Sukhoi Su-8

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Su-8 (DDBSh)
Type Ground attack aircraft
Manufacturer Sukhoi
Designed by Pavel Sukhoi
Maiden flight 1944
Status Prototype only
Number built 2

Sukhoi Su-8 or DDBSh (Russian: Су-8 ДДБШ - Двухмоторный Двухместный Бронированный Штурмовик - Twin-engine two-seat armored ground attack aircraft) was a Soviet prototype heavy attack aircraft of the Great Patriotic War.

Contents

[edit] Development

While Sukhoi was perfecting the light Sukhoi Su-6 attack aircraft, the OKB also developed the massive, heavily armed and armored Su-8. Two prototypes were completed in 1943 and underwent factory testing in 1944, but did not advance to government trials or production due to the unavailability of M-71 engines.[1] An attempt to re-engine the aircraft with Mikulin AM-42 engines did not see further development.

The Su-8 was of mixed construction. The cockpit area was armored, with an aluminum mid-fuselage and a wooden monocoque tail. The wings were of steel and aluminum construction with plywood outer sections. The twin rudders were of all-metal construction. In addition to the cockpit, the engines, the fuel tanks, and the oil coolers were fully armored, with a total armor weight of 1680 kg (3,705 lb), more than twice as heavy as the armor shell on an Ilyushin Il-2.[1]

[edit] Specifications (Su-8)

Data from [1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 13.5 m (ft in)
  • Wingspan: 20.5 m (ft in)
  • Height: ()
  • Wing area: 60 m² (646 ft²)
  • Empty weight: 9180 kg (20,240 lb)
  • Loaded weight: 12425 kg (27,390 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 13380 kg (29,500 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2× Shvetsov M-71F radial engines, 1640 kW (2,200 hp) each

Performance

Armament

  • 4x 37 mm (1.46 in) Nudelman N-37 or 4x 45 mm (1.78 in) Nudelman N-45 cannon under the fuselage
  • 8x 7.62 mm (0.30 in) ShKAS machine guns (four in each wing)
  • 1x 12.7 mm (0.50 in) UBT machine gun in upper turret
  • 1x 7.62 mm ShKAS in lower turret
  • Total ammunition weight 232 kg (510 lb)
  • Up to 1400 kg (3,085 lb) of bombs

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Shavrov 1994
  • Shavrov V.B. (1994). Istoriia konstruktskii samoletov v SSSR, 1938-1950 gg. (3 izd.). Mashinostroenie. ISBN 5217004770. 

[edit] See also