Based on an original Soviet illustration depicting the use of the Rafnik flying tank on the battlefield, this specially-commissioned artwork by TIM O’BRIEN GAvA shows the intended role of the craft, which was to land behind the front line and attack the enemy from the rear.

The Rafnik flying tank project devised by Aram Rafaelyants and Vasiliy Nikitin in 1932 was a comparatively elegant concept with a retractable undercarriage, but never made the transition from paper to prototype.

Devised on a much larger scale than the Rafnik, the TsAGI tank glider incorporated a high-aspect-ratio wing of some 36m (118ft) span. Pairs of twin booms attached to the rear spars incorporated control surfaces, and a fuselage extended from the rear of the tank to a triple-fin tail.