Smekalka before, we were building a lego set and a few pieces were missing throughout the build, the first one that went missing we just bought another of online, the second one though, well we determined that it wasn't vital so we just skipped it. Not really Smekalka but more of a ef it moment, just felt like sharing

Interwar military technology can be so weird... You see that during WWI arms producers easily understood that there must be some innovation in the new era of mechanised and industrialized warfare, but in the absence of a large-scale war (that ultimately came as WWII) military practicality wasn't a well-understood concept.

Awesome i love your content

Thank you for this informative and humorous video.

Your voice and content are the absolute perfect match. Top 10 channel, well done

I love your content bro! absolutely amazing stuff bro keep it up!!

While I don’t know much about the location of the airfield mentioned in the airfield, it is possible that the winds there were favorable. Wind is quite important in aviation, especially when it comes to big aircraft.

Thank you. Very well made video and I learned a lot again.

Really enjoy your uploads, i know ive said it before but i would love Paper Seas ;)

Always love seeing a new upload by you, what soviet wackiness we have this time?

This one was really interesting. Every time I watch your video, I learn something new. It is so interesting to learn about this dark, terrible, and secret regime. Do you plan to make a video about the Mi-24? It is such an iconic soviet creation and one of the first things next to Mig that I suspect people think of when they think about the soviet airforce. I would really like to hear about its history from someone who can use russian sources 😊

I love your videos. I don’t hear these stories anywhere else.

Best airplane content on the site

Screw going out on a saturday night, paper skies is uploading!

just watched on nebula!

Fine! This video was entertaining enough that I'll give your sponsor another shot! Last time the app was ... sub par .. let's hope I don't have to pull my nails out just to avoid clawing my eyes out from frustration, again. Something's should have improved in ... 5? Years.

It may not work most of the time, but the mindset of making the most out of the tools/inventions you have, is an admirable trait. Of course, they then always go too far, start cheating and in the end have to pretend that the project was supposed to fail from the start and nothing happened anyways ("What secret plane, товарищ? I saw no secret plane, and even if I had it had certainly NOT crashed right over there just now. You must be mistaken, 'товарищ'!"). But the way so many things these days are over-engineered for their purpose, we can still learn not just mistakes from these old Soviet stories.

It's good to see you again.

Be interesting to see a video on the 19:55 Soviet flying artillery site based on a modified TB-3.

That subtle dig at 8:14 made my day.

Great video

I admire your well-placed sarcasm!

that was just exciting thanks for your work

One reason I love these videos is that we get an unvarnished insider look at the U.S.S.R. - When I was growing up in the 70's there was a lot of mystery. Plus, many on the left didn't want to highlight the dark stuff, especially when it came to "war mongering." These videos are a corrective.

Thank you. Great entertainment

It's obvious why the DB-1 was accepted. It's the Soviet Union and it was designed by Russians, it was always going to be given a passing mark. They could have screwed up to literally make the fuel and payload tanks the same volume (as you showed), making it impossible to deliver the special payload without dumping fuel... and the USSR still would have greenlit the bomber.

"Solution by dilution." Cropdusters operate at tree-top level for accurate delivery of fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides. Even the forest-fighting water bombers are severely altitude limited to keep their payloads from scattering--and drifting off-target. It would take thousands of tons from 3000 meters or 10,000 feet above ground level to have affect on the ground.

Great video to wake up to. Thank you!

11:35 Why didn't they start the planes in the other direction? Probably because lifting off an airplane is usually done by going against the wind. That is also the reason why most runways are built in East-West direction because wind usually is blowing from the west (on the Northern hemisphere). So simply lifting off in the other direction would mean to go with the wind in most weather conditions which is not favorable or often not even possible. So while it looks like a dumb decision, it is very likely that this is the reason and it made actual sense to do it that way.

Захоплюючі історії і дуже висока якість контенту. Ви великий молодець)

One more great video on the channel🙌

Nice video

Hiya PS - just watched this on Nebula do you know if that platform has a notification , as the only time I know you've posted there is when I see it on RU-vid ? Another great piece of work btw , I'm glad you're back to a more stable posting regime .

After WWI, the use of chemical weapons against armed forces was taken pretty much for granted everywhere, and considered very likely against civilians, too. Douhetism was running rampant. But all those long-range planes are more like gliders with auxiliary engines. Or like the U-2.

"We all know Joseph Stalin was very humble" 😂😂

Concerning the airfield, runways are usually build that you have tailwind most of the time, so often you can't simply start from the other side.

An interesting and informative story!

Other paper skies videoooo :D

Yeah .....a good way to start your day .....kudos paper skies........ привет.....

Thanks!

the great communism dispenser😂

11:40 I'm not sure if this was known at this point in history, but I would assume so. If the wind in the area would blow one direction for a lot of the time, it's worth building the run way such that you take off in a head wind (as this helps shorten the take off). So it's possible it was a sensible move to flatten the hill & build an acceleration ramp on the opposite end. It could also just be utter incompetence, I'm not ruling that out.

Flying accident + war crime, 2 in 1!

Excellent video and some stunning graphics. Very enjoyable dry sense of humour. You accent is more than acceptable and perfectly understandable, As a native English speaker, I have tried to understand some very broad Scottish and West Country accents speaking English and failed miserably. 😊

Making a flight in a single engine plane over the Poles was bold, especially in the 1920's. If other attempts were made and failed, we would surely never know. The wreckage would melt through the ice and sink to the bottom of the arctic ocean

the thumbnail is wild

As a pilot I can answer why they did not use the natural hill as a starting ramp: prominent wind direction - . . . . . You can't simply turn a runway backwards - if the prominent wind is now a tail wind - taking off will require even more runway. . . . Why not make the runway somewhere else? Well I dunno - but I can imagine that there may have been a practical idea for the location such as the existing infrastructure of roads and manufacturing facilities. . . I'm not fully in line with why the aircraft became useless. It would fly in low and slow? - but the intent was to attack civilian areas not military, hence they would be more of a surprise attack. My sense was that the 'need never arose'. Meaning that the Soviet Union held these air crafts as a last resort and never actually went into battle and found themselves needing to turn to chemical war fare. . . As like Nuclear Weapons today, unleashing Chemical weapons in any mass scale in Western Europe would be a disaster - but would be the end of the Soviet/Russia as a nation. The West has the might to take on all of Russia, carve it up into small countries - bar the small countries from speaking Russian (have them speak their regional languages) and disarm them to the point that this crazy culture would be eradicated from the planet.

Ay new paperskies

Major Hockstetter from Hogan's Heroes at 8:52...

I know it's going to be a good time when just the thumbnail gets me laughing