The Tu-4 the (Bull) bomber (Norby, p. 36)
August 1944 - The OKB-156 (Opytnoe Konstructorskoe Byuro-Experimental Design Bureau) presents plans to the Politburo for Aircraft 64, an aircraft with the basic parameters comparable to the United States B-29 bomber.
February 8, 1945 - Bell Telephone Laboratories and the Army Air Corps and Ordinance Department are issued Project Nike as a jointly sponsored contract to target any bomber threat.
June 1945 - The Soviet Government turns down the project and chooses to create an exact copy of the B-29 bomber instead.
June-July 1945 - Three captured B-29 bombers are moved to Moscow. One plane was dedicated to the training of personnel and the collection of flight documents, a second was disassembled for work on blue prints and structural analysis, and the third was left whole "to serve as a master copy."
May 19, 1947 - The first "Object R" or the "B-4" makes it first flight and is renamed the "Tu-4 Bull." Ultimately, the Soviets chose the domestic ASh-73TK engine over the American engine and a more powerful cannon then the B-29. Between 1948 and 1952, 847 Tu-4 Bulls were built. The Tu-4
bomber was mainly produced in the bomber version and later into long range reconnaissance and nuclear bomb delivery platforms (Tu-4A). By
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The Tu-4 the (Bull) bomber (Norby, p. 36) |
January 1953, the Tu-4K weapons platform plane was adopted for naval aviation. Its capabilities included two KS-1 cruise missiles and the Kometa-1 and Kometa-2 control and guidance systems. From 1955 through the early 1960s, 300 Tu-4 Bull planes were converted into Tu-4D transport planes with the capability of ferrying 28 paratroopers in "transport containers suspended under the wing." By 1956 the Tu-4 Bull bombers had been replaced by the Tu-95 intercontinental bombers. The Tu-95 was a true long range strategic bomber capable of refueling in flight.
Aug 29, 1949 - The Soviets detonate their first fission bomb from the top of 30 meter high tower at the Semipalantinsk test range. The RDS-1 was a plutonium bomb that yielded an explosion of 22 kilotons. The Semipalantinsk test range was located in Kazakhstan.
October, 1950 - The Office of Civil Defense issues the "Survival Under Atomic Attack" booklet advising American citizens on such topics as what their chances are of surviving if an "A-bomb exploded without warning in the air over your home town tonight" and the "Six Survival Secrets For Atomic Attack," which were
1. Try to get shielded: If you have time, get down in a basement or subway. Should you unexpectedly be caught out-of doors, seek shelter alongside a building, or jump in any handy ditch or gutter.
2. Drop Flat on Ground or floor: To keep from being tossed about and to lessen the chances of being struck by falling and flying objects flatten out at the base of a wall, or at the bottom of a bank.
3. Bury your face in your arms: When you drop flat, hide our eyes in the crook of your elbow. That will protect your face from flash burns, prevent temporary blindness and keep flying objects out of your eyes.
4. Don't rush outside right after a bombing: After an air burst, wait a few minutes then go help to fight fires. After other kinds of bursts wait at least 1 hour to give lingering radiation some chance to die down.
5. Don't take chances with food or water in open containers: To prevent radioactive poisoning or disease, select your food and water with care. When there is reason to believe they may be contaminated, stick to canned and bottled things if possible
6. Don't start rumors: In the confusion that follows a bombing, a single rumor might touch off a panic that could cost your life.
October, 1953 - Basic National Security Policy NSC 162/2 and follow-on policy NSC 5408 stipulates that "an integrated and effective continental defense system would minimize the effects of any Soviet attack and prevent the threat of atomic destruction from discouraging U.S. freedom of action or weakening national morale."
March 24, 1954 - "Nike battery was tactically deployed at Fort Meade, Maryland in the Washington-Baltimore Defense Area."
July 4, 1956 - The United States begin a mission called Aquatone operation. The mission allows the United States to see photographs of USSR and to study out the diagram of the Soviet Union. The photographs help the United States see the Soviet Union's military bases and to analyze what the Soviets are capable of doing. After five missions the United States does away with Aquatone operation. They find out that after each mission, the photographs are giving the United States different information each time about the Soviet Union. They decide to do away with Aquatone operation.
1957-1961 - The Missile Gap went on from 1957-1961. It was a competition between the USSR and the U.S. to see who had the most powerful weapons. The Gaither Committee exaggerated the amount of superpower that the Soviets had created. This was the starting point of the first satellite system to be sent up into space. It was a race between the US and the Soviet Union to see who could outdo the other country by being the first to come up with new technology. This was known as the Missile Gap era.
Introduction Timeline Project Nike Bomber Gap Missile Gap 1957-1961 Bibliography
By
DoniloHarmon and Michael Shepherd