This is true. However, a less well known fact is that the diesel powerplants for the Russian Er-2 aircraft were actually railroad locomotive engines that were installed by, what records uncovered in the post-Soviet era has revealed to be, an accident.

A minor bureaucratic oversight somehow caused the specification sheets for the Er-2 to accidentally become mixed-up with the specifications for a proposed, but never built trans-Siberian rail locomotive.

Because the penalties for making such a mistake were so severe during Stalin's regime, none of the individuals involved would step up to accept responsibility for the confused specifications and, consequently, the aircraft went into the design and engineering phase.

Later interviews with engineers revaled that they were actually quite perpelxed when confronted with the paradox of installing locomotive engines into an aircraft. But they also feared the threat of receiving one-way passes to Siberia, and pressed on with the engineering challenge. Russians, by nature, are a tenacious group and after much effort, successfully met the challenge of integrating the locomotive engines with the Er-2 airframe.

The Er-2 went on to be come one of the most unusual Soviet aircarft of WWII. It was easily recognized by both Axis and Allied forces because of it's distinctive exhaust note which was said to be uncannily similar to that of the EMD 16V-543 .

The Er-2 earned it's rightful place in aviation's record books on it's very first flight. Test pilot Captain Yuri Vladvostniovich managed to keep the cumbersome Er-2 in the skies over Moscow for 96 hours, 22 miuntes and 59.2 seconds when he discovered that not only had the powerplants from a railroad locomotive been installed in the Er-2 but, massive, cast-iron railroad wheels had been placed on the landing gear instead of rubber tires. Whether or not this exchange was a result of severe rubber shortages brought on by the war or, a simple mix-up in the plans will never be known.

Fully aware of the penalties for destroying state property, Vladvostniovich was unwilling to bring the corpulent Er-2 in for a landing knowing that the Er-2's massive iron wheels would leave deep ruts in the tarmac the second he touched down.

More here:http://www.enginehistory.org/

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.