Tupolev Tu - 2 The Tupolev Tu - 2 ( Development names ANT - 58 and 103 , NATO reporting name : Bat ) was a twin - engine Soviet ( high ) speed daylight bomber ( SDB ) front line bomber ( FB ) aircraft of World War II vintage . The Tu - 2 was tailored to meet a requirement for a high speed bomber or dive - bomber , with a large internal bomb load , and speed similar to that of a single seat fighter . Designed to challenge the German Junkers Ju 88 , the Tu - 2 proved comparable , and was produced in torpedo , interceptor and reconnaissance versions . The Tu - 2 was one of the outstanding combat aircraft of World War II and it played a key role in the Red Army ' s final offensives . Design and development . In 1937 Andrei Tupolev , along with many Soviet designers at the time , was arrested on trumped - up charges of activities against the State . Despite the actions of the Soviet government , he was considered important to the war effort and following his imprisonment , he was placed in charge of a team that was to design military aircraft . Designed as " Samolyot " ( Russian : " aircraft " ) 103 , the Tu - 2 was based on earlier ANT - 58 , ANT - 59 and ANT - 60 light bomber prototypes . Essentially an upscaled and more powerful ANT - 60 powered by AM - 37 engines , the first prototype was completed at Factory N156 , and made its first test flight on 29 January 1941 , piloted by Mikhail Nukhtinov . Mass production began in September 1941 , at Omsk Aircraft Factory Number 166 , with the first aircraft reaching combat units in March 1942 . Modifications were made based on combat experience , and Plant Number 166 built a total of 80 aircraft . The AM - 37 engine was abandoned to concentrate efforts on the AM - 38F for the Il - 2 , which required Tupolev to redesign the aircraft for an available engine . Modifications of this bomber took ANT - 58 through ANT - 69 variants . A further 2527 aircraft were built at Kazan , with these modifications . Production ceased in 1951 after a total of some 3 , 000 aircraft were delivered to various Soviet Bloc air forces . Operational history . Built from 1941 to 1948 , the Tu - 2 was the USSR ' s second most important twin - engine bomber ( the first being the Pe - 2 ) . The design brought Andrei Tupolev back into favour after a period of detention . It was highly effective , being faster and more nimble , as well as having a greater bomb load and range , than virtually all medium bombers in service during the war with any army . Crews were universally happy with their Tupolevs . Pilots could maneuver like fighters and they were fast and tough enough to survive heavy damage . The Tu - 2 remained in service in the USSR until 1950 . Some surplus Tu - 2s were provided to the Chinese People ' s Liberation Army Air Force for use in the Chinese Civil War . Some Chinese Tu - 2s were shot down by British and American airmen during the Korean War . In the 1958 – 1962 counter - riot actions in Qinghai - Tibet Plateau covering Qinghai , Tibet , southern Gansu , and western Sichuan , Chinese PLAAF Tu - 2s took on the roles of ground - attack , reconnaissance and liaison . The Chinese Tu - 2s were retired at the end of 1970s . After World War II , the Tu - 2 proved to be an ideal test aircraft for various powerplants , including the first generation of Soviet jet engines .