The Tupolev ANT-10 (also known as the R-7) was a prototype single-engined light bomber/reconnaissance aircraft of the 1930s. Only a single example was built, the
Polikarpov R-5
The Polikarpov R-5 (russian: Р-5) was a Soviet reconnaissance bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was the standard light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of the Soviet Air Force for much of the 1930s, while also being used heavily as a civilian l ...
being preferred.
Development and design
In 1928, the design bureau led by
Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov
Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov (russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Полика́рпов; – 30 July 1944) was a Soviet aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer, known as the "King of Fighters". He designed the I-15 series o ...
produced the
R-5 to replace the R-1, an unlicensed copy of the
Airco DH.9A
The Airco DH.9A was a British single-engined light bomber designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. It was a development of the unsuccessful Airco DH.9 bomber, featuring a strengthened structure and, crucially, repl ...
, which was the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
's standard light reconnaissance aircraft/bomber. As a response, the design bureau led by
Andrei Tupolev
Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev (russian: Андрей Николаевич Туполев; – 23 December 1972) was a Russian Empire, Russian and later Soviet Union, Soviet aeronautical engineer known for his pioneering aircraft designs as Di ...
produced a rival replacement for the R-1, based on Tupolev's earlier
Tupolev R-3. Like the R-3, the new design, the ANT-10 was a single-engined
sesquiplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...
with a
duralumin
Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The term is a combination of '' Dürener'' and ''aluminium''.
Its use as a tra ...
structure, but with a much larger upper wing (based on that of the
I-4 fighter). Like the R-5, it was powered by an imported
BMW VI
The BMW VI was a water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. It was one of the most important German aero engines in the years leading up to World War II, with thousands built. It was further developed as the BMW VII and B ...
engine. It could carry 500 kg (1,100 lb) of bombs in an internal bomb-bay.
[Gunston 1995, p.391.]
The ANT-10 (which received the
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
designation R-7) made its first flight on 30 January 1930,
[Duffy and Kandalov 1996, p.55.] but its performance was little better than the R-5, while the R-5's wooden structure was advantageous at a time of metal shortages. The type was therefore abandoned later in the year in favour of the R-5.
Specifications
See also
Notes
References
* Duffy, Paul and Andrei Kandalov. ''Tupolev,: The Man and His Aircraft''. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1996. .
*
Gunston, Bill. ''The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995''. London:Osprey, 1995. .
{{Soviet scout designations
1930s Soviet military reconnaissance aircraft
ANT-10
Sesquiplanes
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1930