- Yes
- No
TL;DR:
Bomber, tailless pheonix.
Overview:
Konstantin Kalinin’s submission to the VS-2 (troop aircraft) design in 1933, the K-12 was a highly radical tailless plane design, with configurations for a transport, air ambulance, and bomber. There were 2 other proposals, but Kalinin himself preferred the tailless one. A half-scale glider was built in 1934, which logged over 100 flights. A bomber prototype was then constructed at GAZ No.18 in Voronezh, designated the K-12. It was intended to fit M-25 engines, but lack of availability meant they had to settle with M-22 engines, which required them to decrease weight by making the landing gear fixed. The aircraft was fitted with 2 turrets and a KD-2 bomb rack capable of fitting 8 bombs. The bombardier also has access to a control stick in case the pilot is incapacitated. After factory tests it was sent to Moscow for official evaluation, however, tests there found major control issues and concluded that the design was underpowered and inefficient though promising. It was also refused official trials after.
During this period Kalinin was a victim of political plots by rival aviation engineers, however he got a lucky break when Kliment Voroshilov ordered the K-12 to be flown for the 1937 Moscow Aviation Day Parade, and to go with it was painted in a fabulous red and yellow feathered scheme. It was nicknamed the “Zhar-Ptitsa,” (firebird/phoenix) and was well received during the parade. The K-12 was re-entered into official trials in 1938, with major modifications including replacing the M-22 engines with the intended M-25 engines, new propellors, retractable landing gear, and new defensive guns, thus partially remedying many of the official complaints. With the order for trials there were plans for mass production following, with a modified design with rudders behind the engines rather than on the wingtips. However, later that year Kalinin’s rivals succeeded in declaring him an enemy of the people, even using the K-12 as a pretense, and he was arrested and executed. With that, the prototype was scrapped without actually being trialed, and 10 production aircraft scrapped on the production line.
Specifications:
Weight:
Empty: 3070 kg
Full: 4200 kgDimensions:
Length: 10.32 m
Wing Span: 20.95 m
Wing Area: 72.75 m²
Height: unknownEngine:
2x Shvetsov M-22 radial piston engines (replaced with 2x 700 hp M-25 engines in 1938)
480 hp each
Air-cooledPerformance:
Max Speed:
219 km/h at unknown altitude
Ceiling: 7170 m
Range: 700 km
Rate of Climb: unknownCrew: 3 - pilot + 2 gunners
Armament:
2x1 7.62mm ShKAS in turrets
KD-2 bomb rack (500 kg of bombs, up to 8)
Images:
Sources:
Gordon, Y. and Gunston B. (2000). Soviet X-Planes (pp. 69-71). Midland.
https://www.airwar.ru/enc/bww2/k12.html