This reminds me of how the US military created some of the craziest atomic weaponry and delivery vehicles simply because each branch was fighting for control over the bomb and wanted to prove they were the smartest and toughest.
My father was not in the military in the 1950s, but the engineering firm he worked for loaned him to the government. He worked at Lawrence Livermore on the nuclear airplane, which needed lead shielding to protect the pilots, requiring a bigger reactor to handle the weight, which required more lead shielding, which required a larger reactor, etc.
Obviously never got off the ground, fortunately for us.
But it illustrates your point about everyone trying everything.
The museum at Kubinka has an amazing collection, we were able to visit four times while I was posted in Moscow.
This reminds me of how the US military created some of the craziest atomic weaponry and delivery vehicles simply because each branch was fighting for control over the bomb and wanted to prove they were the smartest and toughest.
My father was not in the military in the 1950s, but the engineering firm he worked for loaned him to the government. He worked at Lawrence Livermore on the nuclear airplane, which needed lead shielding to protect the pilots, requiring a bigger reactor to handle the weight, which required more lead shielding, which required a larger reactor, etc.
Obviously never got off the ground, fortunately for us.
But it illustrates your point about everyone trying everything.