Here some more info:
"The prototype Tu-2, designated ANT-60 was completed following the evacuation of the Moscow facility to Omsk in 11/41 and the maiden flight occurred on 12/15/41. State and manufacturer’s trials occurred from 12/15/41-8/22/42. On 3/28.42, the aircraft was given the production designation of Tu-2. Powered by two 1,700-hp M-82 engines, top speed was 323 mph with a service ceiling of 29,500 feet and a range of 1,255 miles. Armament consisted of 3 7.62mm machineguns (1 rearward firing), 2 12.7mm machineguns and 2 20mm cannon and 10 132mm rockets. Normal bomb load was 2,204 lbs with a maximum bomb load of 6,613 lbs. At the end of 1941, production began with the first 3 bombers being completed in 2/42. Defects in their engines meant that the planes were not sent to units until 9/42 when they were sent to the 3rd Air Army. During the service trials, the aircraft flew 25 combat missions without a loss. Each aircraft flew once a day on an average flight range of 310 miles with bomb loads ranging from 2,204-4,409 lbs. On the whole, the Tu-2 received a more favorable assessment than the Pe-2. It was noted that the aircraft had a powerful armament, was almost 62 mph faster at low and medium altitudes and could carry up to 6,613 lbs of bombs. Several shortcomings were also pointed out.
The 132nd Bomber Air Regiment soon arrived at the front. By the beginning of the Soviet counter-offensive at Stalingrad, 17 Tu-2s were operational of which 15 were combat ready. All were in the 3rd Air Army at the Kalinin Front. Marshall Novikov, the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Air Force wrote that the Tu-2s were essential to the front line regiments. After stating that the Pe-2s had insufficient range and that it was difficult to organize the cooperation of the bombers on the different fronts, he concluded that the Tu-2 was necessary. Novikov’s report and the report on the results of the Tu-2’s service trials were late. An order stopping the production of the Tu-2 at the Omsk factory and replacing it with the Yak-9 fighter had been issued on 10/7/42. Tupolev went to Moscow to argue his case for continuation of the production of the Tu-2. When Tu-2 production was interrupted, the reports reached the Central Committee Secretariat and Stalin in person. The aircraft had been highly praised and A. Shakhurin, the Aircraft Industry People’s Commissar was called before Stalin and told that the Tu-2 was to go back into production. On 6/17/43 the decision was taken to continue production at Plant 23 in Moscow, that had just started building Ilyushin Il-4s.
In spite of the interruption of in production, Tupolev continued development work on the Tu-2. The most comprehensive changes included the air brake grids and automatic dive recovery control system were removed, the tailplane was made non-adjustable the nose machineguns were removed, the control system was simplified and the fuel system was considerably simplified. In addition, the plane was given the 1,850-hp M-82FN engines that resulted in a maximum speed of 328 mph at sea level and 352 mph at 18,000 feet. On the basis of the test results, on 7/20/43, this version of the Tu-2 was placed in production. On 8/26/43, the first fully modified Tu-2 flew for the first time and the state and manufacturer’s trials began shortly thereafter. These suffered protracted delay due to the leading engineer, but the test reports showed the Tu-2 had better performance than other types then serving with the VVS. The service ceiling and range (31,200 feet and 1,304 miles) were even better than specified but directional stability was still inadequate. In addition, the pilot’s and navigator’s views were poor. The M-82FN engines were also proving to be unreliable and there were problems with the propellers owing to the danger of overspeeding.
By the end of the state trials in 12/43, deliveries had begun. 16 aircraft were ready at the end of the year, and the first unit to receive them was the 47th Reconnaissance Regiment. By the beginning of 6/44, the Tu-2s were in service in large numbers and had fully equipped the 334th Bomber Air Division. On 6/17/44, the Tu-2s proved themselves in a bombing mission against the Vyborg railway terminal, delivering a particularly strong blow. After that operation the division was awarded the title of Leningradskaya.
When at the beginning of 6/44 it was decided to conduct service trials of the Tu-2, the 334th Red Banner Bomber Air Division had 87 Tu-2s, of which 74 were airworthy. The Tu-2s were used for level bombing in daytime, loaded with FAB-500 and 1000 bombs and RAB-3 bomb cassettes (which the Pe-2s could not carry), in addition to their normal load in the bomb bay and external hard points. Because the supply of bombs was irregular, the average bomb load during the first 2 months was 2,645 lbs. Not until 9/44 did it increase to 2,976 lbs. Assessing the Tu-2 from the results of the service trials, the commander of the 132nd Bomber Air Regiment wrote that it was an excellent and modern twin-engine bomber and praised its easy handling, ability to fly on one engine, high-speed, range and capability of carrying large bomb loads.
Intensive efforts were made to increase Tu-2 production, but the Moscow plant was at capacity. Consequently, in 1944 little more than 30 aircraft per day were being built. By the beginning of 1945, in addition to the 334th Bomber Air Division of the 3rd Air Army of the Baltic Front, which was equipped with 112 Tu-2s, the 336th Bomber Air Division of the 4th Air Army of the Belorussian Front had 94 Tu-2s. These units and the 47th Long-Range Reconnaissance Air Regiments were the main users operating the Tu-2. A total of 278 Tu-2s, 264 of them air worthy, comprised about 9% of the whole bomber fleet of the VVS. The low percentage was due to the fact that the Tu-2 could not replace the Pe-2 in the dive-bomber role. A total of 2,527 Tu-2s were built.
Sources:
Bill Gunston, The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft, Osprey, 2000.
Chris Bishop (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, Barnes & Noble, 1998.
Enzo Angelucci, Paolo Matricardi & Pierluigi Pinto, World War II Combat Aircraft, Whitestar Publishers, 2000.
Yefim Gordon & Dmitri Khazanov, Soviet Combat Aircraft of the Second World War: V. 2: Twin-Engine Fighters, Attack Aircraft and Bombers, Midland Publishing, 1999."
