Tupolev Tu-2

Tupolev Tu-2
Tupolev Tu-2 in the Monino Aviation Museum
Type:	bomber
Design country:	Soviet Union
Manufacturer:	OKB Tupolev
First flight:	January 29, 1941
Commissioning:	1942
Production time:	1942 to probably 1947
Number of pieces:	approx. 2,550

The Tupolev Tu-2 ( Russian Туполев Ту-2 , NATO code name : Bat ) was a medium-weight combat aircraft developed by the Tupolev design office and used by the USSR during World War II . It was equipped with two engines and was the most powerful Soviet bomber of the period.

history

The prototype 103 under construction (1940)

It was created as a reaction to the demands of the air forces for an aircraft that could be used as a dive and horizontal bomber as well as a reconnaissance aircraft . This should replace the SB-2 from 1934. Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev , who was in Stalinist custody at the time , then constructed the aircraft 103 ( Samoljot 103 ), which was named after the number of his development group. Vladimir Myasishchev and Sergei Korolev were also involved in the construction . The ANT-58 prototype first started on January 29, 1941 and was also known as FB 58 or Tu-58 . It was still designed as a horizontal bomber, while the second prototype ANT-59 (also: Samoljot 103U , first flight: May 18, 1941) was already designed as a dive fighter aircraft. In the third and final prototype, the ANT-60 / 103W , Tupolev replaced the unreliable AM-37 engines used up until then for ASch-82 engines, which were retained because of their better suitability for mass production.

From November 1942, the first series aircraft under the designation ANT-61 and Samoljot 103S were delivered to the troops, but the first combat mission took place on September 14, 1942 as part of a bomber regiment formed from the first 40 Tu-2 on the Kalinin Front under the Commanded by Major M. P. Wasjakin , who as a test pilot had also carried out the testing of the ANT-60. In early 1943 the aircraft was given the final name Tu-2.

Due to the complicated construction and the all-metal construction , for which the very scarce duralumin was used, production started only slowly. Instead, the simpler Pe-2 was preferred. Tupolev therefore revised the design again in order to achieve more efficient mass production under wartime conditions with a 20% reduction in manufacturing costs, whereupon the Tu-2S (ANT-61, also: Tu-2WS) was created, which made its maiden flight on August 26, 1943. In December of the same year, testing was completed and the sample went into series production in Plant 23 in Moscow-Fili. During production, minor changes were repeatedly made to the machine, which is why a large number of small series was created. From Series 60, for example, the four-bladed AW-9WF-21K were installed instead of the AW-5W-167 three-bladed propellers, from Series 61 larger dust filters were installed in front of the air inlets, etc. Towards the end of the war, the Tu-2 increasingly replaced the Pe-2 whose take-off mass and therefore bomb load exceeded them.

Production ended in 1948. A total of 2,527, according to other sources 2,550 machines of the type were built.

After the Second World War, the USSR equipped some of its allies, such as Bulgaria , China , Poland , Romania , Hungary and Yugoslavia, with this pattern.

technical description

The Tu-2 was a cantilevered middle-decker in all-metal construction. The wing was double-spar with integrated bulletproof fuel tanks, the ailerons were in three parts. The vertical stabilizer formed from two end plates was located on both sides of the horizontal stabilizer. All oars were covered with fabric. The rear wheel chassis could be retracted completely.

Versions

designation	features
ANT-61 (Tu-2M)	Series version with ASch 83 engines.
ANT-62 (Tu-2D)	Long-range version as a bomber and reconnaissance aircraft with an enlarged wingspan of 22.06 meters and a wing area of ​​59.05 m². The range was 2,870 kilometers due to the increased fuel supply. At the end of 1941, A. D. Pereljot made the first flight. In 1944 a second model was created with a slightly longer fuselage (14.42 m), pilot seats lying next to each other and therefore a completely redesigned cabin. The tests took place from October 20, 1944 to March 1, 1945. Due to a lack of demand, there was no series production.
ANT-62T (Tu-2T)	Torpedo bomber developed from the Tu-2D and tested from January to March 1947.
Tu-2U	Training version.
ANT-63 / ANT-63P (SDS)	High-speed bomber developed in 1943/44 from the Tu-2 prototype using parts of the Tu-2S with AM-39 engines. The first flight of the first test model ANT-63 was carried out on May 21, 1944 by A. D. Pereljot. It reached a top speed of 645 km / h. The second prototype, ANT-63P, received AM-39F drives, three-bladed propellers and a modified cabin. The trials lasted from October 14, 1944 to June 30, 1945. The project was abandoned in favor of the ANT-68 / Tu-10.
ANT-64 (Tu-2F)	After the end of the war, photo reconnaissance version with two AM-42 engines was tested.
Tu-2G	Transport version for light external loads such as the GAZ-67B off-road vehicle for paratroopers.
ANT-65 (Tu-2DB)	Altitude long-range bombers with AM-44TJ engines with turbochargers TK-300.
ANT-67	Long-range version equipped with ATsch-39BF diesel engines with a five-man crew and a range of 5000 kilometers. The tests took place from January 15, 1946 to January 2, 1947.
ANT-68 (Tu-10)	Multipurpose bomber with two AM-39FNW engines and three radiator openings each between the fuselage and the engine. A. D. Pereljot carried out flight tests from May 19, 1945 to July 7, 1945, after which the model passed the state tests by July 30 of the same year. After a belly landing, the Tu-10 received two AM-39FN-2 engines and four-bladed propellers. This enabled a peak height of 10,450 m and a top speed of 635 km / h at an altitude of 7,000 m to be reached. The Tu-10 served as the base for the first TL bomber Tu-12 (Tu-77) from Tupolev.
ANT-69 (Tu-8)	Prototype of a long-range bomber parallel to the Tu-2D from the end of 1944 with a wingspan of 22.06 m, ASch-82FN engines and a maximum take-off weight of 16,750 kg and therefore a reinforced chassis. The first flight took place at the end of 1946. Two variants with AM-42 drives (Tu-8B) and ATsch-39BF diesel engines (Tu-8S) were also created.
Tu-2N	Trial version for the jet engines RD-500 and RD-45 .
Tu-2R (Tu-6)	A reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Tu-2D with an increased fuel supply of 5600 liters and camera equipment in the bomb bay.
Tu-2Sch / Tu-2RShR (?)	Prototype of an attack aircraft with a 57 mm anti-tank gun in the unglazed bow. The trials began on December 3, 1946. There were also tested armament variants with two 37- or 45-mm cannons.
Tu-2K	Test execution for ejector seat testing.
Tu-2 Parawan	Special version with a six-meter device for cutting blocking balloon ropes on the bow and balloon deflectors on the wing leading edges.
Tu-2/104	1944 tried and tested radar-equipped all-weather fighter.
Sukhoi UTB-2	Training bomber developed from the Tu-2 in 1946/47.

Technical specifications

Three-sided tear

Tupolev Tu-2 in the Chinese Aviation Museum

Parameter	Tupolev Tu-2S Туполев Ту-2С	Tupolev SDB Туполев СДБ	Tupolev Tu-2 (1947) Туполев Ту-2	Tupolev Tu-8 (ANT-69) Туполев Ту-8 (АНТ-69)
Conception	medium bomber	Speed ​​bomber	medium bomber	Long range bombers
crew	4th	k. A.	4th	k. A.
length	13.80 m			14.61 m
span	18.86 m			22.06 m
height	4.55 m	k. A.	4.84 m	k. A.
Wing area	48.80 m²			61.26 m²
Empty mass	7,474 kg	8,870 kg	8,404 kg	k. A.
Takeoff mass	maximum 11,360 kg	10,925 kg	normal 10,360 kg maximum 11,450 kg	normal 14,250 kg maximum 16,750
drive	two radial engines Schwezow ASch-82FNW	two V-12 engines Mikulin AM-39F	two radial engines Schwezow ASch-82FN
power	1,380 kW (1,875 PS) each	1,360 kW (1,850 PS) each	1,362 kW (1,853 PS) each
Top speed	550 km / h at an altitude of 5,700 m	640 km / h	550 km / h at an altitude of 5,700 m	515 km / h at an altitude of 5,700 m
Rate of climb	k. A.	k. A.	11.7 m / s	k. A.
Rise time	k. A.	at an altitude of 5,000 m 8.7 min	k. A.	at an altitude of 5,000 m 17.0 min
Summit height	9,500 m	10,000 m	9,000 m	7,650 m
Range	1,400 km	1,530 km	2,180 km	normal 3,650 km maximum 4,100
Armament	two 20 mm SchWAK cannons, three 12.7 mm MG UBT	?	two 20 mm SchWAK cannons, three 12.7 mm MG UBT	two 23 mm NS-23 cannons, two 12.7 mm MG UB or 20 mm B-20 cannon
Drop ammunition	4,000 kg		3,000 kg bombs	4,500 kg

literature

• Wilfried Copenhagen : Soviet bomb planes . Transpress, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-344-00391-7 .

Web links

Commons : Tupolev Tu-2  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Tu-2 at tupolev.ru (Russian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Peter Stache: Soviet missiles in the service of science and defense . Military Publishing House of the GDR , Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-327-00302-5 , p. 81 .