Tupolev ANT-41

The Tupolev ANT-41 was a prototype Soviet twin-engined torpedo-bomber of the 1930s. A single prototype was built, which was destroyed in a crash. No production followed, with the Ilyushin DB-3 serving as a torpedo bomber instead.

ANT-41
Role Torpedo-bomber
National origin Soviet Union
Manufacturer Tupolev
Designer Vladimir Myasishchev
First flight 2 June 1936
Number built 1

Design and development

In March 1934, the Tupolev design bureau (OKB) began work on a multi-role aircraft for Soviet Naval Aviation, intended to serve as a high-speed, long-range torpedo bomber, reconnaissance aircraft and "cruiser" (i.e. long-range heavy fighter), and available in both landplane and floatplane versions.[1][nb 1] The task of designing the new aircraft, given the OKB designation ANT-41 and the Navy designation T-1 (Torpedonosets – i.e. torpedo carrier) was assigned to the team led by Vladimir Myasishchev.[1][4]

The ANT-41 was of similar layout to the contemporary SB bomber, which had been designed by another team (led by Alexander Arkhangelsky) at the Tupolev OKB, but was larger and more powerful. Like the SB, it was a mid-winged cantilever monoplane of all-metal stressed skin construction. It was powered by two Mikulin AM-34 liquid-cooled V12 engines in close-fitting cowlings driving 3-bladed propellers and cooled by radiators mounted inside the wings inboard of the engines, which were fed by narrow ducts on the leading edge of the wing.[5][6] A long (6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)) weapons bay under the fuselage could hold two 880 kilograms (1,940 lb) torpedoes, or a single 1,700 kilograms (3,700 lb) torpedo or an equivalent weight in bombs. The undercarriage of the landplane version was a retractable tailwheel undercarriage, based on that of the SB but strengthened to deal with the ANT-41's greater weight.[1][6]

History

The first prototype ANT-41, a landplane, made its maiden flight from Khodynka Aerodrome, Moscow on 2 June 1936, with severe tail flutter encountered.[4][6][nb 2] It was destroyed in a crash during the 14th test flight on 3 July 1936, with the test crew escaping by parachute. The accident was caused by flutter causing wing failure, which was traced to inadequate aileron design.[5][8] Later that year, the Ilyushin DB-3 was chosen to meet Soviet Naval Aviation's requirements for a torpedo bomber, and the ANT-41 was cancelled, with the second prototype unbuilt.[1]

Specifications

Data from Tupolev: The Man and His Aircraft[9]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 4
  • Length: 15.54 m (51 ft 0 in)
  • Wingspan: 25.73 m (84 ft 5 in)
  • Height: 3.86 m (12 ft 8 in)
  • Wing area: 88.94 m2 (957.3 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 5,846 kg (12,888 lb)
  • Gross weight: 8,925 kg (19,676 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Mikulin AM-34 FRNV liquid-cooled V-12 engines, 951 kW (1,275 hp) each [1]

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 435 km/h (270 mph, 235 kn)
  • Range: 4,200 km (2,600 mi, 2,300 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 9,500 m (31,200 ft)

Armament

Notes
  1. The Tupolev ANT-7 served in similar roles, but by 1934 was becoming obsolete.[2][3]
  2. Similar tail flutter had been encountered during prototype testing of the SB,[4] and had caused the prototype Tupolev DB-2 long-range bomber to crash the previous year.[7]

Citations
  1. Gordon and Rigmant 2005, p. 74.
  2. Gunston 1995, pp. 388–389.
  3. Duffy and Kandalov 1996, p. 48.
  4. Duffy and Kandalov 1996, p. 84.
  5. Gunston 1995, p. 407.
  6. Gunston Tupolev Aircraft since 1922 1995, p. 97.
  7. Duffy and Kandalov 1995, p. 78.
  8. Gunston Tupolev Aircraft since 1922 1995, p.98.
  9. Duffy and Kandalov 1996, p. 209
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References
  • Duffy, Paul and Andrei Kandalov. Tupolev: The Man and His Aircraft. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife, 1996. ISBN 1-85310-728-X.
  • Gordon, Yefim and Vladimir Rigmant. OKB Tupolev: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft. Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1-85780-214-4.
  • Gunston, Bill. The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995. London: Osprey, 1995. ISBN 1-85532-405-9.
  • Gunston, Bill. Tupolev Aircraft since 1922. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1995, ISBN 1-55750-882-8.
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