A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft Yefim Gordon & Vladimir Rigmant The origins of the design bureau that was to bear his name can be traced back to the appointment of Andrey Nikolayevich Tupolev as head of the TsAGI's Aviation Department in 1918. Over the years, nearly 300 projects have evolved within the OKB. Nearly 90 reached the prototype construction stage, with more than 40 types put into series production.In the 1930s, the TB-1 (ANT-4) and TB-3 (ANT-6) bombers, the latter being the world's first heavy strategic bomber, paved the way for the long line of large multi-engined aircraft both civil and military for which the OKB is justly famed. Wartime production of the SB and Tu-2 plus the remarkable 'reverse engineering' of the Boeing B-29 that resulted in the Tu-4 led on to the jet Tu-16 and prop Tu-95 bombers. These, in turn were adapted for civil purposes as the Tu-104 and Tu-114 airliners. The supersonic Tu-22 and Tu-22M bombers and the Tu-144 airliner, a move into pilotless aircraft and a host of imaginative but unbuilt projects complete a fascinating work.

This popular and highly-acclaimed series includes an abundance of photos, accurate line drawings, fascinating evaluations of aircraft design, and complete histories of aircraft manufacturers.

This historic Russian aircraft was first delivered to the Soviet Air Force at the height of the Cold War in 1961. It remained in service until replaced by the much modified Tu-22M Backfire which was introduced in the early 1970s and still remains in service. It was the first Soviet supersonic bomber and was used for reconnaissance and bombing, in the latter role carrying either conventional or nuclear bombs. The early aircraft had a range of 1,800 miles but later models had a much increased radius of action through the introduction of in-flight refuelling. This book looks at the design and development of the aircraft up to the introduction of the type M Backfire. Details of construction, weapon systems, photo-reconnaissance and jamming equipment are included to cover the several variant models. Operational use is explained and the text includes many first-hand accounts from Russian aircrew of the period. The book will be superbly illustrated by unique official photographs and manuals.

"Credit for much of Stalin's aviation program lay with Andrei N. Tupolev (1888-1972), one of Russia's most talented aviation designers, whose fortunes plummeted with those of his profession. In the latter half of the decade, the entire aeronautical establishment fell victim to the massive wave of arrests and killings known as the Great Purge. Arrested in 1937, Tupolev was sent not to the notorious labor camps, but to a sharaga, or special prison, established in Moscow specifically for aviation designers and engineers." "Stalin's Aviation Gulag is a sympathetic memoir of Tupolev's life and work by engineer L.L. Kerber, whose collaboration with Tupolev spanned most of their careers. At the heart of Kerber's chronicle is a description of the sharaga's daily life, which verged on the surreal. Well-fed and well-clothed but supervised by Party and police functionaries with little knowledge of aviation, Tupolev and his team of 150 specialists worked under the threat of harsh reprisal for the least setback. Dependent on Stalin's whims, permitted only infrequent, heavily guarded inspections of the aircraft they created, they nevertheless managed to circumvent both political dangers and technical constraints to develop the two major Soviet aircraft of World War II: the fast, twin-engined Pe-2 and the Tu-2, a medium bomber. Kerber also documents the postprison achievements of his mentor, who, after his release in 1941, went on to design the Soviet replica of the B-29 Superfortress as well as many of the giant passenger jets of the cold war era."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

With the end of World War II and the dawn of the nuclear age, the world's new superpowers (while allied for the defeat of Germany) entered a period of hostility marked by sharply opposing ideologies, proxy wars and the continuing threat of nuclear confrontation. The so-called Cold War spawned rapid development of dozens of new aircraft whose purpose was to enable one side to mount a devastating nuclear attack on the other, or protect against just such a strike from the opposing side. Russia's Tupolev design bureau was tasked with creating a series of long-range nuclear bombers capable of penetrating U.S. defenses. All of them captured the imagination of those with a professional or personal interest in military aviation-and continue to fascinate, even today. This title offers in-depth profiles of Russia's infamous long-range nuclear bombers, including the Tu-16 'Badger', Tu-95MS 'Bear-H', Tu-142 'Bear-F', Tu-22 'Blinder', Tu-22M 'Backfire', and Tu-160 'Blackjack'. '