In this video, we talk about the Bolkhovitinov S-2M-103 "Sparka", an experimental twin-engine fast bomber from the Soviet Union just before World War 2 with a name that I struggle to pronounce and pronounce incorrectly in the video. We talk about it's pretty unique design, housing both engines in the nose, front to back, why they decided to do this, and how it impacted the rest of the design. We talk about how this nose extension makes it look like a Borzoi, a Russian dog breed notorious for their long snouts.
We also talk about the performance of the Sparka and later attempts to convert the frame into a single-engine plane and an upgraded twin-engine fighter or dive bomber. We talk about the performance in comparison to another Russian fighter from around the same time, the Yak-1. We then talk about why the design ended up being dropped right after the Soviet Union was invaded by Germany in Operation Barbarossa. We end by comparing it to another twin-engine aircraft that employed a similar engine configuration: Germany's Dornier Do 335. We talk about what the Do 335 did differently and how those differences made it a better plane.
Link to my old Dornier Do 335 Video: https://youtu.be/VqIfWOFe3Jg
