This Day in Aviation History
April 27th, 1952
First flight of the Tupolev Tu-16.

The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) was a twin-engined jet strategic bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has flown for more than 40 years, and the Chinese licence-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force._

In the late 1940s, the Soviet Union was strongly committed to matching the United States in strategic bombing capability. The Soviets’ only long-range bomber at the time was Tupolev’s Tu-4 ‘Bull’, a reverse-engineered version of the American B-29 Superfortress. The development of the extremely powerful Mikulin AM-3 turbojet led to the possibility of a large, jet-powered bomber.

The Tupolev design bureau began work on the Tu-88 (“Aircraft N”) prototypes in 1950. The Tu-88 first flew on 27 April 1952. After winning a competition against the Ilyushin Il-46, it was approved for production in December 1952. The first production bombers entered service with Frontal Aviation in 1954, receiving the service designation Tu-16. It received the NATO reporting name Badger-A…..

Source:
Wikipedia, Tupolev Tu-16: http://gstv.us/1UfJbOY

YouTube, Tupolev Tu-16 Badger Soviet twin-engine jet heavy bomber: http://gstv.us/1UfJiKi

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Photo from: http://gstv.us/1UfJE3K

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