On December 22, 1930, the TB-3 (ANT-6) aircraft took off for the first time, which became one of the highest achievements of the pre-war Soviet aircraft industry. The first serial all-metal four-engine bomber, made according to the cantilever monoplane scheme, was at the same time one of the largest aircraft in the world at that time. With its appearance, the USSR confidently entered the ranks of the leading aviation powers.
Another significant achievement was that the USSR was able to build more than 800 of these machines and by the beginning of World War II had the world's largest strategic air fleet. True, by that time the TB-3 was morally obsolete, but it was still quite suitable for use as a night bomber and an airborne transport aircraft. The construction of an armada of heavy bomb carriers cost a far from rich Soviet Union very dearly and forced to save on many other things, but claims to world leadership demanded similar costs.
The splash screen shows the civilian version of ANT-6, equipped for operation in polar latitudes.
The first prototype of the TB-3 at the test airfield.
A. N. Tupolev and I. V. Stalin descending the wing of TB-3 after inspecting the cockpit of a bomber.
TB-3 during a visit to France during a demonstration tour of Europe, 1935.
"Airplane-link" - TB-3 in the version of a flying aircraft carrier with two I-16 fighters suspended under the wing.
Soviet polar explorers I. D. Papanin and O. Yu. Schmidt in front of the ANT-6 Aviaarktika aircraft that brought them to the North Pole.
Top down:
TB-3 with M-17 engines in 1941 camouflage.
TB-3 with M-34 engines of the Chinese Air Force.
Airplane "Aviaarktika" on a ski landing gear. The wheels are reinforced under the fuselage.
