Designed and built by the Soviet Union during the Cold War era Space Race, this amphibious vehicle was used to recover cosmonauts from their landing sites in Siberia, as it can traverse both land, water, or ice 10-litre, 9-cylinder Vedeneyev M14P radial engine, developing 360 horsepower. The Vedeneyev M14P is a robust and proven engine and is used in other aeronautical applications like the Pitts Model 12 stunt plane. In the Tupolev, the radial utilizes twin parallel-rotating props and compressed air starting (as batteries and electrics would freeze in the harsh Siberian winter), with twin air tanks mounted on the custom trailer.
