Tupolev Tu-2


The Tupolev Tu-2 was a twin-engine Soviet high-speed daylight and frontline bomber 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 bombload, 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.

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 103, the Tu-2 was based on earlier ANT-58, ANT-59 and ANT-60 light bomber prototypes. 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.
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.

Operational history

Built from 1941 to 1948, the Tu-2 was the USSR's second most important twin-engine bomber. The design brought Andrei Tupolev back into favour after a period of detention. Crews were universally happy with their Tupolevs. Pilots could maneuver the aircraft like a fighter, it could survive heavy damage, and it was fast.
The first Soviet unit to be equipped with the Tu-2 was 132 BAP of 3 VA. The aircraft had its baptism of fire over Velikiye Luki. There, in November-December 1942, this Tupolev bomber flew 46 sorties. On February 11, 1943, 132 BAP was transferred to 17 VA to support the drive toward River Dnepr and it flew another 47 sorties - attacking airfields and rail junctions - until April 13, when the unit was removed from frontline. By that time only three Tu-2s were lost in action, while seven were damaged.
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 United Nations airmen during the Korean War. In the 1958–1962 'counter-riot actions' in the 1959 Tibetan uprising 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 the 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.

Variants

;"Aircraft 103" : The initial three-seat version. Top speed 635 km/h at 8,000 m. Two 1,044 kW Mikulin AM-37, 1941.
;"Aircraft 103U" : Redesigned for four-seat crew. Top speed dropped to 610 km/h. It used the same engines as the ANT-58.
;"Aircraft 103V" : As ANT-59 but powered by air-cooled Shvetsov ASh-82 engines after the AM-37 was cancelled.
;"Aircraft 104": Tu-2S modified for interceptor role.
;ANT-62T: Torpedo bomber prototype developed from the Tu-2D.
;ANT-63 : High-speed day bomber prototype.
;ANT-64: Long-range four-engine heavy bomber project developed from the Tu-2, cancelled in favor of Tu-4. Also known as Tu-10.
;ANT-66: Airliner variant of ANT-64.
;ANT-67: Five-seat long-range bomber similar to ANT-62 but powered by Charomskiy ACh-30BF diesel engines, 1946.
;Tu-1 : Prototype three-seat night fighter version.
;Tu-2: Two 1,081 kW Shvetsov ASh-82 with bigger drag, 1942.
;Tu-2D : Long-range version, it appeared in October 1944. It had an increased span and a crew of five aviators. Powered by two 1,380 kW Shvetsov ASh-82FN?, 1943?
;Tu-2DB : High-altitude reconnaissance bomber version developed from the Tu-2D, powered by two turbo-supercharged Mikulin AM-44TK engines.
;Tu-2F: Photo-reconnaissance version.
;Tu-2G: High-speed cargo transport version.
;Tu-2K: Only two aircraft were built for testing ejection seats.
;Tu-2LL: Tu-2's modified as testbeds.
;Tu-2M : Powered by two 1,417 kW ASh-83 radial piston engines.
;Tu-2N: Engine testbed, 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 : Powered by two 1,380 kW 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 radar. Armed with two NS-45 autocannons. Development presumed to have started in 1943. Precursor of the Tu-1.
;Tu-2Sh: Experimental ground-attack versions. Two variants were tested in 1944: one with a 76mm centerline gun and another with a battery of 88 7.62mm PPSh-41 submachine 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.
;Tu-2T: Torpedo-bomber variant, was tested between February and March 1945, and issued to Soviet Naval Aviation units.
;Tu-2U: Trainer version.
;Tu-2/104: All-weather interceptor prototype.
;Tu-6: Reconnaissance prototype, 1946.
;Tu-8 : Long-range bomber based on Tu-2D, 1947.
;Tu-10 : It was a high-altitude variant that saw limited service, 1943.
;Tu-12: Medium-range jet bomber prototype, 1947.
;UTB: Bomber trainer with Shvetsov ASh-21 engines of 515 kW created by the Sukhoi OKB in 1946

Operators

;World War II operators
;Postwar operators
;Bulgaria
;China
;Poland
;Russia
;United States