Showing posts with label Paratroopers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paratroopers. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Several years ago I saw the short video clip of the paratroopers sliding off of the wings and all the comments said it was fake. After some research, I found out the video is real and dropping paratroopers off of the Tupelov's wings was used extensively during WWII.

The Tupolev TB-3, Heavy Bomber, (civilian designation ANT-6) was a monoplane heavy bomber deployed by the Soviet Air Force in the 1930s and used during the early years of World War II. It was the world's first cantilever wing four-engine heavy bomber. Despite obsolescence and being officially withdrawn from service in 1939, the TB-3 performed bomber and transport duties throughout much of World War II.
The TB-3 served extensively as a cargo and paratroop transport, carrying up to 35 soldiers in the latter role. In the first five months of the war, the aircraft transported 6,166,000 lb. of cargo and 2,300 personnel.
The TB-3 was also used in several special projects as a fighter mothership in the Zveno project. Zveno, Russian for a military unit "Flight”), was a parasite aircraft developed in the Soviet Union during the 1930s. It consisted of a Tupolev TB-1 or a Tupolev TB-3 heavy bomber mothership and two to five fighters. Depending on the variant, the fighters either launched with the mothership or docked in flight, and they could refuel from the bomber. Zveno operations ended in the autumn of 1942 due to the vulnerability of the motherships.
The TU-3 was also used for delivering light T-27, T-37, and T-38 tanks.

#1: Tupelov TB-3
#2: T-37A Light Tank Transport
#3: Zveno SPB Mode With 2 Polikarpov I-16 Fighter W/ FAB 250 Bombs
#4: Paratroopers sliding off of the wings.

 

 

 





 

 

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