The Tupolev ANT-10 (also known as the R-7) was a prototype single-engined light bomber/reconnaissance aircraft of the 1930s. Only a single example was built, the Polikarpov R-5 being preferred.
| ANT-10 / R-7 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Reconnaissance/Light bomber Type of aircraft |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Manufacturer | Tupolev |
| First flight | 30 January 1930 |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed from | Tupolev R-3 |
In 1928, the design bureau led by Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov produced the R-5 to replace the R-1, an unlicensed copy of the Airco DH.9A, which was the Soviet Union's standard light reconnaissance aircraft/bomber. As a response, the design bureau led by Andrei Tupolev produced a rival replacement for the R-1, based on Tupolev's earlier Tupolev R-3. Like the R-3, the new design, the ANT-10 was a single-engined sesquiplane with a duralumin structure, but with a much larger upper wing (based on that of the I-4 fighter). Like the R-5, it was powered by an imported BMW VI engine. It could carry 500 kg (1,100 lb) of bombs in an internal bomb-bay.[1]
The ANT-10 (which received the Soviet Air Force designation R-7) made its first flight on 30 January 1930,[2] but its performance was little better than the R-5, while the R-5's wooden structure was advantageous at a time of metal shortages. The type was therefore abandoned later in the year in favour of the R-5.[2]
Data from Tupolev: The Man and His Aircraft[3]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Tupolev aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Civilian | |
| Military | |
| Unmanned | |
| Experimental | |
| Proposed, cancelled |
|
| Early period |
|
Soviet scout aircraft designations, 1923–1940 | |
|---|---|
| Scout (R) | |
| Shipboard scout (KR) | |
| Cruiser scout (KR) |
|
| Shipboard catapult-scout (KOR) | |
| Scout seaplane (MR) | |
| Short-range scout seaplane (MBR) | |
| Long-range scout seaplane (MDR) | |
| Open-sea scout seaplane (ROM) | |
1 Not assigned | |