During WW2, designer M.I. Gudkov (one of three who designed the LAGG-3 fighter) had the idea of a Russian jet fighter based on the Lyulka RTD-1/VDR-2 turbojet engine. With no influence from the West, his Gu-VDR had strange features: stepped lay-out with the engine located at the bottom of the fuselage aft of the nose, under the pilot and 4-split nose intake. Exhaust exited to the rear of the wing roots. The fuselage was based on the LAGG-3. His design was evaluated by N-II-VVS in 1943 and work commenced on the engine first. The engine was bench-tested at around 1500 lb st but then another jet was proposed of more power- the VDR-3/S-18 which would take another 2 years to complete! That sealed the fate of the jet aircraft. With the delays and crash of another Gudkov aircraft, the Gu-37, which caused an injury… Gudkov’s design bureau was shut-down and no Russian jet fighter entered the war. Sukhoi had a hybrid prop-jet, the Su-5, which was tested but was not operational either (even with a speed of 500 mph)!

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