Tupolev Tu-95 | The Old Bear
Video from the channel Balszoi about Tupolev Tu-95, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 17:49. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
An educational piece in Polish that reviews the history of the Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bomber, from its Cold War origins to its use in the war in Ukraine, closing with a block of technical specifications.
Historical context
The author presents the aircraft as the Soviet answer to the Boeing B-52: a bomber designed to carry nuclear weapons over long range. Instead of turbojets, the Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprops were chosen, whose design involved a team of German Junkers engineers led by Ferdinand Brandner. The prototype flew in 1952 and was lost on 11 May 1953 to an engine fire in which its pilot, Alexei Perelet, died. Series production began in January 1956. The video mentions derivatives such as the Tu-142, the Tu-114 and the Tu-126, and the version in service, the Tu-95MS.
Key facts
Each of its four engines, rated at about 15,000 hp, drives two counter-rotating propellers. The video recalls the 43-hour flight with four in-flight refuelings made by two aircraft in July 2010, the deployment to Syria since November 2015, cruise missile launches against Ukraine, and Ukrainian strikes on its bases, including Operation Spiderweb on 1 June 2025. It gives figures of 46.2 m in length, 51 m wingspan, 188 t maximum takeoff weight, 925 km/h and a range of 15,000 km.