The Tupolev ANT-20 Maxim Gorky was a Soviet eight-engine aircraft, the largest in the world during the 1930s. Its wingspan was similar to that of a modern Boeing 747, and was not exceeded until the 64.6-metre (212 ft) wingspan Douglas XB-19 heavy bomber prototype first flew in 1941.
The Tupolev TB-1 was a Soviet bomber aircraft, an angular monoplane that served as the backbone of the Soviet bomber force for many years, and was the first large all-metal aircraft built in the Soviet Union.
The Tupolev TB-3 was a monoplane heavy bomber deployed by the Soviet Air Force in the 1930s and used during the early years of World War II. It was the world's first cantilever wing four-engine heavy bomber. Despite obsolescence and being officially withdrawn from service in 1939, the TB-3 performed bomber and transport duties throughout much of World War II. The TB-3 also saw combat as a Zveno project fighter mothership and as a light tank transport.
The Tupolev ANT-40, also known by its service name Tupolev SB 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".
The Tupolev ANT-14 Pravda was a Soviet aircraft, which served as the flagship of the Soviet propaganda squadron. It has been credited as Russia's first all-metal aircraft, with a corrosion-resistant-steel structure.
The Tupolev ANT-9 was a Soviet passenger aircraft of the 1930s. It was developed as a reaction to the demand for a domestic airliner. At this time Deruluft, one of the forerunners of Aeroflot, flew only with foreign models, which were mainly German or Dutch.
The Tupolev MTB-1 was a patrol flying boat built in the Soviet Union in the mid-1930s. It was a refined version of the unsuccessful Chyetverikov MDR-3. The revised design retained the MDR-3's hull, but added a newly designed, full-cantilever wing, a new tail, and a new engine installation featuring two tractor and one pusher unit. Trials began in March 1934 but the prototype was destroyed during one takeoff.
The ANT-8 was an experimental flying boat designed by Tupolev. It was designated the "MDR-2" by the military.
The Grigorovich I-Z was a fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union during the 1930s. Advances in aircraft survivability thanks to all-metal construction and self-sealing and inert gas-filled fuel tanks led to experimentation with large-caliber weapons to shoot them down. In Soviet Union, Leonid Kurchevsky developed a series of recoilless rifles in various calibers and in 1930 was decided to adapt the 76.2 mm (3 in) weapons for aircraft use.
The Tupolev MTB-2, also known as the ANT-44, was a Soviet four-engine flying boat built in the late 1930s. Two prototypes were built; performance was satisfactory, but the design was overtaken by the fielding of long-range, land-based bombers by Soviet Naval Aviation and cancelled in 1940.
The Tupolev ANT-16 was an experimental heavy bomber aircraft designed and tested in the Soviet Union in the early 1930s.
The Grigorovich TB-5 was an experimental heavy bomber designed and tested in the Soviet Union in the early 1930s. Designed as a competitor for the Tupolev TB-3, the TB-5 was intended to be powered by two FED 24-cylinder X engines of 746 kW (1,000 hp) each. When these were canceled, the underwing pods were revised to each house a pair of Bristol Jupiter engines in a push-pull configuration. Despite projected performance inferior to TB-3, it was hoped that TB-5 would gain an advantage by using less metal thanks to its mixed construction of fabric-covered metal frame.
The Kalinin K-7 was a heavy experimental aircraft designed and tested in the Soviet Union in the early 1930s. It was of unusual configuration, with twin booms and large underwing pods housing fixed landing gear and machine gun turrets. In the passenger version, seats were arranged inside the 2.3-meter thick wings. The airframe was welded from KhMA chrome-molybdenum steel. The original design called for six engines in the wing leading edge, but when the projected loaded weight was exceeded, two more engines were added to the trailing edges of the wing, one right and one left of the central passenger pod. Nemecek states in his book that at first only one further pusher engine was added.
The Tupolev I-8 was an experimental interceptor built in the Soviet Union in the early 1930s. It was the first Soviet aircraft to exceed 300 km/h in level flight. The aircraft was an exercise in developing the Polikarpov I-5 design by a group of engineers led by V. M. Rodionov, each of whom volunteered 70 hours of personal time to the project.
The Polikarpov TB-2 was a Soviet heavy bomber prototype designed and tested in the 1920s. It was a sesquiplane of wooden construction, with engines mounted on the bottom wing. Work on the sole prototype began in 1927 and it was tested in 1930. Although TB-2 performance was superior to that of the Tupolev TB-1 in service at the time, it was deemed insufficient for 1930 and the project was abandoned.
Tupolev TB-6 was a proposal by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1930s for a super-heavy bomber. Had it been built, it would have been the biggest-ever Soviet bomber and the largest aircraft by wingspan of its time, nine feet short of the 320 foot span of the Hughes H-4 Hercules, although the Scaled Composites Stratolaunch is now the biggest plane by wingspan.
The Tupolev Tu-1 was a prototype Soviet night fighter variant of the Tupolev Tu-2 medium bomber that first flew after the end of World War II. It was cancelled when its experimental Mikulin AM-43V engines reached the end of their service life.
The Tupolev I-14 was a Soviet fighter aircraft of the 1930s. It was a single-engined, single-seat monoplane with retractable undercarriage, designed to carry heavy armament, and as such was one of the most advanced fighters of its time. It was ordered into production, but this was cancelled after only a small number had been built, the competing Polikarpov I-16 being preferred.
The Tupolev ANT-21 was a Soviet twin-engined four-seat heavy fighter, which also had the designation MI-3. It was not accepted for production, only two prototypes being built.
The Shavrov Sh-5 was a Soviet civil amphibian flying-boat designed by Vadim Borisovich Shavrov as a photographic platform for aerial mapping. By the time it flew it was an outdated design and the type did not enter production.
