Tupolev ANT-23 I-12 ANT-23bis

Tupolev I-12

The experimental Tupolev ANT-23 was designed around two large-caliber recoilless guns, integrated into tandem tailbooms. The aircraft was fitted with two radial engines in a push-pull configuration, and received the official designation of I-12. Even with twin engines, the aircraft was underpowered, as the rear engine was inefficient, and the design suffered from higher-than-expected drag, due in part to the externally reinforced wings and tail. The rear-mounted propellor also presented difficulties should in-flight pilot egress be necessitated. During an inflight gun test, a round exploded in the port gun, causing damage to the tailboom on landing. An improved prototype, the ANT-23bis, with jettisonable rear propellor, was under construction when the program was cancelled.

Tupolev I-12

Timeline

• December 1931: First flight of ANT-23.
• 19 May 1932: Prototype damaged during inflight armament test.
• 1933: Cancelled.

Specifications	I-12
Designer(s)	Viktor Nikolayevich Chernyshyov
Mission Type	Experimental fighter prototype
Powerplant	2 x 525 hp GR9AK (license-built Gnome-Rhône 9AK) 9 cyl. radials
Dimensions
Span	51 ft 5 in (15.67 m)
Length	31 ft 2.75 in (9.52 m)
Height	?
Wing area	322.93 - 355.00 sq ft (30.00 - 33.00 m2)
Weights
Empty	4,008 lb (1,818 kg)
Loaded	5,302 lb (2,405 kg)
Max	?
Performance
Max speed	186 mph @ sl (300 km/hr) 174 - 198 mph @ 16,405 ft (280 - 318 km/hr @ 5,000 m)
Cruise speed	--
Time to 16,405 ft (5,000 m)	7.7 min
Service ceiling	30,580 ft (9,320 m)
Range	252 miles (405 km)
Armament	2 x 76 mm Kurchevski APK-4 recoilless guns in tailbooms
Crew	One
User	USSR (not operational)
Number built	One ANT-23, plus one partially built ANT-23bis
Construction Numbers	?
Serial Numbers	?
Test Pilots	I. F. Kozlov
Unofficial Nickname	Baumanskii Komsomolyets

Tupolev I-12

Web Links

• 1000aircraftphotos.com
  • BERNHARD C.F. KLEIN COLLECTION No. 6040. Tupolev ANT-23
• Emmanuel Gustin's Home Page
  • Military Aircraft of Russia, the USSR and CIS nations
• Russian Aviation Museum
  • ANT-23/I-12 'Baumanskij Komsomolets'
• Unicraft Models
  • Tupolev ANT-23 / I-12
• WWW.AVIATION.RU
  • Tupolev
• Virtual Aircraft Museum
  • Tupolev ANT-23 (I-12) 1931

Sources

1. Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters: An illustrated encyclopedia of every fighter aircraft built and flown. Salamander Books, London, 1994.
2. Gunston, Bill. The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft: 1875-1995. Osprey, Bath, 1996. ISBN 1-85532-405-9.

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