05 Tupolev Tu-128 Fiddler-B
The Tu-98 (NATO reporting name: “Backfin”) was a prototype supersonic swept-wing jet bomber developed by the Tupolev OKB to replace its own Tu-16. Two Lyulka AL-7 turbojet engines powered it with side-mounted intakes high on the fuselage. The Tu-98 was built in 1955 and first flown in 1956. Test flights continued until 1959, but they did not pass any state tests due to numerous unresolved manufacturing and technological difficulties. The aircraft was shown to an American delegation at the Tushino airfield outside of Moscow in June 1956. Afterwards, the aircraft contributed to testing for the RP-7 “Smerch” radar and the “Kompleks 80” fire-control system for the Tu-128 and served as a reference for developing the Tu-22. The Tu-98 did not enter service, and only a single prototype was completed. It was written off after the undercarriage collapsed on 21 November 1960.
Like the Tu-98, the Tu-128 was twin-engined, had side-mounted intakes, and had broad, low/mid-mounted swept wing and slab tailplanes. Unlike the Tu-98, which placed its main landing gear in the fuselage, the Tu-128 carried the main landing gear in wing-mounted pods. The Tu-98 three-person crew was reduced to two (pilot and navigator), each having ejection seats and a pressurized tandem cabin. In this image, a Tu-128 of the 445th Aviation Regiment PVO imeni Leninskiy Komsomol (445th AP) flies over the frigid western Siberian landscape. The regiment was formed in July 1941 and was stationed in Machilishi in Belarus and China until 1951 before returning to bases outside Moscow. Flying the MiG-15, MiG-17, and Yak-25M, the 445th AP flew interceptor missions before being transferred to Savatiya-Kotlas near Arkhangelsk in November 1967 when they received their new Fiddlers. The regiment flew the Tu-128 for eight years before being replaced by the MiG-25P in 1975. In 1993, the unit was absorbed by the 72nd Guards Polotskiy Order of Suvorov Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO.
05 Tupolev Tu-128 Fiddler-B
The Tu-98 (NATO reporting name: “Backfin”) was a prototype supersonic swept-wing jet bomber developed by the Tupolev OKB to replace its own Tu-16. Two Lyulka AL-7 turbojet engines powered it with side-mounted intakes high on the fuselage. The Tu-98 was built in 1955 and first flown in 1956. Test flights continued until 1959, but they did not pass any state tests due to numerous unresolved manufacturing and technological difficulties. The aircraft was shown to an American delegation at the Tushino airfield outside of Moscow in June 1956. Afterwards, the aircraft contributed to testing for the RP-7 “Smerch” radar and the “Kompleks 80” fire-control system for the Tu-128 and served as a reference for developing the Tu-22. The Tu-98 did not enter service, and only a single prototype was completed. It was written off after the undercarriage collapsed on 21 November 1960.
Like the Tu-98, the Tu-128 was twin-engined, had side-mounted intakes, and had broad, low/mid-mounted swept wing and slab tailplanes. Unlike the Tu-98, which placed its main landing gear in the fuselage, the Tu-128 carried the main landing gear in wing-mounted pods. The Tu-98 three-person crew was reduced to two (pilot and navigator), each having ejection seats and a pressurized tandem cabin. In this image, a Tu-128 of the 445th Aviation Regiment PVO imeni Leninskiy Komsomol (445th AP) flies over the frigid western Siberian landscape. The regiment was formed in July 1941 and was stationed in Machilishi in Belarus and China until 1951 before returning to bases outside Moscow. Flying the MiG-15, MiG-17, and Yak-25M, the 445th AP flew interceptor missions before being transferred to Savatiya-Kotlas near Arkhangelsk in November 1967 when they received their new Fiddlers. The regiment flew the Tu-128 for eight years before being replaced by the MiG-25P in 1975. In 1993, the unit was absorbed by the 72nd Guards Polotskiy Order of Suvorov Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO.