1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. ANT-4 in Ulyanovsk Aircraft Museum: Andrey Mossejev ( user:amoses )· CC BY 3.0
what is it?
The Tupolev TB-1 (development name ANT-4) was a Soviet bomber aircraft, an angular monoplane that served as the backbone of the Soviet bomber force for many years, and was the first large all-metal aircraft built in the Soviet Union.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 28.7 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 101 years ago, in 1925.
- Wingspan of 28.7 m: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
- Range of 1,000 km: 6× Amsterdam to Brussels.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1925
- introduced
- 1929
- retired
- 1945
- status
- retired
- number built
- 218
- role
- heavy bomber
- origin
- 🇷🇺 Soviet Union
- makers
- Tupolev, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, Taganrog aviation
- engines
- 2× Mikulin M-17
- crew
- 6
- length
- 18 m
- wingspan
- 28.7 m
- height
- 5.1 m
- max take-off weight
- 6,810 kg
- top speed
- 178 km/h
- cruise speed
- 156 km/h
- range
- 1,000 km
- ceiling
- 4,830 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q251785, Wikipedia: Tupolev TB-1 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.