Tupolev '73'

The Tupolev '73' (samolyot 73) was a Soviet trijet medium bomber of the late 1940s that lost out to the Ilyushin Il-28. The Tupolev OKB continued to develop the Tu-2 line when gas turbines arrived, redesigning the Tu-8 with Rolls-Royce Nene I turbojets as the '72'. The '73' followed the same arrangement, with a shoulder-mounted wing, a large unswept fin, a tricycle undercarriage and engines in long underslung nacelles. Because the Nene engines gave less thrust than expected, a Rolls-Royce Derwent V booster engine was added in the rear fuselage. The '73' first flew on 29 December 1947 and flew test flights until 31 May 1949. The air force disliked fielding aircraft with two engine types, and the Council of Ministers cancelled all further development on 14 May 1949, though the '81T' torpedo bomber developed from it entered service as the Tu-14T.