Tu-16 (front view)
A new era in Russian long-range aviation was opened by the Tu-16 aircraft - the first Soviet long-range bomber with a turbojet engine and the world's second serial aircraft of this class.
Work on the design of a jet engine intended to replace the Tu-4 piston aircraft was launched at the Design Bureau of A. N. Tupolev in 1948. Initially, they were proactive in nature and relied on preliminary theoretical studies carried out in the OKB and TsAGI, on the formation of the appearance of heavy combat aircraft with a turbojet engine and a swept wing of high aspect ratio (it should be noted that these works, in contrast to the aerodynamic centers of the United States and Great Britain, were conducted by TsAGI independently, without the use of captured German materials, which at the time of the start of work on the creation of the bomber were not yet at the disposal of Soviet specialists).
At the beginning of 1948, in the project brigade of the Tupolev company, they completed a purely applied work "Study of the flight characteristics of heavy jet aircraft with swept wing", in which possible options for solving the problem of creating a jet bomber with a speed approaching 1000 km / h and a bomb load of 6000 were considered. kg, having weapons and crew like the Tu-4.
The next step was the work of the OKB to study the effect of wing area and wing elongation on the flight characteristics of an aircraft with a swept wing, completed in February 1949. It considered hypothetical projects of heavy aircraft with a takeoff weight of up to 35 tons, wing areas ranging from 60 to 120 m2 and various wing elongation values. The influence of these parameters and their combinations on the flight range, take-off run, speed and other flight characteristics of the aircraft was studied. In parallel, practical work on the study of swept wings as applied to heavy jet aircraft was going on.
Tu-16 aircraft layout
In a short time, the OKB created a project for an experimental bomber - the aircraft "82" with two jet engines RD-45F or VK-1. The aircraft was intended to obtain high, close to sound, flight speeds corresponding to M = 0.9-0.95.
The design of the aircraft "73" was taken as a basis - the project of a bomber with a straight wing, worked out in the OKB of A. N. Tupolev. The main difference was the use of a swept wing with a sweep angle of 34 ° 18 '. The wing was recruited from symmetrical profiles of the 12-0-35 type along the center section and SR-1-12 profiles along the outer part of the wing. Structurally, it had a two-spar coffered structure.
The horizontal and vertical empennages were also swept-like (the angle along the leading edge was 40 °).
The project "82" assumed the use of another innovation of that time - hydraulic boosters in the control channels of the aircraft. However, during the construction of the prototype, due to the low operational reliability, these devices were abandoned, leaving only rigid mechanical control.
The project of the aircraft "82" was considered by the customer - the Air Force, after which in July 1948 the Council of Ministers of the USSR issued a decree on the construction of an experimental jet bomber under the designation Tu-22 (the second aircraft of the Tupolev Design Bureau with this designation; earlier, in 1947, work was carried out on the project of the Tu-22 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft - the plane "74").
The construction of the new bomber was carried out at a "shock" pace, and on March 24, 1949, test pilot A. D. The flight was performed on an experimental aircraft "82" the first test flight.
During the tests of the machine, a maximum speed of 934 km / h was reached, which was 20% higher than the speed of the Tu-14 ("81") bomber, also equipped with a turbojet engine, but having a straight wing and undergoing factory and state tests during this period.
The aircraft "82" was a purely experimental machine, it lacked a panoramic-aiming radar, there was little defensive small arms and cannon armament, therefore, based on the work on "82", the OKB worked out the project of the bomber "83" - with reinforced armament and a PS radar sight - NB or precision targeting equipment "RM-S" installed instead of the radar. The aircraft "83" in the bomber version was not accepted for construction and serial production, since with the same VK-1 engine, but with a straight wing, the Il-28 front-line bomber was launched into mass production, the tactical and technical characteristics of which were quite satisfactory for the Air Force …
At the end of the 1940s, a fighter version of the aircraft was developed on the basis of the 83 aircraft. It was supposed to create an interceptor aircraft with stationary powerful cannon armament, long range and flight duration. However, the air defense command at that time did not appreciate this project, although after a few years it itself returned to the idea of a long-range heavy fighter-interceptor, but already with supersonic flight speed and missile armament (La-250, Tu-128).
During the design period of the aircraft "82" in the OKB, in general terms, the project of the aircraft "486" was being worked out, in which it was supposed to use a new fuselage layout with three twin cannon defenses, and the power plant, in contrast to the machine "82", was to consist of two TRD AM-TKRD-02 with a static thrust of 4000 kgf. With a wing of the same sweep, the 486 was supposed to reach a maximum speed of 1020 km / h. The estimated flight range of this 32-ton aircraft with 1000 kg of bombs reached 3500-4000 km. This project could already be considered as a transition from a front-line bomber to a long-range bomber with a high subsonic speed.
In 1949-1951. the design bureau worked out projects of long-range jet bombers "86" and "87", which in terms of layout repeated the aircraft "82", but had much larger dimensions and weight. They were supposed to install two engines designed by A. Mikulin (AM-02 with a thrust of 4780 kgf) or A. Lyulka (TR-3 with a thrust of 4600 kgf). The speed of each bomber was supposed to reach 950-1000 km / h, the range - up to 4000 km, and the bomb load - from 2000 to 6000 kg. Their take-off weight was in the range of 30-40 tons. The project of the aircraft "491" was also in the works - the modernization of the aircraft "86" and "87", aimed at further increasing the flight speed. In this project, a wing with a sweep angle along the leading edge of 45 ° was envisaged. The estimated maximum speed of this aircraft at an altitude of 10,000 m corresponded to M = 0.98, that is, the aircraft could be considered as transonic.
Research on these topics eventually resulted in a new project with the code "88". By this time, under the leadership of A. Mikulin, a turbojet engine of the AM-3 type with a thrust of 8750 kgf was created. However, the appearance of the aircraft did not take shape right away: the difficult task of determining the dimensions of the aircraft, its aerodynamic and structural layout was solved by carrying out a large number of parametric studies, model experiments and field tests carried out jointly with TsAGI.
In 1950, the management of the OKB before the project team was given the task of choosing such values of the wing area, aircraft mass and engine thrust, at which the aircraft would have the following flight and tactical data:
1. Bomb load:
normal - 6000 kg
maximum - 12,000 kg
2. Armament - according to the project of the aircraft "86"
3. Crew - six people
4. Maximum speed at ground level - 950 km / h
5. Practical ceiling - 12,000-13,000 m
6. Flight range with normal bomb load - 7500 km
7. Take-off run without accelerators - 1800 m
8. Take-off run with an accelerator - 1000 m
9. Mileage - 900 m
10. Time to climb 10,000 m - 23 min
The work on the project received the code "494" by the OKB (the fourth project in 1949). It is with this project that the straight line begins, which led to the creation of an experimental aircraft "88", and then a serial Tu-16.
Basically, the declared data, in addition to the flight range and bomb load, were satisfied by the aircraft "86", therefore, initially the searches for the "494" project were based on the materials obtained during the design of the "86" machine, while maintaining the general layout solutions of this aircraft.
The following options for the power plant were considered:
- two AMRD-03 engines with a static thrust of 8200 kgf each;
- four TR-ZA engines - 5000 kgf;
- four by-pass engines TR-5 - 5000 kgf.
All versions of the project "494" were geometrically similar to the original aircraft "86". The wing had a sweep angle of 36 °. The project provided for several options for the placement of the power plant and the main chassis. For AMRD-03 engines, it was proposed to install it in the same nacelle with the chassis or hang it on underwing pylons, and place the chassis in separate nacelles (later this arrangement was used on a whole series of Tupolev aircraft).
The analysis of various aircraft variants under the project "494" showed that the variant with two AMRD-03 has better prospects than the others, due to the lower resistance and mass of the power plant.
The specified flight and tactical characteristics could be achieved with the following minimum aircraft parameters:
- takeoff weight 70-80 t;
- wing area 150-170 m2;
- the total thrust of the engines is 14,000-16,000 kgf.
In June 1950, the first decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR was issued, obliging the OKB A. N. Tupolev to design and build an experienced long-range bomber - aircraft "88" with two AL-5 (Tr-5) engines. The resolution also stipulated the possibility of installing more powerful AM-03. However, at that moment, the country's leadership looked at the AM-03 as a risky undertaking, and a long-range bomber was needed urgently, so initially the stake was placed on the AJI-5 as having a high degree of readiness, especially since the same engines were intended for a competitor of the Tupolev machine - an aircraft IL-46. But by August 1951, the AM-03 engines had already become a reality, so all the efforts of the OKB were reoriented to a two-engine version with the Mikulinsky AM-03, which developed a thrust of 8000 kgf (however, as a backup option, in case of a failure with the AM-3 engine, some while the project "90-88" was being worked out for four turbojet engines TR-ZF with a thrust of about 5000 kgf - two engines at the root of the wing and two - under the wing).
In 1950-51. a complete rearrangement of the aircraft is being carried out; A. N. himself took an active part in this work. Tupolev and his son L. A. Tupolev, who worked at that time in the project team.
After the "evolutionary" stage of work on the "494" project, during which the ideas of the "86" aircraft were developed, a sharp qualitative leap was made in the aerodynamic perfection of the future aircraft due to the special arrangement of the central part of the airframe, which tactically corresponded to the design decision arising from the "rule areas”, the active introduction of which into foreign aviation practice began only a few years later. This arrangement made it possible to solve the problem of interference at the junction of the wing with the fuselage. In addition, the "borderline" arrangement of the engines between the wing and the fuselage made it possible to create the so-called "active fairing": the jet stream of the engines sucked in air flowing around both the wing and the fuselage, thereby improving the flow in this tense aerodynamic zone of the aircraft.
For the aircraft "88" a wing of variable sweep was chosen: along the middle part of the wing - 37 ° and along the volumetric part of the wing 35 °, which contributed to the better operation of the ailerons and flaps.
The wing was designed according to a two-spar scheme, and the walls of the spars, the upper and lower wing panels between the spars, formed a powerful main power element of the wing - the caisson. Such a scheme was a development of the wing scheme of the Tu-2 aircraft, but the caisson in this case was large in its relative dimensions, which made the third spar unnecessary. The powerful rigid spar fundamentally distinguished the design of the 88 wing from the flexible wing of the American B-47 bomber.
Finally, all the layout solutions for the new aircraft were worked out in a brigade of general types, led by S. M. Jaeger. The structural and layout features of the aircraft being designed, obtained during the work and determined the face of the Tupolev aircraft for the next 5-10 years, include:
- the creation of a large cargo (bomb) compartment in the fuselage behind the rear spar of the center section, due to which the dropped loads were located close to the center of mass of the aircraft, and the cargo compartment itself did not violate the wing power circuit;
- placement of the crew in two pressurized cabins with the provision of ejection of all crew members. In the rear (aft) pressurized cockpit, unlike all other aircraft, two gunners were located, which ensured their better interaction during defense;
- creation of a complex of powerful defensive small arms and cannon weapons, consisting of three mobile cannon installations, four optical sighting posts with remote control and an automatic radar sight;
- an original chassis layout with two four-wheeled carts that rotate 180 ° during harvesting. This scheme ensured a high cross-country ability of the aircraft, both on concrete and on unpaved and snowy airfields. In the front landing gear, for the first time in the USSR, pairing of wheels on one axle was used;
- the use of a braking parachute as an emergency means when landing an aircraft.
The design and construction of the 88 aircraft was carried out in a very short time, “everything about everything” took 1-1.5 years. The bomber model began to be built in the summer of 1950, it was presented to the customer in April 1951, simultaneously with the draft design. Then, in April, the production of the aircraft began. At the same time, there were two airframes in the assembly: one for flight tests, the other for static ones.
At the end of 1951, the first prototype of the 88 bomber, called the Tu-16, was transferred to the flight base for testing and development. On April 27, 1952, the crew of test pilot N. Rybko raised the Tu-16 into the air, and in December 1952 a decision was made to launch the aircraft into serial production.
The speed obtained during the tests exceeded that indicated in the terms of reference. However, the vehicle did not reach the required range: the design of the Tu-16 was clearly overweight. A. N. Tupolev and the leading designer of the aircraft D. S. Markov organized a real struggle for weight loss in the OKB. The bill went to kilograms and even grams. All non-power structural elements were lightened, in addition, an analysis of the features of the tactical use of a bomber, intended primarily for operations at high altitudes, made it possible to set limits on the maximum speed for low and medium altitudes, which somewhat reduced the requirements for structural strength and also made it possible to reduce weight glider. The result is a largely new design, weighing 5,500 kg less than the prototype airframe.
And at this time at the Kazan Aviation Plant, equipment for a serial aircraft was already created on the basis of a prototype. Therefore, when the work on a new, lightweight version of the bomber became known to the Ministry of Aviation Industry, D. S. Markov was reprimanded, which was not subsequently removed, despite the fact that the second prototype "88" in April 1953 exceeded the specified flight range.
The tail section of the Tu-16 aircraft
Serial production of the Tu-16 began in Kazan in 1953, and a year later at the Kuibyshev aircraft plant. Meanwhile, the OKB was working on various modifications of the machine, and the AM-3 engine was replaced with a more powerful RD-ZM (2 x 9520 kgf).
The first production aircraft began to enter combat units at the beginning of 1954, and on May 1 of the same year, nine Tu-16s passed over Red Square. In NATO, the plane received the code name "Badger" ("Badger").
Following the bomber version, the Tu-16A nuclear weapons carrier was launched into mass production. In August 1954, an experienced missile carrier Tu-16KS, intended for strikes against enemy ships, entered for testing. Two guided cruise missiles of the KS-1 type were suspended under its wing. The entire control complex, together with the Cobalt-M station, was completely taken from the Tu-4K aircraft and was placed together with the operator in the cargo compartment. The range of the Tu-16KS was 1800 km, the launch range of the KS-1 was 90 km.
The Tu-16 began to quickly replace long-range Tu-4 bombers in combat units, becoming a carrier of nuclear and conventional weapons at medium (or, as they say, Euro-strategic) ranges. Since the mid-50s, the Tu-16T, a torpedo bomber, was also serially built, the purpose of which was to torpedo attacks on large sea targets and the setting of minefields. Subsequently (since 1965) all Tu-16 aircraft were converted into rescue Tu-16S with the Fregat boat in the bombing compartment. The "Fregat" was dropped in the area of a naval accident and was brought out to the injured with the help of a radio control system. The range of the Tu-16S reached 2000 km.
To increase the flight range of the Tu-16, a wing-in-the-air refueling system was designed, somewhat different from that previously worked out on the Tu-4. In 1955, prototypes of the tanker and the refueled aircraft were tested. After the system was adopted, the tankers, which received the name Tu-16 “Tanker” or Tu-163, were re-equipped with conventional production vehicles. Due to the fact that special equipment and an additional fuel tank were easily removed, refuellers, if necessary, could again perform bomber tasks.
Bomber Tu-16
In 1955, tests began on the Tu-16R reconnaissance aircraft (project 92), which was then built in two versions - for day and night aerial photography. In the same year, work began on the creation of the K-10 aviation missile system, which included a Tu-16K-10 carrier aircraft, a K-10S cruise missile and a guidance system based on the EH airborne radar. At the same time, the antenna of the target detection and tracking station was installed in the nose of the aircraft fuselage, under the cockpit - the guidance antenna for the RR, and in the bomb compartment - its beam holder, the pressurized cabin of the operator of the "EH" system and an additional fuel tank for the rocket. The K-10S rocket was in a semi-submerged position, and before starting the engine and uncoupling it went down. After uncoupling the rocket, the suspension compartment was closed by flaps.
The prototype Tu-16K-10 was produced in 1958, and a year later its serial production began. In the summer of 1961, the aircraft was demonstrated at an air festival in Tushino. During the same period, the K-10S was successfully launched in various fleets. In October 1961, the complex was put into service.
At the end of the 1950s, the Tu-16 began to develop the "Rubin-1" type radar. At the same time, A. Mikoyan and A. Bereznyak's OKBs were working on creating new air-to-surface missile launchers. The result was the K-11-16 air strike system, which was put into service in 1962. Tu-16K-11-16 aircraft, converted from the previously built Tu-16, Tu-16L, Tu-16KS, could carry two missiles of the KSR-2 (K-16) or KSR-11 (K-11) type on the wing beam holders. In 1962, they began to develop a new complex - K-26 - based on the KSR-5 cruise missile. From the second half of the 60s, he began to enter service.
A feature of the K-11-16 and K-26 was that their carrier aircraft could be used without missile weapons, that is, as conventional bombers. It was also possible to expand the combat capabilities of the K-10 complex. On the wing pylons of the modernized Tu-16K-10-26 carrier aircraft, two KSR-5 missiles were suspended in addition to the ventral suspension of the UR K-10S. Instead of KSR-5, it was possible to use KSR-2 and other missiles.
Since 1963, some of the Tu-16 bombers have been converted into Tu-16N tankers, designed for refueling supersonic Tu-22s using the "hose-cone" system.
Electronic warfare (EW) aircraft, often called jammers, received a great development on the basis of the Tu-16. In the mid-1950s, the Tu-16P and Tu-16 Yolka aircraft began to be serially built. Subsequently, all shock and reconnaissance versions of the Tu-16 were equipped with electronic warfare systems.
At the end of the 60s, part of the Tu-16K-10 was converted into Tu-16RM naval reconnaissance aircraft, and several bombers, on the instructions of the country's air defense command, into target missile carriers (Tu-16KRM). The machines that had served their time were used as radio-controlled target aircraft (M-16).
Tu-16 aircraft were also used as flying laboratories for fine-tuning the AL-7F-1, VD-7, etc. heights moved forward. Similar systems on the Ty-16JIJI were used not only for fine-tuning the turbojet engine, but also for studying the aerodynamic properties of various types of aircraft. So, at one of the flying laboratories, they worked out the bicycle chassis scheme.
At the end of the 70s, a laboratory was created - a weather scout Tu-16 "Cyclone". The aircraft was also equipped with overhead containers for spraying chemicals that disperse clouds.
In civil aviation, the Tu-16 began to be used at the end of the 50s. Several machines (they had the unusual name Tu-104G or Tu-16G) were used for urgent transportation of mail and were, as it were, a cargo modification of a bomber.
In terms of its characteristics and layout, the Tu-16 turned out to be so successful that it made it possible to create the first Soviet multi-seat jet airliner Tu-104 on its basis without any problems. On July 17, 1955, test pilot Yu. Alasheev raised a prototype of the Tu-104 into the air, and from the next year the serial production of the machine began at the Kharkov aircraft plant.
Tu-16 is an unusual phenomenon not only in the Soviet, but also in the world aircraft construction. Perhaps only the American B-52 bomber and the domestic Tu-95 can compare with it in terms of longevity. Over the course of 40 years, about 50 modifications of the Tu-16 were created. Many of its design elements have become classic for heavy combat vehicles. Tu-16 served as a base for developing new domestic aviation materials, in particular light high-strength alloys, corrosion protection, as well as for creating a whole class of Soviet cruise missiles and aviation strike systems. Tu-16 became a good school for military pilots as well. Many of them then easily mastered more modern missile carriers, and leaving the Air Force - passenger airliners built on the basis of the Tu-16 aircraft (in particular, the former commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force P. S. Deinekin after the massive reduction of Soviet military aviation in the early 1960s. for some time flew as a commander of the Tu-104 on the international routes of Aeroflot).
Serial production of the Tu-16 was discontinued in 1962. Until 1993, aircraft of this type were in service with the Russian Air Force and Navy.
In 1958, supplies of the Tu-16 aircraft to China began, at the same time with the help of Soviet specialists in this country to master the serial production of bombers, which received the designation H-6. In the 1960s, Tu-16s were also supplied to the Air Forces of Egypt and Iraq.
DESIGN. The long-range Tu-16 bomber is designed to deliver powerful bomb strikes against strategic enemy targets. It is made according to the normal aerodynamic configuration with a mid-swept wing and swept tail. For technological and operational reasons, the wing, fuselage and tail of the airframe are structurally made in the form of separate abutting elements and assemblies.
The airframe structure is made of D-16T duralumin and its modifications, AK6 and AK-8 aluminum alloys, high-strength V-95 alloy and other materials and alloys.
The fuselage of a semi-monocoque aircraft, with a smooth working skin, supported by a set of frames and stringers made of extruded and bent profiles, is a streamlined cigar-shaped body with a circular cross-section, which in some places has a preload. It consists of almost independent compartments: the F-1 bow light, the F-2 pressurized cockpit, the F-3 front fuselage compartment, the F-4 rear fuselage compartment with the F-4 bomb bay, and the rear pressurized cockpit.
The front pressurized cab contains:
- navigator conducting aircraft navigation and bombing;
- left pilot, ship commander;
- right pilot;
- navigator-operator, conducting work on the control and maintenance of the RBP-4 "Rubidiy" radar bomber sight MM-I and control the fire of the upper cannon installation.
The rear pressurized cabin contains:
- gunner-radio operator, providing communication with the ground and controlling the fire of the lower cannon installation;
- a stern gunner, controlling the fire of the stern cannon installation and the PRS-1 "Argon-1" radar sighting station.
The entrance to the front cockpit is provided through the lower hatch under the navigator-operator's seat, and into the rear cockpit through the lower hatch under the aft gunner's seat. For an emergency escape from the aircraft, there are emergency hatches with resettable covers: for the left and right pilots on top of the fuselage, and for the rest of the crew from below.
The aircraft crew is protected from enemy fighter fire and from fragments of anti-aircraft artillery shells by armor consisting of plates made of materials APBA-1, St. KVK-2 / 5ts, KVK-2, and armored glass.
Swept wing (35 ° along the focus line, variable sweep along the leading edge). Transverse V wing in the chord plane -3 °. The wing structure is two-spar, its middle part (caisson) is made up of panels with thick skin reinforced with stringers. From the side of the fuselage to rib No. 12, fuel tanks are located inside the caisson. The wing tip is removable.
Air refueling of Tu-16 aircraft
The wing has two connectors: on the side of the fuselage and along the rib No. 7. On the side of the fuselage there is a symmetrical profile of TsAGI NR-S-10S-9 with a relative thickness of 15.7% and at the end of the wing - profile SR-11-12 - 12%.
The rear part of the wing is occupied by flaps and ailerons along its entire length. Slotted flaps, retractable back. Ailerons have internal aerodynamic compensation.
The tail unit is cantilever, single-fin, with a sweep along the focus line - 42 °. The profile of the horizontal and vertical tail is symmetrical. The stabilizer and the keel are of a two-spar design, the elevators and rudders are of a single-spar design.
The landing gear of the aircraft is made according to the three-support scheme. The main struts are located on the first volumetric part of the wing and are retracted into the fairings (nacelles) backward in flight. A trolley with four wheels is installed on each main stand. The front landing gear has two wheels. To improve the maneuverability of the aircraft on the ground when taxiing, the front strut wheels are made steerable. The tail section of the fuselage is protected during landing by a retractable tail support in flight. A container with two brake parachutes is installed in the aft fuselage.
The power plant consists of two turbojet engines of the AM-ZA type with a maximum static thrust of 8750 kgf or RD-ZM (9500 kgf). The turbojet engine is launched from a gas turbine starter mounted on the engine.
Air intake is carried out at the sides of the fuselage in front of the wing by means of unregulated air intakes. The engine is powered with fuel (T-1 kerosene) from 27 soft-structure fuselage and wing tanks. The maximum refueling of the aircraft is 34,360 kg (41,400 liters for the T-1). To increase survivability, some of the fuel tanks are made sealed, there is equipment for filling the over-fuel space with neutral gas, as well as a fire-fighting system that works automatically. During operation, the AM-ZA and RD-ZM engines were replaced by the modified RD-ZM-500 turbojet engines with an increased resource.
Aircraft control is double. The control system is rigid, without hydraulic boosters. An autopilot is connected to the main control system. The flaps and rudder trim tabs are electrically controlled, the elevator trims are electrically and double-wire mechanical control.
The hydraulic system is designed in the form of two independently operating hydraulic systems: the main hydraulic system and the brake control hydraulic system. The nominal pressure in the hydraulic systems is 150 kgf / cm a. The main system is used to raise and lower the landing gear, open and close the bomb bay doors. The hydraulic brake control system simultaneously provides emergency release and retraction of the landing gear and emergency closing of the bomb bay doors.
The power supply system consists of a primary direct current system powered by four GSR-18000 generators and a 12SAM-53 storage battery (backup current source). Secondary system of alternating single-phase current, powered by two converters of type P0-4500.
The sealed cabins of the aircraft are of ventilation type, air is taken from the seventh stages of the turbojet engine compressor. Pressurized cabins provide the crew with the necessary conditions for combat work, both in temperature and pressure. Moreover, in combat conditions, in the firing zone with anti-aircraft guns and when engaging in battle with enemy fighters, in order to avoid a sharp drop in pressure in the cabins during combat damage, the pressure drop in the cockpit and overboard is set constant and equal to 0.2 atm.
Rocket KSR-2
The aircraft is equipped with a liquid oxygen plant and oxygen apparatus for all crew members.
The leading edges of the wing are equipped with a thermal de-icing device supplied with hot air from the turbojet engine compressors. The de-icers of the engine air inlets are made on the same principle.
The leading edges of the keel and stabilizer are equipped with electrothermal anti-icers. The front glass of the cockpit canopy and the front sight glass of the navigator are electrically heated internally.
POWER POINT … Two turbojet engines AM-ZA (2 X 85, 8 kN / 2 x 8750 kgf.), RD-ZM (2 x 93, 1 kN / 2 x 9500 kgf) or RD-ZM-500 (2 x 93, 1 kN / 2 x 9500 kgf).
EQUIPMENT … To ensure aircraft navigation, the navigator and pilots have installed:
- astronomical compass AK-53P;
- remote astronomical compass DAK-2;
- navigation indicator NI-50B;
- remote compass DGMK-7;
- magnetic compass KI-12;
- speed indicator KUS-1200;
- altimeter VD-17;
- artificial horizon AGB-2;
- direction indicator EUP-46;
- mameter MS-1;
- accelerometer;
- aviasextant;
- device for long-distance navigation SPI-1;
- automatic radio compass ARK-5;
- radio altimeters of high and low altitudes RV-17M and RV-2;
- "Materik" system for blind landing of an aircraft using signals from ground radio beacons.
To ensure piloting of the aircraft in any weather conditions and to unload the crew on long flights, the aircraft is equipped with an AP-52M electric autopilot connected to the control system.
The aircraft's radio communication equipment consists of:
- communication HF radio station 1RSB-70M for two-way communication with the ground;
- command HF radio station 1RSB-70M for command communication in conjunction with and with ground radio stations;
- VHF command radio station RSIU-ZM for command communication within the connection and with the start;
- aircraft intercom SPU-10 for intra-aircraft communication between crew members and their access to external communication;
- emergency transmitting radio station AVRA-45 for sending distress signals in the event of a forced landing of the aircraft or its accident.
Radar equipment includes:
- radar bomber sight RBP-4 "Rubidium-MMII" to ensure the search and detection of ground and surface objects in the absence of optical visibility, solving navigation problems by radar landmarks of the earth's surface and aimed bombing with automatic dropping of bombs from a flight altitude of 10,000 to 15 000 m for ground and surface stationary and moving targets. The RBP-4 radar sight is electrically connected to the OPB-11r optical sight;
Tu-16 (front view)
- aircraft identification system ("friend or foe"), consisting of an SRZ interrogator and an SRO respondent;
- targeting radar station PRS-1 "Argon-1" for firing in any visibility conditions, synchronously connected with defensive shooting installations.
AFA-ZZM / 75 or AFA-ZZM / 100 satellites are installed on the Tu-16 aircraft for daytime photographing of the track route and the results of bombing, AFA-ZZM / 50 for daytime photography from low altitudes, and NAFA-8S / 50 for night photography. for photographing the image on the RBP-4-FA-RL-1 indicator.
In the course of serial construction and creation of modifications, as well as modernization of Tu-16 aircraft, equipment was changed and updated, new systems and units were introduced.
On the new modifications, new systems of electronic countermeasures were introduced, which increased the combat stability of individual aircraft, as well as groups of Tu-16 aircraft.
The main design differences of some serial and modernized modifications of the Tu-16 aircraft
WEAPON … The Tu-16 aircraft has one bomb bay equipped with a typical bomber armament system. Normal bomb load 3000 kg, maximum bomb load 9000 kg. Suspension of bombs of caliber from 100 kg to 9000 kg is possible. Bombs of caliber 5000, 6000 and 9000 kg are suspended on the bridge of the MBD6 beam holder, bombs of smaller calibers are suspended on the onboard cassette holders of the KD-3 and KD-4 types.
Aiming during bombing is carried out through a vector-synchronous optical sight OPB-llp with a side-aiming machine connected to the autopilot, due to which the navigator can automatically turn the aircraft along the course when aiming.
In case of poor visibility of the ground, aiming is carried out using the RBP-4, in this case, the accuracy of the bombing increases, since the OPB-11p is connected to the RBP-4 sight and fulfills the necessary parameters for it. The navigator can drop bombs; the navigator-operator can also drop bombs.
The PV-23 cannon defensive armament system consists of seven 23 mm AM-23 cannons mounted on one fixed and three paired mobile remote-controlled cannons.
Bomber N-6D
For firing forward in the direction of flight, one stationary cannon is installed in the nose of the fuselage from the starboard side, which is controlled by the left pilot. To aim at the target, the pilot has a PKI sight on a folding bracket.
Three mobile installations - upper, lower and stern - carry out the defense of the rear hemisphere. The upper installation, in addition, “shoots off” the upper part of the front hemisphere.
The upper installation is controlled by the navigator-operator, auxiliary control from the aft aiming post is carried out by the aft gunner. The lower installation is controlled from two (left and right) blister sighting posts by the gunner-radio operator, auxiliary control from the aft sighting post is carried out by the aft gunner.
Control of the stern installation is carried out from the stern aiming post of the stern gunner, who in the crew is the commander of the firing installations (KOU); auxiliary control of the installation is carried out: from the upper aiming post - by the navigator-operator, from the lower aiming post - by the radio operator.
At the sighting posts, sighting stations of the PS-53 type are installed, with which the PRS-1 is synchronously connected.
Tu-16KS on two-girder wing holders suspended KS-1 missiles, a pressurized cabin with a Cobalt-M guidance radar with an operator was located in the cargo compartment, the antennas were lowered like on the Tu-4.
Tu-16A - the carrier of a nuclear free-falling bomb - had a cargo compartment with thermal insulation, and the aircraft's skin was covered with a special protective paint that protects against the light radiation of a nuclear explosion.
On the Tu-16K-10 - the carrier of the K-10S-type projectile - antennas of the EH-type K-10S radar guidance system were installed in the nose of the fuselage. In the cargo compartment, a K-10 projectile was suspended on a beam drainage in a semi-recessed position. Behind the cargo compartment was the pressurized cabin of the operator of the "EN" station. The navigator moved to the position of the navigator-operator. An additional fuel tank for starting the engine of the K-10S projectile was introduced. A P0-4500 converter (PO-b000) has been added to power the units of the EH station.
Tu-16K-11-16 is equipped with KSR-2 or KSR-11 projectile aircraft, located on wing beam holders. It is possible to use the aircraft as a bomber or in a combined version. The antenna of the Ritsa reconnaissance station and the Rubin-1KB radar are installed in the bow. The nose cannon has been removed.
The Tu-16K-26 is armed with KSR-2, KSR-11 or KSR-5 projectiles and is completely similar in armament to the Tu-16K-11-16 (except for the KSR-5 suspension units).
Tu-16K-10-26 carries two K-10S projectiles or two KSR-5s on underwing pylons.
Tu-16T - a torpedo-bomber aircraft and a mine planner in the cargo bay hung torpedoes and mines of the PAT-52, 45-36MAV, AMO-500 and AMO-1000 types.
Tu-16P and Tu-16 "Yolka" are REP aircraft equipped with various systems for suppressing enemy radio-electronic means.
Passive and active means of electronic warfare were mounted in the cargo compartment and in the unified tail compartment (UDO). With the decrease in the size of the REB equipment and the improvement of its operational capabilities, this equipment was introduced on almost all modifications of the Tu-16 aircraft.
Reconnaissance aircraft Tu-16R were equipped with various replaceable AFA or NAFA kits for high-altitude, low-altitude and night photography. In the case of using the Tu-16R (version Tu-16R2) for night photography in the bomb bay, photobombs were suspended on some holders to illuminate reconnaissance objects. Under the wings, on pylons, containers with electronic reconnaissance equipment or containers with intakes and radiation reconnaissance analyzers were suspended, depending on the task being performed.
CHARACTERISTICS Tu-16
SIZE … Wingspan 33, 00 m; aircraft length 34, 80 m; aircraft height 10, 36 m; wing area 164, 65 m2.
MASSES, kg: normal takeoff 72,000 (Tu-16), 76,000 (Tu-16K), empty aircraft 37,200, maximum take-off 79,000, maximum landing 55,000 (when landing on an unpaved runway 48,000), fuel and oil 36,000.
FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS … Maximum speed at an altitude of 1050 km / h; practical ceiling 12 800 m; practical range with two missile launchers on underwing hardpoints 3900 km; practical flight range with a combat load of 3000 kg 5800 km; ferry range 7200 km; takeoff run 1850-2600 m; path length 1580-1670 m (with a braking parachute 1120-1270 m; maximum operational overload 2.
COMBAT APPLICATION … In terms of its main characteristics, the Tu-16 remained quite advanced until the end of the 1950s, surpassing the main American strategic bomber Boeing B-47 Stratojet in almost all respects. In general, the Tu-16 corresponded to the British bomber Vickers "Valiant" and was somewhat inferior to the Avro "Volcano" and Handley Page "Victor" aircraft in range and ceiling. At the same time, a significant advantage of the Tupolev aircraft was its powerful defensive armament, a layout that allows the aircraft to be equipped with a variety of missile weapons suspended both under the wing and under the fuselage, as well as the ability to operate from unpaved runways (a unique property for a heavy bomber).
In addition to the Air Force and Navy of the USSR, Tu-16s were supplied to Indonesia (20 Tu-16Ks), Egypt and Iraq. They were first used during the Indonesian-Malaysian conflict.
Before the "six-day war" in June 1967, the Egyptian Air Force also received 20 Tu-16K bombers with the KS-1 missile launcher. These aircraft, according to the Israeli command, posed the main threat to the territory of Israel and therefore were destroyed in the first place: as a result of a massive attack by fighter-bomber aircraft, all Tu, neatly lined up at Egyptian airfields and being an excellent target, were disabled in during the first hours of the conflict, not a single bomber took off.
In 1973, the Egyptian Air Force, which received new Tu-16U-11-16 aircraft instead of the destroyed ones in 1967, managed to “rehabilitate itself” by successfully using 10 KSR-11 anti-radar missiles against Israeli radars. According to the Egyptians, most of the targets were hit without loss from the Arab side. At the same time, the Israelis claimed that they managed to shoot down one bomber and most of the missiles, destroying two Israeli radar posts and a field ammunition depot in the Sinai Peninsula. In the hostilities, 16 bombers took part, based on airfields south of Sinai, out of the reach of Israeli aviation.
After the severance of military ties between Egypt and the USSR in 1976, the Egyptian Tu-16s were left without spare parts, but the problem was solved by turning to China for help, which supplied the necessary equipment in exchange for the MiG-23BN fighter-bomber.
During the hostilities in Afghanistan, Tu-16s carried out bombing strikes from medium heights, dropping free-fall bombs on the bases of the Mujahideen. Departures were carried out from airfields on the territory of the USSR. In particular, the areas adjacent to the cities of Herat and Kandahar were subjected to powerful bombing from the air using Tu-16 bombers. Typical aircraft armament consisted of 12 FAB-500 bombs with a caliber of 500 kg.
During the Iranian-Iraqi war, the Tu-16K-11-16 of the Iraqi Air Force inflicted repeated missile and bomb strikes at targets deep in Iranian territory (in particular, they raided an airport in Tehran). During the hostilities in the Persian Gulf in 1991, the Iraqi Tu-16s, almost flying out of the resource, remained on the ground, where they were partially destroyed by the Allied aircraft.
Tu-16 in Monino
Reconnaissance Tu-16, escorted by the US Navy F-4 fighter. Pacific Ocean, 1963
Tu-16, escorted by the US Navy F / A-18A Hornet. Mediterranean Sea, 1985.
Tu-16R, 1985.
Tu-16 flies over a Soviet cruiser, 1984.
