The Soviet menace. A history documentary about Russian aviation. From the origins of aircraft bombers to the nuclear Tupolev Tu-95 Bear, including the Ilya Muromets, the ANT-4, ANT-9, ANT-25, Petlyakov Pe-8, and how the Soviets stole and copied the Boeing B-29 Design.
The Tupolev Tu-95 (Russian: Туполев Ту-95; NATO reporting name: "Bear") is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform. First flown in 1952, the Tu-95 entered service with the Long-Range Aviation of the Soviet Air Forces in 1956 and was first used in combat in 2015. It is expected to serve the Russian Aerospace Forces until at least 2040.
A development of the bomber for maritime patrol is designated the Tu-142, while a passenger airliner derivative was called the Tu-114.
The aircraft has four Kuznetsov NK-12 engines with contra-rotating propellers. It is the only propeller-powered strategic bomber still in operational use today. The Tu-95 is one of the loudest military aircraft, particularly because the tips of the propeller blades move faster than the speed of sound. Its distinctive swept-back wings are set at an angle of 35°. The Tu-95 is the only propeller-driven aircraft with swept wings that has been built in large numbers.
The design bureau, led by Andrei Tupolev, designed the Soviet Union's first intercontinental bomber, 1949 Tu-85, a scaled-up version of the Tu-4, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress copy. A new requirement was issued to both Tupolev and Myasishchev design bureaus in 1950: the proposed bomber had to have an un-refueled range of 8,000 km (5,000 mi), far enough to threaten key targets in the United States. Other goals included the ability to carry an 11,000 kg (24,000 lb) load over the target.
Tupolev was faced with selecting a suitable type of powerplant: the Tu-4 showed that piston engines were not powerful enough for such a large aircraft, and the AM-3 jet engines for the proposed T-4 intercontinental jet bomber used too much fuel to give the required range. Turboprop engines were more powerful than piston engines and gave better range than the turbojets available at the time, and gave a top speed between the two. Turboprops were also initially selected for the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress to meet its long-range requirement and for the British long-range transport aircraft, the Saunders-Roe Princess, the Bristol Brabazon Mk 2, and the Bristol Britannia.
General characteristics
Crew: 6-7; pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, communications system operator, navigator, tail gunner, plus sometimes another navigator.
Length: 46.2 m (151 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 50.1 m (164 ft 4 in)
Height: 12.12 m (39 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 310 m2 (3,300 sq ft)
Empty weight: 90,000 kg (198,416 lb)
Gross weight: 171,000 kg (376,990 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 188,000 kg (414,469 lb)
Powerplant: 4 × Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop engines 15,000 PS (15,000 hp; 11,000 kW)
Propellers: 8-bladed contra-rotating fully feathering constant-speed propellers
Performance
Maximum speed: 925 km/h (575 mph, 499 kn)
Cruise speed: 710 km/h (440 mph, 380 kn)
Range: 15,000 km (9,300 mi, 8,100 nmi)
Service ceiling: 13,716 m (45,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 10 m/s (2,000 ft/min)
Wing loading: 606 kg/m2 (124 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.235 kW/kg (0.143 hp/lb)
Armament
Guns: 2 × 23 mm (0.906 in) Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 autocannon in tail turret
Missiles: Up to 15,000 kg (33,000 lb), including the Kh-20, Kh-22, and Kh-55/101/102, or 8 Kh-101/102 cruise missiles mounted on underwing pylons