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Tupolev ANT-25

January 01, 1970

The Tupolev ANT-25 was a Soviet long-range experimental aircraft which was also tried as a bomber. First constructed in 1933, it was used by the Soviet Union for a number of record-breaking flights.

ANT-25
RD N025 in flight
Role Experimental long-range aircraft (bomber)
Manufacturer Voronezh Aircraft Production Association[1]
Designer Pavel Sukhoi
First flight 22 June 1933
Primary user Soviet Air Force
Number built 2
Variants Tupolev DB-1
ANT-25 in Chkalov Museum, Chkalovsk

Development edit

The ANT-25 was designed as the result of a recommendation by Kliment Voroshilov to the Revolutionary Military Council Revvoyensovyet on 7 December 1931, to build an aircraft for long-range flights.

The aircraft was designed by the brigade of the Experimental Aircraft Design Department of TsAGI led by Pavel Sukhoi under the overall supervision of Andrei Tupolev. The first prototype, designated Experimental Airplane RD-1, (also designated TsAGI-25, ANT-25), RD standing for Rekord Dalnosty, i.e. "Range Record") made its maiden flight on 22 June 1933, piloted by Mikhail Gromov, using a direct-drive M-34 engine.

The first crew, Gromov, Filin and Spirin, began with a long-range test flight in September 1934 on the second prototype, the RD-2. The RD-2 used a geared M-34R engine, which substantially increased its range. They spent 75 hours in the air, covering 12,411 kilometres (7,712 mi) in a single trip, (Moscow–Ryazan–Tula–Dnepropetrovsk–Kharkov). The aircraft was unable to return to Moscow because of a fuel shortage. Gromov was made a Hero of the Soviet Union. The flight was not recognised as a world record as it could not complete the circuit to Moscow, and so could not claim the closed-circuit record, while the direct distance between Moscow and Kharkov was too short for the distance in a straight-line record.

Gromov and Andrey Yumashev decided to make their next long-range flight an attempt at the straight-line record. They wanted to fly the traditional long-range route via Africa and the Atlantic Ocean to South America. A crewman, Sigizmund Levanevsky, on studying some maps, suggested they fly in a completely different direction – to the north. Polar aviators were extremely popular at that time, so his plan was considered plausible. The flight was cancelled in the spring of 1935 when he fell seriously ill.

The next long-range flight planned was from Moscow to the US via the North Pole. A sloping concrete runway, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) in length, was built at Schelkovo air base near Moscow. In the early morning of 3 August 1935, Levanevsky, Baydukov and Levchenko climbed aboard their RD and took to the air. For the first 50 kilometres (31 mi), the aircraft ascended to only 500 metres (1,600 ft). They then steadily increased their altitude to 5,000 metres (16,000 ft), maintaining an average speed of 165 kilometres per hour (103 mph). After approximately 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi), an oil leak was discovered, but the aircraft was able to make an emergency landing at Krechevits near Novgorod. Levanevsky was called to a Politburo meeting, where he blamed Tupolev, declaring that his single-engined ANT-25 was underpowered. It seemed to be the end for the aircraft.

His second pilot, Georgy Baydukov, who was also an aviation engineer, disagreed and proposed Valery Chkalov for a second attempt. Chkalov was at first sceptical about his selection, as he was a fighter pilot with little navigational knowledge. Baydukov briefed Chkalov on the finer points of flying the ANT-25 and proposed Alexander Belyakov, who was the chief instructor of their flight academy, as their third crewman. Chkalov's authority was enough to convince Joseph Stalin.

In July 1936, the record was broken by Chkalov, Georgy Baydukov and Belyakov flying the same aircraft from Moscow to the Far East (Stalin's Route) in 56 hours 20 minutes, a distance of 9,374 kilometres (5,825 mi). They passed Franz Josef Land–Severnaya Zemlya–Tiksi–Yakutia–Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky–Khabarovsk–Okhotsk Sea and landed on a beach at Udd Island (now called Chkalov Island), near the Amur River.

The next day, the Pravda newspaper published a leading article "Glory to Stalin's Falcons!" («Слава сталинским соколам!»).[2] A wooden runway was constructed on Udd island, and on 2 August the ANT-25 departed for Moscow. The trip back lasted a week, with stops at Khabarovsk, Chita, Krasnoyarsk and Omsk, with a grand welcome at each. Chkalov's trio each became a Heroes of the Soviet Union. Two islands nearby were renamed after Baydukov and Belyakov.

Chkalov's achievement became world-famous; however, the Politburo still wanted the publicity of a direct flight. Gromov was ordered to fly to Brazil on 14 August 1936 in a second ANT-25, but as he prepared for the start on 25 September, Brazilian officials denied access to the Soviet plane, and the flight was cancelled.

Both Chkalov's and Gromov's crews were now destined to fly north from Moscow to San Francisco. Over 18–20 June 1937 – the same crew of pilot Valery Chkalov, co-pilot Georgi Baidukov and navigator Alexander Belyakov made a non-stop flight [ru] from Moscow to Portland, United States, in bad weather. At the 60-hour point they passed Seattle, and after two more hours they passed the Portland lighthouse on the Columbia River and headed deeper into US territory. Over the city of Eugene they found they were short of fuel and turned back for the army airbase at Fort Vancouver Barracks at Vancouver,[3] landing at Pearson Airfield.[4][5][6][7][8] The 9,130-kilometre (5,670 mi) trip took 63 hours and 25 minutes. In 1975, an obelisk was erected on the airfield to commemorate this event.

 
Commemorative stamp illustration of the Moscow-San Jacinto transpolar flight

Another widely publicized feat was the Moscow–San Jacinto non-stop flight in a backup aircraft just three weeks after Chkalov's. This journey [ru], via the North Pole, covered 11,500 kilometres (7,100 mi) and ended in a dairy pasture outside of San Jacinto, California, after they had encountered fog conditions in San Diego and as far inland as March Air Force base in Riverside. The landing site is marked by California State Historical Landmark Number 989. The crew, still composed of Gromov, Yumashev, and Sergey Danilin, flew for 62 hours and 17 minutes between 12 and 14 July 1937. After landing, the aircraft still had sufficient fuel for approximately 1,500 kilometres (930 mi), enough to reach Panama. This would have involved crossing the Mexican border without the permission of FAI sporting officials.

Gromov became an unofficial Soviet Pilot No. 1, though Chkalov remained the favourite pilot of the Soviet people. Joy at the achievements were tempered by Levanevsky crashing on the same route in a brand-new four-engined DB-A.

The record set by the Soviets was broken by two British Vickers Wellesley bombers which flew from Egypt to Australia in November 1938; a distance of 11,523.9 kilometres (7,160.6 mi).[9] The USSR did not continue the race as aviation design bureau work was stalled by repression: Tupolev was jailed, and Gromov was also on the brink of arrest. Chkalov mysteriously crashed while testing a new fighter on 15 December 1938.[10]

After Chkalov's death, Usachyov, the Chief of the Aviation Industry Directorate, Belyaikin, the director of the plant where Chkalov's machine had been built, and Tomashevich, the designer, all came under suspicion of sabotage.[11] Nikolai Polikarpov escaped arrest.

The Soviets displayed the ANT-25 flown by Chkalov from Moscow to Vancouver at their pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

Design edit

The main reason for the aircraft's success was its wing design. The wide-span wings gave the aircraft good range and fuel-efficiency, and they could also house large fuel tanks. The proportion of the wingspan to the chord was more than a factor of 13. Fuel was 52% of the takeoff weight, the tanks had been moved from the fuselage – this allowed the wings to tension as fuel weight opposed the aerodynamics forces.

Research was conducted into special forms of vibration of the aircraft because of the longer wings and at a speed greater than some critical point – the so-called flutter effect.

To stay afloat after ditching, the ANT-25 used air-filled bags made of rubberised fabric.

According to the archives, the idea of a military variant of the RD first came to the engineer Zhemchuzhin of the 7th sector of the Soviet Air Force Scientific Research Institute. However, its slow speed, low altitude, poor maneuverability and large wingspan made it a perfect target for fighters and anti-aircraft guns.[6]

Only two[citation needed] aircraft were manufactured, which were followed by the Tupolev DB-1.[12][13][14] In 1934 the aviation plant in Voronezh received an order to construct 50 DB-1 aircraft (designated ANT-36) for the Air Force. The Tupolev design bureau built an exact replica of an ANT-25 in 1989 for Monino aviation museum.[15]

Variants edit

DB-1
Unsuccessful bomber. Few built. Max speed 210 kilometres per hour (130 mph).[16]

Operators edit

  Soviet Union

Specifications (ANT-25 No.1) edit

Data from The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875 – 1995[17]

General characteristics

  • Crew: three
  • Length: 13.4 m (44 ft 0 in)
  • Wingspan: 34 m (111 ft 7 in)
  • Height: 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)
  • Wing area: 87.1 m2 (938 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 3,700 kg (8,157 lb)
  • Gross weight: 8,000 kg (17,637 lb)
  • Fuel capacity: dubler (1936) – 5,880 kg (12,963 lb) + 350 kg (772 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Mikulin M-34 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 560 kW (750 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 246 km/h (153 mph, 133 kn)
  • Range: 7,200 km (4,500 mi, 3,900 nmi)
  • Endurance: 48 hours
  • Service ceiling: 2,100 m (6,900 ft) fully loaded
    • 7,850 m (25,755 ft) lightly loaded

See also edit

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References edit

  1. ^ "Предприятие". www.vaso.ru.
  2. ^ See also Glory to Stalin's Sokols – conquerors of the air! («Слава сталинским соколам — покорителям воздушной стихии!») 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine, a placate by V.N. Deni, N.A. Dolgorukov, 1937
  3. ^ (in Russian) Oleg Shushakov, Chkalov Valery Pavlovich, last updated 21.08.2008 at Maksim Moshkow's Library (accessed 18.01.2009)
  4. ^ . fortvan.org. Archived from the original on 2010-12-31.
  5. ^ a b (in Russian) N. Gordyukov Airplane from a legend, article from Modelist-Konstructor magazine 1978, №8
  6. ^ "Chkalov flight's 76th anniversary to be observed". columbian.com. 18 June 2013.
  7. ^ "Chkalov's 1937 flight celebrated at Pearson Air Museum". columbian.com. 19 June 2012.
  8. ^ Andrews C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1. p.307.
  9. ^ (in Russian) D. Nikitin, Time of the great flights 2011-08-22 at the Wayback Machine, "Na Warsawke" № 7 (106) July 2006
  10. ^ (in Russian)Yakovlev A.S. Aim in life. Moscow, 1966. Page 77
  11. ^ Note: According to Bill Gunston in "The Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft", 13 additional RDs were built for military use, four of which were converted to BOK-1, −7, −11, and −15 for pressurization development.
  12. ^ Another source gives 16 military variants abbreviated to the RDD; later models used Jumo 4 (Junkers Jumo 004?) and AN-1 engines. (in Russian) ANT-25 (RD) at Monino Aircraft Museum website.
  13. ^ Some sources gave other abbreviations of the ANT-25: RD – Razvedchik Dalniy, i.e. Reconnaissance Long-range or DB – Dalniy Bombardirovshik, i.e. Long-range Bomber (in Russian) D. Nikitin, Time of the great flights 2011-08-22 at the Wayback Machine, "Na Warsawke" № 7 (106) July 2006
  14. ^ (in Russian) ANT-25
  15. ^ Taylor, Michael J H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. pg. 867. Portland House, 1989. ISBN 0-517-69186-8
  16. ^ Gunston, Bill (1995). The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875 – 1995. London: Osprey. pp. 398–400. ISBN 1-85532-405-9.

Bibliography edit

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tupolev ANT-25.
  • "Over The Top Of The World" Popular Mechanics, September 1937

January 01, 1970
tupolev, soviet, long, range, experimental, aircraft, which, also, tried, bomber, first, constructed, 1933, used, soviet, union, number, record, breaking, flights, n025, flight, role, experimental, long, range, aircraft, bomber, manufacturer, voronezh, aircraf. The Tupolev ANT 25 was a Soviet long range experimental aircraft which was also tried as a bomber First constructed in 1933 it was used by the Soviet Union for a number of record breaking flights ANT 25 RD N025 in flight Role Experimental long range aircraft bomber Manufacturer Voronezh Aircraft Production Association 1 Designer Pavel Sukhoi First flight 22 June 1933 Primary user Soviet Air Force Number built 2 Variants Tupolev DB 1 ANT 25 in Chkalov Museum Chkalovsk Contents 1 Development 2 Design 3 Variants 4 Operators 5 Specifications ANT 25 No 1 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External linksDevelopment editThe ANT 25 was designed as the result of a recommendation by Kliment Voroshilov to the Revolutionary Military Council Revvoyensovyet on 7 December 1931 to build an aircraft for long range flights The aircraft was designed by the brigade of the Experimental Aircraft Design Department of TsAGI led by Pavel Sukhoi under the overall supervision of Andrei Tupolev The first prototype designated Experimental Airplane RD 1 also designated TsAGI 25 ANT 25 RD standing for Rekord Dalnosty i e Range Record made its maiden flight on 22 June 1933 piloted by Mikhail Gromov using a direct drive M 34 engine The first crew Gromov Filin and Spirin began with a long range test flight in September 1934 on the second prototype the RD 2 The RD 2 used a geared M 34R engine which substantially increased its range They spent 75 hours in the air covering 12 411 kilometres 7 712 mi in a single trip Moscow Ryazan Tula Dnepropetrovsk Kharkov The aircraft was unable to return to Moscow because of a fuel shortage Gromov was made a Hero of the Soviet Union The flight was not recognised as a world record as it could not complete the circuit to Moscow and so could not claim the closed circuit record while the direct distance between Moscow and Kharkov was too short for the distance in a straight line record Gromov and Andrey Yumashev decided to make their next long range flight an attempt at the straight line record They wanted to fly the traditional long range route via Africa and the Atlantic Ocean to South America A crewman Sigizmund Levanevsky on studying some maps suggested they fly in a completely different direction to the north Polar aviators were extremely popular at that time so his plan was considered plausible The flight was cancelled in the spring of 1935 when he fell seriously ill The next long range flight planned was from Moscow to the US via the North Pole A sloping concrete runway 4 kilometres 2 5 mi in length was built at Schelkovo air base near Moscow In the early morning of 3 August 1935 Levanevsky Baydukov and Levchenko climbed aboard their RD and took to the air For the first 50 kilometres 31 mi the aircraft ascended to only 500 metres 1 600 ft They then steadily increased their altitude to 5 000 metres 16 000 ft maintaining an average speed of 165 kilometres per hour 103 mph After approximately 2 000 kilometres 1 200 mi an oil leak was discovered but the aircraft was able to make an emergency landing at Krechevits near Novgorod Levanevsky was called to a Politburo meeting where he blamed Tupolev declaring that his single engined ANT 25 was underpowered It seemed to be the end for the aircraft His second pilot Georgy Baydukov who was also an aviation engineer disagreed and proposed Valery Chkalov for a second attempt Chkalov was at first sceptical about his selection as he was a fighter pilot with little navigational knowledge Baydukov briefed Chkalov on the finer points of flying the ANT 25 and proposed Alexander Belyakov who was the chief instructor of their flight academy as their third crewman Chkalov s authority was enough to convince Joseph Stalin In July 1936 the record was broken by Chkalov Georgy Baydukov and Belyakov flying the same aircraft from Moscow to the Far East Stalin s Route in 56 hours 20 minutes a distance of 9 374 kilometres 5 825 mi They passed Franz Josef Land Severnaya Zemlya Tiksi Yakutia Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky Khabarovsk Okhotsk Sea and landed on a beach at Udd Island now called Chkalov Island near the Amur River The next day the Pravda newspaper published a leading article Glory to Stalin s Falcons Slava stalinskim sokolam 2 A wooden runway was constructed on Udd island and on 2 August the ANT 25 departed for Moscow The trip back lasted a week with stops at Khabarovsk Chita Krasnoyarsk and Omsk with a grand welcome at each Chkalov s trio each became a Heroes of the Soviet Union Two islands nearby were renamed after Baydukov and Belyakov Chkalov s achievement became world famous however the Politburo still wanted the publicity of a direct flight Gromov was ordered to fly to Brazil on 14 August 1936 in a second ANT 25 but as he prepared for the start on 25 September Brazilian officials denied access to the Soviet plane and the flight was cancelled Both Chkalov s and Gromov s crews were now destined to fly north from Moscow to San Francisco Over 18 20 June 1937 the same crew of pilot Valery Chkalov co pilot Georgi Baidukov and navigator Alexander Belyakov made a non stop flight ru from Moscow to Portland United States in bad weather At the 60 hour point they passed Seattle and after two more hours they passed the Portland lighthouse on the Columbia River and headed deeper into US territory Over the city of Eugene they found they were short of fuel and turned back for the army airbase at Fort Vancouver Barracks at Vancouver 3 landing at Pearson Airfield 4 5 6 7 8 The 9 130 kilometre 5 670 mi trip took 63 hours and 25 minutes In 1975 an obelisk was erected on the airfield to commemorate this event nbsp Commemorative stamp illustration of the Moscow San Jacinto transpolar flight Another widely publicized feat was the Moscow San Jacinto non stop flight in a backup aircraft just three weeks after Chkalov s This journey ru via the North Pole covered 11 500 kilometres 7 100 mi and ended in a dairy pasture outside of San Jacinto California after they had encountered fog conditions in San Diego and as far inland as March Air Force base in Riverside The landing site is marked by California State Historical Landmark Number 989 The crew still composed of Gromov Yumashev and Sergey Danilin flew for 62 hours and 17 minutes between 12 and 14 July 1937 After landing the aircraft still had sufficient fuel for approximately 1 500 kilometres 930 mi enough to reach Panama This would have involved crossing the Mexican border without the permission of FAI sporting officials Gromov became an unofficial Soviet Pilot No 1 though Chkalov remained the favourite pilot of the Soviet people Joy at the achievements were tempered by Levanevsky crashing on the same route in a brand new four engined DB A The record set by the Soviets was broken by two British Vickers Wellesley bombers which flew from Egypt to Australia in November 1938 a distance of 11 523 9 kilometres 7 160 6 mi 9 The USSR did not continue the race as aviation design bureau work was stalled by repression Tupolev was jailed and Gromov was also on the brink of arrest Chkalov mysteriously crashed while testing a new fighter on 15 December 1938 10 After Chkalov s death Usachyov the Chief of the Aviation Industry Directorate Belyaikin the director of the plant where Chkalov s machine had been built and Tomashevich the designer all came under suspicion of sabotage 11 Nikolai Polikarpov escaped arrest The Soviets displayed the ANT 25 flown by Chkalov from Moscow to Vancouver at their pavilion at the 1939 New York World s Fair Design editThe main reason for the aircraft s success was its wing design The wide span wings gave the aircraft good range and fuel efficiency and they could also house large fuel tanks The proportion of the wingspan to the chord was more than a factor of 13 Fuel was 52 of the takeoff weight the tanks had been moved from the fuselage this allowed the wings to tension as fuel weight opposed the aerodynamics forces Research was conducted into special forms of vibration of the aircraft because of the longer wings and at a speed greater than some critical point the so called flutter effect To stay afloat after ditching the ANT 25 used air filled bags made of rubberised fabric According to the archives the idea of a military variant of the RD first came to the engineer Zhemchuzhin of the 7th sector of the Soviet Air Force Scientific Research Institute However its slow speed low altitude poor maneuverability and large wingspan made it a perfect target for fighters and anti aircraft guns 6 Only two citation needed aircraft were manufactured which were followed by the Tupolev DB 1 12 13 14 In 1934 the aviation plant in Voronezh received an order to construct 50 DB 1 aircraft designated ANT 36 for the Air Force The Tupolev design bureau built an exact replica of an ANT 25 in 1989 for Monino aviation museum 15 Variants editDB 1 Unsuccessful bomber Few built Max speed 210 kilometres per hour 130 mph 16 Operators edit nbsp Soviet Union Soviet Air ForceSpecifications ANT 25 No 1 editData from The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875 1995 17 General characteristicsCrew three Length 13 4 m 44 ft 0 in Wingspan 34 m 111 ft 7 in Height 5 5 m 18 ft 1 in Wing area 87 1 m2 938 sq ft Empty weight 3 700 kg 8 157 lb Gross weight 8 000 kg 17 637 lb Fuel capacity dubler 1936 5 880 kg 12 963 lb 350 kg 772 lb Powerplant 1 Mikulin M 34 V 12 liquid cooled piston engine 560 kW 750 hp Performance Maximum speed 246 km h 153 mph 133 kn Range 7 200 km 4 500 mi 3 900 nmi Endurance 48 hours Service ceiling 2 100 m 6 900 ft fully loaded 7 850 m 25 755 ft lightly loadedSee also editRelated development Tupolev DB 1 Aircraft of comparable role configuration and era Bleriot 110 Dewoitine D 33References edit Predpriyatie www vaso ru See also Glory to Stalin s Sokols conquerors of the air Slava stalinskim sokolam pokoritelyam vozdushnoj stihii Archived 2011 06 06 at the Wayback Machine a placate by V N Deni N A Dolgorukov 1937 in Russian Oleg Shushakov Chkalov Valery Pavlovich last updated 21 08 2008 at Maksim Moshkow s Library accessed 18 01 2009 History of Pearson Air Museum fortvan org Archived from the original on 2010 12 31 The Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History HistoryLink org www historylink org a b in Russian N Gordyukov Airplane from a legend article from Modelist Konstructor magazine 1978 8 Chkalov flight s 76th anniversary to be observed columbian com 18 June 2013 Chkalov s 1937 flight celebrated at Pearson Air Museum columbian com 19 June 2012 Andrews C F and E B Morgan Vickers Aircraft since 1908 London Putnam 1988 ISBN 0 85177 815 1 p 307 in Russian D Nikitin Time of the great flights Archived 2011 08 22 at the Wayback Machine Na Warsawke 7 106 July 2006 in Russian Yakovlev A S Aim in life Moscow 1966 Page 77 Note According to Bill Gunston in The Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 13 additional RDs were built for military use four of which were converted to BOK 1 7 11 and 15 for pressurization development Another source gives 16 military variants abbreviated to the RDD later models used Jumo 4 Junkers Jumo 004 and AN 1 engines in Russian ANT 25 RD at Monino Aircraft Museum website Some sources gave other abbreviations of the ANT 25 RD Razvedchik Dalniy i e Reconnaissance Long range or DB Dalniy Bombardirovshik i e Long range Bomber in Russian D Nikitin Time of the great flights Archived 2011 08 22 at the Wayback Machine Na Warsawke 7 106 July 2006 in Russian ANT 25 Taylor Michael J H Jane s Encyclopedia of Aviation pg 867 Portland House 1989 ISBN 0 517 69186 8 Gunston Bill 1995 The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875 1995 London Osprey pp 398 400 ISBN 1 85532 405 9 Bibliography editGunston Bill 1995 The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875 1995 London Osprey ISBN 1 85532 405 9 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tupolev ANT 25 Over The Top Of The World Popular Mechanics September 1937 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tupolev ANT 25 amp oldid 1103385568, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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