This Day in Aviation History
August 6th, 1969
A Soviet Mil V-12, the largest helicopter ever built, lifts 40,205.5 kg (88,636 lb.) to a height of 2,255 m (7,400 ft.).

The Mil V-12 (NATO reporting name Homer), given the project number Izdeliye 65, is the largest helicopter ever built. The designation “Mi-12” would have been the name for the production helicopter, and was not applied to the V-12 prototypes.

Design studies for a giant helicopter were started at the Mil OKB in 1959, receiving official sanction in 1961 by the GKAT (Gosudarstvenny Komitet Po Aviatsionnoy Tekhnike – “state committee on aircraft technology”) instructing Mil to develop a helicopter capable of lifting 20 to 25 t (44,000 to 55,000 lb). The GKAT directive was followed by a more detailed specification for the V-12 with hold dimensions similar to the Antonov An-22, intended to lift major items of combat materiel as well as 8K67, 8K75 and 8K82 inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

Design limitations forced Mil to adopt a twin rotor system but design studies of a tandem layout, similar to the Boeing CH-47 Chinook, revealed major problems. The single rotor layouts also studied proved to be non-viable, leading to the transverse layout chosen for the finished article….

Source:
Wikipedia, Mil V-12: http://gstv.us/1NaTltL

YouTube, Mil V-12/Mi-12 NATO Code: Homer: http://gstv.us/1NaTk9b

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Photo from: http://gstv.us/1NaTE7T

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