Tupolev TB-1

Tupolev TB-1 (ANT-4)
ANT-4 equipped for use in the Arctic with closed cockpit and ski undercarriage
Type:	Bomb plane
Design country:	Soviet Union
Manufacturer:	ZAGI , Plant No. 22 Fili
First flight:	November 26, 1925
Commissioning:	1929
Production time:	1929 to 1932
Number of pieces:	216 + two prototypes

The Tupolev TB-1 ( Russian Туполев ТБ-1 , also ANT-4 , АНТ-4) was a Soviet twin-engine bomber . It was the first cantilever all-metal military aircraft in the Soviet Union. In 1929 there was a long-haul flight from Moscow to New York City in an easterly direction with a total flight distance of 21,242 km.

History and commitment

The project planning work on this model began on November 11, 1924 under the direction of Andrei Tupolev , originally to create an aircraft suitable for torpedo drop tests on behalf of the OTB (Special Technical Office). The construction of the individual assemblies took place in the ZAGI and was completed on August 11, 1925. The individual components were transported to Moscow's central airport and assembled there. Then, the test pilot A. I. Tomaschewski led on 26 November 1925 First flight of the British with two Napier Lion - Y motors and snow runners as chassis equipped ANT-4 by. The state tests were also completed by Tomaschewski in 25 flights from June 11 to July 2, 1926. A second, with twelve-cylinder - V-engines of the type BMW Viz equipped and fully armed prototype flew in July 1928, Michael Gromov . The state acceptance took place from August 15, 1928 to March 26, 1929 and included some improvements. The wingspan was reduced, the hull was lengthened and the bow was modified. Instead of the skis, two main wheels were mounted. Then the TB-1 was released for series production. A few copies received BMW VI engines; but the majority (around 200) were equipped with its license version, the Mikulin M-17. Production began in the summer of 1929 in the former Junkers branch in Moscow- Fili and ended in early 1932. In addition to the two prototypes, 216 units were built that were in service with the Soviet air force until 1936 . The TB-1 could be equipped with snow runners for winter use.

From August 23 to October 30, 1929, a long-haul flight Moscow-New York with the stages Omsk, Khabarowsk, Kamchatka, Seattle and San Francisco was carried out with a machine called Strana Sowjetow ( Russian страна советов , Land of Soviets). For this purpose, the armament of two TB-1s was removed and floats from Junkers G24 aircraft were installed for the flight over the ocean . The first attempt took place on August 8th and ended with a crash landing near Chita . The crew members S. A. Shestakov, F. E. Bolotow, B. W. Sterligow and D. W. Fufayev were uninjured and immediately returned to Moscow to start a new attempt with the second machine, which this time was successful. A total of 21,242 kilometers were covered on this flight.

"Strana Sovietov"

Various tests were also undertaken with the TB-1. It was used as a "Bensinonosjez" (petrol carrier) from 1933 to 1935 under the direction of A. K. Sapanowanny, the first Soviet air refueling . The first piggyback Sweno project of Vladimir Wachmistrow in which the TB-1 patch as a mother aircraft for two on the wings I-4 - or I-5 served -Jäger, was also realized as experiments with airdrops of heavy equipment to load parachutes under led by Pawel Grochowski . In 1933, under the direction of W. I. Dudakow, one machine was given three start-up rockets per wing (two on top, one below) for appropriate tests . Nikolai Blagin was the pilot for these tests .

From 1932 to 1935, 66 aircraft were equipped with floats and used as a torpedo bomber instead of the originally planned flying boat TOM-1 under the designation TB-1P . These planes formed the first torpedo aviation association of the Soviet naval forces .

In the 1930s, the TB-1 formed the core of the bomber formations in the Soviet air force . By the time it was taken out of service in 1936, 90 of the now obsolete TB- 1s were handed over to Aeroflot , some of which flew them as G-1 transport aircraft until 1945 . Some aircraft were fitted with snow runners for use in the Arctic in 1934. In the same year, the pilot Anatoli Lyapidewski discovered the crew of the ship Cheliuskin, which sank in the polar sea, on an ice floe with one of these TB- 1s and flew the first castaways.

From the TB-1, Tupolev developed the R-6 heavy fighter and reconnaissance aircraft . The wing construction was adopted for the PS-9 airliner and the MDR-2 flying boat .

Preserved copies

There is currently a copy of the ANT-4 transport version G-1 in the Ulyanovsk Museum (photo). The aircraft with the registration number N-317 belonged to the main administration of the Northern Sea Route and had to make an emergency landing about 100 kilometers from Krasnoyarsk near Igarka in the winter of 1943/1944 . It was discovered in August 1983 and recovered from the inaccessible tundra terrain with the help of an Mi-6 transport helicopter . The subsequent restoration was carried out by students at the Aeroflot Aviation School in Vyborg using parts of another G-1 wreck ( N-291 ) found near Schuchotka and was completed in 1986. The N-317 was equipped for their use in polar regions with a closed cockpit and Skifahrwerk.

Technical specifications

Three-sided view

Parameter	Data (Tupolev TB-1, 1930 series )
Constructor (s)	Andrei Nikolaevich Tupolev
Manufacturer	ZAGI ( OKB Tupolev )
Year of construction (s)	1926 (prototype) 1929–1932 (series production)
crew	5-6
length	18.01 m
span	28.70 m
Wing area	121.5 m²
Wing loading	56.8 kg / m²
Preparation mass	4520 kg
Payload	2290 kg
Takeoff mass	maximum 6810 kg
drive	two liquid-cooled twelve-cylinder - V-engines M-17
Starting power rated power	507 kW (689 hp) each 368 kW (500 hp) each
Power load	6.81 kg / kW (5.01 kg / PS)
Top speed	178 km / h near the ground 170 km / h at 3000 m altitude
Rise time	21.0 min at 3000 m
Service ceiling	4830 m
Range	1000 km
Armament	six articulated 7.62 mm MG DA
Bomb load	1000 kg

literature

• Vadim B. Schawrow : On the history of Soviet aircraft construction. Aircraft constructions in the years of socialist industrialization (1) . In: Flyer calendar of the GDR 1979 . Military Publishing House , Berlin 1978, p. 181-188 .
• Wilfried Copenhagen : Soviet bomb planes . Transpress, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-344-00391-7 , pp. 119-122 .

Web links

Commons : Tupolev TB-1  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Peter Stache: Tupolev Bomber Part 1 . In: Fliegerrevue . No. 9/70 , p. 388-393 .
2. ^ Umschau International, "Exhibitions / Museums" section . In: Fliegerrevue . No. 1/84 , p. 9 .
3. ↑ From the tundra to the museum . In: Fliegerrevue . No. 2/88 , p. 58/59 .