Tu-28 & 128 "Fiddler" @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • Tupolev Tu-28 'Fidler' Tupolev Tu-28 'Fidler'
    Tupolev Tu-28 'Fidler'
  • Tupolev Tu-28 Tupolev Tu-28
    Tupolev Tu-28
  • Tupolev Tu-28UT Tupolev Tu-28UT
    Tupolev Tu-28UT
  • Tupolev Tu-28 Tupolev Tu-28
    Tupolev Tu-28
  • Tupolev Tu-28 Tupolev Tu-28
    Tupolev Tu-28
  • Tupolev Tu-28 Tupolev Tu-28
    Tupolev Tu-28
  • Tupolev Tu-28 'Fidler-B' Tupolev Tu-28 'Fidler-B'
    Tupolev Tu-28 'Fidler-B'
  • Tupolev Tu-28 Tupolev Tu-28
    Tupolev Tu-28
  • Tupolev Tu-28UT Tupolev Tu-28UT
    Tupolev Tu-28UT

Tupolev Tu-28 - Tu-128

The Tupolev Tu-28 - Tu-128 (NATO reporting name 'Fiddler') was a long-range interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. It remains the world's largest production fighter aircraft.

Design and development

In 1955 the PVO issued a specification for a long-range interceptor aircraft to defend the vast territory of the Soviet Union, which was so extensive that even with a far richer economy it would have been impossible to provide comprehensive land-based air defense. To provide the necessary range and ability to carry a powerful radar and air-to-air missiles, Tupolev developed an aircraft similar to the Tu-105 (Tu-22) bomber. Team leader for developement of the Tupolev Tu-28 was "I. Nezval". The Tu-102 development aircraft first flew in 1959, with the initial operational version, the Tu-28P ('Fiddler-A'), entering production in 1963. This was replaced in production by the definitive Tu-128 ('Fiddler-B').

Based on the unsuccessful Tu-98 supersonic bomber, it had a broad, low/mid-mounted swept wing carrying the main landing gear in wing-mounted pods, and slab tailplanes. Two Lyulka AL-7F-2 turbojet engines were mounted in the fuselage. Unlike the Tu-22, there is no internal weapon bay. Weapons were carried on wing pylons, with the fuselage used for enormous fuel tanks. The Tu-28P seated two crew in tandem, with separate canopies.

The Tu-102 was thought by western experts to have a large ventral radar, but the bulge on the belly of the airplane actually carried testing instruments/equipment. The production Tu-28P had a large nose radome for an I-band search radar, known as 'Smerch' (Tornado; (NATO reporting name 'Big Nose'), with a detection range of about 50 km (or 31 miles) and a lock-on range of about 40 km (or 25 miles). Despite the power of its radar, the aircraft was dependent on ground-control interception to vector pilots to their targets. In later years it often operated in partnership with Tu-126 AEW aircraft. As a pure interceptor the Tu-28P had almost no ECM or defensive avionics, not even a radar-warning receiver like the smaller Sukhoi interceptors.

The Tu-128 was a pure interceptor, and with its high wing loading, unsophisticated avionics, and poor visibility, as well as its sheer mass, was doubtless not an agile aircraft. It was intended primarily to combat NATO bombers like the B-52, not to dogfight with smaller aircraft.

Armament of the Tu-128 was four Bisnovat R-4 air-to-air missiles (NATO reporting name AA-5 'Ash'), usually two R-4R with semi-active radar homing and two R-4T infrared-homing missile, with the SARH rounds on the outer pylons and the heat-seekers on the inners. Despite the obsolescence of these missiles, they apparently were never replaced by newer weapons.

Production of the Tu-128 ended in 1970 with total 188 aircraft built. Further 10 of trainers were produced in 1971 and 4 converted from fighters, designated Tu-128UT, with an additional cockpit forward of the normal pilot's cockpit, in place of a radar. Upgrade projects, designated Tu-138 and Tu-148 by the design bureau, were abandoned before much progress was made.

Operational history

The Tu-28's only publicly reported combat operation was destruction of NATO reconnaissance balloons, but, as interceptions of reconnaissance and spy missions were generally not reported, there may have been other incidents that have never been disclosed.

Two-thirds of all produced aircraft remained in service into the 1980s. The Tu-128 was gradually phased out in favor of newer aircraft like the MiG-31, although a few may have been retained as late as 1992.

Variants

  • Tu-102 : Development test aircraft, one built.
  • Tu-28P ('Fiddler-A') : First production variant.
  • Tu-128 ('Fiddler-B') : Definitive production version.
  • Tu-128UT : Training version with an additional cockpit forward of the normal pilot's cockpit, in place of a radar. 10 built and 4 converted from fighters.
  • Tu-138 : Upgrade project, abandoned in favour of other designs.
  • Tu-148 : Upgrade project, abandoned in favour of other designs.

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Tupolev Tu-28 of Wikipedia ( authors )

Specifications (Tu-128)

  • Crew : Two, pilot and radar operator.
  • Length : 27.2 m (or 89 ft 4 in).
  • Height : 7.0 m (or 23 ft).
  • Wingspan : 18.1 m (or 59 ft 5 in).
  • Wing area : 80 m² (or 861 ft²).
  • Wing loading : 500 kg/m² (or 102 lb/ft²).
  • Empty weight : 24,500 kg (or 54,000 lb).
  • Loaded weight : 40,000 kg (or 88,200 lb).
  • Maximum speed : Mach 1.65 at high altitude (or 1,740 km/h, or 1,089 mph).
  • Range : 3,200 km (or 2,000 mi).
  • Service ceiling 18,000 m (or 59,100 ft).
  • Rate of climb : 125 m/s (or 24,600 ft/min).
  • Powerplant : Two Lyulka AL-7F-2 turbojets.
  • Thrust : 24,300 lbf (or 107.9 kN) each (with afterburner).
  • Thrust/weight : 0.55.
  • Armament : Four Bisnovat R-4 air-to-air missiles, (usually two radar-guided R-4R and two infrared-homing R-4T).

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Tupolev Tu-28 of Wikipedia ( authors )
Tupolev Tu-28 & 128 "Fiddler" : Your comments on this subject
Powered by Disqus
Top
Legal Credits FAQ Help Site Map

Terms of use for the services available on this site

By using this Website, Users agree to the following terms of use and rules :

Definitions

  • Webmaster : Head Administrator with all authority over the management and development of the Website.
  • Administrator : Anyone that was given by the Webmaster full or partial access to the Website's structure or with moderation rights on messages posted by Users.
  • User or Visitor : Any person visiting the Website pages.
  • Website : The following provisions apply to a single Website accessible via the www.aircraftube.com, www.aircraftube.org, www.aircraftube.net and www.all-aircraft.com. URL's
  • Service : All free informations and tools contained on the Website.
  • Comments : All text written by users on Blogs and comment pages available on the Website.
  • Media : All media available on or through the Website. One must distinguish the local media (photos, curves, drawings) and the external media (videos) which the Website refers.

    • Purpose of this site

    The purpose of this non-commercial site is purely educational. Reflecting a passion, it is also there to preserve the memory of all those who gave their lives, their health or energy in the name of freedom, aviation safety or simply our passenger comfort.

    Copyright

    Some media may have escaped the vigilance of Administrators with regard to copyrights. If a user reports copyright infringement, he will be asked to prove that he is indeed the rights's owner for the concerned media. If so, his decision on the Administrator's next action will be respected: A total suppression of the Media on the Website, or the addition of some owner's reference. The publication of a media on the internet normally having as a goal to make it visible to many people, the Administrators expect in any case that the second option will be most often chosen.

    Pursuant to the Law on copyright and related rights, the user has the right to download and reproduce information on the Website for personal use and provided that the source is mentionned. They cannot however be used for commercial or advertising purposes.

    Using Blogs and filing comments

  • Moderator : The Administrator reserves the right to prevent the publication of comments that are not directly related to the Service without providing any explanation. Similarly, all insults, out of scope or unethical material will be banned.
  • Identification : Persons wishing to post a comment or use any form of contact are required to provide identification by the means of a valid e-mail address.
  • Responsibilities : Comments are posted on the Website under the unique responsability of their authors and the Administrators may in no case be liable for any statements or claims that the users might have issued.

    • As the comment system is hosted and maintained on servers external to the Website, the Administrators may in no circumstances be held responsible for the use that administrators of these servers or other third parties may have with those comments or filed data.

    Content Liability

    The Administrators carefully check the reliability of the sources used. They cannot, however, guarantee the accuracy of any information contained on the Website, partly because of the multiple sources from which they come.

    JavaScript and cookies - Storing information

    This Website imperatively uses JavaScript and cookies to function properly. Neither of these technologies, or other means shall in no case be used on the Website for the retention or disclosure of personal information about Visitors. Exceptions to this rule will involve storing the Users banned for inappropriate comments they might have given as well as contact information for Users wishing to subscribe to future newsletters.

    When a user accesses the Website, the corresponding servers may automatically collect certain data, such as IP address, date and time of Website access, viewed pages and the type of browser used. This information is kept only for the purpose of measuring the number of visitors to the different sections of the site and make improvements.

    Donations - Advertising

    To continue providing the Service for free, the Webmaster reserves the right to insert advertising or promotional messages on any page of the Site. In the same idea, any donations will only by used to cover the running costs of the site, such as hosting, connection fees, hardware and software necessary for the development and maintenance of the Website.

    Links and other websites

    Administrators shall in no case be liable for the non-availability of websites operated by third parties to which users would access through the Website.

    Administrators assume no liability for any content, advertising, products and/or services available on such third party websites. It is reminded that those sites are governed by their own terms of use.

    Placing a link to third party sites or authorize a third party to include a link on their website refering to this Website does not mean that the Administrators recommend in any way the products or services offered by these websites.

    Modifications

    The Webmaster reserves the right to modify at any time without notification the present terms of use as well as all content or specific functionality that the Website offers.

    The modified terms and conditions immediately apply to the using Visitor when changes come online. Visitors are invited to consult the site regularly on the most current version of the terms and conditions

    Governing Law and Jurisdiction

    These general conditions are governed by Belgian law.

    In case of dispute regarding the interpretation and/or execution of the above terms, the parties agree that the courts of the district of Nivelles, Belgium shall have exclusive jurisdiction power.

    Credits page

    Wikipedia.org

    Wikipedia is a collaboratively edited, multilingual, free Internet encyclopedia.

    Youtube

    YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, view and share videos.

    Special thanks to all Youtube quality aviation vids providers, specially (Those I forgot, please excuse me or report) :

    Airboyd
    Andys Video
    Aviation videos archives
    Bomberguy
    Classic Aviation TV
    Historical Aviation Film Unit
    Horsemoney
    Jaglavaksoldier
    Joluqa Malta
    Just Planes
    Koksy
    Classic Airliners & Vintage Pop Culture
    Memorial Flight
    Octane130
    Okrajoe
    SDASM archives
    Spottydog4477
    The Aviators TV
    Valentin Izagirre Bengoetxea
    Vexed123
    VonBerlich
    Zenos Warbirds

    Bundesarchiv

    The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv are the National Archives of Germany.

    FAQ

    I don't see my comments any more!

    Please note that each page has it's own comment entry. So, if you enter a comment i.e. on the B-747, you will only see it on that related page.

    General comments are accessed via the "BLOG En" button.

    Comments are moderated, so please allow some delay before they appear, specially if you are outside Europe.

    Menus are developing below the page, because they are too long!

    But they remain accessible, for example by scrolling the mouse wheel, or with your finger (on the menu) on a smartphone or tablet.

    I see adds on all videos.

    Use a good free add remover software.

    The site is loading random pages at startup.

    We think it is a good way to bring back the memory of aircraft, persons or events sometimes quite forgotten.

    HELP PAGE

    Why this site?

    Discovery

    This website is dedicated to one's aeronautical passion (which I hope we share) and was realised mainly as an educationnal tool. Knowing that, you'll notice that each new visit brings random topics for the purpose of making new discoveries, some achievements or characters certainly not deserving the oblivion into which they have sometimes fallen.

    By these pages, we also want to pay tribute to all those who gave at one time or another, their lives or health in the name of freedom, aeronautical security or simply our comfort.

    Centralisation

    Internet is full of websites dedicated to aviation, but most are dedicated to subjects or periods that are very limited in space or time. The purpose of this site is to be as general as possible and thus treats all events as well as characters of all stripes and times while putting much emphasis on the most significant achievements.

    The same years saw birth of technologies like photography and cinema, thus permitting illustration of a large part of important aeronautical events from the start. Countless (and sometimes rare) media recently put online by enthousiasts finally give us access to these treasures, but the huge amount of information often makes things a little messy. A centralization effort is obviously most needed at this level.

    All persons who directly or indirectly contributed to the achievement or posting of such documents are here gratefully acknowledged.

    General

    Fluid website

    This site automatically fits the dimensions of your screen, whether you are on a desktop computer, a tablet or a smartphone.

    Bilingual website

    You can change the language by clicking on the flag in the upper left or via "Options" in the central menu. Of course, the videos remain in the language in which they were posted ...

    Browser compatibility

    The site is not optimized, or even designed to run on older browsers or those deliberately deviating from standards. You will most probably encounter display issues with Internet Explorer. In this case, it is strongly recommended installing a modern (and free!) browser that's respecting the standards, like Firefox, Opera, Chrome or Safari.

    Cookies and Javascript

    This site uses cookies and JavaScript to function properly. Please ensure that your browser is configured accordingly. Neither of these technologies, or other means shall in no case be used on the Site for the retention or disclosure of personal information about its Visitors. See the "Legal" page for more on this subject.

    Website layout

    Left menus

    Because of the lack of space on smartphones and small tablets, these menus are hidden. Everything is nevertheless accessible via the main menu option, located between the video and photo sections. This menu is placed there for compatibility reasons with some browsers, which play the videos over the menus.

    "Search" and "Latest" :
    The link "In Titles" restricts the search to the titles of different forms. Use this option if you are looking for a plane, a constructor, a pilot or a particular event that could have been treated as a subject.

    The link "In Stories" will bring you to a search in all texts (the "Story" tab) and will take more time. The search term will appear highlighted in green when opening the corresponding story.

    Would you believe, "Timeline" will show all subjects in chronological order.

    "Random" will reload the entire page with a new random topic.

    The bottom section keeps you abreast of the latest five entries. New topics are added regularly. Don't hesitate to come visit us often : add bookmark.

    Blogs and Comments central section

    Under the photos section comes the comments tabs window :

    You can enter general comments in your own language via one of the two buttons on the left (BLOG EN and BLOG FR). Note that these buttons are accessible regardless of the language to allow some participation in the other language.

    All comments are subject to moderation and will be published only if they comply with the basic rules of decorum, while remaining relevant to the purpose of this site.

    The third tab allows you to enter comments on the shown topic and is bilingual. Personal anecdotes, supplements and other information questions will take place here.

    The "Story" tab shows the explanatory texts. They are most often taken from Wikipedia, a site where we participate regularly.

    The "Data" tab is reserved for list of features and specifications.

    Right menus

    On a smartphone, the lack of space is growing and this menu is moved to the bottom of the page to give priority to videos and pictures.

    The top right icons are links to videos posted by third parties (on their own responsabilities) or by ourselves. The link below these icons will take you to the channel of the one who posted the video. Feel free to suggest other videos if you think they are of some interest (Use the BLOG button or the "Contact" link).