The DB-3's range addressed the operational problem it was built to solve. The Soviet Union lacked enough ships and shipbuilding capacity for the maritime coverage it wanted, while its newer aviation industry was still expanding. A nominal range of about 2,100 nautical miles let the bomber travel roughly a thousand miles from base, search briefly, and return. That reach made aircraft a practical gap-filler, but it did not erase the industrial and infrastructure costs of building maritime power.
Chapter · 17:17-18:34
DB-3 range filled a Soviet naval gap
Aircraft statistics become a force-design lesson: the DB-3 supplied long-range striking power while Soviet naval and aviation industries were still growing.