Would be handy if each country could have a 4 engined bomber. I recently stumbled over what would be an interesting bomber to add (with that
huge 5 ton bomb - perhaps a perk bomber?):
ANT-42 (TB-7, Pe-8) - a heavy bomber with four piston engines.
"Petlyakov Pe-8/TB-7
Country of origin: Soviet Union. Type. 9-11 crew long range heavy bomber.
Powerplants. Alternatively four 1350hp (1007kM Mikulin AM-35A V12s, four 1475hp (11OOkW) Charomski M-30B V12 diesels or four 1700hp (1268kW) Shvetsov ASh-82FN 14-cylinder radials; three bladed propellers.
Dimensions: Wing span 131ft 01/2in (39.94m); length 73ft 8 3 Ain (22.47m); height 20ft Oin (6.09m).
Weights. Empty 40,6091b (18,420kg); max loaded 63,052-79,3661b (28,600-36,000kg).
Armament: Typically one 20mm cannon in dorsal and tail turrets; two 7.62mm machine guns in nose turret; one 12.7mm machine gun in each inner rear nacelle; max bomb load 88181b (4000kg).
Performance: AM-35A engines - max speed 276mph (444km/h)service ceiling 22,965ft (7000m); range with max load 2320 mile~ (3735km). M-30B engines - max speed 272mph (438km/h); range with max load 3000 miles (4828km). ASh-82 engines - max speed 28Omph (450km/h); service ceiling 29,035ft (8850m); range with max load 2920 miles (4700km).
Operator. Soviet Union.
Production: 2 prototypes and 79 production Pe-8, total 81.
Histofy., Considering the Soviet Union's rich heritage of heavy bomber designs in the 1920s and '30s, it is perhaps surprising that the Pe-8 was the only aircraft of its type to see Soviet service during WW2 and then only in small numbers.
Developed as the ANT-42 by the Tupolev design bureau (with Vladmir Petlyakov in charge of the design team), the aircraft was intended to have the four wing mounted engines boosted by a fuselage mounted central supercharger driven by a fifth engine. The prototype (with 11 00hp/820kW Mikulin M-1 05s) first flew without this feature on 27 December 1936. It was subsequently fitted and the second prototype followed in July 1938, also with the 'fifth' engine.
After testing, production was approved in 1939 but without the central supercharger and under the designation TB-7. This was subsequently changed to Pe-8 under the new Soviet designation system introduced in 1940.
Deliveries began in May 1940 and production aircraft were powered by three different types of engine: the AM-35 V1 2 initially (with which performance was regarded as disappointing); the M-30B diesel (which conferred increased range); and finally the ASh-82 radial after failures resulted in discontinuation of the diesel programme. About 48 aircraft were re-engined with the ASh-82, mainly after production of the Pe-8 had ended in October 1941.
In service, the Pe-8 supplemented the twin engined llyushin 11-4 and was used extensively for close support bombing and from 1943 against special targets carrying a 11,0231b (5000kg) weapon over short ranges. Long range missions were flown into Hungary, Romania and Germany, the first of these a raid on Berlin in August 1941. A Pe-8 was used to take Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov to Britain and the USA in 1942 and a few remained in service into the 1950s."
learn something everyday.
