Neman R-10

The R-10 (KhAI-5) was a Soviet reconnaissance and light bomber aircraft, designed in the mid 1930s in the Kharkov Aviation Institute (KhAI, HAI - in Russian: ХАИ), under the direction of Iosif G. Neman.

Development

The first prototype of the plane, with a factory designation KhAI-5 (ХАИ-5), flew in June 1936. Despite a lower performance, the aircraft won a contest against another reconnaissance plane design, the Kotcherigin R-9, and was accepted for a production with the military designation R-10 ('R' meant a purpose - razvyedchik - reconnaissance). It was quite a modern design at that time. 493 R-10s had been manufactured in Kharkov and Saratov aviation plants by early 1940. The first series showed some teething problems, and because of these I. Neman was arrested by the NKVD on December 11, 1938 under false accusation of sabotage and espionage.

In 1938, a variant KhAI-5bis was tested - fitted with an M-25E engine, it developed a speed of 425 km/h. In 1938 the KhAI-52 ground attack aircraft, based on the R-10, was also developed . It was fitted with an M-63 900 hp (670 kW) engine and armed with 7 machine guns and 400-kg bombs. A production run of an experimental series of 10 aircraft was prepared, but it was canceled after I. Neman had been arrested.

Some production R-10s were fitted with more powerful Tumansky M-88, Shvetsov M-62 and M-63 engines. Over 60 aircraft, withdrawn from the Air Force, were used from 1940 as mail carriers by Aeroflot, under the designation PS-5 (Russian: ПС-5), with 3 passenger seats.

Combat use

The aircraft entered service in the Soviet Air Force in 1937, replacing some Polikarpov R-5s. R-10s were first used in combat in the Soviet-Japanese Battle of Halhin Gol in 1939. Then, they were used in the initial stage of the World War II, starting with use against Poland in the Invasion of Poland (without combat encounters) and against Finland in the Winter War (1939-1940). R-10s were next used in the first period of the German-Soviet war, following the German attack on June 22, 1941. By this time they were outdated and suffered heavy losses, as did the rest of the Soviet Air Force. Many planes were destroyed on airfields. They were used as close reconnaissance aircraft, and, in need also as light attack bombers. Later many were used as night bombers, to avoid losses in encounters with fighters. The remaining R-10s were withdrawn from combat service in 1943 (two Finnish pilots claimed shooting R-10 in 1944).

Description

The aircraft was conventional in layout, with low wings, of wooden construction, plywood covered. Fuselage of semi-monocoque construction. An undercarriage was retracted into the wings. The crew consisted of two: a pilot and an observer-rear gunner in separate cabs; the observer sat in a turret with one machine gun. In the observer cab's floor there was an AFA-13 camera for reconnaissance duties. Between the crew cabs there were fuel tanks and a vertical bomb bay. The maximum bomb load was 300 kg (6 x 50 kg or 10 x 25 kg). The plane was powered initially by M-25A, later M-25V radial engine power: 730 hp (540 kW). The two-blade propeller was made of metal.

Operators

Military Operators

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• Soviet Air Force

Civil Operators

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• Aeroflot

Specifications

Data from {name of first source}

General characteristics

• Crew: Two (pilot and observer)
• Length: 9.40 m (30 ft 10 in)
• Wingspan: 12.20 m (40 ft 0 in)
• Height: 3.80 m (12 ft 6 in)
• Wing area: 26.8 m² (288.3 ft²)
• Empty weight: 2,197 kg (4,833 lb)
• Loaded weight: 2,877 kg (6,329 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Shvetsov M-25 radial engine, 545 kW (730 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 388 km/h (210 knots, 240 mph)
• Range: 1,300 km (702 nm, 802 mi)
• Service ceiling: 6,700 m (21,975 ft)
• Rate of climb: 417 m/min (1,368 ft/min)

Armament

• 2× fixed, forward-firing 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns in wings (450 rounds)
• 1× 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun in a rear turret (600 rounds)
• 300 kg (660 lb) bombload

See also

Related development

• KhAI-1
• KhAI-6
• KhAI-52

Comparable aircraft

• Heinkel He 70
• PZL.23 Karas'
• DAR-10

Designation sequence
R-1 - R-5 - R-6 - R-9 - R-10 - R-12 Related lists

• List of military aircraft of the Soviet Union and the CIS

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