v1.0.1 / 01 may 06 / greg goebel / public domain
* In the early 1950s, the Soviet Union was determined to keep up with the West, and major efforts were placed on development of advanced aircraft. Development of effective bombers was a high priority, leading to the introduction of a formidable, swept-wing, twinjet bomber, the "Tupolev Tu-16 Badger", in the mid-1950s. It was an excellent aircraft that would prove useful in a wide range of roles, and it would have a long service life.
This document provides a history and description of the Tu-16, as well as of its "Tu-104 Camel" jetliner derivative, and the scaled-down "Tu-124 Cookpot" jetliner based on the Tu-104.
* In the postwar period, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin began high-priority programs to develop modern jet aircraft, using captured advanced German jet aircraft designs to give Red engineers a leg up on the task. One line of investigation was of course for a high-performance jet fighter, with this work culminating in the excellent Mikoyan MiG-15; the other line of investigation was for a jet bomber.
The experimental design bureau (OKB in its Russian acronym) under Andrei Tupolev started out development of a jet bomber with the "Tu-12", a jet-powered version of their Tu-2 twin-engine piston-powered bomber. It was really nothing but a practice exercise and there was never any serious intent to go into production.
The first attempt to develop a production machine focused initially on the "Tu-73", which was a straight-winged aircraft with a swept tailplane, powered by an imported Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet in a nacelle in each wing and a Rolls-Royce Derwent turbojet in the tail, with the intake at the base of the tailfin. It featured a dorsal remote-controlled dorsal barbette with twin Nudelman-Richter NR-23 23 millimeter cannon behind the cockpit and a similar ventral barbette under the rear fuselage. Initial flight of the Tu-73 was in 1947. A "Tu-78" prototype was also built, being generally similar except for using license-built versions of the Rolls-Royce engines, with RD-45Fs in the wings and an RD-500 in the tail.
Improvements to the RD-45F led to the similar but more powerful "VK-1" turbojet, with 26.5 kN (2,700 kgp / 5,950 lbf) thrust. The VK-1 engines allowed elimination of the clumsy Derwent installation in the tail. Removing the Derwent also meant that a tail turret with twin NR-23s could be fitted. Given good performance, that was seen as adequate defensive armament, and the twin cannon barbettes were eliminated. However, twin fixed forward-firing NR-23s were fitted in the nose. The result was the "Tu-81", which was performed its initial flight in 1949. Prototypes were also flown of Tu-81R reconnaissance and Tu-89 torpedo bomber variants.
The Tu-89 torpedo bomber was approved for production as the "Tu-14T" for the
AVMF, the Soviet naval air arm. It could carry free-fall bombs, mines, and
torpedoes. Only about a hundred were built; it is unclear if any of "Tu-14
(Tu-81)" standard bomber or "Tu-14R (Tu-81R)" reconnaissance machines were
included in that production. In any case, the type was thoroughly
overshadowed by the conceptually similar but far more successful Ilyushin
Il-28 medium bomber. The Tu-14T was assigned the NATO codename of "Bosun",
no doubt reflecting its naval use, and the type apparently remained in
service into the early 1960s.
TUPOLEV TU-14T BOSUN:
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spec metric english
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wingspan 21.7 meters 71 feet 2 inches
wing area 67.36 sq_meters 725 sq_feet
length 21.69 meters 71 feet 2 inches
empty weight 14,430 kilograms 31,812 pounds
MTO weight 25,350 kilograms 55,890 pounds
max speed at altitude 845 KPH 525 MPH / 455 KT
service ceiling 11,200 meters 36,750 feet
range 3,010 kilometers 1,870 MI / 1,625 NMI
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A swept-wing derivative of the Tu-14, the "Tu-82", sometimes referred to as
the "Tu-86", was also flown in 1949, but never entered production. Sources
are very unclear on this machine and it is obscured by a cloud of contrary
information. It seems to have been simply a demonstrator for swept-wing
technology.
* The Il-28 did not put the Tupolev OKB out of the jet bomber game. The Soviet Union needed a bigger and more advanced jet bomber beyond the Il-28, and in June 1950 a state requirement was issued to the Ilyushin and Tupolev OKBs for such an aircraft. It was to be a swept-wing machine, powered by Arkhip Lyulka AL-5 turbojets, with high subsonic performance and a range of 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles), a bomb load of 5,000 kilograms (11,000 pounds), plus armament of seven cannon. An option was provided to use more powerful Arkady Mikulin AM-3 engines, the engine development program permitting.
The Ilyushin OKB wanted to conduct the development program in two steps, beginning with what amounted to a scaled up version of the Il-28 designated the "Il-46", and then building a second prototype with swept wings as the "Il-46S". The Tupolev OKB chose to move directly to the swept-wing design, coming up with an aircraft designated "Tu-88", also referred to as "Type N" as a cover. It featured a pencil-like fuselage; all swept flight surfaces, with mid-mounted wings; twin AM-3 engines, with one in a nacelle on each side of the fuselage; a tail gun installation and remote-controlled barbettes for defensive armament; and tricycle landing gear, with main gear in a pod on the inboard rear of each wing.
The initial (unarmed) prototype Tu-88, now assigned the service designation of "Tu-16", performed its first flight on 27 April 1952, with N.S. Rybko at the controls. The Tu-16 went into state trials in November 1952, with the trials extending into March 1953. The original verdict was a "thumbs down", and in fact Andrei Tupolev himself was disappointed in the performance of the machine. In particular, it was obvious that it wouldn't come close to meeting its range specification.
However, the Tu-16 was still an impressive aircraft, and the problems were not regarded as "show-stoppers": approval for full production of the Tu-16 had already been granted, in December 1952. The trials simply indicated issues that needed to be addressed, and the second Tu-16 prototype, which performed its first flight on 6 April 1953 with Rybko at the controls, incorporated such improvements as a lighter airframe, increased fuel capacity, and longer nose. The second prototype was also closer to production spec, with defensive armament and offensive radar system. The second prototype successfully completed trials a year later, in April 1954, with a recommendation for service acceptance issued in May 1954.
The Ilyushin Il-46 program had been halted in the summer of 1953 and the swept-wing Il-46S prototype was never built. The Ilyushin OKB did develop two swept-wing twin-engine bombers, the "Il-30" and the "Il-54", but neither entered service and their histories are obscure. At the same time the Il-46 program got the axe, work towards manufacture of the Tu-16 was begun at State Factory 22 in Kazan. The first production Tu-16 was rolled out at the Kazan factory on 29 October 1953.
A total of nine Tu-16s performed a flypast at the May Day parade in Moscow on 1 May 1954, and 40 performed a flypast at the Tsushino Air Show in August. NATO assigned the type the codename "Badger"; these early machines would acquire the modified designation of "Badger-A" once later versions were introduced.
The Kazan plant built the majority of Tu-16s. Acquisition of the Tu-16 was a high priority for the USSR, and so Kazan production was soon supplemented by manufacture of aircraft at State Factory 1 in Kuibyshev (now Samara). A number were also built at State Factory 64 in Voronezh from 1955. The last new-build Tu-16s were rolled out in 1963.
Tu-16s were produced in large quantity and served in a wide range of roles, flying as bombers, missile carriers, torpedo bombers, antisubmarine warfare (ASW) platforms, reconnaissance and maritime surveillance platforms, electronic countermeasures (ECM) platforms, inflight refueling tankers, search and rescue (SAR) platforms, and trials / experimental platforms. Many were heavily modified during their lives to take on new roles for which they had not originally been built. They generally flew in natural metal finish, though AVMF machines often sported natty maritime colors of dark gray on top and light gray underneath.
* The initial production Tu-16 provides a baseline for description of the family. The Tu-16 was an all-metal aircraft, built mostly of aircraft aluminum. The Tupolev OKB had built the Tu-4, the Soviet copy of the US Boeing B-29 Superfortress, and the Tu-16's long, slender fuselage clearly reflected influence from that source. While the prototypes and early production Tu-16s were powered by twin AM-3 engines with 66.2 kN (6,750 kgp / 14,880 lbf) thrust each, main Tu-16 production was powered by the considerably uprated AM-3M engine -- known in production as the RD-3M, where the "RD" suffix stood for "Reactivniy Dvigatel", more or less translating to "reaction device", meaning jet engine -- with 93.2 kN (9,500 kgp / 20,950 lbf) thrust.
The two-spar wings were mid-mounted on the engine nacelles and had a sweep of
41 degrees on the inboard third of the wing, and 35 degrees sweep on the
outboard wing. The wings had 1 degree of incidence and 3 degrees of
anhedral. There were big single-piece flaps and ailerons with trim tabs on
the rear of the wings, as well as twin fences on top of each wing; the
prototypes and early production had shorter fences than main production
machines. The tail assembly was of conventional configuration, with all
swept flight surfaces. The wing used an engine-air bleed deicing system,
while the tail surfaces were electrically deiced.
TUPOLEV TU-16 BADGER-A:
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spec metric english
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wingspan 32.93 meters 108 feet
wing area 164.65 sq_meters 1,772.34 sq_feet
length 36.25 meters 118 feet 11 inches
height 14 meters 45 feet 11 inches
empty weight 37,200 kilograms 82,000 pounds
MTO weight 75,800 kilograms 167,100 pounds
max speed at altitude 990 KPH 615 MPH / 535 KT
service ceiling 15,000 meters 49,200 feet
range 5,925 kilometers 3,680 MI / 3,200 NMI
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The nose gear was steerable, had twin wheels, and retracted backward. The
main gear, with a 2x2=4 configuration, retracted backwards in their wing pods
and flipped over to stow, an exercise that must have been interesting to
watch. Apparently the Tu-16 was the first production Soviet aircraft with
the 2x2=4 main gear arrangement. There was also a small retractable bumper
wheel under the rear fuselage to prevent damage on high-angle takeoffs. All
wheel assemblies were hydraulically actuated. A brake chute could be used to
reduce landing roll.
The weapons bay had large volume to allow it to carry a nuclear weapon. It could also carry a FAB-9000 (19,850 pound) conventional bomb, though more usually in the conventional bombing role it carried a number of smaller munitions. Typical bomb loads were up to 16 FAB-250 (550 pound) or 12 FAB-500 (1,100 pound) bombs; in the late 1960s, many Badger-As were modified to increase the maximum bombload to 24 FAB-250 or 18 FAB-500 bombs. The twin weapons bay doors were electrically operated. A radar altimeter was fitted just forward of the weapons bay. There were large fuel tanks fore and aft of the weapons bay, and the wings were full of fuel tanks. A stores pylon could be attached under each wing, though this would not be used for free-fall bombing, instead being employed on the missile carriers and reconnaissance variants described below.
The Tu-16's seven guns were all NR-23 23 millimeter cannon, with one fixed to fire forward in the nose -- presumably the pilot had a gunsight to help with aiming -- and the others mounted in three twin-cannon turrets, including a remote-controlled forward dorsal barbette, a similar barbette in the rear ventral position, and a manned tail turret. The tail gunner could use a gun aiming radar, mounted in a fairing at the base of the tailfin. The NATO codename for this radar was, of course, "Bee Hind", and it was used on other large Soviet aircraft.
The fixed nose gun seems like an odd feature in hindsight -- the Tu-16 was on the big side to be making strafing attacks -- and it would often be deleted in other Tu-16 variants. Later in life, Tu-16s were retrofitted with the SPS-100 Rezeda countermeasures jammer, which was a bulky item that replaced the tail turret with a prominent, bulbous tail extension.
There were six crew, including a bombardier / radar navigator, pilot, copilot, and navigator / gunner in the forward section of the fuselage; plus radio operator / gunner and tail gunner in the rear fuselage. All crew spaces were pressurized. The bombardier / radar navigator sat behind a glazed nose, using an optical bombsight peering through a flat panel under the nose as well as PRS-1AG Argon navigation / bombing radar, mounted in a radome under the cockpit. The bombardier / navigator got into the aircraft through a hatch with a pull-out ladder just under the nose.
The pilot and copilot sat side-by-side in a stepped cockpit on armored, upward-firing ejection seats; the rest of the forward-section crew used downward-firing ejection seats. The navigator / gunner sat behind the cockpit in an avionics bay, using a prominent bubble dome to take navigation shots or control the forward cannon barbette. The dome and dorsal barbette were flanked by long distinctive "towel rack" antennas for HF communications. All three of the forward crew got into the aircraft through a belly hatch in front of the nose gear.
The radio operator / gunner sat in a compartment underneath the tailfin, with a blister on each side of the fuselage underneath the tailplane for observation and aiming the rear cannon barbette. The tail gunner of course sat in the extreme tail; the two crew got inside the aircraft through tandem belly hatches. The tail section crew did not have ejection seats, instead bailing out through the hatches, which opened to serve as windbreaks.
* A total of 294 standard Tu-16 Badger-A bombers were built, with the deliveries split between Long Range Aviation (DA) and Naval Aviation (AVMF). At least some were configured to carry the radio-guided 2,240 kilogram (4,940 pound) UB-2F Tchaika radio-guided glide bomb -- one carried under each wing -- or larger 5,100 kilogram (11,250 pound) UB-5 Kondor radio-guided glide bomb, with one carried on the centerline.
These were primitive weapons, with the bombardier tracking the bomb visually using flares in the tail of a bomb and adjusting its path with a hand controller over a radio datalink. The main problem with them was that the aircraft had to maintain a line of sight to the target until a bomb went home, meaning the aircraft was vulnerable during that interval. These glide bombs had a short service life.
A separate variant, the "Tu-16A", was built for nuclear strike, with a total of 394 produced. They featured a heated weapons bay to keep the bomb's sensitive electronics working; pull-down blinds for the crew cockpit; and a special belly surface to tolerate nuclear flash. 59 more of the nuclear bomber variants were built with for inflight refueling and designated "Tu-16ZA". NATO observers couldn't spot much difference with these variants and so they were regarded as "Badger-A" machines.
* Red Air Force Tu-16As -- and Tu-16KSR-2-5s, this variant being essentially a Tu-16A that could carry antishipping missiles and described below -- actually saw a fair amount of combat late in their service lives, performing carpet-bombing raids against Mujahedin insurgents during the Afghanistan conflict of the 1980s. They flew in formations of three or four aircraft, or sometimes eight to ten aircraft; in 1984 one raid featured 24 aircraft, each carrying 24 to 40 FAB-250 250 kilogram (550 pound) general-purpose bombs.
* The Tu-16 proved to be a very reliable and rugged machine, if apparently demanding to fly. It would be the mainstay of the Soviet nuclear deterrent in the late 1950s and early 1960s, though its inadequate range was a troublesome limitation. Once intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) came online in the early 1960s, the Tu-16 was gradually shifted to other roles.
The only way to address the range issue was to provide inflight refueling, Directives were issued in 1953 to implement such a system, with the first "Tu-16Z" tanker conversion tested in 1955. The scheme went into service in 1958. The Tu-16AZ nuclear bombers, mentioned above, were built with the refueling gear, and apparently most or all of the Tu-16 and Tu-16A bombers were retrofitted with it.
The Soviets seem to have had a considerable amount of trouble developing an inflight refueling capability. The Tu-16Z tanker system was clumsy on the face of it: a hose was strung off the right wingtip of the tanker, to hook up with a receiver system on the left wingtip of a receiver aircraft. The right landing gear pod of the tanker had a searchlight system for night refuelings. There were 114 Tu-16Z conversions, including some from Tu-16AZ bombers that were confusingly designated "Tu-16ZA". The Tu-16Z/16ZA tankers were recognizable by tablike wingtip extensions.
The refueling procedure was tricky and apparently resulted every now and then in accidents, some of them disastrous. A "Tu-16N" with an additional conventional hose-drogue unit installed in the bombbay was introduced in 1963, with a number of machines produced by conversion. This led to a further improved version, the "Tu-16NN", which was similar to the Tu-16N but lacked the wingtip refueling system and had wingtip endplate fins to improve station-keeping. 20 conversions were performed. A single "Tu-16D" equipped as a receiver for conventional hose-drogue refueling was produced by conversion, but though the evaluation of the machine was successful, the configuration was not adopted for service. Eventually, Badger mid-air refueling was deemphasized.
* The Red Navy AVMF was a Badger user from the start, and early on a torpedo-bomber variant, the "Tu-16T", was developed for that service branch, with 76 built in all. It looked pretty much like a standard Tu-16 bomber and could drop ordinary free-fall bombs, but it could carry up to ten torpedoes or up to twelve mines in the weapons bay.
The torpedo bomber was an obsolete concept even at the time, and the mission for which the Tu-16T had been specifically designed quickly ceased to exist. In fact, it was the last torpedo bomber in Soviet service. In 1962, a number of Tu-16Ts were modified as "interim" antisubmarine warfare (ASW) platforms by fitting them with the Baku sonobuoy receiver system and allowing them to carry 40 sonobuoys and depth bombs in the weapons bay. These machines were redesignated "Tu-16PL"; ironically, they were later further updated to carry antisubmarine homing torpedoes, turning them back into torpedo bombers of a sort. The Tu-16PLs were retired in the late 1960s when better airborne ASW assets became available.
* The Badger's service as a free-fall bomber was thoroughly overshadowed by its labors as a missile carrier. The evolution of the Tu-16 in this role is elaborate and confusing. The USSR had begun work on heavy antishipping cruise missiles in the late 1940s, with the early "Kometa" system introduced in the mid-1950s. It was based on the Mikoyan "KS-1" missile, known to NATO as the "AS-1 Kennel", which was something like a baby MiG-15 fighter with no cockpit, a radome for an antishipping radar seeker in the nose, and a fairing for a radio control link on top of the tail. The missile could also be used against prominent land targets, such as bridges.
Carriage on the obsolescent Tu-4 B-29 clone was judged unsatisfactory, and so in 1954 a Tu-16 was modified as a KS-1 carrier. One missile was carried on each underwing rack for a total of two, with the fuel supply of the missiles topped up from the carrier's fuel tanks. A missile operator was added to the crew, with the new crewman working from a capsule loaded into the weapons bay. Apparently the capsule was uncomfortable, particularly in warm weather.
Although a midcourse guidance control datalink system was added to the bomber, the radar system was not upgraded, since the range of the original KS-1 was only about 80 kilometers (50 miles), and the Argon radar could spot large naval vessels at that range. An extendable drum was fitted behind the weapons bay to accommodate the datalink. The "Tu-16KS", as the missile carrier variant was designated, went into service with the AVMF in 1955, with a total of 107 built. It was given the NATO codename of "Badger-B".
An improved KS-1 was introduced in the late 1950s, featuring folding wings and range stretched to 150 kilometers (95 miles), but the KS-1 was never all that satisfactory a weapon. Even 150 kilometers was not a very safe standoff distance from a Western naval group with air defenses; the KS-1 was strictly subsonic, making it vulnerable to defenses as well; and the Tu-16KS had to perform midcourse guidance for the missile until the missile's antiship radar seeker was within range, the carrier aircraft remaining vulnerable in the meantime.
* By the late 1950s, the USSR was testing what amounted to a rocket-propelled derivative of the KS-1 with improved aerodynamics. The new missile, the "KSR-2" (NATO AS-5 Kelt), had a range of 170 kilometers (105 miles) and marginally supersonic performance. The guidance scheme was conceptually the same as for the KS-1. An enhanced carrier aircraft configuration was required for the new missile, the result being the "Tu-16KSR-2", or sometimes "Tu-16K-16", with an improved Rubin-1k (Rn-1k) radar (NATO "Short Horn"), an improved autopilot, flaps with a 5 degree lower pivot, and cutouts in the flaps to allow them to clear the missile tailfin. It is unclear if the original Tu-16KS missile carriers had the cutouts as well.
From 1962, a total of 205 machines were converted to the Tu-16KSR-2 configuration. Older Tu-16KS aircraft updated were known simply as Tu-16KSR-2, while free-fall bombers updated to the configuration were designated "Tu-16KSR-2A". In any case, variant received the NATO codename of "Badger-G". They retained the ability to drop free-fall munitions as a secondary mission. Some were upgraded in the 1970s with SPS-5 Fasol and SPS-100 Rezeda defensive jammers, with the SPS-100 replacing the tail turret.
A radar-homing version of the KSR-2 was also developed and given the designation of "KSR-11". That led to the upgrade of aircraft featuring a Ritsa targeting system, identified by a small antenna mounted on top of the very tip of the nose. Fit of the Ritsa required removal of the fixed nose cannon. The improved machines were designated "Tu-16KSR-2-11" or alternatively "Tu-16K-11-16", or "Tu-16K-11-16KS". It appears there were very slight differences between aircraft with the different designations -- with the designations indicating the type of aircraft that had been upgraded. NATO still referred to them as "Badger-Gs". Long Range Aviation operated 211 such aircraft, while the AVMF operated 130.
* The KS-1 and KSR-2/11 missiles were relatively crude and the Soviets were determined to come up with much better weapons, and accordingly introduced the "KSR-5" (NATO AS-6 Kingfish) in the late 1960s. This was an antiship missile in the shape of a big dart with delta wings, using rocket propulsion with storable fuels. The KSR-5 had extended range, was capable of Mach 3, and featured a sophisticated guidance system.
Of course, Tu-16s were upgraded to carry the new missile, with the upgraded aircraft given the designations "Tu-16KSR-2-5-11", "Tu-26K-26" (the entire missile system was designated "K-26"), or "Tu-16KSR-2-5". Again, there were slight differences between conversions with different designations; the Tu-16KSR-2-5-11 (and the Tu-26K-26) could carry the KSR-11 antiradar missile, while the Tu-16KSR-2-5 lacked the Ritsa targeting system and could not carry the KSR-11. There were 250 conversions in all. NATO assigned the subvariant the codename of "Badger G Mod".
In practice, only one missile was usually carried, not two. The KSR-5's range was actually greater than that of the Rubin-1k radar, and so a good number of these machines were eventually fitted with the further improved Rubin-1m radar. An antiradar version of the KSR-5 designated the "KSR-5P" was later introduced, and number of aircraft were upgraded, once more, to carry it; these machines were designated "Tu-16K-26P".
* While work proceeded on this series of upgrades, the Soviets also pursued a separate line of missile carriers based on the Badger. In the 1950s, work was begun on a heavy antiship / land attack missile, which emerged as the "K-10S". It was powered by an afterburning turbojet slung under the fuselage and went into service in 1960. NATO assigned it the codename "AS-2 Kipper".
Although the Badger missile carriers discussed so far were straightforward modifications of free-fall bomber variants, the machines designed to carry the K-10S featured significant changes. Only one missile was carried, fitted into a belly recess and extended on a pylon for launch. This of course eliminated the capability to perform free-fall bombing as a secondary mission. Even more noticeably, the nose glazing was replaced by a "fat" nose radome for a YeN (NATO codename Puff Ball) wide-angle, long range search and targeting radar. The radome actually improved the aircraft's aerodynamics. The original radome under the cockpit was retained, but it contained the control link antenna for the missile, not a radar. A missile systems operator was added to the crew and housed in a pressurized cabin in the weapons bay.
The modified aircraft were designated "Tu-16K-10". The changes required were so significant that no serious thought was given to modifying existing Badgers, and so all Tu-16K-10s were new-build machines, with a total of 216 built. NATO assigned the variant the codename of "Badger-C". As with the other family of missile carriers, the Tu-16K-10s were successively upgraded to handle improved weapons, such as the low-level K-10SN variant; the K-10SD/SND extended-range variant; and the K-10SP jamming variant, which was to be launched as part of a salvo to help other missiles penetrate target defenses.
In the mid-1960s, the Soviets took the logical step of initiating an upgrade of the Tu-16K-10 that could not only carry a K-10S-series missile under the centerline, but also carry a KSR-2 or KSR-5 missile under each wing. The conversion involved adding the wing stores racks, strengthening the wings, and adding notched-out flaps with greater maximum flap settings. The subvariant was designated, logically, the "Tu-16K-10-26" and introduced into service in 1969. 85 conversions from other Tu-16K-10 subvariants were performed; NATO gave the Tu-16K-10-26 the codename "Badger-C Mod".
In the mid-1970s, some of the Tu-16K-10-26 aircraft were fitted with the avionics for carrying the KSR-11 and KSR-5P radar-homing missiles. These aircraft were designated "Tu-16K-10-26P". Improved "Taifun" avionics was installed in these machines in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
* One particularly bizarre variation on the Tu-16K-10 series were the "Tu-16K-10-26B" conversions performed by the AVMF in the early 1970s. They were essentially Tu-16K-10-series machines fitted with 12 external bomb racks, with each rack able to carry up to a 500 kilogram (1,100 pound) munition for a total warload of 9,000 kilograms (19,850 pounds). An OPB-1RU optical bombsight was fitted; it is unclear if any nose glazing was added to give the bombardier any view of the target. Nobody is exactly sure what the Red Navy was thinking when they ordered this contraption.
The only time any of the missile carriers operating in Soviet service actually launched on a live target was in 1964, when test firings were being performed in the North Pacific and a Japanese timber freighter, the SINE-MARU, strayed into the range area. A K-10SND missile locked on to the freighter, but fortunately as a safety measure the missile was configured to blow up a few hundred meters short of the target. A Japanese crewman was injured by shrapnel and likely other members of the crew got a case of the jitters, but there was no other harm done. An investigation followed. However, the missile carriers would perform some combat launches in export service, as discussed later.
* The capability of the Tu-16 made it an attractive reconnaissance platform from the outset, and the initial reconnaissance variant, the "Tu-16R", began production in 1957. The Tu-16R was given the NATO codename of "Badger-E". The equipment fit tended to vary over time, but generally included a number of film cameras, plus electronic intelligence (ELINT) gear to detect and characterize radars or other radio "emitters", and an RPB-4/RPB-6 radar. The Tu-16R also carried countermeasures gear, including an SPS-1 jammer and chaff-flare dispensers. All armament was retained. 75 Tu-16Rs were built in all.
A seventh crewman, an ELINT operator, rode in a compartment in the weapons bay, which also carried chaff-flare dispensers. The crewman operated the SRS-1 manual ELINT system, which used twin small radomes under the fuselage. The SRS-3 automatic ELINT system, which recorded ELINT data on film strips, was later added, to be distinguished by a small pod under each wing; NATO, which could only really classify most Soviet aircraft by their superficial appearance, gave this configuration an entirely new codename of "Badger-F", though it was still just a Tu-16R. The SRS-1 system was later upgraded to the SRS-4 ELINT system, which featured larger radomes under the fuselage.
In the late 1970s, a number of Tu-16Rs were upgraded through the installation of improved film cameras, a Rubin-1K radar, and the SRS-4 ELINT system, which replaced the SRS-1 and SRS-3 ELINT systems. These machines were redesignated "Tu-16RM"; as far as NATO was concerned, they were just Badger-Es.
In 1967, a Tu-16R was converted into a "radiological reconnaissance" variant, carrying radiation dosimeters and underwing air filter pods to trap traces of fallout. This variant was designated "Tu-16RR"; it seems that it proved satisfactory, since eight more Tu-16Rs were converted to the same spec in 1970.
* In the mid-1960s, a dozen Tu-16Rs were modified to act as oceanic "hunters" to find targets for Badger missile-carrying "killers", with the hunters using ELINT systems to locate adversary naval assets, and the crew then passing the target area back to the killers. The hunters, which were designated "Tu-16RM-2", featured a fuel tank in the weapons bay to extend range -- the ELINT systems operator position in the weapons bay was deleted, as was the nose cannon -- and were fitted with Rubin-1K radar, the SRS-4 ELINT system and two film cameras. The navigator-bombardier handled the ELINT system.
However, as the range of the missiles increased, the reach of the Rubin-1k radar became increasingly inadequate. That meant fitting the long-range YeN radar, which in turn meant that the hunters would then have to be based on the Tu-16K-10-series K-10S missile carriers. Aircraft were modified by:
The modified aircraft were designated "Tu-16RM-1", and a total of 24 conversions were performed. NATO assigned the variant the codename "Badger-D".
Sources also mention a "Tu-16RC" variant, which was fitted with the MRSC-1 Uspekh system that allowed the aircraft to direct missiles launched from ships or submarines. It is unclear if this was an upgrade of the Tu-16RM-1 or the older Tu-16R reconnaissance variants, but given that the Uspekh was fielded in the late 1960s, when long-range missiles were in service, it seems likely to have been a Tu-16RM-1 upgrade.
* Western naval forces became very familiar with reconnaissance Badgers. Carrier groups would despatch fighters to escort intruding Tu-16s, so the Badger pilots learned to stay low, occasionally rising to get a target fix, then dropping down low again and changing course. The goal of the game was to fly right over the carrier group and get some pictures. In one well-known incident captured partly on film, a Badger attempting to evade an RAF fighter dropped a wingtip into the sea and cartwheeled to its destruction.
In 1968, the USSR signed an agreement with Egypt to base six AVMF Tu-16Rs in that country. These aircraft were flown by Soviet crews but featured Egyptian markings; they were eventually joined by a contingent of electronic warfare Badgers, described below. Egypt was apparently a very pleasant duty station, with the crews enjoying accommodations and luxuries well above anything they could have expected back home. The US Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean found them a common sight up until the mid-1970s, when the Egyptians decided that the prosperous US was a more desireable patron than the threadbare USSR.
Tu-16Rs also performed reconnaissance missions during the Afghan War, identifying targets for Badger bombers and other strike aircraft.
* Badgers were also used in the electronics countermeasures / electronic warfare (ECM/EW) role from early on. In 1955:1957, 42 Tu-16s were built with the SPS-1 jammer system, with 102 built with the more powerful SPS-2 jammer system. Both of these variants were designated "Tu-16SPS"; they featured the SRS-1 ELINT system to spot emitters, with a seventh systems operator in the weapons bay then tuning the jammer systems to deal with them. The SRS-1 jammer system used a set of whip antennas, while the SRS-2 jammer system used twin antenna domes under the forward fuselage. NATO codenamed the type the "Badger-K", though the EW Tu-16s would prove confusing: Western observers wondered with some reason if any two of them were completely alike.
The Tu-16SPS machines were later updated with three ASO-16 chaff dispensers in the weapons bay, their presence revealed by dispenser ports in the weapons bay doors. Beginning in 1962, over 90 Tu-16SPS machines were fitted with the much improved "Buket" countermeasures system, which featured four jamming transmitters that covered a wide band and featured automatic operation. These aircraft were designated "Tu-16P Buket" and distinguished by a long canoe fairing on the belly. These machines were codenamed "Badger-J" by NATO. A few were later fitted with the Fikus directional jammer system, to be codenamed "Badger-L" by NATO, and one was evaluation for carriage of chaff-laying rockets, though that scheme was not fielded.
Another EW variant of the Badger, oriented towards chaff-laying, was developed in parallel with the Tu-16SPS. The "Tu-16 Yolka (Fir Tree)" featured a weapons bay crammed full of seven ASO-16 chaff dispensers, and was also fitted with the SPS-4 jammer system. The AVMF obtained at least 71 Tu-16 Yolkas in the late 1950s, some of them being new-built aircraft, others upgrades from Tu-16T torpedo bombers. NATO assigned the type the codename of "Badger-H".
The EW Badgers were fitted with improved jammer systems through the course of their operational lives, and were eventually fitted with flare dispensers in the main landing gear pods to distract heat-seeking missiles. Two Tu-16SPS-type machines were fitted with additional gear for photographic, chemical, and radiological observations, to be designated "Tu-16E".
Badger jammers also served in Afghanistan, blinding Pakistani radars. Since the Pakistanis did not take action against Soviet aircraft unless they strayed into Pakistani airspace, the jamming was likely just to prevent the Pakistanis from radioing Mujahedin guerrillas to warn them of where a strike was coming.
* In the early 1960s, 14 Badgers were converted into a "search and rescue" configuration, carrying a large rescue boat that could be paradropped to survivors of maritime disasters, and redesignated "Tu-16S". They were never actually used in this role and were finally scrapped in the early 1980s.
Some demilitarized Tu-16s were used by Aeroflot for a time as fast mail carriers prior to the introduction of the Tu-104 airliner, described below. These Tu-16s were designated "Tu-16G" or sometimes "Tu-104G".
There were a number of special modifications for survey photography and aerial filming, as well as weather research and alteration. Tu-16s fitted for cloud-seeding were used following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster to try to break up radioactive clouds. Many retired Tu-16s ended up as targets ("mishen"). The first such drone conversions were in 1965, with the targets designated "Tu-16M".
The Tu-16 proved very useful as a trials aircraft, particularly for engine tests, with engines often placed on a pylon in the weapons bay that was extended once the aircraft was in flight. A similar carriage arrangement was used with the entire fuselage of a Yak-38 VTOL fighter to test its propulsion system. One Badger was fitted with the nose of a Myashishchev M-17 "Mystic" survey aircraft. These trials Badgers were sometimes designated "Tu-16LL", where "LL" was a general Soviet suffix designating a "flying laboratory".
* The Tu-16 began to be retired from Soviet service from the late 1970s with the introduction of the Tupolev Tu-22M "Backfire", but it took a long time to build up Tu-22M stock to useful levels. When the Tu-22M was grounded for a time in 1991, the Badger actually saw a short-lived resurgence, but once the Tu-22M returned to flight, the Tu-16 rapidly declined in numbers. A number may still be flying in Russia and other Soviet successor states. The Tu-16's operational service did not include a great deal of combat action, but the type did in the end prove to be a very capable, flexible, reliable, and safe aircraft.
* The Tu-16 was flown by a number of export users. The largest was Red China, which signed a license production agreement with the USSR to build the type in the late 1950s. The first Chinese Tu-16, or "H-6" as it was designated in Chinese service, flew in 1959. Production was performed by the plant at Xian, with at least 150 built into the 1990s. They normally flew in spiffy overall white colors.
Along with the H-6 free-fall bomber, an "H-6A" nuclear bomber was built, as well as an "H-6B" reconnaissance variant, "H-6C" conventional bomber and "H-6E" nuclear bomber with improved countermeasures, and the "H-6D" antiship missile carrier. The H-6D was introduced in the early 1980s and carried a C-601 antishipping missile (NATO codename "Silkworm", an air-launched derivative of the Soviet P-500 Permit / NATO "Styx") under each wing. The H-6D featured various modernized systems and sports an enlarged radome under the nose. The H-6 has also been used as a tanker and drone launcher. Later H-6 production featured extended curved wingtips.
Many H-6A and H-6C aircraft were updated in the 1990s to the "H-6F" configuration, the main improvement being a modern navigation system, with a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite constellation receiver, Doppler navigation radar, and inertial navigation system. New production began in the 1990s as well, with Xian building the "H-6G", which is a director for ground-launched cruise missiles; the "H-6H", which carries two land-attack cruise missiles; and now the "H-8M" cruise missile carrier, which has four pylons for improved cruise missiles and is fitted with a terrain-following system. Apparently these variants have no internal bomb capability, and most or all of their defensive armament has been deleted.
Chinese H-6s have been exported to a number of nations as the "B-6", as detailed below.
* Egypt was a long-time user of the Tu-16, receiving a handful of Tu-16KS missile launchers in the spring of 1967, just in time for the Israelis to blast them into scrap on the ground during the six-day June war in that year. The Egyptians were undeterred by this setback and rebuilt their Badger fleet, obtaining hand-me-down Soviet Tu-16Ts (presumably to be used as free-fall bombers), Tu-16KSR-2-11 missile launchers, and Tu-16R reconnaissance machines.
The Egyptians did much better with the Tu-16 in the October 1973 war, suffering no losses of their Badger fleet by basing the machines in the rear, and launching 25 missiles at Israeli targets, claiming five hits on radar sites and other ground targets. When Egypt switched sides to the US after that conflict, spares and some complete B-6 aircraft were obtained from Red China. Egyptian Badgers saw more combat during a four-day border clash with Libya in 1977. Egyptian Tu-16s also participated in combat exercises with US forces. By the early 1990s, the fleet was being scaled back, and the last Egyptian Badgers were retired in 2000.
* Indonesia obtained 25 Tu-16KS machines in 1961, but spares supplies dried up following a break in relations with the USSR in 1965, and the aircraft were soon grounded.
Iraq obtained eight Tu-16s just prior to the June 1967 war, but they saw no action; six Tu-16KSR-2-11 missile carriers obtained after the conflict. The Badger saw combat against the Kurds in 1974 and saw a fair amount of combat in the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, even performing bombing raids on Teheran. The Iraqis obtained four B-6Ds with C-601 missiles during the conflict. The career of the Badger in Iraqi service came to an abrupt end in the 1991 Gulf War, being bombed out of existence by Coalition strike aircraft. Any that survived fell into disrepair.
* The Soviet Union produced a total of 1,509 Tu-16s. 650 were built at the
Kazan plant from 1953 into 1959, with 150 more built for Naval Aviation from
1961 into 1963. The Kuibyshev plant built 543 Tu-16s, while the Voronezh
plant built 166 up to 1957. The following table gives a variant summary.
________________________________________________________________________
Tu-16 Badger-A Standard conventional bomber variant.
Tu-16A Badger-A Nuclear free-fall bomber.
Tu-16ZA Badger-A Tu-16A with inflight refueling.
Tu-16T Badger-A Torpedo bomber.
Tu-16KS Badger-B KS-1 missile carrier.
Tu-16KSR-2 Badger-G KSR-2 missile carrier.
Tu-16KSR-2-11 Badger-G KRS-2/11 missile carrier.
Tu-16K-26 Badger-G Mod KRS-2/11 & KSR-5 missile carrier.
Tu-16K-10 Badger-C K-10S missile carrier with nose radome.
Tu-16K-10-26 Badger-C Mod KRS-2, KSR-5, & K-10S missile carrier.
Tu-16K-10-26P Badger-C Mod Antiradar enhancement of Tu-16K-10-26.
Tu-16K-10-26B Badger-C Tu-16K-10 mod as free-fall bomber.
Tu-16R Badger-E/F Initial reconnaissance variant.
Tu-16RM Badger-K Modernized Tu-16R.
Tu-16RM-2 Badger-L Tu-16R "hunter" for missile carriers.
Tu-16RR Badger-F Tu-16R radiological recce variant.
Tu-16RM-1 Badger-D "Hunter" based on Tu-16K-10.
Tu-16RC Badger-D "Hunter" for ships/subs.
Tu-16SPS Badger-K Initial EW variant.
Tu-16P Buket Badger-J Upgraded Tu-16SPS with Buket jammer.
Tu-16 Yolka Badger-H Chaff layer.
Tu-16E Badger-J Multirole reconnaissance.
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Tu-16Z Badger-A Tanker conversion with wingtip refueling.
Tu-16N Badger-A Tanker with wingtip / host-drogue system.
Tu-16NN Badger-A Tanker with hose-drogue system.
Tu-16PL Badger-A Tu-16Ts modified to ASW role.
Tu-16S Badger-A Search and rescue conversions.
Tu-16D Tu-16 for hose-&-drogue refueling test.
Tu-16G Demilitarized Tu-16s for Aeroflot.
Tu-16M Unmanned target conversions.
Tu-16LL Test & trials machines.
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* While the Tupolev OKB developed the Tu-16, the organization worked in parallel on an airliner derivative. Formal work on the airliner began in the spring of 1953, and the initial flight of the prototype of the "Tu-104", as the machine was designated, was on 17 June 1955, with Y.I. Alashayev at the controls. The Tu-104 went into service with the state airline Aeroflot in 1956, with the new, advanced jetliner causing a stir in the West when it arrived in foreign capitals with Soviet bigwigs on board. The type was assigned the somewhat unflattering NATO codename of "Camel".
The Tu-104 could be generally described as a Tu-16 with an airliner fuselage, but there were actually a fair number of detail differences between the two types of aircraft. The Tu-104 had unmistakeably the same general arrangement as the Tu-16, with low-mounted wings featuring a compound sweep and RD-3 engines in nacelles next to the fuselage, and 2x2=4 main gear in pods on the wings. However, the Tu-104's wings had a subtly different profile from those of the Tu-16, and the engine nacelles were spaced out from the fuselage slightly. The tailplane was mounted on the fuselage, not on the tailfin as it was on the Tu-16.
The Tu-104's pressurized fuselage was 3.4 meters (11 feet 2 inches) in diameter, compared to 2.9 meters (9 feet 6 inches) for the Tu-16. The Tu-104 was flown by a crew of five including pilot, copilot, radio operator, flight engineer, and navigator. The aircraft featured navigation radar in a fairing under the nose and nose glazing for the navigator, a distinctive feature found on most Soviet airliners.
Initial accommodations were for 50 passengers. Passenger headspace was limited where the wing spars went across the fuselage, and so there was a galley separating front and back seating sections at that point. In the initial production version, there were two "first class" sections forward of the wing, with six passengers in the forward section and eight in the second, both featuring tables and other niceties. There was another eight-passenger section behind the galley, followed by "coach" seating for 28, in seven rows four seats across.
There was a toilet forward and two toilets aft. Apparently the accommodations were spiffy, particularly by Soviet standards, with brass and mahogany fittings. Obviously, the Tu-104 was seen as "showpiece" for Soviet technology and industry. It did have a longer takeoff run than the Soviet propliners then in service, requiring that runways at a large number of airports in the USSR be stretched to handle the new machine, but that would have had to be done in any case as aircraft performance improved.
Uprating the RD-3 engine increased the gross takeoff weight, leading to the "Tu-104A", which was introduced to service in 1957 and could carry 70 passengers, with five-abreast seating. A Tu-104A set a series of altitude and speed with load records in 1957.
Development of the definitive "RD-3M" engine led to equally definitive
"Tu-104B" variant, which was introduced in 1959. It featured a 1.21 meter (4
foot) fuselage stretch, wings with wider chord and bigger flaps to handle the
weight increase, various general improvements, and accommodations for 100
passengers. The early compartmentalized scheme gave way to straight-through
accommodations of 30 passengers before the wing, 15 passengers in the center
section, and 55 behind. The Tu-104B also set a number of altitude and speed
with load records in 1959.
TUPOLEV TU-104 CAMEL:
_____________________ _________________ _______________________
spec metric english
_____________________ _________________ _______________________
wingspan 34.54 meters 113 feet 4 inches
wing area 183.50 sq_meters 1,975 sq_feet
length 40.06 meters 131 feet 5 inches
height 11.90 meters 39 feet
empty weight 41,600 kilograms 91,710 pounds
MTO weight 76,000 kilograms 167,550 pounds
max speed at altitude 950 KPH 590 MPH / 515 KT
service ceiling 11,500 meters 37,750 feet
range 3,100 kilometers 1,925 MI / 1,675 NMI
_____________________ _________________ _______________________
A number of Tu-104As were also converted to a 100-passenger configuration and
redesignated "Tu-104V". This sounds a little cramped, and not surprisingly
there was also a "Tu-104D" conversion that had more reasonable accommodations
for 85 passengers. There was also a single "Tu-104E", which was a Tu-104B
tuned for record-breaking flights. A number of Tu-104s of various types were
used for special applications, including weather research, and as a "vomit
comet" to perform dives that would allow Soviet cosmonauts to experience
short periods of zero gee before going into space. Two Tu-104s were fitted
with YeN radar to serve as trainers for the Tu-16K-10 Badger-C and were
designated "Tu-104Sh". They were later upgraded with radar and systems for
the Tu-22M Backfire, and redesignated "Tu-104Sh-2".
A "Tu-110" was also developed roughly in parallel with the Tu-104, being much the same except for fit of four smaller AL-5 turbojets, with 53.9 kN (5,500 kgp / 12,125 lbf) thrust each, instead of the two big RD-3s. Although it apparently had some advantages over the Tu-104, they weren't significant enough to encourage production, and the sole Tu-110 prototype was turned over to the Red Air Force, apparently for use as a VIP transport.
The last of about 200 Tu-104s was rolled out in 1960. The only export user was CSA of Czechoslovakia, which bought six Tu-104As. Most Tu-104s in Aeroflot service were updated in the late 1960s to handle 104 or 115 passengers, which suggests that the nice trim seen in early production had been dispensed with. The type was finally retired from Aeroflot service in 1981. While crude by modern standards, the Tu-104 was leading-edge at the time of its introduction, and in fact it was the second jetliner to go into full service, following Britain's much less successful de Havilland Comet. Although noisy and fuel-hungry in hindsight, the Tu-104 also had an excellent serviceability and safety record.
* The Tu-104 had seemed like such a good idea that it was followed in production by a scaled-down derivative, the "Tu-124", which had a very similar general arrangement -- so similar that the two types could be difficult to tell apart -- but length and span only about 75% of the Tu-104, and weight only about half. There was no major parts commonality between the two designs. Initial flight of the prototype was in June 1960, with introduction to service in 1962.
The Tu-124 was powered by twin Soloviev D-20P turbofans with 52.9 kN (5,400
kgp / 11,900 lbf) thrust each. The Tu-124 had somewhat improved aerodynamics
over the Tu-104, giving a sleeker look. The fuselage width was 2.9 meters (9
feet 6 inches), like that of the Tu-16. The Tu-124 was fitted with 44 seats,
which was increased to 55 on the "Tu-124V". There were also VIP transport
variants, including the "Tu-124K", with 36 seats, and the "Tu-124K2", with 22
seats. About a hundred Tu-124s of all types were built, to be operated on
short-haul routes through the 1960s and 1970s. It was assigned the quirky
NATO codename of "Cookpot".
TUPOLEV TU-124 COOKPOT:
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spec metric english
_____________________ _________________ _______________________
wingspan 25.55 meters 83 feet 10 inches
wing area 119 sq_meters 1,281 sq_feet
length 30.58 meters 100 feet 4 inches
height 8.08 meters 26 feet 6 inches
empty weight 22,500 kilograms 49,600 pounds
MTO weight 38,000 kilograms 83,755 pounds
max speed at altitude 970 KPH 605 MPH / 525 KT
service ceiling 15,000 meters 49,200 feet
range 2,100 kilometers 1,305 MI / 1,135 NMI
_____________________ _________________ _______________________
A few Tu-124s served in the Red military as "Tu-124Sh" navigation trainers.
Three were supplied to the Czech CSA airline, and two to the East German
Interflug airline. A few were also sold to the Iraqi and Indian air forces
as VIP transports. Like its bigger sister, the Tu-124 obtained a reputation
for serviceability and safety.
* The Tu-16 bomber can be regarded as the Soviet counterpart to the US Boeing B-47 Stratojet, with the two aircraft being similar in size and capability. It is arguable that the Badger is as elegant as the B-47, but then again the B-47 was an unusually sleek aircraft, and the Tu-16 has a certain clean, businesslike, and distinctly Soviet appearance of its own. However, in terms of flexibility and length of service the Badger wins the contest hands down: it's still being flown, decades after the last B-47 was retired from service.
The flexibility and length of service of the Tu-16 makes it a bit troublesome to document, and Soviet aircraft are difficult subjects anyway. Older books available in the West on the subject before the fall of the USSR are vague, confused, and confusing. However, even with the much more accurate materials available now, it's still tough sledding, and I'm fairly sure some corrections will have to be made down the road.
* Sources include:
* Revision history:
v1.0.0 / 01 may 06 / gvg
v1.0.1 / 01 aug 06 / gvg / Typo corrections.
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