The Polikarpov VIT-1 (Russian: Vozdooshny Istrebitel' Tahnkov— Flying Tank Destroyer) was a Soviet twin-engined multi-purpose aircraft developed before World War II. One prototype was built in 1937, with an extremely heavy armament for ground attack duties. That was the only example built as it was decided to revise the design with more powerful engines as the VIT-2.
The Polikarpov design bureau (OKB) was ordered, in 1936, to begin development of a fast twin-engined aircraft that could be used for ground attack duties and as a heavy fighter. It delivered the ground attack version the following year for evaluation, although it could be modified as necessary for other roles. The VIT-1 was reasonably successful, but it was decided to give it more powerful engines and modify its structure. The improved aircraft was designated as the VIT-2.[1]
The VIT-1 was a low-winged, twin-engined aircraft with a mixed structure. The monocoque fuselage was made in halves of 'shpon', molded birch plywood. The wing and tail structures were built from a mix of steel tubes and duralumin with a duralumin skin. The VIT-1 had the first metal-skinned control surfaces in the USSR.[2] The main legs of the conventional landing gear retracted aft into the engine nacelles, but the tailwheel was fixed. The nose was extensively glazed to give the bombardier/navigator good visibility and he was armed with a 20 mm (0.79 in) ShVAK cannon with 10° of vertical travel. The rear gunner/radio operator sat behind the pilot in a manually operated turret armed with a 7.62 mm (0.300 in) ShKAS machine gun. Two 37 mm (1.5 in) Shpitalnyi Sh-37 cannon were mounted in the wing roots with very prominent barrels. Up to 600 kg (1,300 lb) of bombs could be carried internally in the fuselage or a pair of 500 kg (1,100 lb) FAB-500 bombs could be carried under the wings. It used a pair of 716 kW (960 hp) Klimov M-103inline engines driving 3-bladed propellers.[1]
VIT-1, SVB, MPI-1 by N.N.Polikarpov 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
January 05, 2024
polikarpov, russian, vozdooshny, istrebitel, tahnkov, flying, tank, destroyer, soviet, twin, engined, multi, purpose, aircraft, developed, before, world, prototype, built, 1937, with, extremely, heavy, armament, ground, attack, duties, that, only, example, bui. The Polikarpov VIT 1 Russian Vozdooshny Istrebitel Tahnkov Flying Tank Destroyer was a Soviet twin engined multi purpose aircraft developed before World War II One prototype was built in 1937 with an extremely heavy armament for ground attack duties That was the only example built as it was decided to revise the design with more powerful engines as the VIT 2 Polikarpov VIT 1Note the long barrels of the 37 mm gunsRole ground attackNational origin Soviet UnionManufacturer PolikarpovFirst flight 1937Status cancelledNumber built 1Variants Polikarpov VIT 2 Contents 1 Development 2 Specifications 3 See also 4 References 4 1 Notes 4 2 Bibliography 5 External linksDevelopment editThe Polikarpov design bureau OKB was ordered in 1936 to begin development of a fast twin engined aircraft that could be used for ground attack duties and as a heavy fighter It delivered the ground attack version the following year for evaluation although it could be modified as necessary for other roles The VIT 1 was reasonably successful but it was decided to give it more powerful engines and modify its structure The improved aircraft was designated as the VIT 2 1 The VIT 1 was a low winged twin engined aircraft with a mixed structure The monocoque fuselage was made in halves of shpon molded birch plywood The wing and tail structures were built from a mix of steel tubes and duralumin with a duralumin skin The VIT 1 had the first metal skinned control surfaces in the USSR 2 The main legs of the conventional landing gear retracted aft into the engine nacelles but the tailwheel was fixed The nose was extensively glazed to give the bombardier navigator good visibility and he was armed with a 20 mm 0 79 in ShVAK cannon with 10 of vertical travel The rear gunner radio operator sat behind the pilot in a manually operated turret armed with a 7 62 mm 0 300 in ShKAS machine gun Two 37 mm 1 5 in Shpitalnyi Sh 37 cannon were mounted in the wing roots with very prominent barrels Up to 600 kg 1 300 lb of bombs could be carried internally in the fuselage or a pair of 500 kg 1 100 lb FAB 500 bombs could be carried under the wings It used a pair of 716 kW 960 hp Klimov M 103 inline engines driving 3 bladed propellers 1 Specifications editData from Gordon Soviet Airpower in World War 2General characteristicsCrew 3 Length 12 7 m 41 ft 8 in Wingspan 16 5 m 54 ft 2 in Wing area 40 4 m2 435 sq ft Airfoil Clark YH Empty weight 4 013 kg 8 847 lb Gross weight 6 453 kg 14 226 lb Powerplant 2 Klimov M 103 liquid cooled V12 engines 716 kW 960 hp each Propellers 3 bladedPerformance Maximum speed 530 km h 330 mph 290 kn at 3 000 metres 9 843 ft Range 1 000 km 620 mi 540 nmi Service ceiling 8 000 m 26 000 ft Armament Guns 2 x 37 mm Sh 37 cannon 1x 20 mm ShVAK cannon 1x 7 62 mm ShKAS machine gun Bombs up to a total of 1 000 kg 2 200 lb See also editAircraft of comparable role configuration and era Henschel Hs 129 Messerschmitt Bf 110 Potez 630References editNotes edit a b Gordon p 281 Gunston p 305 Bibliography edit Gordon Yefim Soviet Airpower in World War 2 Hinckley England Midland Publishing 2008 ISBN 978 1 85780 304 4 Gunston Bill The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875 1995 London Osprey 1995 ISBN 1 85532 405 9External links editVIT 1 SVB MPI 1 by N N Polikarpov Archived 2016 03 03 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Polikarpov VIT 1 amp oldid 1125113719, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
