Tupolev Tu-2

Tu-2
	A Tu-2 bomber at the China Aviation Museum, Beijing
Role	medium bomber
Manufacturer	Tupolev
Designer	Andrei Tupolev
First flight	29 January 1941
Introduction	1942
Primary users	VVS, Soviet Naval Aviation; People's Liberation Army Air Force; Polish Air Forces
Produced	1941—1948
Number built	2,257
Variants	Tupolev Tu-1 ; Tupolev Tu-8

The Tupolev Tu-2 (Development names ANT-58 and 103, NATO reporting name: Bat) was a twin-engine Soviet (high) speed daylight bomber (SDB) front line bomber (FB) aircraft of World War II vintage. The Tu-2 was tailored to meet a requirement for a high speed bomber or dive-bomber, with a large internal bomb load, and speed similar to that of a single seat fighter. Designed to challenge the German Junkers Ju 88, the Tu-2 proved comparable, and was produced in torpedo, interceptor and reconnaissance versions. The Tu-2 was one of the outstanding combat aircraft of World War II and it played a key role in the Red Army's final offensives.^[1]

Design and development[]

In 1937 Andrei Tupolev, along with many Soviet designers at the time, was arrested on trumped-up charges of activities against the State. Despite the actions of the Soviet government, he was considered important to the war effort and following his imprisonment, he was placed in charge of a team that was to design military aircraft. Designed as Samolyot (Russian: "aircraft") 103, the Tu-2 was based on earlier ANT-58, ANT-59 and ANT-60 light bomber prototypes.^[2] Essentially an upscaled and more powerful ANT-60 powered by AM-37 engines, the first prototype was completed at Factory N156, and made its first test flight on 29 January 1941, piloted by Mikhail Nukhtinov.^[2] Mass production began in September 1941, at Omsk Aircraft Factory Number 166, with the first aircraft reaching combat units in March 1942. Modifications were made based on combat experience, and Plant Number 166 built a total of 80 aircraft. The AM-37 engine was abandoned to concentrate efforts on the AM-38F for the Il-2, which required Tupolev to redesign the aircraft for an available engine. Modifications of this bomber took ANT-58 through ANT-69 variants. A further 2527 aircraft were built at Kazan, with these modifications. Production ceased in 1951 after a total of some 3,000 aircraft were delivered to various Soviet Bloc air forces.^[1]

Operational history[]

Built from 1941 to 1948, the Tu-2 was the USSR's second most important twin-engine bomber (the first being the Pe-2). The design brought Andrei Tupolev back into favour after a period of detention. It was highly effective, being faster and more nimble, as well as having a greater bomb load and range, than virtually all medium bombers in service during the war with any army.^{[citation needed]} Crews were universally happy with their Tupolevs. Pilots could maneuver like fighters and they were fast and tough enough to survive heavy damage.^[3] The Tu-2 remained in service in the USSR until 1950. Some surplus Tu-2s were provided to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force for use in the Chinese Civil War. Some Chinese Tu-2s were shot down by British and American airmen during the Korean War. In the 1958–1962 counter-riot actions in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau covering Qinghai, Tibet, southern Gansu, and western Sichuan, Chinese PLAAF Tu-2s took on the roles of ground-attack, reconnaissance and liaison. The Chinese Tu-2s were retired at the end of 1970s.

After World War II, the Tu-2 proved to be an ideal test aircraft for various powerplants, including the first generation of Soviet jet engines.^[1]

Variants[]

"Aircraft 103", ANT-58: The initial 3-seat version. Top speed 635 km/h (395 mph) at 8,000 m (26,247 ft). Two 1,044 kW (1,400 hp) Mikulin AM-37 (water cooling), 1941.
"Aircraft 103U", ANT-59: Redesigned for 4-seat crew (influenced by Junkers Ju-88). Top speed dropped to 610 km/h (379 mph). The same powerplant as for ANT-58- 2*Mikulin AM-37 engines.
ANT-65: Five-seat long-range bomber similar to ANT-62 but powered by Mikulin AM-44TK engines, 1946.
ANT-66: Airliner project based on Tu-6, 1944.
ANT-67: Five-seat long-range bomber similar to ANT-62 but powered by ACh-30BF diesel engines, 1946.
Tu-1 (ANT-63P): Three-seat long-range escort fighter.
Tu-2: Two 1,081 kW (1,450 hp) Shvetsov ASh-82 (air cooling) with bigger drag, 1942.
Tu-2D (ANT-62): Long-range version, it appeared in October 1944. It had an increased span and a crew of five aviators.^[4] Powered by two 1,380 kW (1,850 hp) Shvetsov ASh-82FN?, 1943?
Tu-2DB (ANT-65): High-altitude reconnaissance bomber version.
Tu-2F: Photo-reconnaissance version.
Tu-2G: High-speed cargo transport version.
Tu-2K: Only two aircraft were built for testing ejection seats.
Tu-2M (ANT-61M): Powered by two 1,417 kW (1,900 hp) ASh-83 radial piston engines.
Tu-2N: Engine test-bed, built to test the Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet engine.
Tu-2 Paravan: Two aircraft built to test barrage balloon cable cutters and deflectors.
Tu-2R: Reconnaissance version.
Tu-2RShR: Prototype, armed with 57 mm cannon in the forward fuselage.
Tu-2S (ANT-61): Powered by two 1,380 kW (1,850 hp) Shvetsov ASh-82FN radial piston engines, 1943.
Tu-2S RLS PNB-4: secretive night-fighter prototype developed under leadership of the NKVD special section of V. Morgunov and P. Kuksenko. Equipped with the Soviet Gneiss 5 (Гнейс 5) radar. Armed with two NS-45 autocannons. Development presumed to have started in 1943. Precursor of the Tu-1.^[5]
Tu-2Sh: Experimental ground-attack versions. Two variants were tested in 1944: one with a 75mm (2.95 inches) centerline gun and another with a battery of 88 7.62mm (0.30 inches) PPSh-41 sub-machine guns fixed in the bomb bay, directed to fire ahead at a 30-degree angle. Another version under this designation was tested in 1946; this one had a frontal armament consisting of with two NS-37 and two NS-45 autocannons.^[6]
Tu-2T (ANT-62T): Torpedo-bomber variant, was tested between January and March 1945, and issued to Soviet Naval Aviation units.^[4]
Tu-2/104: All-weather interceptor prototype.
Tu-6 (ANT-64): Reconnaissance prototype, 1946.
Tu-8 (ANT-69): Long-range bomber based on Tu-2D, 1947.
Tu-10 (ANT-68): It was a high-altitude variant that saw limited service, 1943.^[1]
Tu-12: Medium-range jet bomber prototype, 1947.
Tu-18: Jet-powered version of Tu-8, 1947.
UTB: bomber trainer with Shvetsov ASh-21 engines of 515 kW (690 hp) created by the Sukhoi OKB in 1946

Operators[]

World War II operators
Soviet Union

Soviet Air Force

Post-War operators
Bulgaria

Bulgarian Air Force

China

People's Liberation Army Air Force Imported 33 UTB-2 and 29 T-2U trainers in the end of 1949. The last 4 UTB-2's retired in 1965. Imported 311 Tu-2 from the end of 1949 to 1952. The last 30 Tu-2's retired in 1982.

Hungary

Hungarian Air Force

Indonesia

Indonesian Air Force

North Korea

North Korean Air Force

Poland

Polish Air Force (8 aircraft in 1949-early 1960s)^[7]
Polish Navy

Romania

Romanian Air Force (6 delivered in 1950: 2 Tu-2, 2 Tu-2 trainers and 2 Tu-6)

Soviet Union

Soviet Air Force

In museums[]

Bulgaria
- Bulgarian Museum of Aviation – Tu-2T, tactical number 27
China
- Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution, Beijing
- Chinese Aviation Museum near Beijing
Poland
- Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków – Tu-2S, used for testing ejection seats
- Museum of the Polish Army in Warsaw – Tu-2S, used by 7th Independent Dive Bomber Regiment ("7 samodzielny pułk lotniczy bombowców nurkujących")
Russia
- Central Air Force Museum in Monino near Moscow
USA
- War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico

Specifications (Tu-2)[]

Data from^{[citation needed]}

General characteristics

Crew: 4
Length: 13.80 m (45 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 18.86 m (61 ft 10 in)
Height: 4.13 m (13 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 48.5 m² (522 ft²)
Empty weight: 7,601 kg (16,757 lb)
Loaded weight: 10,538 kg (23,232 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 11,768 kg (25,944 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Shvetsov ASh-82 radial engine, 1,380 kW (1,850 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 521 km/h (281 kn, 325 mph)
Range: 2,020 km (1,090 nmi, 1,260 mi)
Service ceiling: 9,000 m (29,528 ft)
Rate of climb: 8.2 m/s (1,610 ft/min)
Wing loading: 217 kg/m² (45 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 260 W/kg (0.16 hp/lb)

Armament

Guns:
- 2 × 20 mm (0.79 in) fixed forward-firing ShVAK cannon in the wings
- 3 × 7.62 mm (0.30 in) rear-firing ShKAS machine guns (later replaced by 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Berezin UB machine guns) in the canopy, dorsal and ventral hatches.
Bombs: 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) internally and 2,270 kg (5,000 lb) externally

References[]

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Jackson 2003, p. 154.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Bishop 2002, p. 317
↑ Ethell 1995, p. 161.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Jackson 2003, p. 155.
↑ Н.В. Якубович (2010) (in Russian). Ту-2. Лучший бомбардировщик Великой Отечественной. Коллеекция / Яуза / Эксмо. p. 39.
↑ Gunston, Bill (1995). Tupolev Aircraft since 1922. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. 119. ISBN 1-55750-882-8.
↑ (Polish) Marian Mikołajczuk, Paweł Sembrat. Samoloty Tu-2 i UTB-2 w lotnictwie polskim, in: Lotnictwo z Szachownicą No. 33(3/2009), pp. 4–12.

Bibliography

Bishop, Chris. The Encyclopedia of Weapons of WWII: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,500 Weapons Systems, Including Tanks, Small Arms, Warplanes, Artillery, Ships, and Submarines. New York: Sterling, 2002. ISBN 1-58663-762-2.
Ethell, Jeffrey L. Aircraft of World War II. Glasgow: HarperCollins/Jane’s, 1995. ISBN 0-00-470849-0.
Jackson, Robert. Aircraft of World War II: Development, Weaponry, Specifications: Leicester, UK: Amber Books, 2003. ISBN 1-85605-751-8.
Leonard, Herbert. Encyclopaedia of Soviet Fighters 1939–1951. Paris: Histoire & Collections, 2005. ISBN 2-915239-60-6.
Munson, Kenneth. Aircraft of World War II. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1972. ISBN 0-385-07122-1.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tupolev Tu-2.

The initial version of this article was based on material from aviation.ru. It has been released under the GFDL by the copyright holder.

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Tupolev Tu-2 and the edit history here.

[Jackson_p._154.-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Jackson 2003, p. 154.

[Bishop-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Bishop 2002, p. 317

[Ethell_p._161.-3] Ethell 1995, p. 161.

[Jackson_p._155.-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Jackson 2003, p. 155.

[5] Н.В. Якубович (2010) (in Russian). Ту-2. Лучший бомбардировщик Великой Отечественной. Коллеекция / Яуза / Эксмо. p. 39.

[6] Gunston, Bill (1995). Tupolev Aircraft since 1922. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. 119. ISBN 1-55750-882-8.

[7] (Polish) Marian Mikołajczuk, Paweł Sembrat. Samoloty Tu-2 i UTB-2 w lotnictwie polskim, in: Lotnictwo z Szachownicą No. 33(3/2009), pp. 4–12.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]