After the conclusion of World War II, aviation replaced piston engines with the new, superior, jet engines. Fighters passed over the speed of sound, breaking speed records one after another. Interceptors could easily catch up and destroy any bomber, for whom the sound barrier still remained unconquered.

Many aviation leading states were designing and attempting to build a supersonic bomber.

Soviet Air Force Tu-22 Blinder

On the 11th of November, 1956, in America on the Convair airport, the B-58 Hustler successfully completed its first take-off. Just one month later it accelerated beyond the speed of sound thus becoming the first supersonic bomber in the World.

In the same year, Tupolev Design Bureau was working on its own supersonic bomber project, later named the Tu-22.

Preliminary design of the Soviet supersonic bomber was finished towards the end of 1955. The project being designated the “Samolyot 105” (an airplane 105).

The crew consisted of three men – a pilot, a navigator and a gunner-radio operator. The crew sat in ejectable seats. Ejection would occur downwards, thus limiting the minimum altitude for ejection in case of emergency situations.

The seats went up and down with help of an electric, or mechanical, winch, making for a comfortable entrance and exit onboard the aircraft. After raising the seats up, the hatches had to be locked, otherwise, the crew could fall down to the ground.

Manufacturing off the first prototype of “Samolyot 105”, started in January 1955 and finished in December 1957.

The main task for the new bomber was defined in the manufacturer’s report:

“Airplane 105 is intended for delivery of powerful bombing and torpedo strikes, with use of modern weapons, against strategic bases, combat ships and transports, political, financial and industrial centers, at the distances of 2.500 to 2.900 kilometers (away from air bases of its location)”

The “Samolyot 105” made its maiden flight on the 21st of June, 1958. The trials had been abrupt, due to a number of serious drawbacks. The major one being the emergency landing with non-retracted nose gear which damaged the aircraft and hadn’t been repaired afterwards.

Information on the B-58 project was regularly arriving to Tupolev Design Bureau. American had a two year lead on the Russian company. Comparative analysis of two aircraft showed that a radical improvement to the flying characteristics of the Soviet bomber was needed.

Tupolev Design Bureau concentrated its efforts on the second and improved prototype – the experimental aircraft 105A. This aircraft took off for the first time in September of 1959. During trial flights, the airplane presented its complicated and quite controversial nature.

Pitch swinging was starting right after take-off. The airplane was subsequently zooming into the sky and then promptly pointing its nose toward the ground. The control system was improved in order to fix this problem. Control systems were getting tuned based on information coming from test flights and from researches in the simulations.

The phase of joint trials of “Samolyot 105A” was finished in the summer of 1961 and it got a designation Tu-22, when it was introduced into service. Later, NATO gave it a designation “Blinder”.

In the summer of the same year, the leadership of the Soviet Union decided to demonstrate the new bomber at Tushino Aviation Parade. On the 9th of July, the Tu-22 bomber flew over the airbase, making a strong impression on spectators and Western military attaches.

During the early phase of development, the equipment on the airplane was borrowed from the Tupolev Tu-16 bomber. As the project was progressing, its equipment composition was changing significantly, following initiatives from the Design Bureau and demands made by the air force.

The bomber’s avionics received numerous novelties along the way. Among them were: powerful onboard radar, radar and optical bombing sights, astro-sun seeker and some other unique features.

One of the new technological solutions was the use of a remote controlled tail gun platform. The gun was controlled by the gunner-radio operator from the cockpit.

Issue of increasing the range were solved by use of a mid-air refueling system. A refueling probe was located in the nose of the Tu-22. During mid-air refueling procedure, the refueling probe was extended by the pneumatic system. All serial Tu-22s since, have been equipped with the refueling system since 1965.

The crew received combat rations in tubes, for flights over four hours. Their content had to be squeezed out into the mouth, right through the oxygen mask, during the flight. The same type of tubes was a part of crew equipment of Vostok space ships.

The Tupolev Tu-22 carried more than 200 liters of a mixture consisting of 30% alcohol and 70% water, for various hydraulic and anti-frost systems throughout the aircraft. Crews and mechanics referred to that mixture as “the epee”.

The normal consumption rate of this mixture, by aircraft systems, was 40 liters per hour. During flights, the crew could tune consumption in such a way, that “epee” was not consumed at all. After landing, the crew would take 1/3 of the remaining mixture with them.

Tupolev Tu-22 required concrete runways of at least 3000 meters long. The aircraft was landing at high speed of 320 km/h. Landings were further complicated by the fact that, the pilot was sitting to the left of airplane’s axis. In case of strong crosswinds, the refueling probe would block the view of the runway.

For shorter take-offs, the Tu-22 would run power booster rockets to assist in acceleration.

During take-off, Tu-22s engines were running in afterburner mode. The crew would feel a strong kick when the airplane would start to move. As soon as the bomber left the ground, it was gaining speed and altitude at an exponential rate.

Tu-22 was produced in several different variants. The bomber variant received the designation Tu-22B. Its bomb payload was 9 tons. Depending on a mission, that could be comprised of 24 250kg bombs or just one 9 tons bomb.

The most mass produced variant was the reconnaissance model Tu-22R. It was practically identical to the bomber variant. The recon model differed from the bomber due to photo equipment being installed in the nose and the bomb bay.

Training model designated Tu-22U had an additional cockpit for the instructor. The cockpit was installed behind pilot’s cockpit, in place of the gunner-radio operator.

The missile carrier variant Tu-22K was armed with the new supersonic long range missile Kh-22. One of the primary tasks for missile carriers was to perform strikes against Carrier Battle Groups. In case of attacks on naval or ground targets Kh-22 missile would climb to an altitude of 27 kilometers and then dive down on its target. Maximum range of this missile was 550 kilometers.

Tu-22P was equipped with means of radio-electronic surveillance and radio-electronic counter measures. Primary mission for this model was enemy detection, particularly Carrier Battle Groups. It was also used on missions to jam enemy radars and communications, while providing support for strike missions of Tu-22K.

Bombers of this type were in service with the Soviet long range aviation and Naval aviation squadrons till the first half of the 1990s.

During the Soviet military operations in Afghanistan, Tu-22 saw limited use as a support aircraft.



A U.S. Navy McDonnell F-4N Phantom II (BuNo 152970) from Fighter Squadron VF-111 Sundowners over the Mediterranean Sea intercepts two Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-22 “Blinder” bombers being delivered to Libya, circa in April 1977. VF-111 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 19 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) for a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea from 4 October 1976 to 21 April 1977.

Outside the Soviet union, Tu-22 has been used by Libya and Iraq, where it participated in military operations.

In total, more than 300 airplanes of all variants had been built. More modern Tu-22M came to replace early versions of Tu-22. The new model was also designed in Tupolev Design Bureau, advancing and modernizing the Soviet fleet. Almost identical designation of these planes can deceive some people, but Tu-22M is a fundamentally different aircraft and it has a totally different history from the previous models.