“Thursday, March 06, 2008 10:23:30 AM · 47 of 54
Kurchatov324 to Tailgunner Joe
The next thing Putin will do is to send 2 TU-95 Bears flying down the East coast and have them land in Cuba, as they did during the Cold War, then continue their flight to visit their new friend in Venezuela, Loco Chavez.
If you want to have a view of how life was in a Soviet Bear airbase, read “BEAR, Flight to Liberty,” a novel about how the crew of one of those giants planned and effected their escape from the USSR to Canada in August 1976. You can get it from amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com”
So don't be surprised when 2 Bears fly down our East Coast and land in Havana, refuel, and continue to Orchila...
Also, the TU-95 DOES NOT outrun our interceptors. It may be the fastest PROPELLER airplane in the world, but it is still subsonic. All it can do is to have a FASTER response to sudden increases in speed than a jet fighter, for perhaps 1-2 minutes, but after that, once the jet pilot flickers on his afterburners, the jet catches with the BEAR in no time. The rest is history, literally. I should know, I spent years studying the BEARs in order to help write the novel above...
I’ve always thought the Tu-95 was kind of neat. There are youtube videos of engine start, takeoff, and inflight.
(Never flew anything faster than UH-1H Hueys, myself)
But is it true that those contrarotating propellers are so loud that the Bear can be heard even before it is picked up on radar?
;^)