The Soviets Had Big Plans For This Enormous Nuclear-Equipped Ekranoplane

In the thick of the Cold War, the Soviet Union built a revolutionary transport vessel that was bigger than any plane and faster than any ship. It was also capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Classified as a ground effect vehicle, the 300-foot-long Lun-class Ekranoplane flew just four meters or so off the surface of water through the ground effect generated by its large wings.

It theoretically represented a new threat against the West, though the ship did not enter wide production and it never saw action.

The only model ever produced, the MD-160, was retired in the late 1990s and now sits rusting at a naval station in Kaspiysk.http://www.businessinsider.com/