ANT-34 - Soviet Air Force, June 1941
Designed by Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev the ANT-34 was an advanced twin-engined monoplane bomber first flown in July 1933. Development was slow however and it did not enter service until November 1937 by which time it's designer had become a victim of Stalin's purges and was arrested on false claims of sabotage, espionage and supporting the Russian Fascist Party. Production was slowed to a trickle and, with initial deliveries being sent to the Spanish Republican Air Force, only 120 ANT-34's were in front-line service at the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 where they became easy prey for Luftwaffe fighters.