Project Description
TU-22 bomber TECHNICAL DETAILS
The Tu-22 was originally intended to replace the Tupolev Tu-16 bomber with a supersonic aircraft. Preliminary design of an aircraft to meet this requirement, designated Samolyot 105 by Tupolev, began in 1954, and the first prototype was completed in December 1957. It made its maiden flight from Zhukovsky on 21 June 1958, piloted by test pilot Yuri Alasheev. The availability of more powerful engines and TsAGI’s rediscovery of the area rule to minimise transonic aerodynamic drag led to the construction of a revised prototype, the 105A. It flew for the first time on 7 September 1959.
