Klimov VK-1

Design and development

Immediately after World War II, the Soviet Union manufactured copies of first generation German Junkers 004 and BMW 003 engines, which were advanced designs with poor durability, limited by Germany's shortage of rare metals in wartime. However, in 1946, before the Cold War had really begun, the new British Labour government under the prime minister, Clement Attlee, keen to improve diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, authorised Rolls-Royce to export 40 Rolls-Royce Nene centrifugal flow turbojet engines. In 1958 it was discovered during a visit to Beijing by Whitney Straight, then deputy chairman of Rolls-Royce, that this engine had been copied without license to power the MiG-15 'Fagot', first as the RD-45, and after initial problems of metallurgy forced the Soviet engineers to develop a slightly redesigned (and metallurgically closer) copy, the engine had then entered production as the Klimov VK-1 (Rolls-Royce later attempted to claim £207m in license fees, without success).

The RD-45 was improved to produce the VK-1, which differed from the Nene in having larger combustion chambers, a larger turbine, and revised induction giving greater airflow through the engine, raised from 41 kg/s for the Nene, to 45 kg/s. The VK-1F model added the afterburner.

The engine featured a centrifugal compressor, requiring a larger-diameter fuselage than aircraft featuring axial compressor designs that had already appeared during World War II in Germany and Great Britain.

Applications

The VK-1 was used to power the MiG-15 'Fagot' and MiG-17 'Fresco' fighters and the Il-28 'Beagle' bomber. Some of these engines are in use today in Russia mounted on trucks and railroad cars as snow blowers and ice melters.

Specifications (VK-1)

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References

Notes

Bibliography

• Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989.

References

1. Gunston 1989, p.90.
2. "World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines - 5th edition" by [[Bill Gunston]], Sutton Publishing, 2006, p. 118
3. Diaz, Jesus. (7 August 2009). "In Russia, Snowblowers Use Mig-15 Jets".