Tupolev Bombers

Book excerpt: 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'. '