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Tupolev SB 2M300 128SBAP 1Sqn Red 10 abandoned Vitebsk airfield Belarus 1941 0A

 Tupolev SB-2M300 128SBAP 1Sqn Red 10 abandoned Vitebsk airfield Belarus 1941 0A

Tupolev SB or Tupolev ANT-40

National origin:- Soviet Union
Role:- Fast bomber
Manufacturer:- Tupolev
Designer:- Alexander Arkhangelsky
First flight:- 7th October 1934
Introduction:- 1936
Status:- Retired 1950 (Spanish Air Force)
Produced:- 1936-1941
Number built:- 6,656
Primary users:- Soviet Air Force; Spanish Republican Air Force; Chinese Nationalist Air Force; Czechoslovak Air Force
Sceondary users:- Finnish Air Force; Luftwaffe
Developed into:- Polikarpov I-180

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.

This webpage was updated 21st Nov 2021

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