Antonov A-40 flying tank using T-60 1/72 Scale Plastic Model Kit Amodel 72202

A-40 ("Flying Tank", "Tank Wings") - an aircraft, a hybrid of a glider and a tank, created by O.K. Antonov based on the T-60 light tank.

Initially, the "Flying Tank" was offered as a support for the partisans. As planned by the authors, the wings were attached to the T-60 (6 tons, but it was as light as possible), on it the tank was towed to the landing area, unhooked, after landing, the combat vehicle was freed from the wings and used by paratroopers.

Work on the airframe was carried out from December 1941 to February 1943, when the tank was taken out of production. It was made in April 1942 in Tyumen in a single copy at Plant No. 241.

Flight tests took place near Moscow from August 7 to September 2, 1942. They were conducted by the famous glider pilot S. N. Anokhin. The first flight of the KT took place on September 2, 1942. The TB-3 towing aircraft, with four reinforced (970 hp each) AM-34RN engines, was commanded by Pavel Arsenievich Yeremeev, a former designer of aerobatic gliders. The glider was flown by the test pilot of the experimental test site of the airborne troops of the Red Army S. N. Anokhin. Due to the large mass and low streamlining of the KT, towing was carried out at close to maximum power of the TB-3 engines at a speed of 130 km / h. Despite this, the rate of rise of the air train was insufficient. The plane barely reached a height of 40 meters. The TB-3 motors began to overheat and he was forced to make an emergency landing of the glider.