Boy, this was funky. To even find any decent info, I had to reverse image search an attachment in someone's War Thunder forum post, which led me to a Russian website that I had to google translate relevant information from.
The basic idea: during and after WWII, the Soviets were attempting to develop long-range, high-altitude heavy bombers to match the capabilities of US B-29s. Of course, once they actually appropriated a few B-29s, they tossed everything else and bootlegged the aircraft into the Tu-4.
In the base game's version of a '46 scenario, the USSR receives B-29s directly under lend-lease, designating them Tu-4s despite the bombers not being refitted or Russian-produced in any way.
But what if they hadn't received the B-29 at all? Without the Tu-4, what aircraft would fill that strategically important role? Well, let's have a look at one of those designs from before their acquisition of the B-29: the ANT-64, planned to receive the designation of Tu-10. Some sources state that it would have been "Tu-64," but looking at the trend of developmental vs production designations with other aircraft, I find this unlikely. However, there was also an engine refit of the Tu-2 with the same Tu-10 designation, so I'm not sure what to make of it.
What follows is a wall of info translated from Russian, so expect some odd grammar here and there:
Long-range bomber project. The development of a high-altitude long-range bomber with a pressurized cockpit was started by OKB-156 A.N. Tupolev in September 1943 (Buttler, Gordon). Chief Designer D.G. Markov. The choice of options for the aerodynamic schemes of the aircraft is underway, the models are being purged at TsAGI. Design began in May 1944. In August 1944, the Air Force's requirements were adjusted to reduce the requirements for the aircraft's altitude. In September 1944, a full-scale mock-up of the aircraft was completed. In February 1945, the requirements of the Air Force were once again adjusted - an operator of the aircraft's onboard radar was added to the crew. The model was approved on April 27, 1945. The name of the Air Force "Tu-10" was reserved for the aircraft. In the middle of 1945, pilot production began preparations for the production of prototypes of the bomber, the preparation of equipment for the production of the aircraft began, and the production of technical design drawings began. Development was discontinued due to the creation of a copy of the B-29 Superfortress - Tu-4 bomber. The official order of the Ministry of Aviation Industry of the USSR to stop development was issued on April 16, 1947 - simultaneously with the completion of the construction of the first Tu-4. All specified performance characteristics of Tu-64 are design.
Crew:
- 7 people (two pilots, navigator, flight engineer, radar operator, gunner and radio operator) - according to Shavrov and Ponomarev;
- 9 people in 1944, 10 people since February 1945 - according to Buttler, Gordon;
The design - in the final version of the layout - is a low-wing aircraft with a spaced vertical tail and a straight coffered wing of a large aspect ratio. The fuselage is stringer-monocoque with 4 spars, in the bow there is a pressurized cockpit. The transition from the front cabin to the rear one was carried out with a portable oxygen cylinder. The cleaning and release of the chassis and flaps was carried out using the hydraulic system.
Wing profile - NACA-2330
Engines:
Layout options 1944:
- AM-42TK with a capacity of 2000 hp
- AM-43TK-300B with a capacity of 2300 hp each
- diesel design bureaus of the Charom ACh-30BF with a capacity of 1900 hp each
- ASh-83FN with a capacity of 1900 hp
- M-250 with a capacity of 2500 hp each liquid cooling, developed by Dobrynin and Skubachevsky.
1945 layout option:
4 x piston with turbochargers AM-43TK or AM-46TK with turbochargers TK-300 with a capacity of 2200 hp each
Aircraft performance characteristics:
Airplane 64, 1944
Length 28.575 m
Wingspan 38 m 42.8 m
Stabilizers span 10 m
Height 8.725 m
Chassis track 7500 mm
Airplane 64, 1945
Length 29.975 m
Wingspan 42.8 m
Wing area 152 m2
Wing extension 12
Specific wing loading 206 kg / m2
Takeoff weight - 36000 kg (with 5000 kg payload)
Payload mass:
- 5000 kg (normal)
- 10000 kg (maximum)
Fuel weight:
- 14200 kg (norm)
- 18000 kg (maximum)
Maximum speed:
- 607 km / h (altitude 9600 m)
- 600 km / h (height 6000 m)
Cruising speed - 400 km / h
Maximum flight range:
- 6000 km (according to the initial project)
- 6500 km (with 18000 kg of fuel and no payload)
Flight range with a payload of 5000 kg:
- 5470 km according to Ponomarev;
- 5000 km according to Buttler, Gordon;
Practical ceiling - 11000 m (according to the initial project)
Armament:
Artillery defensive:
- 3 x 2 x 20 mm B-20 cannon in turrets (according to Shavrov and Ponomarev);
- 4 x 2 turrets with NS-23 cannons + tail gun turret with 2 x NS-23 or 1 x B-20 (according to Buttler, Gordon);
- variant of the end of 1944 - 4 x 2 turrets with NS-23 cannons + tail turret with 1 x 45 or 57 mm cannon (according to Buttler, Gordon);
Equipment:
- it was supposed to install a bombing radar on the plane.
Modifications:
Airplane 64 - bomber;
Aircraft 66 - civilian version - passenger aircraft.
Referring to image:
Projections of three different layouts of the "64" aircraft - from top to bottom - version 1943-1944. with two separate cockpit fairings, a variant of mid-1944 and a view of the final project of 1946 using the results of a study of the B-29 bomber, USA (authorship - OKB-156, Buttler Tony, Gordon Yefim. Soviet Secret Projects - Bombers since 1945. Midland Publishing, 2004, England).
Status: USSR - neither built nor flew.
Sources:
Ponomarev A.N., Vinogradov R.I. Development of aircraft of the world. M., mechanical engineering, 1991
Shavrov V.B. The history of aircraft designs in the USSR 1938-1950 M., mechanical engineering, 1994
Buttler Tony, Gordon Yefim. Soviet Secret Projects - Bombers since 1945. Midland Publishing, 2004, England.
Source:
http://militaryrussia.ru/blog/topic-4.htmlWithout the B-29, if the description of the image depicting the three variants is accurate, the top variant would likely be the design used since the other two were modified based on studying the B-29 (it might just be referring to the third design, but given the second design's striking resemblance to the B-29, I'm pretty sure they meant both). However, the other two variants are still good '46 material for if the Russians still got themselves the B-29 but decided against a direct copy.
Here's the first variant as a wind tunnel model:
The same variant as another model:
And artists' depictions:
Interestingly, the split cockpit design resembles that of the Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster. It makes it look very insect-like in appearance.
And here's the second B-29-esque variant in artists' depictions:
Plus a possible interior setup:
More info on another Russian site that I dug up:
http://xn--80aafy5bs.xn--p1ai/aviamuseum/aviatsiya/sssr/bombardirovshhiki-2/bombard-1920-e-1940-e-gody/dalnij-bombardirovshhik-64-proekt/
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Topic: ANT-64 - What might have been if the Tu-4 wasn't (Read 2926 times)
