The Sukhoi Su-8 or DDBSh (Russian: Су-8 ДДБШ - Двухмоторный Двухместный Бронированный Штурмовик - Twin-engine two-seat armored ground attack aircraft) was a Soviet prototype ground-attack aircraft of World War II.
In May 1942, the Soviet military commanders had realized the need for an aircraft to support ground offensives operating at a great distance from their airfields, and capable of striking enemy lines of communication to the rear of the front lines.
Two prototypes were completed at Plant Number 19 in Molotov in 1943, the first in May and the second in August, with work hampered by the Nazi invasion and need to evacuate the Sukhoi Design Bureau to Tushino.
The cockpit area was armoured, with an aluminum mid-fuselage and a wooden monocoque tail.
[1] Data from Istoriia konstruktskii samoletov v SSSR, 1938-1950,[1] and OKB Sukhoi [2]General characteristics Performance Armament