- Yes.
- No.
- As a techtree aircraft
- As a premium aircraft
- Other (Please explain in the comments).
- I said “No” in the first question.
- 3.3 (Same as the Yer-2 M-105)
- 3.7 (Same as the Yer-2 M-105 TAT, M-105R LU & M-105R TAT)
- Other (Please explain in the comments).
- I said “No” in the first question.
Hello everyone! Today I’m going to suggest the prototype of the iconic Yermolayev Yer-2!
This is the Yermolayev DB-240!
A beautifull photo of the DB-240. On the outside it looks exactly like the Yer-2 M-105
Source: Уголок неба ¦ Ермолаев Ер-2
History
Spoiler
The Bartini Stal-7
Source: Уголок неба ¦ Бартини Сталь-7The story of the Yermolayev DB-240 begins at the end of 1936, when the Hungarian-born Soviet aircraft designer and scientist, Robert Ludvigovich Bartini, designed a new high-speed passenger aircraft. The aircraft he created was the Bartini Stal-7, a twin engine, 12 seat passenger aircraft. Bartini being the man that he was, always choose to go for exclusive and original designs. And so the Stal-7 was a free-carrying low-wing aircraft with an inverted gull wing, and had a triangle fuselage shape with rounded vertices.
The Stal-7 performed very well and flight tests were going great. However in 1938 Bartini was arrested by the NKVD (People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs) on charges of being an “enemy of the people” and a spy for Fascist Italy. He was convicted and receiving a 10-year prison sentence.
The Stal-7 development halted, and the aircraft’s future became uncertain. Quite some time went by before something finally happend again, and it was when Vladimir Yermolaev was appointed as chief designer that something started to happen again. A proposal to turn the Stal-7 into a bomber was made, and work would begin on this right away.
A top down view of the DB-240. Note the retractable dorsal gunner turret
Source: Уголок неба ¦ Ермолаев Ер-2The new aircraft, given the name DB-240, made it’s first flight on the 14th of May 1940. It, just like the Stal-7, had an iconic inverted gull wing. Also the offset pilot cockpit was another iconic feature about the aircraft, this was done to give the pilot a better downward view.
The DB-240 had been designed to use the powerfull but experimental 1.350 hp Klimov M-106 engines. But these were not ready by the time the DB-240 was finished, and so the weaker 1.100 hp Klimov M-105 engines were installed instead.
The DB-240 performed well. There were some areas that needed improving, mainly the weak engines had to be changed, but all in all the aircraft performed more then good enough. And so the DB-240 was ordered into production, now given the name Yer-2. Production would begin in March of 1941.
Another top down view of the DB-240
Source: Уголок неба ¦ Ермолаев Ер-2
Design
Spoiler
Two photos taken of the DB-240 from the side. The top photo has the dorsal TAT-BT turret retracted, and the bottom photo has it extended
Source: Уголок неба ¦ Ермолаев Ер-2The Yermolayev DB-240 was a twin-engine, inverted gull-wing bomber. The aircraft was powered by two Klimov M-105 engines producting 1.100 hp each on takeoff.
The straight line speed at an altitude of 4.250 meters and at a weight of 11.300 kg, was 445km/h. This speed was achieved with the retractable dorsal gunner in it’s retracted position. With the turret extended the drag it created reduced the DB-240’s speed by about 10 km/h.
Speaking of the retractable dorsal gunner, let’s talk weaponry. The main defensive gunner the DB-240 had was a 12,7 mm Berezin UBT machine gun mounted in a retractable dorsal TAT-BT turret. This turret had excellent firing angles, this machine gun could even shoot downwards to the sides of the aircraft.
Onboard were also two 7,62 mm ShKAS machine guns. One was mounted in the nose, on a NU mounting. And another was on a ventral LU-MV-2 mount. This ventral mount could also be retracted inside to decrease drag.For the bombload the DB-240 could mount four 250 or 500 kg bombs inside the internal bomb bay. And two more external racks were also possible, these racks could also mount 250 or 500 kg bombs.
So the total maximum bombload the DB-240 could carry was 3.000 kg.
A front and rear photo of the DB-240
Source: Уголок неба ¦ Ермолаев Ер-2
Ingame
Spoiler
Ever since I started playing War Thunder back in 2013, the Yer-2 has always been a weird favourite of mine. It’s looks and insane bombloads made it such a cool aircraft to me. Also back in those early days the Yer-2 had this godlike reputation of ending games on it’s own by bombing your airfield if you didn’t shoot it down in time.
This is why I want to see more Yer-2 variants ingame, and this DB-240 prototype is just perfect! It might look like just another Yer-2 M-105, but it’s got one subtle changes. The retractable dorsal gunner (if modeled ingame) means that the DB-240 has a higher top speed with the turret retracted. And another big thing is that the DB-240 doesn’t get the 1.000 kg external bombs, so it’s got a slightly reduced bombload.
I think the DB-240 would be a nice event plane to have ingame. It would sit at the same 3.7 BR as the other Yer-2 M-105’s, but it offers slightly better speed at the cost of bombload. Actually maybe the BR for the DB-240 can be 3.3, just like the Yer-2 M-105 Early (Ingame this one is called just Yer-2 M-105), due to this slight bomb load reduction.
But let me know what you think in the poll above!
Specifications
Spoiler
A simple blueprint of the DB-240
Source: Уголок неба ¦ Ермолаев Ер-2Crew: 4 (Pilot, Navigator/Bombardier, 2 x Gunners)
Length: 16,23 m
Wingspan: 21,65 m
Height: 4,82 m
Empty weight: 7.076 kg
Standard weight: 11.300 kg
Max weight: 13.500 kg
Powerplant: 2 x Klimov M-105 engines with three-bladed ViSh-22T propellors
Performance of the Klimov M-105:
– Takeoff power: 1.100 hp
– Power at 4.000 m: 1.050 hp
Maximum straight line speed: 445 km/h at 4.250 meters and 11.300 kg weight
Armament
Guns:
1 × 7,62 mm ShKAS machine gun in a NU nose mount
1 × 12,7 mm Berezin UBT machine gun in a retractable TAT-BT dorsal turret
1 × 7,62 mm ShKAS machine gun in a LU-MV-2 ventral mountBombs: (3.000 kg max)
Internal bombbay: 4 x 250 kg / 500 kg
External racks: 2 x 250 kg / 500 kg
Another simple blueprint of the DB-240, now with it’s dorsal turret in it’s retracted position
Source: “Дальний бомбардировщик Ер-2. «Самолет несбывшихся надежд»” book by Dmitry Khazanov and Alexander Medved
A top and bottom view of the DB-240
Source: “Дальний бомбардировщик Ер-2. «Самолет несбывшихся надежд»” book by Dmitry Khazanov and Alexander Medved
A top view of the DB-240
Source: Уголок неба ¦ Ермолаев Ер-2
So there you have it! Please make sure to vote in the poll above, and let me know what you think of this little fighter aircraft!
Sources
Spoiler
Russian sources:
- “Дальний бомбардировщик Ер-2. «Самолет несбывшихся надежд»” (Long-range bomber Yer-2. “Airplane of unfulfilled hopes”) book by Dmitry Khazanov and Alexander Medved
- Уголок неба ¦ Ермолаев Ер-2
- Дальний бомбардировщик Ер-2 (ДБ-240). - Российская авиация
English sources: