Robert Bartini (1897-1974) (real name: Roberto Oros di Bartini) was an Italian aristocrat, communist, aircraft designer, the author of more than 60 completed aircraft projects. From 1923, Bartini lived and worked in the USSR. Having started as a laboratory assistant of the Scientific and Test Aerodrome on Khodynka, in just a couple of years he became the Head of the Scientific and Technical Department and as early as in 1930, the Chief Designer of the Research Institute of Civil Aviation. In the Institute, he designed the Stal-6 unique plane; its speed exceeded by almost 100 km that of all the contemporary fighters. Under his leadership, long-range arctic reconnaissance aircraft DAR-5, capable of covering 5,000 km, was developed. In autumn of 1935, he constructed 12-seat passenger airplane Stal-7 with a reverse seagull wing. Later on, it was used as the basis for the ER-2 bomber, which became one of the few that participated in air raids on the capital of Nazi Germany, Berlin, taking off from airfields near Moscow.
From 1952 to 1956, Bartini worked in Novosibirsk as a Chief Engineer of advanced aircraft designs at the Siberian Research Institute of Aviation (S. Chaplygin SibNIA). After his return to Moscow, he continued the work begun in Siberia on the projects of record-breaking aircraft Stal, Long-Range Arctic Reconnaissance Plane, amphibious aircraft of vertical take-off and landing, flarecraft, and supersonic aircraft.
Robert Bartini's experimental project, VVA-14 hydroplane, was capable of taking off and landing on water both as a conventional airplane and as a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. On September 4, 1972, the VVA-14 plane executed its first flight. It was decided to modify the first constructed aircraft, VVA-14-1M to use it as a flarecraft (14M1P). These works were performed after Bartini's death in 1974.
The hull of the BBA-14 prototype is reposited at the Central Air Force Museum in Monino.
The commemorative stamp provides a portrait of Robert Bartini and a configuration of the Stal-7 aircraft; the main image features VVA-14 hydroplane.
In addition to the issue of the envelope with a commemorative stamp, JSC Marka produced special cancels for Moscow and Novosibirsk.
Design Artist: V. Khablovsky.
Quantity: 500 thousand envelopes.
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