Tupolev Tu-16

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-16

The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) was a twin-engined jet strategic
heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has flown for more than 60 years, and
the Chinese licence-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's
Liberation Army Air Force.

In the late 1940s, the Soviet Union was strongly committed to matching the
United States in strategic bombing capability. The Soviets' only long-range
bomber at the time was Tupolev's Tu-4 'Bull', a reverse-engineered copy of the
American B-29 Superfortress. The development of the notably powerful Mikulin
AM-3 turbojet led to the possibility of a large, jet-powered bomber.

The Tupolev design bureau began work on the Tu-88 ("Aircraft N") prototypes in
1950. The Tu-88 first flew on 27 April 1952. After winning a competition against
the Ilyushin Il-46, it was approved for production in December 1952. The first
production bombers entered service with Frontal Aviation in 1954, receiving the
service designation Tu-16. It received the NATO reporting name Badger-A.

It had a new, large swept wing and two large Mikulin AM-3 turbojets, one in each
wing root. It could carry a single massive FAB-9000 9,000 kg (20,000 lb)
conventional bomb (the Russian equivalent of the British Grand Slam bomb) or
various nuclear weapons for a range of around 4,800 km (3,000 mi)

Although the Tu-16 began as a high-altitude, free-fall bomber, in the mid-1950s
it was equipped to carry early Soviet cruise missiles. The Tu-16KS-1 (Badger-B)
version could carry AS-1 missiles over a combat radius of 1,800 km (1,100 mi).
These very large weapons were aerodynamically similar to the Mikoyan-Gurevich
MiG-15 fighter, fitted with either a nuclear or conventional warhead, having a
range of about 140 km (85 mi). They were intended for use primarily against US
Navy aircraft carriers and other large surface ships. Subsequent Tu-16s were
converted to carry later, more advanced missiles, while their designations
changed several times.

A versatile design, the Tu-16 was built in numerous specialized variants for
reconnaissance, maritime surveillance, electronic intelligence gathering
(ELINT), and electronic warfare (ECM). A total of 1,507 aircraft were
constructed in three plants in the Soviet Union, in 1954–1962. A civilian
adaptation, the Tupolev Tu-104, saw passenger service with Aeroflot. The Tu-16
was also exported to Indonesia, Egypt, and Iraq. It continued to be used by the
Air Forces and naval aviation of the Soviet Union and subsequently Russia, until
1993.


Role
Strategic bomber

Manufacturer
Voronezh Aircraft Production Association

Designer
Tupolev

First flight
27 April 1952

Introduction
1954

Retired
1993 (in former Soviet Union nations)

Primary users
Soviet Air Force
Egyptian Air Force
Iraqi Air Force
Indonesian Air Force

Number built
1,509

Variants
Tupolev Tu-104
Tupolev Tu-124
Xian H-6

Notable accidents

* On May 25, 1968 a Soviet Air Force Tu-16 Badger-F piloted by Colonel Andrey
Pliyev buzzed the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Essex (CV-9) in the Norwegian
Sea. The Tu-16 made four passes, and on the last a wing clipped the sea and it
crashed with no survivors. Parts of three bodies were recovered by the US.

* On August 28, 1978 an early model Tu-16 crashed on Hopen island in Svalbard,
Norway. All seven crew were killed in the accident. It was discovered by a
four-man Norwegian weather forecasting team. The USSR refused to admit the loss
of an aircraft until the bodies of the crew were given to them. Norway
transcribed the contents of the flight recorder over the objections of the
Soviet government.

* On June 27, 1980 a Soviet Air Force Tu-16 Badger on a Tokyo Express flight
crashed near Komatsu Air Base in Ishikawa Prefecture in the Sea of Japan. There
were no survivors. The remains of three crew members were recovered by the
Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force ship Nemuro.

Specifications (Tu-16)

General characteristics
Crew: 6-7
Length: 34.80 m (114 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 33.00 m (108 ft 3 in)
Height: 10.36 m (34 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 165 m2 (1,780 sq ft)
Empty weight: 37,200 kg (82,012 lb)
Gross weight: 76,000 kg (167,551 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 79,000 kg (174,165 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Mikulin AM-3 M-500 turbojets, 93.2 kN (21,000 lbf) thrust each

Performance
Maximum speed: 1,050 km/h (652 mph; 567 kn)
Range: 7,200 km (4,474 mi; 3,888 nmi)
Service ceiling: 12,800 m (42,000 ft)
Wing loading: 460 kg/m2 (94 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 0.24

Armament

Guns: 6–7 × 23 mm Afanasev Makarov AM-23 cannons, two each in dorsal and ventral
remote turrets and manned tail turret, with the occasional addition of one fixed
forward in the nose
Missiles:
2 × Raduga KS-1 Komet (AS-1 Kennel) anti-ship missile on underwing hardpoints,
or
1 × Raduga K-10S (AS-2 Kipper) anti-ship missile semi-recessed in bomb bay, or
2 × Raduga KSR-5 (AS-6 Kingfish) anti-ship missile on underwing hardpoints

Bombs: 9,000 kg (20,000 lb) of free-fall weapon




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