Every year in the Soviet Union, a huge number of new machines for various purposes were developed. Not everyone had a chance to get into mass production, but many pieces of equipment became champions in their fields. Suffice it to recall the giant Mi-12 helicopter, which remains the largest aircraft in its class to this day. Why did the country of the Soviets need such a giant?
In fact, the factory name of this helicopter is B-12. However, the broad masses of the car is known exclusively as the Mi-12. In NATO countries, the Soviet development was known under the code name "Homer" ("Homer"). The development of the helicopter began back in 1959, and the first flight took place on July 10, 1968. It was created as a universal machine for the needs of the national economy of the Soviet Union and its armed forces. In particular, the Mi-12 was designed as a helicopter capable of carrying ballistic missile components.
The active phase of work on the Mi-12 began in 1963 at the Moscow Helicopter Plant named after M.L. Mile. To simplify the subsequent production, the designers decided to use the Mi-6 propeller-driven groups. Gas turbine power units D-25VF were chosen as engines. The power of each motor is 6500 hp. There are 4 of them in the helicopter. The helicopter received wings of reverse transverse constriction. Some of the Mi-12's fuel tanks were suspended, and some were located in the wings, like an aircraft.
The fuselage of the V-12 was made by the designers as a huge semi-monocoque. The cabin was made two-story. In the tail section, a cargo hatch and a ladder were installed, capable of forming a lift for entering the cargo compartment of wheeled vehicles. The dimensions of the cargo compartment were 28.15 x 4.4 x 4.4 meters. The total length of the helicopter was 37 meters, the height was 12.5 meters. The diameter of the main rotor of the machine is 35 meters. The empty weight of the Mi-12 was 69.1 tons, and the maximum take-off weight was 105 tons. Thus, the helicopter could lift cargo weighing about 30 tons into the air.
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As for the flight characteristics of the Mi-12, here, too, the Soviet aircraft was at its best. The speed of the helicopter reached 260 km / h. Practical range and service ceiling were 500 and 3.5 km, respectively.
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In total, two such helicopters were produced in the Soviet Union. As a result, the Mi-12 became the largest helicopter in the world and this record has not been broken by any aircraft manufacturer to this day.
If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about like a helicopter platform with a beacon tower The US Navy has become a hotel for extreme sports.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/290620/55103/