After World War II, the Soviet Union and the USA, who had been allies in the war, started moving towards political and military confrontation. The Soviet Union urgently needed a strategic bomber capable of striking at the USA. Thus, the windfall of three battle-damaged B-29s forced to land in Soviet territory was most welcome. The Soviet Union kept them; a huge reverse-engineering effort ensued, resulting in a Soviet copy of the Superfortress (the Tu-4) and a major technology boost to the Soviet aircraft and avionics industries. From then on, the "Soviet Superfortress" evolved independently, some of the Tu-4 versions having no direct U.S. equivalent. These included the Tu-4K missile carrier, a wing-to-wing flight refueling tanker, and the Tu-4T transport. The Tu-4A was the first Soviet nuclear-capable bomber. Experimental versions included engine testbeds, a towed escort fighter program, and more. The book also describes the Tu-4's production and service history (including service in China--the only nation besides the USSR to operate the type) and touches on the Tu-4's transport derivatives, the Tu-70 airliner, and the Tu-75 military airlifter. The book is illustrated with many color side views and hitherto unpublished photographs.
Born in the 1930s, the Soviet Air Force's long-range bomber arm (known initially as the ADD and later as the DA) proved itself during World War II and continued to develop in the immediate post-war years, when the former allies turned Cold War opponents. When the strategic bomber Tu-4 was found to be too 'short-legged' to deliver strikes against the main potential adversary - the USA, both Tupolev and Myasishchev OKBs began the task by creating turbine-engined strategic bombers. By the Khrushchev era in the mid/late 1950's the Soviet defense industry and aircraft design bureau set about adapting the bombers to take air-launched missiles for use against land and sea targets. In 1962 the DA fielded its first supersonic aircraft - the Tu-22 Blinder twinjet, which came in pure bomber and missile strike versions. The Brezhnev years saw a resurgence of strategic aviation with the Tu-22M Backfire 'swing-wing' supersonic medium bomber entering service in the mid-1970s followed in 1984 by the Tu-95MS Bear-H and Tu-160 Blackjack which were capable of carrying six and 12 air-launched cruise missiles respectively. Soviet Strategic Aviation in the Cold War shows how the DA's order of battle changed in the period from 1945 to 1991. Major operations including the air arm's involvement in the Afghan War, the Cold War exercises over international waters in the vicinity of the 'potential adversary', and the shadowing of NATO warships are covered together with details of Air Armies, bomber divisions and bomber regiments, including their aircraft on a type-by-type basis. More than 500 photos, most of which are previously unpublished in the West, are supplemented by 61 color profiles, color badges, and line drawings of the aircraft and their weapons, making this an essential reference source for the historian and modeler alike.
The history of Soviet strategic bombers after the Second World War is a fascinating one: from the reverse-engineering of interned American Boeing B-29 bombers into the first Soviet strategic bomber, the Tu-4; to the huge jet and turbo-prop powered aircraft of today's Russian Air Force. This comprehensive history of these aircraft will deal not just with the development of aircraft that entered service, but of experimental aircraft as well, and projects that were never even built will also be explored. The service life of these bombers will be covered, including both active and retired aircraft, and their use outside of the Soviet Union, in places such as the Middle East and Afghanistan, will be described in detail. The Soviet Union built some of the first jet-powered strategic bombers, and the Tu-95 Bear, the only swept-winged turbo-prop bomber to ever enter service, remains in service to this day. Less successful aircraft, like the graceful but problem-plagued supersonic Tu-22 Blinder, and the Mach 3 Sukhoi T-4 will also be examined.
In the early 1950s, OKB Tupolev, the Tupolev design bureau, was instructed by the Soviet government to design a civil airliner with an intercontinental range. Based upon the earlier four-engined Tu-95 strategic bomber, the resulting aircraft was the largest airliner constructed at that time, providing accommodation for up to 220 passengers. The Tu-144 confounded experts by being able to fly at speeds similar to those achieved by jet aircraft, while still using turboprop technology. The Tu-114 set a number of records, including the speed record for a turbo-prop aircraft that still stands 50 years later. A total of 31 Tu-114's entered service with Aeroflot, operating over long distance internal services and international services to cities from Tokyo to Havana. Gradually replaced from 1971, the last Tu-144 Aeroflot service was withdrawn in 1975. However, a number of the Tu-114's were subsequently converted into AWACS aircraft as the Tu-126 "Moss" for operation in the Soviet navy.
Using strategic plans, intelligence analysis, and other materials that have only recently been declassified, Emergency War Plan examines the theory and practice of nuclear deterrence during the 1945–1960 period of the Cold War.
It was not Robert Oppenheimer who built the bomb--it was engineers, chemists and young physicists in their twenties, many not yet having earned a degree. The first atomic bomb was originally conceived as a backup device, a weapon not then currently achievable. The remote Trinity Site--the birthplace of the bomb--was used as a test range for U.S. bombers before the first nuclear device was secretly detonated. After the blast, locals speculated that the flash and rumble were caused by colliding B-29s, while Manhattan Project officials nervously measured high levels of offsite radiation. Drawing on original documents, many recently declassified, the author sheds new light on a pivotal moment in history--now approaching its 75th anniversary--told from the point of view of the men who inaugurated the Atomic Age in the New Mexico desert. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'}
The prevailing Western view of Russia’s Cold War strategic nuclear weapons policy is that it resulted from a two-part interplay between the leaders of the Communist Party and the military. Steven J. Zaloga has found that a third contributor—the Russian defense industry—also played a vital role. Drawing from elusive Russian source material and interviews with many proud Russian and Ukrainian engineers, Zaloga presents a definitive account of Russia’s strategic forces, who built them, and why. The book is the first in English to refer to the weapons by their actual Soviet names, providing the bedrock for future works. Helpful appendices list U.S., NATO, and other designations, and the illustrations provide clear visual references.
A tactical and technical history of the development of British, American, and Japanese naval air defense from the 1920s to the 1980s. This is an account of the evolution of naval fighters for fleet air defense and the parallel evolution of the ships operating and controlling them, concentrating on the three main exponents of carrier warfare: the British Royal Navy, the U.S. Navy, and the Imperial Japanese Navy. It describes the earliest efforts from the 1920s, but it was not until radar allowed the direction of fighters that organized air defense became possible. Thus, major naval-air battles of the Second World War like Midway, the Pedestal convoy, the Philippine Sea, and Okinawa are portrayed as tests of the new technology. This was ultimately found wanting by the Kamikaze campaigns, leading to postwar moves towards computer control and new kinds of fighters. After 1945 the threats of nuclear weapons and standoff missiles compounded the difficulties of naval air defense. The second half of the book covers R.N. and U.S.N. attempts to solve these problems, looking at the American experience in Vietnam and British operations in the Falklands War. It concludes with the ultimate U.S. development of techniques and technology to fight the Outer Air Battle in the 1980s, which in turn point to the current state of carrier fighters and the supporting technology. Based largely on documentary sources, some previously unused, this book will appeal to both the naval and aviation communities. “Fighters Over the Fleet provides more information about fleet air defense than any other work currently available. It is recommended for specialist as well aviation-minded readers.” —Naval Historical Foundation
The book presents history, methods, airplanes and operators in the area of Aerial Refueling, it shows an historical analysis from the first attempts in the aeronautical circuses, up to the affirmation as a military necessity after World War II and the subsequent expansion in many air forces Contents: - Development from the first attempts of 1929 to the first flight around the world without a stop - Detailed presentation of the various methods attempted in history, with drawings and photographs, - Description of types of aircraft in service performing in-flight refueling - Presentation of Air Forces, Units, their history, the strategic reasons that have developed the need for a fleet of tankers for the current 34 air forces, the future ones, as well as commercial operators - Presentation of of some unusual aircraft refueling attempts and vision on in-flight refueling systems in the - Fully illustrated with over 700 color images and drawings - 200 pages
Understand the growth and evolution of American air power with this overview of the history of the world's most successful aviation force. • Comprehensive, daily coverage of relevant wartime and peacetime events as they affected the U.S. Air Force as an institution and fighting machine • Illustrations of important aircraft, personalities, and historical events • Over 20 sidebars affording greater detail and context on notable events and people • A 5,000-word bibliography of the latest scholarship on U.S. Air Force history, organization, leadership, and equipment
