Tupolev MTB-2
| Tupolev MTB-2 (ANT-44) | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Reconnaissance flying boat |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
April 19, 1937 |
| Commissioning: |
1941 |
| Number of pieces: |
2 |
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The Tupolev MTB-2 ( Russian Туполев МТБ-2 ) is a Soviet amphibious - flying boat of World War II . It was developed under the name ANT-44 (АНТ-44) and was the last flying boat developed by OKB Tupolev . Two copies were made.
development
The construction work on a heavy bombing and reconnaissance flying boat began in 1934 in the ZAGI , whose head was Andrei Tupolew at that time, and was carried out by A. P. Golubkow. The ANT-44 was created as a self-supporting shoulder- wing aircraft in all-metal construction . The engines used were four Gnôme-Rhône -14Krsd M-85 licensed engines, each with 595 kW starting power. A special feature of the model was a fifth AM-34 engine with up to 830 hp, located in the fuselage, which drove a central loader for the four M-85s.
I. M. Suchomlin carried out the first flight of the prototype - according to other sources, Ryabenko and Schljabnikow - on April 19, 1937. The subsequent state testing was completed in November of the same year. In response to this, the second prototype, the ANT-44bis, was created . This was equipped with a retractable landing gear and more powerful M-87A engines and flew for the first time in June 1938. In 1939 the first prototype also received a landing gear and M-87 drives.
It was decided not to mass-produce the ANT-44 and work was stopped in January 1940. Suchomlin set five height / distance world records with different payloads in June and October of the same year under the designation ANT-44D "Tschaika" (seagull) . 5000 kg could be transported to an altitude of 5219 m and with 2000 kg an average speed of 241.909 km / h was achieved on a 1000 km route.
The WWS-WMF took over the two aircraft and put them during the war under the name MTB-2 or MTB-2A both in the Black Sea region as a transporter and in the polar regions of the country as reconnaissance one. MTB stands for Morskoi Tjaschjoly Bombardirowschtschik ( Russian Морской Тяжёлый Бомбардировщик , heavy naval bomber).
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| Conception | Heavy transport and reconnaissance amphibian |
| constructor | A. P. Golubkov |
| Manufacturer | ZAGI |
| crew | 7-8 |
| span | 36.45 m |
| length | 25.00 m |
| height | 8.0 m |
| Wing area | 144.70 m² |
| Engine (s) | four air-cooled 14-cylinder radial engines Tumanski M-87A |
| Starting power | 698 kW (949 PS) each |
| Empty mass | 12,000 kg |
| Payload | 9,500 kg |
| Takeoff mass | normal 18,500 kg maximum 21,500 kg |
| Wing loading | 148.5 kg / m² |
| Power load | 6.3 kg / hp |
| Top speed | 355 km / h at an altitude of 3,750 m |
| Cruising speed | 240–250 km / h |
| Summit height | practically 6,500 m, absolute 7,200 m |
| Range | 2,500 km with a 100 kg payload 4,500 km with a full tank when overloaded |
| Radius of action | 1,820 km |
| Flight duration | 19 h at 240 km / h |
| Armament | Two MGs each in the bow and stern stand, a 20 mm MK in the back of the fuselage, one MG each in two swallow nests and in the rear lower part of the fuselage 1,000–2,500 kg dropping ammunition on external beams and in the rear engine pods |
literature
- Heinz A. F. Schmidt: Soviet planes . Transpress , Berlin 1971, p. 182 .