1960s Soviet Super-Sled Glided Over Snow, Ice and Water

The Siberian landscape is one of the most inhospitable in the world and traversing it has always presented challenges. Snow, ice,water, marshes, it has them all. But mail and medical supplies had to get through and people needed to be taken to hospitals in emergencies. Luckily the propellor-driven amphibious A-3 Aerosledge, designed by aeronautics engineer Andrei Tupolev in the 1960s was up to the challenge.

"Only around 800 A-3 Powersledges were ever manufactured, with production ceasing in the early 1980s. Only one – a 1978 model – was known to have made it to the US, after the new owner found it in Russia and had it restored to pristine working condition with the help of experts from around the world. It was sold at auction in 2007 for $187,000 and again in January 2015 for $220,000."

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