Editing Sukhoi Su-2

{{Short description|Soviet bomber-reconnaissance aircraft}}
{{Redirect|Su-2|other uses|SU2 (disambiguation){{!}}SU2}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{{Infobox aircraft
| name = Su-2
| image = File:Volgograd_Panorama_Museum_Sukhoi_Su-2_2023-07-16_6664.jpg
| caption = Sukhoi Su-2 on Volgograd Panorama Museum, Volgograd
| type = [[Light bomber|Short-range bomber]]
| national_origin = Soviet Union
| manufacturer = [[Sukhoi]]
| designer = [[Pavel Sukhoi]]<br/>[[Andrei Tupolev]]
| first_flight = 25 August 1937
| introduction = December 1939
| retired = 1944
| status = 
| primary_user = [[Soviet Air Forces]]
| more_users = 
| produced = 
| number_built = 910
| unit cost = 
| developed_from = 
| variants = 
| developed_into = 
}}

The '''Sukhoi Su-2''' ({{langx|ru|Сухой Су-2}}) is a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[reconnaissance aircraft|reconnaissance]] and [[light bomber]] aircraft used in the early stages of [[World War II]]. It was the first airplane designed by [[Pavel Sukhoi]]. The basic design received an engine and armament upgrade ('''Su-4''') and was modified for the ground-attack role ('''ShB''').

==Development==
In 1936, [[Joseph Stalin]] released a requirement for a multipurpose combat aircraft. Codenamed '''Ivanov''', the airplane had to be capable of performing reconnaissance and then attacking the targets it located.<ref name="Shavrov">{{cite book |author=Shavrov V.B.|year=1994 |title=Istoriia konstruktskii samoletov v SSSR, 1938–1950 |publisher=Mashinostroenie |isbn=5-217-00477-0 |edition=3 izd.}}</ref> P. O. Sukhoi was working in the [[Tupolev]] [[OKB]] at the time and designed the "Ivanov" aircraft under the tutelage of [[Andrei Tupolev]]. The resulting '''ANT-51''' flew on 25 August 1937 with [[Mikhail Gromov (aviator)|M. M. Gromov]] at the controls. Powered by a 610&nbsp;kW (820&nbsp;hp) [[Shvetsov M-62]] air-cooled [[radial engine]], the  ANT-51 reached 403&nbsp;km/h (220&nbsp;kn, 250&nbsp;mph) at 4,700&nbsp;m (15,420&nbsp;ft).<ref name="Shavrov"/> This was considered insufficient but since the basic design was sound, it was decided to re-test it with a more powerful engine. Equipped with a 746&nbsp;kW (1,000&nbsp;hp) [[Tumansky M-87]] engine, the ANT-51 reached 468&nbsp;km/h (255&nbsp;kn, 290&nbsp;mph) at 5,600&nbsp;m (18,370&nbsp;ft) and was accepted into production as '''BB-1''' (''Blizhniy Bombardirovschik''; {{langx|ru|Ближний Бомбардировщик}} — "short-range bomber").<ref name="Shavrov"/> In 1940, the aircraft was renamed '''Su-2''' and the unreliable M-87 engine was replaced with a [[Tumansky M-88]].<ref name="Shavrov"/> This lightened version with an M-88B engine reached 512&nbsp;km/h (275&nbsp;kn, 320&nbsp;mph) in testing.

The Su-2 was of mixed construction. The fuselage was semi-[[monocoque]] with wood spars and a [[plywood]] skin. The wings were of [[duralumin]] and [[steel]] construction with fabric-covered rod-actuated control surfaces. The pilot and gunner were protected with 9&nbsp;mm (0.35&nbsp;in) of armor. The taildragger landing gear was retractable, including the tailwheel.<ref name="Shavrov"/>

==Operational history==

[[File:Meylus_I.I._5.jpg|thumb|right|Su-2 flight crew and ground personnel]]

Although 910 Su-2s were built by the time production was discontinued in 1942,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060428092123/http://www.sukhoi.org/eng/planes/museum/su2/] Sukhoi Museum</ref> the aircraft was obsolete and underarmed by the start of the [[Great Patriotic War]]. In combat, the Su-2 ground attack aircraft squadrons suffered heavy losses against the Germans, with some 222 aircraft destroyed. From 1942, the Su-2 was withdrawn from the frontline and replaced by [[Ilyushin Il-2]], [[Petlyakov Pe-2]] and [[Tupolev Tu-2]] bombers. The Su-2 was relegated to a training and reconnaissance role. However, due to a critical shortage of aircraft in early [[World War II]], some Su-2s were used as [[emergency fighter]]s.<ref name="Shavrov"/>

===Loss rate comparison===
Although the Su-2 has been criticized due to the number of losses it suffered, its loss rate compares favorably with other attack aircraft used by the Soviet Airforce in World War II.

{| class="wikitable"
!Type
!Average number of missions flown before loss
|-
|Su-2
|80
|-
|[[Petlyakov Pe-2|Pe-2]]
|54
|-
|[[Ilyushin Il-2#Rear gunner|Il-2]] (two seat)
|26
|-
|[[Douglas A-20 Havoc|A-20]]
|19
|-
|[[Ilyushin Il-2|Il-2]] (single seat)
|13
|}<ref>{{Cite book|title=Soviet combat aircraft of the Second World War|last=Gordon|first=Yefim|others=Khazanov, Dmitriĭ|date=1998–1999|publisher=Midland|page=77|isbn=1857800842|location=Leicester|oclc=40494691}}</ref>

== Variants ==

'''Su-2'''
:Two-seat light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. Original designation '''BB-1'''.

'''ShB''' ({{langx|ru|ШБ — Штурмовик Бомбардировщик; "Attack aircraft-bomber"}})
:A proposed ground-attack version with an M-88A engine, modified landing gear which rotated 90° before retracting to the rear into the wings (like the American [[Curtiss P-40]]). Bombload was increased to 600&nbsp;kg (1,235&nbsp;lb). Created in 1940, the aircraft did not enter production due to availability of the [[Ilyushin Il-2]].<ref name="Shavrov"/>

'''Su-4''' 
:An upgraded version, originally intended for the [[Urmin M-90]] engine with 1,565&nbsp;kW (2,100&nbsp;hp), but later fitted with a [[Shvetsov M-82]] (some Su-2s were also fitted with M-82). Due to a shortage of [[duralumin]], the structural elements of the wings were made of wood with plywood skin. Wing armament was changed from four 7.62&nbsp;mm [[ShKAS machine gun]]s to two 12.7&nbsp;mm [[Berezin UB]] machine guns.<ref name="Shavrov"/> One prototype was built and tested, but this improved version was not placed into production.

==Operators==
;{{USSR}}
*[[Soviet Air Force]]

==Specifications (Su-4)==
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Istoriia konstruktskii samoletov v SSSR, 1938–1950<ref name="Shavrov"/>
|prime units?=met
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=2
|length m=10.46
|span m=14.3
|width m=
|height m=3.75
|wing area sqm=29
|aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=3220
|gross weight kg=4700
|max takeoff weight kg=
|fuel capacity= {{cvt|1240|L|USgal impgal}}
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=[[Shvetsov M-82]]
|eng1 type=14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial piston engine
|eng1 hp=1400

|prop blade number=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop name=
|prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia ft=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia in=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia note=
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed kmh=485
|max speed note=at altitude
|cruise speed kmh=
|stall speed kmh=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|minimum control speed kmh=
|range km=1100
|combat range km=
|ferry range km=
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling m=8400
|g limits=<!-- aerobatic -->
|roll rate=<!-- aerobatic -->
|climb rate ms=
|time to altitude={{cvt|5000|m}} in 9 minutes 48 seconds
|wing loading kg/m2=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|power/mass=
|thrust/weight=

|more performance=
<!--
        Armament
-->
|armament=
*6 × [[7.62×54mmR|{{cvt|7.62|mm|3}}]] [[ShKAS machine gun]]s (4 in the wings, 1 in rear turret, 1 in the hatch in the floor)
*10 × [[RS-82 rocket]]s
*8 × [[RS-82 rocket]]s
*Up to {{cvt|600|kg}} of bombs in the internal bomb bay and underwing hardpoints
}}

==See also==
{{aircontent|
|related= * [[Sukhoi Su-6]]
|similar aircraft=
* [[Douglas SBD Dauntless]]
* [[Fairey Battle]]
* [[Ilyushin Il-2]]
* [[Junkers Ju 87|Junkers Ju 87D]]
* [[Kawasaki Ki-32]]
* [[Mitsubishi Ki-51]]
|lists=
*[[List of aircraft of World War II]]
*[[List of military aircraft of the Soviet Union and the CIS]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{external media
| float  = right
| width  = 300px
| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSVal3csjxo Союзкиножурнал, выпуск № 100 от 14 октября 1941 год]
}}

{{Commons category|Sukhoi Su-2}}
*[http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/b/676 Su-2 from WINGS PALETTE] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021232446/http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/b/676 |date=2018-10-21 }}
*[http://www.aviapress.com/viewonekit.htm?OTH-053 Su-2 from Avia press] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021232448/http://www.aviapress.com/viewonekit.htm?OTH-053 |date=2018-10-21 }}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.sukhoi.org/eng/planes/museum/su2/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060428092123/http://www.sukhoi.org/eng/planes/museum/su2/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2006-04-28|title=Sukhoi Su-2|work=Sukhoi Company Museum|access-date=2011-07-12}}

{{Sukhoi aircraft}}
{{WWIIUSSRAF}}
{{Soviet bomber-attack designations}}

[[Category:Sukhoi aircraft|Su-02]]
[[Category:Single-engined piston aircraft]]
[[Category:1940s Soviet bomber aircraft]]
[[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:Low-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1937]]
[[Category:Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear]]