Aviation of the Red Army of the Great Patriotic War (part of 5) - SB-2 and DB-3 bombers

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SB-2 and DB-3 bombers formed the basis of the bomber fleet aviation The Red Army Air Force at the first stage of World War II. At the same time, SB-2 bombers managed to take part in hostilities in Spain (since the fall of 1936) and in China (since the fall of 1937). It was the first in stories Aviation case when the bomber was able to beat the speed of the fighter. The serial production of the SB-2 bomber was up to and including 1941. At the same time, this aircraft was very actively used on all fronts, being at the beginning of the war the main force of the Soviet front-line bomber aircraft. Bombers DB-3 and its further development Il-4 successfully used from the beginning to the end of the war. At the same time, the DB-3T planes were already raiding Berlin in August 1941.

Bomber Security

Without exaggeration, we can say that the Security Council was an outstanding aircraft for its time. This machine has left a significant mark in the development of all combat aircraft. This aircraft became the ancestor of a whole class of bombers, which were distinguished by a very high flight speed and were used in the front zone in close cooperation with ground units and naval forces. The SB-2 bomber became the most popular aircraft, which was created in the AN Tupolev Design Bureau.

Creating this bomber, the designers focused on the improvement of its aerodynamic layout, which was one of the main conditions for achieving high speed. Many technological and design solutions used in this aircraft were subordinated to the requirements of aerodynamics. So for the first time on planes of this class, instead of tighter corrugated plating, smooth metal was used, riveting was used, new high-strength materials were used, the chassis was made retractable, and the cockpits were made closed.
Aviation of the Red Army of the Great Patriotic War (part of 5) - SB-2 and DB-3 bombers

The bomber itself embodied the most advanced experience and achievements in the field of aviation materials and technology, aerodynamics. The choice of its aerodynamic scheme was preceded by numerous experiments in wind tunnels. Especially for this machine in TsAGI created a biconvex wing profile. The results of the aircraft were just brilliant. If the first copy of the ANT-40 during the tests started in October 1934, overclocked to 325 km / h, then the second plane, which was tested since December 1934, managed to reach speed in 430 km / h, that is, almost the same like the I-16 fighter, which at the time was the fastest in the world. The flight qualities of the new bomber were recognized as outstanding, and under the designation SB-2 it was recommended for production, which began in the 1936 year.

Bomber took part in the Spanish Civil War. Before the advent of the enemy new high-speed monoplane fighters, he could operate without fighter cover. Since its speed was higher than that of enemy aircraft. In the process of mass production, the machine is constantly improved. By 1938, the bomb load was increased from 600 to 1800 kg. At the same time, new engines appeared on the SB-2: first M-100 (in 1936), then M-103 (in 1937) and, finally, M-105 (in 1940). Since 1939, the release of the bomber began with an improved nosing of the engines, which instead of frontal radiators got tunnel. All the improvements carried out led to a constant increase in the combat capabilities of the aircraft. The serial production of the SB-2 bomber continued until 1941, the 6 831 bomber was released.

Aircraft SB-2 (ANT-40) was a classic twin-engined monoplane, which was arranged in accordance with the requirements of obtaining the best aerodynamics, as well as the greatest benefits from the use of internal glider volumes. Duralumin prevailed in the design of the aircraft with the use of high-strength, alloyed steel in separate power units. The bomber fuselage consisted of the following elements: the front part (F-1), the pilot's cabin (F-2), the center section (C) and the tail part (F-3). All these departments were made separately and connected to each other already with the general assembly.



The front part (F-1) was the navigator's cabin and could be completely removed for replacement with a training cabin (CSS aircraft). At the top of the navigator’s cabin there was a transparent hatch that opened inwards and was used for astronomical observations. In the lower part of the cabin was a double hatch, which was used to hit the cabin and leave it with a parachute. The front part of the navigator's cabin was covered with a spherical transparent lantern, and its frame was made of steel pipes.

The next element F-2 was the pilot's cockpit in the upper part, and the beginning of the bomb bay at the bottom. The cockpit lantern included a fixed canopy and a movable part shifted back. The frame was also made of steel pipes. The upper part of the sliding lamp was sewn up with celluloid, and the side surfaces - with plexiglass.

The center-section of the bomber (C) included the middle part of the aircraft, with a bomb bay located here. Bombyolyuk had 2 doors, which could open as a pilot and navigator. The sash control was independent. The tail section of the F-3 fuselage consisted of a gunner-radio operator and tail unit. The radio station 13SK-3 was installed in the forward part of the cockpit; in the later series, PCP.



The defensive armament of the SB-2 consisted of 4-x ShKAS machine guns of 7,62-mm caliber. In the forward part of the navigator's cabin, a pair of 2 machine guns was mounted, which allowed firing practically on 180 ° vertically and another 15 ° horizontally in both directions. Another 2 machine guns were at the air gunner and were designed to protect the rear hemisphere. At the top of the machine gun was mounted on the turret TUR-9, and the lower machine gun (called dagger), was used with the hatch open at the bottom of the fuselage. It was not easy to get close to it, so the original method was invented during the operation. For firing from the lower machine gun, a special pedal was used, which the shooter could take, which was occupied at that time by the control of the TUR-9.

Performance characteristics of SB-2:
Dimensions: wingspan - 20,33 m., Length - 12,57 m., Height - 3,48 m.
Wing area - 56,7 square. m
Aircraft takeoff weight - 7 880 kg.
Engine type - 2 M-103 power of each 960 hp
The maximum speed is 450 km / h.
Practical range: 2 300 km.
Practical ceiling: 7 800 m.
Crew - 3 person.
Armament: 4X7,62-mm ShKAS machine gun.
Normal bomb load - 600 kg. (in bomb bay) - 1500 kg. with bombs on the suspension.

Bomber DB-3 and IL-4

DB-3 or TsKB-30 was a long-range bomber created at OKB-39 under the guidance of S. V. Ilyushin. The bomber made its first flight in the summer of 1935 of the year, the well-known test pilot V. K. Kokkinaki drove the vehicle. In 1936, the 5 world record was set by plane. Before the beginning of World War II, mass production of the machine data was launched, and there was also a refinement of the aircraft and the construction of prototypes intended for the performance of record flights. In the future, new modifications were created for more powerful engines and other weapons and equipment - DB-3С, DB-3Т, DB-3М, DB-3Ф (Il-4). In total, 5 256 airplanes of the IL-4 modification were produced in the USSR, they were produced at 4-s plants.

A squadron of Soviet bombers DB-3А prepares for departure. Pre-war photo

Soviet long-range bomber DB-3B “board 2-red” in flight. In front of the cockpit, the RPK-2 radio-pre-compass (frame antenna in fairing) is installed


This bomber managed to take part in the Soviet-Finnish war in the winter of 1939-1940, as well as the Great Patriotic War and the Soviet-Japanese war. In all these conflicts, he was the main long-range bomber of the Red Army. In addition, it was used as torpedo bombers, reconnaissance aircraft, transport aircraft, glider towers. That DB-3 and IL-4 were the most massive bombers of the USSR during the war period. The first blows to the capital of Germany on the night of 8 August 1941, made exactly these cars.

The project to create a new bomber was approved by the head of the Red Army Air Force Ya. I. Alksnis 29 August 1934. Development of the aircraft was assigned to the Central Design Bureau of the plant number 39. For the bomber it was planned to use licensed copies of Wright “Cyclone” motors R-1820F-3 and Gnome-Ron “Mistral” K-14. In the first variant, it was planned to create a passenger plane on 12 seats, the second option - the BB-2 bomber was an analogue of a passenger car, designed for the delivery of 500 kg. bombs at a distance of 1500 km, with an average speed of 230-240 km / h. Work on the creation of a military version went much faster, primarily due to competition from Sukhoi (ANT-37) and Tupolev (SB aircraft). The first copy of the new bomber because of the deadlines was made by the simplified technology. His fuselage was completely wooden, the wing was metal. The machine did not have weapons and received an index of CDB-26.

Starting from the first flights, the plane was tested by V.K. Kokkinaki. Even then, the new bomber exceeded all expectations, he even allowed Nesterov to complete a loop. On the plane, 5 world records were set, which predetermined further work on this project. In the summer of 1936, the TsKB-30, having a fully metal fuselage and a full set of weapons, began to be tested. In this case, the aircraft was launched into serial production even before the end of the test series.

IL-4 long-range bomber


In June, the Central Design Bureau 1938 “Moscow”, which was specially prepared for the non-stop flight on the route Moscow-Spassk-Dalniy, successfully made it. A year later, this car made a non-stop flight to Canada. In 30, the 1940 prototype machines TsKB-2H-30 and TsKB-1H-30 were built, which were designed to establish world distance records by female crews. In 2, DB-1938 bombers armed 3 air armies. In the course of the campaign against Finland, the deficiencies in the data of the machine were revealed. In particular, they showed a high accident rate, great difficulty in operation, insufficient defensive armament and a number of other miscalculations. The deep modernization of the aircraft, which received the designation DB-3F, hereinafter Il-3, made it possible to eliminate these shortcomings.

Theoretically, the plane could take on board up to 2 500 kg. bombs, but in practice it was very rare. Because of the improper organization of combat missions, especially at the early stage of the Great Patriotic War, as well as solving unusual problems, DB-3 aircraft suffered very heavy losses. So 22 June 1941 of the 70 96 bombers dbap on the airfields did not return 22 aircraft, half of which was shot down. After the very first departure, a quarter of all aircraft of the air regiment had to be repaired. On June 23, during a bomber strike on a German motorcade, a DB-3F nine from the 212 dbap was shot down by 8 aircraft. Only in the second half of the war, when the DB-3F aircraft began to be used for their intended purpose, for delivering bombing strikes in the rear of the enemy, combat losses were significantly reduced.

Performance characteristics of DB-3F (1940):
Dimensions: wingspan - 21.44 m., Length - 14,76 m., Height - 4,1 m.
Wing area - 66,7 square. m
Aircraft takeoff weight - 8 030 kg.
Engine type - 2 M-88 power of each 1100 hp
The maximum speed is 429 km / h.
Practical range: 3 300 km.
Practical ceiling: 9 700 m.
Crew - 4 person.
Armament: 3 machine gun: 1x12,7-mm UB and 2x7,62-mm ShKAS
Normal bomb load - 1000 kg., Maximum - 2 500 kg.

Information sources:
-http: //pro-samolet.ru/samolety-sssr-ww2/bomberdir/78-bombardir-ant-40
-http: //www.airwar.ru/enc/bww2/sb2.html
-http: //www.airwar.ru/enc/bww2/il4.html
-http: //ru.wikipedia.org/
Bombers DB and SB

DB-3 and SB bombers compared the main bomber fleet aviation at the first stage of the Great Patriotic War. SB bombers took an active part in hostilities in Spain (from the fall of 1936) and China (from the fall of 1937). stories Aviation bomber speed surpassed fighters. Serial production of the SS continued until the 1941 year, inclusive. The SBs were actively used in the battles of the Great Patriotic War, at the beginning of which they were the main force of the domestic front-line bomber aircraft. Bombers DB-3 or IL-4 successfully used from the beginning to the end of the Second World War. Only the appearance of nuclear weapons and new strategic doctrines forced to stop the production of these very successful machines.

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  1. 0
    31 August 2012 09: 37
    Well, yes, that's right, in order not to use cover, you just need to increase the speed of the plane - so that nobody could catch up, now the same thing ...
  2. +3
    31 August 2012 10: 08
    Pretty illogical article.
    Already in the second half of 2, the SB-1942 bomber almost left the scene of hostilities (it was used in small quantities as a night bomber or as a transport and training one). The author sings praises to him.
    IL-4 was produced throughout the war, fought until the last day, and a few years after the war was in service. However, in the article the aircraft is rather negatively evaluated.
    But the author’s claim that after the Finnish company the identified shortcomings were eliminated is not entirely true. According to the recollections of the pilots, it was the aircraft manufactured after the Finnish company that had flaws that reduced its combat value (especially the defenses of the aircraft). And only by 1942, these shortcomings were partially eliminated.
    And the fact that these planes were used by our command in the initial period is unreasonable, which led to their great losses, and the situation was different with the other technician.
    In China, both IL-4 and SB-2 flew without fighter cover in 1937-1938. But on Khalkhin-Gol and in the war with Finland, already without fighter cover, enemy fighters shot down both of them without problems.
  3. Wolkin
    0
    31 August 2012 15: 54
    http://www.aviarmor.net/aww2/aircraft/ussr/db-3.htm

    In May 1939, when the Japanese unleashed a conflict with Mongolia on the Khalkhin-Gol River, only 4DBAPs were located with distant bombers, based at Domno station (Zabaykalsky OVO), but while the development of new equipment and relocation of DB-3 was closer, the Soviet troops defeated the Japanese, and the regiment made combat sorties on the old TB-3.

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