USSR civil helicopter for the population. Civil aviation of the USSR. Race for speed

Today, civil helicopters are used in more than 190 countries. Our portal site offers a comparison of different passenger helicopters in a few clicks.

Such aircraft are used for transporting passengers, cargo, search and rescue operations, medical needs, law enforcement, for example, patrolling, fire fighting, forest tracing during the laying of power lines, in construction, agriculture, TEP maintenance, etc. Of particular importance is the status of passengers and the nature of the goods transported. It is important to understand that when purchased, a civilian aircraft can easily turn into a military aircraft, depending on the owner’s goals. For example, many Mi-8/17 helicopters purchased on the secondary market by countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia were later equipped with military equipment and are effectively used by the armed forces today.

The civil helicopter market was hit hard by the crisis, which significantly reduced purchases of expensive equipment. Analysts suggest that the passenger helicopter market is expected to actively develop in the near future. It is predicted that in the next ten years the Chinese fleet will increase to several thousand helicopters.

Today in Russia there are fourteen civil aircraft per 1 million inhabitants, while in the United States this figure is much higher – 40.

In the near future, the volume of purchases of civil helicopters is predicted to more than double. The increased demand for such aircraft is fueled by public recognition in many regions of its operation. The public position has been preoccupied with safety and noise issues for many years. Moreover, the problem of noise was not only the subject of public, but also organized resistance. The new helicopters on the market make less noise, which has helped alleviate public concern. Plus, the helicopter industry is actively demonstrating to the public all the advantages of using helicopters, winning public respect and loyalty to propeller-driven aviation.

In the safety industry, high-profile incidents negatively impact government and public perception of helicopters. Failure to take decisive action by industry may result in government restrictions being imposed. As a result of the creation of the aviation safety group, the helicopter industry has taken a position on the issue of safety. In the near future, the number of helicopter accidents is planned to be reduced by 80%. To achieve this goal, analysts have presented various recommendations.

One of the most significant aspects of the recent growth in civil contract sales is the diversity of demand across geographies. For example, North America to this day remains the largest regional market for civil helicopters, but the percentage of customers outside of it is more than half. This demonstrates a change in the sales structure of the recent past.

Demand for civil helicopters exists in almost all regions of the world, including Asia and Europe. But be that as it may, government restrictions on the use of helicopters have a negative impact on sales in European countries, especially models with one engine. The operation of single-engine helicopters in European countries is subject to various restrictions, including a location that requires the use of twin-engine helicopters when flying over densely populated areas.

70 years ago the first production Soviet helicopter, the Mi-1, took off into the sky. How the legendary car was created, flew and fell, Gazeta.Ru recalls.

Exactly 70 years ago, on September 20, 1948, the Mi-1 helicopter took off for the first time in Moscow, which began the Soviet helicopter industry.

The USSR had experience in developing rotary-wing aircraft even before the war, but these were gyroplanes - devices with a freely rotating main rotor that creates lift from the oncoming air flow.

Mil thought about creating the first helicopter during the war and even wrote a letter to Stalin.

In 1945, Mil defended his doctoral dissertation “Dynamics of a rotor with articulated blades and its application to problems of stability and controllability of a gyroplane and helicopter.” Soon the designer began developing an experimental helicopter EG-1. To begin with, a full-scale helicopter installation was designed - essentially it was a future helicopter without a tail boom.

How scientist, Mil could not officially work on his brainchild - they worked on it in the evenings with the involvement of enthusiasts from different laboratories.

At the same time, TsAGI director Shishkin constantly reprimanded Mil, saying that he was not minding his own business.

By the end of 1947, in helicopter manufacturing, the USSR was hopelessly behind the United States, where these machines were already being mass-produced, and Sikorsky helicopters with good flight data were accepted into service. Sikorsky's successes attracted investors, and helicopter companies grew like mushrooms.

The country's leadership decided to gather forces to create the first three-seat communications helicopter and involve three designers in this - Mil, Yakovlev and Bratukhin. To create a design bureau, Mil, the head of the 5th laboratory of TsAGI, contacted the Ministry of Aviation Industry, after which he made a report to the ministry. In August 1947, Stalin wrote to Defense Minister Zhukov:

“Why are there many companies in the USA working on helicopters and they are already used in the army, but here only Bratukhin is digging and there is nothing concrete?”

In December 1947, despite Shishkin’s protests, Mil received his own design bureau on the territory of Plant 382 in Tushino. On the back of the order, Mil drew a donkey trying to push a huge stone from the mountain - this is how he perceived his own efforts in order to get things moving.

Boris Yuryev, an aviator scientist, student and son-in-law of Zhukovsky, who patented a swashplate back in 1911, actively took part in promoting the idea of ​​a helicopter.

to this day, remaining the most important part of any helicopter in the world.

The first helicopter, and back then they were called helicopters, was designed as a communications helicopter. In addition to the pilot, the cabin accommodated two more people. The design chosen was a single-rotor with a three-blade tail and main rotors - it later became known as classical.

TsAGI press service

The developers took into account the experience of foreign helicopter manufacturing and made their original proposals. So, they remade the bushing main rotor, which used vertical and horizontal hinges. When designing and fine-tuning the Mi-1 prototype, a number of original technical solutions were used: a main rotor control system with inertial dampers, subsequently equipped with irreversible hydraulic boosters; combining control systems for the overall pitch of the main rotor and engine power into unified system"step-throttle".

An anti-icing system was also developed for the main and tail rotor blades. The Mi-1 was equipped with AI-26 engines with a power of 580 hp, which could lift up to 2.5 tons of weight into the air.

The first copies had to be built in Kyiv at plant number 473 (now Aviant) due to the absence at the Design Bureau named after. Mile of required manufacturing base. The first copy was built in August 1948 and transported to Moscow.

The first lifts into the air on the Mi-1 prototype - GM-1 (Mil-1 helicopter) - were performed on September 20, 1948 at the Zakharkovo airfield,

test pilot Matvey Baikalov was at the helm.

Just 10 days later, on September 30, Baikalov again lifts the car into the air and reaches a speed of 100 km/h, and after some time a maximum of 170 km/h is reached.

During the first flights, cracks were discovered in the engine gearbox; the reason was the lack of inertial dampers that would dampen torsional vibrations. The problem was quickly solved by introducing rubber bushings on the main shaft.

The tests had been going on for two months, but on November 24 the first accident occurred. During Baikalov's flight to the ceiling, the lubricant in the swashplate froze, and the pilot had to use a parachute. Then the flight altitude was limited to 3 thousand meters.

It so happened that the pilot who lifted the first helicopter into the sky gave his life to it. On March 7, 1949, Baikalov was transporting the second experimental machine to Chkalovskaya near Moscow, and in front of those greeting them, the helicopter crashed, taking the life of the pilot.

It turned out that the helicopter's shaft, which transmitted rotation from the main gearbox to the tail rotor at the welded joint, had collapsed.

State tests continued, and in 1950 the Council of Ministers adopted a resolution on mass production of the Mi-1. In total, over 2.5 thousand of these helicopters were built in the USSR in the 1950–1960s. Later, the industry switched to the production of higher-priority Mi-4 helicopters, and it was decided to move the production of the Mi-1 to Poland, where 300 machines were produced under license in 1957–1960.

The helicopter had good performance characteristics, but was unstable to side gusts of wind, and the main rotor fluttered. It was saved by a powerful engine, which provided high power output. The helicopter began to operate as planned in the army as a liaison helicopter, its design was constantly improved.

In the winter of 1954, the Mi-1 entered civil aviation.

The Mi-1, the first Soviet production helicopter, set 27 world records.

Reliable and easy to operate, in the USSR it was used both in the armed forces and in civil aviation - for processing farmland, delivering mail and cargo, evacuating the sick and wounded.

The military modification of the Mi-1B was actively used in China to fight against the Chiang Hai fighters. Used by the Egyptians and Syrians in the fight against the Israeli army. In Iraq, the Mi-1 was used in the operations of Saddam Hussein's army against the Kurds.

In the USSR, the Mi-1 was often used to transport mail to hard-to-reach regions, to traffic police, and was put into service with the USSR Air Force. It was withdrawn from service in 1983.

Pavel Kotlyar/Gazeta.Ru

Today, the Mi-1 remains only as monuments in various cities of Russia; only a few machines exist in flying condition. A Gazeta.Ru correspondent photographed the rotting body of one of the cars on the territory of the MARZ plant near Moscow.

The Mi-1 was the first creation of the new design bureau and became the Mi-1 - Mil’s favorite helicopter, which met all his hopes.

Later, the more powerful Mi-4, gas turbine Mi-6, Mi-2, Mi-8, Mi-26 and the largest helicopter in the world, the Mi-12, appeared in the USSR, to which Sikorsky’s son doffed his hat. “For 18 years now I have been looking at him, and I like him,” Mikhail Leontyevich wrote about his first-born. “This means that the car is good, it was made conscientiously.”

In the 1970s, the USSR was ahead of the whole world in the quantity and quality of civil aviation aircraft. Every second aircraft flying in the skies of the planet at that time was made in the USSR. The aircraft factories of our country produced as much aviation equipment as all other aviation enterprises in the world produced in total. The USSR was a great aviation power.

During the Brezhnev era, the second generation of our civil aviation aircraft was designed, tested, developed and put into operation. These include, in particular, the Tu-154 aircraft. A huge airliner, a real airship with a take-off weight of 94 to 102 tons, taking on board from 164 to 180 passengers or up to 20 tons of cargo. The flight range is from 3000 to 3500 km. The Kuibyshev Aviation Plant built 605 Tu-154 aircraft of all modifications from 1975 to 1985, and in total more than 930 aircraft were built from 1972 to 2000. The Tu-154M aircraft with three D30KU turbojet engines produced by the Rybinsk Engine Plant can generally be considered as a different aircraft in terms of a number of characteristics, including a flight range of 5200 km. The Tu 154M has been mass-produced since 1984. By the end of 1996, about 315 aircraft had been built.

Our country was such a great aviation power, in which only one plant produced 60 huge aircraft per year, and the Kazan and Rybinsk engine plants produced 180 sustainer aircraft for these aircraft. aircraft engines per year with a thrust of 11,000 kgf each. The noise level of not only the Tu-154M, but also the Tu-154B aircraft complied with the standards of Chapter 2 of Annex 16 of the ICAO.

For what reason did the liberals destroy the huge Kuibyshev (Samara) aviation plant, and then put almost all Tu-154 aircraft on hold, replacing them with Boeings and Airbuses? I think the main reason is the large sums of money coming from the budget into private hands when purchasing aircraft abroad.

The second, also very successful machine of the A. N. Tupolev Design Bureau was the second generation aircraft - Tu-134, designed to service medium-length lines. In November 1968, the aircraft was certified to comply with English BCAR airworthiness standards. Serially produced from 1966 to 1984 at Kharkovsky aircraft factory, which produced 852 Tu-134 aircraft of various modifications. The entire fleet of aircraft was decommissioned by personal order of liberal President D. A. Medvedev. It should be noted that the Tu-154 and Tu-134 aircraft are very beautiful and represent not only the achievements of our technology, but also the achievements of our culture.

The design bureau of S.V. Ilyushin pleased the country with the Il-62 mainline aircraft of exceptional reliability, beauty and comfort. The noise level, like previous aircraft, complied with ICAO standards. This plane was leased from Aeroflot by French airlines. At the Kazan Aviation Plant, from 1966 to 1995, 276 Il-62 and Il-62M aircraft were built, designed for 138-186 seats, with a flight range of up to 10,000 - 11,050 km.

Of the passenger turbojet aircraft, the largest and safest was the Il-86, which aroused the envy of Western aircraft manufacturers. This handsome aircraft carried 350 passengers in economy class. Since 1980, 103 aircraft have been built at the Voronezh Aviation Plant. It can be called the most reliable aircraft in the world, since during the entire period of its operation there was not a single flight accident or even the most insignificant incident. This is probably why, perhaps under pressure from Western competitors, the Il-86 was quietly taken out of service and laid up without any reason or official orders. To this day, the best civil aviation aircraft in the world, the Il-86, which have not yet been scrapped, stand at some airports. Even today it would be the pride of the country's civil aviation.

Such actions by officials can be qualified as a betrayal of the interests of the homeland. But no one has yet been held accountable for unjustified decommissioning of domestic civil aviation aircraft that caused damage to the state. But the actions of those who decommissioned domestic civil aviation aircraft caused damage to the country measured in tens of billions of rubles, and the curtailment of the production of civil aviation aircraft in the aircraft industry caused hundreds of billions of rubles.

The fifth aircraft of the second generation is the design bureau’s aircraft, which did not take part in the creation of the first generation of civil aviation aircraft - this is the Yak-40 aircraft, created by A.S. Design Bureau. Yakovleva. It carried 24-32 passengers and flew at a speed of 510 km per hour over a distance of 1350 km. It was the first and very successful passenger aircraft for short lines. At the rear of the aircraft, a ladder was hydraulically raised and released for boarding and evacuation of passengers. The aircraft had good power supply and aerodynamic qualities. It has proven itself remarkably well even at mountain airfields. Between 1968 and 1981, the Saratov Aviation Plant produced 1,011 aircraft. Aircraft manufacturing companies around the world lagged behind the USSR in this class of aircraft as well. The Yak-40 was delivered to 18 countries, including a number of Western countries.

The sixth aircraft of the second generation was the Yak-42, designed for 104-120 passengers. Since 1979, 190 Yak-42 aircraft of all modifications have been built in Smolensk and Saratov.

The level of development of domestic civil aviation is evidenced by the fact of the design and manufacture of a supersonic, amazingly beautiful passenger plane Tu-144 with 120 seats, flying at a speed of 2500 km/h (two speeds of sound) in 1971 to Paris, Prague, Berlin, Warsaw, Sofia. It was the flight of our Tu-144 aircraft on December 31, 1968 that was the world’s first flight of a supersonic passenger aircraft.

How can such a time be called “stagnation”. The Americans named it, of course, but we, like parrots, repeat “stagnation, stagnation.” During the period of “stagnation,” our country was ahead of all countries in the world in terms of the pace of development, the number of products produced, and the level of technical development and was not inferior to the United States.

In addition to the indicated types of aircraft, in the Soviet Union, as in Western countries, at that time aircraft with piston aircraft engines were still in operation, one of which, the An-2 aircraft, flies to this day.

Civil aviation of the USSR was the most advanced aviation in the world. At that time, all aircraft belonged to the state airline Aeroflot. Aeroflot planes flew between continents, cities of different countries and over the vast expanses of their homeland - the USSR. Airframes, engines, units, components and parts of aircraft, without any exceptions, were designed by our designers and manufactured at our aircraft and engine factories from domestic materials.

All types of oils, lubricants, and fuels were domestically developed. Our aviation equipment due to latest technologies It was much cheaper to produce, and in terms of characteristics it was not only not inferior, but superior to Western aircraft. And the West adopted ours technical solutions and technology is no less, but, perhaps, more than we adopted from Western companies. But, naturally, no one could deliver drawings for an entire plane, since the plane consists not only of an airframe, but has engines, hundreds of complex units and all kinds of materials. To transport documentation for the manufacture of an aircraft at that time, entire carriages would have been required, entire teams of thousands of people would have been required to study them, and a lot of new production facilities and technologies would have been required to produce them.

It is clear that it is impossible to steal and deliver such a quantity of documentation. But even if this were possible, the production of an aircraft of a different technical school, with different standards, would be more expensive than the production of a domestically designed aircraft based on its prototypes, units and engines.

Only mentally limited authors write, for example, that we made our supersonic passenger plane Tu-144 according to the French drawings of the Concorde, which, by the way, has engines made in England. The authors are not even embarrassed by the fact that the USSR sent its Tu-144 into flight a year earlier than France, as stated above - in 1968. Yes, today only the laziest do not throw stones at the USSR and Russia. The rest consider it their duty to belittle our achievements and make us look like a dishonest and incapable nation. Although in reality everything happened completely differently.

Given the presence of untold wealth and the total purchase of capable, talented engineers around the world, the United States lagged behind us in the production of precisely that military and civilian equipment, the production of which requires particularly outstanding mental abilities and the rapid development of science and industry that produces high-tech products.

At the same time, civil aviation helicopters with gas turbine engines entered operational units in large quantities. Mi-2, Mi-6, Mi-8 helicopters developed by M. L. Mil Design Bureau and Ka-26, Ka-27 helicopters developed by N. I. Kamov Design Bureau. We also had a unique Ka-32 helicopter with two coaxial rotors, which can fly with a load of up to five tons at a speed of 250 km per hour. Abroad, nothing like this existed and does not exist.

Boris Nikolaevich Yuryev made a huge contribution to the development of the domestic helicopter industry. The most important and complex component in controlling a helicopter, its main rotor, was developed by B.N. Yuryev. That’s what they called it – Yuriev’s main rotor swashplate. This is then already beaten in cold war Russia began to be deprived of all its merits. In general, the helicopter is the fruit of the Russian mind, which has always strived to understand the most complex area of ​​technical development and overcome difficulties. Even the United States owes the development of its helicopter industry to the Russian emigrant Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky.

Of the civil helicopters, the Mi-8 helicopter is especially noteworthy. No one has created the best helicopter in the world and, perhaps, never will. This is truly a brilliant machine. Although it is inappropriate to compare a machine gun with a helicopter, in a certain sense it is possible to compare. The Mi-8 helicopter is the only one in the world, as is the Kalashnikov assault rifle. It is not the heaviest or fastest helicopter, but it is the only helicopter in the world that has mastered all the work that a helicopter can theoretically perform. They are even taught to fly in schools for new cadets, because they are easy to fly. But this is a large helicopter with two gas turbine engines with a total power of 2800 hp. pp., capable of carrying 25 passengers. It works successfully on all continents of the globe in all climatic conditions. The Mi-8 helicopter combines all the best flight and operational parameters, exceptional reliability, unpretentiousness and ease of maintenance.

The deliberately destroyed Russian Civil Aviation is waiting for its revival.

2. Mi-2V-2V - 12 yellow - Russia (USSR) - Air Force
Mi-2 (according to NATO classification: Hoplite - “Hoplite”) is a Soviet multi-purpose helicopter developed by the Mil Design Bureau in the early 1960s. Widely used to perform a variety of civil and military tasks. Before production ended in 1992, over 5,400 units were built. In 1965, the B-2B was developed for the military, equipped with six 9M17M ATGMs of the Phalanx anti-tank complex or four units with 57-mm S-5 type NAR. Delays in fine-tuning the helicopter led to this modification being submitted for testing only in the early 1970s. and even though the Armed Forces had the Mi-24, it did not arouse the customer’s interest. (monograph Helicopter with dual citizenship in the magazine Aviation and Time 6,2004).

3. Mi-2СХ - RA-20869 - Myachkovsky Aviation Services

4. Mi-4 - 34 white - Russia (USSR) - Air Force
The Mi-4 (according to NATO codification: Hound) is a Soviet-made multi-purpose helicopter developed by the M.L. Design Bureau. Mile at the beginning 1950s Widely used for civil transport, in national economy And armed forces until the appearance of the Mi-8. Exported to 30 countries. Also, more than 500 units were produced under license in China, under the symbol Z-5.

5. Mi-6 - 02 blue - Russia (USSR) - Air Force
Mi-6 (according to NATO classification: Hook) is a Soviet heavy multi-purpose helicopter. The Mi-6 is the world's first mass-produced helicopter equipped with two turboshaft engines with a free turbine. Its layout scheme is recognized as classic.

6. Mi-6PZh - 41 yellow - Russia (USSR) - Air Force
Fire-fighting version of MI-6.

7. Mi-8T - 05 red - Russia (USSR) - Air Force
Mi-8 (V-8, product “80”, according to NATO codification: Hip) is a Soviet/Russian multi-purpose helicopter developed by OKB M.L. Mile at the beginning 1960s It is the most popular twin-engine helicopter in the world, and is also included in the list of the most popular helicopters in the history of aviation. Widely used for a variety of civilian and military applications.

The first B-8 prototype flew on July 9, 1961; second prototype B-8A - September 17, 1962. After a number of modifications, the Mi-8 was adopted by the Soviet Air Force in 1967 and proved to be such a successful machine that purchases of the Mi-8 for the Russian Air Force continue to this day. The Mi-8 is used in more than 50 countries, including India, China and Iran.

8. Mi-8T (Mi-8TV) - 61 red - Russia (USSR) - Air Force

9. Mi-10 - 44 - Russia (USSR) - Air Force 1968
The Mi-10 (“Harke” according to NATO codification, the designation of the Rostov-on-Don plant is “product 60”) is a military transport helicopter (flying crane), a development of the Mi-6. Developed in 1961-64, put into service in 1963. Serially produced at the Rostov Helicopter Plant.

10. Mil V-12 - CCCP-21142 - Russia (USSR) - MAP /1967/
The B-12 (also called the Mi-12, although such a renaming was not officially made; Homer - according to NATO classification) is the heaviest and most load-lifting helicopter ever built in the world. Distinctive feature is the lateral arrangement of the propellers on the wings of the reverse narrowing, which are driven by four D-25VF engines.

The B-12 was developed as a super-heavy transport helicopter with a payload capacity of at least 30 tons, for transporting components of intercontinental ballistic missiles for units of the Strategic Missile Forces, the creation of position areas for which was planned in areas without paved roads. The first flight of the B-12 took place only on July 10, 1968, and in the fall it was transferred to state tests jointly with the customer. During flight tests, the vehicle's autopilots were replaced twice with more advanced ones, and a "Lotsia" radar station and external fuel tanks were installed on the sides of the fuselage. In 1969, the crew of pilot Koloshenko set seven world records on the B-12. The most significant and unsurpassed to date was the lifting of a load weighing 40.2 tons to a height of 2250 m. According to the general opinion of the testers, the helicopter had a fairly low level of noise and vibration, was quite economical, and well controlled." Exhibit Le Bourget - 1971 ( exhibition code "H-833"). The first copy, the second is at the Mil Helicopter Plant

11. Mi-22 (Mi-6AYAMi-6VzPU) - 39 red - Russia (USSR) - Air Force
The Mi-6VKP air command post was developed at plant No. 535 (Konotop) on the basis of the serial Mi-6. The helicopter was intended for combat control of troops of a combined arms or air army. The command post can perform its functions only after landing and deployment of equipment on the ground. In total, 36 helicopters were converted into the Mi-6VKP variant in Konotop. The last Mi-6VKP was in operation until 1996.

12. Mi-24A - 50 red - Russia (USSR) - Air Force
The Mi-24 (according to NATO codification: Hind - “Penor”) is a Soviet transport and combat helicopter developed by the Mil Design Bureau. Serial production began in 1971. It has many modifications and has been exported to many countries around the world. It was actively used during the Afghan war, during the fighting in Chechnya, as well as in many regional conflicts. Produced at the Rostov Helicopter Plant. The unofficial name is “Crocodile”; helicopters of early production were also called “Glass” - because of the round glass of the pilot’s cockpit.

13. Mi-24V (Mi-35) - 46 white - Russia (USSR) - Air Force
The most popular version of the Mi-24 helicopter. 4 ATGM 9K113 Shturm-V with Raduga-Sh guidance system. All R. 1980s the helicopter received suspensions for 8 and 16 ATGMs. Sight ASP-17V. Engines TV3-117V. The weapons included B-8V20A NAR units with S-8 NURS, B-13L1 units with S-13B NURS and heavy S-24B NARs. Produced in 1976-86. About 1000 units were built.

14. Mi-24V (Mi-35) - 44 blue - Russia (USSR) - Air Force

15. Mi-26 - 21 black - Russia (USSR) - Air Force 1986
Mi-26 (product “90”, according to NATO codification: Halo) is a Soviet heavy multi-purpose transport helicopter. It is the world's largest mass-produced transport helicopter. Serially produced at the Rostvertol plant of the Russian Helicopters holding company. Load capacity - up to 25 tons of payload.

16. Ka-18 - CCCP-68627 - Aeroflot - MGA USSR
The Ka-18 (according to NATO codification: Hog - “Hog”) is a multi-purpose helicopter. It was a modification of the Ka-15 helicopter, which was distinguished by an elongated and expanded fuselage. Capacity: one pilot and two to three passengers. Was awarded a Gold Medal at the World Exhibition in Brussels in 1958. One of two surviving Ka-18 helicopters at the moment.
Exhibited at VDNH in Moscow in 1960. This helicopter was produced in the spring of 1960 at the aircraft plant in Ulan-Ude. In Moscow at VDNKh it was demonstrated with a false identification mark USSR-68627. Later, the Ka-18 was operated by the Ministry of Aviation Industry at the Ukhtomsky Helicopter Plant (enterprise no. 34) in Lyubertsy, Moscow Region. On May 14, 1960, the helicopter was registered in the Register aircraft USSR, where he was assigned the identification mark USSR-06137. The helicopter was decommissioned on May 20, 1971. The story of the helicopter does not end there. The helicopter, in a semi-disassembled state, was decided not to be disposed of by the Kamov Design Bureau staff, but to be preserved in a museum. The Ka-18 was offered to the Air Force Museum in Monino, Moscow Region, where it was transferred after restoration on September 26, 1975. It is interesting that at the personal insistence, and most likely pressure, of the head of the Air Force Museum S. Ya. Fedorov, the helicopter was painted in the colors of the Air Force.

17. Ka-25PL - 24 black - Russia (USSR) - Navy
The Ka-25 (according to NATO codification Hormone - “Hormon”) is a Soviet ship-based anti-submarine helicopter. It is the first domestic helicopter that was originally designed for combat use and became the first anti-submarine and first initially combat helicopter of the USSR. Based on the Ka-25 created a large number of modifications for use in various fields of application.
The helicopter, developed by the Kamov Design Bureau under the leadership of chief designer Nikolai Ilyich Kamov, was put into production in 1965 and entered service on December 2, 1971.

18. Ka-26 - CCCP-26803 - Kamov Design Bureau
The Ka-26 (according to NATO codification: Hoodlum - “Hooligan”) is a multi-purpose helicopter developed at the Kamov Design Bureau. Serial production was carried out at the aircraft plant in Ulan-Ude and the aircraft plant in Kumertau. A total of 816 helicopters were built, including 257 delivered to 14 countries. The helicopter was mainly used for civilian purposes, however, it was also used by the Romanian and Hungarian air forces, the police of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany.

Features of terminology

In the USSR, both in scientific and educational literature published by the Military Publishing House for the general population, and in literature for official use, to designate combat helicopters engaged in the suppression and destruction of enemy ground targets, it is customary to use the term “fire support helicopter” (including foreign analogues). This term was not used for anti-submarine helicopters.

Outside the USSR and in modern Russia, as a synonym fire support helicopters definition is also common attack helicopter(Spanish) Helicoptero de ataque , English Attack helicopter, fr. Helicopter d'attaque), which in foreign sources (as well as in Russian military terminology) is not used in relation to anti-submarine helicopters.

History of military helicopters

This section touches on the history of the use of gyroplanes as aircraft that are similar in design to helicopters.

Pre-war period and World War II

Before helicopters were used for military purposes, there were attempts to use gyroplanes.

In 1931, the US Air Force purchased several gyroplanes. Pitcairn PCA-2 and Kellett KD-1 for reconnaissance, artillery fire adjustment, communications and participation in search and rescue operations in the interests of both the army and navy. In 1938, the British Royal Air Force acquired 7 units Cierva C.40. In the spring of 1940, they were used to communicate with troops in France during the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force. In this case, all gyroplanes were lost.

By 1943, the US Army stopped testing gyroplanes, due to the appearance of the first successful models of Sikorsky R-4 helicopters, which were acquired by the Royal Air Force in 1944, which became the basis of the 529th Airlift Squadron's weapons.

The first country to use helicopters in World War II was the United States. Since April 1944, VS-316 helicopters (army designation R-4B) began to be used in combat operations in Burma and eastern India to supply pockets of resistance to landed paratroopers and evacuate the wounded.

In the USSR, work on creating helicopters for military purposes began with a decree of the USSR NPO in March 1940. This decree instructed the designer I. P. Bratukhin, B. N. Yuryev, as well as the director M. F. Semichastny to begin developing a two-seat helicopter with a twin-engine power plant. In August 1941, a sample called “Omega” was submitted for state testing. In connection with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War and the difficult economic situation in the USSR, the government's interest in the model weakened and further testing and refinement of the model were moved to Alma-Ata. The only potential customer for Omega was the Main Artillery Directorate, which considered the sample as air artillery spotter, but the difficult wartime situation actually stopped the development of helicopter manufacturing in the USSR. So, due to the evacuation of enterprises and the design bureau from Moscow to Alma-Ata, the first test flight of the helicopter was delayed for almost two years and took place only in June 1943.

Post-war period. From the Malayan War to the Vietnam War

After the war, the USSR government paid close attention to military helicopter production. Already by August 1945, experimental Omega-3 (G-3) helicopters were produced, which were planned to be used as artillery spotters. The Main Artillery Directorate planned to order 200 of these vehicles. In 1946, the Air Force command drew attention to Omega-3 helicopters. Soon, by government decision at the end of 1947, the Yakovlev Design Bureau and the newly created Mil Design Bureau (in 1947) and the Kamov Design Bureau (in 1948) were connected to helicopter manufacturing.

The first case of the massive use of helicopters for military purposes in the post-war period can be considered the precedent with British troops during the Malayan War in 1948, when they used 26 S-51 helicopters to transport infantrymen, which in total made 20 thousand sorties.

The main leap in the mass use of helicopters occurred during the Korean War. If at the beginning of the war the US Army Aviation included 1,186 airplanes and 56 helicopters, by the end of hostilities the ratio changed: 2,518 airplanes and 1,140 helicopters. For example, in one day of the Incheon landing operation, 12 helicopters transported 2,000 soldiers and 50 tons of various cargo. The main models of helicopters were presented Bell OH-13, Hiller OH-23 Raven, Sikorsky H-5, Sikorsky H-19 and Piasecki H-25.

Indicative of the widespread use of helicopters is the nickname "Angel of Mercy"(English: “Angel of Mercy”), which American military personnel gave to the Bell H-13G ambulance helicopter, on which 18,000 wounded were evacuated from the battlefield to the rear during the war years.

Following the results of the Korean War, the leadership of the USSR Armed Forces concluded that the level of Soviet helicopter production was significantly behind Western ones. During the Korean War, the only helicopter in the USSR was the Mi-1, produced in a small series since 1950. In October 1951, a government decree was adopted on the simultaneous development of two types of helicopters:

• OKB Mil - development of a medium transport and landing helicopter;
• Yakovlev OKB - development of a heavy transport helicopter.

By the spring of 1952, the Mil Design Bureau presented the VD-12 (Mi-4), which at the end of that year were transferred to the troops for testing. In November of the same 1952, the Yak-24 was submitted for testing, production of which began in 1955. The production of helicopters was constantly increasing: if in 1952 6,685 airplanes and 38 helicopters were transferred to the Ministry of Defense, then in 1954 - 5,617 airplanes and 117 helicopters.

In the USSR, the saturation of the Soviet army with helicopters pushed the military leadership to a similar step, when, according to the directive of the Minister of Defense of May 22, 1968, the 11th and 13th separate airborne brigades were created, respectively, as part of the Trans-Baikal and Far Eastern military districts, each consisting of of which included two helicopter regiments ( transport And combat) .

Unlike the USSR, Western powers (USA, UK, France) considered the use of helicopters in naval forces not only as an anti-submarine weapon, but also as the main means for landing troops from ships onto land. While the USSR was creating a fleet of landing ships various classes capable of approaching the shore at the closest possible distance for landing marines along with military equipment (armored personnel carriers, self-propelled guns, MLRS, tanks, etc.), Western states developed ships capable of carrying dozens of helicopters, which should be located at a great distance from the shore infantry units were transferred to land. In this regard, in NATO countries there appeared new class warships as an amphibious helicopter carrier.

If in the Korean War and the Algerian War helicopters proved their right to be used in the army, then as a result vietnam war Helicopters have become an integral part of the army like tanks, airplanes and armored personnel carriers.

From the 70s to the present

Based on the results of the operation of the AH-1 Cobra, at the end of 1972, a competition was announced in the United States to create a new generation fire support helicopter under the program Advanced Combat Helicopter(eng. Advanced Attack Helicopter or abbreviated - AAH), designed primarily to combat enemy tanks at any time of the day and in bad weather conditions. The main requirements for the vehicle were: sufficient armor, long flight range, high speed, presence of cannon and missile weapons, infrared radiation reduction system, high service life. In December 1976, based on the results of testing, the AH-64 Apache prototype from Hughes Helicopters was selected. In the same month, on December 16, 1976, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR will adopt a resolution on the development of a new generation of combat helicopters, which, unlike the Mi-24, was supposed to perform exclusively fire support functions, without the ability to transport paratroopers. The concept of a “flying infantry fighting vehicle” for which the Mi-24 was created was no longer considered a priority. An additional incentive for the Soviet leadership was the requirement to increase speed, as well as the message advertised in Western media about the appearance of the AH-56 Cheyenne helicopter with a pusher propeller. Subsequently, the developed samples entrusted to the Mil Design Bureau and the Kamov Design Bureau were given the designations Mi-28 and Ka-50, respectively. Unlike the AH-64, which entered service in 1984 (9 years after its first flight), the new generation models that began to be developed in the USSR have already entered service Russian Federation 13 years later (for the Ka-50) and 31 years (for the Mi-28) after the first flight of the test samples.

The military conflicts of the 80s were marked by the first cases in which combat helicopters were used for purposes other than the destruction of ground and surface targets. During these years they were first used in air battles. Particularly striking was the use of helicopters during the Iran-Iraq war that began in September 1980, where in November of the same year the first helicopter air battle in world history took place, during which two Iranian AH-1J Cobras managed to shoot down two Iraqi TOW ATGMs. Mi-24D. In April 1981, a second similar incident in the same circumstances also ended in victory for the Iranians. In September 1983, an Iraqi Mi-24D destroyed an AH-1J Cobra with a machine gun. In February 1984, three Iraqi Mi-24Ds destroyed three Iranian AH-1J Cobras in an air battle using Phalanx ATGMs and S-5 unguided missiles. Based on the experience of helicopter-to-helicopter combat, both warring parties drew appropriate conclusions and improved their weapons and increased their ammunition. Thus, on Iranian AH-1S Cobra helicopters, 8 TOW ATGMs were already installed and the number of 70mm anti-aircraft guided missiles was increased from 14 to 38. On Iraqi Mi-24D, in response, the Phalanx ATGM was replaced by more modern Sturm missiles, as well as air-to-air missiles. air" Soviet R-60MK and American AIM-9 Sidewinder. On October 27, 1984, the first ever dogfight between a helicopter and a supersonic fighter took place, in which the helicopter emerged victorious. The crew of an Iraqi Mi-24V managed to destroy an Iranian F-4E Phantom. During this war, Iranian AH-1 Cobras shot down four Iraqi aircraft (MiG-21, MiG-23, Su-22).

Also, the military conflicts of the 80s were marked by a situation where the same type of helicopters were used by opposing sides. Thus, in the war for the Falkland Islands, heavy transport helicopters Boeing CH-47 Chinook were used by both the British and Argentine sides.

Prospects for military helicopter manufacturing

In the modern world, the leading powers in the helicopter industry are considering projects to create new models that are qualitatively different from the currently existing ones in terms of their parameters and, in some cases, a fundamentally different design.

JMR program in the USA

So in the USA a research program was launched to create a multi-purpose aircraft With vertical takeoff and landing (Joint Multi-Role Rotorcraft or for short - J.M.R.), with a maximum flight speed of at least 430 km/h and a range of more than 425 kilometers. It is planned that in the future such models will replace traditional helicopters when performing combat missions and combat and logistics support tasks. The first stage of the program aims to develop and test prototypes with a maximum take-off weight of 12-13 tons, the platform of which will further serve to create families of devices to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk and SH-60 Seahawk multi-role helicopters, as well as the AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. IN general requirements it is indicated that the transport version of the platform should ensure the transfer of 12 fully equipped military personnel or cargo weighing about 6 tons. Based on the experience of using helicopters in recent military conflicts, special attention is paid to the ability of the developed models to operate in hot climate conditions from high-mountain sites located at an altitude of more than 1,800 m above sea level.

As part of this program, Sikorsky Aircraft and Boeing are offering a coaxial helicopter with a propulsive (creating the main horizontal thrust) pusher propeller. This method of increasing the flight parameters of helicopters is used by AVX Aircraft Company in the project of a coaxial helicopter with two pusher engines in ring nozzles. According to the developers, such a layout power plant will reduce the level of acoustic signature, increase flight safety at low altitudes, and also make it possible to equip the cargo compartment of the transport version with a lowering ramp. To improve aerodynamic performance for the strike vehicle variant, placement of weapons inside the fuselage is being considered.

FTH program for NATO countries

In NATO countries, transport and landing helicopters various types are considered as the main means of ensuring air mobility of troops in a combat zone, which have an advantage over military transport aircraft in that they do not require equipped runways.

On the other hand, the types of heavy transport helicopters in service with NATO countries (including the CH-53 Sea Stallion and CH-47) have limitations that do not allow the transportation of basic types of armored vehicles and heavy weapons systems. In addition, helicopters of this class have been in service with NATO countries for more than 30 years. For example, the last CH-53G aircraft in service with the Bundeswehr were manufactured in the 70s, and maintaining them in airworthiness is associated with high financial costs.

In this regard, research and development work is being carried out in France and Germany to develop Promising heavy transport helicopter (Future Transport Helicopter, abbreviated - FTH). According to the designers, the sample will take place between the NHI NH90 transport helicopter and the Airbus A400M military transport aircraft, whose payload capacity is 4.6 and 37 tons, respectively.

The designed helicopter must have an external suspension system with a payload capacity of up to 15 tons, including those placed in standard 20-foot sea containers. The vehicle is intended to be used for emergency evacuation of other helicopters of this type with individual elements of the power plant and airframe removed. In this case, it must be ensured that all necessary preparatory dismantling operations are carried out in the field. As is the case with the American project J.M.R., from FTH The ability to be used in high mountains and hot climates is required.

From experience combat use helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan, the project provides for the presence in on-board equipment of reliable warning systems about dangerous proximity to the earth's surface and other obstacles in conditions of poor visibility due to clouds of dust, snow or a sheet of water created by the rotors from the unprepared ground of the takeoff and landing platforms during takeoff, landing and taxiing. Also, based on the experience of military conflicts, it is considered necessary to have missile launch warning systems and a protection system against anti-aircraft missiles.

The developers also consider it necessary to use stealth technologies used in combat aircraft for the new transport helicopter, such as the use of radio-absorbing coatings and optimization of the shapes of fuselage elements.

Race for speed

helicopter Piasecki X-49
with pusher screw

Experimental high speed
helicopter Eurocopter X3
with two pusher screws

• Note: experimental samples created for research purposes, which are currently not serial military helicopters, or are under development, are highlighted in green

The traditional scheme, in which the lift and propulsive force of the machine is created only by the main rotor during its pitch, the speed usually does not exceed 300-350 km/h. Until 1986, the speed record belonged to an experimental model of the Mi-24 called the A-10, from which the wings were removed to increase speed. Of the prototypes of production vehicles, the record for the speed of helicopters of this design currently belongs to the British Westland Lynx. An experimental lightweight model of this car with a forced engine in 1986 reached a speed of 400 km/h.

The only way to overcome the speed barrier of 400 km/h is considered by many helicopter companies to be the presence of a pusher propeller. This method was used by Sikorsky Aircraft and Piasecki Helicopter, which offered similar samples of the Sikorsky S-97 Raider (developed on the basis of the experimental Sikorsky X2) and Piasecki X-49.

IN Western Europe Airbus Helicopters is conducting similar research to improve speed. So in 2010, the experimental machine Eurocopter X3 made its first flight. This model, unlike American aircraft, has pusher propellers located not behind the tail, but on the wings on the sides of the fuselage. This design made it possible to get rid of the tail tail rotor, traditional for helicopters with a single main rotor. The opportunity for this was provided by compensation of the reactive torque of the main rotor, carried out by the difference in the thrust supplied to each of the pushing propellers. That is, pusher propellers with this design simultaneously perform the functions of a traditional tail rotor. During testing on June 7, 2013, the prototype reached a speed of 472 km/h.

The situation in Russia with the development of high-speed helicopters remains unclear. According to the head of the Russian Helicopters holding company, Andrei Shibitov, at the second helicopter industry exhibition HeliRussia, held in May 2009, a project was launched to develop a high-speed helicopter, which was planned to be used, among other things, for military purposes. For implementation of this project 8 years were allotted. However, after the deadline, Russian helicopter manufacturing companies were unable to provide prototypes. In November 2017, it became known that the Russian Helicopters holding company would provide two concepts to the Russian Ministry of Defense in 2018 promising high-speed helicopter(PSV), from which the military department will select a project for further development.

Prevalence of attack helicopters by region

Between 1997 and the end of 2016, the number of states with attack helicopters in service increased. The number of samples produced has also increased. Nevertheless, the total number of attack helicopters in the world has decreased by almost a third. This is mainly due to the depletion of resources from those produced back in the years

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