OKB-1 EF-140

Jet-Powered Tactical Fast Reconnaissance / Bomber Prototype

Soviet Union | 1948

"The Soviet OKB-1 EF-140 jet-powered bomber prototype emerged from work immediately done after the close of World War 2."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 04/05/2016 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The EF-140 was a Soviet post-World War 2 jet-powered tactical bomber design continuation of the line begun with the capture of the German Junkers Ju 287. The Ju 287 was one of the more unique of the German wartime jet-powered aircraft in development before the close of the war in 1945 - particularly in its use of advanced swept-forward wings as well as jet propulsion technology. The Junkers product was furthered into the local Soviet "EF-131" which completed a hasty first flight in 1946 with more formal testing had in 1947. Though the project was terminated in 1948, the second airframe of the EF-131 made up the basis for the evolved EF-140.

The EF-140 initially existed as a tactical bomber like the EF-131 before it. However, whereas the EF-131 relied on now-obsolete German Junkers Jumo turbojets (a total of six such systems powered the original aircraft), the EF-140 introduced Soviet engines of a more advanced, capable nature. Design of the new aircraft commenced in 1947 and the EF-131 was modified to carry 2 x Mikulin AM-TKRD-01 axial flow turbojet engines. The forward-swept wings remained in play with the engines slung underneath and the crew of three was increased to four. Dimensions included a length of 62 feet, a wingspan of 71.8 feet and a height of 18.5 feet. Fixed armament became four guns (largely defensive in nature) with two guns held in a dorsal barbette and two guns fitted to a ventral barbette. Both barbettes would be remote-controlled and aimed by way of periscopes. An internal bomb bay would hold several thousand pounds of conventional drop ordnance.

The initial EF-140, born from the second EF-131 prototype while carrying the Mikulin engines, was made ready for September 1948 and completed its first flight on September 30th. From this, thought came to rework the EF-140 as a tactical fast-reconnaissance platform and this produced the "EF-140R" model in turn. Engines were changed to 2 x Klimov VK-1 units (5,950lb thrust each) and wingtip fuel tanks were added to increase operational ranges. Other refinements were enacted on the overall design including revised turrets.

Flight testing at GOZ-1 revealed issues with wing flutter which brought the design back to the engineering boards. The final iteration of the line came in the proposed "EF-140B/R" which was to be a fast-reconnaissance platform with bombing capability as secondary. The engines remained the same Klimov units as in the earlier model and the program progressed enough to begin ground testing before the end. However development was terminated on both prototypes in June of 1950 in favor of more advanced, capable bomber / reconnaissance platforms.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the OKB-1 EF-140R Jet-Powered Tactical Fast Reconnaissance / Bomber Prototype.

2 x Klimov VK-1 turbojet engines developing 5,950 lb of thrust each.
Propulsion

522 mph
840 kph | 454 kts
Max Speed

46,260 ft
14,100 m | 9 miles
Service Ceiling

2,237 miles
3,600 km | 1,944 nm
Operational Range

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the OKB-1 EF-140R Jet-Powered Tactical Fast Reconnaissance / Bomber Prototype.

4
(MANNED)
Crew

63.2 ft
19.25 m
O/A Length

71.8 ft
(21.87 m)
O/A Width

18.5 ft
(5.65 m)
O/A Height

32,353 lb
(14,675 kg)
Empty Weight

56,317 lb
(25,545 kg)
MTOW

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the OKB-1 EF-140 Jet-Powered Tactical Fast Reconnaissance / Bomber Prototype .

STANDARD:
2 x 23mm cannons in dorsal turret
2 x 23mm cannons in ventral turret

OPTIONAL:
Up to 8 x 220lb bombs carried.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the OKB-1 EF-140 family line.

140 - Base Series Designation; fitted with 2 x Mikulin AM-TKRD-01 turbojet engines.

140-R - Reconnaissance conversion of the 140; fitted with Klimov VK-1 series turbojet engines.

140-B/R - Second prototype; reconnaissance-bomber form.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the OKB-1 EF-140. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 2 Units
Contractor(s): GOZ-1 - Soviet Union

[ Soviet Union (cancelled) ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 750mph

Lo: 375mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (522mph).

Graph Average of 563 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

Production Comparison

2

36183

44000

Entry compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian) total production.

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

Future

♦

1 / 1

Image from the Public Domain.

Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to airborne requirements.

GROUND ATTACK

RECONNAISSANCE

X-PLANE

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Going Further...
The OKB-1 EF-140 Jet-Powered Tactical Fast Reconnaissance / Bomber Prototype appears in the following collections:

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