Another First To Russia?

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28951, 20 July 1959, Page 11

Another First To Russia?

LONDON, July 17 The Soviet Union claimed today that the first wheelless vehicle supported by air jets was invented by a Soviet student and successfully tested in 1955, the American Press reported. (Britain announced the successful testing of her Hovercraft —a half-ship-half-aircraft, which rode on a “cushion of air”—on June 7. Later the machine flew publicly on June 11.) The Soviet Government newspaper “Izvestia,” quoted by Moscow Radio, said their machine was designed by Gennadiy Turkin. a student at the Moscow Oil Institute, who died of a heart attack in September, 1955, but it did not say whether Russia was now producing the machines. Turkin’s craft was based on two fans forcing air into two tubes which was then evenly directed over a thrust area around the whole perimeter of the vehicle. Moscow Radio said the machine was successfully demonstrated at the Oil Institute on May 25. 1955

Record Broken.— Britain’s leading sprinter, Peter Radford, broke his own English native record for the 100 yards with 9.ssec in the Waddilove Trophy meeting at Birmingham today.— London, July 18.