Tu-95 "Bear"
30 July 2010 set a world record of non-stop flight for airplanes of this class, while during this time bombers flew about 30 thousands of kilometers over three oceans, refueling four times in the air.
History emergence
11 July 1951 was issued by a decree of the USSR government instructing the AN Tupolev and VM Myasishchev design bureaus to create strategic bombers capable of carrying a nuclear weapon. OKB A.N. Tupolev, having conducted a huge amount of research, came to the conclusion that a turboprop engine is more suitable for a long-range aircraft. Already in September, 1951 of the year was ready two versions of the draft design of the aircraft "95": with 4 engines 2-TV-2F (twin TV-2F on 6250 hp) and 4 TV-12 (12000 hp), On October 31, the state commission approved a full-size model.
The first experienced "95-1" with engines 2-TV-2F was built at the factory number 156 in 1952 year. 12 November 1952, the crew led by test pilot AD Perelyotom first lifted him to the sky. In 1954, the second prototype "92-2" (already with TV-12 engines) was ready. 16 February 1955 of the year "95-2" made the first flight.
In 1955, mass production of the Tu-95 begins (it was previously supposed to be called the Tu-20 aircraft, but all the drawings were already issued with the index "95", so they decided to keep it) at the aircraft factory No. 18 in Kuibyshev. Factory tests continued until January 1956, and on May 31, the aircraft was presented for State tests. In August 1956, a new bomber was first shown at an air parade in honor of Day aviation. 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
Glider aircraft made mainly of aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys and steel are also used. Swept wing with angle 35 °. The crew is located in the thermocabins located in the forward and aft parts of the fuselage. The emergency exit of the aircraft is carried out with the help of a movable floor through hatches in both cabins.
Aircraft landing gear tricycle, with dual cylinders. The main pillars are biaxial, retractable in flight to wing gondolas (which is the family feature of most Tupolev machines), the nose pillar is uniaxial, retractable by “flow” into the fuselage.
Below the middle of the fuselage are the doors of the large bomb bay.
Depending on the modification, Tu-95 was used with NK-12 hp 12000, NK-12M, NK-12MB or NK-12MP turboprop engines (each with 15000 hp). Screws - four-blade metal adjustable pitch, installed coaxially.
Little about engines
The NK-12 engine is still the most powerful turboprop engine in the world. NK-12 has a 14-speed compressor and a highly economical five-speed turbine. To adjust the compressor on this engine for the first time installed a system of air bypass valves. The efficiency of the turbine of the engine NK-12 is 94%, which is a record figure.
On the engine NK-12 was first used a unified fuel supply control system, designed in a single unit (the so-called command-fuel unit).
High engine power and screw design causes its unprecedented noise; The Tu-95 is one of the noisiest airplanes in the world and is even detected by the submarine's hydroacoustic systems, but this is not critical for nuclear missile strikes.
The aircraft has an automatic engine start system. Fuel is located in 11 wing caisson and fuselage soft fuel tanks.
The use of economical TVDs and a screw unit with an 95% efficiency on the Tu-82 allowed to achieve fairly high flight range performance, despite the relatively low aerodynamic quality of the aircraft.
weaponry
Bomb load Tu-95 aircraft can reach 12 000 kg. In the fuselage bomb bay, free-fall (including nuclear) air bombs with a caliber of up to 9 000 kg are allowed.
The Tu-95KD and Tu-95-20 were armed with X-20 cruise missiles with nuclear warheads designed to hit radio contrast targets at 300-600 km distances.
Tu-95В (existed in a single copy) was converted for use as a means of delivering the world's most powerful thermonuclear bomb. The weight of this bomb was 26,5 tons, and power in TNT equivalent - 50 megatons. After testing the king-bomb 30 in October 1961, this aircraft was no longer used for its intended purpose.
The Tu-95MS, which is the backbone of Russia's strategic aviation, is the carrier of X-55 cruise missiles. In the modification of the Tu-96MS6 in the bomb bay at the multi-position launcher of the drum type is placed six such missiles. In the modification of the Tu-95MS16, in addition to the intra-body launcher, a suspension of ten more X-55 missiles on four underwing holders is provided.
The development and operation of the Tu-95-s had their difficulties. The cabin was poorly adapted to long flights, the crews were very exhausting. There was no normal toilet, uncomfortable seats. The air from the SCR system was dry and contained oily dust. The board was also not pleased - until now, flight crews prefer to take their home-cooked food.
Assessment of the ergonomics of the cabin was expressed simply and roughly - "as in tank", and only with the advent of the modification of" MS "in the workplace it became more pleasant.
A big problem was the winter operation. Mineral mixture of mineral oils is poured into the oil system of the NK-12 engines, which thickens in a bit of cold so that the screws cannot be turned. Before departure, all the engines had to be warmed up with ground-based engine preheaters (heat guns), and in the absence of these, for example, at the operational airfield, it was necessary to cover the motors with insulating covers and start every few hours. In the future, the industry began to produce a special motor oil that allows the launch of the NK-12 engines at temperatures down to -25 hail (but in the Russian Federation the production of this oil is minimized).
On the Tu-95MS, auxiliary power plant is installed in the forklift, which allows air to be drawn for pre-flight heating of engines.
Replacing the engine NK-12 is extremely time-consuming and has a lot of features, requires a certain staff qualifications and special skills, compared with other types of aircraft.
There is still no crew ejection system on the plane, which makes it almost impossible to leave a falling plane.
These aircraft with almost 60-year-old experience still make other countries nervous.
Between April 22 and 3 May 2007, two Russian Tu-95MS took part in an incident that occurred during the British Army Warrior Neptune exercises held in the North Sea Clyde Bay near the Hebrides. Russian planes appeared in the exercise area (conducted in neutral waters), after which two British fighters were raised from the Luaschar air base in the Scottish Fife area. The fighters accompanied Russian planes until they left the exercise area. According to the representative of the British Air Force, it was the first such case since the end of the Cold War.
In August, the Tu-2007MS flew within the framework of the 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 95 the British fighters had to meet eight Russian bombers at once
On the night of 9 on 10 February, the 2008 four Tu-95 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 advanced a note of protest, broke the border for three minutes. The second pair of aircraft headed towards the Nimitz aircraft carrier. When the Russian aircraft to the ship remained about 800 km to intercept were raised four F / A-18. At a distance of 80 km from the 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.
Information