The SB, known to Tupolev as the ANT-40, first flew in 1934. It was designed as a high speed bomber and had a maximum speed of 280mph, which was faster than fighters of the time such as the Polikarpov I-15 which could only reach 220mph. A successful machine, it was flown by ten countries and was not finally retired from Spanish service until 1950. Despite over 6,600 being built and many surviving the war, this is now the only remaining example. In 1939 it had force landed during a snow storm near the Yuzhne Muiski Mountain range in the Baikal Region. The remains were recovered in the late 1970’s and restoration was carried out by a volunteer group of Tupolev employees. It first went on display at Monino in April 1982 and after several years outside in all weathers it is now safely under cover in the new Hangar 6B, which has been built behind the main entrance building. At the time of our visit the hangar had not been officially opened to the public, but we were given special permission to access it from Hangar 6A. Central Air Force museum, Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.