Impressed by the performance of the
de Havilland Mosquito the Soviets asked
Tupolev to modify a Tu-2 as a high-speed day bomber with a reduced crew as the ANT-63. The second prototype of this project was ordered to be converted in February 1946 for use as a three-seat long-range interceptor capable of carrying an airborne
radar set with the internal designation of ANT-63P and the official designation of Tu-1. It was given prototype Mikulin AM-43V engines driving four-bladed
propellers, and fitted with new radio equipment. It reverted to the standard Tu-2S undercarriage. Two
Nudelman-Suranov NS-45 guns with 50 rounds each were fitted on the underside of the nose, two
Volkov-Yartsev VYa-23 or
Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannon were fitted in the wing roots with 130 rounds per gun. The dorsal gunner was given a
UBT machine gun with 200 rounds and the ventral gunner received a UBT with 350 rounds of ammunition. It retained the internal bomb bay which could carry up to of bombs. or 3 November 1947. Sources disagree about the mounting of radar during these tests.
Bill Gunston says that a Soviet derivative of the German
FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 was tested, however Yefim Gordon believes that no radar was fitted at all and the short service life of the AM-43V prototype engines curtailed the planned tests and development. At any rate, the aircraft was not selected for production because its AM-43V engines were not ready for production. ==Specifications==