The Lun-class ekranoplan Ground effect vehicle was an extremely unusual water aircraft designed by Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeev and used by the Soviet & Russian navies from 1987 to sometime in the late ’90s. Ground effect aircraft use the extra lift of their large wings when in proximity to the surface (about one to four meters). It is also interesting to note that this aircraft is one of the largest ever built, with a length of 73m, rivaling that of the Hughes H-4 Hercules “Spruce Goose” and many modern jumbo jets.

The sole vessel of her class, MD-160 entered service with the Black Sea Fleet in 1987. Eight Kuznetsov NK-87 turbojets were mounted on forward canards, each delivering 127.4 kN (28,600 lbf) of thrust. MD-160 had a flying boat-like hull with a large deflecting plate at the bottom of the hull to provide a “step” for takeoff.

The aircraft was equipped for Anti-Surface Warfare P-270 Moskit. It was therefore fitted with six missile launchers, mounted in pairs on the dorsal surface of the fuselage, and advanced tracking systems mounted in the nose and tail. A development of the Lun was planned for use as a mobile field hospital, one which could be rapidly deployed to any ocean or coastal location. Work was 90% complete on this model, the Spasatel, but military funding ceased and it was never completed.

Soviet Union is very keen to make gigantic thing however, one must put in mind, the petrol. Making such a big plane without careful aerodynamic design makes it inefficient hence not enough justification to keep development plan.

Source: Globalsecurity.org, Wikipedia.org and viral email.