{"id":830821,"date":"2026-05-12T09:36:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T07:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/antonov-a-40-flying-tank-glider-1942\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T15:29:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T13:29:54","slug":"antonov-a-40-flying-tank-glider-1942","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/antonov-a-40-flying-tank-glider-1942\/","title":{"rendered":"The Antonov A-40 \u2014 The Soviets Built a Flying Tank"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<p>It is the kind of idea that should never have left the napkin. Take a small tank, weighing roughly 5.5 tonnes. Bolt on a biplane-style wing and a twin-boom tail. Tow the assembly into the air behind a heavy bomber. Cast it off over enemy lines. Let the tank glide down. Have the crew, sitting <em>inside the running tank<\/em>, jettison the wings on landing and drive into combat.<\/p>\n\n<p>This is the Antonov A-40 \u2014 also known as the Krylya Tanka, \"Tank Wings\" \u2014 and the Soviet Union actually built it. It actually flew. Once.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f5f6f8;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:18px 22px;margin:24px 0;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:15.5px;line-height:1.65\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;color:#333\">Quick Facts<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Designer:<\/strong> Oleg Antonov (later founder of Antonov Aviation Design Bureau)<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Tank base:<\/strong> T-60 light tank, modified<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Wing:<\/strong> Biplane configuration, ~18 m span, twin-boom tail<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Total weight:<\/strong> ~7.8 tonnes<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Tow aircraft:<\/strong> Tupolev TB-3 four-engine heavy bomber<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>First (and only) flight:<\/strong> 2 September 1942, Bykovo airfield, USSR<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Test pilot:<\/strong> Sergei Anokhin<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Outcome:<\/strong> Tow aircraft overheated; A-40 cast off early, glided down, landed safely<\/p><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A Problem Looking for an Idea<\/h2>\n\n<p>By 1941, the Soviet Union had a partisan-supply problem. Operating behind German lines required either parachute-dropping individual soldiers (slow, dispersed) or landing transport aircraft on hastily-cleared strips (suicidal). What partisan forces actually needed were vehicles \u2014 small, armoured, mobile vehicles that could go directly from airdrop to combat.<\/p>\n\n<p>Oleg Antonov, then a 36-year-old glider designer who would later run the Soviet Union's premier transport-aircraft bureau, proposed the obvious-once-you-saw-it solution. Make the tank itself fly.<\/p>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Aircraft<\/h2>\n\n<p>The A-40 paired a stripped-down T-60 tank \u2014 armament and ammunition removed, fuel strictly limited \u2014 with a detachable wing\/tail unit. The wings were big: nearly 60 feet across, biplane configuration, fabric-covered, very simple. A twin-boom empennage gave control surfaces a long arm. The tank's tracks were the landing gear. The tank's driver was the pilot, sitting in the normal driver's seat and operating the glider's controls through a converted yoke.<\/p>\n\n<p>The intended sequence was elegant. A heavy bomber would tow the assembly to altitude, head deep into enemy territory, release the A-40 on a glide path toward partisans below. The tank would glide down, touch its tracks to the ground, slow to a stop, the crew would jettison the wing assembly with a mechanical release, and the tank would drive off to fight.<\/p>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Flight<\/h2>\n\n<p>On 2 September 1942, test pilot Sergei Anokhin climbed into the driver's compartment. A Tupolev TB-3 \u2014 four engines, slow, draggy, and the largest tow aircraft in the Soviet inventory \u2014 wound up its engines and pulled. The A-40 lifted off. It actually flew.<\/p>\n\n<p>And then the TB-3's engines started overheating. The combined drag of the tank-with-wings was simply too much. The tow pilot, watching his oil-temperature needles climb past the red, told Anokhin he was being released. Anokhin cast off and glided down. He landed in a field, applied the brakes (the tank's tracks were now his rollout brakes), came to a stop \u2014 and then did exactly what the design intended.<\/p>\n\n<p>Anokhin jettisoned the wing and tail assembly, and the T-60 drove back to its base under its own power. It was the only time the trick was ever performed: there was no Soviet tow aircraft powerful enough to tow the A-40 operationally, and the program was quietly cancelled.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:22px 26px;margin:26px 0;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;font-style:italic;color:#222\"><p style=\"margin:0\">Sergei Anokhin landed the tank glider in a field near the airport. After dropping the glider wings and tail, the T-60 was driven back to its base under its own power.<\/p><p style=\"margin:14px 0 0;font-size:14px;color:#555;font-style:normal\"><strong>The accepted account of the A-40\u2019s only flight<\/strong> \u2014 flown by Sergei Anokhin (1910-1986), Soviet test pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union, 2 September 1942<\/p><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why It Still Matters<\/h2>\n\n<p>The A-40 is one of aviation's great \"what if\" moments. The idea was sound \u2014 an armoured vehicle dropped intact into a battle is a force multiplier \u2014 but the tow technology of the 1940s could not match the ambition. Within a decade, helicopters would solve the same problem more elegantly.<\/p>\n\n<p>Oleg Antonov went on to design every major Soviet transport aircraft of the post-war era, up to and including the An-225 Mriya, the largest aircraft ever built. The A-40 stayed an experiment, a fine entry in the long list of ideas the Soviet Union tested anyway. It flew once. That is more than most ideas like it ever managed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;max-width:100%;margin:32px 0;border-radius:8px\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sNEvgjTjR-E\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin-top:-12px\">The full story of the Soviet flying tank \u2014 Antonov A-40.<\/p>\n\n<p><em>Sources: Antonov Design Bureau archives, &ldquo;OKB Antonov: A History of the Design Bureau&rdquo; (Yefim Gordon), declassified Soviet test reports.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<!-- mf-faq -->\n\n<div class=\"mf-faq-block\"><style>.mf-faq-block{margin:34px 0}.mf-faq-item:not([open]) .mf-faq-answer{display:none !important}.mf-faq-block h2.mf-faq-h{padding-top:22px;margin-bottom:14px}.mf-faq-item{border:1px solid #e2e8f5;border-radius:8px;margin:0 0 10px;background:#fff}.mf-faq-item summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;padding:15px 50px 15px 18px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a1a;position:relative;line-height:1.45;user-select:none}.mf-faq-item summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mf-faq-item summary::after{content:\"+\";position:absolute;right:18px;top:50%;transform:translateY(-50%);font-size:1.5em;font-weight:400;color:#5C91FF;line-height:1}.mf-faq-item[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mf-faq-item[open] summary{border-bottom:1px solid #eef1f8}.mf-faq-item summary:hover{background:#f5f8ff}.mf-faq-answer{padding:14px 18px;color:#333;line-height:1.6}.mf-faq-answer p{margin:0}.mf-faq-answer a{color:#5C91FF}<\/style><h2 class=\"mf-faq-h\">Related Questions<\/h2><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What was the Antonov A-40 flying tank?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The Antonov A-40 (Krylya Tanka, 'Tank Wings') was an experimental Soviet flying tank built in 1942. It paired a stripped-down T-60 light tank with a large detachable biplane wing and twin-boom tail. The idea was to tow it behind a bomber, release it over enemy lines, and let it glide down so the crew could drop the wings and drive into battle.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Did the Antonov A-40 flying tank actually fly?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>Yes \u2014 once. On 2 September 1942, test pilot Sergei Anokhin took off from Bykovo airfield with the tank-glider towed behind a Tupolev TB-3 bomber. It genuinely flew, but the heavy drag overheated the tow aircraft's engines. Anokhin was released early, glided down, and landed safely in a field. The project was never repeated.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Who designed the Antonov A-40?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The A-40 was designed by Oleg Antonov, then a 36-year-old glider engineer who would later found the Antonov Design Bureau, the Soviet Union's premier transport-aircraft maker. The flying tank reflected his glider expertise: a simple, fabric-covered biplane wing nearly 60 feet across mated to a light tank. His bureau went on to build legends like the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-antonov-an-2-79-years-of-soviet-biplane-that-refuses-to-die\/\">Antonov An-2<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Why did the Soviets want a flying tank?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>By 1941 the Soviets needed to deliver armored vehicles to partisans operating behind German lines. Parachuting individual soldiers was slow and scattered, while landing transport aircraft on rough strips was suicidal. A tank that could glide directly into action seemed an elegant solution \u2014 getting an armored, mobile vehicle from the air to the fight in one step.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Why was the A-40 flying tank never used in combat?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The single 1942 test exposed a fatal flaw: even the Soviet Union's largest tow aircraft, the TB-3, could not haul the tank-and-wings combination without its engines overheating. With no powerful enough tug available, the concept was abandoned. It joined a long list of audacious experimental aircraft, like the nine-winged <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/nine-wings-lago-maggiore-caproni-ca60-transaereo\/\">Caproni Ca.60<\/a>, that flew once and no more.<\/p><\/div><\/details><\/div>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What was the Antonov A-40 flying tank?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Antonov A-40 (Krylya Tanka, 'Tank Wings') was an experimental Soviet flying tank built in 1942. It paired a stripped-down T-60 light tank with a large detachable biplane wing and twin-boom tail. The idea was to tow it behind a bomber, release it over enemy lines, and let it glide down so the crew could drop the wings and drive into battle.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Did the Antonov A-40 flying tank actually fly?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yes \u2014 once. On 2 September 1942, test pilot Sergei Anokhin took off from Bykovo airfield with the tank-glider towed behind a Tupolev TB-3 bomber. It genuinely flew, but the heavy drag overheated the tow aircraft's engines. Anokhin was released early, glided down, and landed safely in a field. The project was never repeated.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who designed the Antonov A-40?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The A-40 was designed by Oleg Antonov, then a 36-year-old glider engineer who would later found the Antonov Design Bureau, the Soviet Union's premier transport-aircraft maker. The flying tank reflected his glider expertise: a simple, fabric-covered biplane wing nearly 60 feet across mated to a light tank. His bureau went on to build legends like the <a href=\\\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-antonov-an-2-79-years-of-soviet-biplane-that-refuses-to-die\/\\\">Antonov An-2<\/a>.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why did the Soviets want a flying tank?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"By 1941 the Soviets needed to deliver armored vehicles to partisans operating behind German lines. Parachuting individual soldiers was slow and scattered, while landing transport aircraft on rough strips was suicidal. A tank that could glide directly into action seemed an elegant solution \u2014 getting an armored, mobile vehicle from the air to the fight in one step.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why was the A-40 flying tank never used in combat?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The single 1942 test exposed a fatal flaw: even the Soviet Union's largest tow aircraft, the TB-3, could not haul the tank-and-wings combination without its engines overheating. With no powerful enough tug available, the concept was abandoned. It joined a long list of audacious experimental aircraft, like the nine-winged <a href=\\\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/nine-wings-lago-maggiore-caproni-ca60-transaereo\/\\\">Caproni Ca.60<\/a>, that flew once and no more.\"}}]}<\/script><!-- \/mf-faq -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is the kind of idea that should never have left the napkin. Take a small tank, weighing roughly 5.5 tonnes. Bolt on a biplane-style wing and a twin-boom tail. Tow the assembly into the air behind a heavy bomber. Cast it off over enemy lines. Let the tank glide down. Have the crew, sitting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":830718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-830821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Antonov A-40 \u2014 The Soviet Tank That Could Fly<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 1942 Oleg Antonov bolted glider wings to a Soviet T-60 tank and towed it into the air. The flying tank actually flew. 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