Grigorowitsch M-3

The Grigorovich M‑3 was a Russian wooden flying boat developed during World War I by the design bureau of Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich. First flown in early 1916, it was intended as a maritime reconnaissance and light bomber to replace the earlier M‑1 and M‑2 types. The aircraft featured a biplane wing arrangement with unequal spans, a single pylon‑mounted 140‑hp Salmson water‑cooled radial engine driving a pusher propeller behind the cockpit. Its hull was of the “boat‑type” design, with a stepped bottom and watertight compartments that gave it good take‑off performance from calm seas and modest handling in rough water. The crew of two sat side‑by‑side in an open cockpit, and the aircraft could carry up to 120 kg of bombs plus a pair of 7.62 mm machine guns for defensive fire. Although only a few dozen were produced before production shifted to the more powerful M‑5, the M‑3 demonstrated the practical viability of large seaplanes for naval scouting and anti‑submarine work. Its successful flight tests prompted further investment in Soviet seaplane development, laying groundwork for the interwar Grigorovich flying‑boat series that influenced both Soviet and foreign naval aviation.

Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich

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Design & Classification