Tupolev R-3
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The ANT-3 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 ...
all-metal aircraft designed by the
Tupolev Design Bureau Tupolev ( rus, Туполев, , ˈtupəlʲɪf), officially United Aircraft Company Tupolev - Public Joint Stock Company, is a Russian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Basmanny District, Moscow. UAC Tupolev is successor to the Sov ...
.
Tupolev Tupolev ( rus, Туполев, , ˈtupəlʲɪf), officially United Aircraft Company Tupolev - Public Joint Stock Company, is a Russian aerospace and Arms industry, defence company headquartered in Basmanny District, Moscow. UAC Tupolev is succes ...
acquired much experience in building his first two aircraft, later using his experience to construct the ANT-3. By this time,
Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...
leaders were convinced that metal was a highly usable substance in the building of airplanes. Tupolev therefore guided AGOS- TsAGI in creating the first Soviet all-metal aircraft. The ANT-3 was Tupolev's first practical aircraft.


Construction and Development

On 1 August 1924, design work started for the ANT-3, by the following July the prototype was completed at the AGOS factory. The
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 ...
ANT-3 first flew on 6 August 1925, piloted by V. N. Fillipov, a
TsAGI The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (also (Zhukovsky) Central Institute of Aerodynamics, , TsAGI) is a Russian national research centre for aviation. It was founded in Moscow by Russian aviation pioneer Nikolai Yegorovich Zhukovsky on Decemb ...
test-pilot. The VVS (''Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily'' - military air forces) ordered several ANT-3s, designated R-3 (R - ''Razvedchik'' - reconnaissance), after successful flight tests led by Mikhail Gromov. However, production was limited by the shortage of raw materials, but those that were produced proved useful for propaganda purposes.


Production

The ANT-3 was produced between 1926 and 1928 at GAZ-5 (GAZ - ''Gosudarstvenny Aviatsionnyy Zavod'' – state aviation plant/factory) in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
and, from late 1928, at GAZ-22. 102 units were probably produced in total.


Design

The ANT-3 was a sesquiplane seating two in tandem cockpits, with the pilot in front and gunner behind. The structure was predominantly built from light alloys with corrugated ''kol'choogaluminly'' skin. Lower main-planes were attached to the lower fuselage, whilst the upper mainplane was supported on short cabane struts. Wire bracing and streamlined 'V' interplane struts provided structural integrity. The single-engined ANT-3 could be powered by a range of engines from ; the prototype used a
Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
, the second aircraft was powered by a
Napier Lion The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 engine, W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept ...
; the first 79 production aircraft used the
Lorraine-Dietrich 12E The Lorraine 12E Courlis was a W-12 (broad arrow) aero engine produced by the French company Lorraine-Dietrich during the 1920s and 1930s. Variants ;12E: ;12Eb: ;12Ebr: ;12Ed: ;12Edr: ;12Ee: ;12Ew: The standard Eb fitted with a supplementary s ...
; 21 aircraft used the Mikulin M-5 and one used a
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 ...
. Tupolev proposed an upgraded version, to be powered by a Mikulin engine, with a range of about . One was built with a
Lorraine-Dietrich Lorraine-Dietrich was a French language, French automobile and aircraft engine manufacturer from 1896 until 1935, created when railway locomotive manufacturer ''Société Lorraine des Anciens Etablissements de Dietrich et Cie de Lunéville'' (k ...
engine, delivered to
Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...
's
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division, designated PS-3 and used as a mail-plane until about 1930.


Operational history

The R-3, used by the military for
reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
, was also used for propaganda purposes with long-distance flights. In the summer of 1926 the prototype R-3NL, named ''Proletariy'' (En:proletarian) and registered ''RR-SOV'', piloted by Mikhail Gromov, assisted by mechanic Yevgeny Radzevich, flew a round
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
flight: Moscow -
Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
-
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
-
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
-
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
-
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
-
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
-
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- Moscow; After flying for about , a coolant expansion tank suffered fatigue failures, spraying water around the cockpit. Gromov returned to Moscow and newspapers stated that he and Radzevich turned back due to poor weather. The incident caused Tupolev to recommend that the tank have a convex base, which was adopted. Gromov resumed his expedition landing at
Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
, by which point the
radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...
was leaking. Gromov proceeded to
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
where mechanics were unable to repair the radiator. Moving on, they flew on to Paris, where a mechanic found that some putty sealant had separated. To solve the problem, he took another aircraft's radiator, adapting it to fit in the ANT-3, after which Gromov and Radzevich flew off to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. Later Gromov and Radzevich flew north to
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, but the sun started to set and it was dark when they were just from Vienna. Gromov decided to risk landing in Vienna, where campfires were lit around the airport to illuminate the landing strip. The remainder of the flight was largely uneventful other than overflying Prague to continue to Warsaw. By their return to Moscow they had flown a distance of in 34 hours 15 minutes flying time at an average speed of , for a new national long-distance speed record. The second production ANT-3M-5, registered RR-INT and named ''Nash Otvet'' (En:Our Answer), was flown by S.A. Shestakov and D.F Fufayev from Moscow to
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and return, via
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,
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,
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,
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,
Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...
, Verkhneudinsk, Chita,
Nerchinsk Nerchinsk (; , ''Nershüü''; , ''Nerchüü''; mnc, m=, v=Nibcu, a=Nibqu) is a town and the administrative center of Nerchinsky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located on the left bank of the Nercha River, above its confluence with th ...
,
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,
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, Nanyuan and
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, taking 12 days, covering in 153 hours flying time.The aircraft was named in response to the British Foreign Secretary,
Austen Chamberlain Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain (16 October 1863 – 16 March 1937) was a British statesman, son of Joseph Chamberlain and older half-brother of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. He served as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of ...
, (half-brother of the later British Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from ...
), who severed diplomatic ties with the
USSR 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 ...
in 1927
The flight was titled "The Great Eastern Overflight"


Variants

;ANT-3 : Prototype, powered by a Liberty L-8 engine. ;R-3 : Original production military reconnaissance aircraft powered by Mikulin M-5 engines; 21 built. ;R-3LD : 79 production aircraft fitted with
Lorraine-Dietrich 12Eb The Lorraine 12E Courlis was a W-12 (broad arrow) aero engine produced by the French company Lorraine-Dietrich Lorraine-Dietrich was a French language, French automobile and aircraft engine manufacturer from 1896 until 1935, created when r ...
engines. ;R-3NL : Second prototype, powered by a
Napier Lion The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 engine, W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept ...
engine; ''RR-SOV'' ''Proletariy'' (Proletarian). ;R-7 : Improved derivative of the R-3, powered by a
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 ...
engine. A single prototype was built, also known as the ANT-10. ;PS-3 : Designation for 30 R-3s that were modified into mailplanes for service with
Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...
.


Operators

; *
Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...


Specifications (R-3LD)


See also


References


Bibliography

*


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tupolev Ant-3 1920s Soviet military reconnaissance aircraft ANT-03 Sesquiplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1925