Myasishchev DB-108

Myasishchev DB-108
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Type:	Dive and horizontal bombers
Design country:	Soviet Union
Manufacturer:	Aircraft Plant (Zavod) Kazan
First flight:	December 30, 1944
Number of pieces:	3

The Myasishchev DB-108 ( Russian Мясищев ДБ-108 ) was a Soviet bomber from the time of the Second World War . It was developed as a further development of the Petlyakov Pe-2 , but did not go into series production in favor of the Tupolev Tu-2 .

history

In June 1943, Vladimir Mjasishchev took over the production management of the Kazan Pe-2 plant for the designer Vladimir Petlyakov, who was killed in a plane crash in early 1942 . During this time he developed new and improved variants of the twin-engine dive and horizontal bomber. In 1944, Myasishchev received the order to develop a fast day bomber (Денское бомбардировщик, Denskoje Bombardirowschtschik). The aircraft should be equipped with two Klimow WK-108 engines. Therefore the abbreviation DB-108 was assigned to the project according to the intended use and the drive designation .

Mjasishchev was very much based on the Pe-2 design and designed three variants: the horizontal bomber WM- 16 , the dive bomber WM-17 and the horizontal bomber WM-18 with increased bomb load. The type was designed as a cantilevered middle wing with a straight wing center section, in the leading edge of which there were also the air inlets for the radiators, and elliptically tapering outer wings. The engine gondolas were used to hold the main landing gear wheels, the rear wheel was also retractable. The vertical stabilizer was integrated in two end plates on the left and right of the horizontal stabilizer. The front part as well as the lower part of the bow were glazed for better visibility. A remote-controlled 20 mm SchWAK cannon was provided as defensive armament .

The WM-16 was the first to fly on December 30, 1944 and finished testing in June 1945. The WM-17 and WM-18 followed at the end of 1945. Despite good to very good performance, series production was not carried out, as the jet propulsion promised better flight performance in the future. The OKB Myasishchev finally turned to the development of heavy, four-engine bomber aircraft.

Technical specifications

Side view of WM-16 and WM-18 in comparison

Parameter	Data Myasishchev DB-108
	WM-16	WM-18
length	13.47 m	15.02 m
span	17.80 m	20.60 m
height	4.03 m	k. A.
Wing area	43.10 m²	48.0 m²
Wing extension	7.4	8.8
Empty mass	6,922 kg	k. A.
Takeoff mass	9,400 kg	10,530 kg
Engines	two liquid-cooled 12-cylinder - V-engines Klimov WK-108
power	1,360 kW (1,849 PS) each
Top speed	575 km / h	542 km / h
Summit height	12,000 m	k. A.
Range	2,250 km with 2,000 kg bombs	2,000 km with 2,000 kg bombs
Armament	a 20 mm MK SchWAK	one 12.7 mm MG UBT two 20 mm MK SchWAK
Bomb load	1,000-2,000 kg	3,000-4,000 kg

literature

• Wilfried Copenhagen : Lexicon Soviet Aviation . Elbe-Dnjepr, Klitzschen 2007, ISBN 978-3-933395-90-0 .
• Myasistchev DB-108 . In: Fliegerrevue . No. 4/386 . Military Publishing House , Berlin 1985, p. 127 .

Web links

Commons : Myasishchev DB-108  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Мясищев ДБ-108. Retrieved August 23, 2016 (Russian).