Tupolev I-12

The Tupolev I‑12 was a Soviet experimental fighter prototype developed in the early 1930s by the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) under the direction of Andrei Tupolev. Conceived as a response to the Soviet Air Forces’ demand for a high‑speed, heavily armed interceptor, the I‑12 featured an unconventional twin‑engine layout with one engine mounted in the nose and a second driving a pusher propeller at the rear of the fuselage. The airframe employed all‑metal stressed‑skin construction, a low‑wing monoplane configuration, and retractable landing gear—technologies that were still novel for the USSR at the time. Armament consisted of two 20 mm ShVAK cannon synchronized to fire through the propeller arc and additional wing‑mounted machine guns. Flight testing in 1932 demonstrated a maximum speed of about 460 km/h and a respectable rate of climb, but handling difficulties caused by the rear‑engine thrust line led to the project’s cancellation after only a few prototypes were built. Although it never entered service, the I‑12 contributed valuable data on twin‑engine fighter design, influencing later Tupolev and Soviet aircraft such as the DB‑3 bomber and the MiG‑9 jet fighter, and marking an important step in the evolution of modern aeronautical engineering.

Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute

Classification

Production & History

Design & Classification