Caspian Sea Monster

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41°56′27″N 48°22′47″E / 41.9408511°N 48.3796207°E / 41.9408511; 48.3796207

KM
Artist's illustration of the KM
Role	Prototype ekranoplan Type of aircraft
National origin	Soviet Union
Manufacturer	Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau
Designer	Rostislav Alexeyev
First flight	October 16, 1966
Introduction	1964
Retired	1980
Status	Destroyed in 1980
Primary user	Soviet Navy
Produced	1964–1966
Number built	1

The KM (Korabl Maket) (Russian: Корабль-Макет, literally "Ship-maquette" or "Model-Ship"), known colloquially as the Caspian Sea Monster, was an experimental ground effect vehicle developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s by the Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau. The KM began operation in 1966, and was continuously tested by the Soviet Navy until 1980 when it crashed into the Caspian Sea.

The KM was the largest and heaviest aircraft in the world from 1966 to 1988, and its surprise discovery by the United States and the subsequent attempts to determine its purpose became a distinctive event of espionage during the Cold War.