The RITM 2.46 cc diesel was basically an Oliver Tiger Mk. III clone with a rear drum valve taking the place of the Ollie's crankshaft front rotary valve. This design change allowed the provision of a far larger gas inlet passage having a more direct gas flow pathway into the crankcase.

The RITM was designed by the noted Russian team race competitor and future twice World Champion Boris Krasnoroutski of Kiev in the Ukraine. Its introduction in prototype form came at the 1960 World Control Line Championships held that year at Buadörs Airport near Budapest, Hungary. The record shows that the Russian team of Szkripcenko and Kontratenko used a RITM 2.46 cc diesel to finish in 7^th place with a very respectable time of 5:03. This was a fine showing for a first-time team using an all-new home-grown engine.

The RITM was further developed over the next two years. Krasnoroutski himself used it at the 1962 World Champinoship event in his hometown of Kiev but could only manage a 16^th place finish against the increasingly dominant Super Tigre and MOKI units which occupied the first three places. Despite this, the RITM was put into series production in 1962 as a "clubman's" team race diesel with which aspiring competitors could gain valuable experience.

The RITM was the subject of an "Aeromodeller" test which appeared in July 1963.  Unfortunately, the test engine was very poorly set up, hence under-performing to a marked degree. This unfavourable test report has unfairly dogged the engine's reputation ever since. My own tests have confirmed the manufacturer's claimed 0.316 BHP @ 15,000 rpm almost exactly. The engine is also very well made by Russian manufacturing standards of the day.

The RITM was later re-designed to utilize Cox-style porting in place of the original Oliver arrangement. These later engines fell short of the original variant in terms of both quality and performance. In this form the engine remained in production into the late 1970's.

A full review and test of the RITM may be found elsewhere on this website. The complete history of Russian model engine design and manufacture from the pioneering era through to the late 1970's also appears on this website. The RITM appears in its place in that article.