Myasishchev M-50

Miloch wrote in
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myasishchev_M-50

The Myasishchev M-50 (Russian:-50; NATO reporting name Bounder) is a
Soviet prototype four-jet engine supersonic strategic bomber which
never attained service. Only one flightworthy prototype was built,
which was first flown in October 1959. The M-50 was constructed by the
Myasishchev design bureau.

Design and development

The M-50 was a fast jet bomber with four engines: two Dobrynin VD-7
non-afterburning turbojet engines at the outer and two VD-7F
afterburning turbojet engines at the inner positions. The two inner
engines were located under the wing and the two outer on the wingtips
of its shoulder-mounted, truncated delta wings.

The second aircraft was designated M-52 and carried Zubets 16-17
turbofans, around which the aircraft had been designed. The engine
installation was modified, and a second tailplane added to the top of
the fin. The fore-end of the M-52 has been redesigned, in place of the
tandem cockpit of the M-50 with seats in a row, the M-52 had a wider
cockpit with the two pilots sitting side by side. The M-50
participated in a Soviet Aviation Day flyby in 1961. The M-52 was
completed but was not flight tested.

An unmanned M-51 intercontinental cruise missile variant was
developed, would have delivered multiple warheads on targets in the
contiguous United States.

Like most of the early 1960s supersonic strategic bomber projects, the
M-50/52 program was terminated due to the development of the
intercontinental ballistic missiles and the priority assigned to the
Soviet space program.

Role
Supersonic strategic bomber

Manufacturer
Myasishchev

First flight
27 October 1959

Status
Retired

Primary user
Soviet Union

Number built
1 (+1 static test airframe), 1 M-52)

Nuclear bomber hoax

The 1 December 1958 issue of Aviation Week included an article Soviets
Flight Testing Nuclear Bomber claiming that the Soviets had made great
progress in their own nuclear aircraft program. This was accompanied
by an editorial on the topic as well. The magazine claimed that the
aircraft was real beyond a doubt, stating that "A nuclear-powered
bomber is being flight tested in the Soviet Union. ... It has been
observed both in flight and on the ground by a wide variety of foreign
observers from Communist and non-Communist countries." In reality,
however, the article was based on a hoax. The aircraft in the
photographs was later revealed to be a M-50 and not a nuclear-powered
plane at all.

In reality, in the early 1960s Soviet Union did test a technology
demonstrator for a nuclear-powered strategic bomber, Tupolev Tu-95LAL,
similar to the somewhat earlier American Convair NB-36H project, but,
being based on the turboprop Tu-95, it was never supersonic, it never
flew under nuclear power (its main goal was to test the nuclear
reactor shielding efficiency), and, moreover, it was developed by the
Tupolev Design Bureau, as Myasischev company had lost the competition
to develop the prototype. It was deemed successful, but further
development dragged because of environmental concerns. When the
functional ICBMs appeared, the majority of funding and development
effort was shifted into that field, and in the late 1960s the project
was stopped.


Russia's answer to the B-58?