A single prototype and five pre-production aircraft were built, but two crashed and the program was cancelled in favor of the Petlyakov Pe-2.

[1] It retained its predecessor's prominent canopy and nose glazing, but reduced the armament to a single 7.62 mm (0.300 in) ShKAS machine gun for the bombardier/navigator while the rear gunner had a retractable 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Berezin UB dorsal gun and a ventral ShKAS to protect the aircraft's underside.

[3] On 2 June 1940 test pilot Mikhail Lipkin barely survived when, landing with engines out, his SPB (D) clipped a parked Tupolev SB.

Investigators initially blamed the accident on Polikarpov's deputy Zhemchuzhin, who allegedly failed to fit the balance weights into the leading edges of the ailerons, causing wild flutter.

[3] TsAGI engineers and airfield staff voiced suspicion that other factors could have been involved, but these were not examined at all.