Country
Russia

Crash of a Tupolev PS-41 in Novoe Selo: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jun 9, 1940 at 1600 LT
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev ANT-40 (PS-40/PS-41/SB 2)
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L3523
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Postal (mail)
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Rostov-on-Don – Sochi – Sukhumi – Kutaisi – Tbilisi
MSN:
16/214
YOM:
1938
Location:
Novoe Selo
Krasnodar Krai
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Aircraft flight hours:
64
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Rostov Airport at 1500LT on a mail flight to Tbilisi with intermediate stops in Sochi, Sukhumi and Kutaisi. About 50 minutes into the flight, while cruising in stormy weather, the pilot lost control of the airplane that entered a dive, partially disintegrated in the air and crashed in a field at a speed of 600-700 km/h. Both crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the crew lost control of the airplane after it was struck by lightning. For unknown reasons, the crew decided to continue the flight into poor weather conditions rather than returning to Rostov.

Crash of a Tupolev PS-41 near Voronezh: 3 killed

Date & Time: May 16, 1940 at 1755 LT
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev ANT-40 (PS-40/PS-41/SB 2)
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-T3518
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Postal (mail)
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Stalingrad – Moscou
MSN:
11/214
YOM:
1938
Location:
Voronezh
Voronezh oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Aircraft flight hours:
168
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Stalingrad at 1647LT on a mail flight to Moscow, carrying three crew members and a load of 113 kg of mail. After takeoff, the airplane entered clouds and continued his course to the northwest. After flying a distance of about 350 km, while cruising at an altitude of 4,000 metres in clouds, the airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a field at a speed of 750-800 km/h. All three occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Due to the high degree of destruction, investigations were unable to determine the exact cause of the accident. Nevertheless, it is believed that the loss of control was probably the consequence of icing while cruising at high altitude in clouds, causing a malfunction of the instruments.

Crash of a Tupolev PS-41 in Sinegubovo: 3 killed

Date & Time: Apr 26, 1940 at 0708 LT
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev ANT-40 (PS-40/PS-41/SB 2)
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L3529
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Moscow – Kharkiv – Mineralnye Vody
Location:
Sinegubovo
Tula oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Moscow at 0605LT on a cargo flight to Mineralnye Vody with an intermediate stop in Kharkiv, carrying three crew members. The pilot continued at an altitude of 300 metres and at a speed of 290 km/h when weather conditions deteriorated with low clouds and rain falls. Without any radio contact with the ground to obtain a weather briefing, the crew continued to the south and passed over Tula at 0653LT. Shortly later, the crew encountered foggy conditions and was unable to locate his position so the captain decided to return. Flying to low in fog, the airplane impacted trees at a speed of 220 km/h and crashed into a ravine. All three crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain after the decision of the pilot to continue in poor visibility. His decision to return was taken too late and he was flying at an unsafe altitude. At the time of the accident, one of the engine was not functioning for reason that could not be determined, the propeller was windmilling at impact. Nevertheless, this was not considered was a contributing factor.

Crash of a Tupolev SB 2 in Wenjiang: 1 killed

Date & Time: Mar 8, 1940
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev ANT-40 (PS-40/PS-41/SB 2)
Operator:
Registration:
1506
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Location:
Wenjiang
Sichuan
Country:
China
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The pilot was completing a training flight when the airplane crashed near Wenjiang. The pilot was killed.
Crew:
Xiang Xiao, pilot.

Crash of a Tupolev SB 2 in Luzhai: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jan 10, 1940
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev ANT-40 (PS-40/PS-41/SB 2)
Operator:
Registration:
1923
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Guilin - Nanning
Location:
Luzhai
Guangxi
Country:
China
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
En route from Guilin to Nanning, the airplane crashed in unknown circumstances in Luzhai. The pilot was killed.

Crash of a Tupolev SB 2 near Onega: 4 killed

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1939 at 0922 LT
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev ANT-40 (PS-40/PS-41/SB 2)
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Yagodnik - Yagodnik
Location:
Onega
Arkhangelsk oblast
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Yagodnik Airfield on a mission over the Onega Peninsula. It failed to return to base and is believed to have crashed while flying in poor weather conditions. The wreckage was found by walkers in early 90's in an isolated area.
Crew:
S/Lt Georgi Vasilievich Karalkin, pilot,
S/Lt Aleksandr Nikolayevich Safonov, navigator,
Sgt Sergey Ivanovich Komarichev, radio operator,
Sergey Ivanovich Kiryushenko, mechanic.

Crash of a Tupolev SB 2 near Imatra: 1 killed

Date & Time: Dec 1, 1939
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev ANT-40 (PS-40/PS-41/SB 2)
Operator:
Registration:
20/101
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Location:
Imatra
South Karelia
Country:
Finland
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in an operation consisting of an attack of various airfields such as Utti, Suur Merijoki, and Immola. Approaching Immola Airport, north of Imatra, the airplane was shot down by a Finnish fighter and crashed. A crew was killed and two others became PoW.
Crew:
Lt Zhorka Tanklayev, pilot,
1st Lt Vikto Demchinsckiy, navigator,
Cpl Sergei Korotkov, radio operator. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a Finnish fighter.

Crash of a Tupolev SB 2 in Jianyang: 2 killed

Date & Time: Oct 18, 1939
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev ANT-40 (PS-40/PS-41/SB 2)
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Test
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Location:
Jianyang
Sichuan
Country:
China
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a test flight when the airplane caught fire in flight and crashed. Both occupants were killed.
Crew:
Qingyang Gu,
Yexiong Wu.

Crash of a Tupolev SB 2 near Khalkhin Gol: 2 killed

Date & Time: Aug 23, 1939 at 1037 LT
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev ANT-40 (PS-40/PS-41/SB 2)
Operator:
Registration:
27/12
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Location:
Khalkhin Gol
Dornod
Country:
Mongolia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
While engaged in a combat mission against the Japanese forces along the border between Mongolia and China, the airplane was shot down by the Japanese Flak and crashed near Khalkhin Gol. Two crew members were killed and a third became PoW.
Crew:
Lt Fedor Timofeevich Makeev, pilot, †
S/Lt Konstantin Sergeevich Ivanov, navigator, †
Lt Andrey Semenovich Filippov, radio operator.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the Japanese Flak.

Crash of a Tupolev SB 2 near Khalkhin Gol: 2 killed

Date & Time: Aug 21, 1939
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev ANT-40 (PS-40/PS-41/SB 2)
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Location:
Khalkhin Gol
Dornod
Country:
Mongolia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
While engaged in a combat mission against the Japanese forces along the border between Mongolia and China, the airplane was shot down by a Japanese fighter and crashed near Khalkhin Gol. Two crew members were killed and a third became PoW.
Crew:
Lt Ivan Grigorievich Suprun, pilot, †
M/Lt Vasily Mikhailovich Cherepennikov, navigator, †
Sgt Nikolay Ivanovich Zarubin, radio operator.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a Japanese fighter.
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