Tupolev ANT-25

The Tupolev ANT-25 was a Soviet long-range experimental aircraft, first constructed in 1933 and used for a series of record-breaking flights. Kliment Voroshilov recommended building an aircraft for long-range flights in December 1931, and a brigade of the TsAGI experimental design department led by Pavel Sukhoi designed it under the overall supervision of Andrei Tupolev. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 22 June 1933 with Mikhail Gromov at the controls, powered by a single Mikulin M-34 engine. Very long, narrow wings gave it exceptional range and held fuel equal to more than half its takeoff weight. In July 1936 Valery Chkalov, Georgy Baydukov and Alexander Belyakov flew one from Moscow to the Far East in 56 hours 20 minutes, and in June 1937 the same crew flew non-stop from Moscow over the North Pole to the United States in 63 hours 25 minutes. Three weeks later Gromov's crew flew a second aircraft to San Jacinto, California. Only two were built, and the military development, the DB-1, was an unsuccessful bomber.