Aircraft · Soviet Union · 1934-1943

Tupolev SB

fast bomber

A twin-engine, three-seat monoplane bomber designed under Andrei Tupolev's bureau (factory designation ANT-40), first flown in October 1934 as the Soviet Union's first modern stressed-skin aircraft built in quantity. Fast enough on introduction to outrun contemporary fighters, it became numerically the most important bomber in the world by the late 1930s and saw extensive combat over Spain, China, Mongolia and Finland before the German invasion, by which point it still made up the large majority of Soviet bomber strength. Rapidly outclassed by newer fighters such as the Bf 109, it suffered heavy losses in 1941-42 and was withdrawn from frontline bomber duty, though it continued in secondary roles.

Wikipedia

Eastern Front