Overview

The Tupolev Tu-22 'Blinder' and Tu-22M 'Backfire' led the Soviet Union's supersonic bomber air force from the 1960s, although the two aircraft were very different. The Tu-22 - nicknamed 'Blinder' by NATO - was the pioneering supersonic bomber in the USSR, entering production in 1960. The first Tu-22B aircraft entered Soviet service in 1962 and the aircraft continued into production until 1969 through several variants, including reconaissance and electronic warfare versions. The aircraft was a mixed success as its performance compared unfavourably the Tu-16, particularly in combat radius and weapon-load capability, but it continued in service after the fall of the Soviet Union, seeing active service during the war against Afghanistan. It was also sold abroad to Libya and Iraq. The Tu-22M 'Backfire' was developed by Tupolev during the 1960s when the Tu-22's shortcomings became apparent. The variable geometry wings in the new design improved performance considerably and the new aircraft entered into service in 1972 in the strategic bomber role and it was used in this capacity in the 1979-1989 war against Afghanistan. The changes from the earlier aircraft design caused debate in the West that this was actually a completely new aircraft and not a successor to the Tu-22, and therefore not permissible under the arms treaties of the time. It also flew for the Soviet navy as a long-range anti-shipping interceptor. Although production ended in 1993 it continues to be in active service with the Russian air force and navy, and has been used in recent local conflicts, and also with the Ukraine armed forces. Yefim's Gordon's unparalleled access to information on Russian aviation makes this the most complete book published on this fascinating aircraft.

Full Product Details

9781857803563

Table of Contents

Reviews

You'll get a very detailed, balanced, engagingly presented and supremely well illustrated account. --Sabu Advani speedreaders.info (01/26/2015)

Author Information

Yefim Gordon was born in 1950 in Vilnius, Lithuania, and graduated from the Kaunas Polytechnical Institute in 1972 as an engineer/electronics designer. He has been a resident of Moscow since 1973, when, as a hobby, he started collecting photographs and books on the history of Soviet aviation. This has now developed into a major archive. Since the 1980s he has been a professional aviation journalist and writer, with over 80 books published on Soviet/Russian aviation in Russian, English, Polish and Czech, as well as close to 120 magazine features and photo reports. He is also an accomplished photographer, with countless photos published in the western press; the current edition of Jane's All the World's Aircraft features more than 50 of his photographs.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available