Giant Soviet Flying Boat That Chased NATO Submarines | Beriev Be-6

Today we're taking a look at the Beriev Be-6. This was a large flying boat developed in the Soviet Union, and one that saw extensive service during the first few decades of the Cold War.

The Hangar Team :
Rex - Aviation enthusiast for 25+ years, obsessive collector of books, compiler of research, and narrator.
Alexandros - Co-Researcher and preserver of Rex's sanity.
Franch - Editing guru, makes Adobe seem "fun".

Sources:
Gordon.Y (2013), Soviet Naval Aviation 1946-1991
Gunston.B (1995) The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft From 1875-1995.
Gordon.Y & Komissarov.D (2008), Chinese Aircraft.

[RexsHangar]

F.A.Q Section

Q: Do you take aircraft requests?
A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:)

Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others?
A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both.

Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos?
A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :)

Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators?
A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible.

[nemilyk]

There's just something about flying boats... The clean, smooth lines just speak to me.

[papalegba]

I'd suggest the 23mm cannon were offensive as much as defensive, especially against surfaced submarines & smaller patrol boats.

[Temeluchas]

Well, at least two Black Sea Fleet's Be-12s were active as of last September - when I visited my parents, living near the sea, I saw them flying regularly along the coastline.

[mikearmstrong]

I would suggest that the "hydro-acoustic" system, featuring an extended tail probe and capable of detecting a sub at 50 meters depth, was actually not in any way "hydro-acoustic".
It was a magnetic anomaly detector. Basically, a big metal detector, which didn't work by sound.
This is a common feature of anti submarine aircraft. It works while flying low. To use acoustic detection, you have to land on the water or drop sonar buoys.

[truxlee]

The PBY had phenomenal range in exchange for constant, unrelenting, pilot attention.
Not unlike the U-2 which was also said to be equally unforgiving given the slightest
lapse on the part of its pilot.

[fungusamongus]

Minor correction: The Chinese engines weren't Wopen-6, but rather Wojiang-6.
Wopen means turbojet, while Wojiang means turboprop.

[slartibartfast]

I always loved the look of this thing. In my mind, it falls into the same category as the Tu-95 Bear and the Be-12; objectively ugly but undeniably cool with its brutal and utilitarian design.

[bholdr----]

My grandfather was a naval aviator (don't call him a pilot! Lol.) and he started out in Avengers in WW2, flying from the USS Randolph. Post war, he flew Catalina's for a very short time before transitioning to P2V Neptunes.. he was an anti submarine specialist, and eventually served on the JCs ASW planning staff...

He loved the Neptune, but I remember him saying once that the Catalina was his favorite plane to fly, with the exception of the T-6 Texan the trainer which all ww2 aviators started their training on. (Ones first love is always the best, , eh?)

Cheers. Great vid! my grandfather would've appreciated your channel... He missed out by only a few years. (+1 from me, for sure!)

[lessharratt]

There is no such thing as ugly utility. Utility is beautiful all on it's own. Thanks for the upload. Always fascinating content.

[Hybris]

It took me a bit but I realized that a lot of the footage being used was from War Thunder. It really does look natural unless you are really hunting for oddities in the footage.

[picklerick]

The Beriev Be-6 looks like a Martin PBM Mariner fed a steady diet of potatoes, beets, vodka, and Communism.

[MM]

That shot of the Soviet Naval crew next to the huge aircraft behind them is kind of funny when you realize their "workplace" is probably bigger than the houses they lived in as children by an order of magnitude...and it flies!

[georgeweber]

I love your videos. The Beriev Be-6 puts me much in mind of the Martin PBM Mariner.

[russcole]

Hello from across the ditch in New Zealand. Hope you're enjoying your easter

[bentilbury]

The next person to say it looks like a PBM Mariner gets sent to the salt mines.

[stranraerwal]

Thanks for this (as usual) well-researched and splendidly delivered report. I admire your choice of the almost forgotten Species of Flying Boats!

[Haematite]

The line "landing safely despite its want to undergo self disassembly!" And "not infact watertight!" Are very disturbing and seriously hilarious!

[CalumRaasay]

Literally had no idea this existed. usually with old aircraft I feel I've heard of it or seen photos but this one was totally new to me!

[anarchopupgirl]

When I noticed at one point that it was War Thunder footge I was looking at (I was just in naval on that polar map 😅), I was VERY impressed at how convincingly you'd edited it to look like it was filmed contemporarily