The Kamov Ka-10 (

NATO reporting name NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...

HatGunston 1995, p. XXX. or Hattie) was a Soviet single-seat observation helicopter that first flew in 1949.

Design and development

The Ka-10 was a development of

Nikolay Kamov Nikolai Ilyich Kamov (; 24 November 1973) was a Soviet aerospace engineer, a pioneer in the design of helicopters, and founder of the Kamov helicopter design bureau. Biography Kamov was born in a Russian family, in Irkutsk, but lived in Tom ...

's earlier Ka-8, which had been successful enough to allow Kamov to set up his own

OKB OKB () is a transliteration of the Russian initials for "" (), which translates to "Experimental Design Bureau." It could also mean or "Special Design Bureau" in english. During the Soviet era, OKBs were closed institutions working on design and ...

(design bureau) in 1948. The Ka-10 was of similar layout to the Ka-8, with an open steel-tube structure carrying an engine, a pilot's seat and two three-bladed

coaxial rotor A coaxial-rotor aircraft is an aircraft whose rotors are mounted one above the other on concentric shafts, with the same axis of rotation, but turning in opposite directions ( contra-rotating). This rotor configuration is a feature of helicopt ...

s. It was larger, however, with a revised transmission and rotor hub design, and a new engine specially designed for the helicopter, the

Ivchenko AI-4 Ivchenko-Progress ZMKB (, ''Zaporizhzhia Machine-Building Design Bureau "Progress" State Enterprise named after Academician O.H.Ivchenko''), formerly OKB-478 and Ivchenko Lotarev, is a state design bureau that creates drafts and plans for aircra ...

flat-four A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine or boxer engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the box ...

.Alexander 1975, pp. 146–147.Gunston 1995, p. XIX.

Operational history

The Ka-10 made its maiden flight in September 1949. Three more prototypes followed, which were evaluated by

Soviet Naval Aviation Soviet Naval Aviation (AV-MF, ) was the naval aviation arm of the Soviet Navy. Origins The first naval aviation units in Russia were formed in 1912–1914 as a part of the Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet. During World War I, the hydro ...

. A Ka-10 was displayed at the 1950 Tushino

Air Display An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

, and one made the first landing by a Soviet helicopter on the deck of a ship on 7 December 1950. In 1954, 12 of an improved version, the Ka-10M were built for the Maritime Border Troops. They had a twin tail rather than the single vertical fin of the Ka-10 and modified rotors and control systems.

Variants

;Ka-10: Single-seat observation helicopter. ;Ka-10M: Improved version fitted with twin tailfins and rudders.

Operators

; *

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

Specifications

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Alexander, Jean. ''Russian Aircraft since 1940''. London: Purnell Book Services, 1975. . * Apostolo, Giorgio. ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1984. . * Gunston, Bill. ''The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995''. London: Osprey, 1995. . {{Kamov aircraft Kamov aircraft 1940s Soviet military reconnaissance aircraft Kamov Ka-010 Coaxial rotor helicopters Aircraft first flown in 1949 Single-engined piston helicopters Floatplanes Twin-tail aircraft