A RetroSearch Logo

Home - News ( United States | United Kingdom | Italy | Germany ) - Football scores

Search Query:

Showing content from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-16 below:

Tupolev Tu-16 - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Soviet heavy bomber

The Tupolev Tu-16 (USAF/DOD reporting name Type 39;[2] NATO reporting name: Badger)[3] is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years. While many aircraft in Soviet service were retired after the Cold War ended, the Chinese license-built version Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force, with the most modern variant, the H-6K, still being actively produced as of 2020[update].[4]

Tu-16 bomber at the Monino Museum (1998)

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.

Rear side view of a Tu-16 Badger reconnaissance variant (most likely a Tu-16R) c.1989

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) bomb (the Russian equivalent in terms of size of the British Grand Slam, but a conventional bomb rather than a deep ground penetrator) or various nuclear weapons for a range of around 4,800 km (3,000 mi). Production took place in three aviation plants, Kazan Aircraft Production Association, Kuybyshev, and Voronezh Aircraft Production Association.

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.

Egyptian Tu-16s c.1980

A versatile design, the Tu-16 was built in numerous specialized variants for aerial reconnaissance, maritime surveillance, electronic intelligence gathering (ELINT), and electronic warfare (ECM). In total, 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.

Delivery of the Tu-16 to China began in 1958, and the Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation license-produced the aircraft under the Chinese designation Xian H-6. At least 120 of these aircraft remain in service. On 14 May 1965, one of the PLAAF Tu-16 bombers carried out the first airborne nuclear weapon test inside China.[5]

An F-8H Crusader of VF-13 escorts an Egyptian Tupolev Tu-16 in May 1969 Tu-16 Badger G with KSR-5 missile Tu-16K-10-26 Badger C Tu-16K-26 or Tu-16KSR-2-11-16, with KSR-5 missiles under wings (1998)

Among the main production variants of the Badger were the Tu-16 and Tu-16A bombers and Tu-16KS and Tu-16K-10 missile carriers, Tu-16SPS, "Elka", and Tu-16Ye ECM aircraft, Tu-16R reconnaissance aircraft, and Tu-16T torpedo bombers; others were produced from conversions. Individual aircraft could be modified several times, with designations changed, especially concerning missile-carrying aircraft.

 

Current operators of the Tu-16/

H-6

  Former operators

 Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
 China
 Egypt
 Georgia
 Indonesia
Indonesian Air Force Tu-16KS-1 1625 at Dirgantara Mandala Museum
 Iraq
 Russia
Retired from military service by 1995. A few aircraft were maintained and operated by designers and manufacturers for testing until 2001−2002, when it was finally retired[13]
 Soviet Union
Ukraine
Specifications (Tu-16)[edit] Orthographic projection of the Tupolev Tu-16.

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

  1. ^ "Предприятие". www.vaso.ru. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  2. ^ Jane's All the World's Aircraft p. 188
  3. ^ "Designations of Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft and Missiles". www.designation-systems.net. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  4. ^ Axe, David (16 November 2020). "The Chinese Air Force Sure Is Buying A Lot Of Bombers". Forbes. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Tu-16 bomber carried out nuclear bomb test in China, 1965". AirForceWorld.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  6. ^ "World Air Forces". Armenia Air Force. Archived from the original on 2007-01-15. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  7. ^ "World Air Forces". Azerbaijan Air Force. Archived from the original on 2006-11-12. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  8. ^ a b "Aircraft Profile:Tupolev Tu-16 Badger". Air International. August 2006.
  9. ^ "World Air Forces". Belarus Air Force. Archived from the original on 2006-12-31. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  10. ^ a b c "VectorSite". The Tupolev Tu-16 "Badger". Archived from the original on 2012-04-17. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  11. ^ Cooper, Tom (18 April 2020). "Did you know the former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak was a good military pilot? Part 2 Nocturnal Il-28 reconnaissance sorties over Israel". AviationGeekClub.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  12. ^ "World Air Forces". Georgia Air Force. Archived from the original on 2007-01-17. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  13. ^ Mladenov, Alexander; Grozev, Krasimir (8 March 2021). "Tupolev Tu-16 Versatile Badger". Key.Aero. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  14. ^ Cenciotti, David (14 April 2016). "That time a Soviet bomber crashed into the sea after buzzing a U.S. aircraft carrier". The Aviationist. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017.
  15. ^ "Russ bomber falls in sea near U.S. ship May 26, 1968" Archived August 14, 2017, at the Wayback Machine Chicago Tribune Retrieved August 14, 2017
  16. ^ The Games Pilots Play Over the Mediterranean August 23, 1981 Archived August 28, 2017, at the Wayback Machine The New York Times Retrieved August 14, 2017
  17. ^ ASN Aircraft Accident 27-May-1968 Tupolev Tu-16 Badger Archived 2017-08-14 at the Wayback Machine Aviation Safety Network Retrieved August 14, 2017
  18. ^ Simonov, Andrey; Bodrikhin, Nikolai (2017). Боевые лётчики — дважды и трижды Герои Советского Союза [Combat pilots - Twice and thrice Heroes of the Soviet Union]. Moscow: Russian Knights Foundation and Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Technology. p. 46. ISBN 9785990960510. OCLC 1005741956.
  19. ^ "Soviet Union Military Plane Crashes in Norway", Facts On File World News Digest, October 27, 1978 Archived May 6, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 15, 2017
  20. ^ Svalbard Arctic out post at strategic crossroads September 9, 1980 Archived August 15, 2017, at the Wayback Machine The Christian Science Monitor Retrieved August 15, 2017
  21. ^ Umbreit, Andreas Bradt Svalbard: Spitzbergen with Frank Josef Land & Jan Mayen page 132 Archived 2023-07-15 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 15, 2017

RetroSearch is an open source project built by @garambo | Open a GitHub Issue

Search and Browse the WWW like it's 1997 | Search results from DuckDuckGo

HTML: 3.2 | Encoding: UTF-8 | Version: 0.7.4