
January 1st 19, 02:00 PM
posted to alt.binaries.pictures.aviation
|
|
How the Soviet Union Once Built the Noisiest Airliner in the World out of a Nuclear Bomber
Miloch wrote in
:
https://jalopnik.com/how-the-soviet-...noisiest-airli
ner-i-1831399230
It’s the 1950s, and you’re the Soviet Union. Your deepest rivals, the
Americans and their corporations, are all preparing the latest and
greatest jet airliners to fly them all over the world. And you’ve
got... pretty much nothing. But you do have a huge bomber ready to
deliver the apocalypse.
The Tupolev Tu-95 was just that bomber, ready to fly from Arctic bases
in the Soviet Union to drop a huge nuke or 10 on all the big and shiny
American cities we all love. With its eight contra-rotating propeller
blades approaching the speed of sound, it was so loud it could make
your bones rattle. But more importantly, it existed. And it had the
range. So the Soviets decided to adapt it into an airliner to rival
planes like the Boeing 707, as you’ll learn in this extremely
cromulent video from Mustard:
https://youtu.be/22H8M8h6Hdo
Of course, “rival” is relative. The Tupolev Tu-114, as it became
known, had some pretty significant drawbacks. Even though it’s one of
the fastest propeller-powered planes of all time, it still wasn’t a
jet. Plus, those noisy engines weren’t exactly quieted for civilian
use, with decibel levels roughly equivalent to a car horn blaring in
your face for hours on end.
But hey, at least it was reliable.
Submerged US submarines could hear Tu 95's
as they passed overhead at 35,000 feet.......
|