Polikarpov NB
title: "Polikarpov NB" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["polikarpov-aircraft", "1940s-soviet-bomber-aircraft", "abandoned-military-aircraft-projects-of-the-soviet-union", "high-wing-aircraft", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1944", "twin-piston-engined-tractor-aircraft"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polikarpov_NB" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Polikarpov NB |
| image | PolikarpovNB.jpg |
| aircraft_type | Medium bomber |
| national_origin | Soviet Union |
| manufacturer | Polikarpov |
| status | Cancelled |
| number_built | 1 |
| first_flight | 23 May 1944 |
| :: |
| name = Polikarpov NB | logo = | logo_size = | image = PolikarpovNB.jpg | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = Medium bomber | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = Soviet Union | manufacturer = Polikarpov | design_group = | designer = | builder = | issuer = | status = Cancelled | owners = | primary_user = | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 1 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = | retired = | first_flight = 23 May 1944 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = The Polikarpov NB (Nochnoi Bombardirovshchik—Night Bomber) was a Soviet twin-engined bomber designed during World War II. Only a single prototype had been built before the program was terminated upon the death of Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov, the head of the aircraft's design bureau, in 1944.
Development
The origins of the NB program are obscure, but design work began during the winter of 1941–42 with the OKB designation of aircraft T. The NB was a high-winged, twin-engined, twin tail monoplane of mixed construction. The fuselage was built of 'shpon', molded birch plywood, 4 - thick and was reinforced with a welded steel tube framework and a network of bracing wires in the midsection around the aperture for the wing and the capacious bomb bay. The single-spar wing was built from a mix of steel and duralumin. The center section had a duralumin skin, but the outer panels were skinned in 'shpon'. The duralumin slotted flaps were electrically powered and ran the length of the wing center section, divided by the engine nacelles. Automatic leading edge slats were mounted on the outer panels. All control surfaces were built from wood and covered in fabric. The tailplane had 7° dihedral with twin fins. It had a duralumin structure and was covered in 'shpon'. The main gears of the conventional undercarriage retracted aft into the rear of the engine nacelles and the tail wheel retracted into the rear fuselage. Six protected fuel tanks were in the wing center section, plus four more in the outer wings. They had a total capacity of 2760 kg (including oil). Two 1379 kW air-cooled Shvetsov ASh-82 radial engines were slung underneath the wings. Alternative engines considered were the Mikulin AM-39 V-12 and the Shvetsov M-71 radial, but development problems with both engines dropped them from consideration.
The bombardier was given an extensively glazed position in the nose which also had a fixed 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine gun for which the pilot had a reflector sight. The dorsal gunner had a UBT machine gun in a turret while the ventral gunner fired another UB through a hatch. The bomb bay could carry up to 2000 kg internally and an additional 3000 kg of bombs could be carried underneath the wings.
The NB made its first flight on 23 May 1944 and completed its manufacturer's flight tests in August. Its performance promised to be outstanding, but Polikarpov's death a month earlier caused his design bureau to be shut down and all his projects were terminated.
Specifications
|ref=Gunston, The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995 |prime units?=met General characteristics
|crew=5 |capacity= |length m=15.29 |length ft= |length in= |length note= |span m=21.52 |span ft= |span in= |span note= |height m= |height ft= |height in= |height note= |wing area sqm=58.1 |wing area sqft= |wing area note= |airfoil=NACA-230 |empty weight kg=8843 |empty weight lb= |empty weight note= |gross weight kg=13800 |gross weight lb= |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity=2760 kg (including oil) |more general= Powerplant
|eng1 number=2 |eng1 name=Shvetsov ASh-82FNV |eng1 type=14-cylinder radial engines |eng1 kw=1379 |eng1 hp= |eng1 note= |prop blade number=3 |prop name= |prop dia m= |prop dia ft= |prop dia in= |prop note=
Performance
|max speed kmh=510 |max speed mph= |max speed kts= |max speed note=at 5,000 m (16,400 m) |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph= |cruise speed kts= |cruise speed note= |range km=3030 |range miles= |range nmi= |range note=with 3000 kg of bombs |ceiling m=6150 |ceiling ft= |ceiling note= |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin= |climb rate note= |time to altitude=12 minutes to 5000 m |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note= |disk loading kg/m2= |disk loading lb/sqft= |disk loading note= |power/mass= |thrust/weight= |more performance= Armament
|guns=3x 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine guns |bombs=up to 5000 kg |avionics=
|see also= |related= |similar aircraft= |lists=
References
;Notes ;Bibliography
- Gordon, Yefim. Soviet Airpower in World War 2. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing, 2008. .
- Gunston, Bill. The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995. London: Osprey, 1995. .
References
- Gunston, p. 311
- Gunston, pp. 311–12
- Gordon, p. 283
- Gunston, p. 312
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