Tupolev Tu-4
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The Tupolev Tu-4 (NATO reporting name: Bull) was a piston-engined Soviet strategic bomber which served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to mid 1960s. It was a reverse-engineered copy of the US-made Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
Development
Towards the end of World War II, the Soviet Union was envious of the strategic bombing capability of the USAAF. The U.S. regularly conducted bombing raids on Japan, virtually in the Soviet Union's backyard, from distant Pacific forward bases using B-29 Superfortresses. Stalin ordered the development of a comparable bomber.During 1945, after a bombing raid on Japan, three B-29s were forced to land in Russian territory due to emergencies. The Soviets seized the bombers, and Tupolev OKB dismantled and studied them. The bombers were copied bolt-by-bolt where possible and reverse-engineered where necessary. An unconfirmed report states that all Tu-4s were chromate-green inside until the end of the rear pressure bulkhead, whereupon they were painted in simple white lead. The last B-29 seized by the Soviets was built in Kansas during a shortage of chromate green (a common rust-proofing paint for aircraft of the time). White lead was substituted as a "quick fix," which was promptly institutionalized by the duplicators. There also exist claims that bullet hole patches found in one of the B-29s were faithfully reproduced in all Tu-4s. Some speculate that the designers, knowing that they were essentially copying the aircraft by rote, added the patches as an ironic joke. Additionally, as 1/16th-inch-thick sheet aluminum and corresponding rivet lengths were unavailable in the Soviet Union, thicker panels were used and selectively milled to thin them. The result was an aircraft that weighed somewhat more than the B-29 prototype, giving it less range and payload.
The resulting bomber was the Tu-4, which first flew on 19 May, 1947. Serial production started immediately, and the type entered large scale service in 1949. Entry into service of the Tu-4 threw the USAF into a virtual panic, since the Tu-4 possessed sufficient range to attack Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City with a worthwhile load on a one-way mission. Some limited attempts to develop midair refueling systems were made to extend the bomber's range, but these were fitted to few aircraft.
The development of the Soviet atomic bomb in 1949 gave the air defense program a new urgency, since the United States felt itself in danger of a nuclear attack with the Tu-4 as the delivery platform. This convinced the United States to develop an extremely costly air-interception capability involving ground radar installations, a Ground Observer Corps, radar picket planes, surface-to-air missiles, and fleets of jet interceptor fighters. Project Nike was founded by the US Army and delivered the world's first operational anti-aircraft missile system, which utilized Nike Hercules missiles against Soviet long range bombers. This eventually became NORAD in 1957.
Operational history
847 Tu-4s were built in the Soviet Union by the time production ended in 1952, with some going to China during the later 1950s. Many experimental variants were built and the valuable experience launched the strategic Soviet bomber program. Tu-4s were withdrawn in the 1960s, replaced by their more capable successors, the Tupolev Tu-95 (starting in 1956) and Tupolev Tu-16 (starting in 1954). At the beginning of the 1960s, the only remaining Tu-4s in Soviet use were used in transport aviation and as airborne laboratories. There is at least one confirmed Soviet Tu-4 surviving. It is located at The Monino Air Force Museum, which is located on the grounds of the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy, outside Moscow. There are unconfirmed reports of two additional Tu-4's at The Peoples Air Museum. Unconfirmed rumors also claim the existence of at least 15 other Tu-4 airframes somewhere in Russia.Two Soviet-built Tu-4's survive at the National Air Museum near Beijing, China. One of these aircraft has been converted to an AWACS-type aircraft, the other carries an unmanned spy plane under each wing; both aircraft have been upgraded with 4,000hp Ivchenko AI-20K turboprops. However, there are rumors that as many as 15 Tu-4s are still in service with the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force.
A few derivatives were planned, including an airliner (Tu-70), cargo plane (Tu-75), and refined versions of the basic bomber (Tu-80 and Tu-85), but none of these reached mass production.
Operators
- China, Soviet Union.
Specifications (Tu-4)
Related content
External links
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