Tupolev ANT-16
| ANT-16 (TB-4) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Heavy bomber |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Manufacturer | Tupolev |
| First flight | 3 July 1933 |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary user | Soviet Union |
| Number built | One |
| Developed from | Tupolev TB-3 |
| Variants | ANT-20 |
The Tupolev ANT-16 (also known as the TB-4; Russian: Тяжелый Бомбардировщик – Heavy Bomber) was an experimental heavy bomber aircraft designed and tested in the Soviet Union in the early 1930s. Conceptually representing evolution of the TB-3 bomber, the ANT-16 was designed under the doctrine that size and payload were more important for a bomber than speed because it would be able to protect itself with defensive armament.[1] The twin 5 by 1.8 by 1.8 metres (16.4 ft × 5.9 ft × 5.9 ft) bomb bays were the largest in the world at that time and presented many design challenges in order to preserve structural rigidity of the airframe.[1]
The sole prototype first flew on 3 July 1933 with M. M. Gromov at the controls. The test flight program was completed by 29 September 1933 with disappointing results. The two top-mounted engines performed poorly and a significant portion of thrust generated by the wing-mounted engines was absorbed by the two meter-thick (6 ft 7 in) wing. A proposal to re-equip the aircraft with Mikulin AM-35 engines of 933 kW (1,250 hp) was not implemented.[1] A second prototype was under construction, but was never finished[2] (construction stopped 2 July 1933); some of its parts were used in the ANT-20.
Specifications (ANT-16)
Data from http://www.all-aero.com[3]
General characteristics
- Crew: twelve
- Length: 32 m (104 ft 12 in)
- Wingspan: 54 m (177 ft 2 in)
- Height: 17.3 m (56 ft 9.10 in)
- Wing area: 422 m² (4,542.4 ft²)
- Empty weight: 21,400 kg (47,179 lb)
- Loaded weight: 33,280 kg (73,370 lb)
- Powerplant: 6 × Mikulin AM-34 V-12 piston engine, 560 kW (750 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 200 km/h (108 kn, 124 mph)
- Range: 1,000 km (540 nmi, 621 mi)
- Service ceiling: 2,750 m (9,022 ft)
- Wing loading: 79 kg/m² (16 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 101 W/kg (0.06 hp/lb)
- Time to altitude: 34 s to 2,000 m (6,560 ft)
Armament
- Guns: 4x20mm cannon, 10x2 7.62mm DA machine guns
- Bombs: Up to 4,000 kg of bombs[4]
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tupolev ANT-16. |
Related development
References
- 1 2 3 Shavrov V.B. (1985). Istoriia konstruktskii samoletov v SSSR do 1938 g. (3 izd.) (in Russian). Mashinostroenie. ISBN 5-217-03112-3.
- ↑ "The Tupolev Giants". AirVectors. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ↑ http://www.all-aero.com/index.php/55-planes-t-u/11197-tupolev-ant-16--tb-4
- ↑ http://www.aviastar.org/air/russia/ant-16.php