Tupolev Tu - 8 The Tupolev Tu - 8 was a long - range variant of the Soviet Tupolev Tu - 2 medium bomber that first flew after the end of World War II . It was canceled when it proved to be unstable , structurally unsound and its generators were not strong enough to fully power its gun turrets . With the advent of jet - powered bombers , Soviet military planners decided that it simply was not worth devoting the necessary resources to fix its numerous problems . Development . After the end of World War II the Tupolev OKB decided to continue its development of long - range variants of the Tu - 2 which had begun with the unsuccessful Tu - 2D during the war . Internally designated as the ANT - 69 , it was originally planned to use the new Shvetsov M - 93 radial engines , but this was changed to the Shvetsov ASh - 82 M when the M - 93 engine was delayed . It was to be armed with Berezin B - 20 cannon on the existing mounts . The fuselage nose was completely revised in response to complaints by the VVS about the Tu - 2 . The navigator was given a seat and the nose was extensively glazed to improve his view . The cockpit was revised to seat the pilots side - by - side rather than in tandem and the ventral gunner was also given a seat . The revision of the nose caused the twin tails to be enlarged to offset the greater area ahead of the aircraft ' s center of gravity . The defensive armament ' s gun turrets were electrically powered and the ventral gunner was given a remotely controlled turret . He sighted the turret through prominent blisters in the rear fuselage . The copilot could turn his seat 180° and manned a B - 20 gun in the rear of the pilot ' s compartment . The Tu - 8 was fitted with a OPB - 4S Norden - type bombsight and had its maximum bomb load increased to . It was intended to be able to carry mine s or torpedo es for service with Soviet Naval Aviation . This concept was approved by the Council of Ministers on 11 March 1947 . The ANT - 62T prototype torpedo bomber was modified as the prototype of the Tu - 8 . That aircraft ' s ASh - 82FN engines were retained rather than use the ASh - 83M engines originally planned . It was first flown on 24 May 1947 and kept on manufacturer ' s trials until 20 April 1948 . These trials were prolonged by the numerous difficulties experienced , especially with the defensive armament . It began State trials on 23 August 1948 which lasted until 30 November 1948 . The report of the NII VVS ( Russian : Научно - Исследовательский Институт Военно - Воздушных Сил " Nauchno - Issledovatel ' skiy Institut Voyenno - Vozdushnykh Sil " – Air Force Scientific Test Institute ) was unfavorable : The performance was not commensurate with the directives stated in the Government Directive for the development of the aircraft . The machine was unstable at all the normal center of gravity positions , the wings and undercarriage were insufficiently strong , the defensive armament proved to be less than fully effective due to the inadequate power provided to the gun mounts by the generators , and the deicing and lighting equipment were inadequate , thus restricting the aircraft ' s operations in bad weather . Tupolev made unsolicited proposals for variants , including the Tu - 8B with Mikulin AM - 42 engines and the Tu - 8S with Charomski ACh - 30BF diesel engines , but none were accepted . Soviet military planners had decided to devote resources to development of jet bombers , such as the Tupolev Tu - 73 , which were already flying , and which exhibited much more potential than piston - engined aircraft .