G-27

The G‑27 was the most ambitious project of Russian designer Vladislav Gribovsky, built in the early 1930s as a response to the Soviet demand for a high‑performance, multi‑role monoplane. Development began in 1931 at the Kazan Aerotechnical Institute, where Gribovsky applied his experience from earlier low‑power trainers to create a sleek, all‑metal aircraft with retractable landing gear—a rarity in Soviet aviation at the time. Powered by a 750 hp Shvetsov M-25 radial engine, the G‑27 could reach 365 km/h and carry a 600 kg payload, allowing it to serve as a light bomber, reconnaissance platform, and courier. Its wing featured a tapered planform with slotted flaps, giving excellent lift‑to‑drag characteristics and short‑field capability. Only three prototypes were completed before the program was cancelled in 1935 in favor of the more conventional Tupolev SB series. Although the G‑27 never entered mass production, it demonstrated the feasibility of advanced aerodynamic and structural concepts in the USSR, influencing later designs such as the Yakovlev Yak‑12 and paving the way for the adoption of retractable gear and all‑metal construction in Soviet aircraft. The aircraft remains a celebrated example of visionary engineering in pre‑World II Soviet aviation.