Page 388 - (DK) Smithsinian - Military History: The Definitive Visual Guide to the Objects of Warfare

386 NUCLEAR BOMBERS Aircraft carried two 30mm Aden

GE 1945–PRESENT For twenty years after the attacks on Hiroshima (see pp.378–79) and cannon and two Firestreak or
AND INTERCEPTORS

Red Top air-to-air missiles
Nagasaki in 1945, the long-range strategic bomber—which had to be
fast and capable of carrying a heavy payload—remained a vital element in
every nuclear power’s arsenal. A new type of fighter aircraft was produced
to counter this threat—the exceptionally fast “interceptor,” whose role

By the mid-1960s, however, the development of Intercontinental Ballistic
Missiles (ICBMs), such as the submarine-launched Polaris missile,
A was to shoot down bombers before they could do any significant damage. Swept-back wings
rendered the strategic bomber obsolete; the role of the interceptor
THE NUCLEAR Tail armed with two Twin-jet ▼ TUPOLEV TU-95 “BEAR” Although equipped with turboprop
was reduced accordingly.

mounting
20mm cannon
engines, the Tu-95 demonstrated
Date 1955 Origin Soviet Union
high performance characteristics
1
Wingspan 164 ⁄2ft (50.1m)
1
Length 151 ⁄2ft (46.2m)
(with bomb load) of 9,300 miles
(15,000km) without refueling.
Top speed 562mph (905kph) that included an exceptional range
Landing gear Engine Four 15,000 Kuznetsov
▲ BOEING B-47 STRATOJET One of the first jet bombers to serve NK-12M turboprops Swept-back wings
Date 1950 Origin US with the US Strategic Air Command, (350 angle)
the B47 featured a swept-back wing
1
Wingspan 116 ⁄4ft (35.4m)
and a substantial internal bomb load.
3
Length 106 ⁄4ft (32.6m)
Top speed 606mph (980kph)
Engine Six 7,185lb (3,266kg)
General Electric J47-GE-25 turbojets
▼ BOEING B-52 STRATOFORTRESS The long-serving B-52 was
Date 1955 Origin US designed to drop nuclear
bombs on the Soviet Union Turboprop engine
Wingspan 185ft (56.4m)
(which it never did), but
Length 161ft (50.2m) subsequently evolved
Top speed 650mph (1,046kph) into a launch platform Hydraulically
for cruise missiles and powered rudder
Engine Eight 13,750lb (6,237kg)
Pratt & Whitney J57-43WB turbojets a conventional bomber
of awesome power.

Aircraft carried four nuclear Twin tail fins
free-fall or 20 AGM-69
SRAM missiles, or up to
60,000lb (27,200kg)
▼ AVRO 698 VULCAN B2 During the late 1950s, the of conventional bombs
Date 1956 Origin UK British nuclear deterrent was
spearheaded Vulcan B2. It had
Wingspan 111 ⁄4ft (33.9m)
1
a distinctive delta wing that
Length 100ft (30.5m) helped ensure good load-
Top speed 640mph (1,029kph) carrying capabilities and
a high subsonic speed.
Engine Four 22,000lb (9,992kg)
Bristol Siddeley Olympus turbojets
Aircraft carried twenty-one 1,000lb
(454kg) bombs, nuclear bombs, or a
Delta wing single Blue Steel missile

Cockpit
Underwing
fuel tank