Strategic aircraft-missile carrier Tu-95MS "Bear"

After the Russian Federation resumed flights of strategic aviation carriers on alert, reports began appearing in the press that Tu-95MS aircraft had been seen near the air borders of Great Britain, Guam, Japan and other places where such activity had not previously been observed. Our air forces do not violate air borders, but approach them closely, which is perceived as unfriendly behavior. Sometimes interceptors of NATO countries fly to the interception (conditional) , and the incident is deemed to have been exhausted. The only currently in the world of a screw-type strategic bomber "Tu", some military observers call "relic". Despite such an insulting nickname, its appearance near the training areas of the armies and fleets of countries of possible adversaries is cause for concern. Why?

The beginning of the era of "A-bombs"

Tu-95MSM "Bear" is a direct descendant of the "95-1 plane", which first flew into the air in the autumn of 1952. Operation in the flight parts began in 1956, about the same time when the famous B-52 appeared in America, which still serves today. These events were preceded by a certain prehistory.

In August 1945, US aviation produced two atomic bombings of Japanese cities. The military expediency of this action political scientists still argue, but the psychological effect, of course, took place. The era of atomic psychosis began. It was clear to the Stalinist leadership that without its own nuclear forces, the USSR would lose its geopolitical independence. At the same time, the bomb itself (it was already being developed) is not enough, we need the means of its delivery. The first and fully justified measure taken in this direction was the copying of the Boeing B-29 Stratofortress, which we named the Tu-4. In 1950, a war broke out in Korea, in which American troops, using a traditional and tried-and-true strategy, relied on carpet bombing, carried out by large air units flying in a dense formation. The system, however, failed.

How the "Bear" was created

After the appearance of jet fighters MiG-15 in the Korean sky, the vulnerability of the B-29 became obvious. The paradox of the situation was that the Soviet aircraft designers with their own hands proved the inconsistency of the concept of an atomic bomber with a piston engine (that is, Tu-4), while the others at the time were not in the USSR. On an urgent basis, the work on the prospective Tu-85 model was canceled due to its obsolescence at the design stage. KB A.N. Tupolev commissioned the creation of a new carrier aircraft of free-fall large-tonnage bombs, which could fly much higher, faster and would have a larger combat radius. Implement such a project could only be using turbine engines. In the middle of 1951, work began. By 1952, they were crowned with success, the result was a plane with a modest index of "95", transported to the airfield "Zhukovsky" and mounted there. Outwardly, it almost did not differ from the Tu-95MS, flying to this day.

General scheme

By today's standards, the layout of the "Bear" (as it was nicknamed in NATO) is not striking. The scheme is classical, the fuselage is of circular cross-section (usual for Tupolev's solution), the wing is swept, medium-spaced. The surprise of experts in the early fifties would have caused very long nacelles due to high engine power, and an unusual scheme of propulsors. The Tu-95MS aircraft is equipped not with four screws (like B-17 or B-29), but with eight screws. On the axis of each motor, two propellers revolve (thanks to a very interesting reducer circuit), the inclination of the blades of which also has the opposite direction. Thus, they direct the air in concert, which achieves a very high efficiency (up to 82%). This decision immediately brought the parameters of the Tu-95MS power plant to a qualitative level, close to the turbojet characteristics.

In addition to these unusual moments, the impression is produced and the geometric dimensions of the glider. Its length and wingspan are about 50 meters. The take-off weight is more than 180 tons.

As for the mass of the combat load, it was 12 tons at the time of adoption, but in the process of finalizing and improving the design, it was possible to bring it up to 20 tons (so much is carried by the Tu-95MSM "Bear").

"From the corner"

The growing capabilities of air defense systems both in the USSR and in countries opposing it militarily have gradually brought to naught the idea of using free-fall bombs, especially those equipped with a special charge. At the time of realizing this fact, the USA and the Soviet Union had hundreds of sound and durable machines with a number of unique flight characteristics (range, speed, carrying capacity). A lot of money was spent on their development and construction. It was necessary to find a new application for them. It is not known who had the idea of using a bomber as a flying launcher for cruise missiles, but it proved to be salutary for a whole class of aircraft. The modified Tu-95MS bomber became such an "air battery" designed to launch the missile from neutral zones, without entering airspace of the enemy and shooting unexpectedly, as from around the corner.

Civic version

Since the fifties (and in some cases even from earlier times) bombers have become kind of "donors" of the passenger air fleet. This phenomenon is most typical for the work of the design bureau A.N. Tupolev, it is enough to recall the famous Tu-104, which is a conversion of the combat Tu-16. For a long time the state considered excessive the costs of designing exclusively civilian machines, preferring the use of ready-made structures and their adaptation. The Tu-95MS aircraft is operated much longer than another version of the "95th", passenger Tu-114, already served in "Aeroflot" and even managed to deliver General Secretary Khrushchev in the United States.

Self-defense

In the 1950s and 1960s, even AN-12 transport aircraft were equipped with stern fire points. Today, this armament seems obsolete, and the very idea of using air guns to defend against fighters is naive. Nevertheless, the Tu-95MS missile carrier retained its artillery installations, their caliber is 23 mm. On earlier versions, there were more (up to six barrels, 3 paired systems). Against the air-to-air missile they are unlikely to help, but give a certain chance to repel the fighter's attack from the rear hemisphere. According to their design, the GSH-23 guns are approximately identical to those used for the Tu-4, the artillery technique is generally conservative.

The main weapon

Cruise missiles X-55 - the main armament of the bomber Tu-95MS. Their characteristics deserve a separate article, but the way of their integration in the design of the aircraft is original and in its own way is graceful. Inside the fuselage there are six shells with folded wings, similar to the cartridges in the revolver drum. After the launch of one missile, the entire internal system makes a 60-degree turn, and the next X-55 is ready to be separated through a spacious bomb-bay.

Underwing pylons (four of them) are designed to suspend another ten cruise missiles, the carrying capacity of the aircraft allows carrying such a weight, although the flight characteristics are reduced, the aerodynamic resistance and, as a consequence, the fuel consumption increase, and the flight range is reduced.

Working conditions of the crew

Tu-95MS is not the most comfortable car. The pilot's cabin is rather cramped, although many of the unpleasant factors characteristic of earlier versions are now eliminated. The crew of the front hermetic cabin takes places, climbing the high staircase through the hatch in the lower bow, next to the front landing gear of the chassis, through which it leaves the aircraft in case of an emergency situation. To accelerate the process provided a kind of conveyor, but a jump with a parachute down is always more dangerous, since most flight accidents occur at low altitudes (with takeoff and landing). Catapult as such is absent.

Rear hood is equipped with its own hatch. For rescue in the event of an accident over the sea, inflatable rafts are provided.

Pilots complain about the high noise level (the engines are very powerful, 15 thousand liters each, and the screws are huge and there are eight of them). Inconvenient and toilet. It should, however, be borne in mind that the work on designing the 95th began as early as Stalin's times, when little attention was paid to convenience issues.

Prospects

The airfield of long-range aviation "Engels" in the Saratov region became after the collapse of the Union the main base of 32 units of the 90 produced aircraft of this modification. In 1992, the issue of "Bears" Tu-95MS was completed. Characteristics of the missile carrier allow the leadership of the Ministry of Defense to count on the possibility of their exploitation for at least another ten years.

The range of flight from 6 to 10 thousand km provides the combat capabilities inherent in the aircraft of subsequent generations. The speed of up to 900 km / h corresponds to the parameters of the B-52 bomber performing similar functions. The possibility of installing equipment for electronic warfare leveled the high visibility of the Bear for hostile radar. Timely prevention contributes to the extension of the service life. Nevertheless, Tu-95 are doomed to write-off after the last of them has exhausted the safety margin. In their place, modern strategic missile carriers will be deployed.