Tu-95 (product "B", according to NATO codification: Bear - "Bear") - Soviet turboprop strategic bomber-missile carrier, the fastest propeller-driven aircraft, which became one of the symbols of the Cold War. The world's only adopted and mass-produced turboprop bomber. Designed to destroy important targets behind enemy lines with cruise missiles at any time of the day and in all weather conditions. In operation since 1956.
On July 30, 2010, a world record for a non-stop flight was set for aircraft of this class, while during this time the bombers flew about 30 thousand kilometers, over three oceans, refueling four times in the air.
History of appearance
On July 11, 1951, the USSR government issued a decree instructing the design bureau of A. N. Tupolev and V. M. Myasishchev to create strategic bombers capable of carrying a nuclear weapon. The A. N. Tupolev Design Bureau, having carried out a huge amount of research work, came to the conclusion that a turboprop engine is more suitable for a long-range aircraft. Already in September 1951, two versions of the draft designs of the 95 aircraft were ready: with 4 2-TV-2F engines (twin TV-2F with 6250 hp each) and with 4 TV-12 engines (12000 hp), and on October 31, the state commission approved the full-size layout.
The first experimental "95-1" with 2-TV-2F engines was built in 1952 at the plant # 156. On November 12, 1952, the crew, led by test pilot A. D. Flight, first lifted him into the sky. In 1954 the second prototype "92-2" was ready (already with TV-12 engines). On February 16, 1955, "95-2" made its first flight.
In 1955, the serial production of Tu-95 begins (earlier it was supposed to call the Tu-20 aircraft, but all the drawings had already been issued with the index "95", so it was decided to keep it) at the aircraft plant No. 18 in Kuibyshev. Factory tests continued until January 1956, and on May 31 the aircraft was presented for State tests. In August 1956, the new bomber was first demonstrated at the Aviation Day air parade. In 1957, more powerful NK-12M engines were installed on the aircraft, and under the designation Tu-95M, the aircraft was adopted by the Soviet Army.
Design
The airframe of the aircraft is made mainly of aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys and steel are also used. Swept wing with an angle of 35 °. The crew is housed in pressurized cabins located in the forward and aft parts of the fuselage. An emergency exit from the aircraft is carried out using a movable floor through hatches in both cockpits.
The aircraft has a three-pillar landing gear, with twin cylinders. The main pillars are biaxial, retracted in flight into wing gondolas (which is a family trait of most Tupolev aircraft), the nose pillar is uniaxial, retracted along the “stream” into the fuselage.
Below in the middle of the fuselage are the doors of a large bomb bay.
Depending on the modification, the Tu-95 used turboprop engines NK-12 with a capacity of 12,000 hp, NK-12M, NK-12MV or NK-12MP (each with a capacity of 15,000 hp). Propellers - four-bladed metal variable pitch, installed coaxially.
A little about engines
The NK-12 engine is still the most powerful turboprop engine in the world. NK-12 has a 14-stage compressor and a highly efficient five-stage turbine. To control the compressor, this engine is the first to have an air bypass valve system. The efficiency of the turbine of the NK-12 engine is 94%, which is a record figure.
The NK-12 engine was the first to use a unified fuel supply control system designed in a single unit (the so-called command-fuel unit).
High engine power and propeller design results in unprecedented noise levels; Tu-95 is one of the noisiest aircraft in the world and is detected even by the sonar systems of submarines, but this is not critical when delivering nuclear missile strikes.
The aircraft has an automatic engine start system. The fuel is stored in 11 wing coffered and fuselage soft fuel tanks.
The use of economical turbofan engines and a propeller-driven installation with an efficiency of 82% on the Tu-95 made it possible to achieve sufficiently high flight range indicators, despite the relatively low aerodynamic quality of the aircraft.
Armament
The bomb load of Tu-95 aircraft can reach 12,000 kg. In the fuselage bomb compartment, free-fall (including nuclear) aerial bombs with a caliber of up to 9,000 kg are allowed.
Tu-95KD and Tu-95-20 were armed with X-20 cruise missiles with a nuclear warhead, designed to destroy radio-contrast targets at distances of 300-600 km.
Tu-95V (existed in a single copy) was converted to be used as a delivery vehicle for the world's most powerful thermonuclear bomb. The weight of this bomb was 26.5 tons, and the power in TNT equivalent was 50 megatons. After testing the Tsar Bomb on October 30, 1961, this aircraft was no longer used for its intended purpose.
The Tu-95MS, the backbone of Russia's strategic aviation, is the carrier of the Kh-55 cruise missiles. In the modification of the Tu-96MS6, six such missiles are placed in the bomb compartment on a multi-position drum-type launcher. In the Tu-95MS16 modification, in addition to the in-fuselage launcher, ten more Kh-55 missiles are provided for suspension on four underwing holders.
The development and operation of the Tu-95s had their own difficulties. The cockpit was poorly adapted for long flights, the crews were very exhausted. There was no normal toilet, uncomfortable seats. The air from the SCR system was dry and contained oil dust. Bortpayok also did not please - until now, the crews prefer to take their homemade food for flights.
The assessment of the ergonomics of the cab was expressed simply and roughly - "like in a tank", and only with the advent of the "MC" modification it became more pleasant at workplaces.
Winter operation was a big problem. An oil mixture of mineral oils is poured into the oil system of the NK-12 engines, which thickens in a slight frost so that the screws cannot be turned. Before departure, all engines had to be warmed up with ground motor heaters (heat guns), and in the absence of them, for example, at an operational airfield, it was necessary to cover the motors with heat-insulating covers and start every few hours. In the future, the industry began to produce a special motor oil that allows the start of NK-12 engines in frosts down to -25 degrees (but in the Russian Federation, the production of this oil has been curtailed).
On the Tu-95MS, an auxiliary power unit is installed in the forkil, which allows air to be bled for pre-flight heating of the engines.
Replacing the NK-12 engine is extremely time consuming and has a lot of peculiarities, requires certain qualifications of personnel and special skills, in comparison with other types of aviation equipment.
The plane still lacks a crew ejection system, which makes it almost impossible to leave the falling plane.
These aircraft, with almost 60 years of experience, still make other countries nervous.
In the period from April 22 to May 3, 2007, two Russian Tu-95MS aircraft became participants in an incident that occurred during the British Army's Neptune Warrior exercise in the Clyde Bay of the North Sea near the Hebrides. Russian aircraft appeared in the area of the exercises (conducted in neutral waters), after which two British fighters were raised from the Luashar airbase in the Scottish Fife region. The fighters accompanied the Russian planes until they left the area of the exercise. This was the first such incident since the end of the Cold War, according to a British Air Force spokesman.
In August 2007, the Tu-95MS flew as part of an exercise near the US Navy base on the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean, in July - in the immediate vicinity of the British air border over the North Sea, and on September 6, British fighters had to meet eight Russian bombers at once.
On the night of February 9-10, 2008, four Tu-95s took off from the Ukrainka airbase. Two of them flew close to the air border of Japan and one of them, according to the statements of the Japanese side, which later put forward a note of protest, violated the border for three minutes. The second pair of aircraft headed towards the aircraft carrier "Nimitz". When Russian aircraft were about 800 km away from the ship, four F / A-18s were raised to intercept. At a distance of 80 km from the aircraft carrier group, American aircraft intercepted the Tu-95, but despite this, one of the "bears" twice passed over the "Nimitz" at an altitude of about 600 meters.
