Tupolev Tu-4
| Tu-4 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Tupolev Tu-4 at Monino Central Air Force Museum, Moscow | |
| Role | Strategic bomber |
| Manufacturer | Tupolev |
| Design group | Boeing |
| First flight | 19 May 1947 |
| Introduction | 1949 |
| Retired | mid-1960s (Soviet Union) |
| Primary users |
Soviet Air Force PLA Air Force |
| Produced | 1949–1952 |
| Number built | 847 |
| Developed from | Boeing B-29 Superfortress |
| Variants |
Tupolev Tu-70 Tupolev Tu-75 Tupolev Tu-80 Tupolev Tu-85 KJ-1 AEWC |
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.
Toward the end of World War II, the Soviet Union saw the need for a strategic bombing capability similar to that of the United States Army Air Forces. The Soviet VVS air arm had the locally designed Petlyakov Pe-8 four-engined "heavy" in service at the start of the war, but only 93 had been built by the end of the war and the type had become obsolete. The U.S. regularly conducted bombing raids on Japan, from distant Pacific forward bases using B-29 Superfortresses. Joseph Stalin ordered the development of a comparable bomber.
The U.S. twice refused to supply the Soviet Union with B-29s under Lend Lease. However, on four occasions during 1944, individual B-29s made emergency landings in Soviet territory and one crashed after the crew bailed out. In accordance with the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact, the Soviets were neutral in the Pacific War and the bombers were therefore interned and kept by the Soviets. Despite Soviet neutrality, America demanded the return of the bombers, but the Soviets refused. Three repairable B-29s were flown to Moscow and delivered to the Tupolev OKB. One B-29 was dismantled, the second was used for flight tests and training, and the third one was left as a standard for cross-reference. The aircraft included 1 Boeing-Wichita −5-BW, 2 Boeing-Wichita −15-BWs and the wreckage of 1 Boeing-Renton −1-BN – three different models from two different production lines (respectively Wichita and Renton factories). Only one of the four had de-icing boots as used on the Tu-4. The fourth B-29 was returned to the US along with its crew with the end of the Russo-Japanese entente following the Soviet declaration of war against Japan two days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, in accordance with the Yalta agreement.
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Wikipedia