Tupolev Tu-4

The Tupolev Tu-4 (NATO reporting name: Bull) was a piston-engined Soviet strategic bomber which served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to mid 1960s. It was a reverse-engineered copy of the U.S.-made Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Towards the end of World War II, the Soviet Union saw the need for a strategic bombing capability similar to that of the USAAF. The U.S. regularly conducted bombing raids on Japan, virtually in the Soviet Union's ba... more

The Tupolev Tu-4 (NATO reporting name: Bull) was a piston-engined Soviet strategic bomber which served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to mid 1960s. It was a reverse-engineered copy of the U.S.-made Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Towards the end of World War II, the Soviet Union saw the need for a strategic bombing capability similar to that of the USAAF. The U.S. regularly conducted bombing raids on Japan, virtually in the Soviet Union's backyard, from distant Pacific forward bases using B-29 Superfortresses. Stalin ordered the development of a comparable bomber. The U.S. refused to supply the Soviet Union with B-29 heavy bombers under Lend Lease, despite repeated Soviet requests. However, on three occasions during 1944, individual B-29s made emergency landings in Soviet territory after bombing raids on Japanese Manchuria and Japan. In accordance with Soviet neutrality in the Pacific War, the bombers were interned and kept by the Soviets, despite American demands for their... less