The Tupolev Tu-95 Russian Military Bomber is a large, four-engine turboprop powered strategic bomber and missile platform. First flown in 1952, the Tupolev Tu-95 was put into service by the former Soviet Union in 1956 and is expected to serve the Russian Air Force until at least 2040.
Commonly known by its NATO designation, the "Bear" the aircraft has four Kuznetsov NK-12 engines, each driving contra-rotating propellers. It remains the fastest mass-produced propeller-driven aircraft and the only turboprop-powered strategic bomber to go into operational use. Its distinctively swept back wings are at 35 degrees, a very sharp angle by the standards of propeller-driven aircraft. A naval development of the bomber is designated Tu-142.
Specifications (Tu-95MS)
Tupolev Tu-95 General characteristics
- Crew: 7 - 2 pilots, 1 tailgunner, 4 others
- Length: 49.50 m (162 ft 5 in)
- Wingspan: 51.10 m (167 ft 8 in)
- Height: 12.12 m (39 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 310 m² (3,330 ft²)
- Empty weight: 90,000 kg (198,000 lb)
- Loaded weight: 171,000 kg (376,200 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 188,000 kg (414,500 lb)
- Powerplant: 4× Kuznetsov NK-12MV turboprops, 11,000 kW (14,800 shp) each
Tupolev Tu-95 Performance
- Maximum speed: 920 km/h (510 knots, 575 mph)
- Range: 15,000 km (8,100 nmi, 9,400 mi) unrefueled
- Service ceiling: 13,716 m (45,000 ft)
- Rate of climb: 10 m/s (2,000 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 606 kg/m² (124 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 235 W/kg (0.143 hp/lb)
Tupolev Tu-95 Armament
- Radar-controlled Guns: 1 or 2 × 23 mm AM-23 cannon in tail turret
- Missiles: Up to 15,000 kg (33,000 lb), including the Kh-20, Kh-22, Kh-26, and Kh-55 air-to-surface missiles
Trivia
In Kannazuki no miko, two Bears were seen bombing a town in South America, in which became the origin of Sister Miyako. So far in real life, there were no reports of that happening in South America.
Tupolev Tu-95 Design
The Tupolev Tu-95 design bureau led by Andrei Tupolev designed the Soviet Union's first intercontinental bomber, the 1949 Tu-85, a scaled up version of the Tu-4, a B-29 Superfortress copy. The Tu-85 was deemed to be inadequate against the new generation of American all-weather interceptors.
A new requirement was issued to both Tupolev and Myasishchev design bureaus in 1950: the proposed bomber had to have an un-refuelled range of 8000 km (4,970 mi) - far enough to threaten key targets in the United States. Other goals included the ability to carry an 11,000 kg (12 ton) load over the target.
The big problem for Tupolev was the engine choice: the Tu-4 showed that piston engines were not powerful enough to fulfill that role, while the fuel hungry AM-3 jet engines of the proposed T-4 intercontinental jet bomber did not provide adequate range. Turboprops offered more power than piston engines and better range than jets, with a top speed in between.
Taking a cue from American aircraft builder Boeing, which used the recently developed Pratt & Whitney J57 jet engine in its B-52 Stratofortress, the Myasishchev bureau chose jets for its design.
Tupolev Tu-95's proposal was selected and Tu-95 development was officially approved by the government on 11 July 1951. It featured Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprops fitted with eight-bladed contra-rotating propellers, producing a nominal 8,948 kW (12,000 eshp) power rating. Unlike the advanced engine design, the fuselage was conventional: a high-wing cantilever monoplane with 35 degrees of sweep, an angle which ensured the main wing spar passed through the fuselage in front of the bomb bay. Retractable tricycle landing gear was fitted, with the main gear retracting rearwards. The Tu-95 first flew November 11, 1952 with test-pilot Alexey Perelet at the controls. Series production of the airplane started in January 1956.
For a long time, the Tupolev Tu-95 was known to Western intelligence as the Tu-20. While this was the original Soviet Air Force designation for the aircraft, by the time it was being supplied to operational units it was already better known under the Tu-95 designation used internally by Tupolev, and the Tu-20 designation quickly fell out of use in the USSR. Since the Tu-20 designation was used on many documents acquired by Western intelligence agents, the name continued to be used outside the Soviet Union.
Initially the United States Department of Defense did not take the Tupolev Tu-95 seriously, as estimates showed it had a maximum speed of 644 km/h (400 mph) with a range of 12,500 km (7,800 mi). These numbers had to be revised upward numerous times.
Like its American counterpart, the B-52 Stratofortress, the Tupolev Tu-95 has continued to operate in the Russian Air Force while several iterations of bomber design have come and gone. Part of the reason for this longevity was its suitability, like the B-52, for modification to different missions. Whereas the Tupolev Tu-95 was originally intended to drop nuclear weapons, it was subsequently modified to perform a wide range of roles, such as the deployment of cruise missiles, maritime patrol (Tu-142), and even civilian airliner (Tu-114). An AWACS platform (Tu-126) was developed from the Tu-114. During and after the Cold War, the Tu-95's utility as a weapons platform has been eclipsed only by its usefulness as a diplomatic icon.
