Kalinin K-12
| Kalinin K-12 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Test bomb plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
1936 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 prototype |
Kalinin K-12 ( Russian Калинин К-12 ) was a brushless Experimental - bomber of the Soviet design engineer Konstantin Kalinin . Because of its striking, feather-imitating paintwork, it was nicknamed "Firebird" (Жар-Птица, Schar-Ptiza) after a Russian legendary figure .
development
Kalinin, who worked at the Kharkov Institute (ChAI), has been involved in the design of tailless aircraft since 1934. The first thing that was created was a version of his heavy bomber K-7 without a tail unit with an elliptical wing , but which did not get beyond the drawing board stage. Numerous experiments with wind tunnel models followed in order to find the optimal wing shape. The next step was a glider reduced by half in the form of the future K-12. The test pilot Vasily Borissow made about one hundred test flights with this model in 1934 and 1935. After the suitability of the construction had been proven, construction of the K-12 began in 1935. It should also only serve as a test model of an even larger bomber aircraft and was also referred to as the BS-2 (Beschwosty Samoljot, tailless aircraft).
The K-12 had trapezoidal wings with slotted flaps ( Junkers double wings ) running over the entire rear flap , of which the outer ones were used as ailerons and the inner ones as elevators. The two rudders were located in end caps at the wing end. The fuselage was equipped with a bow and stern stand, each with a 7.62 mm MG SchKAS and a bomb bay for 500 kilograms of dropping ammunition. Two were used as drive M-22 - radial engines , in which nacelles and the main wheels of the rear-wheel undercarriage imports.
The flight tests began in December 1936 and was carried out by Pyotr Stefanowski . It was completed without any complaints, but the performance was unsatisfactory. Stefanowski reached a top speed of only 240 km / h at an altitude of 3000 meters. On August 18, 1937, the K-12 was presented to the public for the first time during the air parade in Tuschino. Further work on the K-12 and its larger successor was finally stopped in 1938 after Kalinin's arrest and shooting.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 3 (pilot / navigator / rear gunner) |
| length | 8.00 m |
| span | 18.00 m |
| Takeoff mass | 4200 kg |
| Engines | two air-cooled radial engines M-22 |
| Starting power | 480 PS (approx. 350 kW) |
| Top speed | 240 km / h at 3000 m |
| Summit height | 3000 m |
| Range | 700 km |
See also
literature
- Wilfried Copenhagen: Soviet bombers , transpress, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-344-00391-7
- Peter Alles-Fernandez (editor): Aircraft from A to Z , Bernard & Graefe, Koblenz, 1988, ISBN 3-7637-5905-0
- Wolfgang Sellenthin, Ulrich Unger: Flying wing (Part 2) in FliegerRevue 3/82
- Military aircraft with the red star: Kalinin K-12 in Aerosport 6/69
