Tupolev Tu-95 Bear - Warbird Tech Vol. 43 [Paperback]

Yefim Gordon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2006

During the 1940s, the Soviet government, knowing of the American nuclear program, elected to begin work on its own nuclear weapon program. The goal was to create and test the first Soviet atomic bomb within a short time interval to counter a major postwar threat from the West. An important secondary concern became apparent: how to deliver that weapon to the target. Thus, the Tu-95 Bear and the Tu-142, its close relative, were born. The Tu-95 is a large, heavy strategic bomber with a slim fuselage, swept wings, and four powerful turboprop engines driving counter-rotating propellers. It remained in production as a maritime patrol aircraft and cruise missile carrier more than 30 years after it was first produced. The aircraft was revolutionary in the application of a swept wing and turbine powerplants. Yefim Gordon and Peter Davison are the authors of other Specialty Press titles such as Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-15 Fagot, Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum, and Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. Together they use over 200 photos to illustrate the story of the Tu-95. Topics covered include design, development, structural detail, international production, trials, comparisons, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Internet Modeler, August 2006, reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl
"This is a welcome addition to the Warbird Tech series, and a great continuation of their coverage on Soviet and Russian aircraft."

Modeling Madness, August 2006
"Overall, an outstanding book on this important aircraft and what's more, it is very competitively priced. It is one I enjoyed reading and I know you will as well."

Hyperscale, October 2006, reviewed by Ken Bowes
"This WarBird Tech volume is of very high quality and a worthy investment for modelling reference. The book will serve both history buffs and modelers well."

--Hyperscale, October 2006, reviewed by Ken Bowes

About the Author

Yefim Gordon is one of Russia’s leading aviation writers and publishers.  He is the author of many books on Soviet aviation and currently lives in Moscow.

Product Details

• Paperback: 108 pages
• Publisher: Specialty Press (August 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580071023
• ISBN-13: 978-1580071024
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,495,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tu-95...like a B-52, it flies forever!, January 9, 2007

By 

Armando R. Limon (Wheatland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Tupolev Tu-95 Bear - Warbird Tech Vol. 43 (Paperback)

If you've wondered what it was like during the Cold War when the "Old Soviet Union" flew up and the around the USA and our carrier fleet, you've got the check out this book! It presents everything you wanted to know about the Tu-95 & Tu-142 Bear Bomber! What the B-52 Buff is to the USAF, the Bear is to Russia, with every make & model that was produced.
USAF & USN fighter pilots will enjoy reading about this beast of a aircraft from there days of intercepting this leviathan,and still do to this day. I highly recommend this book to the model builder to make sure they get there model looking good.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable book on the Bear at affordable price, August 9, 2006

By 

Rad63 (Toledo, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Tupolev Tu-95 Bear - Warbird Tech Vol. 43 (Paperback)

The books in the WarbirdTech series have been quite good. This book is a fine history of the Tu-95 bear. It starts with a history of the evolution of the Bear from the Boeing B-29 to the Tu-4 (B-29ski), the Tu-80 and the Tu-90 to the Bear. Each variant is described and for the most part pictured in this well illustrated book. There are many plan views.There is a very short section on a Tu-95 model kit. This is a great book for aviation history buffs and is most affordable.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Factual, Good Book, Rather Dry, March 23, 2010

By 

cpt matt (tanktown, DE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tupolev Tu-95 Bear - Warbird Tech Vol. 43 (Paperback)

Tu-95 Bear was built to carry the first Soviet Nuclear weapons after WW2. The design had to be huge to carry 20 tons and yet have a decent radius. What was created was the Bear (NATO Codename). It was a development of the Tu-4 (the Soviets literally created a B-29 by reverse engineering it). The Tu-95 is a very interesting looking plane, swept wings and counter rotating turbo props with long landing gear.

If you've seen Cold War aviation photos, especially of Naval fighters like the F-4 Phantom, this is the plane being intercepted and escorted away. The Tu-95 had many versions - recon, carrying cruise missles, anti sub warfare.

Authors Yefim Gordon and Peter Davison give a very detailed account of the development of each varient of the plane. Lots of clear B&W photos, line drawings and 8 pages of color photos help the reader trace the history of this elegant looking bird. One really nice twist - a chapter reviewing the different plastic models of the Tu-95 that are available.

Small things I did not like - the line drawings are small - big plane, hard to make larger & keep book affordable. Some of the captions are identical to the text which is wasted space. It does get dry reading sometimes. The section on operational history is redundant with previous chapters. These are the reasons why I took away one star.

I'd recommend this book for hard core aviation fans, especially of the Cold War era. Also good for modelers, folks who like reading about Soviet Aviation. Say what you want about a propeller driven airplane - it has passed the test of time.