Tupolev ANT-14 Pravda

Tupolev · Soviet Union · first flew 1931 · airliner

The ANT-14 was a scaled-up Soviet airliner derived from the ANT-9, flagship of the Maxim Gorky propaganda squadron and itself named 'Pravda' after the state newspaper.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, straight
E — Engines	5 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Boxy fixed undercarriage carrying a very wide fuselage for up to 36 passengers
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Huge corrugated-metal high-wing airliner with five engines: one in the nose and two under each wing
Boxy fixed undercarriage carrying a very wide fuselage for up to 36 passengers
Usually seen in the bold red 'Pravda' propaganda-squadron markings

Count the engines: an odd five-engine arrangement — one at the nose and two under each wing — is unmistakable against genuine trimotors or four-engine contemporaries.

Specifications

The Tupolev ANT-14 Pravda has a length of 26.49 m (87 ft).
It has a wingspan of 40.4 m (133 ft).
Its maximum speed is 236 km/h (147 mph).
Typical crew: 3 plus up to 36 passengers.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

First flown in 1931, it was powered by five Gnome-Rhône Jupiter radials — one in the nose and two beneath each wing — rather than a rounder number, making it visually distinctive among 1930s airliners.

Variants

Only a single ANT-14 was built; it remained a unique flagship rather than a production type.

Where you'll see it

Named 'Pravda' and flown as the centrepiece of a state propaganda flight, it carried over 40,000 passengers on pleasure and demonstration flights before being grounded in 1941.

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