IN
SCALE 1/72-SCALE DECALS TUPOLEV SB-2M/100 SB-2M/103 FINNISH AF 1940-45 WW2
EASTERN FRONT SET AC032
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Additional
Information from Internet Encyclopedia
The Tupolev ANT-40, also known by its service name
Tupolev SB (Russian: Скоростной бомбардировщик – Skorostnoi Bombardirovschik –
high speed bomber) and development co-name TsAGI-40, was a high speed
twin-engined three-seat monoplane bomber, first flown in 1934. The Tupolev
design was advanced but lacked refinement, much to the dismay of crews,
maintenance personnel, and Stalin, who pointed out that "there are no
trivialities in aviation".
Numerically the most important bomber in the world
in the late 1930s, the SB was the first modern stressed skin aircraft produced
in quantity in the Soviet Union and probably the most formidable bomber of the
mid-1930s. It was produced in the Soviet Union and was also built under license
in Czechoslovakia. Many versions saw extensive action in Spain, the Republic of
China, Mongolia, Finland and at the beginning of World War II against Germany
in 1941. It was also used in various duties in civil variants, as trainers and
in many secondary roles. Successful in the Spanish Civil War because it
outpaced most fighters, the aircraft was obsolete by 1941. By June 1941, 94
percent of bombers in the Red Army air force (VVS RKKA) were SBs.
In 1933 the Soviet Air Force ministry (UVVS)
issued an outline requirement for a high-speed bomber. Work on this proposal at
TsAGI began in January 1934. The SB was designed and developed in the Tupolev
KB ("Design Bureau") by a team led by A. A. Arkhangelski. Two
versions were planned – with Wright Cyclone radial engines (ANT-40 RTs), and
with the Hispano-Suiza 12Y liquid-cooled V12 engines (ANT-40 IS). The skills
gained in the design of the MI-3 and DI-8 aircraft were widely used. The first
two prototypes were designed as ANT-40.1 and ANT-40.2. The Cyclone powered
prototype flew first, on 7 October 1934, with the first Hispano-Suiza powered
prototype (ANT-401), which featured a larger wing, flew on 30 December 1934,
demonstrating superior performance.
The second Hispano-Suiza powered aircraft, the
ANT-402 was considered a production prototype, and its performance was
impressive. It was however plagued by teething problems, leading unhappy test
personnel to cover the ANT-402 with placards listing the aircraft's defects
prior to a visit by Sergo Ordzhonikidze, the Commissar for Heavy Industry. On
seeing these placards, Ordzhonikidze summoned Tupolev to a meeting at the
Kremlin to discuss these shortfalls. When Tupolev stated that most of the
defects were trivial, Joseph Stalin said:
Finnish use
Many Soviet SBs crashed or force-landed on Finnish
soil during the Winter War, with the Finns salvaging as many aircraft as
possible, with those in the best condition being sent to Valtion
lentokonetehdas for possible repair for use by the Finnish air force. By the
time of the Continuation War against the Soviet Union, when Finland moved to
recover the territory lost in the Winter War, five SBs had been repaired (with
a further three added later), being used to equip Lentolaivue 6, flying
Maritime patrol and attack missions. These aircraft were supplemented by a
further 16 SBs purchased from Germany, who had captured them during the initial
weeks of the invasion of the Soviet Union. These SBs employed the first
air-dropped depth charges used in combat. Finland lost seven SBs to accidents
during the Continuation War, with none being lost in combat, with Finnish SBs
claiming three Soviet submarines and a 4,000 ton merchant ship sunk.
