The Kamov Ka-15 (NATO reporting nameHen[2]) was a Soviet two-seat utility helicopter with coaxial rotors, which first flew on 14 April 1952 at the hands of test pilot D. K. Yefremov.[citation needed] It was the world's first mass-produced coaxial helicopter. State acceptance trials were completed in 1955, and the helicopter entered production the following year at aircraft factory No. 99 in Ulan-Ude.[citation needed] It was a precursor to the Ka-18 and was fitted with the M-14 engine (helicopter version). It was primarily used for bush patrol, agricultural purposes and fishery control.
Design and development
In 1950, after evaluating the single-seat Kamov Ka-10, Soviet Naval Aviation developed a requirement for a larger and more capable two-seat helicopter with an enclosed cabin, but keeping the coaxial rotor layout of the Ka-10.[3][4] The first prototype of the resulting design, the Kamov Ka-15, entered flight testing in early 1952.[4]
While the Ka-10 was based around an open steel tube framework, the Ka-15 had a more conventional fuselage with a steel-tube structure, with the forward fuselage covered by plywood and the aft fuselage by stressed-skin duralumin. The crew of two sat side-by-side in an enclosed, and extensively glazed cockpit, with the pilot sitting on the left side of the cockpit, and access by sliding doors on either side of the cockpit. A 255 hp (190 kW) Ivchenko AI-14V radial engine was mounted behind the cockpit, and drove the three-bladed coaxial rotors. A twin tail was mounted above the rear fuselage. The aircraft had a fixed undercarriage, with two main wheels and two castoring nosewheels, with a tailskid mounted under the rear fuselage.[5][6][7]
Operational history
The Ka-15 entered service with Soviet Naval Aviation in about 1955, carrying out reconnaissance flights from icebreakers as well as liaison and training duties. The type was tested with a dipping sonar, but could not carry the equipment needed to be effective in an anti-submarine role.[5][8] From 1958, a civil version, the Ka-15M, entered service with Aeroflot. Roles included crop spraying, (with Kamov claiming that the Ka-15 was more efficient than the competing Mil Mi-1), patrolling power lines and pipelines, carrying airmail, and air ambulance.[9][8][10]
Variants
Ka-15
Two-seat light utility helicopter for the Soviet Navy.
Ka-15M
Two-seat light utility helicopter. Civilian version of the Ka-15.
Everett-Heath, John (1988). Soviet Helicopters: Design, Development and Tactics (Second ed.). Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group. ISBN0-7106-0572-2.
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