Tupolev Tu-1

The Tupolev Tu-1 was a prototype Soviet night fighter developed from the Tu-2 medium bomber and first flown after the end of the Second World War. Impressed by the de Havilland Mosquito, the Soviets had asked Tupolev to rework a Tu-2 as a fast day bomber with a smaller crew, the ANT-63. In February 1946 the second prototype was ordered converted into a three-seat long-range interceptor able to carry an airborne radar, with the internal designation ANT-63P and the official name Tu-1. It had prototype Mikulin AM-43V engines, two 45 mm and two 23 mm cannon plus defensive machine guns, and still carried a 1,000 kg bomb load. It first flew on 22 March 1947 and was cancelled because its engines were not ready for production.