Top 10 largest bombers

Hello,

I’m starting a new series of posts published weekly. They ‘ll be the so called „aviation top 10s”. Hopefully, you’ll like those.

Today the topic is bombers- to be more precise, the top 10 largest bombers. By bombers I also mean martime patrol aircraft.  

No.10 Tupolev Tu-22M Backfire

Length:42,4m.

Wingspan:Maximum-34,3m.

The Tu-22M is one of the largest supersonic aircraft to be built, and the third largest still in service. This aircraft is somewhat a continuation of the Tu-22. Despite its similar name, the Tu-22M is a radically different design with different strategic roles (in this case martime operations).The NATO forces called this airplane ‘Backfire’ suggesting, that it’s a medicore design for it’s time, as they thought it was a just a modified Tu-22.  Ironically, the Backfire has two times the payload of the Tu-22.

No.9 Rockwell B-1 Lancer

Length:44,8m

Wingspan:41,7m

The B-1  is just another supersonic swept wing bomber. The B-1 is much younger and the design was nearly given up. The first B-1 (B-1A) flew in 1974, while the plane was introduced to service twelve years later (B-1B). The B-1B’s main role is low-level bombing, but in it’s operational history it usually performer high altitude conventional bombings. Th B-1B is one of the stealthiest (is that even a word?!) aircraft on this list.

No.8 Myasishchev M-50 Bounder

Length:57,5m

Wingspan:35,1m

The M-50 was a Soviet prototype supersonic bomber. Most probably the plane was first flown in 1957. It had two afterburning and two non-after burning engines. The Max. Speed was 1950 km/h an hour and the cruise speed-1500 km/h. In 1958 a western newspaper Aviation Week  published an article, saying that the Soviets have built a nuclear powered aircraft and provided pictures of the M-50 bomber.

No.7 North American XB-70 Valkyrie

Length:59,7m

Wingspan:32m

The Valkyrie is a plane that doesn’t have to be introduced- it’s the fastest bomber that was ever flown and of the fastest aircraft able to carry bombs. It’s faster than nearly all fighters. The fastest speed achieved by the XB-70 was 3250 km/h. Such a speed would be used in order to escape incoming missiles (rather doubtful, since in such a situation the plane would have probably been outrun by missiles) and enemy interceptors as well as escape the blast of a nuclear weapon that the Xb-70 would drop (which wouldn’t be probably used in a combat situation, since the bombs the plane could carry didn’t have such a high yield ).

No.6 Blohm&Voss Bv238

Length:43,3m

Wingspan:60,2m

The BV238 is the only flying boat that’s on this list. It was intially designed to as a transport aircraft to fly with supplies during the Battle of the Atlantic, but in middle of 1944 there was no need for usch aircraft. The BV238 was also designed to carry bombs and be used for martime patrol. This aircraft was suppost to be equipped with 5 cannons and 6 machine guns for defensive purpose. In the late 1944 the plane was flown to the Schalsee lake in north Germany. In April 1945 the plane was destroyed by bombs of the allied forces. This aircraft was suppost to be equipped with 5 cannons and 6 machine guns for defensive purpose. It’s probably the largest plane on this list not to drop a nuclear weapon.

No.5 Tupolev Tu-95 Bear

Length:46,2m

Wingspan:50,1m

The Tu-95 is one of the icons of the Cold War. It’s one of the fastest turboprop aircraft  with it’s propellers moving at the speed of sound, obviously making it very noise and unable to perform low altitude missions. The Tu-95 has a payload of only 15 tonnes (withn one version Tu-95V able to carry a 27 tonne nthermonuclear weapon-Tsar Bomba). The Bear ha dan interesting modififcation-the LAL version, a nuclear powered aircraft. The Tu-95 was actually used in the Ukarinian Air Force for a very short time, but was retired.

No.4 Myasishchev M-4 Bison (Molot)

Length:47,2m

Wingspan:50,5m

The Myasishchev M-4 Molot was the first Soviet plane designed to attack the US and come back to the Soviet Union, however it’s range was later prooven to be insufficient. The United States and Western intelligence believed, that the plane was in mass production in 1955 (entered service in 1956) and that by 1960 800 are going ot be built. In reality, only 93 were made. The aircraft never saw combat, usually performing as a martime patrol or reconnaisance airplane. Many were converted into tankers.

No.3 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (BUFF)

Length:48,5m

Wingspan:56,4m

This is the largest plane to ever shoot dswon another plane ( in this case, a MiG-21), a plane that is probably going to serve in the USAF for nearly 100 years, a plane that can survive and fly with out it’s horizontal stabilizer a plane that nearly caused Worl War III, not once, not twice, but thrice! The B-52 is quite….. interesting.  And those USAF pilots still cal lit a Big Ugly Fat Fellow. Honestly, it’s not that ugly.

No.2 Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack (White Swan)

Length:54,1m

Wingspan:55,7m

 The Blackjack is the largest supersonic aircraft,  largest swept-wing aircraft as well as the largest combat aircraft in service. It’s the last bomber built in the Soviet Union, however it was formally introduced into service in 2005. The Blackjack can carry the largest non-nuclear bomb- the Father of All Bombs. Technically, the Tu-160 never saw real combat use, somewhat like the largest bomber ever-the ………

No.1 Convair B-36 Peacemaker

Length:49,4m

Wingspan:70,1m

 The B-36 had 10 engines-four jet and six radial. The plane was used for 10 years, was never used in combat (only flew a few reconnaisance missions), lost the first nuclear bomb, but was used for many experiments, including a nuclear powered airplane, was used as a parasite bomber carrier and a testbed for tracked landing gear. As previously mentioned, the Peacemaker was used only for 10 years, but became obsolete after only few months of service with jet fighters being able to inercept it easily, as well as jet bombers that were introduced by the USAF after the Korean War.
What topic to cover next in the next Aviation Top 10 post?