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Soviet Union Military Aircraft Designation Systems
Pre-revolutionary Imperial Russia (before 1917) did not have a single national unified system but instead relied on those provided by the manufacturers of the aircraft, like Sikorsky Ilya Muromets or Anatra Anasal. Pre-war Soviet System The Soviet system used from shortly after the revolution in 1923 and until gradually superseded after 1940, was divided by function, with numbers assigned in order by the government. Duplicate designations were common, as were multiple meanings for individual letters. Designers and manufacturers also had their own internal designations which could be confused for the official government designations. For instance, Tupolev's designs used the designator ANT, for A.N.Tupolev and Yakovlev's designs used AIR, for A.I.Rykov, the communist leader he reported to. Not all designations were taken up, some numbers were assigned to projects that were subsequently cancelled, often at a very early stage of development. Type prefixes (Cyrillic characters in paren ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sikorsky Ilya Muromets
The Sikorsky ''Ilya Muromets'' (russian: Сикорский Илья Муромец) (Sikorsky S-22, S-23, S-24, S-25, S-26 and S-27) were a class of Russian pre-World War I large four-engine commercial airliners and military heavy bombers used during World War I by the Russian Empire. The aircraft series was named after Ilya Muromets, a hero from Slavic mythology.Lake 2002, p. 31. The series was based on the Sikorsky Russky Vityaz, Russky Vityaz or Le Grand, the world's first four-engined aircraft, designed by Igor Sikorsky. The Ilya Muromets aircraft as it appeared in 1913 was a revolutionary design, intended for commercial service with its spacious fuselage incorporating a passenger saloon and washroom on board. The Ilya Muromets was the world's first multi-engine aircraft in production and at least sixty were built.Sikorsky 1938, p. 96. During World War I, it became the first four-engine bomber to equip a dedicated strategic bombing unit.Massenkov et al. 1994, p. 23. This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grigorovich DI-3
Grigorovich DI-3 (russian: Григорович ДИ-3), (''Dvukhmyestnyi Istrebitel'' - two-seat fighter), was a prototype two-seat fighter developed in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. It was intended to be a long-range escort fighter developed from the DI-2 with improved range and performance comparable to single-seat fighter aircraft of the time. DI-3 was a single-bay biplane of mixed construction with a twin-rudder tailplane of variable incidence. Although initial tests demonstrated flight characteristics comparable to Polikarpov I-5 The Polikarpov I-5 was a single-seat biplane which became the primary Soviet fighter between its introduction in 1931 through 1936, after which it became the standard advanced trainer. Following Operation Barbarossa, which destroyed much of the ..., the addition of armament and operational equipment caused significant degradation in performance and DI-3 did not enter mass production. The prototype was subsequently fitted with an enclosed cock ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belyayev DB-LK
The DB-LK (''Dahl'niy Bombardirovshchik-LK'' – long-range bomber–flying wing) was a bomber aircraft designed and built in the USSR in 1939. Development Viktor Nikolayevich Belyayev had an illustrious early career with TsAGI, AVIAVnito, Aeroflot, OMOS, AGOS, KOSOS and the Tupolev OKB OKB is a transliteration of the Russian initials of "" – , meaning 'experiment and design bureau'. During the Soviet era, OKBs were closed institutions working on design and prototyping of advanced technology, usually for military applications. .... He also designed and built several gliders from 1920, including flying wing designs, and in 1934 he designed a transport aircraft with twin tail-booms each accommodating ten passengers. Belyaev developed the twin boom idea into the twin-fuselage DB-LK, which had two short fuselages either side of a very long chord wing centre section, with the outer wing sections swept forward 5 deg 42 min, tapering at 7:1 out to raked back tips. A large fin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolkhovitinov DB-A
The Bolkhovitinov DB-A (''Dal'niy Bombardirovshchik-Akademiya'' – long-range bomber, academy) was a heavy bomber aircraft designed and built in the USSR from 1934. Development Bolkhovitinov became the head of the VVIA design group at the VVA Zhukovsky ( - VVS academy Zhukovsky ) tasked with the design of a replacement for the Tupolev TB-3 heavy bomber. The resulting DB-A was advanced for its day, with stressed skin aluminium alloy construction throughout with clean lines, neatly cowled engines and trousered main undercarriage legs, with fully retracting main-wheels and tail-wheel. The split flaps, undercarriage, nose turret and bomb-bay doors were all operated by a pneumatic system recharged by engine-driven compressors. Flight trials began on 2 May 1935 at Khodinka piloted by N.G. Kastanyev and Ya.N. Moseyev, factory tests were completed by April 1934 and NII testing was carried out in May and June 1935. The excellent performance demonstrated included, sustained flight at a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yermolayev DB-240
The Yermolayev Yer-2 (russian: Ермолаев Ер-2) was a long-range Soviet medium bomber used during World War II. It was developed from the Bartini Stal-7 prototype airliner before the war. It was used to bomb Berlin from airbases in Estonia after Operation Barbarossa began in 1941. Production was terminated in August 1941 to allow the factory to concentrate on building higher-priority Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft, but was restarted at the end of 1943 with new, fuel-efficient, Charomskiy ACh-30B aircraft Diesel engines. Although designed as a long-range medium bomber it was flown on tactical ground-attack missions during the Battle of Moscow with heavy losses. The survivors were flown, in ever dwindling numbers, until August 1943 when the last examples were transferred to schools. However, the resumption of production in 1943 allowed the aircraft to resume combat operations in April 1945. The Yer-2 remained in service with Long-Range Aviation until it was replaced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilyushin DB-4
The Ilyushin DB-4 (DB - Дальний бомбардировщик - ''Dalniy Bombardirovshchik'' - long-range bomber) or TsKB-56 (TsKB - ''Tsentral'noye Konstruktorskoye Byuro'' - central construction bureau) was a Soviet twin-engined bomber aircraft of the early 1940s. It was a development of the Ilyushin DB-3 and was intended as a replacement for the earlier aircraft, but only two prototypes were built; engine problems and the need to concentrate production on existing types following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 meant that no more examples were built. Design and development In the late 1930s, the Ilyushin OKB (or design bureau) was tasked with designing a replacement for its DB-3 twin-engined, long-range bomber. Ilyushin carried out design work on the new aircraft, which was given the internal design bureau designation TsKB-56, in parallel with the DB-3F (later designated the Il-4). While the DB-3F was a relatively simple upgrade of the DB-3, the TsKB ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilyushin Il-4
The Ilyushin Il-4 (DB-3F) (russian: Ильюшин Ил-4 (ДБ-3Ф)) was a Soviet twin-engined long-range bomber and torpedo bomber, widely used by the Soviet Air Force and Soviet Naval Aviation during World War II. Design and development In 1938, the Ilyushin design bureau redesigned the Ilyushin DB-3 to ease production and improve its performance, the revised version receiving the designation DB-3F (''Forsirovanniye'' or "boosted"). The aircraft's internal structure, particularly the wings, was extensively changed, eliminating the need for hand finishing of the structure, and with duralumin replacing the large scale use of steel in the earlier version.''Air International'' May 1986, p. 133.Gunston 1995, pp. 100–101. The aircraft's fuel system was redesigned, increasing its internal capacity while reducing the number of fuel tanks. The fuselage nose was lengthened to give more room for the navigator/bombardier while reducing drag. The prototype DB-3F, powered by the same Tuma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilyushin DB-3
The Ilyushin DB-3, where "DB" stands for ''Dalniy Bombardirovschik'' (Russian: Дальний бомбардировщик) meaning "long-range bomber", was a Soviet bomber aircraft of World War II. It was a twin-engined, low-wing monoplane that first flew in 1935. 1,528 were built. The DB-3 was the precursor of the Ilyushin Il-4 (originally designated DB-3F). Design and development The genesis of the DB-3 lay in the BB-2, Sergey Ilyushin's failed competitor to the Tupolev SB. Ilyushin was able to salvage the work and time invested in the BB-2's design by recasting it as a long-range bomber, again competing against a Tupolev design, the DB-2, to meet the stringent requirements of an aircraft capable of delivering a bombload to a range of at a maximum speed no less than . He had redesigned the BB-2 to take advantage of the radial Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major 14Kdrs engine, for which the Soviets had purchased a license in 1934 as the M-85, and had begun construction of the prototype ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tupolev DB-2
The Tupolev ANT-37 (or DB-2) was a Soviet twin-engined long-range bomber designed and built by the Tupolev design bureau, the design team operating under the guidance of Pavel Sukhoi. The aircraft did not enter production, but three examples of the type were used for research and record breaking flights. Design and development Based on the unbuilt Tupolev ANT-36 (DB-1) single-engined bomber, the ANT-37 was a twin-engined monoplane of stressed skin, dural construction, fitted with a high-aspect-ratio wing and tailwheel landing gear, the main units retracting into the engine nacelles. Powered by Gnome-Rhône 14K radial engines, the prototype first flew on 16 June 1935. The program suffered a setback when the prototype crashed the following month, after the tail splintered into pieces during flight. A re-designed second prototype was built, designated as the DB-2D, in an attempt to overcome the design problems encountered during flight testing, particularly with the tail unit. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tupolev DB-1
The Tupolev DB-1 (ANT-36) was a Soviet long-range bomber developed in the 1930s. It was developed from the Tupolev ANT-25 distance record-breaking aircraft. Development was prolonged and it was recognized as obsolete by the time it was in production. Only eighteen were built and all were withdrawn from service in 1937. Development The possibilities of exchanging some of the fuel of the ANT-25 for bombs and/or cameras was recognized early in its development, and the Soviet Air Forces (VVS) issued a requirement for an aircraft to carry over an operational radius of at a speed of . The Tupolev Design Bureau had prepared a design and built a mockup by August 1933, using the internal designation of ANT-36, and the VVS approved both. Series production of a first batch of 24, out of a planned total of 50, was initiated in the new Factory No. 18 at Voronezh in 1934, but only 18 were built before the program was canceled. The airframe, engine and crew compartments were retained from the A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikoyan-Gurevich DIS
The Mikoyan-Gurevich DIS (russian: Дальний истребитель сопровождения/ ''Dalnij Istrebitel' Soprovozhdenya'' – "long-range escort fighter") was a prototype Soviet heavy fighter of World War II, envisioned to serve primarily in the escort fighter role. The service designation MiG-5 was reserved for the production version of the aircraft. Competing designs in the USSR included the Grushin Gr-1, Polikarpov TIS and Tairov Ta-3. It was intended to develop reconnaissance and bomber versions but these plans were disrupted by Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion in June 1941. The project failed due to its disappointing Mikulin AM-37 engines and when a second prototype was built with M-82 radial engines its performance was mediocre. The design was cancelled in 1943 after at least two prototypes had been built. Design and development The NKAP (''Narodnyy komissariat aviatsionnoy promyshlennosti''—People's Ministry of the Aircraft Industry) request ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tupolev ANT-29
The Tupolev ANT-29 (military designation DIP – ''Dvukhmotorny istrebitel pushechny'', "twin-engined cannon fighter") was a 1930s twin-engined, cannon-armed fighter designed by Alexander Arkhangelsky and built by Tupolev. Design work started in 1932 on a twin-engined aircraft capable of carrying two APK-100 cannon. The resulting design was the ANT-29 and it first flew in February 1935.It was a monoplane with a tall and narrow fuselage, powered by two Hispano-Suiza 12Y The Hispano-Suiza 12Y was an aircraft engine produced by Hispano-Suiza for the French Air Force before the Second World War. The 12Y became the primary French 1,000 hp (750 kW) class engine and was used in a number of famous aircraft, ...brs engines. The cannon were mounted at the bottom of the fuselage, and unusually they were accessible to the crew in flight for loading and maintenance. During tests the machine had reasonable performance but was longitudinally unstable. The aircraft did not enter pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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