Condor 72101 Soviet reconnaissance flying boat Beriev MBR-2

The Beriew MBR-2 was a Soviet reconnaissance and bomber boat in the dorsal wing configuration. The drive was provided by a single Mikulin V-engine M-34NB with 750 hp. The flight of the prototype took place in 1932, and serial production continued in the period 1934-1942, ending with the production of about 1300-1350 machines of this type. The aircraft was armed with two 7.62 mm machine guns and a load of up to 500 kg of bombs.

The Beriew MBR-2 was created in response to the demand reported by the Soviet Navy for a new flying boat capable of patrols in open sea areas. The first prototype examples already showed a solid structure, good performance for a machine of this class and good piloting properties. The machine was quickly put into mass production. In its course, two basic development versions were created. The first one was designated MBR-2 / M-17 and was powered by an M-17 engine with a capacity of 500 HP. However, the MBR-2 / M-34 version, powered by the target 750hp M-34NB engine, with a reinforced structure and redesigned tail section, entered production very quickly. Machines of this type turned out to be so successful that they were used to patrol fishing grounds in the mid-1950s. Small amounts were exported to North Korea, and a few were used by Finland as capture machines.