Tupolev TB-6

TB-6/ANT-26/ANT-28
Desktop model of Tupolev ANT-28
Role	Bomber
National origin	Soviet Union
Manufacturer	Tupolev
Designer	Andrei Tupolev, Vladimir Petlyakov
Primary user	Red Air Force (intended)
Number built	None

Tupolev TB-6 (internal designation ANT-26; Russian: Туполев ТБ-6/АНТ-26) was a proposal for a 1930s heavy bomber that did not advance beyond blueprints. Inspired by the success of ANT-20/PS-124, Tupolev in 1929 began work on an even larger aircraft powered by 12 engines and with a takeoff weight of 70,000 kg (150,000 lb). By the mid-1930s, the trend in military aviation shifted towards smaller and faster aircraft and the TB-6 was cancelled. ANT-28 was a proposed cargo version.^[1]

A 0.21:1 scale two-seat glider was built by AGOS ([otdel] Aviatsii, Ghidroaviahtsii i Opytnovo Samolyotostroyeniya - [section for] aviation, hydro-aviation and experimental construction) and test-flown by B.N. Kudrin, to evaluate the aerodynamic soundness of the design before work was started on the first prototype.^[2]

Specifications (TB-6 estimated)

Data from Istoriia konstruktskii samoletov v SSSR do 1938,^[1] The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 17
• Length: 39 m (127 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 95 m (311 ft 8 in)
• Height: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)
• Wing area: 800 m² (8,600 sq ft)
• Airfoil: modified TsAGI 6
• Empty weight: 50,000 kg (110,231 lb)
• Gross weight: 70,000 kg (154,324 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 76,000 kg (167,551 lb)
• Powerplant: 12 × Mikulin AM-34FRN V-12 liquid-cooled piston engines (10x tractor, 2x pusher), 890 kW (1,200 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 300 km/h (186 mph; 162 kn)
• Range: 1,000 km (621 mi; 540 nmi) with 20,000 kg (44,000 lb) bomb load

  2,500 km (1,300 nmi; 1,600 mi) with 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) bomb load

Armament

• Guns:
  • 1 x 37-millimeter (1.457 in) cannon
  • 4 x 20-millimeter (0.787 in) ShVAK cannon
  • 1 x 7.62-millimeter (0.300 in) DA machine gun
  • 4 x 2 7.62-millimeter (0.300 in) ShKAS machine guns
• Bombs: 15,000 kg (33,000 lb) normal load, 24,600 kg (54,200 lb) max

References

Duffy, Paul and Andrei Kankdalov. (1996) Tupolev The Man and His aircraft. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers.

Gordon, Yefim; Rigamant, Vladimir (2005). OKB Tupolev: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing.