The Tupolev Tu-1 was a prototype
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 ...
night fighter
A night fighter (later known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor post-Second World War) is a largely historical term for a fighter aircraft, fighter or interceptor aircraft adapted or designed for effective use at night, during pe ...
variant of the
Tupolev Tu-2
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 ...
medium
bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes
air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles.
There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...
that first flew after the end of
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 ...
. It was cancelled when its experimental Mikulin AM-43V engines reached the end of their service life.
Development
Impressed by the performance of the
de Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its airframe was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or " ...
the Soviets asked
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 ...
to modify a Tu-2 as a high-speed day bomber with a reduced crew as the ANT-63. The second prototype of this project was ordered to be converted in February 1946 for use as a three-seat long-range interceptor capable of carrying an airborne
radar
Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
set with the internal designation of ANT-63P and the official designation of Tu-1. It was given prototype Mikulin AM-43V engines driving four-bladed
propeller
A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...
s, and fitted with new radio equipment. It reverted to the standard Tu-2S undercarriage. Two
Nudelman-Suranov NS-45
The Nudelman-Suranov NS-45 was an enlarged version of the Soviet Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 aircraft autocannon. It was evaluated for service on 44 Yakovlev Yak-9K aircraft during World War II, but proved to stress the airframes too much. The NS-45 w ...
guns with 50 rounds each were fitted on the underside of the nose, two
Volkov-Yartsev VYa-23 or
Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannon were fitted in the wing roots with 130 rounds per gun. The dorsal gunner was given a
UBT machine gun with 200 rounds and the ventral gunner received a UBT with 350 rounds of ammunition. It retained the internal bomb bay which could carry up to of bombs.
[
The Tu-1 first flew on 22 March 1947 and underwent manufacturer's tests until 3 October][Gordon, p. 91] or 3 November 1947.[ Sources disagree about the mounting of radar during these tests. ]Bill Gunston
Bill Gunston (1 March 1927 – 1 June 2013) was a British aviation and military author. He flew with Britain's Royal Air Force from 1945 to 1948, and after pilot training became a flying instructor. He spent most of his adult life doing researc ...
says that a Soviet derivative of the German FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 was tested,[ however Yefim Gordon believes that no radar was fitted at all and the short service life of the AM-43V prototype engines curtailed the planned tests and development. At any rate, the aircraft was not selected for production because its AM-43V engines were not ready for production.][
]
Specifications
See also
References
Bibliography
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{{Tupolev aircraft
Tu-0001
1940s Soviet fighter aircraft
Mid-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1947
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft