The Polikarpov VIT-1 (— Flying Tank Destroyer) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

twin-engined multi-purpose aircraft developed before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. One prototype was built in 1937, with an extremely heavy armament for ground attack duties. That was the only example built as it was decided to revise the design with more powerful engines as the VIT-2.

Development

The

Polikarpov Polikarpov Design Bureau was a Soviet Union, Soviet OKB (design bureau) for aircraft, led by Nikolai Polikarpov, Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov. Dux Factory was acquired by the USSR and became part of Polikarpov. After the death of Polikarpo ...

design bureau (

OKB OKB () is a transliteration of the Russian initials for "" (), which translates to "Experimental Design Bureau." It could also mean or "Special Design Bureau" in english. During the Soviet era, OKBs were closed institutions working on design and ...

) was ordered, in 1936, to begin development of a fast twin-engined aircraft that could be used for ground attack duties and as a heavy fighter. It delivered the ground attack version the following year for evaluation, although it could be modified as necessary for other roles. The VIT-1 was reasonably successful, but it was decided to give it more powerful engines and modify its structure. The improved aircraft was designated as the VIT-2.Gordon, p. 281 The VIT-1 was a low-winged, twin-engined aircraft with a mixed structure. The

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

fuselage was made in halves of 'shpon', molded birch

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

. The wing and tail structures were built from a mix of steel tubes and duralumin 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 hardening, age-hardenable aluminium–copper alloys. The term is a combination of ''Düren'' and ''aluminium'' ...

skin. The VIT-1 had the first metal-skinned control surfaces in the USSR.Gunston, p. 305 The main legs of the

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

retracted aft into the engine

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a streamlined container for aircraft parts such as Aircraft engine, engines, fuel or equipment. When attached entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached with a Hardpoint#Pylon, pylo ...

s, but the tailwheel was fixed. The nose was extensively glazed to give the bombardier/navigator good visibility and he was armed with a

ShVAK cannon The ShVAK (, "Shpitalny-Vladimirov Aviation Large-calibre") was a 20 mm autocannon used by the Soviet Union during World War II. It was designed by Boris Shpitalniy and Semyon Vladimirov and entered production in 1936. ShVAK were installed in ma ...

with 10° of vertical travel. The rear gunner/radio operator sat behind the pilot in a manually operated turret armed with a

ShKAS machine gun The ShKAS (Shpitalny-Komaritski Aviatsionny Skorostrelny, Shpitalny-Komaritski rapid fire for aircraft; Russian language, Russian: ШКАС - Шпитального-Комарицкого Авиационный Скорострельный) is a ...

. Two Shpitalnyi Sh-37 cannon were mounted in the wing roots with very prominent barrels. Up to of bombs could be carried internally in the fuselage or a pair of FAB-500 bombs could be carried under the wings. It used a pair of

Klimov M-103 The Klimov M-103 is a V12 liquid-cooled piston aircraft engine used by Soviet aircraft during World War II.Gunston 1989, p. 90. Design and development The M-103 was a further development of the Klimov M-100 engine that was itself a licensed co ...

inline engines driving 3-bladed propellers.

Specifications

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Gordon, Yefim. ''Soviet Airpower in World War 2''. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing, 2008 * Gunston, Bill. ''The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995''. London, Osprey, 1995

External links