The DB-3 had enough theoretical reach to cause trouble for Japanese shipping from bases in the Soviet Far East. Such missions could have given both the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Soviet Union practical lessons about long-range maritime aviation. Torpedo-bomber and strike variants were already available, so technological absence alone does not explain their non-use. The simplest hypothesis is a shortage of trained crews, but no strong source confirms it.
Notable Point · 41:40-43:19
Range existed, but trained crews may not have
Japanese shipping lay within plausible reach, so the absence of strikes shifts attention from airframe performance to operational readiness.