Raketa (hydrofoil)

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Raketa (Russian: Раке́та) was the first type of hydrofoil boats commercially produced in the Soviet Union. They were manufactured from 1957 until the early 1970s.

The first model, Raketa-1, was built by Krasnoye Sormovo shipbuilding plant in Sormovo, Nizhny Novgorod. On its maiden voyage, on August 25, 1957, it carried 30 passengers from Nizhny Novgorod to Kazan (420 km) in seven hours.

Raketa boats were soon in wide commercial service on the Volga River and elsewhere in the Soviet Union. To this day, the name is often used generically in Russian for all hydrofoil river boats.

Specifications:

   * Accommodation: 64 or 66 (depending on the model)
   * Length: 27 meters (90 feet)
   * Width: 5 meters (17 feet)
   * Draft (displacement mode): 1.8 meter (6 feet)
   * Draft (foilbourne): 1.1 meter (3.7 feet)
   * Maximum speef: 60 km/hour (33 knots)
   * Propulsion: one propeller powered by a 1000 or 900 horsepower engine (depending on the model)