Tupolev Tu-95 Tu-95

The first prototype, the Tu-95/1, used Kuznetsov 2TV-2F coupled turboprops and flew in November 1952 with Alexey Perelet at the controls; the second prototype introduced the definitive NK-12. The first two fully equipped aircraft were completed in August 1955 and began flight testing in October of that year. Carrying a 5,000 kg load the bomber reached 850 km/h, a service ceiling of 10,200 m and a range of 12,100 km — short of the requirement, but enough for Long-Range Aviation to take the type into service in 1956. The 14.2 m bomb bay was sized for a 9,000 kg load at maximum design range, and defence rested on six AM-23 cannon in radar-directed turrets. The variant carried no refuelling probe, the feature that most readily separates it from every later Bear. Most Bear-As were eventually rebuilt to the missile-carrying Bear-B standard, and about a dozen survivors were converted to the Tu-95U training configuration.