The Tupolev Tu-2 (development names ANT-58 and 103; NATO reporting name Bat) is a twin-engined Soviet high-speed daylight and frontline bomber aircraft used during World War II. The Tu-2 was tailored to meet a requirement for a high-speed bomber or dive-bomber, with a large internal bomb load 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 an effective combat aircraft and it played a key role in the final offensives of the Red Army.

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 (Russian: "aircraft") 103, the Tu-2 was based on earlier ANT-58, ANT-59 and ANT-60 light bomber prototypes. A bigger 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 to the ASh-82 engine as well as improving the general design for simpler manufacturing took well into 1943 with production restarting in late 1943. Wartime production of the new variant was about 800 aircraft (up to June 1945) with an overall production of 2460 aircraft until 1952, the majority of them built by aircraft factory number 23 in Moscow.

Operational history

Built from 1941 to 1948, the Tu-2 was the USSR's second most important twin-engine bomber after the Petlyakov Pe-2. The design brought Andrei Tupolev back into favour after a period of detention. Crews were universally happy with their Tupolevs. The aircraft was fast and maneuverable like a fighter and it could survive heavy damage. The first Soviet unit to be equipped with the Tu-2 was the 132nd Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 3rd Air Army. The aircraft had its baptism of fire over Velikiye Luki, where the bomber flew 46 sorties from November to December 1942. On 11 February 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. In 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](https://bliptext.com/articles/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 was used as a testbed aircraft for various engines, including the first generation of Soviet jet engines.

Variants

Operators

Aircraft on display

Specifications (Tu-2 2M-82)