A brief preface
Hello and welcome to Heavy Bomber March suggestion #2! This month I’m cranking out suggestions for heavy bombers, starting with Soviet equivalents of already suggested American bombers. Up next, the Soviet counterpart to the B-36B!
Overview
The Tupolev Tu-85 was an upgraded model of the Tu-4 developed in response to the American B-36. It was designed to strike US targets from bases within the Soviet Union. Featuring double the range of the Tu-4, it was the Soviet Union’s first truly intercontinental bomber. Only two prototypes were produced before the program was cancelled in favour of the much more advanced Tu-95.
- Yes
- No
History
Expand
The Tu-4
The story of the Tu-85 begins with the Tu-4, or rather, the B-29. The B-29 was an American heavy bomber entering service in 1944. At the time, it was the most powerful, advanced, and expensive bomber in the world. It far outclassed the Pe-8 that the Soviets operated. Naturally, the Soviets were very interested in getting their hands on the B-29, but were twice refused by the US- even before the end of the war, there was a growing rift between the western Allies and Soviets. However, the Soviets would soon have B-29s literally landing in their lap.
B-29s conducting operations against Japan would occasionally take damage and be forced to land in the Soviet Union instead of turning back to American airfields. Four such instances occurred, with a fifth B-29 crashing in Soviet territory. At the time the Soviets were neutral in the pacific war, so the four intact B-29s were interned. One would be returned to the US, one dismantled, one used for flight testing, and the last left intact for reference as the Soviets began construction of a reverse-engineered copy of the aircraft, the Tu-4. Because of how advanced the B-29 was, the Tu-4 was to copy it as exactly as possible- famously with initial batches being pre-built with bullet hole patches and requiring special authorization to use Soviet parachutes instead of copying American ones.
The Tu-4 was revealed at the 1947 Tushino Airshow, where a trio of Tu-4s were flow in formation, presumed by western observers to be the captured B-29s. These three aircraft were shortly followed by a fourth, revealing the Soviets were building their own B-29s. I just gotta say, what a power move.
The Tu-80
While the Tu-4 was one of the best bomber ls in the world at the time it simply wasn’t enough. American bases in Europe and Asia could be targeted by the Tu-4 but the mainland US itself was solidly out of range. Meanwhile, American B-29s could strike anywhere in the Soviet Union from airbases in Europe or Japan, and the new B-36 could even do so from bases in the continental US.
So in February 1948 work began on an improved long-range development of the Tu-4, or more accurately the pressurized Tu-70 prototype transport aircraft based on the Tu-4. This new aircraft would be designated the Tu-80. It featured a redesigned, more aerodynamic fuselage with the aforementioned pressurized interior, a longer, more aerodynamic wing, and more powerful and fuel efficient ASh-73TKFN engines. Jet propulsion was considered early on, but the idea was quickly abandoned due to the poor fuel efficiency of available jets. The first prototype was completed in July 1949.
Even before the completion of the Tu-80 prototype, it was clear that its performance would be insufficient. Despite its many improvements, it was still limited by the ASh-73TKFN engines. They were more powerful than the ASh-73TK of the Tu-4, but not nearly as powerful as the ASh-2TKs the Tu-80 was originally intended to use. Maximum range was estimated to be around 8,000km- a 33% increase over the maximum range of the Tu-4. This meant that technically the US was within range of the Tu-80, but only for a one-way mission with the crew bailing out over the Atlantic and being recovered via submarine.
In September 1949, work on the Tu-80 was cancelled and development of an upgraded version, the Tu-85, began. The Tu-80 nonetheless made its first flight on December 1st 1949, flight testing being used to help refine the design of the Tu-85. The Tu-80 prototype would end its life as a bombing target.
The Tu-85
The Tu-85 was mostly identical to the Tu-80. However, it featured a larger, more refined wing and much more advanced engines. Two powerplants were considered- the ASh-2K developed from the ASh-2TK originally intended for the Tu-80 or the new VD-4K. The VD-4K was found to be more reliable and was selected for the first Tu-85 prototype (Tu-85/1) completed in September 1950. The Tu-85 proved far superior to the Tu-80, with a maximum range of 12,000km based on a test flight in September 1951. This was 50% longer than the Tu-80’s range and double that of the Tu-4, long enough to strike the mainland US and return. The second Tu-85 prototype, Tu-85/2, was completed in mid-1951 and featured revised avionics and a reinforced wing as well as the ASh-2Ks. Its maximum payload was decreased back to 12 tonnes to allow for increased fuel load. Since payload is more important than range for War Thunder, I’ve picked the /1 prototype to suggest.
Cancellation
During the Korean War, American B-29s suffered extensive losses against MiG-15s. The speed disparity between the jet-powered MiGs and piston B-29s meant that the B-29s were essentially helpless. The Soviets took notice to this and determined that any piston-engined bomber aircraft would be entirely obsolete in the jet age. This would mean the end of the Tu-85 program with all efforts instead directed towards the turboprop Tu-95, based on the Tu-85 but with a dramatically changed design. The Tu-85s were used as flying laboratories and test platforms until being scrapped in 1958.
Specifications
Expand
Airframe
Length: 39.31m
Span: 55.97m
Height: 11.36m
Wing Area: 273.6m^2
Empty Weight: 55,400kg
Loaded Weight: 76,000kg
MTOW: 107,225kg
Crew: 11
Propulsion
4x VD-4K 24-cylinder radial engine
4,300hp each
17,200hp total
Max HP/weight: 0.31
Internal Fuel: 63,600L
Flight Performance
Maximum speed (sea level): 459km/h
Maximum speed (2km): 506km/h
Maximum speed (10km): 638km/h
Time to 5km: 8.9min (9.36m/s climb rate)
Maximum g-load: 2.3g
Armament
Defensive:
5x2 NR-23 remote-controlled twin turrets
2x retractable dorsal turrets, 2x retractable ventral turrets, 1x tail turret
Ammunition count likely identical to Tu-4
Offensive:
Up to 18,000kg of bombs
250, 500, 1000, 2000kg, or 9,000kg bombs, potentially other large bombs as well
Avionics
“Rubidium-M” radar bombing system
The Tu-85/1 in-game
Expand
The Tu-85/1 would be an amazing heavy bomber. Its payload is very heavy and the FAB-9000 are enormous, though it’s outclassed in both metrics by competitors. The Tu-85/1 however would have excellent flight performance and great defensive armament. Compared to the B-36B, the Tu-85/1 has higher flight performance but lower payload capacity and defensive armaments, the opposite of the Tu-80 vs B-50.
Gallery
Expand
The heaviest payload of the Tu-85/1 was a pair of FAB-9000 bombs, the largest conventional bombs in Soviet service. These were deemed obsolete in the nuclear age and the Tu-85/2 wasn’t able to carry them
Tu-85/2. There isn’t a good way to visually distinguish the two prototypes
Sources
Expand
“OKB Tupolev. A History Of The Design Bureau And Its Aircraft”- Yefim Gordon and Vladimir Rigmant
Tupolev Tu-85 BARGE
Tupolev Tu-85 - bomber
Tupolev Tu-85 Heavy Bomber Prototype Aircraft
Уголок неба ¦ Туполев Ту-85
Tu-85/1 (Barge) :: Ruslet