The Anatra Anadis was developed in 1916 as a single-seat fighter variant of the

Anatra Anasal The Anatra DS or Anasal was a two-seat reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Anatra D (Anade). It was built in the Anatra factory in Odessa in the Russian Empire and flown during World War I by both sides during the Russian Civil War. The ...

reconnaissance

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

. The main difference between the two aircraft was the streamlined fuselage, the lack of a rear seat in the Anadis, plans for a forward-firing gun (not implemented) and a different engine.

Development

In the spring of 1916, Elisee Alfred Descamps, a French designer and chief engineer of the

Anatra Anatra () was an aircraft manufacturer founded by Artur Antonovich Anatra () at Odesa, Ukraine, then Russian Empire in 1913 which manufactured aircraft until 1917. Artur Anatra had previously helped fund the purchase of the first aircraft to arr ...

company of

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

was ordered to build a single-seat fighter based on the Anasal two-seat

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

biplane. Retaining the Anasal's two-bay configuration and fabric-covered wooden construction, the fighter, dubbed the Anadis, differed in having a streamlined fuselage, the rear cockpit removed, provision made for forward-firing armament and the 150 hp

Salmson Salmson is a French engineering company. Initially a pump manufacturer, it turned to automobile and aeroplane manufacturing in the 20th century, returning to pump manufacturing in the 1960s, and re-expanded to a number of products and services ...

water-cooled

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

replaced by a similarly-rated Hispano-Suiza V8 water-cooled engine. The prototype Anadis was flown on 23 October 1916 by the factory

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

, another Frenchman, Jean Robinet. The test pilot and designer modified the fighter to recover the second seat and carry extra fuel tanks, the idea being to use it to escape Russia in the event of the impending revolution. Their plan was discovered by one

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Kononenko, an Imperial Army acceptance pilot attached to Anatra, and the modifications were reverted. Testing continued until 11 November 1916, the official report to the Imperial Army stating that it was "... not inferior to any German aircraft of the same type and with greater power". Nevertheless, no further examples were ordered and the tested aircraft remained at the factory until the autumn of 1917. In September 1917,

Staff Captain Staff captain is the English translation of a number of military ranks: Historical use of the rank Czechoslovakia In the Czechoslovak Army, until 1953, staff captain (, ) was a senior captain rank, ranking between captain and major. Estonia T ...

N.A. Makarov applied for permission to fly the aircraft on a long-distance propaganda flight along the route Odessa-

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

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Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with a subsequent return to Russia in order "to visit the fronts and factories, to see the Allied aviation... so that the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

would supply us better". The flight was authorized. On 14 October, the Anadis was tested with a load of 500 kg. Interestingly, in addition to the identifying Russian

cockades A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a hat or cap. The word cockade derives from the French ''cocarde'', from Old French ''coquarde'', feminine of ''coquard'' (va ...

, the Anadis was painted very picturesquely: a two-headed eagle with the flags of the

Entente Entente, meaning a diplomatic "understanding", may refer to a number of agreements: History * Entente (alliance), a type of treaty or military alliance where the signatories promise to consult each other or to cooperate with each other in case o ...

countries were drawn on the fuselage and half-naked girls on the wings. In November 1917, Makarov went on the flight, but he crashed near the city of

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

due to an engine failure. The subsequent history of the aircraft is unknown.

Specifications

References

{{Anatra aircraft

Anadis Immuron is a biotechnology company based in Melbourne, Australia. In 2008, the company changed its name to Immuron Limited, having previously operated as Anadis Limited. Immuron is focused on antigen-primed and dairy-derived health products. ...

1910s Russian fighter aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1916