A DB-3 conversion fitted heavier ShVAK cannon and was tested as a fighter or so-called air cruiser. The type did not officially proceed into production, but some accounts suggest that examples nevertheless appeared in combat. A practical explanation is that regiments receiving newer bombers could turn older airframes into escorts when no purpose-built escort was available. Frontline scarcity could therefore blur the boundary between an unsuccessful prototype and an improvised operational variant.
Notable Point · 18:34-19:45
Units improvised escort fighters from old DB-3s
An officially abandoned heavy-fighter conversion appears in operational accounts as a field answer to the shortage of bomber escorts.