72163 SOVIET MIL MI-10 K

The Mil Mi-10 (NATO code: Harke) was a heavy Soviet-made transport helicopter and flying crane with a full metal, half-shell structure, with a fixed, four-support undercarriage in a classic configuration with a main rotor and a tail rotor on a beam. The drive was provided by two DA-25 turbine engines, 5500 KM each. The flight of the first prototype took place in June 1960, and serial production lasted from 1960 to 1971. Due to the very high specialization of the machine, only 55 copies of this successful, but also very unusual helicopter were manufactured. Several upgrades of the basic version (Mi-10) were created. The first one, chronologically, was the Mi-10K version, which was characterized by a higher lifting capacity increased to 11,000 kg. Later, the Mi-10P model was developed, which was a research helicopter. The Mi-10 PP version was a specialized military version designed for radio-electronic warfare. The successful Mi-10 was not exported outside the Soviet Union. In this country, it was used primarily in the military to transport heavy goods, especially in the area of Siberia. Mi-10 helicopters symbolically took part in the war in Afghanistan (1979-1989).