After the launch of the ICBM, Soviet Long-Range Aviation was involved. Thanks to the dispersal at alternate airfields, most of the Tu-95, 3M, M-4, Tu-16 bombers and outdated piston Tu-4 bombers survived. After delivering ICBM strikes and the first attack by American bombers, more than 500 long-range aircraft remained in the Soviet Air Force, but only 150 aircraft could reach US territory and return. For 40 Tu-95K missile carriers, about a hundred X-20 supersonic cruise missiles were combat-ready.
The first to enter the business were jet Tu-16A, which did not have an intercontinental range, but perfectly suited for bombing American targets in Europe, Asia and Alaska. NATO air defense in Europe after nuclear missile strikes had gaps, so the losses of bombers were relatively small. Only the RAF pilots offer fierce resistance. The batteries of the Bloodhound and Thunderbird anti-aircraft systems, whose positions were located in the vicinity of British airbases, were mostly destroyed or disabled by electromagnetic pulses of nuclear explosions, and at the same time the friend-or-foe radar system completely failed. For this reason, British interceptors were forced to produce visual identification of targets to prevent the destruction of American and British bombers returning after a raid on the USSR. The air defense of the British Isles is hacked after several launches of K-10S cruise missiles with nuclear warheads at interceptor airfields and surviving radars. After that, the Tu-16, under cover of interference, break through at low altitude to naval bases and surviving airfields. Shipyards, aircraft manufacturers and large cities are also turning into radioactive ruins.
The loss of Tu-16 bombers operating over Germany is less than that of the aviation regiments striking England, and does not exceed 20% of the number of aircraft participating in sorties. After a series of nuclear strikes by the Soviet MRBM, OTR and KR, the air defense of these countries was disorganized. The target for the Soviet bombers becomes a large American ground grouping in the Grafenwehr area, Illesheim and Büchel airbases. Only individual batteries of the Nike-Hercules air defense system are trying to counter the Tu-16 in Germany, and the French are throwing MD.454 Mister IV fighters and the F-100 Super Saber deployed in Germany into battle. A significant part of the tactical aviation of the occupation forces in the FRG survived, but the Americans and the British are in no hurry to use fighters hidden in concrete shelters, and control of the West German Luftwaffe is lost. In addition, radiation levels at many of the nuclear-hit airbases are hampering recovery efforts.
Having risen from the Mozdok airfield, two Tu-16 squadrons are heading towards Turkey, their targets are Istanbul, Ankara and the American Inzhirlik airbase, where American strategic bombers land for refueling. However, they suffer heavy losses. Istanbul is covered by four Nike-Hercules batteries, and on the approach to Ankara and the Inzhirlik Tu-16 airbase, they are met by F-100 and F-104 fighters. Two bombers manage to break through to Ankara at low altitude, and the city perishes in the fire of nuclear explosions.
Surveillance radar DEW-line in Alaska
About fifty Tu-16s attack Alaska and northeastern Canada. Their goal is the so-called DEW-line - a network of radars interconnected by automated communication systems. The F-102 and F-106 interceptors are trying to counter the Tu-16 bombers. The Americans are using unguided air combat missiles MIM-14 Genie with a W25 nuclear warhead with a capacity of 1.5 kt and a launch range of 10 km. The warhead was detonated by a remote fuse, which was triggered immediately after the rocket engine had finished working. The explosion of the warhead is capable of guaranteed destruction of any aircraft within a radius of 500 meters. In addition to unguided nuclear missiles, aircraft guided AIM-26 Falcon with a nuclear warhead are also widely used. However, the Gini and Falcones did a disservice: after the destruction of several of the first links of Soviet bombers, the radar stations of the interceptors and guidance stations were blinded, in addition, radio communications were disrupted, and the effectiveness of the fighter aviation's actions fell sharply.
DEW line elements layout
As a result, the goal was achieved, the Soviet bombers of the first wave manage to disrupt the performance of the American-Canadian air defense system. Nuclear explosions over Dutch Harbor and Anchorage have disabled key radars and communications lines.
Important American targets in Japan and South Korea are being bombed. Soon, the DPRK troops cross the 38th parallel and begin to advance towards Seoul. Taking advantage of the fact that the Americans can no longer protect their ally, the PLA forces hastily prepare to seize Formosa. Chinese bombers H-5 (Il-28) and H-6 (Tu-16) bomb targets in Taiwan. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, realizing that he alone will not be able to hold back the landing of Chinese communist troops on the island, appeals for help to the United States. The Americans send several carrier-based A-3s, which with nuclear bombs destroy the coastal airfields of the PLA air force. After that, Mao Zedong has no choice, and he joins the USSR in hostilities against the United States. As a result, the multimillion-dollar Chinese army is once again involved in the war on the Korean Peninsula, and several Tu-4 piston bombers are trying to bomb the forward Clark Air Force base in the Philippines and Singapore. The planes approaching the Philippines were shot down by American fighters, and the raid on Singapore, where British and American warships were being repaired and replenished, were repelled by the RIM-2 Terrier and Bloodhound air defense systems. Mao Zedong demands from the Soviet leadership nuclear weapons, modern interceptors and anti-aircraft missile systems. But the Soviet leaders are clearly not up to providing assistance to the PRC. The nuclear conflict is in full swing, and the Chinese receive only assurances that assistance will be provided as soon as possible.
Soviet long-range bomber 3M
Following the Tu-16, Soviet "strategists" rise into the air. In the first wave, Tu-95K missile carriers armed with X-20 supersonic missiles with a launch range of 600 km travel along the shortest path through the polar latitudes to the North American continent. The Kh-20 rocket developed a speed of up to 2M, carried a thermonuclear warhead with a capacity of 0.8-3 Mt and was intended to destroy large area targets. However, at the first stage, the X-20s were not aimed at cities, but at interceptor airfields and well-known control centers for the US air defense system. This tactic has largely borne fruit. The losses among the 36 Tu-95K missile carriers that participated in the first raid did not exceed 25%. American interceptors managed to shoot down only 16 cruise missiles, another missile fell due to technical problems, as a result, 19 thermonuclear X-20s hit the targets. The breakthrough of the Soviet missile carriers is facilitated by the fact that the Greenland Thule airbase, where the F-102 interceptors of the 332nd squadron were based, was neutralized by the R-13 missile launched from the Soviet diesel-electric submarine of project 629.
Anti-aircraft missiles SAM MIM-14 "Nike-Hercules"
In the second wave, the United States and Canada were attacked by Tu-95, 3M, M-4 bombers carrying mostly free-fall thermonuclear bombs. In 1962, the basis of the air defense of the North American continent, along with the interceptor fighters F-89, F-101, F-102, F-106 were the MIM-3 "Nike-Ajax" air defense systems, MIM-14 "Nike-Hercules" and unmanned interceptors CIM-10 Beaumark. The air defense system of Canada and the United States was considered the most powerful in the world, but it could not prevent the destruction of American cities in the heat of thermonuclear explosions. Almost 100% of Nike-Hercules anti-aircraft missiles and Bomark long-range unmanned interceptors were equipped with nuclear warheads with a capacity of 2 to 40 kt.
The layout of the positions of the air defense system "Nike"
American generals believed that this would increase effectiveness against group targets in difficult jamming conditions. However, just as in the case of the Gini and Falcon aircraft missiles, after air nuclear explosions, vast “dead zones” were formed, inaccessible to radar viewing. Powerful electromagnetic pulses had the most negative impact on the performance of surveillance radars and communication lines. As a result of attacks by cruise missiles and the impact of dozens of nuclear explosions from warheads of their own aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles, the effectiveness of air defense decreased to a critical level, and more than half of Soviet bombers, operating mainly in triplets, managed to hit the intended targets.
Layout of launchers "Bomark"
The expensive unmanned interceptor "Bomark" absolutely did not justify the hopes placed on it. The launchers of this complex, operated by the US Air Force, were located in the northwest of the United States and in Canada, on the path of the most likely breakthrough of Soviet bombers. The interception range of this complex reached 800 km. The SAGE global interceptor guidance system was used to target an unmanned interceptor with a nuclear warhead flying on a marching sector at a speed of 3M.
Long-range unmanned interceptors CIM-10 "Bomark" on launchers
According to the information received from NORAD radars, the SAGE system automatically processed the radar data, and transmitted them via cables laid underground to relay stations, near which an unmanned interceptor was flying at that moment. Depending on the maneuvers of the target being fired, the direction of the interceptor's flight in this area could change. The autopilot received data on the coordinates of the air target and corrected the direction of flight. When approaching the target at a distance of 20 km, on command from the ground, the radar homing head was turned on. However, as a result of the nuclear attack, a significant part of the NORAD radars and the entire SAGE interceptor guidance system were inoperable. In these conditions, "Bomark" has become practically useless. As a result of six launches of interceptors located in Canada, it was possible to destroy one Tu-95K of the first wave and two Kh-20 cruise missiles.
Aircraft AWACS EC-121
The US Air Force command is trying to restore the disturbed information field by sending three dozen EC-121 Warning Star AWACS aircraft to intercept lines. However, due to confusion and disrupted communication channels, several American AWACS aircraft were mistaken for Soviet bombers and shot down.
On the second or third day of the conflict, the intensity of the mutual exchange of nuclear strikes decreases. This is due to the depletion of ballistic missile stocks and the reduction in the number of long-range bombers as a result of losses. Most of the American missile boats have already fired off, and the majority of Soviet armed R-13 SLBMs with a range of 650 km have not yet reached the launch areas. As it arrives from storage bases, the launch of ICBMs continues. So, from the launch sites near Plesetsk at the Norfolk naval base and Patterson airbase, where the NORAD headquarters was located, two P-7s were launched. As a result of the launch of four R-12s from the positions of the 178th missile regiment, based in the Caucasus in the suburb of Ordzhonikidze, together with eleven American bombers, the Turkish Inzherlik airbase and the port of Izmir were destroyed, where American warships entered to replenish supplies. The launch of the MRBM in North Ossetia came as a surprise to the Americans, since the 178th missile regiment was successfully disguised as a training aviation unit. Also, at targets in Turkey from the positions of the 84th missile regiment stationed in Crimea, despite the fact that the area was attacked by the Jupiter MRBM, it was possible to launch two R-5 missiles. A single R-14 missile from the 433rd missile regiment stationed in Ukraine destroyed the Aviano airbase in Italy.
The American strategic aviation continued its raids, now mainly B-52s participated in the nuclear bombings. B-47 bombers suffered heavy losses, and the surviving Stratojets operated mainly in the countries of the Eastern bloc, in addition, as a result of attacks by Soviet MRBMs and Tu-16 rocket launchers on targets in Europe, most of the air bases they used were disabled. Supersonic B-58 demonstrated low technical reliability. Many Hustlers crashed or failed to complete the combat mission due to avionics malfunctions and engine failures. The Stratofortress targets over the next few days were Soviet targets beyond the Urals, in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
B-47 bomber
As a result of the failure of the guidance system of the American ICBM, the airfield near Poltava survived. Part of the Tu-16, redeployed to dispersal airfields, and the strategists M-4 and 3M from Engels returned here after performing combat missions. For a number of reasons, difficulties arose with preparations for repeated combat missions of bombers participating in strikes on the North American continent, and 19 Soviet bombers took part in combat missions on October 29-30. These were mainly Tu-95s, which were in reserve, now the aircraft operate singly and in pairs.
After the entry into the war of the PRC and the DPRK, American strategic aviation with thermonuclear bombs turns Beijing and Pyongyang into ruins, as well as a number of other Chinese and North Korean cities. Two divisions of the S-75 air defense system stationed near Beijing manage to hit two B-47 bombers, but after a bomber covered by interference dropped a hydrogen bomb on the Chinese air defense command center near Beijing, American strategic aviation began to operate almost unhindered. Chinese J-6 fighters managed to shoot down and seriously damage several returning bombers, but this no longer played any role. A fierce air battle between Chinese and Kuomintang fighters broke out over the Taiwan Strait. The MiG-15, MiG-17 and F-86F met in battle. The more modern J-6 and F-100 sides were kept in reserve. Thanks to the use of AIM-9 Sidewinder guided air combat missiles and better pilot training, the Taiwan Air Force managed to neutralize the numerical superiority of the PLA Air Force and prevent the conquest of air superiority.
To assist its ally, the US Navy dispatched the Los Angeles cruiser (CA-135) to the PRC coast, which launched two Regulus cruise missiles with W27 megaton warheads at Chinese coastal targets. After China was subjected to another series of nuclear strikes, Mao Zedong once again turned to Khrushchev for help. The outbreak of war with the United States smoothed out the ideological differences that had formed by that time, and the Soviet leadership found it possible to transfer 36 MiG-15bis fighters, 24 Il-28 jet bombers, 30 outdated Tu-4 piston bombers to the Chinese. To protect the coast, two divisions of Sopka coastal missile systems were delivered. This help could be considered symbolic, especially since the S-75 air defense system, which the Chinese badly needed, was not delivered, if not for one circumstance. Together with IL-28 jet bombers, 6 RDS-10 tactical atomic bombs were sent to the PRC. Aircraft with nuclear weapons were flown by Soviet crews, bomb maintenance and preparation for use were carried out by Soviet specialists. In addition, on October 30, a combined regiment of Tu-16 bombers and missile carriers flew to the southeast of the PRC. These aircraft, operated by Soviet pilots, received orders from the USSR and did not obey the Chinese command.
On the evening of October 30, after MiG-17, J-5 and J-6 fighters tied the Taiwanese Super Sabers in battle, Il-28 bombers dropped two atomic bombs on Taiwan. In the morning of the next day, the landing operation of the Chinese troops began on Formosa, three days later the resistance of the Kuomintang troops was broken. Closer to midnight, the Soviet Tu-16A and Tu-16K-10, taking off from the jump airfield on the Hainan Island, finally destroyed the already partially destroyed American bases Clark and Subic Bay in the Philippines. The first were the missile carriers, which, by launching KSR-2 air-launched cruise missiles with megaton warheads, neutralized the American air defense in the area.
