Tupolev Tu-4

what is it?

The Tupolev Tu-4 (Russian: Туполев Ту-4; NATO reporting name: Bull) is a piston-engined Soviet strategic bomber that served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · retractable tricycle gear · 43.1 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 558 km/htop speed
• range 5,400 kmwithout refuelling
• size 55.6 tmax take-off weight
• built 847made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 79 years ago, in 1947.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 43.1 m: about 10 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 9 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 5,400 km: 30× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.3× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1947-05-19

introduced

1949

retired

1988

status

retired

number built

847

role

strategic bomber

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

Tupolev, Aviakor, Kazan Aircraft Production Association, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center

engines

4× Shvetsov ASh-73TK / Shvetsov ASh-73

crew

11

length

30.2 m

wingspan

43.1 m

height

8.5 m

max take-off weight

55.6 t

top speed

558 km/h

range

5,400 km

ceiling

11,200 m

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.