Ekranoplans
An Ekranoplan (“surface-plane” in Russian) is a plane-ship hybrid that can skim over the water using the upward force of the WiG (Wing in Ground) effect, which forms a cushion of air under the short but very wide wings. It’s all explained on Wikipedia. The Soviet Union planned to develop 120 Ekranoplans of the A-90 Orlyonok class, but in the end only 3 were built. When the Americans saw them skimming along the Caspian Sea they could only describe them as “Caspian Sea Monsters”. One of the 3 A-90 Orlyonok class is permanently parked on the edge of…