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The political ambition of the East German politburo and the cancellation of the Alekseyev 150 Soviet bomber project led to the return to East Germany in 1953 of a group of German engineers and scientists deported to Russia in 1945. They were sponsored to proceed with one of the many commercial designs that they had
formulated while in Russia. One of these was the 152 airliner, which was based on their experience with the Alekseyev 150 and would be powered by a development of the Junkers Jumo turbojet engine named Pirna 014. The prototype had a glazed nose and an unusual undercarriage arrangement featuring a single central gear assisted by wingtip pod-mounted outriggers. Late availability of the Pirna engines meant the prototype first flew with Tumansky Rd-9b engines. On its second flight, while rehearsing for the Leipzig trade fair, the prototype 152 crashed due to pressure equalization problems between the multifarious tanks and the inadequate engines. The second heavily modified (152A) model (with modified tanks, conventional undercarriage and a glazed nose) flew twice more before the project was cancelled in 1961 due to national economic crises which were exacerbated by the defection of key design team members.
| MODEL | VEB 152 |
| CREW | 4-5 |
| PASSENGERS | 58 |
| ENGINE | 4 x 3165kg VDL Pirna 014A-1 turbojets |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 46500 kg | 102515 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 25.40 m | 83 ft 4 in |
| Length | 31.30 m | 103 ft 8 in |
| Height | 9.70 m | 32 ft 10 in |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Max. speed | 920 km/h | 572 mph |
| Range | 2500 km | 1553 miles |
 | A three-view drawing (1378 x 708) |
| Nikos J. Farsaris, e-mail, 26.07.2010 By 1960 the turbofan powered Tupolev Tu-124 was readily available, more advanced and (due to series production) much cheaper. In 1962 this was followed by even better Tu-134 rendering Baade 152 unnecessary. Anyway this had nothing to do with B-47. Baade was a chief designer at Alekseyev OKB and was the Principal designer of "150" experimental bomber (similar rather to B-66/A-3 Skyworrior). | | KenTucker, e-mail, 07.01.2010 As the late Paul Harvey would say, "Here's a strange!" Got to give those East Germans some credit, they tried to make this odd bird fly. Go onto YouTube and type Baade 152 into their search engine, then check out the two-part promotional film for the plane (and listen to the narration if you *sprachen Deutsch*). They had some ambitious plans for it. While they made sure to declare that the 152's design was based on the Alekseyev/Junkers models, to me this plane is a knockoff of the B-47 with its high wing, dual engine pods and wingtip wheels. |
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FACTS AND FIGURES© The lack of space, poor engines
and the bomber's wing meant
small payloads and short ranges as
well as a low speed for a jetliner. © The Model 150 bomber had
two large Lyul'ka engines, but
the VEB 152 had four much
weaker engines (a version of that
used in the MiG-19), which
gave poor thrust for their weight
and high fuel consumption. © The potential baggage space was
reduced by the main landing gear
wells and the cabin ceiling was
obstructed by the large wing box. © With its bicycle main gear and outrigger wheels
the 152 needed to be landed very precisely.
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