Tupolev Tu-4 Bull - Photos & Video

Tupoljev Tu-4 Bik
Zemlja	Sovjetski Savez
Ulogu	Strateški bombarder
Prvi let	19. maj 1947.
Izgradio	847

Foto-galerija a Tupoljev Tu-4 Bik, The Tupolev Tu-4 (NATO reporting name: Bull) was a piston-engined Soviet strategic bomber that served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to mid-1960s. It was a reverse-engineered copy of the American-made Boeing B-29 Superfortress.

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Tupolev Tu-4 Bull
Fotografi	Martin Zahalka, Lukas Tlaskal
Lokalizacija	Nepoznato
Fotografije	35

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Tupolev Tu-4 Bull
Fotograf	Tu-4 ‘Bull’ Walk Around
Lokalizacija	Nepoznato
Fotografije	29

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A Forced Leap into the Strategic Era

Čaj Tupolev Tu-4 (NATO reporting name: Bik) is famous not for its original design, but for being a near-perfect clone of the American Boeing B-29 Superfortress. During 1944, four B-29s made emergency landings in Soviet territory after raids on Japan. Despite being allies, Stalin ordered the aircraft interned and gave Andrei Tupolev a monumental task: copy the plane exactly, “bolt for bolt.” This project single-handedly propelled the Soviet aviation industry from the era of wood-and-fabric tactical planes into the world of pressurized, high-altitude strategic bombers.

Attribute	Technical Specification (Tu-4)
Ulogu	Strategic Heavy Bomber
Posada	11 (Pilots, Navigators, Gunner/Scanners)
First Flight	May 19, 1947
Powerplant	4 × Shvetsov ASh-73TK 18-cylinder radial engines
Horsepower	2,400 hp (1,790 kW) each
Maksimalna brzina	558 km/h (347 mph)
Opseg	5,400 km (3,355 mi) with 3,000 kg load
Naoružanje	10 × 23 mm NS-23 cannons in 5 remote-controlled turrets

Engineering: Metric Challenges and Improvements

The Metric Conversion: The hardest part of the project was converting the B-29’s imperial measurements to metric. Soviet aluminum sheets were rolled in metric thicknesses; if Tupolev used sheets that were slightly too thick, the plane would be too heavy. If too thin, it would break. Every single wire and rivet had to be recalculated.
Upgraded Firepower: While the B-29 used .50 caliber machine guns, the Soviets equipped the Tu-4 with 23mm cannons. These had a slower rate of fire but significantly more destructive power against intercepting fighters.
Engine Clones: The Shvetsov ASh-73 engines were not direct copies of the Wright R-3350, but rather a Soviet development that incorporated many of its features, including complex turbo-superchargers required for high-altitude flight.
Remote Turrets: The Tu-4 retained the B-29’s advanced central fire control system, where gunners sat at plexiglass stations and operated turrets via remote analog computers.

The First Soviet Nuclear Threat

RDS-1 Delivery: On October 18, 1951, a Tu-4 performed the first Soviet air-drop of a nuclear bomb (the RDS-3), officially making the USSR a nuclear power capable of strategic delivery.
Airborne Early Warning (Tu-4AW): Long after it was obsolete as a bomber, the Tu-4 served as a testbed for the first Soviet AWACS planes, featuring massive radar domes to detect incoming Western bombers.
Chinese “KJ-1” AEWC: Several Tu-4s were given to China. In the 1970s, the Chinese fitted one with a massive rotating radar dish and turboprop engines, creating the KJ-1. This aircraft still exists in the Beijing Aviation Museum.
Psychological Warfare: The Tu-4’s appearance at the 1947 Tushino Air Parade terrified the West, as it meant the USSR finally had the technology to strike American cities from Soviet bases.