Tupolev Tu-95 (Bear)

History of Tupolev Tu-95 (Bear)

Following the Tupolev Tu-80 and Tu-85 development programs, the famous Tupolev Tu-95 "Bear" proved to be a common sight in the skies of the Pacific and elsewhere during the Cold War decades Location. The aircraft owes much to two previous development designs, both of which were cancelled after prototypes were completed and evaluated, although they both date back to the Tupolev Tu-4 "Bull". Although the Tu-4 was produced under the Soviet Tupolev brand, it was nothing more than an unlicensed replica of the American Boeing B-29 Superfortress, three of which were raided during World War II (1939-1945). after Japan. The B-29 gave Soviet engineers the data they needed to produce long-range heavy bombers that were lacking in the Soviet Air Force at the time because of growing concerns about the U.S. range and its nuclear program.

The Tu-80 used conventional propeller propulsion power, which ultimately lacked the required mass compared to the promising Tu-85 and its reciprocating engines. However, both ended up losing out to the turboprop-powered "Tu-95" development, which has so far (December 2013) lived a very healthy life.

The decision to go with turboprops instead of turbojets guaranteed better endurance, as jets still proved to be fuel-guzzling propulsion systems. The bid for the new swept-wing jet strategic bomber initially fell to Miyashchev's rival company, which sold the 590-mph, 8,070-mile range bomber to the Soviet military. No, in order to be surpassed, Tupolev's engineers worked hard to develop a competition version, which was originally a war plan based on swept-wing jet bombers captured from Germany.

Myasishchev's design was eventually adopted as a jet M-4 "Bison" with swept wings, but Tupolev stuck to his design goals, partly influenced by his existing Tu-4 and Tu large aircraft programs -85. The swept wing design experience will be forged from existing Tu-16 Badger and Tu-88 products.

Then two Tupolev designs emerged: one was the development of a four-engine jet, competing with a four-engine turboprop variant. While the logic at the time favored jets, the Tupolev was sold within the range of the turboprop approach in its propeller-driven configuration. The technology in this area was formed by the captured German Junkers Jumo 022 system.

By that time, Tupolev products received the working designation "Aircraft 95" - better known as "Tu-95" - with official government support, although several times Tupolev owner A.N. Tupo Lev had to fight the government in the hierarchy to keep his Tu-95 project alive - authorities still prefer the jet-powered form of the design.

The first flight of the Tu-95 prototype was finally recorded on November 12, 1952. The design features a long, tubular but squat fuselage with long-span, high-mounted, swept-back wings. Each wing manages a pair of turboprops in long and short nacelles located on the leading edge. These turboprops drive two four-bladed propellers in opposite directions. The cockpit is layered and the frame is heavy, although all four engines are clearly visible from the seats.

The nose is glazed for the bomber crew. The fuselage was slightly tapered to form a tail, on which was mounted a single high-reach vertical tail and a low-position, swept horizontal tail. The landing gear is fully retractable and in a tricycle configuration - a method that goes back to the original Boeing B-29. The prototype was internally recognized as "Tu-95-1" in Tupolev and powered by 4 x Kuznetsov 2TV-2F coupled turboprop engines. Standard armament consisted of one or two 23mm AM-23 rear radar-guided cannons - a common feature of the large Soviet bombers of the era.

The bomb carrying capacity reaches nearly 20,000 pounds and will eventually include missile support.

As the project progressed, the gearbox eventually failed during testing, resulting in the loss of the 95-1 prototype when the No. 3 engine caught fire in flight. It eventually broke off the cradle and crashed the plane, and astonishingly, on May 17, 1953, only 4 of the 11 crew members were killed. This particular event shifted the design team from the original Kuznetsov engine to the Kuznetsov NK-12 series.

This step resulted in the "Tu-95-2" prototype.

After passing all necessary tests and evaluations, the Tu-95 was officially accepted into service with the Soviet Army, with a production time span from 1952 to 1994. In total about 500 units will be built, and the official introduction of the aircraft took place in 1956.

Once properly identified, the aircraft bears the NATO codename "Bear".

The original bear formations were simply referred to as "Tu-95" and these formations matched the corresponding Tu-95M model formations. The Tu-95M was slightly different, incorporating additional air intakes on top of the engine for additional cooling.

Both versions served the basic long-range strategic bomber role and were code-named "Bear-A" by NATO observers. These airframes are conventional bomber types that lack inherent nuclear delivery capabilities.

This is followed by the Tu-95A brand, which includes the aforementioned nuclear payload delivery capabilities. These airframes were appropriately modified to include temperature-controlled bomb bays, cockpit windshield visors and a white underside to prevent subsequent explosions. The Tu-95MA is nothing but the aforementioned Tu-95M with the Tu-95A brand nuclear capability.

This group is also designated "Bear-A" by NATO.

Aircraft this large, expensive, and high-tech require specialized training platforms that can be used to develop brand new Bear pilots and crew. This resulted in a Tu-95U crew trainer derivative converted from the existing Tu-95 and Tu-95M models.

These airframes lost their weapons-carrying equipment and bomb bays, while they were marked with red stripes on the empennage to indicate their reduced form.

A special maritime reconnaissance variant was developed as the Tu-95MR and received the NATO designation "Bear-E". The model grew out of a 1960 initiative calling for such an aircraft, with testing beginning as early as 1961. Photographic camera equipment took over the bomb bay, while special electronics were installed to collect data.

These airframes are identified by the addition of fairings and probes to the tail. Introduced by the Soviet Air Force in 1964, the Tu-95MR finally ended its era as a dedicated trainer and was duly converted to the aforementioned Tu-95U standard.

The Tu-95V exists as a hydrogen bomb carrier and is modified for that role. The plane ended its days as a means of transportation after a period of inactivity. It has since become a static classroom.

Tu-95K "Bear-B" was the first missile carrier for the Tu-95. Together with its Kh-20 family of air-to-surface missiles (As-3 "Kangaroo"), it is collectively known as "Tu-95K-20". Two prototypes were developed, which led to the acceptance of 47 new build aircraft.

Tu-95KM represents a modernized updated form. The trainer is Tu-95KU. The Tu-95KD "Bear-B" introduced a nasal refueling probe for extended battery life. Tu-95KM "Bear-C" is another missile carrier with improved systems. Completed 23 examples.

The Tu-95K-22 upgraded the Tu-95KM product line with a new weapon system in 1973. When they were abandoned during the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty ("START-1") between the United States and Russia, they had a short lifespan.

The upcoming Tu-95MS "Bear-H" is already capable of carrying cruise missiles. The first flight of the prototype took place in 1979 and was equipped with a new nose assembly with target guidance radar. An extra radome under the chin defines the shape of these bears. Along with the radar, the new weapon was deployed in a rotary launcher in the bomb bay.

The series was also equipped with a more powerful Kuznetsov NK-12MP engine and production began in 1981. The Tu-95MS is produced in two different forms, the Tu-95MS-6 and the Tu-95MS-16 - which is a testament to its missile loading capability (MS-16, which has Underwing hardpoints in addition to the bomb bay).

Thirty-one MS-6 models and 57 MS-16 models were used.

During the aircraft's illustrious career, there were several Tu-95 serviceable "disposable" platforms. This includes the Tu-95 as a mothership for launching the Tu-130 hypersonic aircraft. Another mothership concept in service was the Tu-95KM, which launched the Mikoyan 105. 11.

The Tu-95 "Vostok" was used to recover Soviet space capsules. Tu-95LAL is a core research platform and is complemented by Tu-119. Many other Tu-95 forms were considered and developed or cancelled.

At the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Empire disintegrated, resulting in a batch of Tu-95s falling into Ukrainian hands. These were returned to Russia in exchange for debt settlement amounts for Russian gas supplies. The modern Russian Air Force continues to provide support and maintain a readiness of at least 50 Bears, with a total of 60 considered available.

Ukraine no longer uses the Tu-95.

The Tu-95 family has since evolved into the more powerful Tu-142 ("Bear-F/-J") long-range anti-submarine warfare (ASW) platform detailed elsewhere on this site. Since 1968 (introduced in 1972) 100 Tu-142s have been produced and used by the Russian-Soviet Navy, Indian Navy and for a while Ukrainian Air Force.

Although the Tu-142 has been discontinued, it is still active in the Russian and Indian navies. The Tu-142 is equipped with 4 x Kuznetsov NK-12MP turboprop engines with 14,795 hp and higher performance.

Specification

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