Beriev MBR-2

Beriev MBR-2
Aeroflot MP-1 at Yalta, circa 1938.
General information
TypePatrol aircraft
ManufacturerBeriev OKB
Designer
StatusOut of production; retired
Primary userSoviet Navy
Number built1,365
History
Manufactured1934-1941
Introduction date
1935
First flight1931

The Beriev MBR-2 was a Soviet multi-purpose (including reconnaissance) flying boat which entered service with the Soviet Navy in 1935. Out of 1,365 built, nine were used by foreign countries (including Finland and North Korea). In the Soviet Union, it sometimes carried the nickname of "Kорова" (cow) and "Амбар" (barn).

Design

MBR-2 of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet at anchor in Kola Bay, 1942
A Beriev MBR-2AM-34 leaves on a combat mission near Sevastopol, May 1942

The MBR-2 was designed by Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev and first flew in 1931, powered by an imported 373 kW (500 hp) BMW VI.Z engine. Production models, which arrived in 1934, used a licence-built version of this engine, the Mikulin M-17 of 508 kW (680 hp), and could be fitted with a fixed wheel or ski undercarriage.

Beriev also designed a commercial airliner derivation, the MP-1, which entered airline service in 1934, and a freighter version, which followed in 1936.

In 1935, an improved version was developed, the MBR-2bis, powered by the Mikulin AM-34N engine, and fitted with an enclosed cockpit, dorsal gun-turret and enlarged vertical tail. In this configuration, the machine remained in production until 1941. As with the MBR-2, the bis spawned a commercial derivative and the MP-1bis entered service in 1937.

Variants

Operators

 Finland
 Soviet Union
North Korea

Specifications (MBR-2 AM-34)

Data from L'hydroaviation MBR-2, pillier de la reconnaissance naval soviétique

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

  • 300 kg (660 lb) of bombs, mines, and depth charges carried underwing

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

  1. ↑ MBR stands for its Russian role - Morskoi Blizhniy Razvedchik (Cyrillic: Морской Ближний Разведчик) "Naval Short Range Reconnaissance".
  2. ↑ Bogatko, Sergei. Recce's of tradeways
  3. ↑ Kulikov Avions September 1998, p. 28
  4. 1 2 Green 1968, p. 140
  5. ↑ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.

Bibliography